Pine Island Potters’ Guild show Saturday

The Pine Island Potters’ Guild welcomes 2025 with the third in this season’s series of six showings at Koucky Studios Saturday, Jan. 11, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Celebrate the New Year with local artisans and listen to live music by the Fiddler and I.

The show features the works created by local artists and craftsman in pottery, jewelry, woodworking, paintings, island-themed home décor, ready-to-wear art, children’s books personalized by the author, notecards, local honey, jams, gourmet mustards and hot sauces, plus so much more. In addition, fresh baked goods will be available for a delicious snack or to take home as a delightful addition to any meal. 

Pat and Becky of the Fiddler and I will play from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. At 11 a.m., potter Chuck Koucky and some of his students will demonstrate the art of horsehair pottery firing. Horsehair pottery, as the name implies, incorporates hair from the tails and manes of horses into its design. The random lines and patterns that are the signature of this style are created when applying strands of hair to the surface of a hot raku clay pot that has just been removed from the kiln. The horsehair combusts and carbonizes, leaving random patterns on the pot’s surface. The use of horsehair is preferred in the technique as it makes beautiful random patterns because of its coarseness and length. 

If you are interested in pottery classes, from beginners to advanced levels, please speak with Chuck Koucky about his year-round class schedule and take a self-guided tour of the pottery studio. 

The Pine Island Potters Guild shows are held on the second Saturday of each month, November through April, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., in the courtyard of Koucky Studios at 5971 Bay Point Road, Bokeelia. For more about the Potters’ Guild, call Nancy Koucky at 239-233-3003.