photo by: Gage Vota

Philadelphia native George Rodriguez, from left, Pittsburgh resident Kyle Houser and Tallahassee, Fla., native Jillian Heusohn compete in the pottery throwdown Sunday at Oglebay Institute’s Stifel Fine Arts Center in Wheeling.

WHEELING — Oglebay Institute’s Stifel Fine Arts Center hosted its fourth annual pottery throwdown and raffle Sunday afternoon.

The fundraising event saw Jillian Heusohn from Tallahassee, Florida, Kyle Houser from Pittsburgh, George Rodriguez, and Jennifer Martin both from Philadelphia, and Ruth Douzinas from New York City all compete to take home the glory, with Heusohn coming up victorious.

The competition was part of a broader event called Ceramics Take Over Wheeling which saw an exhibition, ceramic demonstrations, meet the artists, cocktail parties, and concluded with the throwdown.

The exhibit was called “Earth & Fire,” which featured various instalments of ceramic art created by artists from 36 states.

“This is such a completely unique event, it feels like such a gift to see and experience,” Heusohn said. “I knew the idea behind it, but had no clue what it was going to actually be like until I got here, and it completely blew away all of my expectations.”

She added that the competition is basically the “Super Bowl” of ceramics.

“It’s so energetic and exciting and there’s so much passion behind it that’s built around community,” Heusohn said.

“Wheeling is such a gift, this community is amazing and I really hope to come back in the future.”

This year saw the addition of a raffle, where attendees could purchase $1 tickets and put them in a bucket in front of the person they believe would win the event. Oglebay Institute Curator of Exhibitions Kevin Clancy randomly selected a few tickets, with the winners receiving ceramic items from some of the various exhibitions that the Stifel Center purchased from the curated artists.

“When I came in four years ago, it was a little different, where we paid the potters directly who won. And I thought this is a great way to create a gambling event where the winnings are ceramic objects, and we get the crowd involved,” he said. “This is for fun with an added benefit of getting the crowd involved. And then we raise money, which is good for more programming, to bring more people here from outside of the area.”

Clancy added that the five contestants are at the top of their game and he’s thrilled to provide the opportunity for artists to showcase their talents.

Stifel Fine Arts Center Director Rick Morgan said that the event was a fun way of asking people to be participants and donate to the center.

“Ultimately, it helps raise money for our programming so that next year, we’re able to bring back just as talented people that we have this year, and keep building,” Morgan said. “This is just a fun way for the community to give back, but then they also get a chance to win an awesome prize that’s ceramic pieces that we’ve purchased.”