Black History Month: Clay Art Center Celebrates 'Heroes On Mugs'

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — The Hudson Valley's storied Clay Art Center is offering a one-of-a-kind, hands-on way to celebrate Black History Month.

Art we can use developed a special meaning over time. Grandma's tea set or a great aunt's quilt touches us in ways the still life on the wall never could with each memory of its use adding to its timeless aesthetic value.

The Clay Art Center is paying tribute to Black History Month with programming highlighting Black ceramic artists and opportunities to own handcrafted art worthy of slowly adding lifetimes of memories for generations to come.

The Clay Art Center is partnering with Rich Brown to offer a series of special edition mugs celebrating Black History Heroes that will be available mid-February in the shop. Brown, a former Westchester native, has created a series of special edition mugs to celebrate the 28 days of Black History Month. The series depicts both historical and contemporary figures who are heroes in Black History, from Black ceramicists to Black athletes, politicians, writers and musicians.

"I have long wanted to make a series of functional works that are also art pieces," says Brown of the project. "I have had the vision for a long time, but I was waiting to put all the parts together. I wanted to work with Clay Art Center on making these pieces available to the public since we have built a great working relationship. Clay Art Center has supported my work with both shop and exhibition opportunities, and now they are supporting this project."

The works are wheel-thrown in Brown's studio, and surface finishes include decals, underglaze, sprayed glazes and brush-on glazes. Although the mugs use printed decals as part of the surface treatment, each piece is unique, according to the artist.

The series of mugs will be available both directly from Brown's studio and a limited quantity will be available both on-site and online through the Clay Art Center.

Meanwhile, the "Concepts in Clay: Artists of Color" online exhibit co-curated with Paul Briggs features works of celebrated Black ceramic artists from across the U.S. Organizers promise the virtual exhibit brings together a collective voice that speaks about a variety of themes and processes as part of the continuum of artists of color working in clay in the U.S. today.

Black History Month programming at the center also includes a Virtual Artist Talk with ceramic artist Lydia Thompson on Feb. 23, at 7 p.m. Thompson will present a Virtual Artist Talk "Reclaim" that will explore her work and process.

“My current research investigates various geographic landscapes and how its natural resources impact culture and social practices in the surrounding communities," Thomas explains. "The repetition and collection of objects provide meaning and insight to the interpretation of objects and human practices. Agricultural forms speak subtly about the connectivity of atmosphere, earth and humans."

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Additionally, visitors can hear from the history-making Black ceramic artists who have presented recent artist talks for Clay Art Center in the organization's online library which is free to access.

To learn more, purchase the special edition mugs, view the exhibit and register for the Virtual Artist Talk, visit the Clay Art Center website at www.clayartcenter.org.