Join Us In Celebrating our 70th Anniversary

Join us on Sunday, September 26, 2 - 4 pm at our outdoor Reception in the Gateway Garden, Matthaei Botanical Gardens which is near the main entrance to the Visitor Center

At 2:15 and 3:15 p.m. talks about the project will be given by Tom Phardel who mentored members of the Guild in the creation of sculpture towers; and Jeri Hollister who envisioned and guided the project. From there visitors are invited to tour the sculpture towers. Docents will be stationed as “way finders,” sharing their knowledge about Great Lakes flora and fauna; and Guild artists will be on hand to talk about their artistic process.

Inspired by the synergy between nature’s beauty and complexity, the artists created work centered around Michigan’s natural landscapes specifically for the Great Lakes Garden at Matthaei Botanical Garden. Working in teams, Potters Guild artists created eight free standing sculptures with depictions range from naturalistic and representational, to abstract, as well as a whimsical nod or two to the timeless role of fantasy and myth in humankind’s communion with nature.

We hope that you enjoy your tour of artwork in the Great Lakes Garden and this unique view of nature’s splendor through the eyes of the Potters Guild’s artists.

The exhibit is on view through Sunday, October 3. The Gardens are located at 1800 N. Dixboro Road, Ann Arbor. They are open Tuesday through Sunday 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; and Wednesdays 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Admission to the Gardens is free with metered parking $2.00/hr The University of Michigan requires face masks in indoor spaces which include the Visitor Center gift shop, restrooms and conservatory.

For additional information contact Alexis Ford 734-647-8391 forda@umich.edu In the unlikely event of rain the event will take place on Sunday, October 3 from 2-4 PM

The Story Behind Our Project

This project began in the fall of 2018 in response to the question, “How can The Potters Guild best celebrate its 70th anniversary in 2020?” Previous Guild anniversaries were commemorated with exhibitions, workshops, and publications. The challenge to the planners was to imagine a new and unique activity that would honor the Guild’s seventy-year legacy, as well as showcase its collaborative presence in the Ann Arbor community.

The idea that emerged combined art and nature and demonstrating the synergy between nature’s beauty and complexity through free standing sculptures. With that purpose in mind, the next question was, “What setting could possibly do justice to such an ambitious goal?” The most obvious answer was another great Ann Arbor institution, Matthaei Botanical Gardens, and Guild planners were fortunate in receiving the approval and whole-hearted collaboration of Matthaei in the project.

For the exhibition at Matthaei, Potters Guild members decided to work together in teams to create sculpture towers. For the project to move forward most effectively and efficiently, a guide and mentor with experience would be necessary, and project planners were again very fortunate in persuading Tom Phardel, well known area artist and educator, to provide participating Guild members with a six-month master class, advice on logistics, and the fabrication of the infrastructure on which the ceramic elements of each sculpture tower would be mounted.

Matthaei Botanical Gardens offered to install our work in their Great Lakes Gardens in keeping with the theme described above. In executing their work, Potters Guild artists used the full range of traditional ceramic methods and tools, the potter’s wheel, press molds, coil building, slab construction, and sculpting, often in combination, to create the various elements that comprise each sculpture. Stoneware clay was the predominant material, and elements were fired between 2200 and 2400 degrees Fahrenheit, in either an oxidation or reduction kiln atmosphere depending on the desired outcome. The Sculpture towers that resulted are intended for installation in the separate biomes of the Great Lakes Gardens, each of them drawing inspiration from, and reflecting the characteristics of the biome where they are installed.

What you’ll see in this exhibit is a wide variety of approaches and techniques and the imaginations of dozens of individual artists working in unison. The focus of inspiration ranges from a few particular aspects of the biome, to an exploration of all the ways nature is interconnected within the biome. There are depictions of nature that range from naturalistic and representational, to abstract, as well as a whimsical nod or two to the timeless role of fantasy and myth in humankind’s communion with nature. We hope that you enjoy your tour of our work in the Great Lakes Gardens and this unique view of nature’s splendor through the eyes of the Potters Guild’s artists