By John Chambless
Staff Writer

If you're looking for some last-minute holiday gifts that don't come from the mall, Bookplace in Oxford is ready to help with a show of original pottery, glass and jewelry by regional artisans.

The richly textured pottery bowls and cups by Gill Mallinckrodt have earthy colors and irregular surfaces that are rustic and just right. There's a selection of lovely glass-bead jewelry by Stacy Martin, and Margaret Seidenberg-Ellis has little ceramic dishes and vessels with comb patterning, as well as cute little ceramic bunny pins that would make great stocking stuffers. Don't miss her snowflake tree ornaments, which are inspired by 1800s designs.

There are folk-art redware platters and bowls with salt glaze designs by Carolyn Hess, as well as some impressive stoneware crocks. Keven Lehman shows a wide range of glass – olive oil decanters, paperweights, bottles, tumblers and bowls.

The wafer-thin pottery bowls by Maggie Creshkoff have vibrant turquoise exteriors, and rich gold interiors that glow wonderfully. William Stuckey's pottery piggy banks – in unusual shapes such as platypus, hippo, armadillo and buffalo – are really fun. Stuckey's pebble-studded vessels are so earthy and raw that they seem to have just barely raised themselves out of the mud, but looking at them from every angle is like seeing an archeological dig.

The crafts are in addition to the thousands of used books, antique art and who knows what else filling the shelves of Bookplace, so stop by this weekend and spend some time browsing. You won't be sorry.

“Ceramics, Glass and Jewelry” continues through Dec. 27 at Bookplace (2373 Baltimore Pike, Oxford). Hours are Friday from 1 to 4 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Call 717-715-4775 for more information.

To contact Staff Writer John Chambless, email [email protected].