Seagrove Potters the Place to Shop for North Carolina Pottery

Jeffrey Dean - Dean and Martin Pottery

There are 9 kiln openings this coming Saturday on December 17, 2011 in and very near the town of Seagrove, North Carolina.

The following shops are having kiln openings this weekend. Times vary but most will be open by 9:00. For a specific potter visit their website or give them a call. You can pick up a map at any of the potters around Seagrove to find your way around our country roads.

Bulldog Pottery

Donna Craven Pottery

Ben Owen Pottery

Dean and Martin Pottery

Jeff Brown and Michele Hastings Pottery

David Stuempfle Pottery

Johnston and Gentithes Pottery

Chris Luther Pottery

Seagrove Stoneware

To Read more about this weekend kiln openings visit Carolina Arts Unleashed.

The Seagrove Potters have been busy keeping thier shops filled with pottery.  Seagrove is a great place to bring your family when they are visiting for the holidays.

Donna Craven Pottery

Fred Johnston - Johnston and Gentithes Pottery

Chris Luther Pottery

David Stuempfle Pottery

Jeff Brown and Michele Hastings Pottery

Bruce Gholson - Bulldog Pottery

Bulldog Pottery Holiday Kiln Opening - Dec 17 2011

Bulldog Pottery Holiday Kiln Opening

At Bulldog Pottery in Seagrove, North Carolina

Saturday - December 17, 2011

 9:00am-5:00pm

Bruce Gholson and Samantha Henneke will have new Moka Glaze Pottery ready for Saturday, December 17th.
Join Them for their "last Hurrah!" of 2011 for their latest and hottest Bulldog pots, fresh from the kiln.

Bulldog Pottery - Bruce Gholson and Samantha Henneke

3306 US Hwy, Seagrove, NC 27341

336-302-3469

Carolina Arts Reviews the Celebration of Seagrove Potters

A Trip to the 4th Annual Celebration of Seagrove Potters
by Tom Starland
on Carolina Arts Unleashed
...."Well, after a trip to Vista Lights in Columbia, SC, I was lucky to get a day in-between before I hit the road again on my way to Seagrove, NC, a 3 1/2 hour trip North of the Carolina Arts headquarters in Bonneau, SC. When I left home it was 37 degrees and as I headed North is got a little cooler for the first hour, then it eventually started to warm up as the sun began to do its magic. I got to Seagrove just after 10am and the parking lots were pretty jammed at Luck’s Cannery, but people were leaving carrying bags full of pottery. Within a few minutes a space opened up."... 
To Read the rest of this story visit Carolina Arts Unleashed

Celebration of Seagrove Potters at the Lucks Cannery

62 Potteries will be showing at the Celebration of Seagrove Potters

Join us for the

4th Annual Celebration of Seagrove Potters, 2011

Nov.18- Friday evening Gala 6:00pm-9:00pm (tickets in advance $40) - 

You can purchase the tickets on the Celebration's website

Nov.19- Saturday   9:00am-6:00pm

Nov.20- Sunday     10:00-4:00pm

Here is the list of participating potters

Over 100 Seagrove potters, from 62 shops, are participating this year.

Participating shops are: 

    Avery, Ben Owen, Blue Hen, Blue Stone, Bulldog, Cadwell-Hohl, Chad Brown, Chris Luther, Country Pots, Cross Creek, Crystal King, Daniel Johnston, David Stuempfle, Dean & Martin, Dirt Works, Dixieland, Donna Craven, Dover, Eck McCanless, Fat Beagle, Firestone, From the Ground Up, Gingerbread House, Great White Oak Gallery, Hatfield, Hickory Hill, Humble Mill, JLK Jewelry, Johnston & Gentithes, Jugtown, Keith Martindale, King’s, Koepnick, Kovack, Lantern Hill, Latham’s, Luck’s Ware, McCanless, McKay, Michele Hastings & Jeff Brown, Nelda French, Nichols, Old Gap, Ole Fish House, Original Owens, Patrick Rowe, Pebbles, Pottery by Frank Neef, Potts, Ray, Riggs, Rockhouse, Seagrove Stoneware, Studio Touya, The Hutch, Thomas, Tom Gray, Triple C, Turn & Burn, Uwharrie Crystalline, Whynot, and Windsong.

