When Blair Meerfeld left a solitary Colorado life as a studio potter in 2009 to accept a position at a thriving East Coast art school, he had no idea how radically his life would change.  As the Chair of the Ceramics Department at The Art League in Alexandria, Virginia, Meerfeld oversees over 1,400 students a year in a program that has continued to grow under his stewardship.  In a position that he thought he would keep for a year or two before returning to his independent artist’s life, his days are filled with constant interaction with students, faculty and administration.  Yet it was not until the COVID-19 pandemic shut down all operations at The Art League that Meerfeld was able to reflect on his experience and fully appreciate the importance of human interaction in the creative process.

As the year 2020 got underway, ceramic artist and teacher Jill Leary was looking forward to another year of growth at her Westchester studio and school, Railyard Arts Studio.  Open for about eighteen months, the converted former lumber yard building was humming with activity, with potters busy in the clay studio and a variety of artists painting, print making, and working in stained glass in the big “art room.”  Leary’s dream of creating a warm and welcoming community for artists had become a reality.  By March, that dream was under attack by a micro-organism called COVID-19.

For nearly a lifetime, Clay Art Center in Port Chester, New York has promoted the benefits of art education through the hands-on medium of clay. Each fall, since 2007, students, instructors, administrators, board members, and contributors pause to celebrate the history and accomplishments of this eminent arts organization at its annual benefit. 

With business resuming after a long winter and spring of COVID closures, Standard Ceramic is glad to welcome a new employee in the retail shop.  Lindsey Pauline, a native of Ridgeway, PA, has been helping customers in the retail shop since the end of July. 

40 Beech Street, Port Chester, NY 10573 www.clayartcenter.org Media Contact: Nancy Yates, Communications Manager                                  ...