December 13th-Lawrence-Buying gifts is a wonderful experience.

This was the case with Linda Holt of North Andover at the clay studio auction held at the Lawrence Essex Art Center on Saturday.

"Look at those beautiful earrings," she said. "Of course, the cups are always great. The bowls are great. I like everything here."

Holt is an artist who can sew, knit and like to make wreaths and other things on his own. She appreciates ceramics from her experience of using clay.

There are also many people on Holt’s gift list, and she relies on inspiration to match the unique gifts she buys with the right people.

"I just have a pair of eyes to see, I see something I like, I buy it, and then I usually pair it with the person I think of," she said.

More than a dozen local artists and teachers from Clay Studio participated in the auction on Sunday, which was the second auction held by the center. It was cancelled last year due to the epidemic.

“The reason we started is that many of our adult students have become semi-professionals,” said Larry Elardo, a potter who has taught ceramics at the center since 2001.

"The quality of the work is very professional, but they have not yet developed a set of works that can be sold," Elardo added. "I started to encourage people to do this."

Elardo from Groveland's works include garden bells and wind chimes, as well as various cups and bowls. He said that 60 adults and 30 children come to the center to learn ceramics every week.

"My course is a bit like a graduate course. In a sense, I'm here to give you advice and expose you to different techniques that I think might be suitable for you to discover yourself as an artist," he said.

When inflation caused the cost of items to rise and their intrinsic value did not change, Elardo pointed out that the most inconspicuous items in the Clay Studio auction were original artworks.

"This is the draw here," he said. "Many artists have formed their own styles. When you come here, you will see 12 different clay methods."

Gwendolyn Lanier attended various art courses at the center when he was growing up in Lawrence and now lives in Lowell. After studying at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, she moved there in 2018.

Now she teaches painting at the center and will teach ceramics in the winter course.

Lanier's works at auction include plates and plates designed with mandalas, as well as a ceramic mask and some figurines.

"I like sacred geometry a lot, and I use a lot of this symbolism in my works," she said. "This is about the connection with the source, or the connection with all spirits. This is where I am in life, not looking for negativity in my life, trying to find positivity in my life, so many images All coincide with this."

Elizabeth Nadeau of North Andover started taking ceramics courses in 2011. She seeks inspiration from nature. She uses colorful robins, tits and other birds to decorate her works.

"I make plates, trays and small bowls," she said. "I'm making mugs and finger bowls, but my strength is flatter works, mainly because over time, honestly, I am a better painter than a potter."

Although most shoppers at this sale wanted to buy gifts for others, Liz Anderson of Andover wanted to indulge himself and wanted something special.

"I'm looking for two big bowls-but not too big-for me and my husband," she said.

The container in her mind is very suitable for certain grains, such as rice, farro or quinoa, topped with vegetables, "a bit of meat and mushrooms."

Although Anderson could have gone anywhere to find something of the right size, she wanted to serve those healthy meals with bowls that were satisfying to look and touch.

"They are handmade, so they have more interesting energy, and there is more diversity here," she said.

Another Andover resident with almost the same surname, Christine Andersen, participated in the auction because she wanted other works by one of the exhibitors, Paulette Dawson, which she produced A teacup she owns.

"Paulette is such an artistic woman. Her eyes are amazing. She does all of this work by hand. Having one is like a gift to me, and giving it to other people is a gift. A special gift," Andersen said.

This generosity is further enhanced by buying gifts in the community where she lives.

"We like to buy locally, and we like to support our local artists and small businesses," Andersen said. "So the more we can do locally, the better, the more we can do and give back to others, which is also very important to us."

For Casparian, Melrose's pearl, who participated in the auction with her husband Michael, the pandemic made buying and giving gifts this year more meaningful.

She said: "With COVID and everything, all the large-scale purchases we have done in the past feel different this year." "We did not do this on Christmas gifts. It is a more personalized Christmas gift, and it gives people a kind of Special feeling. Because of what COVID has done, I think it’s great to get something unique."

Casparian said that she worked in ceramics, which helped her to appreciate the skills of making objects at auctions and realize their value.

"Know how much work each piece has, and you will see how many hours it takes," she said. "It's so special."

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