Zanesville Prize for Contemporary Ceramics

The art from the Zanesville Prize for Contemporary Ceramics contest is now on display.

Thousands of pieces were submitted from all over the world, and only 100 of them were selected by judges for the show. Michael Seiler, spokesperson for the artist colony told us about the variety of art at the show.

"We asked the artists to do what they do best…Create. Create the most outstanding works you can create. So we have pieces that are finely crafted porcelain, things that are very difficult to throw, I mean delicate. There’s one right behind me, that if you hold it up to the light, you can see the light shining through the porcelain. Beautiful stuff, and then we have some funky, thought provoking, there’s a couple pieces in here that are a little thought provoking."

There is $30,000 in prize money, $20,000 of which is going to the first prize winner. Seiler says the art is created by the superstars of the ceramics world. Seiler says they aren’t holding the event for just the art but for the betterment of Zanesville.

"Our hopes and dreams, is that we’re not just doing ceramics, we’re doing this for the betterment of Zanesville. We want Zanesville again to be the clay capital of the world. We watched that Paducah, the artists in Paducah, put in during the recession in 2008, the chamber of commerce said that they brought in something like $71 million in revenues. We are big believers that by bringing the best artists to Zanesville, to the artist community and the artist colony in downtown, we can do the same here."

You can view the show at Seiler’s studio every day from 1PM to 6PM on 7th street and during October’s First Friday art walk.