30X5: Sushi Service opens @ Akar

Current Show:
30 X 5: The Sushi Service

Our annual Holiday show, 30 X 5 (30 potters, 5 pots each),
is now open! The Sushi Service includes a combination of Sushi Sets,
Sake Sets, and Soy Bottles. With 135 pieces to choose from, this is
truly a unique and fun exhibit for both Sushi and Ceramic lovers.

Participating Artists: Dan Anderson, Nicole Aquillano,
Karl Borgeson, Chris Burd, Billy Cho, Linda Christianson, Bede Clarke,
Steven Colby, David Crane, Mike Gesiakowski, Steve Hansen, Autumn
Higgins, Michael Hunt & Naomi Dalglish, Jake Johnson, Justin
Lambert, Linda McFarling, Lorna Meaden, Christopher Melia, Sean
O’Connell, Jeff Oestreich, Lisa Pedolsky, Justin Rothshank, Akira
Satake, Ellen Shankin, Jeff Shapiro, Stacy Snyder and Shumpei Yamaki.

Pictured
Above: Mike Gesiakowski, Jeff Oestreich, Steve Hansen, Steven Colby,
Akira Satake, David Crane, Sean O’Connell, Shumpei Yamaki, Linda
Christianson, Justin Rothshank, Autumn Higgins, Christopher Melia,
Justin Lambert, Ellen Shankin, Jake Johnson and Bede Clarke.

View the show at www.akardesign.com.

Layered: Collaborations by Simon Levin & Amy Smith

Simon
Levin and Amy Smith are two artists that AKAR has represented
individually and then together in group invitationals with their
collaborative sets. On July 11th they will have a solo show entitled, Layered: Collaborations by Simon Levin & Amy Smith.
 

Lincoln,
NE artist Amy Smith and Gresham, WI artist Simon Levin have been
working individually in their studios, but jointly in concept. Shipping
work back and forth, they design pieces that are compelling and
articulate, that remain independent, yet enhance each other, creating a
whole that is greater.

This is a true dialogue between pieces, a literal back
and forth of making, refining and developing, a conceptual and formal
evolution evidenced in the paired pieces, where visions combine while
the essence of each is upheld, creating something new, unexpected and
compelling.

Amy’s calming porcelain pieces are cold and crisp while
Simon’s wood fired work is full of dramatic surface, but what they have
in common is the showcasing of raw clay. Once their pieces are paired
they reflect off each other and create something surprising and
beautiful. Amy and Simon’s collaborative pairings are unique not only
because of the contrast within their sets, but unlike most
collaborations these two have never worked on the same piece or even
step foot in the same studio.

Layered: Collaborations by Simon Levin & Amy Smith
opens this Friday, July 11th, at 9:30 AM in the Iowa City gallery and
online at 10:00 AM CST. View the show at www.akardesign.com.

Akar Yunomi opens this Friday!

AKAR Design Home page
Upcoming Show I 2014 Yunomi Invitational I
Opens April 25, 2014, 10:00 AM CST

April 25 – May 16
2014 Yunomi Invitational (Online Only!) 

Yunomi Invitational 2011
Yunomi (U-know-me)- A form of teacup, typically made of ceramic
material, being taller than wide, with a trimmed or turned foot. Unlike
the more formal chawan tea bowl which is used during the Japanese tea
ceremony, the Yunomi tea bowl is made for daily (or informal) tea
drinking. 

The Countdown Has Begun!

The Yunomi Invitational is now only a few days away! As
the web gallery puts the final touches on the 2014 Yunomi Invitational,
we want to make sure you feel prepared for the show, too. This is our
largest annual show; this year we have a total of 935 Yunomi. For the
sixth consecutive year, artists have elected to donate portions of their
sales to The Studio Potter, a non-profit organization dedicated to all
things clay. Of our 187 participating artists, this year 143 individuals
are donating profits from a total of 258 Yunomi! With a show of this
grand scale, we thought a few
tips
and hints might help to make your online Yunomi experience pleasant and
seamless. Please remember this is an online event only, therefore we
will not be taking any requests over the phone or by email on the
opening day. This Friday, April 25, at 10:00 AM Central Time all Yunomi
will be available at www.akardesign.com.
MENTION STUDIO POTTER & # donated

Tips for a Successful Yunomi Experience:

Make sure to follow AKAR’s Facebook Page
for “Sneak Peeks” of the Yunomi Invitational! We are posting daily
preview photos of the Yunomi that are in this upcoming show. We are even
taking requests for what photos to post next!

You will need to create an account at www.akardesign.com
if you want to be ready to make a request when the 2014 Yunomi appear
this Friday at 10:00 AM Central Time. If you have already registered on
our website, be sure your account information is current.

To register as a new customer visit your account login https://www.akardesign.com/account/login.asp page.
Submit your email and password, and then fill out your account
information. You will not need your credit card information to register.

After you’ve created your account, you can immediately
browse the site and pick products from our selection of artists and
designers. If you find an artist on the 2014 Yunomi list above whose
work you like, consider book marking his/her artist page. When the new
Yunomi appear, you’ll save precious moments as other customers race to
find and purchase their own favorites.

