In 1971 a small and independent group of young hippie potters
were looking for a rental space in which to live and work. Their search led them to Jones Street in West Berkeley's light industrial area and to a huge warehouse where aluminum windows had once been manufactured.
They moved in and began throwing pots. Other clayworkers, attracted to the ideals and energy of the group soon joined and the Berkeley Potters Guild was born. Because they wanted secure and permanent room to create, part of this original group incorporated, bought the site, and converted it into studios with the intention of maintaining their building for working potters. Today, situated in what is now the heart of the East Bay artisans community, a new owner carries on this tradition and provides a workplace for 20 professional clay artists to create and sell a diverse array of ceramic art.
Weekend Gallery
In 1992 a gift gallery was established, and currently showcases work from 16 Guild members. It is open to the public every weekend from 10am to 5pm and by appointment.
Sales Events
The Guild hosts two annual sales events that attract over 25 thousand customers yearly. The Annual Holiday Sale after Thanksgiving invites the public to shop indoors where thousands of pots and ceramic art created by some of California's finest clay artists are on display. Each year there is a different gallery exhibition, a theme-based show of new pieces created especially for this exhibit by Guild members.
The first two weekends in May are devoted to a Sale that features not only quality "firsts" but "seconds" and older stock that the artists must clear from their studios to make room for the holiday production. This sale draws bargain hunters from all over the State. For the past two years, we have devoted space at the spring sale for a flower arranging demonstration, where members create innovative floral arrangements in a wide variety of their ceramic containers. This has proven popular with the public and members alike.
Pro Arts Gallery
Each June the Guild joins Berkeley Artisans in the East Bay Pro Arts Open Studios when the public is invited to visit and tour the facility. This is a perfect opportunity to meet the Guild artists and watch them at work. Free tours may be arranged by appointment at other times as well.
Guild Members
Artists at the Berkeley Potters Guild have varied and impressive backgrounds as well as clay expertise. While some have come to the field with experience in microbiology, physiology, psychology, tropical medicine and education, others have had their hands in clay for a lifetime. Many of our members have been trained in the Asian style of potmaking, others are influenced by the English/European styles, and still others adopt the more relaxed vein of California contemporary ceramics. With the freedom to pursue their own artistic vision whether in earthenware, raku, stoneware, porcelain or sculpture, each artist produces work with the distinctiveness that can only be found in handcrafted art.
Guild members have shown and sold worldwide including the Smithsonian, Los Angeles Museum of Art, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of History of Moscow, Russian Artists Exchange in Belgrade, Museum of Modern Art in Surgut, USSR, The Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, Gump's, Fumiki Fine Asian Arts, Neiman-Marcus, and Rabilizirov's Gallery in London, to name only a few. Many Guild members belong to the Association of Clay and Glass Artists of California, the American Craft Council and Potters for Peace.
As the oldest and largest ceramics guild in Northern California, the Berkeley Potters Guild values and supports the ceramic arts community, is firmly committed to the highest artistic standards, and actively promotes greater public awareness of the clay arts and crafts industry worldwide.
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