Potters are strong! Potters are hard workers! Potters are by very nature resilient! We make our way through hard times.

During this Covid 19 pandemic that is filled with solitude, isolation, personal distancing and closures, the potters of our community are busy! 

Wow! We just got handed time to do things we have been meaning to get to for years! Do you know the feeling?

“Every Picture tells a story!” Here is a glimpse into our lives during this season. I hope you enjoy it!

Lori Theriault has been cooking up a storm because she is writing cookbooks. Three to be exact. The First one is called “Waffle it!”. Cookbooks 2 and 3 are “Roast it!” and “Bake it!” I have already bought the first cookbook and will definitely buy the other two when they are completed. 

Lori is also my co-host on Facebook and Instagram live streams. These include demonstrations, kiln openings, show and tell and Q&A. And as always, Lori, is handling our marketing. She is writing press releases and all the million other things that are involved in keeping us live and out there!

Julia Mann, has moved out of her home of many years and has beaten the back roads looking for her new digs. She has a house under contract now and will be moving again soon. She is also on our skeleton crew here at The Village helping sort and inventory clay as it arrives from Ohio.

Judi Harwood, has been in isolation and at home this whole time. She says “it’s been hard”, and she is an introvert! But she is busy making pots and creating demonstration videos. She is looking forward to the day when she can hug her 13 grandchildren.

Chris Henry is a very busy woman, as a mom, teacher, homemaker, wife and potter. She is homeschooling her 3 teenage boys. Her husband Steve is working from home too. So we can all assume it must include a lot of food and cooking. I guess for a rest she is making pots in her dining room and out in the yard.

Tori Motyl has set up her studio in our teaching center because she lives in a tiny home. Her studio here is bigger than her house. But she makes some really BIG pots. She made this one just last week. She is also part of our skeleton crew here at The Village so she is helping customers with curbside clay pickups. 

Lindsey Mudge, our wonderful Director of Operations and valued friend, is behind the scenes holding everything together. She is constantly communicating, corresponding, selling clay, arranging pickup appointments, receiving clay shipments, working from home, working here at the Village, on the website and the phone.

Also, I thought I would share some pictures of our wonderful Advanced Studies students, and the unique ways they are making their way through this season. I am also including a few shots of some of our students who study with us and have home studios. 

You will see that all these potters are cut from the same cloth, or shaped from the same clay!

Lastly, there is me, Sarah Wells Rolland. I started the project Vessels of Hope on April 1st. If you have not heard about it then please click the link below for all the details. I am making 500 vessels. As I write this I have made 285. When I’m not making pots, I’m making pots. I am making them on Live Streams with my dear and studio mate Lori Theriault. These streams are informative, filled with demonstrations and funny, both intentionally and accidentally. We have sold 280 vessels to date So, that ‘s just 220 to go!

When COVID-19 has run its course, our hope is we are still standing. I believe we will all be ready for a holiday, a break, a social gathering with good food, good friends, dancing and I will be sure to write about it!

Sarah Wells Rolland

Founder and Ceramic Artist

The Village Potters Clay Center