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Arts fest to feature potter
For the Observer-Reporter
newsroom@observer-reporter.com
GREENSBORO - What does Greensboro need? "More pottery," resident potter Bernard Jakub said with a smile. This transplanted Pittsburgh artist is finding all the inspiration he needs in the historic pottery town on the Monongahela River that has its name stenciled on countless clay pots and jugs that now are collectors items.
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Now, Jakub has invested in a larger wood-fired kiln that he is in the process of setting up with the intentions of doing some serious pottery.
Serious pottery is just what Nathaneal Greene Historical Foundation had in mind when they began envisioning an artists' town in the 1980s.
"Nat Greene has made it very easy for Greensboro to become a river town that people want to visit and potters and artists want to live and work in," foundation vice president and festival coordinator Ralph Jannini said. "It is an example of good community building that any other community could emulate."
"I moved here full time in June and am remodeling an old garage to be a studio and a gallery," Jakub said. "I felt at home in Greensboro the first week. I'm right where I need to be."
Artists like Jakub have the kind of vision that could grow with the years, as handmade pottery makes a comeback.
"There's another pottery town right across the river - New Geneva. I've rowed across to visit and it is a beautiful little place, very much like Greensboro. I hope to have a workshop set up there one day as well because that would tie the two towns together like they used to be, when a ferry ran between them."
Those who attended last year's Art Blast festival on Labor Day weekend remember the numbers of kids and adults who waited their turn to throw a pot on Jakub's wheel.
"The line never ended. All the other vendors had gone, but I was there until dark. There is a great deal of interest in pottery, and I think everyone should try working on a wheel so they can appreciate what it takes to make a pot."
This year, on Aug. 30, Jakub will be back, dressed in 1870s workman's clothes and offering festivalgoers a chance to try their hand once more.
"I hope to build a replica of a treadle wheel that workers used to stand at to work. You work the lever with one foot, so you're basically standing on one foot while you throw. It's a real trick!"
Now in its third year, Art Blast on the Mon specializes in hands-on art for everyone to try, from throwing a pot with Jakub to bead making, plaster casting, painting, washing machine spin art decoupage, a big kid's art table and kids art teams. Demonstrators scattered among the vendors will explain their crafts, James 'Fuzzy" Randolph will talk about the history of pottery and local authors Joie and Amanda Flickinger will have a book signing.
Everyone's Art Show, including Every Kids Art Show, will be displayed at the Greensboro fire hall and there will be a photography and general media contest. Prizes are $300, $200 and $100 for general media, $100 for photography, $100, $50 and $25 for kids and a $1 a vote people's choice.
The third annual Creative Communities Conference will precede the festival on Friday. This year's theme is communities that focus on the arts, and break-out sessions include grant writing and selling your art in the present economic market. There will be a wine-tasting mixer hosted by Thistlethwaite Winery.
"We're also having a C'Mon Paddle the Mon from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday," Jannini said. "We'll be paddling about three miles along the riverfront in Greensboro, then over to Friendship Hill and New Geneva and back."
For more information and to get applications for the Creative Communities Conference, the art show or to do craft and food vending, call 724-943-4462, or visit www.natgreene.org.
