Late Summer Exhibition, Opening July 31

Chiwa Clark grew up on 200 acres in the rolling hills of Western New York, just outside the hamlet of Bliss. And blissful it was. Clark spent her formative years surrounded by nature and “useful things made from the hand,” an upbringing that instilled in her a love of craft, specifically clay. But it wasn’t until 1970, while Clark was working as the first female athletic director at MIT, that she made something from the earth. “At MIT, they had an art association with pottery wheels,” Clark remembers. “I was hooked.” In the 20 years to follow, she relocated to Colorado to run a pottery co-op, then to Connecticut to serve as the potter-in-residence at The Guilford Handcraft Center, and then to Boston to teach at The Umbrella Arts Center. In 1990, she put down roots in the Blue Ridge, and hasn’t moved since. Today, Clark fires decorative wall pieces in her backyard kiln in Asheville. Each piece features flora and fauna — a nod to her wild upbringing — and often a quote to “help remind us all of our humanity, and the thread of connection and caring that flows through our hearts.” Clark will present a curated selection of new works this July at the Odyssey Gallery of Ceramic Arts in the River Arts District. She will be joined by more than 20 fellow potters.