• “Our human compassion binds us the one to the other – not in pity or patronizingly, but as human beings who have learnt how to turn our common suffering into hope for the future.” – Nelson Mandela

What a year this has been, right? I will spare all of us and not recount the long list of challenges we all have faced. Instead, as this year comes to a close I want to take this opportunity to review all the miracles that have been given to us here at The Village Potters Clay Center.

Our greatest miracle is you! I came to you on April 1st of this year choosing hope and launching our vessels of hope campaign. You have partnered with us in ways beyond anything we imagined. Cards, letters, emails, messages of encouragement and hope came to us and still do regularly from so many of you. I dedicated several months making over 500 Vessels of Hope (VOH) each unique like you and you believed in us and purchased all of them.

My studio mates are now making their versions of VOH, Chapter Two, and they are being shipped out and picked up every day. These funds have not only sustained us through very uncertain times but also created an ability for us to fiscally plan for an extended season of trial. We have been and remain deeply moved by the love and support.

Several months ago, I reached out to four of our potter friends who are major supporters of what we do here at TVPCC and asked them to make a Vessel of Hope and donate it to our campaign. They instantly replied that they would love to, and we now have these beauties and are making them available to you. 

David Voorhees has been making pottery his whole career. He has encouraged us since our humble beginnings in 2011 and taught here in our Masters Series Workshops as part of our Advanced Studies Program. I have known David for over 25 years and his work, like this beautiful Porcelain Vessel, and his generous spirit are both exquisite.

Tracy Hawkins, a retired engineer, came to us as a student in our Advanced Studies Program. She was already a wonderful potter with skills and creativity overflowing, but she wanted community, and to create a unique body of work. She did just that all while filling our studios with joy and laughter! Now she has a home studio and business, PearlMax Studios, where she has embraced porcelain and surface design in her body of work. This lovely VOH is indicative of the hope and color she brings to this world.

Dr. Bill Moore, a retired physician and now potter extraordinaire, has studied with us here at TVPCC for several years, and we all adore his kind and generous spirit. In addition to his beautiful pottery, he also makes an amazing Jambalaya that he brings to our shared meals at the end of class sessions. Bill enthusiastically accepted my invitation to participate in our VOH campaign and made four Vessels of Hope.

Martha Peddicord is a long distance student at TVPCC for several workshops and now online classes. She herself is a pottery instructor. As I began the Vessels of Hope campaign, I demonstrated on Facebook several times a week for months, and Martha just began embracing it as a challenge to try the techniques I was exploring. We had fun discussing the many ways to move 2 ½ lbs. of clay, and it was of course appropriate to ask Martha for a VOH, and she gladly said “yes”. 

David, Tracy, Bill, and Martha are all wonderful potters who have had a special place in our lives and hearts here at TVPCC, and we are so proud to call them dear friends!

Click this link to shop these Vessels of Hope – just scroll down to see each of their pages, and thank you for continuing to believe in us and be a part of our miracle!

Sarah Wells Rolland

See their beautiful work at:
David Voorhees
Tracy Hawkins
Bill Moore
Martha Peddicord