A Convention Fit for a Queen City

by Kate Nixon

 

 

This spring, the American Art Pottery Association will bring their flagship event, the AAA Convention, Show & Sale, to the Buckeye state to revel in the legacy of American Art Pottery while taking in Cincinnati’s own landmarks and design styles.

The AAPA Convention, Show & Sale will take place in Blue Ash, Ohio – just outside Cincinnati – from April 28th to May 3rd, hosted by the Embassy Suites Hotel. In an event-filled weekend that includes tours, meet and greets, seminars, and appraisals, attendees will have several opportunities to connect with their fellow art pottery lovers from around the country and the artisans and companies that create those beloved vessels.

 

 

Attendees will be able to experience the following events in the days leading up to the shows: a Cincinnati Landmarks Tour including the Cincinnati Union Terminal Museum and a two-hour bus tour of local landmarks, a Rookwood Pottery facility tour, and a Cincinnati Art Museum tour where participants will see new pottery acquisitions. To see specific information about these events and to see the whole agenda for the week, please see their schedule by going to the American Art Pottery Association’s website at aapa.info

 

Continued activities for the convention include seminars on Friday, May 1st in the Embassy Suites Hotel and the opportunity for attendees to try their pot throwing skills during the demonstration “Can You Throw A Pot?” with artist Teri Kern prior to the pottery show opening. Please check the American Art Pottery website and Facebook pages for updates on the seminar topics and speaker biographies.  Attendees will have an opportunity to preview the pottery show in the hotel ballroom from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM after the demonstration.

Saturday, May 2nd will mark the official opening of the Pottery Show and Sale in the hotel ballroom, opening at 9:00 AM and running through 5:00 PM. On Sunday, the convention will close with a farewell breakfast starting at 9:30am in the Redwood Room, where collectors can join AAPA Officers, trustees and Journal volunteers for a sponsored breakfast and a chance to share memories in a special breakfast meeting.

AAPA members will also be given information about self-guided tours of the Taft Museum and the Netherlands Plaza Hotel in downtown Cincinnati. There will also be opportunities to carpool with others.

The American Art Pottery Asssociation is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the interest, knowledge and recognition of American art pottery. The AAPA’s membership is comprised of collectors and dealers from all corners of the country, all unified in their love of pottery. The AAPA additionally provides a high quality visual resource to its members through the publication The Journal of the American Art Pottery Association, filled with color photographs of pottery and pottery marks along with in-depth exclusive articles on potters and companies from across the country.

Before its convention in the spring, the AAPA will return to the National Arts and Crafts Conference and Shows at the Grove Park Inn next month to exhibit where they not only have a booth filled with stunning examples of pottery from private collections, but will provide a display case in the Great Hall, a main attraction before and after the shows and seminars for both conference attendees and members of the general public to enjoy. The 2020 display case, curated by Jon Kornacki and sponsored by AAPA, is entitled “Fulper Glazes: An Array of Colors, Crystals, and Textures.”  The AAPA will be offering a unique special discount just for National Arts and Crafts Conference attendees on both membership and as a subscriber to the Journal. “Anyone who owns even a single piece of art pottery will benefit by being a member of the AAPA and by learning more about art pottery from the fabulous articles and color photographs in each issue of the Journal,” says National Arts and Crafts Conference Director Bruce Johnson.

 

 

For more information about American Art Pottery Association and their upcoming conference, please visit their information table near the 8th floor ticket booth and see their website, aapa.info.