STARworks Mill Worker Homecoming

Open House at STARworks in Star, North Carolina

Tours, Glass & Pottery Demonstrations

Open to the Public

November 12, 9 a.m. - noon

100 Russell Drive in Star

For more information: Call (910) 428-9001

North Carolina Pottery Center - A Thriving Tradition

North Carolina Pottery Center in Seagrove presents:

A Thriving Tradition: 75 years of Collecting North Carolina Pottery

Featuring pots from the Mint Museum's Permanent Collection and local collectors

Opening this Friday November 11, 2011

5:30pm - 7:30pm

Free to the Public

Westmoore Pottery - Hearthside Cooking - November 12

Westmoore Pottery's Hearth where the traditional food cooking will take place

Don't forget that this coming Saturday, November 12, Westmoore Pottery will present “Stepping Back in Time:  Hearthside Cooking.”

Westmoore Pottery will be open from 9am - 5pm on Saturday, November 12. 

 The hearthside cooking demonstrations will run from 11am – 4pm.

Historical cooks Cindy Kepley and Susan Ball will cook foods in the large fireplace at Westmoore Pottery, using historical recipes from the 18th and 19th centuries. Among the dishes Cindy and Susan plan to prepare are Carolina Snowballs, Green “Frogs,” fruit pies, Carrot Fritters, and Chicken Pie.  Sampling of many of the dishes will be allowed as foods finish cooking.

Cindy Kepley and Susan Ball both work at Old Salem Museums and Gardens in Winston-Salem, NC, where they have each held positions in the Museum Education and Children’s Education Departments.  Susan is a museum educator and coordinator of the Five Yesterdays program.  Cindy Kepley works with Historic Trades and is one of the main living-history interpreters for the Miksch House of Old Salem.  Susan and Cindy are both experienced hearth cooks who have been immersed in the world of 18th and early 19th century cooking for many years.  They are energetic presenters of their skills and are remarkably adept at simultaneously cooking and talking to visitors.  Cindy and Susan have been the cooks at previous Hearthside Cookery programs at Westmoore Pottery, with enthusiastic response from visitors.

Cindy Kepley and Susan Ball will use Westmoore’s pottery in their cooking, to demonstrate how various pottery pieces were used in the 18th and early 19th centuries.  Pots used will range from the more common bowls, pitchers, and plates to the lesser known pottery pipkins, skillets, and steep pans. 

We are thrilled to have Cindy and Susan back doing hearthside cookery.  Not only are they extremely knowledgeable and skilled at 18th and early 19th century cooking techniques, they are also just great cooks!

The Hearthside Cooking programs are always among Westmoore Pottery’s most popular special events, and attract a wide and varied audience who learn about a part of history that people sometimes forget about -- the history of foods, cooking skills, and the daily tasks of those who lived long ago.  These programs interest many different types of people – history buffs, cooks, pottery enthusiasts, teachers, and lifetime learners.

Westmoore Pottery will be open from 9am - 5pm on Saturday, November 12.  The hearthside cooking demonstrations will run from 11am – 4pm.  (The last hour of the day is allotted to washing dishes!)  Visitors may come at any point during the day, and come back as often as they like to see the various foods being cooked.  No admission fee will be charged. 

Feel free to just stop in for a short time to watch and learn or to stay all day!  Hope to see you on Saturday.

