PRESS RELEASE   ASPARAGUS VALLEY POTTERY TRAIL FOURTH ANNUAL STUDIO TOUR & SALE April 26 & 27 2008   Contact: Molly Cantor  413 625-2870   Western Massachusetts: Nine potters in the Amherst,            Northampton, and Greenfield areas will open their studios for the fourth annual Asparagus Valley Pottery Trail on Saturday and Sunday, April 26 & 27, from 10:00–5:00. This is a rare opportunity for the public to visit potters in their workspaces, which are not normally open to visitors. The Pottery Trail features a diverse group of professional potters, many nationally-known, who sell their work in venues ranging from galleries to juried craft shows and local farmer’s markets. Though we have in common a love of clay, you will not find two potters alike. Our forms, surfaces, and techniques vary greatly, from functional to sculptural, traditional to contemporary, and electric-fired to wood-fired. This year the Tour features additional artists and locations. We invite the public to see the diversity of our pottery and our working spaces, and to watch potters at work.   Pottery Trail admission is free and families are welcome. Individual potters will present their work for sale at each location, and many will also be demonstrating. This Pottery Trail is an offshoot of the Asparagus Valley Potters Guild, established in 1976 and named for one of the Pioneer Valley’s informal names dating from its heyday as an agricultural area.  Welcome the spring and enjoy a day browsing through the pottery studios on a 40-mile driving tour of the scenic Connecticut River Valley. Pick up a “Pottery Passport” at your first stop, visit seven of the nine studios, and you will be entered to win pottery valued at $75 from one of nine prize recipients. The Pottery Trail is only 100 miles from Boston and 150 from New York City. Look for distinctive yellow Pottery Trail signs when leaving the main highways the weekend of the event. Maps are available at each studio, or at www.asparagusvalleypotterytrail.com.  Artists Include:    Mary Barringer, Shelburne Falls  Mary began her career in the early 1970s, and makes both hand-built functional pottery and sculpture. Her work evokes ancient and natural forms, with subtle layers of texture and color. A frequent workshop teacher, writer, and curator, she is also the editor of The Studio Potter, an international ceramic journal.    Angela Fina, Amherst  A full-time potter since 1979, Angela works in high-temperature porcelain, making both tableware and a wide variety of vases for flower arranging. In the past year she has developed some new covered forms designed for different kinds of casseroles and several new glazes, including a soft blue she calls “Wedgwood.” Angela is known for the beautiful colors and surfaces of her food-safe glazes, and for the range of pottery she produces, including small pieces sold only from her studio.      Lucy Fagella, Greenfield  Lucy has been a potter since 1985. She makes wheel-thrown porcelain pottery, using subtle glazes to highlight her intricately textured surfaces or smooth sensuous forms. Lucy was featured last year on the PBS program “Making it Here” and her teaching skills, well-known in the Valley, are now featured on http://www.expertvillage.com    Tiffany Hilton, Greenfield  Tiffany, the youngest member of the Potters Guild, moved to Greenfield in 2005. She creates high-fired wheel-thrown stoneware intended for daily use, and this year has completed several custom dinnerware orders and a new series of oven-safe casseroles. On Saturday, Irish musician Allison First will play live flute music at Tiffany’s new gallery space at her home studio.    Donna McGee, Hadley  Donna has been making her earthenware pottery for 25 years, and is listed in Who’s Who of American Artists. Her tiles and functional pottery are decorated with images of fields, farmlands, figures, and faces, drawn and painted in an expressive manner with colorful slips and glazes. Donna is also Artist in Residence at Turners Falls High School.    Stephen Earp, Shelburne Falls  Steve’s redware pottery, based on the forms and techniques of 18th century domestic earthenware, is made with local clays and a foot-powered treadle wheel. In 2007 he was recognized by Early American Life magazine as one of the country’s top traditional artisans.      Francine T. Ozereko, Pelham  Francine has lived in the Valley since coming here for graduate school in 1979 and is a member of the Gallery A3 in Amherst. She creates intricate black and white drawings of faces, flowers, birds, and dogs on porcelain using the sgrafitto technique, which she will demonstrate during the weekend. Francine’s work will also be featured in March at the Arno Maris Gallery at Westfield State College.    Tom White, Northfield  Tom has been creating functional pottery for over 30 years at his studio in historic Northfield. His wheel-thrown porcelain and stoneware forms are complimented by rich colorful glazes and fired in various ways – in his own gas-fired reduction kiln, or by sharing space with other potters in wood-fired or soda-fired kilns throughout the northeast.     Molly Cantor, Shelburne Falls  Molly has recently returned to the area and established her studio overlooking the Deerfield River. Her work, either wheel-thrown or slab-built, features designs carved through a layer of “slip” for an effect similar to block prints. These designs are inspired by plants, animals, poems, and stories. Some of her pottery is fired in a wood-burning kiln, producing warm, ash-flashed surfaces.   ### For additional information, digital images, or interviews with artists please contact Molly Cantor at (413) 625-2870 mollycantorpottery@yahoo.com