FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Lynn Cass
478-743-6940

FIRED WORKS CERAMICS SHOW AND SALE APRIL 18-27, 2008 IN MACON

FEATURES 50 GEORGIA ARTISTS, STUDIO TOURS, WORKSHOPS AND MORE

Thousands of works by 50 top ceramics artists from throughout Georgia will be featured at the third annual Fired Works invitational regional ceramics exhibition and sale April 18-27, 2008 at historic Central City Park in downtown Macon.

Sponsored by the nonprofit Macon Arts Alliance, Fired Works also will include 10 days of workshops, exhibits, studio tours, demonstrations, a pottery road show and other activities for artists and the general public

“We have selected outstanding artists who will offer work ranging from inexpensive collectibles to museum quality pieces,” said Macon Arts Executive Director Lynn Cass. “This has become a well established event for beginners and serious collectors alike. You'll be able to find a wide variety of items from functional pieces such as dinnerware, bowls and vases to decorative art such as contemporary sculpture and wall hangings.

“The beautifully restored Round Building in Central City Park, built in 1904 with a 30 to 40-foot ceiling and a copper domed roof, is a fitting venue for a show of this type,” Cass added.

Most events will be held at Central City Park Mondays to Fridays from noon-7 p.m., Saturdays from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sundays 1-4 p.m. The cost of admission is $5. A preview party will be held Friday, April 18 from 7-9 p.m., $25 per person. The artists will be present at the preview to meet and talk with visitors about their work. Food and beverages will be served.

Visitors can view “Tablescapes,” a display of different place settings of handmade dinnerware by 16 artists on designer-decorated tables.

“It should encourage people to think creatively about what they use in their everyday lives and how they can enhance the presentation of food and the mood and atmosphere of dining,” said Macon interior designer C. Terry Holland, who is producing the display along with Jan Beeland, a premier local floral designer.

Atlanta potter Rick Berman, whose work is in the collections of Jane Fonda, John Portman and the Chicago Art Institute, will discuss collecting contemporary ceramics, Saturday, April 19 from 2-3 p.m. A potter for nearly 40 years, Berman founded the Ceramics Department at Callanwolde Arts Center in Atlanta and has taught ceramics and sculpture for 10 years at Pace Academy in Atlanta. He has presented workshops at the Penland School of Craft, the Chicago Art Institute and the High Museum in Atlanta and his work has been featured in more than 100 one-man, juried and invitational exhibitions.

Members of Georgia's oldest pottery families will present the story of Georgia folk pottery in a roundtable discussion moderated by Berman Sunday, April 20 from 1-2 p.m.

Visitors are invited to bring their pieces for appraisal by experts at a pottery roadshow Sunday, April 20 from 3-5 p.m. Last year an Atlanta woman learned her $75 pot was worth around $3,000. Cost is $5 per piece for the appraisal.

One of the country's top ceramic artists, Andy Nasisse, will present a workshop/demonstration “Looking for Life in Clay,” Saturday, April 26 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. He will show the many forming methods he has developed for building and glazing the figurative work he has been creating for the past 20 years. His figures, residing somewhere on the edge between playful whimsy and hysteria, almost seem alive and aware.

Professor Emeritus at the University of Georgia, Nasisse's work is in collections at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Pan Pacific Hotel in Singapore, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Atlanta, Coca-Cola Corporation and the Macon Museum of Arts and Sciences. The Architectural Commission for Atlanta's Hartsfield International Airport commissioned four of his works for display there. Cost for the workshop is $75 and is limited to the first 20 people who register.

Workshop participants will get to join Fired Works' sponsors and artists for a slide show presentation by Nasisse about his work followed by a wine and cheese reception Friday, April 25 from 7-9 p.m.

Visitors also can tour the studio of three professional potters where they will see a variety of functional, sculptural and architectural pieces such as tiles, sinks and fireplaces in the process of creation as well as completed. Macon Mud Studio is located across the street from a former textile mill building, which has become home to many artists and antiques dealers.

The studio tour Saturday, April 26 from 10:30-noon will be followed by lunch at nearby Harpin's where Chef Paul Harpin will prepare chicken and asparagus crepes, shrimp and tomato quiches, his signature chicken salad, homemade lemon cake, chocolate chip cake and other delights. Originally from England, Harpin came to Macon in 1994 to serve as the chef at Le Bistro, owned by one of the principal officers of Capricorn Records. He later served as the chef at one of Macon's top restaurants, Leo's, for many years.

A companion show and sale, “ Pouring Vessels,” will be held April 4-26, Mondays-Fridays 11 a.m.-5 p.m. and Saturdays 11 a.m.-3 p.m . at Macon Arts' Gallery on First Street in historic downtown Macon. This free show will feature 30 to 40 functional pieces such as teapots, and pitchers assembled from 15 local and national ceramics artists such as Lynn Smiser Bowers. Bowers' work is featured at the Signature Shop in Atlanta, which showcases some of the best in contemporary crafts in the country. An opening reception will be held during First Friday in downtown Macon, April 4 from 5-8 p.m.

Fired Works visitors are invited to bring their children and let them enjoy a free “Clay Play for Children” area while they are shopping.

For more information about Fired Works, call (478) 743-6940 or visit www.maconarts.org