17th Annual Hilltown 6 Pottery Tour And Sale

It starts in the earth, with the right seam of clay.

It dances in an artist’s hands in a workshop

And passes through a fierce fire in a kiln burning night and day.

–Stephen Philbrick, local poet

On the last weekend in July, we potters welcome visitors to the Hilltown 6 Pottery Tour and Sale to meet us and our guest artists. The ceramics are beautiful – and they are more: they are where and how we live our lives. 

Come see it all at the height of New England summer.

There will be scheduled educational demonstrations: watch a potter turn a lump of clay into a pot, climb inside a giant wood-burning kiln, see how a ceramic artist creates a pot that looks like a stone freshly pulled from the earth. 

The tour has earned national recognition. It has become an annual reunion of the family of artists, customers, and pottery lovers. The tour draws visitors from New York, Boston, Hartford, Albany, the Berkshires and beyond. Visitors are delighted by the range of ceramic expression, from favorite mugs to sculpture. 

We donate a portion of the proceeds to local elementary schools for art supplies. This year, to inspire young artists to embrace life-long creativity, our donation is in honor of Hilltown 6 founding member, Constance Talbot, who celebrates her 60th year working with clay.

The tour is free and open to all. Visit www.hilltown6.com to download a map to guide you on a treasure hunt.

About Hilltown 6

Hilltown 6 is a group of well-known potters based in the Hilltowns of Western Massachusetts: 

Robbie Heidinger, Christy Knox, Maya Machin, Michael McCarthy, Hiroshi Nakayama, Mark Shapiro, 

Constance Talbot, and Sam Taylor.

Our 2023 guests include:

Hayne Bayless (CT), Ben Eberle (MA), Annette Gates (MA), Ellen Grenadier (MA), Tiffany Hilton (MA), 

Janel Jacobson (MN), Emma Kaye (NY), Jenny Mendes (OH ), Mathew Meunier (GA), Christine Orr (VA), 

Lisa Orr (MA), Ashley Ripoline, intern (MA), Liz Rodriguez (MA), Will Swanson (MN), Tandem Ceramics (MA), 

Sumiyo Toribe (MA), Waterwheel Clay (MA), Tom White (MA)