Homeport Pottery & Artisans Gallery

This past year I embarked on a journey to make a long time dream of mine a reality.  I've been opening my studio to the public on weekends during the summer but I've  always wanted to have a year round retail gallery space attached to my studio.  Planning for this has been in the works for years (at least in my head)  and finally I was able to get my husband Dave on board with the idea. Soooo back in October we applied for  & got the building permit needed to begin the project.

And so it began.  The foundation was poured & the addition very quickly went up.  Thanks to Dave I was able to open the door to Homeport Pottery & Artisans Gallery just in time for Christmas Prelude here in Kennebunkport Maine. 

It is so wonderful to have people come in and see my work and be able to take a peek in the the daily goings on of a pottery studio.  I also feel honored to be able to showcase the amazing work of other Maine artisans.

There's still a couple of days left to do your Christmas shopping so if you're in the area and want to find that perfect handmade in Maine gift stop on by. I'd love to meet you!

Homeport Pottery's Annual Christmas Prelude Open Studio December 6th - 8th

This event coincides with the first weekend of Kennebunkport's Christmas Prelude. We'll be open Friday from 4 pm to 7 pm and Saturday & Sunday from 10 am to 4 pm - so shop local and enjoy a lovely selection of handcrafted pottery, pewter tableware, oil lamps & accessories and also a wonderful collection of jewelry created from recycled bicycle parts. For directions & more information, please visit our website http://www.homeportpotterystudio.com/

The Maine Pottery Tour

The Maine Pottery Tour Takes place this weekend May 3rd & 4th! With over 17 studios participating across the state, this is a must on the to do list for any pottery enthusiast!!! 

Homeport Pottery will be open with pots hot from the kiln! Guest Artists Anne Thompson & Paula Roberts will also be here with their beautiful Metal work & Handwovens.

 AND while you're on Beachwood Ave, be sure to stop by fellow potter Wendy Twitchell's Studio!

For more info & a complete list of participating studios please visit the Pottery Tour's Blog:      http://mainepotterytour.blogspot.com/

Best Wishes for the Coming New Year!

To Everyone who has purchased a piece of our pottery or stopped by the studio this year, our heartfelt thanks for your continued support! May you and yours have a healthy, prosperous & very happy 2014!!

~*~*~*Namaste*~ *~*~

Jumping into 2013 - Extruders

Monday Mud Musings

For those of you who don't know what an extruder is....think Play Doh Fun Factory on steroids.  This is a picture of the one I have mounted on a wall in my studio.

Just like the Play Doh Fun Factory you can use all sorts of dies that will give any number of really cool shapes.  Here's one of my favorites an octagon :)

I find the easiest way to use my extruder is with two people - one person to pull the handle down and another to guide the extrusion as it comes out of the extruder.  My husband, Dave, usually is the one who helps me.......anywho.......Dave & I spent part of our New Year's Day creating these quirky octagons.

Which I turned into Olive Oil Bottles, Syrup Pitchers and Funky Little Bud Vases (Gotta luv pottery with attitude)

(I'll post pics of the finished pcs in the near future)

This Week's Potter Who Inspires Me

 Hayne Bayless - Master of the Extruder!  You can see examples of his incredible work at Sideways Studio

Common Ground Country Fair Sept 21st - 23rd

It's that time of year again!  I'll be unloading the kiln latter today and packing up some new work to bring with us to Common Ground. 

For those of you who have never been to the fair, it is well worth the trip.  From delicious food, great music, wonderful crafts & demonstrations of all sorts - the fair has something to offer everybody.  

If you come, stop by and say hi to Dave & me.  We'll be in the big tent in the craft area.

Maine Pottery Tour

Mother's Day Weekend is Pottery Weekend in Maine! Homeport Pottery Studio is pleased to be a part of this state wide event! Meet the artist, Cathie Cantara, see pottery making demos, tour the studio and shop for beautiful handmade pottery made in Maine.  We will be open to the public on May 12th & 13th from 10a.m. to 4p.m. with pottery making demos every hour on the hour.  


Other participants in Southern Maine include Elaine Fuller at Red Door Pottery Studio in Kittery and Kathleen King, Roger Dearborn & Ann Smith at The Gallery on the Green in Alfred.  Just click on the map pins below for more information.  


For a list of participants in the central Maine  area visit the Maine Pottery Tour Blog. 

Finally!!! My Etsy Store is Open for Business

I've had an Etsy Storefront for I little over 2 years now but up to today I hadn't listed any items for sale.  I guess I've been a little overwelmed, etsyphobic you could say, about  some of the finer point of Etsy such as setting up my store policies.  But anyway I had a break though  today and finished writing up my store policies and listed my first items!!!!!
You can now purchase my work on Etsy here's a link to my store:
Cathie Cantara Pottery

New Year New Work & Paper Work Uuuuugh

Why is it that every December I think that once I get past the last of the year's shows and celebrate the holidays with family and friends that I'll have a couple of weeks come January to just be a kid and play in my studio.....Reality usually sets in fairly quickly the first week in January when I realize I have at least a half a dozen show applications that are due before the end of the month (paperwork my favorite thing uuuughhhhh ;( ) and I think to myself "you should really clean up your space a little before you go out and make a mess on top of a mess".

Anyway, I've cleaned a little, played a little and filled out more paperwork than I like.  Here's something new for 2012 - Dream Keepers: 

My dream......Peace

THE MAINE MALL?!?!?

