12th Annual pottery, art, and bake sale at Central United Methodist
October 25, 2016
Women potters, bakers, cooks, and artists will hold their 12th annual sale at Central United Methodist Church in downtown Spartanburg Saturday, Nov. 5, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.
The potters and clay artists who will have their locally made work for sale include Patsy Simmons, Heike Tonhaeuser, Nancy Williamson, Libby Wood, and Wilma Younkman. The baked goods that will include frozen entrees will be provided by the church’s Mary Martha Women’s Circle. And artists Joy Walker, Caroline Berry, and Jan Francis will present their collections of repurposed jewelry, notecards, and re-cycled greeting cards. Proceeds from the food and art sale will benefit Spartanburg’s Bethlehem Center and Heifer International.
Simmons and Williamson both work in stoneware clays to create functional and utilitarian items. Simmons’ pottery will include brie cheese bakers, berry bowls, mugs, olive dishes, cabbage design platter and bowls, beer bread bakers, spoons rests, etc. Williamson will offer everyday items ranging from large platters and pitchers to small cups. She will also have colorful, hand-crafted bird houses and bird feeders. Both potters emphasize their bakers, bowls, and casseroles are oven safe.
Most of Tonhaeuser’s work is made of porcelain, and her glazes have a unique appearance gained from the sprayed application of up to seven different glazes. Her work is functional, food safe and dishwasher safe. Wood’s pottery includes pieces with hand-painted majolica-style decoration. “No piece is ever exactly the same,” she said. Younkman, who is also a photographer and watercolor artist, uses a white clay that is half porcelain and half stoneware. Most of her forms are wheel-thrown. She uses nature photography as the basis for the designs she paints onto her pottery. She also uses underglaze, as a watercolorist uses paint, to create her designs of birds, butterflies, and flowers. “Every piece is one-of-a-kind,” Younkman said.
The church’s Women’s Circle will sale baked goods, including cakes, cookies, pies, and rolls. Through popular demand, members have gathered in the church kitchen to prepare entrees, like their “Special Turkey Tetrazzini” and “Baked Spaghetti Casserole.” These will be available frozen to bake later at home. Several different types of homemade soups, corn bread, and preserves will also be featured items. “These entrees are treasures for the freezer to have available to pull out for a quick meal during the busy holiday season,” Simmons said. “And the prices are very reasonable.”
“The women of the church put on this bake sale to make money for an important charity,” Simmons said. “Money earned from the bake sale goes to the Bethlehem Center, a Methodist Mission located behind the Beacon and is used to feed the children once a month in the after-school program.”
Walker’s repurposed jewelry is made from old jewelry that she collects from friends and acquaintances, and gives it new life by reworking into necklaces, bracelets, earrings, pins, rings, and many one-of-a-kind pieces. Because the plight of the poorest families in rural Ghana, Africa, has touched Walker’s heart, she uses proceeds from this jewelry sale to buy goats for them through Heifer International.
Francis will have re-cycled greeting cards for sale for $1 each, and the proceeds will go to the Bethlehem Center. Berry will have note cards with her original Central Church artwork. A portion of her proceeds will go to youth as well.
The sale will be in the Church’s Fellowship Hall at 233 North Church Street, Spartanburg, SC. For more information, call the church office at(864) 582-7263.
