Carla Horowitz passed away on Sunday, March 29, after a month-long struggle with COVID-19. She was 77.
She was born Carla Ann Bloom in Springfield, Mass., on June 29, 1942, the oldest of three children of Clara and Martin Bloom. Her enduring appreciations of life, love and art were nurtured by her parents in her childhood home.
She married Milt Horowitz in 1962, and they lived in Japan for the next four years, which deeply influenced both of them and awakened Carla’s dreams of being an artist. They then settled down in Montclair, where she remained for the rest of her life.
Carla discovered her vocation as a potter in 1974, working first in her friend Adrienne’s basement, then growing into a storefront in Montclair’s South End business district, which became her studio, shop and classroom for the next 16 years.
She studied with eminent ceramics artists, including Byron Temple, Jim Makins, and Tom Neugebauer.
Carla co-founded the Doubletree Gallery of Fine Art and Contemporary Crafts and eventually moved her business, The Clay Cellar Pottery, to a studio at Riker Hill Art Park in Livingston.
She taught pottery for many years at the Montclair Adult School, the New Jersey Center for Visual Arts, and the Montclair Art Museum.
She was a member of the Potters Guild of New Jersey and was secretary/treasurer of the Riker Hill Artists Association. Her work has been featured in the books “500 Raku: Bold Explorations of a Dynamic Ceramics Technique,” by Ray Hermachandra and Jim Romberg, and “Color: How to Use It,” by Marcie Cooperman.
Another passion was the Township of Montclair, which she and Milt had chosen for its culture and diversity. She never left the art world, but in 1993 she decided she wanted to give back to her town; she was hired by the township to work in the clerk’s office, subsequently becoming the deputy clerk, and served in that capacity until she retired in 2013.
All who met Carla were inspired by her zest for life, her kindness, and her talent for human relationships. Her passion for her art and for peace and social justice fed each other; family and friends kindled a fire in her soul that showed in every piece of pottery she created.
In addition to Milt, Carla is survived by her daughter, Denise Cruz (and her husband Daniel), her granddaughter, Vanesa Cruz, her brothers Loren (and his wife Mayra) and Dennis (and his wife Leslie), as well as cousins, nieces, nephews, and countless friends. She was predeceased by her son, Jeffrey.
Funeral arrangements have been made by Fertig Funeral Home in Mullica Hill, N.J. A memorial service for Carla will be announced at a future date. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in honor of Carla to the World Fellowship Center in Albany, N.H.; New Jersey Peace Action in Bloomfield, or any other peace or social justice charitable organization of your choice, or to the Montclair Local newspaper.