The 10th Annual Shawnee Hills Pottery Trail
Date/Time
Date(s) - 05/03/2025 - 05/04/2025
10:00 am - 5:00 pm
Categories
The 10th Annual Shawnee Hills Pottery Trail willbeheldSaturday,May3and
Sunday, May 4,2025,from10am–5pmeachday.
Thirteen area potters invite the public totheiropenstudioshowandsaleat7different studio
locations the weekend before Mothers’ Day. This year’s Trail will feature the work of Dan
Johnson, Steve Grimmer, Keren Ya’ari Levy, Rob Lorenz, Harris Deller, Cameron Smith, Karen
Fiorino, Beth & Gene Smout, Stephanie Dukat, Kari Woolsey, Kit Davis and Michael
Polkinghorne. The work is all hand made, ranges from functional to decorative and
sculptural. There is work with natural textures, painterly images, patterns and work that
is colorful, precise and highly refined. The functional works are food safe.
The 7studio stops are located in or around Carbondale, Alto Pass, Murphysboro and
Ava, Illinois. The potters will be available to give studio tours and answer questions
regarding pottery making and much of the work on display will be available for purchase.
The pottery trail is a family event established to call attention to the exceptional and
diverse handmade pottery being created in Southern Illinois. The Trail Potters want to
inform and educate the public to the value and beauty of handmade crafts and to bring
attention to the wonderful attractions in Southern Illinois. The 7 individual studios are a
short drive from one another. You can leisurely visit all 7 locations in a single day while
driving through beautiful foothills and small towns or you can spend the night and visit
the wineries, breweries and restaurant along the trail. The first Pottery Trail was held in
2015 and is always on the first weekend in May, before Mothers’ Day.
This year’s Trail boasts the addition of 4 new potters and 3 new studio locations.
Cameron Smith, a long time clay and glass artist of Murphysboro. Keren Ya’ Ari, is a potter
from Israel. Kit Davis and Michael Polkinghorne are 2 potters who have moved into the
area from Texas. The new studio locations are Cameron Smith’s studio in Murphysboro,
Stephanie Dukat’s studio in Ava and Kit Davis & Michael Polkinghorne’s studio near Devils
Kitchen Lake. The Trail also welcomes the return of Beth & Gene Smout of Murphysboro.
Two other changes this year are Karen Fiorino will have her work at Cameron Smith’s
studio in Murphysboro, Keren Ya’ari Levy will have her work at Steve Grimmer’s studio
and Kari Woolsey will have her work at Stephanie Dukat’s new studio in Ava.
For further information about the Shawnee Hills Pottery Trail’s artists, location
details or to grab a map visit our web site at https://potterstrail.wixsite.com/pottery-
trail or our Facebook page facebook.com/PotteryTrail or on Instagram
@shawneehills_potterytrail
For additional questions contact harrisdeller@gmail.com or potterstrail@gmail.com
This Shawnee Hill Pottery Trail is partially funded through a grant from the Murphysboro
Tourism Commission.