NC Pottery Center in Seagrove, NC, Announces Results of 2019 Annual Gala & Auction and Thank Yous

The Annual Gala & Auction this past Saturday evening at CAM Raleigh in downtown Raleigh, NC, was a fun event that raised a net of $40,000 to help support our mission of Sharing North Carolina’s Clay Stories, Past and Present!

Photo courtesy of Michael Mahan of From the Ground Up Pottery.

We would like to thank all of the following:

Stoker Level Sponsors
Jenny & Marshall Lamb (Cameron Clothing) Marion Church, Lucy Daniels, Thomas S. Kenan III, Brian & Gail McCarthy, Glen Medders & Paul Coggins, Larry & Debbie Robbins, David & Kendall Zmiewsky, Terry Zug & Daphne Cruze-Zug

Decorator Level Sponsor
Nancy O’Donohue

In-Kind Sponsors
PoshNosh
Alpha Production Group

Hosts
Robin Bayer, Richard Blanton & Candance Haigler, Jane Bridges, David & Laura Brody (Ethel S Brody Charitable Foundation), Rebecca Burgess, Linda Carlisle, Ray Carroll & Grady Helms, Linda Dougherty, Jaye Day-Trotter, Nancy J. Farmer, Tim Gupton & Brent Moore, David & Sherri Henderson, Terry & Thomas Henson, Mark & Carol Hewitt, Marjorie Hodges, Bran Holland & Joel Arnold, Mary Holmes & Michael Mahan, Bernard & Patricia Hyman, Michael Joyner, Bobby & Claudia Kadis, Fred Livingston, Vince Long & Cameron Furr, Matt Musselwhite, Dr. Cynthia Payne, Koala & Frank Phoenix (Fenwick Foundation), Roberta Price, Mary Regan, David Reid, John & Jane Riley, Ralph & Francine Roberson, Jo Anne Sanford & Billy Brewer, Kay Schoellhorn, Lynn & Jim Sears, Patricia Tector, John Watson & Betsy Blackwell, Lane & Linda Wharton, Susan Willard, and Randall Williamson.

[My apologies if I missed any of the Hosts who signed up in the last couple of days before the event.]

We want to extend a sincere thank you to CAM Raleigh for allowing us to host our event there.

We would also like to thank all of the potters who donated their pots, time, and enthusiasm to the event, as well as all those who have donated other items and experiences.

Your generosity is deeply appreciated.

Thank you also to all of the North Carolina Pottery Center staff, artists-in-residence, auction committee members, volunteers, and others who helped make the evening possible.

For further info visit (www.ncpotterycenter.org).

North Carolina Pottery Center in Seagrove, NC, Offers Clay Talks – Sept. 5, 2019

Please join us at the North Carolina Pottery Center in Seagrove, NC, on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019, for a slide presentation by Seagrove potters David Fernandez, Alexa Modderno, Jinsong Kim, Carol Kim, Frank Neef and Cindy Neef to learn all about the Seagrove Delegation’s recent trip to South Korea to establish cultural exchange.

This presentation aims to establish a future cultural exchange between the Seagrove pottery community and Icheon Ceramics Village. The presentation will include a travelogue of the trip along with ideas for community projects, and potential artist exchange opportunities. Please come for a lively discussion about what we can do as a community to further Seagrove’s reputation and influence on a global scale!

A potluck at 6pm will begin the evening’s events, followed by the presentation at 7pm. Come out for a great night of food and community! This presentation is free and open to the public. For more information, call the center at 336/873-8430. This ongoing lecture series is facilitated by Susan Greene, NCPC Educational Program Manager.

Location: The NCPC Educational Building is located behind the NC Pottery Center at 233 East Avenue, Seagrove, 27341.

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

Art of Clay National Juried Show at the North Carolina Pottery Center in Seagrove, NC, Announces Winners

On view through June 15, 2019, “Art of Clay” is the North Carolina Pottery Center’s first-ever national juried exhibition being presented in Seagrove, NC. Featuring 41 artists from around the United States, “Art of Clay” presents a range of contemporary styles, from functional to narrative sculpture.

This show was juried by potter Douglas Fitch of southwest Scotland, UK. Fitch and his wife, Hannah McAndrew, create slipware influenced by the medieval potters of England and the subsequent tradition of slip-decorated country pottery.

