Recap: 2018 Clay Olympics!

The 2018 Clay Olympics were a ton of fun! Thanks to The Village Potters for hosting us and for all of their organizational and prep work - and keeping everything running smoothly during and between events. Special thanks again to Lori Theriault for EVERYTHING (it was a lot!) she did to make the Olympics possible.

Thanks also to the judges: Linda McFarling, Angelique Tassistro and Kara Irani, of MANNA FoodBank. The olympics were organized around an Empty Bowls theme, and most of the events resulted in bowls that will be finished and fired for the Asheville Empty Bowls event. Kara told us about the impact Empty Bowls has in our community: over a thousand bowls donated and each bowl provides 140 meals. Participants made a total of 43 bowls during our olympics, which Kara told us will provide 6000 meals (!). The Village Potters is a drop-off point for Asheville Empty Bowls; keep an eye on their social media accounts to learn more about how to participate. And if you’re not in or near Asheville, look for an Empty Bowls event in your area.

Thanks to all the participants and congratulations to all the winners! Results are below - scroll down for photos of all the events. The top three winners in each event received cash and other prizes - thanks again to all of our sponsors for making that possible.


Blindfolded throwing

1st place: Tori Motyl
2nd place: David Westmeier
3rd place: Ruth Rutkowsky


Team throwing

1st place: Maggie Jones and Molly Morning-glory
2nd place: Martin Stankus and David Westmeier
3rd place: Mary Mikkelsen and Kurt Yun


Fastest AND best

1st place: Tori Motyl
2nd place: Clive Earnhart
3rd place: Maggie Jones


Most bowls in five minutes

1st place: Clive Earnhart
2nd place: Michael Rutkowsky
3rd place: Tori Motyl


Longest coil in 3 minutes

1st place: Karen Dubois 85"
2nd place: Tori Motyl 78"
3rd place: Lee Wolfe 76"


Best coil bowl
1st place: Tori Motyl
2nd place: Lee Wolfe
3rd place: Mary Jane Findley