Pottery on the Hill Show & Sale Moves Online for 2020

Pottery on the Hill, the annual pottery show and sale hosted by Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital, will be held virtually from November 13-15, 2020.

Beginning at 5 pm on November 13, 45 of the top master and emerging potters in the US will open their own webshops simultaneously. The event’s website, PotteryontheHillDC.org, will serve as a clearing house to allow visitors easy access to all 45 online stores.

Pottery on the Hill focuses on functional pottery, which means all of the artists specifically make their pots to be used by the owner. One-of-a-kind, handcrafted treasures – from mugs and pitchers to plates and serving platters to vases, planters, and more will be available from these esteemed artists.

Although everyone involved with Pottery on the Hill is disappointed the show cannot be held in person, the decision was made to prioritize the health and safety of the DC and ceramics community.

There are benefits to the show being online. Usually, due to space limitations in the historic Old Naval Hospital, the show is only able to accommodate a limited number of potters.

“Since we had no limitations to the number of potters who could be involved in the show, we decided to invite all the potters who have previously participated in Pottery on the Hill over the years since the first show in 2012,” said Dan Finnegan, potter and show curator.

“Moving Pottery on the Hill online is just another example of how, as a small arts and culture organization, we’ve been able to adapt our programming in this new COVID era,” says Diana Ingraham, Executive Director of Hill Center. “The virtual show allows us the opportunity to support the ceramics community who have been critical to making Pottery on the Hill one of the premiere shows in the nation.”

The operations of Hill Center, like other arts and cultural nonprofit organizations, have been dramatically impacted since temporarily closing the doors in March. It hasn’t gone unnoticed by the ceramics community. The potters in the show have donated pots for a silent auction, the proceeds of which benefit Hill Center’s operations as part of their All Hands on Deck fundraising campaign. The silent auction will run November 5-15 at PotteryontheHillDC.org.

In addition, Finnegan is also crafting 100 limited edition Pottery on the Hill mugs and sales will benefit the organization as well. 

Potters participating Pottery on the Hill 2020 include:
Richard Aerni – Bandana Pottery (Naomi Dalglish & Michael Hunt) – Mary Barringer – Bulldog Pottery (Bruce Gholson & Samantha Henneke) – Kyle Carpenter – Kevin Crowe – Andrea Denniston – Carolyn Dilcher-Stutz – Dan Finnegan – Warren Frederick – Ryan Greenheck – Richard Hensley – Mark Hewitt – Matt Hyleck – Michael Kline – Matt Krousey – Suze Lindsay  – Katie Maloney – Kent McLaughlin – Jenny Mendes – Matt Metz – Lisa Orr – Donna Polseno – Mark Shapiro – Gertrude Graham Smith – Stacy Snyder – Studio Touya (Hitomi and Takuro Shibata) – David Stuempfle – Sam Taylor – Kate Waltman – Catherine White – Julie Wiggins

EMERGING POTTERS
Camilla Ascher – Christina Bendo – Lauren Braney – Carrie Creech – Jason Hartsoe – Mathew Meunier – Beth Sperlazza – Julia Walther – Joel Willson – Sarah-Anne Winchester

See work by all the potters by visiting PotteryontheHillDC.org.