Connecticut Clay Guild

Category: Guild Also called: CTCG; CT Clay Guild; Connecticut Clay Crawl organizers Last checked: 2026-09-17

What it is

Connecticut Clay Guild is a statewide member pottery / ceramic-arts association for Connecticut. The About page states it began with potters gathering for a potluck in January of 2025 and describes a professional guild open to ceramic artists, studios, schools, and related businesses across Connecticut or with ties to the state. Mission language: foster the growth and expansion of the clay community across the state and beyond through networking, open studio tours, pop-up sales, and workshops. Homepage: uniting ceramic artists in Connecticut; members include potters, sculptors, ceramic artists, studio owners, students, and educators. Signature program is the annual statewide Connecticut Clay Crawl open-studio trail. It is not a commercial clay supplier and it is not a drop-in teaching studio with its own permanent public class program as its primary identity.

Who it’s for

Ceramic makers, students, educators, and studio / business owners in Connecticut (or with ties to the state) who want guild fellowship, monthly potluck-style community meetings at rotating host studios, member workshop discounts (including 20% off workshops at Junk Pot Studio in West Hartford), website / social features, and eligibility for the juried Clay Crawl as host studio or guest artist. Monthly meetings are free and open to the public (Member Benefits / About). Not a substitute for enrolling in a local teaching studio’s class program.

Why it’s listed

This is a first-party Connecticut pottery-association site with printed membership dues tiers (monthly and annual), member benefit dollar discounts, a dated 2026–2027 Clay Crawl application calendar with host/artist fee amounts, and a documented inaugural 2026 Clay Crawl studio roster — not a scraped directory card.

• Membership dues (Member Benefits FAQ — checked 2026-09-17): Artist Membership $10/month or $110/year (annual payment gets one month free). Artist with student discount or studio discount $8/month or $88/year (students, members, or staff at a CTCG Member Studio). Studio or Business Membership $18/month or $198/year (includes one free Artist Membership for the studio owner, manager, or preferred party). Memberships begun after August 2025 renew automatically monthly or annually; cancel anytime by emailing info@ctclayguild.com. Clay Crawl page repeats Artist $110/year or $10/month (Students use code STUDENT for 20% off memberships and booth fee) and Studio & Business $198/year or $18/month.
• Member benefits (Member Benefits — checked today): discounted / members-only workshops; monthly meetings with mini workshops, artist talks, demos; website and social media feature; submit posts on social (limit 24 per year); Member Portal notes/resources/recordings; 20% off workshops at Junk Pot Studio; 10% off Wellness For Makers courses “Hands of a Maker” and “Moving Clay”; $100 discount on table/booth fees for the annual Clay Crawl (juried — application required). Studio membership adds studio directory listing, event-hosting option, Clay Crawl Host Studio application path, and one complimentary artist membership.
• Monthly meetings (Member Benefits / About — checked today): second Sunday of each month; potluck style at a different pottery studio in Connecticut; free and open to the public. Typical structure: Welcome & Potluck 30–40 min; Guild Updates 15–20 min; Mini Workshop / Artist Talk / Demo / Group Activity 45–90 min; Community Forum & Upcoming Events 15–20 min. About also prints Welcome 30 min, Guild Business 15–20 min, Community Forum 10–15 min, Mini Workshop/Demo 45–90 min. Meetings historically concentrated in Hartford / New Haven areas; other CT studios invited to host.
• 2026–2027 Connecticut Clay Crawl (Clay Crawl page — checked today; page note Updated July 2026): Second Annual Clay Crawl May 1–2, 2027, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. both days (FAQ also says visitors anytime between 10 a.m.–4 p.m. in one answer — prefer the 10 a.m.–5 p.m. header/schedule lines). Following inaugural 2026 event with 14 host studios listed (Sunshine Ceramics; Trevor Youngberg / New England Wood Firing Conference; Thatcher Clay Studio; New Haven Pottery Studio; Wesleyan Potters; Purring Pottery; Bliss Pottery House; The Firestone Art Studio & Cafe; Little Bird Clay Company; Junk Pot Studio; Farmington Valley Arts Center; Canton Clay Works; Vicente Garcia Studio; Honey Hill Pottery). 2027 planning dates: Host Studio applications open August 1, 2026; deadline October 31, 2026; Host Studio announcements first week of November 2026; Guest Artist applications open November 15, 2026; Guest Artist deadline January 15, 2027; Guest Artist announcements & placements January 24, 2027. Fees due upon acceptance: Host Studio Member $225 / Non-Member $375 (by January 15, 2027); Guest Artist booth Member $150 / Non-Member $250 (by February 15, 2027). Projected marketing budget $4,000–$5,000. Event free for visitors; no tickets required.
• About origin: potluck start January 2025; contact via site form / info@ctclayguild.com.

