8th Annual Potters Market Invitational Takes Place at the Mint Museum Randolph in Charlotte, NC – Sept. 15, 2012

A taste of Seagrove, the Catawba Valley, and other well-known centers of North Carolina pottery will visit Charlotte, NC, when the 8th Annual Potters Market Invitational sets up its tent on the grounds of Mint Museum Randolph on Sept. 15, 2012.

Forty outstanding North Carolina potters have been invited to participate in this year’s event, presented by the Delhom Service League, an affiliate group of The Mint Museum dedicated to the support and study of ceramics. The event typically lures over 1,200 collectors and enthusiasts, many of whom line up hours in advance of the opening to make sure to gain access to the day’s best treasures.

“We are thrilled to have this opportunity to share our enthusiasm for this important art form with the Charlotte community and the region, and to give residents a chance to engage with some of our state’s most significant artists and their work,” said Lee Abbott, chairperson of this year’s Potters Market. “The Mint Museum already boasts the largest collection of North Carolina pottery in the United States, and we look forward to future opportunities to put a strengthened focus on ceramics at Mint Museum Randolph.”

Work by Judith Duff

A $10 admission fee includes access to the event, running from 10am to 4pm as well as admission to both locations of The Mint Museum (admission is reduced to $8 after 2pm)*. The event is still selling $100 individual sponsorships which grant early admission at 9:15am and a greater chance to acquire the most-desired items. For $150, individuals can also be admitted to a Potters Party being held Friday, Sept. 14 from 7-9pm at Mint Museum Randolph, where they will have the opportunity to mingle with the potters.

PMI tickets go on sale online Aug. 1 at (www.mintmuseum.org/delhom-service-league.html), or are available at the door. More information is available at 704/337-2010 or by e-mailing (PottersMarketInvitational@gmail.com). The event also includes live folk music and pottery-making demonstrations. Funds raised go toward acquisitions of pottery and library materials for the museum.

The honorary chair of this year’s market is Herb Cohen, a league member whose work is featured in the exhibition “Sophisticated Surfaces: The Pottery of Herb Cohen”, on view at Mint Museum Randolph through Jan. 6, 2013.

Also on view at Mint Museum Randolph through Jan. 6 is the exhibition “A Thriving Tradition: 75 Years of Collecting North Carolina Pottery”, which contains many significant acquisitions obtained through the help of the Delhom Service League and its individual members. An example is a ceramic sculpture of a rabbit, “Alice Goes to Washington,” by Carol Gentithes, which contains images of Barack Obama, Martha Stewart, George W. Bush, Jay Leno, and other figures emblematic in current culture. “Like a classical language, the vocabulary that I create has many layers of meaning. I leave it with the viewers to derive their personal interpretations,” Gentithes has said of her work. Gentithes is one of this year’s participating potters, who also include Judith Duff, designer of a vase purchased at the 2009 Potters Market Invitational that became the primary image for this year’s event; and Ben Owen III of the legendary Owen and Owens families of North Carolina potters. First-time participating potters this year include Julie Wiggins, Steven Abee, Ross Edwards, Becky and Steve Lloyd, Joy Tanner, Alex Matisse, and Frank Neef. A complete list of potters is available at (www.mintmuseum.org/happenings/18/delhom-service-league-8th-annual-potters-market-invitational).

Recently, Mint Museum Randolph opened two more permanent-collection exhibitions that illustrate the depth and breadth of the Mint’s ceramics collection: “Classically Inspired: European Ceramics Circa 1800″, and “American Ceramics, 1825-1875″. Find more information about them in the attachment.

Corporate sponsor for this year’s Potters Market Invitational is Subaru South Boulevard. Top-level individual sponsors are Bill Musgrave, Betsy Brand, Herb Cohen and José Fumero, Jane M. Conlan, and Sarah Belk Gambrell.

*Note: Visitors must purchase their PMI ticket first in order to gain free museum admission on the event date.

