2014 Alabama Clay Conference



My husband, ceramic artist Scott Bennett, is director of the 29th Annual Alabama Clay Conference this year. It will be held in Birmingham's Boutwell Auditorium on February 20-23, 2014. The illustrious presenters are Daphne Roehr Hatcher and Gary Hatcher from Mineola, Texas, Peter Beasecker for Syracuse, New York, and Bonnie Seeman from Boca Raton, Florida. 

Conference Overview

Clay Market
The conference begins Thursday night February 20th at 6pm with a reception celebrating the 3rd Alabama Clay Market, a pottery and sculpture sale of some of the state’s best ceramic artists. Held at Christopher House Antiques, the Market brings together the work of approximately 30 ceramic artists, with styles ranging from folk to modern. The event will be open to the public, and all pieces will be for sale. The sale will be open through Saturday, February 22nd until 5pm.

On-Site Registration
Friday morning onsite registration and vendors will open at 8am, and our artists will begin on stage at Boutwell Auditorium at 8:30.
Lunch will be provided on Friday in the Boutwell Auditorium.

The Year of the Pot
Friday from 5-8pm the Alabama Power Company Corporate Archives Museum is hosting a reception for the exhibit entitled “The Year of the Pot.” It will show the works of Gary Hatcher, Bonnie Seeman. Daphne Roehr Hatcher and Peter Beasecker as well as a collection of historical and contemporary ceramics made in Alabama. The exhibit opens Feb. 3 and runs through May 2. The Archives Museum is located on the ground floor of the historic (circa 1925) Alabama Power Company Building at 600 North 18th Street in downtown Birmingham. Museum hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. The exhibition will also be open all day Saturday February 22 until 4pm during the conference.
Saturday our artists continue to work on and discuss their work in Boutwell Auditorium.
Lunch provided on Saturday in the Boutwell Auditorium.

Silent Auction
We will have an attendee’s exhibition and request that everyone dedicate one piece to a silent auction benefiting the newly developed Georgine Clarke Ceramic Scholarship, which will provide support to a student studying or planning to study ceramics at an academic institution.

Pint Exchange
At the end of all this will be the perfect time for a “Pint Exchange!” That’s right (Third time’s a charm!) the Pint Exchange and After-Party at Good People Brewery. Be sure to bring a ceramic pint for this blind exchange.

K-12 Teacher's Workshops
Sunday’s K-12 Teacher (free for public K-12 school teachers only) workshops will be presented by Lynn Wood the “Pottery Texture Queen," and “The Clay Lady” Danielle McDaniel in the two studio classrooms at the Birmingham Museum of Art from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm. Space is limited to 25 for each workshop, so register now. You can register by emailing Paula Reynolds.


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