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Unique Artstream Ceramic Library shares artwork

Staff Report

Through the end of September, locals will be able to bring functional works of art into their homes free of charge.

The Artstream Ceramic Library, which can be found at the Aspen Farmers Market every Saturday, is a social outreach project with the mission of connecting contemporary functional ceramics with ordinary people. The library loans out for seven days unique cups that were handmade by 13 nationally recognized potters.

But this isn’t just an opportunity for someone to bring ceramics into his or her home; it is an art project. The library requires borrowers to submit photographs of their cups in use, and also encourages submissions of other works of art that were inspired by the ceramics, like writing, music, video and visual art. The submissions appear on the project’s website and are used for other educational purposes.



Each cup is labeled with a library catalog inventory number. This number identifies the cup online, along with art that has been created in response to it. By tracking these cups and the artwork they have inspired, the library hopes to explore the day-to-day impact that handmade, functional ceramics have in people’s lives, as well as the creativity they can inspire.

“The concept of ‘loanable art’ is fantastic,” said Carbondale resident and borrower Gavin Brooke in a press release. “It’s like being allowed to bring a piece from a contemporary ceramics gallery into your home for free.”


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