In the News – Fireside Pottery

Maine Pottery Tour 2014

October 2, 2020September 30, 2020 by Nancy Button

This year 19 pottery studios from across the state including Nancy Button’s Fireside Pottery in Warren will be open for the MAINE POTTERY TOUR on May 3rd and 4th.

A handmade textured green porcelain pitcher

With tour legs in southern, central and mid-coast Maine, there are as many different styles to see as there are destinations! For maps and more information on each of these legs of the tour, go to http://mainepotterytour.blogspot.com, or find them on Facebook at Maine Pottery Tour.

The participating potters have cleaned up their work spaces and are welcoming visitors to their studios to see the work they do. All are happy to talk with you about making pots, how they work with clay and the different techniques they use to decorate and fire their work. Get an inside glimpse into the life of a potter, tour their studios, peek into kilns and know that your purchase is supporting your local creative economy.

Local potters on the mid-coast leg of the tour include:
Ash Cove Pottery (Susan Horowitz & Gail Kass), 75 Ash Cove Rd. S. Harpswell 833-6004;
Liz Proffetty Ceramics, 118 Old County Rd., Newcastle 207-586-5117;
Fireside Pottery (Nancy Button), 1478 Camden Rd., Warren 273-3767;
Alex Tomasulo, Double Dolphin Way, Walpole 207-380-1902;
Tyler Gulden, with guest potter Nathan Willever, 45 Clark’s Cove Rd., Walpole 380-8454.

Be sure to look for the signs!

Hours are Saturday May 3rd 10-5pm and Sunday May 4th 11-4pm.

The tour is expanding each year and is always adding new potters. You can find out more information by going to http://mainepotterytour.blogspot.com for maps and photos of the work or find them on Facebook at Maine Pottery Tour.

Contact:
Fireside Pottery
Nancy Button
1478 Camden Rd.,
Warren, ME 04864
nancyb@midcoast.com
207-273-3767

Maine Pottery Tour 2015

October 2, 2020September 30, 2020 by Nancy Button

It has been exciting to see the many posts on the Maine Pottery Tour’s Facebook page as this weekend’s tour approaches. I like the feeling of a communal effort across the state that social media allows us to experience. I’m accustomed to feeling fairly solitary in my work efforts, but now I can see that while I am swinging into gear for a busy season, so are dozens of other potters across the state. They are making the pieces, loading up their kilns, and experiencing the pleasure (and yes, sometimes disappointment) that accompanies a kiln opening. I’ve just opened my second kiln of stoneware this morning, and am for the most part pleased with the results.

More than 40 pottery studios across the state will be open for the MAINE POTTERY TOUR on May 2nd and 3rd including 8 nearby studios in Knox and Waldo Counties: Siem Van der Ven of Van der Ven Studio in Lincolnville, the community clay studio Hope Clay in Hope, Patricia Hubbard of Hilltop Pottery in Thomaston, Ariela Kuh and Meghan Flynn in Lincolnville, Betsy Levine of Prescott Hill Pottery in Liberty, Barbara Walch of Barbara Walch Pottery in Thorndike, Austin Smith in Camden and of course myself at Fireside Pottery in Warren. Hours are Saturday, May 2^nd 10-5, and Sunday, May 3rd 11-4. Be sure to look for the signs.

Handmade brown and green porcelain vase — *Fresh from the kiln*

The participating potters are welcoming visitors to their studios to see their process, as well as view, finished pieces. All are happy to talk about how they create, decorate, and fire their work. Get an inside glimpse into the lives of these potters, tour their studios, peek into kilns, and know that your purchase is supporting your local creative economy.

The tour is expanding each year and is always adding new potters. There are as many different styles as there are destinations, with tour legs in southern, central and mid-coast Maine, For maps and more information on these different areas, visit the Maine Pottery Tour Website or find them on Facebook at Maine Pottery Tour.

I would love to hear your comments below. If you’d like to hear more about my thoughts and see what’s going on in the studio sign up for my newsletter by clicking here. We hope to see you at the studio this weekend!

50 Years and Counting: An Ode to Clay by Nancy Button at Maine Potters Market

November 11, 2020September 30, 2020 by Nancy Button

For the month of June, Maine Potters Market is featuring work by long-time member Nancy Button of Fireside Pottery.

The first clay that Nancy worked with was an earthy stoneware, and every winter she returns to its warm hues and building ease from the porcelain that has become her trademark. “Working with stoneware feels like returning to the original source, Nancy explains.”

Nancy has always been interested in texture and patterns, and this winter’s quiet time gave her ample opportunity to further explore these elements. By squaring pieces that are traditionally round, she creates four “panels“ that are then textured. By making a recessed bottom in many of these slab-built pieces, she’s able to cut subtle “feet” that animate the forms. “When I’m designing, I am actively problem solving and thinking about detail in a way that allows other concerns to drop away” Nancy commented. “It is my hope that these pots will find their ways into the hearts and homes of people, enhancing the daily rituals of their lives.”

About Nancy Button

Nancy Button’s mother found her passion for potting when Nancy was in her early teens, and clay has been Nancy’s partner and teacher for 50 years. Not only did she have a studio, kiln, and teacher through her mother, but Nancy lived with pots handmade by many different potters. This showed her that there is always a new approach or design waiting to be explored with clay. This constant refreshing keeps what she does from becoming repetitive, even when she is repeating forms. “There is a liveliness that comes through the clay if you can just get out of the way,” Nancy says.

About Maine Potters Market

Founded in 1978 by a group of potters who envisioned a cooperative market where they could sell their wares to the public and share their knowledge of pottery with customers, Maine Potters Market currently consists of thirteen Maine potters working in eleven studios throughout the state. The rich variety of handmade work available for sale keeps Maine Potters Market customers returning. June hours: Thursday – Saturday 10 – 9; Sunday – Wednesday: 10 – 6.