At 10 a.m. on Nov. 19, 10 ceramic artists from across Arizona and beyond will converge at the studio of Ben Roti in Camp Verde to offer their wares and share their work through demonstrations, discussions, casual pottery chats, activities for kids and old-fashioned fun in a community atmosphere at the first Verde Valley Pottery Festival.
Roti says that it’s a way for the public — from students to collectors — to engage with the artists, learn about their work and enjoy good music, food and camaraderie.
The idea for the festival came about when Roti and four other potters gathered for the Sedona Visual Artists Coalition open studio tour last April. “We were just talking about doing something bigger. I’ve always thought about this wonderful acre property that I have; we could just set out tables, a big tent and we could invite the community,” Roti said. “And so that’s what started it.” Roti said that a week later, he called fellow potters Jason Bohnert, Heather Spontak and Jeff Heeg, who were “his core three” that participated in the studio tour with him and helped him plan the November event. “One of the most difficult things was finding the funds to really make sure that it can be successful,” Roti stated. “And I’m super grateful for the sponsors of the event, because they are truly the reason that we’re able to make it as large and as inclusive as possible. We’re artists and we’re just getting by, so I was nervous.”
Roti was inspired to bring his village, the community of potters that he has come to know over the years, and share it with the greater community of the Verde Valley. Roti is originally from Spirit Lake, Iowa, where he attended the University of Iowa and graduated with a bachelor of fine arts degree in ceramics. Upon graduation, Roti accepted a position as a studio assistant to Don Reitz [1929-2014], a world-renowned potter who lived and worked in Clarkdale, eventually becoming his protégé.
Reitz Ranch Center for Ceramic Arts
Reitz set up shop along the Verde River in Sycamore Canyon. He built a place where artists from all disciplines could visit and use the property to further their creative energy. Don Reitz believed that making pots was a way of life. It was about the way you think; about the way your mind is — it’s about what has affected you all your life, Roti said. His work pushed the boundaries of working with clay and the process of experimentation. He pioneered a style that radically changed the course of modern ceramic art. Reitz later invited other renowned collaborators in the ceramic art world to his ranch. There, they would fire the anagama kilns and make a big deal about it. From 2010 to 2014, Roti had the opportunity to work with Reitz in the studio, assist him with workshops in Montana and Florida, and help install his gallery shows in Chicago, Denver and Kansas City. At the Reitz Ranch, Roti furthered his knowledge of atmospheric firing by learning wood and salt methods as well as by working with a soda kiln in St. Petersburg, Fla. He was also involved in constructing and repairing kilns.
Since leaving the Reitz Ranch, Roti has returned to creating functional works using low-fired earthenware clay and has begun to develop a new body of work. “After Don passed, there was this big urge to just make what I knew — a cylinder and make a tea stack because that’s what I was helping Don do at the time,” Roti said. “Every time I would sit at the wheel, I couldn’t touch clay without thinking about Don and thinking about what type of work we would make. So, to find my own voice and clay, I put away the wheel and I started slab building. I was drawn to things that would catch my eye — they didn’t have to be wheel-thrown and could be sculptural. I began looking around at my surroundings and thinking, I know some of the forms that I find are very personal to me. And I found ways to make them through handbuilding techniques.” Roti speaks in great detail, filled with emotion, about the inspiration he received working with Reitz. “Don, towards the end of his life, really talked about the importance of community. And he made a point in the time that I was out there, especially the last two years that he was alive, to bring people that he was very close to and bring them together to share with a greater community,” Roti said. Roti indicated that the people who participated in the kiln firings included all levels of artists — “from the greatest of greats to those relatively new to ceramics as well as students at ASU.” “I just met so many wonderful people. And that always stayed really close to me in terms of importance for me,” Roti said. The tradition of gathering like minds to create art and a feeling of community has continued to serve as an inspiration to Roti, especially in establishing the Verde Valley Pottery Festival. “It would be really exciting to see it grow. This is the first one … how lucky am I to have a space that we all can be together and can dedicate a weekend … especially after all the things we’ve been through for the last three years of not being able to be together, so having this opportunity is exciting,” Roti said.
Included in the Verde Valley Pottery Festival are ceramic artists Mike Upp, from Cornville; Jason Bohnert and Jason Hess, from Flagstaff; Magda Gluszek, from Show Low; Andrew Augusta Smith and Jeff Heeg, from Phoenix; Kait Arndt, from Wyoming; Dexter Woods, from Lubbock, Texas; and Heather Spontak, from Bisbee. All the artists have Arizona connections and have worked together throughout the years, several of them at the Reitz Ranch. Heeg was a studio resident at the Reitz Ranch. He has since retired from his job at Southwest Airlines to focus on his career as a ceramic artist. “I’ve always wanted to do my own thing and be with like-minded artists … I’m ready to spread my wings,” Heeg said. “It’s really nice to be with [everyone who will be at the festival] — we all work differently but we work together.” Roti is especially excited about the team of artists selected for the festival. “I love the people that I invited. I have a personal relationship with all of them. Of course, I would want them back every single year, because that’s who I love and want to see,” Roti said. “But how neat would it be if we could get the community behind [us] and really make it a successful event to where we could expand where every artist gets to invite an artist. And now we go from 10 to 20. I don’t know if I can host this in my front yard every year. It’s called the Verde Valley Pottery Festival with the idea that we could go across the Verde Valley.”
As the pottery festival approaches, Roti says that the nerves are setting in. “I wake up in the middle of night thinking, what if nobody comes? And my wife just keeps saying to me, ‘What if everyone comes?’”
The Verde Valley Pottery Festival will be held on Saturday, Nov. 19, and Sunday, Nov. 20, beginning at 10 a.m. at Ben Roti Ceramics, 2175 S. Glenrose Drive, Camp Verde. At 10 a.m. on Saturday, an online sale will begin at vvpotteryfestival. com for those who cannot attend the event.
