20th Annual "It's Only Clay" National Competition and Exhibition
Exhibit Opening and Reception November 7, 5 – 7pm.
Award Presentations at 5:30pm with Special Jury Nick DeVries.
Exhibit: November 7 – December 23, 2025
2025 Placement Awards and Harlow Purchase Award Winners
The 20th Annual āItās Only Clayā event is a partnership between the Watermark Art Center and Bemidji State University Department of Technology Art and Design.Ā Along with the juried exhibit, IOC 2025 features a workshop and select works on display by Guest Artist and 2025 Juror, Nick DeVries.
The juried ceramics competition focuses on and is dedicated to functional clay vessels. Each submission for IOC is judged in four areas: function, form/aesthetic, craftsmanship, and surface design.
2025 JURY AWARDS:
First Place: $1,300.00
Second Place: $1000.00
Third Place: $500.00
BSU PURCHASE AWARDS:
Purchase awards for the full value of work will be made by the Bemidji State University Department of Technology Art & Design. These works will be included in the Margaret Harlow Vessel Collection, a permanent functional ceramics collection at Bemidji State University. Awards will be announced at the November opening reception and be posted online by midnight, CST.
Additional purchase awards are made for work to be added to the Margaret H. Harlow Collection at BSU.
Workshop with Nick DeVries: Surface – Reductive and additive techniques for building surface with leather-hard ware.
Class is full
November 8 from 9am to noon at Watermark Art Center.
In this hands-on workshop participants will learn techniques and processes to build interesting textures and surfaces on leather hard cylinders. Leather hard cylinders will be provided for the workshop as well as tools and additional materials. Participants are encouraged to bring in personal tools or items that may offer unique textural or surface interactions with the clay. DeVries will demonstrate how he approaches finishing work at the leather-hard stage by finishing a tall pitcher and a covered jar during the workshop.
IOC is a collaboration between Watermark Art Center and Bemidji State University Department of Technology, Art and Design.
IOC is made possible with support fromĀ Paul Bunyan Communications and Bemidji Area Arts Endowment, a component fund of the Northwest Minnesota Foundation.
