Veil

Bud Vase, made by Samantha Henneke, 7.5" x 3", Bulldog Pottery, Seagrove, North Carolina

Samantha writes, "This color combination reminds me of a thin veil covering water bubbles in our dark tannin filled pond at the edge of our woods.

    I was reading the other day about an alligator's vision. They have a third eyelid called a “nictitating membrane” that folds down over their eyes when they swim through water. This eyelid acts as a veil for the alligator's eye so they can see as they swim in the murky conditions of being underwater."

We are participating in this weekend's Holiday Open House, December 17, with a few other Seagrove Potters: Hatfield Pottery at Carolina Crockery, Dirtworks Pottery, Dover Pottery, Caldwell-Hohl Pottery, Donna's Pottery Haven, and Johnston and Gentithes Pottery, Seagrove Stoneware, and Bulldog Pottery/Gholson and Henneke. 

Picture by Samantha Henneke, Winter scene with Gum Pod, Bulldog Pottery, Seagrove, NC

The image below is part of my 365 one picture a day project from 2013. This image was taken on April 30, 2013.  If you are interested in seeing my complete album of images, they are on our Flickr site at "A Picture a Morning".

Spider Seltzer, April 30, 2013, Samantha Henneke, Seagrove, North Carolina

Pottery Purchase Note-
We thought we would try showing some of our crystalline vases that we have available in our pottery shop. The Buy Now button below leads you to paypal where you can purchase the vase. We don't have the shipping calculated as we would like to be able to charge you the exact amount that it will take to deliver the piece to you (plus $5 for handling). We could send you a separate invoice when we find out the shipping cost.  If you live in North Carolina we could hold the vase for you to pick up or ship it to you, we will need to add 7% sales tax.  This is all new to us so if you do purchase this vase please hang in there with us as we are working on figuring out this process. Our phone number is Bruce's cell- 336-302-3469.
You will need a paypal account to use this way of purchasing the vase. Otherwise please call us or we could send you an invoice.
Thank you

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Buttercups

Bud Vase, bu Samantha Henneke, Seagrove, North Carolina, Bulldog Pottery

Buttercups
Reminiscent of a children's game where one child would hold a buttercup under their friend's chin to see if it reflected back yellow. If your chin did reflect yellow then it was said that you liked butter. It always felt good to win and have a yellow chin, though I was not a fan of butter as a child and I am still not unless it is the vehicle in which shrimp is cooked in or found in oyster stew.....

I found an article "Why Buttercups reflect yellow on chins", published in December 2011 by scientists at the University of Cambridge, why the buttercup has an unique ability to reflect yellow on chins.

Written in the article:  "The researchers discovered that the buttercup petal’s unique bright and glossy appearance is the result of the interplay between its different layers. In particular, the strong yellow reflection responsible for the chin illumination is mainly due to the epidermal layer of the petal that reflects yellow light with an intensity that is comparable to glass." 

Flower, photograph by Samantha Henneke, Bulldog Pottery, Seagrove, North Carolina

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Mindly - Organize your Inner Universe

Vase, made by Bruce Gholson, Bulldog Pottery, Seagrove, North Carolina

We love the blue hue of this matte crystalline glaze and its emerald rim. The surface has a satiny quality like an exotically speckled blue egg, or an unusually pale blue eggplant or gourd.

As we finish up in the studio for our upcoming holiday kiln opening, we look forward to the holidays ahead of us. We love this season, a great time to reflect on what we have accomplished this year in the studio, and to set goals for the new year that is ahead.  We plan and speculate on some new directions in our work this coming year. We presently have begun the foundation testing of new clay bodies and on formulations for several new glazes. Lots of ideas that have been warming on the back burner that we are actively moving up to the front. We are so excited about our future opportunities in the studio right now.

There is an app that we have played around with this year called Mindly- Organize your Inner Universe. It is an app that provides us with a layout to create mind maps. A mind map is a great way to develop a visual strategy for a new idea.