Mary Farrell

Westmoore Pottery
4622 Busbee Road
Seagrove, NC  27341
910-464-3700

Westmoore Pottery

Tonight- Tues.Nov8-Talks and Potluck at the North Carolina Pottery Center

Presentations at the North Carolina Pottery Center

November 8, 2011 - Tuesday - 6:00pm- ...
At the North Carolina Pottery Center in Seagrove, North Carolina, 233 East Avenue
Bring a covered dish for a potluck dinner! Yummmmm

Building Upon: Exchange of Ideas, Culture, Experience

Blue Hen Pottery presents an opportunity to meet Ceramic artists from Tallinn, Estonia; Pepin, WI and Greenville NC at North Carolina Pottery Center.

What do they all have in common? They are threaded together by the history of exchange that emerges from working with common material, clay. 

Many years ago, Richard Spiller, a former professor of East Carolina University ventured out into the unknown of the Baltic region (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania), Saint Petersburg and Finland. What he found there and how the history unfolded, will be unravelled in his slide presentation.

Some of the friends he made while in Estonia: Urmas Puhkan, The Head of the Ceramics Department and Ingrid Allik, a Professors of Ceramics at the Estonian Academy of Art will sneak us a peek into the academic art education in Estonia and introduce us to their individual work.

The youngest generation of the growing international clay family, the Students of East Carolina University and Estonian Academy of Art will be sharing with us their freshest ideas.

Please welcome these artists to the Seagrove community and join us for this exciting event - a Pot Luck Presentation Night at NCPC Educational Building.

North Carolina Pottery Center : East Carolina University : Estonian Academy of Art

Tuesday, Nov. 8. 6PM - until

NCPC Educational Building

Please bring a covered dish or snack foods to share.

More information on events during this visit can be found at:

Blue Hen Pottery

4th annual Celebration of Seagrove Potters in Seagrove, central NC

It is that time of the year again! The Potters of Seagrove -  the Seagrove Potters that live and make their work in and very near to the town of Seagrove will come together in one location the weekend before Thanksgiving. 

The evening of Friday - November 18th, 2011 - 6:00 pm The Celebration of Seagrove Potters kicks-off Friday evening for a celebratory Gala event. There will be ample time to look at pottery and talk with your favorite potters. Food, drink, and music will be available and later in the evening the collaborative auction is always a thrill.  You can purchase tickets ($40 per person and good for the weekend) to the Gala, on the Celebration of Seagrove Potters website and you can also see the collaborative pieces that will be available. Also all the details about this awesome event will be on the website and if you have any questions there is a contact page too.

Saturday - November 19, 2011 - 9:00 am - 6:00pm begins the Celebration of Seagrove Potters weekend (tickets are $5 at the door). This is always a thrilling and a very exciting time for Pottery Lovers to come and see all of the Seagrove Potters together. Bring your map so you can begin to circle the potteries that you will like to come and visit through out the year. Remember that the potteries in Seagrove are open through all four seasons to greet people, answer questions, and we are looking forward to your visit throughout the year.  Saturday afternoon at the Celebration there will be a silent auction of pottery. There will be demos, kids pottery tables, concession food stands, and more to keep the interest of everyone in your party.  Plan to stay for the whole day, because there is a lot to do and see.

Sunday - November 20, 2011 - 10:00 am-4:00 pm is usually a bit more quiet than Saturday. There is always plenty of pots left to see and buy and like Saturday there will be demos, kids pottery tables, and concession food stands.

The Luck's Cannery is around a mile from town, south on Pottery Highway 705.  

We are looking forward to seeing you.

In the Grove-November

Seagrove Pottery News - "In the Grove" - Published by  Rhonda McCanless 

Lots going in Seagrove during the month of November. Actually there is always something going on in Seagrove, North Carolina. The Seagrove potters don't sit still, always making quality pottery and stirring up some magic.

This is this months "In the Grove" - a monthly newsletter published by Rhonda McCanless of Eck McCanless pottery. You can read this months In the Grove newsletter here on scribed.

  "In the Grove" has a facebook page, which you can follow to find out the latest news. 