When you click a product on our website, a pop-up window
will appear with more photos and a more detailed description of the
item. To reserve a Yunomi or another product, simply click the BUY
button in the bottom right corner of the pop-up window. On the next
page, click the submit button to put in a purchase request for the item.
When a piece has been requested and submitted an orange dot will appear
by the product. If multiple requests come in for an item, the request
with the earliest timestamp will be honored.

After we approve your purchase request, you will receive
an email that confirms your order. At this time you will have 24 hours
to visit the site and purchase your item (now you will need credit card
information) before it is released. After your purchase is complete a
red dot will appear by each product indicating it has been sold.

If you have questions about the ordering process or the 2014 Yunomi Invitational, please call the gallery at (319)351-1227 or email [email protected]

List of Artists:

Ted
Adler, Dan Anderson, Andrew Argentina, Jeremy Ayers, Noel Bailey,
Mariana Baquero, Mary Barringer, Ben Bates, Hayne Bayless, Nicholas
Bernard, Birdie Boone, Karl Borgeson, Catherine Boswell, Cynthia
Bringle, Robert Briscoe, Chris Burd, Richard Burkett, Jason Burnett,
Peter Callas, Benjamin Carter, Billy Cho, Victoria Christen, Benjamin
Cirgin, Naomi Cleary, Sunshine Cobb, Steven Colby, Tom Coleman, Michael
Connelly, Michael Corney, Julie Covington, Julie Crosby, Guillermo
Cuellar, Carolanne Currier, Israel Davis, Charity Davis-Woodard, Chandra
DeBuse, Nick DeVries, Josh DeWeese, Dawn Dishaw, Maria Dondero,
Katriona Drijber, Carole Epp, Mark Errol, Paul Eshelman, Jana Evans,
Susan Filley, Donna Flanery,
Delores Fortuna, Chad French, Yoshi Fujii, Nancy Gardner, Ernest Gentry,
Mike Gesiakowski, Bruce Gholson, Sally Gierke, Andrew Gilliatt, John
Glick, Lisa Gluckin, Jim Gottuso, Mel Griffin, Stephen Grimmer, Chris
Gustin, Julie Guyot, Perry Haas, Arthur Halvorsen, Kenyon Hansen, Steve
Hansen, Phil Haralam, Dara Hartman, Chad Hartwig, Mike Helke, Samantha
Henneke, Richard Hensley, Fred Herbst, Autumn Higgins, Steven Hill, Sam
Hoffman, Meredith Host, Michael Hunt & Naomi Dalglish, Sarah Jaeger,
Greg Jahn & Nancy Halter, Tom Jaszczak, Cathi Jefferson, Jay
Jensen, Kyle Johns, Ani Kasten, Matt Kelleher, Gail Kendall, Kelly King,
Michael Kline, Benjamin Krupka, Eva Kwong, Tim Lake, Justin Lambert,
Martina Lantin, Jayson Lawfer, Simon Levin, Dick Lehman, Brenda Lichman,
Kirk Mangus, Sarah-Anne Marraffino, Andrew Massey, Alex Matisse, Hannah
McAndrew, Matt McGovern, Lorna Meaden,
Christopher Melia, Melissa Mencini, Jenny Mendes, Matthew Metz, Ron
Meyers, Ernest Miller, Catie Miller, Megan Mitchell, Ryan Myers, Mark
Nafziger, Andy Nasisse, Ted Neal, Aaron Nelson, Amy Nichols, Brooke
Noble, Sean O’Connell, Shawn O’Connor, Lindsay Oesterritter, Kip
O’Krongly, Debra Oliva, Lisa Orr, Gillian Parke, Kristin Pavelka, Lisa
Pedolsky, Douglas Peltzman, Ronan Kyle Peterson, Ron Philbeck, Brandon
Phillips, Chris Pickett, Peter Pincus, Kari Radasch, Jeremy Randall,
Beau Raymond, George Rector, Matthew Repsher, Steven Rolf, Audrey
Rosulek, Justin Rothshank, Tim Rowan, Mat Rude, Akira Satake, Peter
Scherzer, Deborah Schwartzkopf, Yoko Sekino-Bove, Nancy Selvin, Jo
Severson, Jeff Shapiro, Mark Shapiro, Luba Sharapan, Joey Sheehan, Grace
Sheese, Jane Shellenbarger, Amy Smith & Simon Levin Collaboration,
Amy Smith, Kevin Snipes, Stacy Snyder, Mitchell Spain, Amelia Stamps,
Stacey Stanhope, Liz Zlot Summerfield, Angelique Tassistro, Sam Taylor,
Charlie Tefft, Al Tennant, Daniel Ricardo Teran, Shoko Teruyama, James
Tingey, Kyla Toomey, Natalie Tornatore, Jason Trebs, Mikey Walsh, Julie
Wiggins, Adero Willard, Betsy Williams, Elenor Wilson, Lana Wilson, Tara
Wilson, Matt Wilt, Rosalie Wynkoop, Shumpei Yamaki, and Casey Zablocki.

