A Life in Clay and Laughter: Pelham Potter Michael Cohen, 89, Left a Lasting Legacy

Excerpt from Daily Hampshire Gazette

Michael Cohen’s friends knew him for two things: making a life in pottery and being the life of the party.

“He was very funny,” said Harriet Cohen, Michael’s ex-wife. “He could crack a joke … and he was much loved by everyone because he was a good boss. He was a wonderful father.”

Cohen, a celebrated potter and longtime Pelham resident, died on Jan. 9 at the age of 89. He founded the founder of the Asparagus Valley Potters Guild and his work is in the collections of American museums, including the Museum of Modern Art, and he authored several pottery books.

Outside of his professional accomplishments, he loved using his artistic talents for fun.

Amanda Cohen, his daughter, recalled that one year, for a friend’s Halloween party, he built a chess set where the pieces were shaped like body parts — rather than calling it “chess,” he called it “chest.” Another time, he made a teapot shaped like the pipe in René Magritte’s famous painting “The Treachery of Images” (better known by its caption, “Ceci n’est pas une pipe.”) Another time, he made a ceramic chocolate bar with a bite taken out of it.

“I asked him, ‘How did you take the bite out of it?’ And he said, ‘I just took a bite out of it.’ He bit that clay!” Amanda said. “He could do anything with clay, and he let us do it, too.”