Fired Works unearths talent from around the Southeast

Pottery, the art of molding clay into utilitarian and artistic forms and then heating it for durability, has been around for 30,000 years. But the 65 artists at this year's Fired Works continue to bring new techniques, styles and interpretations to the ancient art form.

"I think that with pottery and ceramics, it brings a lot of different forms," said Lauren M. Kritsas, director of communications with Macon Arts Alliance, which hosts the annual exhibition and sale. "It can be more folksy; it can be a little more high brow. It can become art to a lot of different people on a wider spectrum. I think it's highly accessible."

Fired Works is the largest exhibition of pottery in Georgia and one of the largest in the Southeast. The exhibit, featuring more than 6,000 unique pieces of pottery, opens today in the historic Round Building in Macon's Central City Park and runs through April 24.

At 1:30 p.m. Sunday, featured potters Bill and Pam Clark of Clark House Pottery in Greenville, South Carolina, will discuss their work and how the self-proclaimed "Mad Potter of Biloxi," George Ohr, has influenced them.

Ohr's unique style of twirling, folding and pinching clay in the mid-20th century made him a forerunner in the abstract-expressionism movement. But the technique behind his energetic style was lost in a 1894 fire. It took nearly 80 years before it would be resurrected.

"Any techniques he's written, had put pen to paper, all of that was lost," Kritsas said. "So it really was this lost art form that (Bill Clark) had to rediscover. It was really just a matter of Bill taking many years to go through a lot of trial and error in order to procure what was being done so many years ago."

In 2011, Ohr's descendants recognized the Clarks' contributions by officially welcoming them, in writing, to their family.

Stephanie Fritz, director of programming for Macon Arts Alliance, said she is excited to add 15 new artists to the exhibition.

"We're trying to branch out within the Southeastern region," Fritz said. "But anybody who has a new technique, we try to grab them as well so we can make Fired Works more diverse with the pottery we have."

But the majority are returning artists with mugs, vases, bowls and sculptures.

Japanese native Masa Sasaki returns this year with his delicate, hand carved tea candle jars that throw their ornate pattern across a room when lit from within.

Michael Klapthor will again showcase his popular robot sculptures that echo a 1950s science fiction aesthetic.

And visitors will once again be treated to Derek Belflower's hand-crafted face-jugs, which are believed to have originated in the Carolinas and Georgia mountains as a way of hiding the jugs' contents -- most likely moonshine.

"Fired Works is a fundraiser for Macon Arts Alliance in terms of that fiscal component," Kritsas said. "But it really is a matter of providing an arena to the artists to showcase their work and to continue to advocate for their own brand and really create a staple for themselves as artists."

Fired Works

When: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. April 16 and 23; noon-4 p.m. April 17 and 24; 11 a.m.-6 p.m. April 18-22

Where: Round Building, Central City Park, downtown Macon

Cost: $5 entry fee, includes unlimited returns

Information: www.firedworksmacon.com

This story was originally published April 14, 2016 at 7:23 PM with the headline "Fired Works unearths talent from around the Southeast ."