Rustic Road 13 Pottery Event and Sale

03/11/2018

After much consideration we have decided that 2017 was the final year for the Rustic Road 13 Pottery Event and Sale. We truly appreciate the friendship and support from all who visited the farm over the past seventeen years. We enjoyed sharing our craft with you and giving you the chance to take a step back in time while strolling the grounds of this beautiful 1850's farmstead.

We are particularly grateful for having been able to provide over 50,000 meals through Second Harvest Heartland from a portion of the pottery sales over the years. Giving back to our community was a key aspect to this unique event and we could not have done it without you. Thank you!

09/18/2017

Our sincere appreciation and gratitude to everyone who stopped by the farm this year! We enjoyed visiting with you and could not have asked for a more delightful weekend!

09/15/2017

One aspect of the Rustic Road 13 Pottery Event and Sale that often gets overshadowed by all the great pots and all of the great people who are involved are the charitable donations that flow from this yearly event. Each year the Rustic Road potters donate 10% of all sales to Second Harvest Heartland. Over the years this has generated 48,810 meals for people in need. Donations made this September will be matched, so come nab some pots or use the link to help out. We hope to see you out at the show!

Donations made in September will be matched by Xcel Energy Foundation and a group of generous donors, up to $50,000. $1 provides 6 meals!

09/15/2017

Today, for your viewing pleasure we have some wonderful pots from Nick DeVries. Nick works primarily in porcelain, altering his pots when they are soft and then carving and rasping the final result being pots that are influenced by architecture, modern design, and the natural world. He finds inspiration from Bauhaus design, architecture, and nature. The combination of these influences creates a body of work that has tight lines and forms with surfaces that suggest bark, or softly falling rain, or perhaps lichen growth on an exposed rock face.

"I like to play with contrasting principles in my work. The pots are formal, tight, structured. Then they are overlaid with more organic finishes: satin surfaces, sugary micro crystals, nebulous areas of color."

09/14/2017

Marjorie Wade, also known as Spiritworks Pottery, has been part of the Rustic Road Pottery Event and Sale for all of its 17 years. Marjorie creates pottery for everyday use and embraces simplicity in each piece. Her work is inspired and influenced by the pottery and artifacts from primitive cultures, particularly those of Africa and prehistoric Japan. She finds it is by incorporating the textural elements and qualities from these traditions into her pottery that allows aspects of these cultures to be part of the world today. She is also influenced by the Japanese folk tradition of Mingei, which honors the simple beauty in everyday objects made for daily use.

09/13/2017

Anyone who has attended the Event in the past few years has surely been greeted by the site of Zac Spates's pots out front of the the beautiful barn. Zac's approach to form, making, and firing are a culmination of working with two other wood fire potters, but the result of those experiences are functional wood fired pots that are distinctly Zac's. Zac enjoys combining simple, often altered, forms with the complexity he gains from his wood kilns. The end results are pots that have a depth and complexity to them which reflects the time, effort, and thoughtful creation that Zac pours into his process.

09/12/2017

I guess it is super sunny today, but we still hope these Amy Von Bargen pots brighten up your Tuesday. Amy's pots suggest simplicity and use, but her process is more complex than one might imagine. Using a variety of hand building techniques Amy creates most of her work from slabs, a process that takes years to refine. Her satin glaze palette enhances the lines, seems, and marking of her work adding to a velvety softness that encourages use. Basically, when you pick up one of Amy's pots it is incredibly hard to set it down.

"I intend for my pots to be used in the everyday traditions of life: drinking your morning coffee, serving food to family and friends and arranging flowers cut from your backyard. These pots add beauty and a sense of occasion and ceremony in their use."

09/11/2017

Pots from Lynnea Shwieters greet you this lovely Monday. The surfaces of Lynnea's pots are complex and intricate all the while maintaining a magnetic approachability. Lynnea uses a number of techniques to achieve her surfaces: adding slip, incising, carving, and pressing. The culmination of her efforts are wonderfully functional vessels that offer the user a supple and tactile experience. Seriously they are that good.

09/09/2017

Feast your eyes on these beautiful Steve Hemingway pots. Steve has been a mainstay of the Rustic Road 13 Pottery Sale and Event for a number of years and each year he shows up with some wonderful new designs. Steve uses the somewhat chaotic Raku process for his work, and gets stunning results. Balance, rhythm, color, repetition, it's all there folks.

"Clay responds immediately to your touch and in return you respond back. It immerses you into the present moment. I find this a wellspring for creative thought and process."

09/08/2017

Leila Denecke's ceramic work is, put simply, awesome. Her career as a ceramic artist is filled with accomplishments and accolades, and, well, it is easy to see why. Her ceramic work exhibits an attention to and knowledge of clay that ceramic artists strive their entire careers to achieve. Leila has been recognized for her accomplishments by the McKnight Foundation, the Jerome Foundation and the Minnesota State Arts Board. We are pleased as ever to have her exhibiting during the Rustic Road Pottery Event and Sale. If you have the chance to join us, be sure to spend some extra time examining Leila's work.