On Oct. 5 and 6, Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts welcomes visitors for an insider’s look at the atmospheric kiln firing process during Maine Craft Weekend’s open studios event. Ceramists Tim Christensen, Paige Driscoll, Rebecca Esty, Jean Hardy, Jon Ho, and Jena Merrill will sell work hot off the kiln shelves throughout the weekend. The group will open the wood kiln on Saturday, October 5 at 10 a.m. and will un-brick the door of the gas kiln on Sunday, Oct. 6 at 10 a.m. The sale will run until 2 p.m. on both days.

Every fall, Christensen gathers a group of regional studio potters to fire work in Watershed Center’s wood and gas kilns. The artists steadily feed logs into the wood kiln for more than 36 hours straight as they carefully monitor their work through small windows strategically placed in the firebrick. The addition of salt to both kilns creates a variety of effects on the surface of their work, but the group must wait several days for the kilns to cool before un-bricking the doors. Maine Craft Weekend provides a perfect opportunity for the public to join the artists for the big reveal.

“We choose to hold our Maine Craft Weekend events at Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts because everything we need to both have a successful firing and opening are there: friendly, helpful, open, knowledgeable people, and first rate equipment,” Christensen explains.

Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts also welcomes visitors to their new gallery on October 4 from 5 to 7 p.m. for the exhibition opening of Masters + Apprentices. The show features new work by five pairs of artists who took part in the Maine Craft Associations’ Craft Apprentice Program in 2019. The program provides emerging artisans with an opportunity to learn, create and connect with talented experts who share a passion for their chosen medium during a seven month apprenticeship.

The 2019 pairings include master sculptor and jeweler Joe Ascrizzi and apprentice Lisa Neuman; master wood turner Kim Dailey and apprentice Jedediah Malcore; master jeweler Nisa Smiley and apprentice Lauren Beach; basketmaker Gabriel Frey and apprentice Frances Soctomah; and master print maker David Wolfe and apprentice David Connor. The exhibition will be on view at Watershed Center from Oct. 1-31. Regular gallery hours are 9 to 5 weekdays and by appointment. The gallery will be also be open during Maine Craft Weekend from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily.

Maine Craft Weekend is a statewide, self-guided tour that provides the public with an opportunity to explore the life and work of artisans in their communities. The weekend happens in conjunction with American Craft Week, a nationwide celebration of craft. Maine Craft Association organizes the tour in partnership with Maine Made. For more information visit www.mainecraftweekend.org.

Watershed Center’s gallery is located at 103 Cochran Rd. in Edgecomb. The Maine Craft Weekend kiln opening and sale takes place at Watershed’s studio, located a tenth of a mile from the gallery at 19 Brick Hill Road in Newcastle. Learn more about Watershed Center at watershedceramics.org.