Event Details

9th ANNUAL FLOWER CITY POTTERY INVITATIONAL

OCTOBER 10 -12, 2025 • 713 MONROE AVE • ROCHESTER, NY • 14607

Flower City Arts Center is proud to welcome, for the 9th year, 19 premier ceramic artists from across North America for a long weekend celebrating the best in contemporary clay. The event includes a special artist reception, sale, pottery exhibitions, demonstrations, workshops, and talks by visiting artists.

This is a unique opportunity for collectors, clay enthusiasts, and anyone who appreciates finely crafted, handmade work to meet and talk with masters of the field and see a large body of their work. Whether you prefer contemporary design or rustic tableware, hundreds of hand-crafted pots will be exhibited and available for purchase, and their makers will be on-site to talk about and demonstrate their work. For those of you who are new to contemporary ceramics, this is the perfect opportunity to see the range of work being made with this extremely versatile material.

SCHEDULE:

Artist Workshops - Thursday, October 9 - To register visit bit.ly/FCPIWorkshop2025

  • Taylor Sijan
  • 2:00 - 5:00pm
  • Taylor Sijan shares the techniques she uses to achieve her deep and rich surface in this demonstration workshop. Taylor's work includes bright and colorful layered imagery pulled largely from nature. Some of the techniques she will be demonstrating include slip trailing, slip carving, and underglaze painting with paper resists. This is a great opportunity to find the inspiration to take your surfaces to the next level!


Opening Night Reception - Friday, October 10 from 6 - 9pm

  • Tickets will be available at the door. Preorder is encouraged as space is limited.

An opening reception and fundraiser for the Center will take place on Friday, Oct. 10, with live music by the Ryan Johnson Duo, drinks, bites, and a chance to preview the pottery before the crowds. There will also be fun activities such as painting a large pot and block printing free canvas pouches! The exhibition and sale follow on Saturday and Sunday, with opportunities to learn from the artists at talks and demos presented both days.


Free Pottery Exhibitions, Demos, & Artist TalkS

Saturday, Oct 11

  • 11:45 am - Normandy Alden: Chicken Cup Illustrations
  • 12:45 pm - Mike Griffin: Handbuilding
  • 2:00 pm - Harrison Levenstein: My Clay Practice
  • 3:15 pm - Jeremiah Ibarra: One More Layer


SUNDAY, Oct 12

  • 11:30 am - Sam Briegel - Discussing Current Work
  • 1:00 pm - Marret Metzger - Exploring Expressive Form and Sgraffito Carving


Virtual Shopping Appointments: Sunday, October 12, 10 – 11am

2025 CURATORIAL TEAM:

A LITTLE HISTORY:

Planning for the Flower City Pottery Invitational began in early 2014 when area potters Matt Metz and Richard Aerni discussed bringing fellow esteemed ceramic artists together for a weekend exhibit, following the example of similar shows like the Old Church Pottery Invitational in Demarest, NJ, and the popular American Pottery Festival in Minneapolis. Rochester seemed like the perfect city to hold a similar event, being in the middle of a clay mecca, with RIT's School for American Craft and Alfred University close by, as well as strong clay programs in Syracuse and Buffalo. Metz and Aerni partnered with Flower City Arts Center and, together with artist Peter Pincus, invited colleagues from around the country to participate in the inaugural event in October 2015.

PREVIOUS EVENTS:

Artists

Normandy Alden, NY ● Sarah Anderson, UT ● Noel Bailey, VT ● Mary Barringer, MA ● Sam Briegel, MD ● Mike Griffin, NY ● Sam Harvey, CO ● Jeremiah Ibarra, TX ● Kyle Johns, MA ● Kyle Lascelle, NY Harry Levenstein, MA ● David MacDonald, NY ● Marret Metzger, IN Lisa Orr, MA ● Sang Joon Park, NY ● Aysha Peltz, VT ● Vartan Poghosian, NY ● Austin Riddle, NY ● Taylor Sijan, OH ● Nick Weddell, TX ● Dallas Wooten, NJ

Schedule

Artist Workshops - Thursday, October 9 (Pre-Registration Required)

  • Taylor Sijan: Taylor shares the techniques she uses to achieve her deep and rich surface in this demonstration workshop. Taylor's work includes bright and colorful layered imagery pulled largely from nature. Some of the techniques she will be demonstrating include slip trailing, slip carving, and underglaze painting with paper resists. This is a great opportunity to find the inspiration to take your surfaces to the next level! Space is limited, so sign up now!


