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Nestled on the edge of the Agricultural Reserve in Laytonsville is a 34-acre hay farm that doubles as a pottery studio and a haven for upcounty artists.

"It started out as one little studio where I was throwing pots – and then friends and neighbors that were also artists wanted an outlet for displaying their work, so, I said, ‘Hey, come on over," said the farm's owner Linda Phillips on Sunday. "Art is important, it's an expression – you don't have to be an artist to appreciate the arts."

Despite the rain, about 100 visitors attended a Harvest Festival hosted Saturday and Sunday at the Something Earthy Pottery Studio near Etchison, off Route 108. At the studio, at 24410 Hipsley Mill Road, they could enjoy live music and sit at a potter's wheel. Phillips, a potter who has owned the farm with her husband for 17 years, shows and sells the work of 15 upcounty artists including jewelers, painters, potters, glassblowers, weavers and soapmakers.

"I had always wanted to come and I'm glad I did," said Madeleine Tensch of Damascus, who attended the festival Sunday "just to check it out," and bought glazed stoneware gifts for the holidays after watching potters at their wheels.

The musical group Peat and Barley, Bill Mitchell and Becky Ross, who live nearby on Brink Road, performed Scottish and Irish folk music on the hammered dulcimer and fiddle.

Joel Niswander of Damascus, a teacher at Baker Middle School, started weekend musical gatherings at the studio.

"I like the art scene … It's a beautiful setting to play music," he said.

Phillips is building a pavilion on her hilly property to host live performances amid the glow of a bonfire and a view of her pond, barns and land.

The upcounty has "a lot of talented artists," she said, mentioning ironworking and glassblowing studios down the road.

Phillips teaches pottery and ceramics and hosts field trips. She runs a summer arts camp with Old Sage Farm on Sundown Road.