Fitch narrowed the field down from 230+ pieces and did the final judging when he was here in the beginning of March as one of the featured potters at the North Carolina Potters Conference, hosted by the Randolph Art Guild in Asheboro, NC.

And the winners of the North Carolina Pottery Center’s “Art of Clay National Juried Show” are:

Work by Takuro Shibata

1st Place: Takuro Shibata (Seagrove, NC), “Bump.”
2nd Place: Lars Westby (Annapolis, MD), “Manus.”
3rd Place: Paul McCoy (Waco, TX), “Pouring Vessel.”
Director’s Choice Honorable Mention: Ariel Bowman (Flower Mound, TX), “The Fossil Record.”

Featured potters in the show include: Hadi Abbas (FL), Michelle Arabian (NY), Brad Bachmeier (ND), Posey Bacopoulos (NY), Casey Beck (WI), Ariel Bowman (TX), Joel Brown (NY), Amanda Bury (WA), Randall Carlson (IL), Kyla Culbertson (IL), Priscilla Dahl (PA), J. Casey Doyle (ID), Karen Ellis Phillips (NJ), Helen Marie Farrant (NJ), Daniel Gardner (CO), Seth Green (IN), Mark Gordon (NC), Stephen Heywood (FL), John Jessiman (VA), Sooyeon Kim (GA), Yeonsoo Kim (GA), Wansoo Kim (KS), Julia Knight (GA), Lucien Koonce (MA), Catherine Coulter Lloyd (SC), Mimi Logothetis (NC), Andy Matlow (MA), Paul McCoy (TX), Jim and Shirl Parmentier (NC), Nila Petty (IL), Kevin Ryan (CT), Masa Sasaki (GA), Eric Serritella (NC), Hitomi Shibata (NC), Takuro Shibata (NC), Marina Smelik (CA), Rebekah Strickland (GA), Suzanne Stumpf (MA), Sue Wadoski (MA), Lars Westby (MD), and Delanie Wise (MA)

Questions? Or interested in possibly purchasing a piece? Call the center to start the process. All purchased pieces must remain in the exhibition until the exhibition ends.

Exhibitions are made possible through the generosity of our membership, the Mary and Elliott Wood Foundation, the John W. and Anna H. Hanes Foundation, and the Goodnight Educational Foundation. This project was supported by the NC Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources, with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. Thank you!

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, visit (ncpotterycenter.org), or find us on Facebook.

NC Potters Conference Transitioning to North Carolina Pottery Center in Seagrove, NC, in 2020

Once a year, for the past thirty-one years, potters and ceramic artists have converged on Asheboro, NC, from across the country and beyond to attend the North Carolina Potters Conference where they are able to see demonstrations and hear presentations by world-renowned potters. Created by Dwight Holland, Mark Hewitt, and Dorothy Auman, the conference is one of the oldest annual gatherings of potters in the US and has always featured strong educational and networking components. In March of 2019, potters and ceramic artists will again converge on Asheboro for the 32nd annual Potters Conference, a long-time event hosted by the Randolph Arts Guild.

Beginning with the 2020 conference, the North Carolina Pottery Center, located in Seagrove, NC, will assume organizational leadership and host the conference. The Randolph Arts Guild established a firm foundation on which the NC Pottery Center can build and improve the event. Reginald Scott, executive director, stated that the decision to relinquish management of the NC Potters Conference was a difficult one for the board of directors because of the number of years the organization has managed the event. From the beginning, the NC Potters Conference has been recognized nationally and internationally as a premiere ceramics event not only due to the quality of the presenters and lecturers but because of the unparalleled hospitality offered by the Guild’s staff and volunteers. Scott offered, “Not only is transitioning the conference to the North Carolina Pottery Center a good move for both organizations and those who attend the conference, the support and attention the Center staff can devote to its planning will take it to the next level.”

With the 2020 conference only sixteen months away there is a lot of work to be done, but the NC Pottery Center is already generating plans and ideas to enhance the conference. Lindsey Lambert, executive director of the North Carolina Pottery Center, shares, “Right now, we’re assessing the logistical details of the conference and creating a blueprint for how we want the conference to look. The exact details regarding conference activities, venues, and food have not been set yet. We do hope to make use of Seagrove’s new convention center space, which is scheduled to be completed in 2019, for at least a portion of the conference activities.” The Center also wants to ensure that the Randolph Arts Guild remains involved in the conference in some way given the guild’s long history with the conference.

