Madison Area Potters Guild

Category: Guild Also called: MAPG; Madison Area Potters Guild, Inc.; madisonareapottersguild.com Last checked: 2026-10-07

What it is

The Madison Area Potters Guild (MAPG) is a membership organization for potters and ceramic artists in the greater Madison, Wisconsin area. Its About the Guild page states the mission: “to provide educational opportunities and supportive relationships for professional and non-professional potters and ceramic artists in the greater Madison, Wisconsin area,” and says the Guild “welcomes potters and ceramic artists of all skill levels” and “is a 501(c)(3) organization.” The Bylaws name it Madison Area Potters Guild, Inc., a Wisconsin nonstock corporation with two membership levels (Regular and Juried). It has no shared studio, class program, or retail clay counter — it is a dues-based potters’ association, not a teaching studio and not a supplier.

Who it’s for

Adults (Bylaws: 18 or older) who make pottery or fire clay in the Madison area — the membership form offers “a potter,” “a ceramic artist,” or “a sculptor who uses and fires clay” — and want meet-ups, peer critique, online roundtables, a members-only forum, and group show/sale opportunities. Non-members may attend a Meet Up as a guest by registering on the Be Our Guest page. Makers who want to sell in the Guild booth at juried events (e.g. Art Fair on the Square) apply for Juried status. Not a place to take wheel classes or rent studio time; use a Studio listing for that.

Why it’s listed

This is the first-party MAPG WordPress domain (madisonareapottersguild.com) with a printed mission, 501(c)(3) statement, published Bylaws, a membership form stating dues, a dated 2026 events calendar, a named Board, and member rosters — not a scraped directory card.

• Contact (site footer / Contact link, checked 2026-10-07): guild@madisonareapottersguild.com. The guest-registration form names membership@madisonareapottersguild.com for questions. No street address or phone is printed.
• Dues (Join the Guild page — embedded first-party membership form, checked today): membership responsibilities include “Pay annual dues of $50”; the application is not complete until dues are paid. The form adds: “If the annual fee is a barrier to membership, scholarships may be available.”
• Membership levels (Bylaws + Member Benefits, checked today): Regular and Juried members. Bylaws: dues are set annually by the Board; Juried Members are assessed a one-time fee set by the Board (amount not printed in Bylaws). Jury Interest form (linked from Juried Members): “There is a $15 fee for each Jury Event.”
• Member benefits (Member Benefits page, checked today): meet-ups, board meetings, and educational events; voting, committees, and Board service; private Facebook group; non-juried group shows; members-only website forum; quarterly newsletter. Juried members add critique via the jury process, juried group shows and sales including Art Fair on the Square, and a website feature.
• 2026 events (Events page, checked today): “approximately eight in-person Meet Ups per year,” plus peer critique and online Roundtables. Upcoming items printed: Clay Date: Critique Night — Oct 22, 2026, 7:00–9:00 PM (Delta Beer Lab, Fitchburg); Member Meetup: Annual Meeting — Nov 12, 2026, 6:00–8:00 PM; Clay Date: Holiday Party — Dec 3, 2026, 4:00–7:00 PM (Capital Brewery, Middleton; tea-bowl pot swap).
• Past programs (Past Events page, checked today): Souper Bowl 2024 donation (30+ bowls, Habitat for Humanity fundraiser), Overture Galleries pop-up, Art Fair on the Square, Paoli Art in the Park, monthly meet-ups and online roundtables.
• Governance (Board of Directors page, checked today): Board meets monthly; all members may attend. Officers listed include Kat Shanahan (President), Jordan Villanueva (Vice President), Kristie Kass (Treasurer), and Amandalynn Jones (Secretary); Marketing Director shown as an open position.

Dues and fees above are what the official pages and embedded forms showed on the check date. Confirm on the live Join the Guild page before treating any figure as fixed.

