Friday, March 19, 2010

North Carolina Pottery Center - Local Potters Demonstrate Techniques

Tomorrow, Saturday-March 19 at the North Carolina Pottery Center there will be 5 local Seagrove Potters demonstrating their pottery craft in the NCPC's Educational building.
The Asheboro Courier Tribune Martha Anderson writes...

"SEAGROVE — On Saturday, five of the exhibitors in the “New Generation of Seagrove Potters” will demonstrate wheel and hand-throwing techniques from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at the N.C. Pottery Center in Seagrove.

Wheel and hand throwing are the methods of creating the vessel from wet clay and is the first step in making a pottery piece.

Fees have been waived for visitors to the pottery center on Saturday. Visitors are invited to tour the center, see the exhibition and watch the potters at work and talk with them about their craft.

Featured artists and demonstration times are:

X 10-11 a.m. — Samantha Henneke of Bulldog Pottery will demonstrate throwing on the wheel. Henneke specializes in contemporary art pottery with unusual, iridescent, crystalline glazes with a distinctive luster surface.

X 11 a.m.-noon — Crystal King of Crystal King Pottery and Folk Art will demonstrate hand sculpting. King specializes in animals. King is recognized by folk art collectors for her unique style of hand building and colorful use of glazes. Her whimsical creatures center around animals and Bible stories.

X Noon-1 p.m. — Travis Owens from Jugtown Pottery will demonstrate wheel throwing. Owens has lived his entire 25 years at Jugtown and has been making pots since he was 2. His specialties are traditional wares like those his great-grandparents made as well as chickens and pigs — early shapes of Jugtown. He has led workshops and demonstrations all over the state and has written articles and produced videos on young potters and the history of pottery.

X 1-2 p.m. — Tommy Nichols from Nichols Pottery will demonstrate wheel throwing. Nichols specializes in stoneware in all the traditional shapes with colorful glazes. He also makes specialty stoneware items such as birdhouses and angels.

X 2-3 p.m. — Chad Brown from Chad Brown Pottery will demonstrate wheel throwing. Brown grew up in the workshops of legendary potters around Seagrove. He could made clay animals before he started to school. Brown worked for and learned from many area potters before opening his own studio. He makes traditional pieces, but really likes big jars.
The New Generation of Seagrove Potters exhibit will continue through April 10.

The N.C. Pottery Center is located at 233 East Ave., Seagrove.

More information is online at www.ncpotterycenter.com or call (336) 873-8530.

X Contact: 626-6116 or manderson@courier-tribune.com


Wednesday, March 17, 2010

17th Annual Kovack Spring Pottery Festival

March 13-21, 2010
A truly unique event featuring a huge selection of Numbered, Limited Edition Collector's pieces.

Hand-turned by Craig Koack and Hand-Painted by Michelle Kovack.

Each piece comes with a Certificate of Authenticity signed by the Kovacks.
Certificates are given out only during this event.

New items are available along with festival favorites.
Wood-Fired Salt-Glaze pottery is also in stock.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Potters Gather to Build Bridges


Potters gather to build bridges

By Robin B. Breedlove -- Special to The Courier-Tribune
Posted: 03/06/10 - 10:19:15 pm CST

"SEAGROVE — More than 7,500 miles separate Seagrove, North Carolina, and Jingdezhen, China. Yet a group of like-minded individuals met Wednesday night over a potluck dinner to begin the process of building a bridge linking the two locations.

Guest of honor for the evening, hosted at the studio of potter Ben Owen, was Jackson Li, an internationally recognized Chinese ceramic artist, and his wife, Ying.

Li, a graduate of Jingdezhen Ceramics Institute, also received a master of fine arts degree at Alfred University in New York. He is the co-founder of Sanbao Ceramic Art Institute in the Jiangxi Province in China. He is an active supporter in promoting international exchange art programs, reaching out as an educator and liaison for ceramic artists.

Thanks to Seagrove’s continual tradition of pottery making that goes back to before the American Revolution — something that sets Seagrove apart from most pottery areas in the United States — Li has found Seagrove a unique place to reach out......

To read the rest of the article visit the Courier Tribune's (Asheboro, NC) website. "