Adopt-a-Pot: lonesome pottery sale gives new hope to abandoned crockery

The OSU Craft Center hosts the Lonesome Pottery sale today in the Memorial Union’s Trysting Tree Lounge from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Many of the available pieces have been abandoned or donated by members and instructors of the Craft Center.

The Craft Center is a non profit organization which according to Sage Zahorodni, senior agriculture and sustainability major and Craft Center employee, makes sales like this crucial to continuing operations.

“A lot of people think we are supported by funding from the school but we aren’t,” Zahorodni said. “We rely a lot on community support and member involvement.”

The center recently hosted another event dubbed the “Throw-a-Thon,” where members and staff were invited to throw and build ceramic pieces specifically for the purpose of being donated to the sale.

“We provided the clay and they provided the talent,” said OSU alum and craft center employee Dennis Moss.

Moss added that the sale is a good way to gain community awareness for the center.

“The pieces are all handmade by our members and staff,” Moss said. “Customers see pieces they like and want to learn how they could make them themselves.”

The center offers classes in not just ceramics, but many other crafts as well. During these classes, if members are unsatisfied with their work or forget to pick them up after the class’s completion, the pieces are donated to the sale in an attempt to reduce waste and provide a cheaper alternative to buying full priced items.

“It’s a form of artistic recycling. We discount the pieces and they go to new homes,” Zahorodni added. “The sale is also right around the holidays so the pieces make nice but cheap gifts.”

Priced anywhere from twenty-five cents to a maximum of fifteen dollars, the pieces are made extremely affordable compared to other artisan crafted works.

The sale offers more than just ceramic items; Other such objects have also been donated to the sale.

 “There will be photographs, torch work and glass works also donated to the sale,” Moss said.

With the variety transcending more than one craft, the whole center is brought together as a single unit.

“The sale helps everybody.” said Ron Wetz, a Craft Center member for nearly three years. “We all want to be able to keep making things and it’s good to see other people appreciate things we (the artists) might not really like.”

Everything from mugs, to plates and platters will be up for sale. Both Moss and Zahorodni stressed that the best deals are always the first to go, so arriving early will be important for a better chance at getting something of higher quality and functionality.