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Clayfolk’s one-stop ceramics shop is back By Sarah Lemon | Mail Tribune Nov 12, 2022 09:41 AM A A 4 View all photos Ceramic creations by Nina Fernstrom Duong have been shown at the annual Clayfolk Show & Sale in Medford. MT file photo Ceramic creations by Nina Fernstrom Duong have been shown at the annual Clayfolk Show & Sale in Medford. MT file photo Art by Jan Lacy at the 2017 Clayfolk in Medford. MT file photo Mugs are a perennial favorite at the annual Clayfolk Show & Sale. Courtesy photo When ceramic artist Bonnie Morgan cracks open her kiln, it’s almost like Christmas morning. Recent experiments with glazing techniques heighten Morgan’s anticipation for the final products. A similar thrill ushers in the 47th annual Clayfolk Show & Sale, where 60 creators of ceramic artworks and pottery will gather — after a two-year hiatus — next week. “Anybody who wanted to be in the show could be in the show,” said Morgan, Clayfolk’s president, of vacancies created by the coronavirus pandemic. About a dozen new artists — most in their 20s and 30s — are represented at this year’s event, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Nov. 18 and 19, and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 20, at the Medford Armory. Admission is free. Southern Oregon’s largest display of handmade pottery attracts artists and ceramics enthusiasts from Eugene, Bend, the Oregon coast and northern California — representing “a tremendous range,” said Morgan, an Ashland resident. “All the way from earrings and pendants to mugs,” said Morgan of the potters’ wares. “More people are experimenting with sculpture.” A founding Clayfolk member. Morgan has experimented since 2020’s Almeda Fire with a new kiln-firing technique that produces “saggar vessels,” which she plans to show at the annual sale. The pots’ distressed surfaces are achieved through applying natural materials, such as seaweed, corn husks, copper wire and salt, to ceramics pieces ready for the kiln, then shrouding them in aluminum foil before firing. Unexpected hues and textures emerge. Other ceramics innovations among Clayfolk members arose during the pandemic’s downtime. Chemists’ development of new and brighter colors fueled the interest of many local ceramists. Others have explored the cutting-edge possibilities of creating new glaze surfaces in computer-controlled kilns. Still others lean toward the subtle, earthy hues produced by the flame-induced vapors of salt, soda and even ashes. Shoppers will find raku pots that were plunged into a cauldron of fire burning at over a thousand degrees, along with exquisite porcelain pieces vitrified at temperatures comparable to the stars, according to the Clayfolk website. Both “thrown” and slab-built pieces are beautifully functional or whimsically decorative. “You fall in love with clay, and you start making things,” said Morgan. Daily demonstrations provide glimpses of the potter’s trade. Nearly a dozen ceramicists working with clay at the event represent a caliber that Morgan said has blown her away. Among them is Summer Brendinger, a former elementary school teacher in Central Point. Education is a significant aspect of Clayfolk’s mission. The nonprofit with more than 100 members provides scholarships, workshops and demonstrations — with the Show & Sale serving as its main fundraiser. In addition to a $2,000 annual scholarship awarded to a ceramics artist enrolled at a college or art school, Clayfolk donates ceramics books and videos to Jackson and Josephine county libraries. Participation among the younger generation also is being encouraged by Clayfolk, dominated in recent years by older artists, said Morgan. The group that includes many retirees recognizes that a younger membership will ensure it continues to thrive. Responding to shoppers who “seem quite delighted” that the event is back, Clayfolk moved the Friday opening up several hours, said Morgan. The change, she said, allows for earlier entry and hopefully eases crowding inside the Armory at 1701 S. Pacific Highway. Closing an hour earlier Sunday, the Show & Sale overall affords five additional hours, compared with previous years, to kick off holiday shopping for unique, hand-crafted, locally made goods. “It’s just a one-stop shop to see such a wide variety of work,” said Morgan. See clayfolk.org