First annual Mountain Cousins in Clay

The first annual Mountain Cousins was a very gratifying weekend for Bruce and I.  It was wonderful to escape the heat for an extremely pleasant weekend on top of a Mountain ridge with the Michael, Stacey, George, Evelyn, Lillian, Jack, and General Patton. I (Samantha) grew up in Blacksburg, Virginia on a plateau between the Allegheny and Blue Ridge Mountains and Bruce spent a number of years living in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Floyd, Va.   Our weekend was sunny and cool, and we were comfortably set up under the oak trees at the top of hill from Michael Kline's Pottery shop.  We felt at home with the beautiful views and great companionship.

Michael's father-in-law, George cooked red beans and rice for the visitors that came on Friday and Saturday.   They were yummy and I made sure to have several second helping. George cooks for Civil War reenactments. He came with his dutch ovens and grills, and his dog General Patton.  Patton and Jack had fun playing together in the morning before they had to go up for the day.

Here is Michael outside of his studio. This is where you can find him on a daily basis working on his pots. He has a display room of his pottery in the front of the building. 

Cynthia and Edwina Bringle visited us Friday morning.  Cynthia is a potter living in Penland right next to the famous Penland School of Crafts and Edwina her sister is a weaver.

The building below is Cynthia's studio which is located at the entrance into Penland (the driveway right across from the Penland Gallery).  Visit Cynthia at her studio, and see her beautiful gardens and wonderful pottery.  She has a great selection of her work to look at.  I bought a slender wiggle vase from her last year during the Toe River Studio Art Tour.
This was my first time actually visiting Penland grounds, Bruce taught a workshop and a concentration there back in the late 80's. We had a nice lunch at the Penland coffee shop Sunday afternoon, and the Penland Gallery is spectacular.

I love looking at pottery in outdoor light. Sunlight has a warmth that really brings out the rich and colorful tones of glazes.

Michael Kline pulled out a new kiln load of his work for the weekend of Mountain Cousins.

There was a great selection of pottery to look at and choose from.

Happy pottery collectors went home with a piece from each of us.

Next year around this time we will have two more potters under the tents on the mountain top with us.  Mark Shapiro and Sam Taylor will be headed down from Massachusetts with their awesome pottery to join us for Michael's 2nd annual Mountain Cousins in Clay.

And here in Seagrove... Bulldog Pottery's annual "Cousins in Clay- 2012" will take place on Memorial Day weekend with our honored Clay "Cousins" Ron Meyers and Judith Duff.