Artist-Made Ceramic Musical Instruments

At Brookfield Craft Center

BROOKFIELD — A new group exhibition entitled “The Sound of Earth: Ceramic Musical Instruments” will open in the Lynn Tendler Bignell Gallery at Brookfield Craft Center on Sunday, February 4, and will run through March 18. The specially curated show created by Barry Hall, the author of From Mud to Music, showcases handmade musical instruments made by artists from clay.

An opening reception will be held Sunday, February 4, from 2 to 4 pm, with a special Curator’s Talk to take place at 3 pm.

Gallery hours are Monday through Saturday, 10 am to 5 pm; and Sundays noon to 5 pm. Admission is free, even for the opening reception on February 3.

With a history reaching back to ancient times, creating ceramic musical instruments is a vibrant pursuit for many innovative artists today. The artists included in this exhibition represent the vanguard of creative contemporary ceramic instrument builders.

Much of the work on display draws inspiration from ancient instruments. All of the instrument families —  winds, strings and percussion — are represented in this exhibition. A CD for the exhibition is available which includes digital images and text from the show.

The 14 participating artists are Don Bendel, Frank Giorgini, Ward Hartenstein, Rod Kendall, Rob Mangum, Brian Ransom, Susan Rawcliffe, Sharon Rowell, Steve Smeed, Lori Twardowski-Raper, Troy Raper, Sandi and Richard Schmidt, and Barry Hall.

This exhibition has been made possible by The Lynn Tendler Bignell Foundation and the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism. Brookfield Craft Center is at 286 Whisconier Road (Route 25), just east of the four corners intersection with Route 7/202.

For further information call Brookfield Craft Center at 775-4526 or visit BrookfieldCraftCenter.org.