Lambert adds, “The NC Pottery Center is honored to be hosting the North Carolina Potters Conference in 2020 and beyond. The NC Potters Conference has a great reputation and given our mission, Sharing North Carolina’s Clay Stories, Past and Present!, the Center is a perfect fit to carry on the rich tradition of the conference. Additionally, the Center is happy to be able to step in and take over to ensure that the NC Potters Conference, and the revenue it generates for local businesses, continues and remains right here, in Randolph County, the heart of North Carolina.”

Exhibitions are made possible through the generosity of our membership, the Mary and Elliott Wood Foundation, the John W. and Anna H. Hanes Foundation, and the Goodnight Educational Foundation. This project was supported by the N.C. Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources, with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. Thank you!

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., from 10am – 4pm.

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

North Carolina Pottery Center in Seagrove, NC, Will Present Exhibit of Dinnerware and Hosts Three Intimate Dinners

“What’s For Dinner?”, an exhibit of handmade dinnerware, will be presented at the North Carolina Pottery Center in Seagrove, NC, on Aug. 5 through Nov. 25, 2017.

Handmade dinnerware does more than feed a hungry body—it provides the user with visual nourishment and tactile delight. “What’s for Dinner?” celebrates the connection between ceramics and food through the work of twenty North Carolina makers, including:

Contributing works to this exhibit include: Cady Clay Works, Courtney Martin, David Vorhees, Dean & Martin Pottery, Doug Dotson, East Fork Pottery, Great White Oak Gallery, HAAND, Heather Mae Erickson, Jugtown Pottery, Mangum Pottery, Melissa Weiss, New Salem Pottery, Nick Moen Studios, Nine Toes Pottery, Original Owens Pottery, Sedberry Pottery, Stanley Mace Andersen, Tom Gray, and Westmoore Pottery.

Please join us for the opening reception on Saturday, Aug. 5, 2017 from noon-2 pm. The reception is open to the public and free of charge. All dinnerware in the show will be available for purchase. Purchased dinnerware must remain in the show until its end date.

Have Dinner @ The North Carolina Pottery Center

We’re hosting three intimate dinners at the North Carolina Pottery Center featuring the dinnerware that’s on display.

The first of these dinners is Friday evening, Aug. 4, 2017, the day before the exhibition officially opens, which combined with a delightful four-course dinner and wine from Elliots on Linden of Pinehurst, NC, makes this dinner extra special! Executive Director Lindsey Lambert will be your host for the evening.

Tickets are $160 each. Only 20 available.

Call 336/873-8430 or visit the North Carolina Pottery Center at 233 East Avenue, Seagrove, NC, to make reservations.

The North Carolina Pottery Center is a nonprofit organization. All proceeds will support the center’s mission of promoting awareness and appreciation of the history, heritage, and ongoing tradition of pottery making in our great state!

North Carolina Pottery Center in Seagrove, NC, Celebrates Traditional Arts Program for Students

The North Carolina Pottery Center in Seagrove, NC, is celebrating the work of the ten budding potters who participated in the spring 2017 session of the Center’s Traditional Arts Program for Students (TAPS). TAPS is an afterschool pottery class hosted by the NC Pottery Center in partnership with Seagrove Elementary School and sponsored by the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources. Each fall and spring, ten fifth grade students from nearby Seagrove Elementary School are invited to participate in the program, and learn pottery local history and skills.

Chad Brown with student

The TAPS program aims to connect North Carolina students with local traditional artists. Students receive instruction in an art form that has deep cultural roots in their community, taught by experts utilizing traditional techniques. Students learn numerous clay processes, including wheel-throwing, hand-building, glazing and firing of pottery forms drawn from traditional use and practice.  Seagrove potter Sid Luck, winner of the 2014 North Carolina Heritage Award, leads the class. Luck is assisted by Seagrove potters Chad Brown and Susan Greene, NCPC Artists-in-Residence Owen Laurion and Kirsten Olson, and NCPC educational program manager, Emily Lassiter.

