Chuck Koucky at the pottery kiln. PHOTO PROVIDED<\/p>\n
Whether you are a snowbird or simply day-tripping through Pine Island, a great deal of both artistry and artisans can be found at the Pine Island Potter\u2019s Guild and also Koucky Studios. In season, the studio has monthly shows and sales of the crafts created by the guild and other vendors..<\/p>\n
According to Koucky Studios co-owner Nancy Koucky, there are reasons not to do an off-season show, however.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor one, it\u2019s way too hot and uncomfortable for the vendors and the other reason is that the second home residents and tourists are not here,\u201d Koucky said.<\/p>\n
Currently, she said, the Potter\u2019s Guild has in between 12 and 24 vendors, with an average of approximately 20. She said, it\u2019s not just pottery, pointing out that Pine Island is very busy in the winter and many of the vendors have other locations to which they\u2019ve already previously committed. Many of the Potters Guild vendors are artists themselves, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have local authors and a large portion of our vendors are artists and craftsmen. We have quite a range and we try to keep it on-island. I had a couple of people who moved off the island after Hurricane Ian, but as far as I am concerned they can still come,\u201d Koucky said.<\/p>\n
Koucky said she believes it is rightly the goal of the Potter\u2019s Guild to support the island and the many island events remain spread out in an effort to avoid any kind of competition that might arise between them. <\/p>\n
Koucky Studios and the Pine Island Potter\u2019s Guild are melded together, she said. Artist and Potter\u2019s Guild co-owner Chuck Koucky plans an open-day for his students, she explained. <\/p>\n
\u201cHis students can come out and make pots in the studio and it\u2019s not part of his classes, but we like it because then people go out to the studio to watch him throw the Raku kiln \u2014 where he makes all the Raku pottery that we sell in our little showroom. That always attracts people,\u201d Koucky said.<\/p>\n
People seem to love watching artists pull the red hot pots out of the kiln and \u2018applying the horse hair, she said, adding that there are many different things which can be added to the pots, such as feathers or even human hair. <\/p>\n
\u201cThese are pieces that are not functional like his stoneware. Raku clay bodies have to be resilient to being at 1,800 degrees and then pulled out into the natural air \u2014 they have to have the flexibility to not, quite literally, blow up. So, the pieces are very porous and they\u2019re not functional as vases,\u201d Koucky said<\/p>\n
Regarding the co-mingling of Koucky Studios and the Potter\u2019s Guild, she said she and artist and artisan Chuck actually started the Guild Show more than 15 years ago as an opportunity for his students to sell their work. At the beginning, she explained, there weren\u2019t nearly as many people, and they were all potters. The Guild kept growing, she said, although the students thinned out on their pot-making, which she said is sometimes common. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s associated with Koucky Studios because it\u2019s on our property, but the original intent was for Chuck\u2019s students to show their work,\u201d Koucky said.<\/p>\n
Koucky Studios is at 5971 Bay Point Road, Bokeelia. For more information, visit https:\/\/kouckystudios.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n