It was no April Fool's joke! Chestnut Creek School of the Arts (CCSA) officially began Phase II of their long range plans with the opening of Oldtown Pottery Co-Op (OTP) on Wednesday, April 1, 2009.
Volunteers, board members and staff for CCSA and Co-Op members have been working for months to prepare membership guidelines, policies, leases and particularly renovations to the pottery studio building. Many items once located in the school’s main facility at 100 North Main Street, have been recycled and moved to OTP. Teller lines from the previous bank are now storage and work tables for the potters, thanks to the help of volunteers Terry Clark, CCSA board member, David Hauslohner, CCSA advisory board member and Austin Hauslohner, local builder.
The Oldtown Pottery Co-Op located at 110 East Oldtown Street, Galax, Virginia, will operate as a program under the auspices of the Chestnut Creek School of the Arts. OTP is dedicated to providing a space for creativity with clay and is devoted to supporting, promoting and developing the highest level of the ceramic arts for the community and its artisans by creating awareness, education and involvement through its members and the community. The Co-Op seeks to establish and maintain a business environment of fairness, ethics and honesty for members, employees, customers, and business partners.
OTP is open to ceramic artists who subscribe to the purposes and goals of OTP. There are two levels of membership offered, active and auxiliary. Active members pay monthly dues, participate in committee work, work at the Gallery on a regular basis, and have benefits such as 24 hour access to the studio space, use of the wheels, slab roller, kilns, display space in the Gallery for sales, and clay and glazes at cost.
Auxiliary members pay monthly dues, but are not required to participate in committee work or work in the Gallery. Auxiliary members have a different fee schedule.
The Co-Op is anxious to establish Oldtown Gallery for retail sales to augment the general operating needs of the group. A regularly changing Gallery of local students, artists and professionals work will be created. OTP will also sponsor exhibiting shows of various media for all ages.
The OTP will actively promote pottery and ceramic classes for Chestnut Creek School of the Arts in the Co-Op to encourage lifetime love of learning and creating. These classes will be for adults and children, beginners to experienced artists.
The OTP will assess the needs of the local community and support programs, such as Empty Bowls, which will connect various people and groups for the benefit of others. To learn more about classes, more about the pottery co-op or for more information about CCSA, please telephone (276) 236-3500.
