The Alamance Artisans Art Extravaganza is coming up Oct. 28 and 29, and is sure to be a memorable event that will bring together a diverse group of talented local artists exhibiting their artwork. Twenty-one artists will present works in woodworking, painting, fiber art, pottery, jewelry and more. Among the exhibiting artists are Dottie Blanchard, Pat Scheible, James and Rita Duxbury, and Jean Fortune Kaplan.

And there’s also Coy Quakenbush, a native of Saxapawhaw, but who now lives in Graham, and whose artwork and style are unmistakable, but tricky to put under one label. He’s well-known for his pottery, which is done in the centuries-old Mata Ortiz style that originated in Mata Ortiz, Mexico. The method uses a coil implementation.

“It’s all hand-built,” Quakenbush said. “I sand it, scrape it, burnish it to get it smooth and shiny. And then I decorate it with clay slips to do the design work. It’s a structured process until you get to the design, and then you can go where you want with that.”

Among the advantages of the Mata Ortiz method is it requires less of a financial investment from the artist, since a pottery wheel isn’t needed to make the vessels, and “firing” is done outdoors in a bonfire instead of a kiln. The color of the pot is from the natural color of the clay, and not from a glaze.

Quakenbush, a master potter, creates bowls, vases, pitchers and other vessels using the technique that isn’t often seen in these parts, which has enabled him to carve a niche among other local pottery makers. 

“The Native American artwork, especially if it has a southwest look, isn’t something you find much in these parts,” he said.

When he first started making the Mata Ortiz-style pots, Quakenbush would spend as much as a week creating one piece. Over time, he has honed his skills and now has the process down to about three or four days. That now leaves him with time to pursue other methods for creating artwork, including painting, drawing and making abstract sculptures using paper clay.

This year’s Alamance Artisans Art Extravaganza will be a celebration of its 5th anniversary. The exhibit is the biggest event of the year for members of the guild, and offers the public an opportunity to view and purchase the artwork, and also provides a chance to meet and get to know the artists. Alamance Artisans members will donate art pieces to raffle, and some members will be on hand to demonstrate their art process.

This year’s show will, for the first time, be held at The Inn at Elon, at 605 N. O’Kelly Ave. in Elon. The show is Oct. 28 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Oct. 29 from noon to 5 p.m.