Artists Photographed Above:

(Top Row) Yoko Sekino-Bove, Ben Krupka, Rosalie Wynkoop, Jenny Mendes, Andy Nasisse, Lisa Orr, Mitchell Spain, Sarah-Anne Marraffino (Middle Row) Julie
Guyot, Melissa Mencini, Greg Jahn & Nancy Halter, Phil Haralam,
Michael Hunt & Naomi Dalglish, Tom Coleman, Matthew Repsher, Steven
Hill (Bottom Row) Michael Corney, Billy Cho, Birdie Boone, Paul Eshelman, Richard Burkett, Israel Davis, Jeremy Ayers, Cynthia Bringle

a site 2 see friday: AKAR yunomi Invitational

AKAR Design Home page
Upcoming Show I Yunomi Invitational 2013 I
Opens April 19, 10:00 AM CST
 
Yunomi Invitational 2011
 
Upcoming Show: April 19 – May 17
Yunomi Invitational 2013 (Online Only!) 

Yunomi (U-know-me)- A form of tea bowl, usually being taller than it
is wide, with a trimmed or turned foot. 
Unlike the formal chawan tea
bowl used during the Japanese tea ceremony, the Yunomi tea bowl is made
for 
daily (or informal) tea drinking.

Welcome to our yearly tradition…

This exclusively
online event is now in its seventh year of delighting potters and clay
lovers alike; the Yunomi Invitational 
is one of the our most diverse,
colorful, and entertaining shows to date. Invitations were sent out in
mid-July of 2012; 
with many immediate responses the list became more
clear with each passing day. Finally the roster was complete with 
206
ceramic artists delivering over 1,000 Yunomi. The Invitational includes
ceramic artists from legends to emerging artists, 
living in Iowa City to
Sweden, using everything from porcelain to terra cotta, and even
Yunomi that come with boxes, lids 
and pedestals. From the minimalist to
illustrative with flora, fauna and geometric
patterns and text, this annual invitational 
gives us an extraordinary
glimpse into contemporary artists’ interpretation of a Yunomi. This
year’s show has over 
2,060 photos of Yunomi alone and as with any AKAR
show, accompanying artist biographies, statements and resumes 
are
included. While this appears daunting in task, it truly has been a labor
of love for all of us here at the gallery.

Contributions to The Studio Potter:

For
the fifth consecutive year, participating artists have elected to
donate proceeds of their sales to the The Studio 
Potter, a non-profit
organization dedicated to all things clay. Yunomi with the The Studio
Potter logo have been 
designated as to-be-donated Yunomi sales. We are
thrilled to once again support our very good friends at The 
Studio
Potter. 

How to View the Work:

This show is viewable online ONLY. So this Friday, April 19th at 10:00 AM Central Time all the Yunomi will be viewable awww.akardesign.com

Upcoming at AKAR

Next Show:
Silvie Granatelli & David Crane

This
Friday is the opening of Virginia potters Silvie Granatelli and David
Crane’s show. Both are part of “16 Hands”, a group of eight artists
living in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Virginia. Even
though they come from the same community, their work is very different,
even down to the basics. Silvie’s work is gas fired porcelain, while
David’s pieces are salt fired stoneware. Yet their ceramic work
compliments each other side by side in our gallery and would look just
as great in your home.

Next Featured Artist:
David Eichelberger
David
Eichelberger, former student of both David Crane and Silvie Granatelli
at Virginia Polytechnic and State University, is the Featured Artist
this month. David currently resides in Nebraska where he received his
MFA and now creates his functional pottery. David uses visual rhythms
and exaggerated proportions to create work that is intended to make the
viewer pause. One of his goals is to quietly challenge our preconceived
notions and expectations.

Next New Work:
Nicole Aquillano

New
Work artist for March is Nicole Aquillano. Nicole showed here at AKAR
for the first time in 2012 and we couldn’t wait to get more work from
her. She recently graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design with
an MFA in Ceramics and now lives and works in Boston. Nicole is
influenced by her longing of home which is evident in her porcelain
pieces. Each piece is intended for the table and has intricate black
slip inlay images of familiar architectural structures.

Silvie Granatelli and David Crane’s show opens on Friday,
March 29th, at 9:30 AM in the Iowa City gallery and online at 10:00 AM
CST. View the show at www.akardesign.com.

April Upcoming Show:
2013 Yunomi Invitational
It’s
that time of year again! April 19th is our 7th Annual Yunomi
Invitational! As always, each of our 200 artists sent 5 yunomi each.
What exactly is a yunomi you might ask? Pronounced “you know me” is a
teabowl without a handle, slightly taller than wide, and with a trimmed
foot. Even with these requirements, it’s amazing the variety of cups
that are sent out way. Because of the massive size of this show, it is
ONLINE ONLY, opening at 10:00 AM CST on April 19th. Like us on Facebook
for
“sneak peeks” of the show!
Join AKAR Facebook
Join AKARTwitter
Join AKAR Mail
AKAR. 257 E. Iowa Avenue. Iowa City. IA 52240. T: 3193511227. WWW.AKARDESIGN.COM