Dave & I drove to Bar Harbor on Sunday to drop off work at the Bar Harbor Blues Cafe. It looks like they are going to have quite a summer.....yummy food......live music....and selected works of Maine artisans......And today I'm off to the Maine Mall in South Portland.......THE MAINE MALL?!?!?! For those of you who don't know me - I am no Mall Rat - no FASHIONISTA and haven't been to the mall (not even to do Christmas shopping) in over two years. But today I'm packing up a bunch of my pots and delivering them to the mall (to sell at the mall....I'm still trying to wrap my brain around that one). The Maine Craft Association is opening a "POP UP" shop there for the summer months. It is going to be called Creative Common and will feature the work of Maine artists. It will also feature installations from the Maine College of Art and the Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance....and....have live musical performances and demonstrations throughout the summer. They are having a kick off party tomorrow night.....I'll be there (did I really say that????)

Back From Haystack

Arrived home late yesterday from an amazing 4 day workshop at Haystack Mountain School of Craft. The school is located on the beautiful island of Deer Isle Maine.

The only thing more spectacular than the view was what was happening at the school. There was a vibe - everybody was so engaging - beyond class time there was an ongoing creative dialogue that crossed over the various workshops (all of which you were free to visit to see what other people were doing)spilled into mealtimes and late into the evenings. Maine Craft Association sponsors this annual workshop for it's members with tuition on a sliding scale - making it affordable for artists like me (thank you so much!!!).. ....But anyway.......I didn't take a Pottery Workshop (go figure) I took Native American Basket Making and it was beyond wonderful! Our teacher, Paula Thorne - a traditional arts master, was incredible! Her mastery of her craft and generosity of spirit blew me away! As she shared her knowledge with us, she regaled us with Penobscot folk tales of Gluskab.

Anyway.....I'm home now and it's time to get back into my studio. Below is a photo of the brown ash and sweet grass baskets I made (I will have to finish my sea urchin basket)and my newest prized possession - an Aaron Sober teabowl (he taught the Pottery Workshop that I didn't take :( - oh well can't do everything) Time to get to work!!!

It’s with a sigh of relief that I bid farewell to my 2010 show season.  It was a very good year but I am really looking forward to hunkering down in my studio for the winter and exploring new ideas.  Many thanks to my loyal customers for making the year a success.  My Christmas Prelude Open Studio will my last open studio for the year.  I’ll be doing one more firing before this event soooooooooooo there will be new stuff hot out of the kiln for you holiday shoppers.  If you can’t make it, you can of course call and set up a time to visit the studio.  Hope I see you there!!!

Cat

Homeport Pottery Studio

Christmas Prelude Open Studio

Saturday & Sunday from 10 – 4  December 4^th & 5^th  2010  

Buy Handmade – Give Handmade 
Please join us & celebrate the season

Refreshments   Handcrafted Ceramics for Sale!

131 Beachwood Ave. * Kennebunkport

www.homeportpotterystudio.com * (207)967-0301

Come Help Celebrate American Craft Week at Our Open Studio!

Join Us in Celebrating American Craft Week at our open studio October 2nd & 3rd!

There will be pottery making demos, refreshments & fine handcrafted pottery for sale.

For more information & direction to the studio, visit our website www.homeportpotterystudio.com .

American Craft Week, coming this October 1-10, is a coast-to-coast celebration featuring more than 200 events where the public can meet artisans for whom crafting is a business.

The festivities promise artful and fun answers to the question, “What is still made in

America?” Watch a glassblower or a cabinetmaker at work. Tour pottery studios or fine

craft galleries. Art strolls, exhibitions, open houses, talks, craft demonstrations, trunk

shows and festivals are scheduled in more than 40 states. The celebration will culminate

with a national symposium, “Crafting a Nation,” at the Smithsonian American Art

Museum in Washington, D.C. “Now, more than ever, people are recognizing the enduring value of handmade craft,” says Diane Sulg, co-chair of American Craft Week. “Consider also the economic

benefits of employing Americans to create and sell these beautiful, cherished items, and

we can all support and celebrate American craft.”

A state-by-state list of American Craft Week activities and participating galleries

can be found online at www.AmericanCraftWeek.com. Appealing to residents and

tourists alike, these events feature contemporary and folk crafts in many mediums -- and

many of the events are free.

American Craft Week is a project of the Craft Retailers and Artists for Tomorrow

(CRAFT) and Craft in America, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation of

craft and the celebration of its impact on our nation’s cultural heritage. The national cochairs

are gallery owners: Ms. Sulg, of Charlotte, N.C.; Ann Pifer, of St. Paul, Minn.; and

Carol Sauvion, of Los Angeles, who is also the director of Craft in America. CRAFT’s

president is Karen Hohler, of Boston.

Major sponsors of American Craft Week include the American Craft Council,

AmericanStyle magazine, Americans for the Arts, ArtfulHome.com, Silver Dollar City,

Ornament magazine, New York International Gift Fair, Society of North American

Goldsmiths/Metalsmith magazine, National Association of Independent Artists,

Sugarloaf Mountain Works and WholesaleCrafts.com. Additional sponsors are: Artisan

Point of Sale Software for Windows, The Furniture Society, Glass Eye Studios,

Packaging Specialties, Paradise City Arts Festival, NextDayFlyers.com, World Crafts

Council, the Craft and Folk Art Museum, Craft Organization Development Association

and CERF+.

“Crafting a Nation” is presented by the Smithsonian American Art Museum,

Americans for the Arts and Craft in America. Sponsors include Cynthia Lovelace Sears,

Frank Buxton, Cathleen Collins, Mary Ann Hruska, Chris Rifkin, Stolaroff Foundation

and Barbara Tober.

Southen Maine Clay Guild at Biddeford Art Walk

Southern Maine Clay Guild will be having a booth at the Art Walk at the North Dam Mill in Biddeford this Friday - April 30th. I've been a part of the guild since it's inception in 2005 - its a wonderful group of supportive & creatively talented individuals. Stop by & say hi - hope to see you there!