The art centre hosts an installation by Potters Guild, a Japanese-inspired work

If you stop by the Kenai Art Center this month, you may find yourself surrounded by different versions of clay teapots in the main gallery. The exhibit is part of the Kenai Potters Guild’s annual “Clay on Display” installation. Each year, the installation challenges potters with a different theme that aims to showcase the diversity of the art form. This year’s theme is teapots.

The Potters Guild has been active on the Kenai Peninsula for over 50 years and has hosted an annual show at the art center for over 30 years. The guild was founded not only to create pottery among like-minded people, but also to improve the overall craftsmanship of artists.

Sandy Campbell is the Potters Guild’s studio coordinator and says this year’s exhibition will feature work from both emerging and professional artists.

“There are so many people involved,” Campbell said. “You think of cups, bowls, but every individual has a different vision of a cup or bowl. A basic object can look very different when 15 different people are making it, and that’s also what makes it a lot of fun.”

Charlotte Coots is the executive director of the art centre and hopes the exhibition will give visitors a better understanding of the planning, patience and hard work that goes into creating each piece of pottery.

“Because the objects are fired and glazed, I think some people, when they see the final form, don’t understand that it was originally a piece of clay,” Coots said. “It was in the ground with all these separate minerals and bits of soil that were part of the earth, and all the processes that it goes through to get that finished piece is really a labor of love.”

While this month’s front gallery installation has an earthy aura, a stroll to the back gallery will reveal the many unique facets of Japan. There are a number of Japanese-themed artworks, including a chessboard and a paper lantern decorated with koi fish. There’s also a kotatsu table—a Japanese dining table that sits low to the ground.

Sandra Lewis is the artist behind the Japanese-themed exhibit “Memories of Japan.” She is also the new chair of the Kenai Art Center Board of Directors.

“Japan is an ancient country, the history is there,” she said. “The history is there, the gardens, the architecture, the colors. For me, it’s a feast for the eyes.”

Lewis moved to a U.S. military base near Hiroshima in 2011 to teach high school art and photography. During her decade in the country, she fell in love with its natural beauty and the friendliness of its people.

One of her favorite pieces is a frame featuring an assortment of flip phones. Although she lived in Japan during the smartphone era, Lewis and her family used flip phones. Their cell phone plan allowed them unlimited calls to the United States. She says switching phones would have meant losing that plan.

“When I was installing it, I felt, just seeing the pieces that she created, feelings of wonder, love and nostalgia,” Coots said. “It’s overwhelming for me when I’m installing it, and I’ve never been to Japan.”

Lewis’ installation was planned before Coots knew she would be president of the art center’s board. Coots says she hopes the different styles and subjects of each installation will appeal to a wide variety of visitors.

“I would like people to recognize the thought and effort that artists in our community put into trying to keep this art form alive here,” she said. “That’s what the gallery is all about: supporting these artists. I think when people come and see the art, they start to appreciate a little bit more the importance of art. Kenai is not just a fishing town or an oil town, it’s also an art town.”

Both exhibitions at the Kenai Art Center will have their opening reception this Friday from 5 to 7 p.m. The installations will be on view throughout the month of July.