Official URL

https://madisonareapottersguild.com/

About the Guild: https://madisonareapottersguild.com/about-the-guild

Join the Guild (membership form): https://madisonareapottersguild.com/join-the-guild

Member Benefits: https://madisonareapottersguild.com/member-benefits

Events: https://madisonareapottersguild.com/events

MAPG Bylaws: https://madisonareapottersguild.com/mapg-bylaws

Juried Members: https://madisonareapottersguild.com/juried-members

Board of Directors: https://madisonareapottersguild.com/board-of-directors

Be Our Guest: https://madisonareapottersguild.com/be-our-guest

(Canonical first-party WordPress site checked 2026-10-07; every cited URL returned HTTP 200 to curl with a browser User-Agent. Dues and jury-fee text sit in Google Forms embedded on the Join the Guild and Jury Interest pages; those embeds also returned 200.)

Location

Madison Area Potters Guild: greater Madison, Wisconsin (Dane County area). No street address or phone published. Email guild@madisonareapottersguild.com. Meet-ups rotate (guest form: typically “the second week of the month at one of the Madison-area libraries”; fall 2026 Clay Dates at venues in Fitchburg and Middleton).

This is a member potters’ association / 501(c)(3) guild. It is not filed as a teaching studio or a supply house.

Notes

• Category is Guild: dues-paying member association with Bylaws, Board elections, Regular/Juried membership, meet-ups, and group sales. No studio, classes, or retail clay.
• First Madison listing and first Wisconsin guild on Clay Plaza (Wisconsin previously appeared only as Cream City Clay, a West Allis studio). Upper Midwest outside MN/MI. Away from recent CA/HI/MO, SC/CO/AZ, OR/PA/FL, and TX/MI/MN geos. Distinct from already-listed Ann Arbor Potters Guild and Toledo Potters Guild despite the similar name. Keep separate from Lapidary / Mahjong / Bee / Bonsai directories.
• Meeting cadence is printed three ways: membership form says Guild meetings are “held every other month”; Events says “approximately eight in-person Meet Ups per year”; the guest form says the Guild “typically meet[s] the second week of the month.” Cite as printed.
• The guest form’s month options list only January, March, and “Any Month” — likely stale; use the Events page for dates.
• Bylaws say the corporation “will apply to be recognized as tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3),” while About and Donate say it “is a 501(c)(3) organization.” Cite the About wording; registration status is not otherwise documented on site.
• Juried one-time fee amount is not printed in the Bylaws; only the $15 per Jury Event fee is published (Jury Interest form). Do not invent other fees.
• Dues were transcribed from the official membership form checked on 2026-10-07 and may change.
• Not affiliated with Clay Plaza.
• No Clay Plaza contact, purchase, registration, or publication action was taken.
• First-party logo saved beside this listing as madison-area-potters-guild.png (MAPG_logo_Dec22_circle_transparent.png from the site header, 1501 × 1501).

FAQ

Q: How much does it cost to join the Madison Area Potters Guild?
A: The membership form on Join the Guild (checked 2026-10-07) lists annual dues of $50; the application is not complete until dues are paid, and scholarships may be available if the fee is a barrier. Juried status requires attending a Jury Event, which carries a $15 fee per event.

Q: Can I attend a meeting before joining?
A: Yes. The homepage says non-members are welcome to attend a Meet Up as a guest after registering on the Be Our Guest page. Upcoming 2026 items on the Events page include a Critique Night (Oct 22), the Annual Meeting (Nov 12), and a Holiday Party pot swap (Dec 3).

Q: What is the difference between Regular and Juried members?
A: Per the Bylaws and Member Benefits page, both can attend meet-ups and events, vote, serve on committees, and join non-juried shows. Juried members have passed the Guild jury process and can also take part in juried group shows and sales such as the Guild booth at Art Fair on the Square.

Q: Does the Guild offer classes or studio space?
A: No class schedule or shared studio is described on the official site. It is a dues-based potters’ association focused on meet-ups, education events, and group sales. For classes or studio time use a Studio listing; for clay and glaze use a Supplier listing.