2013
2013 COWAN POTTERY SYMPOSIUM
The 23rd annual Cowan Pottery Symposium takes place on Saturday, May 4, 2013, 9:30 - 4:30. It is open to all who are interested in Cowan Pottery, local history, antiques and collecting, and the arts in general. This all-day event is presented by the Library, the Museum, and the Cowan Pottery Museum Associates for the purpose of providing networking opportunities and stimulating interest in Cowan Pottery as a part of Northeast Ohio’s cultural heritage. Picking up on last year’s theme of the early days of Cowan Pottery in Lakewood, this year we focus on Cowan’s later years in Rocky River. Our speakers for the day include Mark Bassett, art historian and faculty member at the Cleveland Institute of Art, who will speak on Cowan in Rocky River; Rebecca McFarland, local librarian and historian, whose topic is Eliot Ness and his wife, Cowan Potter Elizabeth Andersen; and Sue Maynard, Cowan Pottery Museum Associates member who will discuss Cowan Pottery as perceived in ads and news stories of the day.
The Symposium also includes a Show and Share session, a catered lunch, and the Cowan Pottery Associates’ scholarship presentation to a Cleveland Institute of Art ceramics student. We will also have the ever-exciting RAFFLE, and this year at least 6 items will be featured. Cost for the Symposium is only $22. An evening dinner offsite will be an extra charge. The reservation deadline is April 25, 2013. For further information and to send your reservation, click on this link for the Symposium Flyer, or contact the curator, Carol Jacobs, at (440) 895-3763 or c.jacobs@rrpl.org.The day after the Symposium, on Sunday afternoon May 5, the Cowan Pottery Museum Associates and Belhorn Auctions will sponsor a live auction of American Art Pottery (featuring Cowan Pottery!). It will be held at the Don Umerley Civic Center at 1:00 p.m. This auction will offer internet bidding.
The dedication of an Ohio Historical Marker on the site of the first Cowan Pottery in Lakewood has been postponed until later this year. Watch for further updates on this website, or the Associates’ website (www.cowanpottery.org), or visit the Cowan Pottery Associates on Facebook.COWAN POTTERY SYMPOSIUM *Click to view larger images. |
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2013 ANTIQUES APPRAISAL FAIR
The annual Antiques Appraisal Fair, co-sponsored by Rocky River Public Library and Cowan Pottery Museum and the City of Rocky River, takes place on Sunday afternoon, July 14 from 1:00 – 3:00 pm. At the Don Umerley Civic Center. As usual, this will be part of the annual community celebration, “Rocky River Days.” Learn more about your family heirlooms and other treasures. Expert appraisers will be available with free informal appraisals. There is a limit of one item or set per person. To date, our panel of appraisers includes Julie Breznai, Rachel Davis, Paul Fusco, Michael Kodysz, and Bill Tregoning.
To print out a flyer about this and other upcoming events, click here.
COWAN POTTERY CENTENNIAL OPEN HOUSE
Sunday August 4, 2013 will be the climax of the Cowan Centennial celebration as we pay tribute to this distinctive form of American art pottery made right here in Rocky River with an open house event on the grounds of the former Cowan Pottery Studio, 19621 Lake Road, Rocky River (between Cravings & Inner Bliss Yoga Studio), from 1:00 pm-5:00 pm. This is your chance to step into the re-created Cowan Display Room and see how it might have looked in the 1920s. There will be a tent on the lawn for other displays and a modest Cowan Pottery Sale; Jazz Age music will be provided by the local ensemble, “The Brassy Five;” an oversize Jazz Bowl will be available for photo opportunities; and simple refreshments will be provided Cravings cafe. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to see what it might really have been like at the Cowan Pottery Studio. Click here to see and print out a flyer.
2012 - 2013
TOUR THE COWAN POTTERY MUSEUM -- VIRTUALLY
Go to YouTube and search for "Cowan Pottery Tour," and you'll see 4 parts of a 45-minute tour filmed at the Museum. Or, if you're at Rocky River Public Library where the Museum is located, you can use your Smart Phone or tablet to access this tour via QR codes found on 4 of the display cases in the Grand Reading Room. For more click here.
COWAN POTTERY CENTENNIAL
Throughout 2012 and 2013 we will be celebrating the centennial of Cowan Pottery, which had its beginnings in Lakewood, Ohio during 1912 and 1913. In 1920 the Cowan Pottery Studio moved to Rocky River, Ohio where it had its most successful and productive period until forced to close in December 1931 due to the effects of the Great Depression. 100 years after the founding of Cowan Pottery, Cowan pieces are still avidly collected and admired throughout the art and antiques worlds. The legacy of founder R. Guy Cowan and his brilliant team of artists and designers lives on at the Cowan Pottery Museum at Rocky River Public Library. Cowan Pottery is accessible to all via the Museum and its website, as well as the website of the Cowan Pottery Associates. Both the Museum and the Associates also have a presence on Facebook. To properly mark the centennial of this distinctive form of American art pottery, the Museum, the Associates , and other arts and history groups in the greater Cleveland community are collaborating to sponsor a series of events during 2012 and 2013. Click here to see the schedule of events and the impressive array of institutional partners. The Centennial schedule is a fluid document and we encourage all those who are interested to check this website for the latest developments. The Cowan Centennial is meant to be a community celebration that raises awareness of Cowan Pottery and its place in Greater Cleveland’s cultural history. We hope to see many of you at these events during this two-year period!