Pottery tour comes together in Northern Illinois June 11-12

Twenty artists are coming together to showcase their work and connect with the public at the inaugural Northern Illinois Pottery Tour on the second weekend in June.

"It's like a pub crawl, except you are admiring and purchasing pottery instead of beer," said Amy Song, who is a potter and head organizer of the tour.

"There are so many talented creators in this area; it is overdue for us to have an event locally that celebrates clay and puts us on the map in our own right," Song said.

As the tour's founder, Song was inspired by tours in Minnesota, Galena, and other places around the country.

The tour will be self-guided and will include stops at Cory McCrory's home studio in Sandwich, Artesan Lofts Gallery in downtown Aurora where Jonathan Pacheco resides, Benjamin Buchenot's home and studio in Villa Park, and Susan Messer McBride's studio in the North Center neighborhood in Chicago.

At each stop, there will be a few invited potters to meet and chat with.

"There is an amazing variety in what can be accomplished with clay, ranging from color to form to decoration. The list of artists was curated to celebrate this range. As the tour establishes roots, the number of stops and artists will expand to include more artists," Song said.

Song said there will be a variety of functional and decorative ceramics available for purchase, including wood-fired ceramics, earthenware, gas-fired stoneware, porcelain, and paper clay.

The tour will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, June 11-12. Online demonstrations will happen the week leading up to the tour, and some work will be available for purchase online during the tour as well.

For more information, visit northernilpotterytour.com.

Follow @northernilpotterytour on Instagram and Northern Illinois Pottery Tour on Facebook. Questions can be emailed to northernilpotterytour@gmail.com.