The Delhom Service League is an affiliate group of The Mint Museum dedicated to developing interest in ceramics by studying the work of experts and by supporting the ceramics collection of The Mint Museum. It is named for M. Mellanay Delhom and her outstanding collection of historical pottery and porcelain, which entered the museum’s collection in 1965. The league offers monthly programs that are open to the public, on the third Tuesday of the month from September through May, and holds study and research classes on Monday afternoons. The league, consisting of both potters and ceramics enthusiasts, supports acquisitions of pottery and library materials for the museum.

As the oldest art museum in North Carolina, and the art museum with one of the largest collections in the Southeast, The Mint Museum offers its visitors inspiring and transformative experiences through art from around the world via innovative collections, ground-breaking exhibitions, riveting educational programs, and profound scholarship. The Mint Museum is a non-profit, visual arts institution comprised of two dynamic facilities: Mint Museum Uptown and Mint Museum Randolph.

Located in what was the original branch of the United States Mint, Mint Museum Randolph opened in 1936 in Charlotte’s Eastover neighborhood as the state’s first art museum. Today, in a beautiful park setting, intimate galleries invite visitors to engage with the art of the ancient Americas, ceramics and decorative arts, fashion, European and African art, among other collections. Resources include a reference library with over 18,000 volumes, a theater featuring lectures and performances, and a museum shop offering merchandise that complements both the permanent collection and special exhibitions.

Mint Museum Uptown houses the internationally renowned Craft + Design collection, as well as outstanding collections of American, contemporary, and European art. Designed by Machado and Silvetti Associates of Boston, the five-story, 145,000-square-foot facility combines inspiring architecture with cutting-edge exhibitions to provide visitors with unparalleled educational and cultural experiences. Located in the heart of Charlotte’s burgeoning center city, Mint Museum Uptown is an integral part of the Levine Center for the Arts, a cultural campus that includes the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts and Culture, the Knight Theater, and the Duke Energy Center. Mint Museum Uptown also features a wide range of visitor amenities, including the 240-seat James B. Duke Auditorium, the Lewis Family Gallery, art studios, a restaurant, and a museum shop. For more information, visit the NEW (mintmuseum.org).

 

 

 

6th Annual Spruce Pine Potters Market Invitational in Spruce Pine, NC, is set for Oct. 13-14, 2012

The Spruce Pine Potters Market Invitational is a weekend sale featuring 30 ceramic artists from Mitchell and Yancey Counties in NC and attracts several thousand people to the region each year. “Visitors enjoy seeing an artist’s studio, but at this special gathering you can meet many more artists in one afternoon than you otherwise are able during a studio tour,” says Toe River Arts Council Executive Director Denise Cook.

Works by Cynthia Bringle

One participant most definitely worth meeting is Cynthia Bringle, who is as much a fixture in Western North Carolina’s mountains as the tucked away hollers themselves. “I make work because I love doing it and because of the pleasure I get from people telling me they use my work every day,” says Bringle, a North Carolina Living Treasure. Regarded as one of the most influential artists in her field, Bringle has kept a studio and home in Penland since 1970, where she works on her signature goblets, turtle vases, vessel sinks, platters, mugs, and more. Although her work has been collected around the world, Bringle says she is happiest when it’s found on someone’s kitchen table or in the cabinet, because “most of all, a pot is to use.”

Western North Carolina is home to several other Living Treasures, including Norm Schulman, an exhibitor at last year’s SPPM. “Meeting your neighbors who have reached this phenomenal status in the world of arts and crafts creates pride for this sense of place,” says Cook. “It also gives young people inspiration and a sense of possibility for creating a living through their life-long passions.” Additional exhibitors at this year’s invitational include Melisa Cadell, Shane Mickey, Liz Summerfield, Tzadi Turrou, Nick Joerling, and more.

