Pottery Lovers Reunion Returns To Zanesville

For more than a century the Ohio River Valley has been considered the heart of the American art pottery industry. With a ready supply of raw materials, fuel for kilns, modes of transportation and a skilled work force, potteries such as Rookwood, Roseville, Clewell, Wheatley, Weller, McCoy, Peters & Reed, and Zanesville quickly sprang up.

It is only fitting, then, that pottery collectors from across the country would converge on Zanesville, Ohio, for the annual Pottery Lovers Reunion.

This year’s convention will radiate from the Ramada Zanesville, which is the host hotel (formally the Holiday Inn, exit 160 off I-70, five miles east of Zanesville). Collectors and dealers will be displaying and selling pottery from their rooms at the Ramada, as well as other nearby motels.

The events start on Thursday, July 8, with room sales all day that are free and open to the public. That evening Anita Ellis, Rookwood author and deputy director of curatorial affairs at the Cincinnati Art Museum, will be the featured speaker.

Room sales will resume on Friday, July 9, and will continue into the evening. An art pottery auction will be conducted by Belhorn Auction Services from 4:00pm until 8:30pm. Preview hours are 1:00pm-4:00pm.

The Zanesville Museum of Art will be hosting an open house for attendees on Friday, July 9, and the Zane Grey Museum will be doing the same on Saturday, July 10.

Room sales will continue on Saturday and Sunday.

For additional information, please contact www.potterylovers.org or www.auctions@belhorn.com.

- Bruce Johnson