A new tradition is about to take place across the Cape as the public experiences the Cape Cod Pottery Trail.

Images provided by the Cape Cod Pottery Trail

Discoverers and adventurers for centuries have found their way to Cape Cod, where a natural landscape, rich in beauty and splendor, have enticed and captivated individuals with a desire to understand and acclimate to a world previously unknown. On a weekend in September, that same sense of expedition and discovery is revealed in the upcoming Cape Cod Pottery Trail. Participants are encouraged to attend a $10.00 ticketed kick-off party at Brick Kiln Farm in Falmouth, the evening of September 25th, and through a self-guided tour throughout the weekend, get their passport stamped at 16 studios across the Cape. 

Imagine the sense of wonder as the Trail’s supplied map, with the help of modern GPS, leads inquisitive visitors through neighborhoods, down unassuming drives, around and behind homes across the Cape where artisans of all sorts are immersed in creating something from the Earth.

Sediment, water, fire and human hands; the same elements that have shaped the Cape and have barely changed across the vast centuries of civilization, all combine to create vessels and sculpture that share one other irrefutably shared characteristic: the Cape. Participants of the Passport Program step inside working studios where the wheel is spinning, kilns are cooling, and shelves are filled with freshly glazed pieces. The encouragement of visiting one studio at a time, allows visitors to experience a sojourn—discovering towns they may never have visited while moving from studio to studio. Instead of polished galleries with art attractively lit to dazzle and sparkle, they venture into authentic maker spaces. One stop may be a commercial pottery studio, the next a converted garage, basement or backyard shed; lending the experience incredible charm because visitors are seeing the creative process exactly where it happens.

This invitation is an opportunity to step behind the scene into one of the Cape’s oldest artistic traditions, and meeting the makers where they create, and discovering along the way that each studio has its own personality.

Another element that unites during this self-guided road trip is that the concept of the tour is born from the artists themselves—not a corporately funded event, but rather artisans rolling up their sleeves and building something because they believe in it. That sense of grassroots collaboration is what gives the Trail its heart.

Throughout, the Cape itself is literally an integral collaborator. The fish; the birds; the marsh grasses; the sailboats; the tidal tones; they all play their role as each artist interprets the Cape differently. 

With each door that opens, a studio emerges, a conversation begins, a new corner of the Cape emerges. Through those passages, the artists gain support, an understanding of process grows, and hand-crafted art becomes a much bigger idea. Overall, it is not an exhibition of similar work; but an evolving dialogue as visitors move from one vocabulary to another. One artist speaks through the chemistry of glaze, another through illustration, another through sculpture, another through utility. They are all speaking clay, but with completely different accents.

Yet, this is not a closed society, it’s a community, as evidenced by the inclusion of inviting guest artists into the conversation as they are aligned across the various studios. That pairing provides a larger forum for discussion, as style and techniques are compared, as well as inspiration sources. The added layer of the guest artists is so well curated, the Trail has avoided the feeling that they are “extras,” but rather they add another layer of diversification.

Every pot begins with a handful of clay, every tradition begins with a handful of people. The concept of the Cape Cod Pottery Trail is explicit in its desire to slow us down and through that journey we may learn that sometimes the most meaningful things are not made by one pair of hands, but through a process of collaboration and appreciation. 

To learn more about the Cape Cod Pottery Trail visit capecodpotterytrail.com.

Meet the Makers

The Cape Cod Pottery Trail brings together an inspiring community of ceramic artists whose work spans functional pottery, sculptural ceramics, contemporary vessels, ceramic jewelry and imaginative works of art. While each artist has a distinctive style and voice, together they celebrate the remarkable diversity of Cape Cod’s thriving clay community. Visitors are invited to explore working studios, meet the makers, and discover the artistry that emerges from one of the world’s oldest creative traditions. 

Participating Studios

• Corine Adams Art & Design
• The Barn Pottery — Kimberly Sheerin
• Sarah Caruso
• Joanie Cribben — Mill House Clay Studio
• Cove Lane Studio — Deb McCarty
• Denny Howard Pottery
• Lori Dawn — The Pink Shed
• Laura DiMeo — Perch Pottery
• Amy Eldridge
• Sally Fine
• 5x Ceramics — Shannon Gallagher
• Ron Dean Pottery
• Brenda Kerr
• Anju Rajani Ceramics
• Lynn Rutman
• Muriel Tice Ceramics
• Tessa Morgan — Flying Pig Pottery
• Teri Navickas
• Cassandra Weare — Weare Pottery

Several participating studios will also welcome guest ceramic artists, expanding the Trail and offering visitors an even broader range of artistic perspectives.

Interested in Joining the Trail?

The Cape Cod Pottery Trail welcomes applications from Cape Cod ceramic artists with working maker spaces, including home studios and professional pottery studios. Artists without their own studio may also be eligible to participate as guest artists, pending availability. The juried application process for the 2027 Trail will open in late fall, as organizers continue working toward their long-range vision of expanding the Trail to communities across all of Cape Cod.

Guest Artists

• Hiroe Hanazono
• Melissa Hofer
• Jim Irvine
• Frances Johnson
• Corrinn Jusell
• Jo Mogilnicki
• Sydney McCabe
• Val Murray
• Nancy Warren
• Sarah Hawkes
• Sue Wadoski
• Paul Wisotzky
• Joan Zagrobleny
• Ryder Gordon

Julie Craven Wagner is the publisher at Cape Cod Life Publications and the editor of Cape Cod ART.