Pond Farm, Art colony in Russian River Valley, Sonoma County, US.
Pond Farm is an art colony within Austin Creek State Recreation Area in Sonoma County, California, made up of two residences and a barn converted into a pottery studio. The site also includes workspace and teaching areas spread across an open property that once supported a working community of ceramic artists and students.
Gordon and Jane Herr established Pond Farm in 1939 as a refuge for European artists fleeing World War II, including potter Marguerite Wildenhain and her husband Franz. After the Herrs died, Wildenhain took over and continued running summer workshops into the 1970s.
Marguerite Wildenhain, the first woman to earn a master potter title at the Bauhaus, taught summer courses here that drew ceramicists from around the world. Her teaching combined craft precision with artistic expression, giving the courses a character that students found hard to find elsewhere.
The property sits within Austin Creek State Recreation Area and is managed by California State Parks and the Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods, so a visit works best when planned alongside a broader tour of the park. Facilities on site are limited, so coming prepared for outdoor conditions makes the visit more comfortable.
The pond on the property gave the farm its name and was part of why the founders chose this land for their community. Less often noted is that Wildenhain continued to live and work on the property after she stopped teaching, until her death in 1995.
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