Cady Clay Works Annual Wood-Fired Kiln Opening - Nov 5, 2011

John Mellage is the fellow in the ligth blue shirt. A wood kiln can take a small village to help fire.

Around a month ago friends came into town and we toured them around Seagrove,  NC.  John Mellage and Beth Gore of Cady Clay Works were firing their wood kiln and we were lucky enough to be able watch them stoke their kiln for a few mintues.  They are having a very special kiln opening event this weekend.

Cady Clay Works Annual Wood-Fired Kiln Opening

November 5 Saturday 9:00am - 5:00pm

"Every wood-fired pot is uniquely decorated by its placement in the kiln, the fly ash deposited on it and the flashing of the flame moving past the piece.  Potters John Mellage and Beth Gore enjoy creating different pieces for every firing, giving up control to the serendipity of the kiln process.  They have been working on this year's designs for four months and are anxious to share them with their pottery collectors!

John and Beth made a lot of "kitchen pots" this year, just in time for fall cooking.  New items are soup mugs and "Kara's shrimp and grits bowl" - a wide, shallow bowl requested by Charleston friends.  Returning favorites are dinner plates, salad plates, bowls, mugs, tumblers, goblets, carafes, mixing bowls and baking dishes.  And casseroles are back!  Lidded pieces are tricky to wood-fire because the melting, runny ash can glue the lid to the pot.  John hasn't made casseroles in a few years because he was discouraged by losing several.  This year he made a point to configure the kiln stacks to create a more protected place for them, with good results.

There are a lot of figural creatures in this year's firing.  John and Beth collaborated on owls and chubby hens, thrown by John and scultped by Beth.  Beth also made hand-built birds and turtles from textured and sculpted slabs of clay.

Additonal pieces include lidded jars made of stoneware and porcelain clays swirled together as the pots are turned on the wheel, garden urns, a wide variety of vases, platters and wall pieces.  Over 600 new pieces will make their debut at the Kiln Opening. 

Hot Cider and refreshments will be available for shoppers, as well as tours of the studio and kiln.  Do your Christmas shopping while supporting North Carolina business!

  

It's hot, dirty, exhausting work.  It's ancient technology.  So why do potters wood-fire?

  "I love clay as a material, and woodfiring makes it possible to show the clay 'bare', as I like it - flashed and lively with subtle color changes." - Nesrin Durin, Netherlands"

Wood is carefully place in the front of the kiln. Wood is the fuel for this kiln.

Friends drop off chili to help Beth feed the folks firing the kiln.

Show Opens at ARTifex "Off the Grid" - October 30 - Sunday

Please join us on Sunday afternoon

Opening Reception of "OFF the GRID"

ARTifex Studio School's 2011 STUDENT EXHIBITION!

October 30th 2:00pm and 5:00pm  

in Troy, North Carolina

Beverly and Chad Dickson

ARTifex School and Gallery

401 North Main St, Troy, NC 27371

910-975-0085

Jeff Brown Pottery Workshop at the North Carolina Pottery Center

Jeff Brown - Altered Vase

    

When: Saturday, October 15, 2011

Location: North Carolina Pottery Center, 233 East Avenue, Seagrove, NC 27341

Cost: $100.00 per person

Seagrove potter, Jeff Brown will demonstrate his throwing techniques, and the various ways he alters and textures the finished pieces.

After demonstrations, participants will use previously thrown vessels for altering and texture exploration. You will transform the pieces by using a number of handbuilding techniques. You'll paddle, roll, drop, squeeze, impress and carve your way through the leather hard pots, giving you the opportunity to try new ways of finishing wheel thrown vessels. The focus will be on pushing your limits and taking risks with different ideas.

Even though you will have a few nice pieces at the end of the day, the goal will not be making finished pots. Instead it will be about exercising your clay manipulating muscles by pushing your limits, and about making fearless decisions to aggressively alter, and texture thrown pots .

