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The Walworthians: Arturo DeVitalis, Potter
The Walworthians
A collection of telephone interviews published in the Wayne County STAR Newspaper and Wayne County MAIL Newspaper, 1994-209
by Kate Chamberlin
“We can see so much more with our hands,” Arturo DeVitalis recently told me during our telephone interview.
Arturo is a potter who has been nurturing the gift of working with his hands for the past 25 of his 71 years.
“A man about in his 60s helped me unload my car at the Art Gallery one day,” he continued. “I noticed the pottery pieces next to this man and remarked how wonderful they were. He told me he was a surgeon. He, too, used his hands to see.”
Arturo uses his hands to shape lumps of clay into beautiful fire stoneware pottery.
“I’d like my pottery to enhance the sharing of food as people sit around a table,” he said. “My values are hearth and home.”
Although he was born in New Jersey, he worked for a while for Texas Instruments in Texas, but moved to the Rochester area where his sister lived. He took a pottery course at the Rochester Art Gallery and knew it was what he wanted to do instead of a “straight” job.
“Something led me to it,” he said. “It still feels right’ to me.”
Arturo has two kilns to fire his pots. One is a 15 cubic foot kiln he uses for the first firing. The second is a larger, 65 cubic feet gas kiln for the final firing. The glazes he uses are, of course, lead-free and non-toxic. The colors are deep oranges, blues, tans and rich earth tones.
Each piece is decorated by carving or brush techniques that highlight that piece’s beauty and function.
You can feel if Arturo’s pottery is right for you at the Potpourri of Gifts and The Cross Stitch Corner Open House Friday, December 5 from 11:00 AM-8:00 PM; Saturday, December 6 from 11:00-5:00 and Sunday, December 7 from Noon-4:00 PM.
Arturo will be there to share his creations with you on Saturday morning. Be sure to ask him about the time a wild, 40-pound raccoon nuzzled him under his grey beard.
The Open House will also feature Connie Flood with her Barbie Doll creations and Barbie make overs and Michelle Stoneham with her American Girl Doll Clothes.
The proprietress of Potpourri of Gifts, Edie Pasquini, assures me there will be lots of in-store specials, tasty treats and an ornament drawing every hour on Saturday.
I know about Edie’s tasty treats! That’s why I’ll be there all day Saturday with my children’s book “The Night Search” to sell and sign. I’m going to donate a portion of my book proceeds to Guiding Eyes for the Blind. This is where Future was bred and trained. Eventually, I’ll be there to train with a new dog.
Potpourri of Gifts and The Cross Stitch Corner are located at 2256 Walworth-Marion Road. Phone: 315-986-7999.
2018 Up-Date: Alas, Arturo has moved to Florida with a wife. Potpourri of Gifts and the Cross-Stitch Corner are no longer doing business.