In a small but, grand way, CLAY 2020 Re-Imagined provided a renewed glimpse into life before COVID 19, with small, manageable 

groups enjoying the beauty and wizardry of clay in all forms and presentations. 

Thank you to CLAY’s Dream Team who managed the event so beautifully and to our volunteers who helped achieve manageable goals and viable interests and, of course, to the artists and other informed participants in both virtual and actual week long events who gave of their valuable time and extraordinary knowledge to support the efforts of this year’s CLAY Festival. 

Thanks to all.  

Best - Lee Gruber

Please continue to enjoy all the wonderful CLAY content below, we have videos, interviews and an online exhibition!

CLAY REIMAGINED 2020 Featured in Ceramics Monthly

Monday, July 13th

4pm - 5pm

Artist Talk with Sanam Emami, via Zoom

Sanam Emami is a studio potter living in Fort Collins, CO with her husband Del Harrow and their son William. She received a BA in History from James Madison University in Virginia, and an MFA in Ceramics from New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. Currently, she is an Associate Professor of Pottery at Colorado State University. She was a Visiting Assistant Professor in Ceramics at Alfred University, resident artist at the Archie Bray Foundation in Montana, and has lectured at the Office for the Arts at Harvard University; the Kansas City Art Institute; Arizona State University Art Museum-Ceramic Research Center, and NCECA in Louisville, Kentucky. She received a New York Foundation for the Arts Grant for Craft and her work has been in exhibitions at numerous galleries across the country including The Society of Arts and Crafts, Boston; The Art-Stream Nomadic Gallery; Harvey Meadows Gallery, Aspen; Schaller Gallery; Hostler Burrows.

Click the link below to connect to the video of Sanam Emami’s Artist Talk

Tuesday, July 14th

4pm - World Premiere

New Mexico Made Short Film: Natural Building Virtual Tour 

This film features Jeff LeBlanc and Melanie Zipin’s earthen works which include cobb, earthen plaster & poured adobe floors.

Jeff LeBlanc and Melanie Zipin started creating with mud in 2002. They quickly fell in love with the process and the material, and they have been building ever since. There is something so joyful about living in a structure that breathes. The undulating walls vibrate with color, and the floors feel amazing on your bare feet. There is an energetic, sensory relationship, and a respect and care for surfaces that are not normally present in a frame structure. Everything is being created by hand. From the process of gathering materials, mixing and piling mud, formulating natural plasters, and applying them to the walls one layer at a time – this forming and shaping of every surface with your bare hands – creates an intimate and on-going relationship with your surroundings

Arenas Valley, New Mexico

Locally filmed: Escher Bowers, FreemanFilms 

Wednesday, July 15th

Join us for a live demonstration with local ceramic artist, Romaine Begay!

Zoom Virtual Demonstration:  Carving with Romaine Begay, hosted by Diana Ingalls Leyba

Romaine Begay’s family influences and ties to place form the foundation of and emerge through his traditional and contemporary pottery. Of Towering House born into the Zuni clan, Begay professes a connection to the arts throughout his life. Nizhoni is a Navajo word meaning beautiful, fine, and good, all in one depending on the accent used, which describes the approach to his work and is the name for his website gallery, nizhonipottery.net. Begay’s work is showcased in museums and galleries throughout the Southwest, and he has won several awards from the Santa Fe Indian Market, the largest Native American arts market.

“Find inspiration from your daily life.”

Click the link below to connect to this scheduled zoom meeting no earlier then 3:50pm

Thursday, July 16th

4pm - World Premiere

New Mexico Made Short Film: Habitat Restoration on the Pitchfork Ranch, Silver City, New Mexico

“ The film looks at the restoration A.T. and Lucinda Cole have been doing on the Pitchfork Ranch over the last past 17-years with an emphasis on how natural climate solutions can accomplish 37% of the goals set out in Paris Climate Agreement and how each of us can pursue restoration.”

Locally filmed: Escher Bowers, FreemanFilms 

Friday, July 17th

4pm - 5pm

Live Zoom Demonstration and Discussion with Lorraine Lewis and Dr. Eric Blinman

Timeless Expressions: An interactive conversation about the dimensions of meaning, function, and technology across two millennia of Pueblo pottery, history, and culture. Lorraine Lewis, Pueblo of Laguna clay artist, and Eric Blinman, archaeologist, discuss and reflect on the rich history, cultural connections, and varieties of ceramic traditions in the Southwest.

Click the link below to connect to the live zoom discussion and demonstration no earlier than 4:00pm 

Maker’s Market

CLAY partnered with our friends at The Silver City Farmer’s Market this year to host a Local Clay Artists Makers Market. We had 10 local artist work represented and available for purchase.

PARTICIPATING ARTISTS

Claude Smith

Courtney Michaud

Phoebe Lawrence

Chris Sowers

Kate Brown

Zoe Wolfe

Judy Menefee

Letha Cress - Wolf

Jude Wasechek

Burnt Offerings

CLAY Demo and gallery Walk

CLAY hosted an exciting and educational demo walk through downtown Silver City. Local ceramic artists offered a wide range of demonstrations and clay techniques. Enjoy the slideshow with some highlights from that day!

Photo Credit: Tyler Bingham