Where We Create

The Village Potters, l-r: Melanie Robertson, Bernie Segal, Karen Dubois, Cat Jarosz, Sarah Wells Rolland, Lori Theriault, and Judi Harwood.

Welcome to the Village! Sarah Wells Rolland calls out to visitors walking into the gallery at Riverview Station in Asheville’s River Arts District. The Village Potters was Sarah’s dream after 27 years as a full time artist. “I got intentional with the planning in 1998. I was looking for a space that would house a gallery, studio and teaching facility and really wanted a studio that would encompass many artisitc directions with clay.” It was several years later that the timing was right and the current space became available. Sarah and her husband, George, helped birth it and they quickly found out that if you build it, they will come.  “They” were the six other artists, along with some amazing husbands who picked up paint brushes as well. They all share the space and came together to shape it, helping to paint, nail and pull together a village of. . .you guessed it. . . artists who go many different directions with clay.  Sarah’s dream is now being realized in ways that are even better than she imagined. “We are truly a collective,” she says. “Everyone brings something to the grouping which makes us as special as we are.”

Sarah now has pieces in homes around the world and she is still “captivated by clay!” She worked alone for years in her own studio in Haywood County and is happy to finally be surrounded with other artists. While working solo, she would seek support and a lot of laughs by phone from Cat, who was working in her own studio in Leicester. “That was back when it was a long distance call,” Sarah adds. One of the bonuses of sharing space is the collaborative efforts between artists.  One of Sarah’s recently finished pieces features carving by fellow-villager, Lori.

Cat Jarosz, decked out in her animal-print apron and pearls, creates functional pieces. “My work works,” she said, “but it is disguised as art.” She draws many of her pieces before they come together 3-D. She is the clay tool Queen and loves to incorporate new techniques into her art. Influenced greatly by the late Alma Johnson, formerly of UNCA and Gary Clontz of Haywood Tech, she still thinks of them often. Alma took Cat under her wing and helped her find her creative path while Gary Clontz taught her how to build her own equipment and tools and market her work. This new space is a dream for Cat, who says, “Women need other women. I feel like I’ve been born again and am no longer alone.”