September 2006
Unity Pond Pottery's BUMUPPFSF returns
by Tim Collins Downer
UNITY- The weekend of Sept. 23-24 will draw a lot of visitors to the Unity area.The vast majority will travel to Waldo County to attend either the Common Ground Country Fair or Unity College's alumni festivities. But many of those who pass through will also discover a hidden gem among the events of the weekend: Unity Pond Pottery's BUMUPPFSF.According to Unity Pond Pottery owners Robert and Wendy Esposito, the acronym, pronounced bum-upf-uss, has no meaning. But that hasn't stopped it from being successful enough to be entering its ninth-straight year.The event is a combination workshop/fair/festival that is held 9 a.m. - 4 p.m., Friday through Sunday, on the grounds of the Espositos' studio on Route 202/9 in Unity. Visitors will have the opportunity to throw their own pots on a real potter's wheel and participate in the construction of a metal sculpture. Last year, glass bead making was offered for the first time. It proved to be very popular and is back again this year. In addition to the hands-on actives, there will be blacksmithing demonstrations and raku firings. "Raku is a glaze and firing technique that originated in Japan around the tea ceremony," said Robert Esposito, who will be participating in the demonstrations with a number of visiting artists. "We do that all weekend so people can see how it's done."According to the Esposito's, BUMUPPFSF was inspired by their customers. They said despite constant requests to do so, they are unable to offer regular pottery classes because Unity Pond Pottery is a working studio. Instead, they decided to offer a free pottery workshop one weekend per year.The Esposito's credited Art and Karen Crouse of A.K. Designs Metal of Strong with helping to develop the event. Along with the free, hands-on lessons and demonstrations, A.K. Designs and others will be displaying their work and the studio will be offering a 20 percent discount on pottery.If people need another reason to visit Unity this weekend, BUMUPPFSF just might be it.