Out of the Fire, the Scottish Potters Association annual open exhibition opens at the Stirling Smith Gallery in Stirling this weekend.

Work by twenty seven members of the association demonstrates the variety and vitality that the medium of clay presents.

Carefully hand built stoneware pieces by Val Burns from Culross in Fife are decorated with rich crystalline glazes. Harding and Palmer, members from over the border in Northumberland, show part of their range of hand thrown functional yet refined porcelain with copper red or deep celadon glazes. Over on the west coast of Scotland Alan Gaff at Argyll pottery has been throwing functional pots for many years which he fires in a wood fired kiln allowing the flame to make its own mark on the surfaces of his pots.

Also included in the exhibition are raku pieces by Alice Buttress in Carrbridge and softly smoke fired works by Anne Morrison in Glasgow.  Thrown and decorated slipware by Hannah McAndrew in Galloway and relief tile pictures by Maggie Longstaff in Roslin.
 
The Scottish Potters Association holds regular exhibitions and demonstrations by and for its members, and plays a key role in keeping alive ceramics in Scotland at a time when it is being lost from further education.  Find out more at www.scottishpotters.co.uk

Out of the Fire is on at the Stirling Smith, Art Gallery and Museum, Dumbarton Road, Stirling, FK8 2RQ from Saturday 3 May to Saturday 13 July 2008.  Open Tuesday to Saturday 10.30am to 5pm and Sunday 2pm to 5pm.  Admission free.