OPENING Reception FUNDRAISER - Friday, October 10 from 6 - 9pm

  • Tickets will be available at the door. Preorder is encouraged as space is limited.

Join us Friday October 10, for a night of celebrating the 9th annual Pottery Invitational. This is a unique opportunity to not only meet our exhibition artists who have traveled across the country, but also engage with local Flower City Arts makers.

There will be live music, drinks, food, pottery for sale, and more!! Come celebrate the clay community with us!

Free Pottery Exhibitions, Demos, & Artist TalkS

SATURDAY OCTOBER 1 1

10:00AM - 5:00PM

  • 11:15 - Normandy Alden - Chicken Cup Illustrations: Normandy will show us her step-by-step process of making her whimsical and joyful chicken cups!
  • 12:45 - Mike Griffin - Handbuilding: Join Mike as he demonstrates handbuilding on molds, using terra sigillata, and making lidded vessels.
  • 2:00 - Harrison Levenstein - Processing Process: Harry discusses his work and process with the Flower City Community.
  • 3:15 - Jeremiah Ibarra - One More Layer: Jeremiah will discuss his recent obsession with layering techniques and surfaces. He will also share some of his overglaze processes, hiccups, and successes.


SUNDAY OCTOBER 12

11:00AM - 4:00PM

  • 11:30 - Sam Briegel - Current Explorations: In this artist talk, Sam will share details on her current work, process, and conceptual considerations.
  • 1:00 - Marret Metzger - Explore Expressive Form and Sgraffito Carving: Join Marret as she guides you through her handbuilding process, combining the organic techniques of pinch pots and coil construction. This intuitive and fluid approach to forming clay serves as the perfect foundation for richly textured sgraffito carvings.


Virtual Shopping Appointments: Sunday, October 12, 10 – 11am

Plan Your Visit

Address

Flower City Arts Center
713 Monroe Avenue
Rochester, NY 14607

We are located just outside downtown Rochester, NY, Conveniently located off the I-490 Monroe Ave Exit and on RTS Bus Route Monroe 11L.

Monroe Avenue starts downtown at the Strong Museum and reaches the border with the town of Brighton near Cobbs Hill Park.

Our eclectic neighborhood includes diverse eateries and small shops. Local cultural attractions like Park Avenue, George Eastman Museum, Memorial Art Gallery, and the Neighborhood of the Arts are just blocks away!

The historic, brick firehouse building that houses Flower City Arts Center dates to the early 1890s, with both stories dedicated to arts programming.

Parking

Free on-street parking is available on Monroe Avenue and Wilcox Street. You may also utilize the Blessed Sacrament Church parking lot across the street. Please cross at the crosswalk.

Accessibility

Flower City Arts Center is fully accessible for wheelchair users with a reserved parking space at the front of the building, a front entrance ramp, an elevator, and gender-neutral restrooms.

Volunteer

Become A Volunteer!

Many hands make light work and many friends have helped us out, so we have closed our volunteer registration for this year. If you still want to help, don't hesitate to stop by the event and check in at Ceramics Gallery Store. That is our Volunteer Central, and we might be able to find a spot for you!



THANK YOU TO OUR sPONSORS!

ROC City Granite, Bailey Pottery Equipment, Dogtown Hots, Bookeater, Don & Denise Bartalo, Dope Munchie Crew, Standard Clay Co. Fee Brothers, Handlebar Catering, Hydra Coffeehouse, Sumner Pearsall (CPA), Miba Rice Bar, Studio Sales Pottery, Wheel & Slab Pottery Club, JD Wine Cellars, Roll'n Deep Food Truck, Swiftwater Brewing Co., Krista Niles, and Lamark Photography.

To become a sponsor, please email kwhorton@flowercityarts.org