Dues, Clay Crawl fees/dates, meeting Sundays, and partner discounts above are what the official pages showed on the check date. They can change. Confirm on the live Member Benefits, Clay Crawl, Calendar, and About pages before joining or treating any date/fee as fixed.

Official URL

https://www.ctclayguild.com/

About: https://www.ctclayguild.com/about

Member Benefits (dues & benefits): https://www.ctclayguild.com/member-benefits

FAQs: https://www.ctclayguild.com/faqs

2026 Clay Crawl / 2027 Second Annual: https://www.ctclayguild.com/clay-crawl

Calendar & Events: https://www.ctclayguild.com/calendar

Host Studio Applications note: https://www.ctclayguild.com/calendar/host-studio-applications-open-for-clay-crawl-2026

Location

Statewide member pottery / ceramic-arts association serving Connecticut. Monthly meetings and Clay Crawl stops rotate among member pottery studios across the state (Hartford / New Haven areas historically common for meetings; 14 named host studios on the 2026 Clay Crawl roster). Contact via info@ctclayguild.com and the site contact form; no single permanent public member-studio street address is printed as the guild’s primary HQ identity on the pages checked.

Do not treat Connecticut Clay Guild as a walk-in classroom enrollment desk or a clay supply warehouse. Class and workshop discounts refer members to third-party Connecticut studios (e.g. Junk Pot Studio); those are partners, not CTCG’s own teaching-studio brand.

Notes

• Category is Guild. Statewide member pottery/ceramics association with printed dues tiers, monthly public potluck meetings, workshops, directory features, and the annual Clay Crawl. Not a teaching-studio brand and not a clay manufacturer.
• 2026–2027 dues ($10/$110 Artist; $8/$88 discounted; $18/$198 Studio), Clay Crawl May 1–2 2027 fees ($225/$375 host; $150/$250 artist), August 1–October 31 2026 host application window, and Junk Pot 20% workshop discount are transcribed from official pages checked on 2026-09-17 and may change.
• Not affiliated with Clay Plaza.
• No Clay Plaza contact, purchase, booking, or publication action was taken.
• First-party logo saved beside this listing as connecticut-clay-guild.png (from ctclayguild.com Squarespace CDN — CT Clay Guild LOGO_transparent.png).

FAQ

Q: Who can join, and what are the dues?
A: Member Benefits (checked 2026-09-17): Artist Membership $10/month or $110/year; student/studio-discount Artist $8/month or $88/year; Studio or Business $18/month or $198/year (includes one free Artist seat). Open to ceramic artists, studios, schools, and related businesses across Connecticut or with ties to the state (About). Join via the membership links on ctclayguild.com and confirm live amounts on the Member Benefits page.

Q: What is the Connecticut Clay Crawl?
A: A statewide open-studio pottery trail organized by CTCG. Inaugural 2026 roster listed 14 host studios. Second Annual set for May 1–2, 2027, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Free for visitors. 2027 host applications Aug 1–Oct 31, 2026; member host fee $225 / non-member $375; guest artist booth member $150 / non-member $250. Confirm live Clay Crawl page for application status and hours.

Q: Does Connecticut Clay Guild run its own permanent public pottery classroom?
A: No permanent public open-studio classroom brand is the association’s primary identity on About or Member Benefits. CTCG is a member association that holds monthly meetings at rotating CT studios, workshops, and the Clay Crawl; class discounts point to partner studios. For weekly class-studio practice, use a local teaching studio; join CTCG for association benefits and Clay Crawl eligibility.