Photos and Article by Shirin McArthur

Silver City €™s 2015 CLAY Festival is underway, and on Tuesday afternoon four exhibitions and receptions were held downtown.

Lois Duffy Art hosted an exhibition for Letha Cress Woolf, a ceramic artist who recently moved to Silver City from Alaska. Cress Woolf’s pots exhibit a variety of firing types, including soda, salt, wood and standard kiln firings.

Some of her pots speak to her time in Alaska, being covered with crackling which looks like a net, while “the fish who got away” swim freely above the “net.”

When asked why she moved from Alaska, Cress Woolf stated that she had tired of the darkness of winter, and also really appreciates the big skies of New Mexico.

Cress Woolf had thought that the change in altitude, from sea level to six thousand feet, might have an effect on the firing of her ceramics. Instead, she discovered that New Mexico’s wind has had the greatest effect on her firing process.

Cress Woolf contributed Alaskan smoked salmon to the reception offerings at Lois Duffy Art.

Further along Texas Street, Blue Dome Downtown hosted “Two Girls and a Table,” an exhibition and reception with Suzie Calhoun’s pottery dishes and Chris McDaniel’s block-printed linen placemats and napkins.

Calhoun created sets of chunky, deep brown stoneware dishes specifically to complement McDaniel’s printed fabrics, which feature images of ravens, trees, leaves and flowers.

A number of McDaniel’s other fabric pieces are showcased at Blue Dome, including a large duvet cover in their upstairs apartment gallery.

On Yankie Street, Moonstruck Art hosted ceramic art by Bill Blakemore and wearable art by Pat Bouchard. Ellen Katz, visiting from Los Angeles, did not know about the CLAY Festival and happened upon this reception by accident. Katz is volunteering her time at an organic farm in Luna, trading labor for room and board.

At Leyba & Ingalls Arts, local ceramic artist and teacher Romaine Begay demonstrated aspects of his art and discussed some of his finished pieces.

“Bottled Up” is a series of ceramic bottles that speak to a number of themes for this Navajo artist, who is particularly drawn to storytelling through his art. This series refers to the issue of alcoholism among Native Americans, but also to how Native culture is kept bottled up in many ways.

As a teacher at Cobre High School, Begay believes he is not only teaching art, but also culture. For example, he is regularly asked what he thinks of the Cobre Indians mascot. He says that he does not mind the brave and humble aspects, which are encouraged through the mascot, but doesn’t like the logo itself.

Begay is particularly troubled by interactions that his son is facing at school, where fellow students say things like “Can you talk Navajo?” and “Wear your Navajo clothes.” These phrases are inscribed on the bottles in the “Bottled Up” series, along with images of family members.

Also on display at Leyba & Ingalls is a large serving bowl crafted by Begay and his son. The wide, shallow bowl holds an image of his son, who is carrying a backpack and a piece of native ceremonial regalia. For Begay, both are Navajo.

The CLAY Festival continues through this coming Sunday, and most events are free. For more information, see clayfestival.com.

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