The Nicodemus Center for Ceramic Studies (NCCS) will hold their 15th annual holiday pottery sale on Thursday, November 29th from 1-8 pm, Friday, November 30th from 10 am – 4pm, and Saturday, December 1st from 10 am – 2 pm. in the center’s Mont Alto pottery studio, room 008, next to the commuter’s lounge, in the General Studies building on the Penn State Mont Alto campus.
The sale will include a variety of wheel-thrown, slab and hand-built stoneware bowls, mugs, cups, pitchers, teapots, flowerpots, vases, plates, jars, platters, trays, and tiles, created by Ceramic Arts Center and Mont Alto guild members. The cost for most of the sale items will range from $10 to $30.
In addition to the pottery sale, the 2018 John Bell Reproduction will also be available to purchase. The year’s reproduction is a Jar, made of red earthenware clay, in a limited edition of 60. The cost is $60.00, plus tax for NCCS members and $68.00, plus tax for non-members. Orders may be placed on-line at www.ceramics-nccs.org and are available for pick up on November 29th from 12-8 pm, November 30th from 10 am -4 pm and December 1st , from 10 am to 2 pm.
Bell was born in Hagerstown, Md., in 1800. The oldest of 10 children, he was trained by his father, Peter Bell, and influenced by Hagerstown’s large and active community of immigrant potters. Before the birth of his son in 1828, Bell moved to Waynesboro, Pa., along with his wife, Elizabeth, and established a successful pottery shop, John Bell and Sons, on South Potomac Street.
The Ceramic Arts Center (CAC) of Waynesboro houses many of the artifacts in Bell’s pottery shop and parts of his kiln, which were recovered from the 1994 excavation conducted by James Smith, the former executive director.
The annual John Bell Reproduction is a fundraiser for the NCCS as it continues to promote the history of American folk art, with emphasis on the region’s rich historic pottery tradition.
This event is free and is opened to the public, with parking available on the campus’ lower parking lot.
Along with the holiday pottery sale at Penn State Mont Alto, pottery is always available for sale at the Ceramic Arts Center, 13 S. Church Street in Waynesboro on Fridays, 5 to 8 pm, Saturdays, 10 to 4 pm and Sundays, 1 to 4 pm.
For more information about the pottery sale and other on-going events, visit their website at www.ceramics-nccs.org, or send an email to Mary Ashe-Mahr at waynesboroceramics@gmail.com or 717-372-7906.