Insect, photo by Samantha Henneke, Bulldog Pottery gardens, Seagrove, North Carolina

Pottery Purchase Note-
We thought we would try showing some of our crystalline vases that we have available in our pottery shop. The Buy Now button below leads you to paypal where you can purchase the vase. We don't have the shipping calculated as we would like to be able to charge you the exact amount that it will take to deliver the piece to you (plus $5 for handling). We could send you a separate invoice when we find out the shipping cost.  If you live in North Carolina we could hold the vase for you to pick up or ship it to you, we will need to add 7% sales tax.  This is all new to us so if you do purchase this vase please hang in there with us as we are working on figuring out this process. Our phone number is Bruce's cell- 336-302-3469.
You will need a paypal account to use this way of purchasing the vase. Otherwise please call us or we could send you an invoice.
Thank you

Seagrove Pottery Holiday Kilns Openings in Seagrove, North Carolina

Bud Vase with double swell, olive speckle matte crystaline, Samantha Henneke, Bulldog Pottery, Seagrove, North Carolina

    We are preparing for our Holiday Kiln Opening, "One more Hurrah", this year on two weekends, December 10th and December 17th.  We want to share with you the names of our fellow Seagrove Potters that will also be hosting Holiday Open Houses in Seagrove this December 10 and 17.

The following Seagrove Potteries will be holding their kiln openings this weekend, December 10: From the Ground Up, Michele Hastings and Jeff Brown Pottery, Latham's Pottery, Blue Hen Pottery, Morgan Hatfield/Carolina Crockery, Lufkin Pottery, Dirtworks Pottery, Studio Touya, Crystal King Pottery, Caldwell-Hohl Pottery, Ben Owen Pottery, Donna Craven Pottery, and Eck McCanless Pottery, and Bulldog Pottery/Gholson and Henneke.

The following Seagrove Potteries will be holding their kiln openings on December 17:  

Morgan Hatfield/Carolina Crockery, Caldwell-Hohl Pottery, Dover Pottery, Dirtworks Pottery, Donna's Pottery Haven, and Bulldog Pottery/Gholson and Henneke.  

For more information about the Open Houses/Pottery Kiln Openings visit the Seagrove Potters website.

Bruce Gholson in the Bulldog Pottery Studio, Seagrove, North Carolina

Pottery Purchase Note-
We thought we would try showing some of our crystalline vases that we have available in our pottery shop. The Buy Now button below leads you to paypal where you can purchase the vase. We don't have the shipping calculated as we would like to be able to charge you the exact amount that it will take to deliver the piece to you (plus $5 for handling). We could send you a separate invoice when we find out the shipping cost.  If you live in North Carolina we could hold the vase for you to pick up or ship it to you, we will need to add 7% sales tax.  This is all new to us so if you do purchase this vase please hang in there with us as we are working on figuring out this process. Our phone number is Bruce's cell- 336-302-3469.
You will need a paypal account to use this way of purchasing the vase. Otherwise please call us or we could send you an invoice.
Thank you!

Crystalline Bud Vase, Seagrove, North Carolina

Bud Vase with double swell, eggplant hue with emerald rim, Samantha Henneke, Bulldog Pottery, Seagrove, North Carolina

 The vase pictured is glazed with a textural crystalline glaze with a purplish hue, made by Samantha.

The other evening we were looking around on You Tube to watch a few minutes of something before we went to bed. I always love to watch a Laurie Anderson video so I started with Sharkey's Day. I ran into a Laurie Anderson interview from this past summer, 2016. A quote that I took away from her "Advice to young artists"...... ( I think this advice is good for all artists, young and old and everywhere in between)

  "Curiosity about being in the world, lets make some music... Whatever makes you free, whatever makes you feel free, that is what you do. It is really simple." .... Laurie Anderson



Pottery Purchase Note-
We thought we would try showing some of our crystalline vases that we have available in our pottery shop. The Buy Now button below leads you to paypal where you can purchase the vase. We don't have the shipping calculated as we would like to be able to charge you the exact amount that it will take to deliver the piece to you (plus $5 for handling). We could send you a separate invoice when we find out the shipping cost.  If you live in North Carolina we could hold the vase for you to pick up or ship it to you, we will need to add 7% sales tax.  This is all new to us so if you do purchase this vase please hang in there with us as we are working on figuring out this process. Our phone number is Bruce's cell- 336-302-3469.
You will need a paypal account to use this way of purchasing the vase. Otherwise please call us or we could send you an invoice.
Thank you!