Work by Nick Joerling

Ceramicist Jeannine Marchand is the 2012 SPPM Emerging Artist, selected for her unique framed fold wall pieces made with white earthenware. Once the clay is dry, Marchand finely sands and fires the work, resulting in an uninterrupted surface that lets light travel to create natural areas of brightness and shadow. It’s an uncommon technique in the region, and the effect is breathtaking.

“I have been living in this area on and off since 2000, but I left for two years in 2006 to continue my ceramics graduate studies in Michigan, and again 2010 for a residency in Colorado,” says Marchand. “During that time, I got married, and we decided to make Spruce Pine our permanent home. It’s been a wonderful experience reintegrating into this community as a family and as a local artist.” In addition to wall pieces, Marchand will be showing small-scale sculptures, functional work, and—with any luck—her newborn baby.

Work by Liz Summerfield

Check out this year’s much anticipated show, Oct. 13-14, 2012, from 10am-5pm at the historic Cross Street Building in downtown Spruce Pine. Admission is free and light breakfast and lunch options will be available on site. SPPM is an affiliate organization of Toe River Arts Council.

For more information, visit (www.sprucepinepottersmarket.com) or call 828/765-0520.

Cameron Art Museum in Wilmington, NC, Presents the Coastal Carolina Clay Guild Spring Show and Sale – May 18 and 19, 2012

The Cameron Art Museum in Wilmington, NC, Presents the Coastal Carolina Clay Guild Spring Show and Sale, in Weyerhaeuser Reception Hall, Friday May 18, 2012, Reception and Preview Sale from 6pm – 8pm, $10 admission and on Saturday May 19, 2012, from 10am – 5pm, free and open to the public.

Work by Hiroshi Sueyoshi

Twenty-five CCCG members, including well-known potters Hiroshi Sueyoshi and Don Johns will be exhibiting and selling their work at the show.

Work by Don Johns

The CCCG, a nonprofit organization, was founded in 2007 by a group of Wilmington potters to promote and exchange information about all types of ceramic arts and to provide mutual support, encouragement, and education for its members and for the community. The guild offer workshops each year with nationally known sculptors and potters for its members and those in the community interested in the clay arts. It also provides community outreach by visiting schools to demonstrate and teach clay techniques to students. In addition, the guild uses its membership dues to offer scholarships and grants to its members. In only five short years, the CCCG has grown to include over 100 ceramic artists from the southeast coastal region.

Work by Kathy Whitley

For more information visit (
http://www.coastalcarolinaclayguild.org/
).

NC Pottery Center in Seagrove, NC, is Looking for Some Angels in a Haystack – Could You Be One?

Don’t you just hate it when you think you have your budget all figured out to make it through the next week, month or year – then out of the blue – the car needs a major repair or the air conditioners gives out on the hottest day of the year? What’s the saying – “Stuff Happens!”

The NC Pottery Center needs our help and I think they are worth it. Here’s their problem:

The NC Pottery Center has recently experienced unforeseen maintenance issues and they are asking you as a supporter of the NCPC, or just someone who is looking for a good cause, for your help in paying for lighting repairs at the Center. They hope to raise $2,000 to cover these expenses.

They are asking that you please consider a monetary donation, becoming a new member, increasing your membership level, renewing your membership early, or buying a brick for your business or in memory/honor of someone.

The staff and board of the Pottery Center are working hard to keep the NCPC a viable museum and hope you will consider helping us.

If you can help, please visit their website at (www.ncpotterycenter.org) where you can make a quick online donation, or call then at 336/873-8430 and tell them you want to help. Thanks.

2012 Madison County Potter’s Market Takes Place in Marshall, NC – April 28, 2012

The 2012 Madison County Potter’s Market takes place on Saturday, Apr. 28, 2012, from 9am-5pm at Marshall High Studios in downtown Marshall, NC.

Work by Alex Matisse

The event will showcase the work of the 10 full time members of the Potters of Madison County and their 10 invited guest potters.

