The public and clay lovers alike are invited to experience a rare view into the lives and the work of eight prominent Minnesota potters at the Minnesota Potters: Sharing the Fire Exhibition opening March 9, and the Minnesota Potters: Sharing the Fire documentary premiere, March 10.

This one-of-a-kind effort to encourage and record the rich history of ceramics in Minnesota is the result of a 2011 Folk and Traditional Arts grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board received by Anoka-Ramsey Community College and coordinated by Art Faculty member Mark Lambert.

The yearlong series of workshops and the participating artists for the corresponding documentary included ceramic artists: Warren MacKenzie and Guillermo Cuellar, Linda Christianson and Jil Franke, Bob Briscoe and Jason Trebs, and Richard Bresnahan and Steven Lemke.

Mark your calendars for these upcoming events:

• Exhibition Opening: March 9, 6 to 8 p.m., Northern Clay Center (2424 Franklin Ave E, Minneapolis, Minn.)
• Exhibition: March 9 - April 29, 2012, Northern Clay Center
• Documentary Premiers with Janet Koplos Lecture: March 10, 2012, 1 to 3 p.m., Anoka-Ramsey Performing Arts Center

After the exhibition opening, the public is also invited to the gallery talks that each pair of participating artists will give:

• Gallery Talk I with Warren MacKenzie and Guillermo Cuellar: Thursday, March 15, 6 to 7 p.m. (FULL)
• Gallery Talk II with Linda Christianson and Jil Franke: Thursday, March 22, 6 to 7 p.m.
• Gallery Talk III with Bob Briscoe and Jason Trebs: Thursday, March 29, 6 to 7 p.m.
• Gallery Talk IV with Richard Bresnahan and Steven Lemke, Tuesday, April 3, 6 to 7 p.m.

The Minnesota Potters Minnesota State Arts Board grant was funded, in part, by the arts and cultural heritage fund as appropriated by the Minnesota State Legislature with money from the Legacy Amendment vote of the people of Minnesota, Nov.4, 2008.

In January 2012, Lambert received a second Minnesota State Arts Board grant for nearly $50,000 for a Minnesota Potters: Sharing the Fire exhibition tour intended to bring the documentary and profiled artists and their work to four greater Minnesota communities through exhibitions, gallery talks and screenings of the documentary film. The four venues for the tour include Winona State University, MacRostie Art Center in Grand Rapids, Grand Marais Art Colony and Bemidji State University.

For more information about Minnesota Potters: Sharing the Fire events or to register for the upcoming workshop, visit AnokaRamsey.edu/Fire.aspx.

Clay artists Warren MacKenzie (right)  and Guillermo Cuellar (left)are two of eight pair of artists to participate in Minnesota Potters: Sharing the Fire, a series of workshops, exhibition and a documentary intended to encourage and record the rich history of ceramics in Minnesota.