“The North Carolina Pottery Center’s TAPS program is so fortunate to have fifth-generation potter Sid Luck teaching Seagrove pottery traditions to the community’s young people,” says Sally Peterson, Folklife Director at the NC Arts Council. “A career public school teacher himself, Sid combines high level teaching skills with time-honored pottery knowledge to present an enriching program that connects students to the very heart of their community. Rising fifth-generation potter Chad Brown and others contribute an energy and creativity to the program that would be difficult to match anywhere outside of a university program.  I love visiting the TAPS program, because the students are so enthusiastic and really perform way beyond expectation,” says Peterson.

The spring 2017 TAPS session will end Wednesday, Apr. 5, 2017.  To celebrate our students’ hard work, a reception and exhibition of TAPS students’ pottery is planned for that day, from 2:45 until 4pm in the education building. The general public is invited to attend.

For more information, please call 336/873.8430 or visit (www.ncpotterycenter.org).

North Carolina Pottery Center in Seagrove, NC, Offers Kirsten Olsen for Clay Talks – Apr. 6, 2017

Join us at the on April 6th for a presentation by Kirsten Olson, currently an Artist-in-Residence at the North Carolina Pottery Center in Seagrove, NC, for Clay Talks.

A graduate of Juniata College in Huntington, PA with a BA in Anthropology, Minor Fine Arts and an MFA Ceramics from University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Olsen most recently served as Ceramics Adjunct Faculty and Ceramic Studio Technician at the Art Department of Juniata College. She has been an Artist-in-Residence at the Pottery Center since Oct. 2016. She was named one of American Craft Week’s 2016 “Rising Stars; 30 Exceptional Crafts People under the age of 30” and most recently announced as a finalist in “Functional Ceramics” for the 2017 NICHE Awards.

Olsen says, “My inspiration as a ceramic artist is strongly grounded in anthropology, particularly cultural customs, ceremonies, and rituals. My ceramic vessels not only contain the food and drink that nourish, but also contain the ideas of culture and community.” Highly inspired by Alaskan culture and the North, her work recalls the shapes of baskets, hats, mukluk patterns, and ivory objects while the glaze and kiln firing process also reflect textures associated with natural materials, such as bone, ivory, and wood.

Olsen’s talk will address her background in clay and anthropology, as well as recent endeavors at the Pottery Center. A potluck at 6pm will begin the evening’s events, followed by the slide talk at 7pm. Come out for a great night of food and community!

Location: The NCPC Educational Building located behind the NC Pottery Center at 233 East Avenue, Seagrove, 27341.

This presentation is free and open to the public.

Exhibitions are made possible through the generosity of our membership, the Mary and Elliott Wood Foundation, the John W. and Anna H. Hanes Foundation, and the Goodnight Educational Foundation. This project was supported by the NC Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources, with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. Thank you! 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.

For more information, call the center at 336/873-8430. This ongoing lecture series is facilitated by Emily Lassiter, NCPC Educational Program Manager.

NC Pottery Center in Seagrove, NC, Offers Clay Talks with Ray Owen – Mar. 5, 2017

Please join us for a special slide presentation by Ray Owen at the North Carolina Pottery Center in Seagrove, NC, on Sunday, Mar. 5, starting at 2pm. The open house at the center that day will start at 1pm.

Owen’s presentation, “The Busbees and the Jugtown Legacy,” is being held in conjunction with “The Busbee Legacy: Jugtown & Beyond, 1917-2017,” an exhibition that is currently up through April 22, 2017. His presentation in being done in conjunction with the NC Potters Conference.

Owen will be describing the context for establishing the Jugtown pottery, the relationship between regional potters and the Sandhills resorts, and how Jugtown continues to thrive.

Owen is a writer and conservationist who has been a contributor to “O. Henry” and “PineStraw” magazines. Recent projects include writing the words for composer David Ludwig’s “Songs from the Bleeding Pines,” commissioned in 2016 by the Ravinia Festival in Chicago. Other recent work includes writing the forward for “Jugtown Pottery 1917-2017: A Century of Art & Craft in Clay,” featured guest for UNC-TV’s Collecting Carolina series, and narration for the film “More Than Pine Trees and Sand: Disappearing Frogs Project.” Film work includes writing and directing “Siren of the Round Timber Tract,” premiering in April 2017. Public service has included the Stewardship Council of the Cultural Landscape Foundation and Vice President of Friends of Weymouth.