In the last decade, the quiet mountain towns and townships of Madison County have attracted an ever growing community of artists and craftspeople. Madison County’s rich rural and agricultural history and its inhabitants’ collective respect for tradition and craft make a natural setting for the production of handmade functional and sculptural ceramics. The Potters of Madison County was created in order to unite and acknowledge the skilled and diverse group of men and women currently creating work in an area not previously recognized as a stronghold for pottery in its own right.

Works by Joy Tanner

Participating artists include: Jim & Shirl Parmentier, Jules & Tyrone Larson, Tom Clarkson, Kyle Carpenter, Mary Kay Botkins, Barry Rhodes, Jane Peiser, Joy Tanner, Ronan Kyle Peterson, Tom Turner, Mike Ball, Emily Reason, Mary Mikkelsen & Henry Pope, Becca Floyd, Billy Brown, Alex Matisse, Rob Pulleyn, and Josh Copus.

Work by Ronan Kyle Peterson

For directions and information about exhibiting potters visit (www.pottersofmadisoncounty.com).

15th Annual Catawba Valley Pottery and Antiques Festival Takes Place in Hickory, NC – Mar. 23 and 24, 2012

The 15th Annual Catawba Valley Pottery and Antiques Festival will take place at the Hickory Metro Convention Center in Hickory, NC, on March 23 & 24, 2012. It is a non-profit event benefiting the Catawba County Historical Association in Newton, NC, and the North Carolina Pottery Center in Seagrove, NC.

Works by Kim Ellington

To read an earlier post click this link.

For further info visit (
http://www.catawbavalleypotteryfestival.org/
).

North Carolina Pottery Center in Seagrove, NC, Offers Firing of the Groundhog Kiln – Mar. 17, 2012

Once again the North Carolina Pottery Center in Seagrove, NC, is opening its doors and grounds for the education and benefit of the public. On Saturday, Mar. 17, 2012, Seagrove potter Chad Brown will be firing the groundhog kiln on the pottery center lawn. The event takes approximately 15 hours and uses 2 cords of wood.

Chad Brown is a 5th generation potter; his great-great grandfather was William Henry Chriscoe, whose original log cabin studio resides in the Smithsonian Museum. Brown is an up-and-coming potter to watch on the Seagrove scene. His grandpa, Graham Chriscoe opened his pottery shop when Chad was around 9. He absorbed a great deal from working with his grandparents. He learned his technical skills in the more traditional Seagrove fashion, working for years as a production potter for many studios.

Chad Brown and his niece

“You make two or three hundred of the same shape and you get pretty good at it,” says Brown. He expanded his skills by working as a journeyman potter, traveling from studio to studio and turning the various shapes required.

Brown has participated in numerous wood firings with various potters including Sid Luck, Terry Hunt, David Stuempfle, Mark Hewitt and Donna Craven. “Some of my favorite shapes to make are the same that my great-great grandfather made,” says Brown. “I really like the straight sided whiskey jugs. They made them stand up straight so they could pack more into the wagons. I like the idea of that. I like making big jars. I coil build them. I’m mostly a shape person, form comes before surface. I look at the line of a pot; to me colors and surface, that’s secondary.”

Four years ago Brown began to participate in shows and exhibits while continuing to work as a journeyman potter. “I started to realize that I couldn’t advance further, not enough time. I’d improve then fall back. You get onto a thought and need to stay with it; production pottery was breaking that concentration. I just felt I wasn’t getting as good as I could be.” Brown’s decision to pursue his own pottery full-time was rewarded when he received the “The Award of Excellence” at The Arts in the Park show in Blowing Rock, NC.

Work by Chad Brown

Brown is building a new kiln on his property this year, which will be his own design taking into consideration ideas and information from his firings with other potters and their kilns. Firing the traditional Groundhog Kiln at the North Carolina Pottery Center is not an entirely new experience for Brown. He has helped others in the past but wants to be completely in charge to absorb the complete learning experience of the process and to see what his firing results produce in the kiln. He will then be able to contrast and compare the end product. The pots will be sold at the upcoming Catawba Valley Pottery & Antique show in Hickory, March 23 & 24, 2012, and will also be on display at upcoming exhibits at American Folk in Asheville, NC, and the Campbell House/Moore Arts Council in Southern Pines, NC. The public is welcome to come out to the NCPC on Saturday, Mar. 17 to view the firing and see how the process was done over 200 years ago and still continues today.

