Raku and other ceramic works by artists Angie Peterson and Diana May will be featured in a special exhibit opening at the Opera House Gallery of Contemporary Art in Delphi on Thursday, Nov. 5.

Well-known in the Lafayette arts scene, Angie Peterson has been learning the craft of ceramics for more than two decades. She now teaches at the Morton Center in West Lafayette where she took her first lesson 20 years ago and where she “fell in love with the first spin of the wheel.”

Diana May started working with clay while in high school in Lafayette and then studied it at Oakland Community College near Detroit. A minor in business and accounting led to a profession, while in the back of her mind she knew she “would find clay again.“ Twenty years later, with the support of her husband and children, she launched Muddog Pottery, creating functional and sculptural art using clay.

“Spotlight on Ceramics” is the first in a series of special exhibits planned at the Opera House Gallery for the coming year - each focusing on a different medium or type of art. Following a jurying process, artists for the exhibits will be invited to display works along side those of resident artists Rena Brouwer, Terry Lacy, and Alan McConnell.

Peterson and May will join the Gallery’s resident artists at the opening reception from 7 to 9 p.m. on Nov. 5. The Opera House Gallery is located at 109 S. Washington Street on the east side of the Courthouse Square in Delphi.

The evening will also signal the start of holiday hours at the Opera House Gallery. Extended hours will be from noon until 8 p.m. on Thursdays, and Fridays from noon until 6 p.m. Regular hours on Saturday are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Sunday from noon until 4.

The Opera House Gallery of Contemporary Art celebrates the cultural and architectural heritage of the community. The room in which the gallery operates is itself a gem with a 14- foot high ornate pressed tin ceiling.

The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Its third floor houses the famed Delphi Opera House where poet James Whitcomb Riley performed at least six times. Delphi Preservation Society is restoring the building and the Opera House as a center for the performing arts. The gallery is owned and operated by DPS, and a portion of all sales will go to support the restoration effort.

Visitors can tour the historic Opera House on Saturdays and Sundays at 1 p.m. through December, weather permitting.