2012
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 the coming two years!
Would you like to chase away the mid-winter doldrums? Then join the Cowan Associates at their annual Winter Social, held this year at LACENTRE in Westlake! Click here for further details. You don’t have to be a member to come to the Social, but you are certainly encouraged to join the Cowan Pottery Museum Associates, which supports both the Museum and the promotion of Cowan Pottery in general. For more information on how to become a member, see the Associates’ website, and click on the membership link.
This year’s Symposium will be the official kickoff for our Cowan Pottery Centennial celebration that will run from 2012 – 2013! Please save the date, Saturday, May 5, 2012, for the 22nd annual Cowan Pottery Symposium presented by the Cowan Pottery Museum and its affiliate, the Cowan Pottery Museum Associates. This event runs all day, from 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. All who are interested in Cowan Pottery, local history, antiques and collecting, and the arts in general are cordially invited to attend. Our speakers will include Mark Bassett, art historian and faculty member at the Cleveland Institute of Art, who will speak on Cowan in Lakewood; Lauren Hansgen, director of the Cleveland Artist Foundation, who will discuss WPA Art in Cleveland with emphasis on former Cowan artists; and Michael Beyer, who will enlighten us on the Twentieth Century Society and the 2017 Art Deco World Congress to be held in Cleveland.The day begins with continental breakfast and a Show & Share session, followed by our speakers. It will also include a catered lunch, the Cowan Pottery Museum Associates’ scholarship presentation to a Cleveland Institute of Art ceramics student, and a dinner offsite. Cost for the Symposium only will be only $20. Dinner will be an extra charge of $35. The reservation deadline will be April 27, 2012. For further information, watch for flyers at the library later this winter, check the library’s website, or contact the curator, Carol Jacobs, at (440) 895-3763 or c.jacobs@rrpl.org. A preliminary flyer is available by clicking here.