Events
Kate Brown Shard Wall + Talk
June 21 | 9–12 & 1–4 | Mimbres, NM
A collaborative shard wall installation inspired by the 1001 Pots project in Quebec, bringing the community together to transform broken pottery into a shared work of connection.
Kate’s Artist Statement:
As I keep saying, I have been a potter for 60 years now, 45 of those years in the Mimbres Valley of southwestern New Mexico .
So of course I have a lot of pieces of broken pottery. It is the nature of the material to break. To soften this near inevitability, I hold that perhaps the clay, which doesn't care at all if it's broken or whole, absorbed a blow a sentient being didn't have to endure.
I have repaired some of the broken pots in an updated version of the Japanese method known as Kintsugi. They used the sap of a local pine tree and gold powder. I mix "food safe" epoxy and gold colored cosmetic grade powder. The ethos of Kintsugi is " Accept the brokenness and mend it with gold".
This leaves an estimated several hundred pounds of broken pottery shards that I won't try to reconstruct into wholeness.
I was directed to a site in Quebec called 1001 Pots. On their website I came across a photo of a shard wall they have installed in their garden there: Shard Wall Image
On Sunday morning June 21 form 9 -12, as part of the 2026 Silver City Clay Festival, I invite folks to come help me assemble a shard wall here. This time we will accept the brokenness and mend it with community!
Here is the base of the wall we will fill with shards.
On Sunday morning June 21 form 9 -12, as part of the 2026 Silver City CLAY Festival, I invite folks to come help me assemble a shard wall here. This time we will accept the brokenness and mend it with community!
In the afternoon, we will admire our work on the shard wall and come into my studio and showroom from 1-4 for an Open House in my studio and showroom to celebrate my 60 years working as a potter. I will show photos, talk about my pots, share what this work has taught me, how it sustained me and my family through the decades.
Many of my patterns arise from sights in rural SW New Mexico: the sky night and day, clouds, birds, a nearby pond, vegetables in my garden, the wind in the trees,
Guests will find plenty of shady spaces to hang out and visit, and light refreshments.
Directions to Kate Brown Pottery & Tile from Silver City:
Take Hwy 180 E out of Silver City. In Santa Clara (before Bayard) look for Hwy 152 and turn L. Continue on 152 until you go down into the Mimbres Valley. You’ll pass a left for Hwy 35, but continue about 1/2 mi to Hwy 61 S and turn R. Off Hwy 61, between mm 19 & 20, turn at Royal John Mine Rd. Follow signs 2.5 miles to Kate Brown Pottery Studio.
Physical address (but beware, google maps are not reliable out here!)
147 Hot Springs Canyon Rd. San Lorenzo, NM 88041.
Also open my appointment. Call land line 575 536 9935
Kid & Kid-at-Heart Activities
Create Your Own mimbres-inspired plate
Create your own Mimbres-inspired ceramic plate in this hands-on activity for kids and kids-at-heart. Participants will paint a Mimbres-inspired design using yucca brushes while learning about the region’s rich ceramic traditions.
This free, drop-in activity is perfect for all ages — come explore patterns, storytelling, and creativity inspired by historic Mimbres pottery. Supplies are limited.
Date: Tuesday, June 16 & Thursday, June 18
Time: 10:00 AM–2:00 PM
Free — Donations encouraged
Location: Western New Mexico University Museum (main floor)
create your own clay mask
Create your own clay mask in this hands-on, drop-in event for kids and kids at heart. Participants will shape and decorate small masks using simple hand building techniques and colorful underglaze. Come create with clay and make something uniquely your own. Parents, please plan to accompany children under the age of 10.
Finished pieces will be fired and available for pickup during the CLAY Market, June 20-21, in the ballroom of the Murray Hotel.
Free
Date: Saturday, June 6
Time: 11:00 AM – 1:30 PM
Location: Bayard Public Library