Brown demonstrates for the public on Saturdays at the North Carolina Pottery Center and teaches Seagrove Elementary Students with Sid Luck in the Traditional Arts Programs in Schools (TAPS) held at the Center. Mark Hewitt, VP of the Center remarked, “Chad Brown has quietly established his presence as one of the most talented younger potters in Seagrove. We all enjoy Chad’s humor and good nature, and know how much he contributes to the NCPC with his patient, insightful demonstrations and his warm, generous personality. His beautiful pots reflect who he is.”

Opened in 1998 in Seagrove, the NCPC mission is to promote public awareness of North Carolina’s remarkable pottery heritage. The Center welcomes and informs visitors to the Seagrove area, enriching their experience through exhibitions and educational programs, and promoting potters working today across the state. The NCPC is a private nonprofit entity, funded primarily through memberships, grants, admissions, and appropriations.

The Center is open Tuesdays – Saturdays 10am to 4pm. Admission (excluding free special events): $2 – adults, $1 – students 9th through 12th grades, Free – children through 8th grade, free – NCPC members. Handicap accessible. Groups and tours welcomed.

For further information and details call 336/873-8430, e-mail to (info@ncpotterycenter.org) or visit (www.NCPotteryCenter.org).

Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, NC, Offers Demonstration and Talk by Internationally Renowned Potter Jeffrey Oestreich – Mar. 15, 2012

Acclaimed potter Jeffrey Oestreich will demonstrate his work and give an illustrated artist’s talk Thursday, March 15, at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, NC.

Oestreich will demonstrate clay-forming techniques from 9:30am to noon and 1:30 to 3pm in the Ward Clay Studio, Room 151 of the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center. Beginning at 4pm he will deliver an illustrated artist’s talk in Room 130 of the Bardo Arts Center. A WCU Fine Art Museum Third Thursday wine and appetizer reception for Oestreich will be held at 5pm in the arts center atrium, where a small exhibit of his work will be on display. All events are free and the public is invited.

Potter Jeffrey Oestreich

Oestreich’s geometrically designed functional pottery is primarily salt or soda fired stoneware. A native of Taylors Fall, MN, Oestreich was introduced to ceramics while in college by craft potter Warren MacKenzie. After earning his degree, he apprenticed for two years with British studio potter and teacher Bernard Leach.

“Function is at my core,” Oestreich said of his work. While inspired by the art deco movement and the pottery of Japan and Germany, “All things considered, my approach is American, borrowing from as many sources as speak to me,” he said.

Oestreich has exhibited extensively throughout the country and abroad, and his work is included in the collections of the Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, NY; the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; and the Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taiwan, among others. In 1986 he received a visual arts grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Oestreich’s visit to WCU – his third – is funded by the university’s Randall and Susan Parrott Ward Endowed Fund for Ceramics. While on campus, he will work closely with ceramics students, making pottery beside them in the studio, answering questions and discussing their work.

“Jeff is a particular friend of the clay studio,” said Joan Byrd, ceramics professor in the WCU School of Art and Design. “He is a highly creative artist and an exceptional teacher. It is a particular pleasure to welcome him to campus again.”

For more information, contact Joan Byrd at 828/227-3595 or by e-mail at (jbyrd@wcu.edu).

Rockingham County Arts Council in Wentworth, NC, Calls for Entries for Eco Logical Art – Deadline Apr. 13, 2012

Rockingham County Arts Council in Wentworth, NC, calls for entries for Eco Logical Art exhibit to be on view from Apr. 19 through May 31, 2012, with a reception being held on Apr. 19, from 5-7pm.

