David Nelson, Manchester’s Master Potter to Hold Open House
Local potter David Nelson will be holding a Studio Open House and Sale starting at 10am on December 5th and 6th. The studio is at 319 Morgan St. Manchester, MI.
Nelson treats his Open House as the last show of his season, after a long summer season of traveling and selling his pottery at art fairs and other events. He will showcase some of his best and newest work as well as sell old pots and offer discounts on “seconds” which can range from test pots to pots with flaws.
Everyone is invited to see the pots and check out studio. Nelson will be around to answer questions, talk about craftsmanship, and about his life as a potter.
David Nelson has been a studio potter for 30 years spending nearly the last 20 in Manchester.
Nelson’s Journey To Manchester
David Nelson took his first clay class in 1972 at Jackson Community College and after taking all the classes they offered twice, he transferred to Eastern Michigan University. He graduated in 1980 with a Bachelors degree with a concentration in ceramics and photography.
In 1981, he formed his first studio with 2 other potters in Milan,, moving to a tiny little studio in what was known as the Technology Center and after a couple of years there, moving again across the tracks to an equally small studio which was run by the A2 Art Association. He moved again in 1991 to a studio in the old Pilot Plastics building on Broad St in Dexter and in 1995 to a studio in Jackson County.
It was when he was working in Jackson County, out of an old brick 5 and dime store in the middle of Concord MI that he met his girlfriend, and after spending a year in Concord moved the studio to her garage in Manchester. There, Nelson spent 4 years before buying the building that he currently uses as a studio. The building itself had a varied and interesting past serving as a meat processing facility that at one time drained blood directly into the Raisin River and was used at another time by Chrysler for cold weather testing of their vehicles in the big meat cooler.
Nelson’s Career as a Potter
Nelson has traveled widely to sell his work at art fairs. He has sold pots in Florida, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, New York, Tennessee, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Georgia, and Illinois. For the past 5 or 6 years he has done only a few shows. One in Baraboo, WI where he won a Jurors’ Choice award last year, and a Best of Show this Year, and the Ann Arbor Summer Art Fair where people can find him every year at booth #31 on State Street.
Nelson hopes to be doing more traveling and see more of the country through art fairs.
Known for his bowls sets, slab canister jars sets , slab teapots, serving trays and baking dishes, Nelson stresses, however, that the work changes over the years: “I used to make jar sets a while ago which have been replaced by serving trays and large one-of-a-kind storage jars. I still do a lot of slab work which I really enjoy doing.”
Recently Nelson started teaching at the Clinton Arts Center in Clinton, MI. They have a beautiful studio where they teach clay and glass for afternoon and evening classes. (Until the Arts Center is completed in Clinton, the clay and glass studio is located on Fisk Rd north of Clinton. For more information contact Clinton Arts Center.)
Nelson also offers classes here at his studio in Manchester. He hopes to be scheduling a few one day and multiple day workshops over the winter where students can make a mug or make a teapot or just get out of the house and explore the arts for a couple of hours. Watch the sign on City Street for upcoming events or contact David Nelson via email at dwnelsonpottery@gmail.com or by phone: 734-428-8922.
Nelson’s Manchester studio is also the only place where you can currently buy a Nelson Original! So stop in this weekend at the Open House.
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