Being free from the pressure of making a product will help in developing a fluidity of motion while you work, and give you the opportunity to take risks with different ideas, and perhaps bring more of your personal expression into the pottery you make.

Please email jeff@jeffbrownpottery.com to register for this workshop

Or call: 336-873-1001     www.jeffbrownpottery.com

Eck McCanless throws agate at Seagrove Creations October 8

Saturday, October 8,
Seagrove Creations 11 a.m.- 3 p.m.


Eck will be demonstrating Agateware  Agateware is a fun demonstration to watch because you get to see all the different colors of clay spiral up as the pot is turned.  He will also be carving some of those pieces that afternoon, which is also a lot of fun to watch.

From The Pilot newspaper,  "Second-generation Sea-grove potter Eck McCanless opened the doors to his new pottery shop in Seagrove over the summer.

That name may ring a bell for those familiar with the Seagrove area. His parents' shop, Dover Pottery, was the 14th shop to open in the area. He has been turning professionally for Dover since 1993.

Anyone who has seen a Dover crystalline pot, chances are Eck McCanless made it."

..... 

"McCanless said that what makes his agateware unique is that he carves the outside of the pot to create an effect similar to wood grain. People often comment that this effect reminds them of fudge-ripple ice cream.

"I love making agate," he said. "When I carve the pot, I can see how the clay moved when I was turning it. You can't see that when you turn using a single color clay body.""

  Seagrove Creations is located at 354 Little River Road in Seagrove, just off Exit 45 on Interstate 73/74 (U.S. Highway 220). 

Blaine Avery Fall Kiln Opening Seagrove, North Carolina

Blaine M. Avery

Avery Pottery and Tileworks

Fall Kiln Opening

October 15th 9 AM- 5 PM and 16th 11AM-5PM

New work from the salt kiln. I'll have a great selection of painted pots, tiles and glazed pots fresh from the salt kiln.

I'm working on lots of new imagery for this firing, I am hard hand painting and slip trailing many pots with new zoomorphic imagery and patters.

I'll also be glazing lots of pots in this firing. The glazes featured will be Frog Skin and Oribe glazes and look for some new ones too!

For those of you that can't make it or live far away I am working on the website!

This year I will have an online kiln opening up on the web the week after the sale of all unsold work!I Often I have a good selection of pots after the kiln opening and it's hard to believe but many of my favorite pots don't sell over the weekend! So don't fret, I sure you'll get a chance to buy some great pots too! 

So be looking for the Online Kiln opening this year! More information to come as we get closer to the Online Kiln Opening!

- Blaine

Visit Blaine's Blog for more info and news about his pottery.

Avery pottery & Tileworks
636 Potters Way Rd
Seagrove N.C. 27341 

Crystalline Potters of Seagrove at the North Carolina Pottery Center

From Left to Right : 

 Bulldog Pottery, McCanless Pottery (platter), Wyndham and Brookhaven Pottery, Uwharrie Crystalline, Dover Pottery, Pottery By Frank Neef, and Eck McCanless Pottery

Crystalline Potters of Seagrove

September 24, 2011, Saturday, 10am-4pm at the North Carolina Pottery Center in Seagrove

The Crystalline Potters of Seagrove show is the first event of its kind.  Seven different crystalline pottery shops from the Seagrove area are coming together to show the amazing range and versatility of this special effects glaze.  The show will feature both zinc silicate and molybdenum crystalline.

Event will be held in the oak grove behind the North Carolina Pottery Center – 233 East Avenue, Seagrove, NC 27341.  There is no admission fee for the event, NCPC admission - $2/adults, $1/students 9th-12th grade, Free/8th grade and under.  Questions – Contact Rhonda (336) 873-7412

Rain date – October 1, 2011 

If you have not heard about Central Park NC  check out their website and have a look.  Their offices are located in Star, NC.  On their home page you can sign up for their weekly e-mails of what is going in central NC.
Central Park is an organization helping to grow a new economy based on the sustainable use of our natural and cultural resources.

