Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts and the Harlow Gallery are collaborating to host a potluck dinner followed by an artist talk by Portland-based ceramic artist Ayumi Horie on Tuesday, Aug. 19 beginning at 5:30 p.m.

The event will take place at the Harlow Gallery, located at 160 Water Street in Hallowell; it is free and open to the public. Guests are encouraged to bring a dish to share at the potluck, though it is not required.

Ayumie Horie is an artist-in-residence at Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts in Newcastle from August 10-25. She is a full-time studio potter who creates functional pieces adorned with images of animals and patterns that serve as a means to address ideas about comfort, both physical and psychological.

“I see pots as having the incredible privilege of being part of people’s private, everyday lives. Because of this intimacy, we let our guard down around pots, allowing them to convey ideas about aesthetics, function, and social issues. They are objects of service and conduits between people,” Horie said.

In 2011, the day after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Horie co-founded Handmade for Japan, which has raised over $100,000 to support relief and rebuilding efforts through arts-related events. She gives lectures and workshops nationally and internationally and serves on the board of directors of the American Craft Council. For more information about the artist, visit her website at www.ayumihorie.com.

The Harlow Gallery, founded in 1963, is dedicated to showcasing and promoting Maine artists. Visit them at www.harlowgallery.org.

Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts, located in Newcastle, provides clay artists with summer and fall residencies, workshops, and community education. For more information visit www.watershedceramics.org or call Watershed at 207-882-6075.