River Arts and art students

 The nice skeleton graces a doorway at the basement level of the Wedge...a building of art studios.

 We parked in an extensive parking lot behind the Wedge, and the bridge goes across the French Broad River.

 Odyssey clay works has many students' studios.

 Helen and I both liked this figurative sculpture.

 In the distance you can see the musicians.  I enjoyed the tables full of beautiful pottery.

 This sculptural wall hanging reminded me of my son's work. I'm pretty sure the latice work is not clay, but I didn't find any easy way to check it out.

 The pods are definitely clay, each one different...and beautifully done.

A griffin...I had to capture it to show my friend Sarah, who just named her dog Griffin! He doesn't look like this.

We walked till my legs gave out. Though the venue was advertised to have trolleys to take people around, we never saw where to catch them. And we didn't even go in the studios in the Wedge. Instead we stopped for coffee in the same old coffee shop.

Let's look at another Clay Studio

A friend (potter also) and I went to Asheville for clay the other day.

She said, as we went from my allergy doctor's office to Highwater Clay, she had never been to Odyssey Clay Studio.  We were going through the River Arts District anyway.  Lots of other clay and art studios are there...in case you didn't know yet.

And Odyssey has changed since I took a class there several years ago.  For the better, I'd say. 

The gallery is more approachable, right on the sidewalk, not up some stairs.  But wait, there are beautiful clay works on display EVERYWHERE!

In the classroom area, there's a large walk through gallery setup for work by the Residents.  A Resident works for next to nothing, but uses the various equipment, and probably teaches as well, for at least a year at a time.  It's an honored status.

There was a class in session right over the partition wall.  Yet the public was invited to browse through this area, and around the corner to see more beautiful ceramics.

Another classroom was also open, as well as the large area where potter/artists rent studio space, and show their work outside their cubicles.

We did not see everything.  It was overwhelming.  But we did see a lot of really nice pottery!

Clay Club of North Carolina had had their monthly meeting there last week, and we saw the large piece which had been created for them as part of a demonstration.  You should check out Clay Club if you live anywhere near western North Carolina.  Membership is free, and all interested clay people are welcome. Here's the blog.  There's a posting about the Odyssey meeting over there also.