This image is from their website, it shows the counties that are represtented by the Central Park Region.

STARworks Glass Pumpkin Patch

Saturday, October 1, 9 a.m. 

STARworks is harvesting its second crop of unique hand blown glass pumpkins on and the public is invited to help.

STARworks Second Annual Glass Pumpkin Patch will open at 9 a.m. Wander through a dazzling array of one-of-a kind glass pumpkins nestled in the grassy front lawn of STARworks Center for Creative Enterprise in Star.

"These pumpkins are great decorative pieces for Halloween, Thanksgiving or for year-round," said Nick Fruin, STARworks Glass coordinator. "All are being created by artists at the STARworks Glass Lab." The pumpkins will come in all sizes and a wide range of beautiful fall colors.

This year we will have 1,000 pumpkins! Come early for the best pick!  Proceeds benefit the STARworks Glass High School Program. Pumpkins start as low as $35.

Seagrove Pottery in the Blogosphere

"Playing in the Mud with the Seagrove Potters"

with Tryon T. Turtle

This is a recent blogpost about a visit to the Seagrove Potters

....."I really learned a lot of new stuff about mud last weekend. Those potters have been making bowls, face jugs (can’t remember if those jugs hold spirits or scare off spirits!), bird houses, dinnerware, Christmas ornaments, pie plates, decorative wall tiles, and much more for over 200 years. A few of the people we met  are descendants of the potters who came to Seagrove in the 1700’s to dig up good dirt and mud and clay for making pots and bowls.  Some of the potters still use that local mud for pots and glazes."......

To read more about Tryon's adventures in North Carolina visit "My North Carolina Adventure, Tryon Turtle on the Run" 

Caldwell-Hohl Artworks Annual July Garden Party

Toad Aboad with Bird by Sherry and Bill Caldwell-Hohl Artworks

Greetings from Caldwell-Hohl Artworks !! 

We hope you will be able to attend our Annual July Garden Party

You are Invited to our Garden Party on July 16th

Location:  Caldwell-Hohl Artworks, 155 Cabin Trail, Seagrove, NC

Time:  10 am until 5 pm 

Plan on a fun day of music, refreshments, visiting artists, and tours of our studio and log cabin !!

We are working on some very interesting yard art, bird baths, bird houses and of course toad abodes !!!  We will also have a great assortment of items in the gallery including new lamp designs.

See you on the 16th  !!!

If you need additional information, please call 336-879-9090

Jeff Brown and Michele Hastings Pottery Celebrate their 1st Year Anniversary

Michele Hastings and Jeff Brown Pottery One Year Anniversary Celebration

July 9 -Saturday 10am - 5pm

July 10-Sunday 10am - 5pm

"Please join us the weekend of July 9th & 10th to celebrate our one year anniversary. We will have refreshments, door prizes and lots of new pots fresh from the kiln. We are very excited to have the opportunity to fire the ground hog kiln at the NC Pottery Center the weekend before. That means juicy salt fired pots will be available for purchase!"

You can follow their blog at and see what they recently fired in the Ground Hog Kiln at the North Carolina Pottery Center

Meeshs Pottery

Call for details at 336-873-1011

1423 NC 705 Highway (The Pottery Highway)

Seagrove, North Carolina 27341

Jugtown Pottery Garden Party- June 8 & 9

Summer Sale and Garden Party at Jugtown Pottery

Friday - 4:00pm - 8:00pm

Saturday - 8:30am - 5:00pm

The event opens on Friday at 4pm with light refreshments fresh from the garden!

It will feature all sorts of fun garden pottery, copper garden stakes by Jennie Keatts of JLK Jewelry, plants, and some fresh veggies grown by Wes and Ikuko. Jugtown has fired two kilns of work for the event, and JLK Jewelry has lots of new jewelry.