While most of our Clay Talks! are potlucks, this particular event is not. Light refreshments will be available courtesy of the Pottery Center starting at 1:30pm.

Location: North Carolina Pottery Center, 233 East Avenue, Seagrove, 27341. This presentation is free and open to the public.

For further information call the Center at 336/873-8430 or visit (www.ncpotterycenter.org).

North Carolina Pottery Center in Seagrove, NC, Offers Pam Owens Lecture About Traditional Women Potters Exhibit – Feb. 2, 2017

Please join us for a slide presentation at the North Carolina Pottery Center in Seagrove, NC, on Feb. 2, 2017, from 6-8pm by Pamela Lorette Owens of Jugtown Pottery.

Owens will discuss one of the North Carolina Pottery Center’s current exhibitions, “North Carolina’s Traditional Women Potters,” which she curated. “North Carolina’s Traditional Women Potters” is on exhibit through Feb. 11, 2017. The exhibition is the culmination of a study and lecture presented by Owens at the Catawba Valley Pottery & Antiques Festival, in Hickory, NC, in 2015.

The twentieth century saw the emergence of women potters from the lineage of European settlers, and while Native American women had been making pottery here for thousands of years, their names and work were definitively recorded through writing and images only as the century progressed. This exhibition is an examination of North Carolina women who were established potters by 1975 and who came from or chose to work and learn through a traditional approach. The focus is on women who made and/or decorated pots, but all of the women who worked daily in potteries were integral to the process.

A potluck at 6pm will begin the evening’s events, followed by the slide talk at 7pm. Come out for a great night of food and community! This presentation is free and open to the public.

The NCPC Educational Building is located behind the NC Pottery Center at 233 East Avenue, Seagrove, 27341.

For more information, call the Pottery Center at 336-873-8430.

Traditional Arts Program for Students Celebrated at NC Pottery Center in Seagrove, NC

The North Carolina Pottery Center in Seagrove, NC, is celebrating the work of the ten budding potters who participated in the fall 2016 session of the Center’s Traditional Arts Program for Students (TAPS). TAPS is an afterschool pottery class hosted by the NC Pottery Center in partnership with Seagrove Elementary School and sponsored by the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources. Each fall and spring, ten fifth grade students from nearby Seagrove Elementary School are invited to participate in the program, and learn pottery local history and skills.

North Carolina Folk Heritage Award winner Sid Luck teaches students how to make face jugs, a traditional form in Southern pottery.

The TAPS program aims to connect North Carolina students with local traditional artists. Students receive instruction in an art form that has deep cultural roots in their community, taught by experts utilizing traditional techniques. Students learn numerous clay processes, including wheel-throwing, hand-building, glazing and firing of pottery forms drawn from traditional use and practice.  Seagrove potter Sid Luck, winner of the 2014 North Carolina Heritage Award, leads the class. Luck is assisted by Seagrove potters Chad Brown and Susan Greene, NCPC Artists-in-Residence Owen Laurion and Kirsten Olson, and NCPC educational program manager, Emily Lassiter.

“The North Carolina Pottery Center’s TAPS program is so fortunate to have fifth-generation potter Sid Luck teaching Seagrove pottery traditions to the community’s young people,” says Sally Peterson, Folklife Director at the NC Arts Council.  “A career public school teacher himself, Sid combines high level teaching skills with time-honored pottery knowledge to present an enriching program that connects students to the very heart of their community.  Rising fifth-generation potter Chad Brown and others contribute an energy and creativity to the program that would be difficult to match anywhere outside of a university program.  I love visiting the TAPS program, because the students are so enthusiastic and really perform way beyond expectation,” says Peterson.

The fall 2016 TAPS session will end Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2016.  To celebrate our students’ hard work, a reception and exhibition of TAPS students’ pottery is planned for that day, from 2:45 until 4pm. The general public is invited to attend.

Exhibitions are made possible through the generosity of our membership, the John W. & Anna H. Hanes Foundation, the Mary and Elliott Wood Foundation and the Goodnight Educational Foundation. This project was supported by the N.C. Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources, with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. Thank you!

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., from 10am – 4pm.

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