In Strained Economy, AMACO Recycles, Keeps Costs at a Minimum

INDIANAPOLIS, IN–(April 5, 2009)

With the current global economic crisis, AMACO, a leader in the pottery supplies and craft industry, offers environmentally friendly art solutions that maximize creativity and minimize costs. Friendly Plastic® from AMACO gives consumers the opportunity to create an object and then melt it down and reuse it for another project. Whether the artist is a beginner or a professional, they can practice and create any number of times before reaching the desired end result. This makes good pocket sense in uncertain economic times.

Recently, AMACO hosted the AMACO Friendly Plastic Design Challenge where environmentally minded artists from across the United States were given the chance to display the fruits of their labors. The awards reception took place in Anaheim, California with Managing Editor of Today’s Creative Home Arts, Julie Stephani, assisting Helen Bradley as the master of ceremonies. It was a grand celebration, with Lisa Pavelka taking esteemed prizes such as Best of Show and Best Jewelry Design.

The emotional highpoint of the event arrived in the unexpected form of butterflies. The myriad butterfly designs, made with AMACO’s Friendly Plastic, were created in honor and remembrance of the 1.5 million children whose lives were untimely taken in the Holocaust and received numerous top honors. The Holocaust Museum in Houston is in the process of collecting 1.5 million handmade butterflies as a part of a project scheduled for Spring 2012. An estimated four hundred thousand hand-made butterflies had already been collected in the summer of 2008. From community-minded, conscious-raising projects to engaging pottery lesson plans for teachers, AMACO remains the site of choice for pottery, supplies, and crafts to suit every age and skill level.

Friendly Plastic is not the only good news during strained economic times. AMACO recently celebrated 90 years as the industry leader for safe ceramic programs with 40 Years of Brent® innovation in pottery wheels, in addition to their wide-range of throwing wheels. Linda Arbuckle, an artist and educator agrees with the recent accolades, adding, “Brent wheels stand the test of time.”

For further information regarding the supplies and equipment available through American Art Clay Company, visit www.AMACO.com, or call (800) 374-1600.