Calm

Calm a book by Dr. Arlene K. Unger

    On our recent excursion to Barnes and Noble we purchased this book "Calm", after flipping through its pages and connecting with one of the passages written on page 89, titled "Butterfly Mind".  An inspiring visualization exercise to help us with multi-tasking.  They suggest to try this visualization next time you are trying to multitask, or for me it would be when I have so many ideas and things I want to do that it is is hard to start or know where to begin. 

The visualization begins... imagine many different butterflies all flying around and you have a net and want to capture one to take a closer look. You try to net one in flight, you swipe from one to the other unable to catch any because they are too quick and agile.  Visualize focusing on one beautifully colorfully patterned butterfly resting on a flower, you block out all the others and gently put your net over this one butterfly, you can now take a closer look, admire it and then release it back into the sky.  

This visualization resonated with me, and so this book came home with us and I am continuing to enjoy reading through the rest of the book.

We are preparing for our Holiday Open House coming up on December 10th and December 17th.  A few other Seagrove Potteries are participating. We are looking forward to our "One more Hurrah" before the end of the year.

Butterfly Tile, 4"x4", made by Samantha Henneke, Bulldog Pottery, Seagrove, North Carolina

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Matte Crystalline Vase with Buttery Shade of Yellow

Matte crystalline vase, Bruce Gholson, Bulldog Pottery, Seagrove, North Carolina

This vase, made by Bruce Gholson, is a crystalline matte glaze with a buttery shade of yellow and emerald green rim. The piece measures 8.24 inches tall by 3.5 inches wide,  $145.00.

We thought we would try showing some of our crystalline vases that we have available in our pottery shop. The Buy Now button below leads you to paypal where you can purchase the vase. We don't have the shipping calculated as we would like to be able to charge you the exact amount that it will take to deliver the piece to you (plus $5 for handling). We could send you a separate invoice when we find out the shipping cost.  If you live in North Carolina we could hold the vase for you to pick up or ship it to you, we will need to add 7% sales tax.  This is all new to us so if you do purchase this vase please hang in there with us as we are working on figuring out this process. Our phone number is Bruce's cell- 336-302-3469.
You will need a paypal account to use this way of purchasing the vase. Otherwise please call us or we could send you an invoice.
Thank you!

Pottery on the Hill 2016

Song Writers on Song Writing

Bruce Gholson, Cup, Bulldog Pottery, Seagrove, North Carolina

We love books. Our newest addition to our collection is "Song Writers on Song Writing" by Paul Zollo, the book is full of interviews with 62 song writers about their inspirations, how they approach creative solutions, and some of their history. I did immediately look through to see if they had interviewed Robert Hunter who wrote songs for the Grateful Dead, but alas he wasn't included. I became familiar with this book via a share by David Rothenberg on Facebook. David Rothenberg has written books such as "Why Birds Sing" and "Whale Music", and the book that had immediately caught my attention is one titled "Bug Music, a book we purchased a couple of years ago.  We love our books. I love being surrounded by them.  My attentions jumps around from all the things we do during the day. We may not read all of these books from beginning to end but we love to be surrounded by them, and I love the feeling I get each morning when I wake up and look at our book shelves and see all the titles on the spines.

The post that David Rothenberg shared the other day was a link to a blog called Brain Pickings about the Canadian singer-songwriter, poet, and novelist Leonard Cohen. In the blog Brain Pickings, some of the posts referred to the interviews from the book "Song Writers on Song Writing."  We enjoy learning about the Creative Process and perspectives on this subject. We engage in the creative process everyday, and are interested in what are some characteristics of the brain that are  associated with creativity.

Samantha Henneke, Cup, Bulldog Pottery, Seagrove, North Carolina

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Meet the Cousins..... Seagrove, North Carolina on June 4-5, 2016

Sunday Potters Potluck from the 7th annual "Cousins in Clay" during 2015

  ----We are thrilled to invite you to our 8th annual "Cousins in Clay" pottery event----

 A rare opportunity to meet and talk with visiting nationally known clay artists about their work in a quiet and peaceful setting. Come on out...... you won't be disappointed.

  We invite Chronis Pou Vasiliou to play his Greek Bouzouki during Saturday until 3:00pm when we pull out our wheels for Julia Galloway and Tara Wilson to demonstrate a few of their pottery moves.

