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