In Celebration of Earth Day, re-use and re-cycle awareness pleases join us in an exhibit of up-fitted and repurposed art and craft!

Here are the details!

We invite 2-d and 3-d work from middle-school age students in all media, particularly with recycle and earth day in mind. We encourage you to use your imagination! Consider jewelry from found objects, sculptures, costume and wearable art, collage and mosaic. Use plants in your artwork, wind to power it, photography of environmental topics, and a PowerPoint presentation to make your statement.

Submission requirements
Please have all submissions to the Arts Council by Friday, Apr. 13, 2012. There is no entry fee. We do have limited space and will accept up to 3 pieces by each artist.

Submitted work requires the following information:
Artist’s name
Title of work
Media
Brief statement on the artwork (up to 50 words)
School you attend
Sale price or NFS (not for sale)
Work may be picked up Monday, May 28, and Thursday May 31 or by appointment.

RCAC is the focal point/umbrella organization for the arts and information about the arts in Rockingham County. Our mission is to nurture and enrich the cultural life in Rockingham County.

Questions? Contact the Rockingham County Arts Council’s Kathryn Gauldin, Executive Director by calling 336/349-4039 or e-mail to (director@artsinrockingham.org).

North Carolina Pottery Center in Seagrove, NC, Offers Two Special Events Related to It’s Current Exhibit – Mar. 10 and Apr. 14, 2012

Plan to join us for two special event days complementing our current exhibit: What’s Upstairs? Seeing the NCPC’s Hidden Treasures.

A frequent complaint of museum-goers is that much of a museum’s collection of objects and artifacts is stored away out of view and is rarely seen by anyone but staff and qualified researchers. Understandably, museum collections can be vast in size and public exhibition space is often large enough to display only a fraction of an institution’s holdings at any one time.

So, for the first time, many objects not previously included in NCPC exhibits have been brought downstairs for visitors’ viewing and enjoyment. In addition, a sample of the Center’s significant collection of art pottery produced by Lee County’s North State Pottery is displayed. In the future, more of the stored objects will be added to the permanent collection exhibit and others will be incorporated into upcoming short term exhibitions.

Back jug unknown from Catwaba Valley and front jug by
Burlon Craig

Open for viewing through Apr. 28, 2012, What’s Upstairs? Seeing the NCPC’s Hidden Treasures will be complemented by two special event days on Mar. 10 and Apr. 14 (noon – 2pm each day). In addition to speakers on each day discussing both personal and institutional collection of North Carolina pottery, experts will be available to identify and discuss visitors’ own North Carolina pottery brought in for identification.

The NCPC will also release a new color catalog on Mar. 10, of Alamance County Historical Stoneware, highlighting in print the first time a large group of these spectacular pots which haven’t been seen together since they emerged from Alamance County kilns about a hundred and sixty years ago. The text is by potter and curator Mark Hewitt.

Face jug from Brown Pottery

On Apr. 14, along with the festivities, two catalogs will be released. The first catalog highlights pieces from the North Carolina Pottery Center’s permanent collection with text by the curator of this exhibit, Steve Compton author and pottery collector. The other catalog being released is a first of its kind, a rare grouping of nineteenth and twentieth century Grave Markers that take many forms and often have names, dates, and epitaphs inscribed on them. The catalog text is by Dr. Charles Zug, author and curator of a number of pottery exhibits

Both events are open to the public and will be educational and entertaining. The catalogs will be for sale and the curators will be signing catalogs and answering questions. We encourage you to bring in old North Carolina pottery pieces to find out more about them. We will also have instructions for donating pottery to the NCPC’S permanent collection, which is a taxable deduction. Light refreshments will be served.

The mission of the North Carolina Pottery Center is to promote public awareness of and appreciation for the history, heritage, and ongoing tradition of pottery making in North Carolina.

The Center is located at 233 East Avenue in Seagrove, NC. Hours of operation are Tue. – Sat., 10am – 4pm.

For more information, please call 336/873-8430 or visit (www.ncpotterycenter.org).