The annual conference of the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) begins today in Pittsburgh, bringing with it an opportunity for the general public to see a large array of current ceramic expression that includes functional pottery, sculpture and hybrids of the two.

Registration opens this morning at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, where a wealth of programming will appeal to aficionados. Conference admission, coupled with requisite membership, may seem steep to the casual art-goer. But almost all of the exhibitions are being held outside of the convention center, are open to the public and, with the exception of standard admission at a couple of museums, are free.

Approximately 100 exhibitions, some more casually organized than others, dot the city. (A list by neighborhood may be found at "A list of ceramic exhibitions.") About two-thirds of them will run only today through Saturday.

Collectors will be among the more than 4,000 attendees expected, and much of the work is for sale. Prices I've seen vary from around $20 for individually crafted mugs at the Union Project to sculptural works in the thousands at the Pittsburgh Glass Center.

NCECA is pretty practiced at pulling off conferences, this being its 42nd, and the enthusiastic response by exhibitors and spaces is typical. Founded in 1966 by a few hundred artists, the organization now has more than 4,000 members. The annual conference is the world's largest ceramic arts event.

There are three NCECA exhibitions, two of them exceptional and public. The "NCECA 2008 Regional Student Juried Exhibition" continues only through Saturday at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts. As might be expected, the students push edges, making for one of the most au courant shows. The "NCECA 2008 Invitational Exhibition," contemporary and with stellar work, continues through June 7 at the Society for Contemporary Craft.

The "National K-12 Ceramic Exhibition" is at the convention center and open to registrants. But all may see work by local children in "Allegheny County Regional K-12 Ceramic Exhibition" at the Andrew Carnegie Free Library, Carnegie, through March 29.

Josh Green, Manchester Craftsmen's Guild director of Arts and Education, had to find housing for more than 60 other shows when he became NCECA 2008 On-site Liaison. And individuals and galleries have organized "independent concurrent exhibitions."

Green is one name to look for in the exhibitions (at Carnegie Library, Oakland, and Gallerie Chiz, for example) as one of the region's highest-profile ceramists. Others include Edward Eberle (Manchester Craftsmen's Guild, Alcoa Building), Ceil Sturdevant (Morgan Contemporary, Ellis School) and Laura Jean McLaughlin (Gallerie Chiz and her own studio, The Clay Penn).

Gallery proprietress Elvira Peake, a seminal figure in the local and national ceramic art scenes, will be presented tonight with an NCECA Regional Award for Excellence. The 78-year-old artist has attended NCECA conferences for a quarter-century. Her Clay Place gallery, a Pittsburgh fixture she and her late husband Steve opened in 1973 in Shadyside and in Carnegie since 2006, is exhibiting works by Peake, James Simon, Eva Kwong and Kirk Mangus. Peake's ceramic "Bound" received the Carnegie Museum of Art Purchase Award at the recent "Associated Artists of Pittsburgh Ninety-Seventh Annual Exhibition."

• "Hanging by a Thread," at the Carnegie Library Main Branch in Oakland through March 31, comprises only 11 works, but among them are Susan Ting's graceful "Prelude," built of celadon gingko leaf forms, and Yoko Sekino-Bove's cryptic "Noblesse Oblige," both in plate format.

• "Edinboro at Alcoa" exhibits more than 60 Edinboro University of Pennsylvania students, faculty and alumni, through Friday. Sculptural and functional work from Pittsburgh and beyond includes eye-catchers "Surveillance" by Ron Mazanowski, Richard Nickel's contemporized "Tree of Life," and Bill Campbell's gorgeous, huge crystal-covered "Weed Pot. (North Shore)

• "Recollection" displays collaborations and individual works by Michael Rogers and Richard Hirsch in this striking, museum-quality show at the Pittsburgh Glass Center through March 30. (Friendship)

• "Wood Fired Ware," including Eric Knoche's sculptural "small ergonomic cups," and "Tableware From the Neighborhood" by several artists, reasonably priced in a generous variety of size and glaze, are at the Union Project through March 28. (East End)

• "Warren MacKenzie & David Lewis" at Mendelson Gallery offers a rare chance to see and buy the acclaimed potter's works. Half of the 16 remained available yesterday (one to a purchaser). Lewis will sign copies of his updated book on MacKenzie from 5 to 7 p.m. tomorrow. Also exhibited are a few works by each of the NCECA 2008 Honorees. (Shadyside)

• "Japanese Threads" is a handsome first ceramic effort at Morgan Contemporary Glass Gallery, through April 26. Among many stand-outs is Yuichi Hirano's impeccable "Siho Tubo." (Shadyside)

• The very fine "Tacitly Tactile," at Gallerie Chiz through April 19, brings discoveries such as Janis Mars Wunderlich, and Gundi Dietz's evocative "Head With Dark Animal." (Shadyside)