Help the Madison Potters Guild!
Donation protected
Help the Madison Potters’ Guild reach its 50th birthday!
It all started in 1965 when a group of local potters decided to join forces, pooling limited resources in a community effort to create the infrastructure they needed to exercise their craft. Since then, the Madison Potters’ Guild has been going strong, and has been a cornerstone of the local arts community for nearly fifty years. But now an unexpected and costly ventilation problem has come to jeopardize this proud cooperative tradition.
Since the 1970’s, the Guild has occupied a 1200 square-foot commercial unit on Terrace Avenue in the heart of Middleton. We have a great space that provides us with enough room for two large gas reduction kilns, sufficient work area, and storage for over fifty glazes and other supplies. Generally, ceramic artists have a very small studio budget, but with our current setup thirteen local artist are able to share a great glazing and firing space that would be out of any average potter’s price range. Even beyond that, being a working artist can at times be a solitary existence, but when you work among a group of dedicated artists, everyone benefits from the camaraderie and learns from the experience of others.
However, today the Madison Potters’ Guild needs your help! It has come to light that a major overhaul of our ventilation system is necessary in order to keep ourselves and our neighbors safe, and the huge price-tag of this job means that firing has come to a standstill and the future of the Guild is now uncertain. The high-heat, cone ten reduction firing technique requires an effective and reliable ventilation system, and because we occupy a commercial space, we are required to meet very strict standards to ensure a safe firing facility. Our main goal is to bring our operation into compliance so that we can once again fire up the kilns and keep all of our members in business. Some of our members use this space for their full-time work, and all thirteen of our member potters have been without a glazing and firing facility for nearly two months now. We’re all starting to feel the strain, but you can help! In an effort to ensure the future of this 50-year-old community institution, we are reaching out to the wider community in an attempt to raise $15,000 to offset the necessary HVAC work. Please give what you can to help the Madison Potters’ Guild continue to be a vibrant force in our local arts community.
Our first goal is to raise enough money to fix the HVAC system and keep us firing. If we are able to raise more money we will put it towards buying a permanent home for the Guild. If we are able to have a permanet space we hope to never find ourselves in this situation again.
All rewards for donations will be mailed out over the next 6 months. Some rewards we have made already but some items will need to be made once the kilns are up and running.
It all started in 1965 when a group of local potters decided to join forces, pooling limited resources in a community effort to create the infrastructure they needed to exercise their craft. Since then, the Madison Potters’ Guild has been going strong, and has been a cornerstone of the local arts community for nearly fifty years. But now an unexpected and costly ventilation problem has come to jeopardize this proud cooperative tradition.
Since the 1970’s, the Guild has occupied a 1200 square-foot commercial unit on Terrace Avenue in the heart of Middleton. We have a great space that provides us with enough room for two large gas reduction kilns, sufficient work area, and storage for over fifty glazes and other supplies. Generally, ceramic artists have a very small studio budget, but with our current setup thirteen local artist are able to share a great glazing and firing space that would be out of any average potter’s price range. Even beyond that, being a working artist can at times be a solitary existence, but when you work among a group of dedicated artists, everyone benefits from the camaraderie and learns from the experience of others.
However, today the Madison Potters’ Guild needs your help! It has come to light that a major overhaul of our ventilation system is necessary in order to keep ourselves and our neighbors safe, and the huge price-tag of this job means that firing has come to a standstill and the future of the Guild is now uncertain. The high-heat, cone ten reduction firing technique requires an effective and reliable ventilation system, and because we occupy a commercial space, we are required to meet very strict standards to ensure a safe firing facility. Our main goal is to bring our operation into compliance so that we can once again fire up the kilns and keep all of our members in business. Some of our members use this space for their full-time work, and all thirteen of our member potters have been without a glazing and firing facility for nearly two months now. We’re all starting to feel the strain, but you can help! In an effort to ensure the future of this 50-year-old community institution, we are reaching out to the wider community in an attempt to raise $15,000 to offset the necessary HVAC work. Please give what you can to help the Madison Potters’ Guild continue to be a vibrant force in our local arts community.
Our first goal is to raise enough money to fix the HVAC system and keep us firing. If we are able to raise more money we will put it towards buying a permanent home for the Guild. If we are able to have a permanet space we hope to never find ourselves in this situation again.
All rewards for donations will be mailed out over the next 6 months. Some rewards we have made already but some items will need to be made once the kilns are up and running.
Organiser
Aly Wheeler
Organiser
Madison, WI
