Here's another one in my sporadic series of "support your local artist and art organizations." The official blurb on the Sunnyvale web site states "Visitors and residents enjoy Sunnyvale’s beautiful, clean suburban setting, efficient, high-quality city services, low crime rate, quality schools and 18 prize-winning parks."
But that hasn't kept them from feeling the current economic pinch. As is so common these days, the arts were the first to get the ax.
Or in this case, the ax was blandished last June but vigilant members of the Sunnyvale Community Center protested. Loudly. A crowd of disgruntled potters stormed the City Council budget meeting and made their opinions known. As a result, the city is giving the pottery studio one year to become self-sustaining.
The potters formed The Friends of the Sunnyvale Pottery Studio and are hosting their first sale this December, benefiting the studio and pottery programs. It's definitely becoming clear that the community art programs that are going to survive are the ones that citizens fight for!
You can see from their statements how passionate they are about saving the studio as well as making art. The community center is located in a park-like complex that includes the senior center and other major city facilities, a space for calm, creativity and commitment as the members of the studio can testify.
Jennifer Mo: "Although the fees have gone up, I consider making pottery to be one of the best uses of my leisure money and am fine paying a little more, and I think many other people feel the same way. I took up pottery about two years ago after my best friend died and I suddenly had way too much time on my hands. Sitting at the wheel and learning how to center and shape was tremendously healing, and I still walk out of the studio every Saturday morning covered in clay and beaming. I am so grateful to have this space and community available to me. I've lived in the Bay Area my whole life, but I never really had a community until now."
Irene Jenkin: "My pieces pictured on the flyer are high fired stoneware trying to capture the shapes of pods left on plants after the flowers have faded. I have participated in classes and open studio hours at the Sunnyvale pottery studio since the 1980s. Having a place to be creative soothes the soul. Having the opportunity to participate in artistic endeavors in any media makes a city a more enjoyable interesting place to live, work, and raise a family."
Marilyn Detro: "I've been going to the pottery studio for such a long time and have made good friends over the years. Many of us consider pottery our therapy! I love meeting people there, and everybody is so nice. It really is a community."
Hsin-Chuen Lin: "My work has been strongly influenced by traditional vessel forms, particularly early Chinese objects. Bronzes from the Shang and Zhou periods and pottery from the Sung dynasty have provided me with several thousand years of culture resource for my creativity. Also, the freedom and spontaneous of making pots which I learned from the American contemporary ceramics broadened my view. I like to integrate culture influences into my work using contemporary concept and techniques... the process of making pots itself is the most enjoyable thing." http://home.comcast.net/~hsinchuen/site/
Sunnyvale Pottery Studio Holiday Sale
Sponsored by: The Friends of the Sunnyvale Pottery Studio
Dates: Friday, Dec. 9, 10am-6pm and Saturday, Dec. 10, 9am-8pm
Location: Creative Arts Center, Sunnyvale Community Center, 550 E Remington Dr., Sunnyvale 94087
Free admission
Thanks to Jennifer Mo for all her help.
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