Two of the three Clay Date Potters were at Newtown Municipal Center recently to install the latest collection of art to be featured in the showcase there.

Roberta Ahuja and Karen Pinto spent approximately an hour on site April 1, carefully unwrapping works by themselves and fellow potter Ros Liljengren, who was unable to participate in the setup. Newtown Cultural Arts Commission Chair (NCAC) Laura Lerman, representing the group that coordinates the exhibits at the municipal center, was also in attendance.

When they were finished, Ahuja and Pinto had arranged their latest presentation of handmade bowls, dishes, plates, and sculpture — 72 unique pieces in all.

It is another amazing collection, continuing a trend the potters have set at the Primrose Street location since late January 2019, when the showcase was installed.

The showcase was the result of a grant the trio applied for through NCAC, and they were the first artists to present their work in the it.

The Clay Date Potters grew out of Healing Newtown, a now-defunct arts series that came about after 12/14. A class they offered, according to Lerman, “was the most popular class we ever did.”

Pinto noted that she, Ahuja, and Liljengren are also members of Connecticut Clay Artists, an organization of professional clay artists who join together for creative intellectual and supportive work, and to exhibit their work collectively.

The current exhibition will remain on view through the end of May, weekdays between 8 am and 4:30 pm.

Through the end of April, the Society of Creative Arts of Newtown’s “Color in Winter and into Spring” is also on view. Nearly 80 paintings, illustrations, mixed media works, and glassworks fill much of the wall space in the main corridor.

Showcase Schedule Open

Lerman said last week that much of the 2021 schedule for the Newtown Municipal Center showcase remains open. She would like to start filling some of those calendar pages if COVID guidelines continue to loosen.

She is open to hearing from artists who would like to be considered for a showcase, she said. Any work to be displayed must be handcrafted. Artists need not to be Newtown residents to apply.

“They don’t even need to live in Connecticut,” Lerman said. “This space is open to all artists.”

There are seven shelves available in the showcase, including the top.

“People have put things up there, in addition to inside the showcase,” Lerman noted.

The cabinet is 14 inches deep, and each interior shelf area is 10 inches high by 110 inches wide.

Since its installation two years ago, works by the Clay Dates Potters have been presented, as have pieces by Weaving Newtown, woodworker Mike Agius, and Brookfield Craft Center members, among others.

Artists interested in exhibiting in the showcase or gallery space at Newtown Municipal Center are invited to contact Lerman at lel@se-ltd.com.