  Sunday the show and sale opens again at 10am and is a quiet time to relax with the potters until 12 noon when the potters potluck begins.  This year Will McCanless of McCanless Pottery will play Irish music, what a treat! At 1:30pm Dug Stanat will share with us some of his sculpting techniques.

Join Us this year for the

8th annual "Cousins in Clay"
An open and free pottery event for the public

June 4-5, 2016
Saturday 10-5

Sunday 10-4

 Hosted by:
Bruce Gholson
Samantha Hennke
Michael Kline

The Guest Potters and Sculptor:
Julia Galloway
Dug Stanat
Tara Wilson

at Bulldog Pottery/Gholson & Henneke
3306 US Hwy 220 Alt
Seagrove, NC 27341

just 5 miles south of the town of Seagrove's single traffic

910-428-9728

for more information or visit our "Cousins in Clay" website

Like our "Cousins in Clay" Facebook page
#CousinsInClay

Come on out we will be here Rain or Shine.

We can't do it without you

Host Clay Cousin:  Samantha Henneke, Seagrove, NC

Samantha Henneke, Host potter at the 8th annual "Cousins in Clay," at Bulldog Pottery, Seagrove, NC

I love taking pictures around our property that continually inspires my glazes and images.  I work with a variety decorative techniques to  help me develop imagery and pattern on my work.  Bruce has been experimenting with ash and spodumene glazes that provide him with warm orange and ochre hues on his ceramics.  Recently Bruce has been adding an additional  layer of texture to his pottery that provides the user with an extra sensory experience.

Host Clay Cousin:  Bruce Gholson, Seagrove, NC

Covered Jar, Bruce Gholson, Host potter at the 8th annual "Cousins in Clay," at Bulldog Pottery, Seagrove, NC

Host Clay Cousin:  Michael Kline, Bakersville, NC

Mug, Michael Kline, Bakersville, NC, Host of Mountain "Cousins in Clay" on Labor Day Weekend

Michael Kline is from Bakersville, NC and is known for his floral brush imagery that gracefully wraps around his wood-fired pottery forms. Sometimes his pots are covered with a honey amber color glaze that is as appetizing as maple syrup.  Recently Michael has focused his attention on decorating his pottery with a Korean inlay technique called sanggam. Michael is our perennial co-conspirator with Gholson-Henneke, and the annual Cousins in Clay events.

Have you every watched the new social media live video stream Periscope. Michael has been regularly posting videos on Periscope. You can download the app onto your mobile device. You can also watch his videos on your desktop.  Visit Michael 'Klineola' Kline on Periscope, check it out. It is really cool to watch the work of a studio potter live.

Every year we partner with our good friend Michael Kline, a Penland potter from Bakersville, NC and host two "Cousins in Clay" pottery events. Ours takes place here at Bulldog Pottery in Seagrove the weekend after Memorial Day and Michael hosts Mountain "Cousins in Clay" on Labor Day Weekend at his Michael Kline Pottery in the mountains of North Carolina.

 Save the Date for this year's Mountain "Cousins in Clay" on September 4-5, 2016. Our guest mountain clay cousin is Kristen Kieffer.

Guest Clay Cousin: Julia Galloway, Missoula, Montana

Julia Galloway, guest potter at the 8th annual "Cousins in Clay", at Bulldog Pottery, Seagrove, NC

Julia Galloway is currently the Director of the School of Art and Professor at the University of Montana, Missoula.

She makes "joyous pots, objects that weave into our daily lives through use," she writes,  "Teapots celebrate our drinking tea; a pitcher decorates a mantel when not in use; a mug with slight texture inside the handle allows our fingers to discover uniqueness. Pottery is a reflection of us."

Julia put together the “Field Guide for Ceramic Artisans”, a website of information and resources that was developed by her and her students at the Rochester Institute of Art. The guide is intended to help and support students when they are finishing at school, and it contains helpful information for the professional ceramic artist  as well. The Ceramic Field Guide can be found on Julia Galloway's website.

Guest Clay Cousin: Dug Stanat, Fremont, California

Dug Stanat, guest sculptor at the 8th annual "Cousins in Clay", at Bulldog Pottery, Seagrove, NC

Dug Stanat will fly in all the way to North Carolina from California. The intricacy that Dug Stanat whips into his sculptures are “freakin” astonishing. He loves strange characters, and is inspired by his love of creatures, characters, monsters, and spirits.  Dug has been sculpting his creatures since the early 90's- And for 12 years grew his talent at PDI/DreamWorks as a character technical director.  He rigged faces for How to Train Your Dragon 1 and 2, Rise of the Guardians, Shrek 2 and 3, Madagascar 1 and 2, and The Bee Movie.  For the last three years he has been sculpting full time, leaving DreamWorks on Halloween, 2012 to return to a life of sculpting in California.

 

Guest Clay Cousin: Tara Wilson, Montana City, Montana

Tara Wilson, guest potter at the 8th annual "Cousins in Clay", at Bulldog Pottery, Seagrove, NC

Tara Wilson set up her studio in Montana City in 2008 after finishing residencies at the Archie Bray Foundation and Red Lodge Clay Center. She currently has a train and a catenary arch wood fire kiln.  Her wood fired pots are often richly complex in form, and can be usefully enjoyed in your daily life. Read more about Tara Wilson in her interview with Jennifer Allen on Jen Allen's Ceramics blog.

Thank you for All of Your Support of our Pottery

Bruce Gholson - AKAR Yunomi Invitational

Bruce Gholson, Fossil Fish Yunomi, Bulldog Pottery, Seagrove, NC

Tomorrow, May 13th will be the opening of the tenth annual Akar Yunomi Invitational, with 950 yunomi from 190 artists.  A "yunomi" is a form of teacup being taller than wide with a trimmed or turned foot for daily or informal tea drinking. Seems to work great for water, wine, whiskey, and whatnot too.

We have always found this show exciting and inspirational to be a part of. This event is highly motivating to us to be a bit more daring with how we will approach the surface of the cups we will choose from. Akar's Yunomi show has always been a spur to push us further, with the yunomi being a great vehicle to risk new surface combinations, and experiment with some of the new glazes we have been developing. Bruce's selections for this years Yunomi show are shown below.
The top piece is porcelain, and the next four are red stoneware.

Bruce Gholson, Fossil Fish Yunomi, Bulldog Pottery, Seagrove, NC

Bruce Gholson, Fossil Fish Yunomi, Bulldog Pottery, Seagrove, NC

Bruce Gholson, Fossil Fish Yunomi, Bulldog Pottery, Seagrove, NC

Bruce Gholson, Fossil Fish Yunomi, Bulldog Pottery, Seagrove, NC

Samantha Henneke Yunomis AKAR Design

Flowing Phenomena Yunomi, drinking cup, Samantha Henneke, Bulldog Pottery, Seagrove, North Carolina

These five yunomis that I selected to send to AKAR are from the most recent group of drinking cups that I made this early spring.  I am exploring new ways to work with our flowing crystalline glazes to push their fluid characteristics, and still keep the glazes on the pot. I am drawn to the way these turned out and looking forward to creating more.

detail of yunomi, notice the molybdenum iridescent crystals

We are hard at work in the studio focusing on making pots and cycling them through for glazing. "Cousins in Clay" June 4&5 is coming up soon and we want to make sure we have fresh new pots for our visitors to choose from. Our calendar is packed full of invitational shows this year. We are super excited and in a very happy and active place in the studio right now. 

In the next post we will share Bruce's yunomi selections for the upcoming AKAR yunomi invitational show opening online on May 13.

 Stay tuned for a blog post introducing our clay cousins for this year's "Cousins in Clay" June 4&5.

I took pictures of these cups from multiple views. And it is fun to see that one side of the cup can be so different from the other. Especially the one below. You can see the multiple views on our Bruce Gholson and Samantha Henneke/Bulldog Pottery Facebook page.  While you are there like and follow are Bulldog Pottery page find out more about what we are up too.

Flowing Phenomena Yunomi, drinking cup, Samantha Henneke, Bulldog Pottery, Seagrove, North Carolina

Flowing Phenomena Yunomi, drinking cup, Samantha Henneke, Bulldog Pottery, Seagrove, North Carolina

Flowing Phenomena Yunomi, drinking cup, Samantha Henneke, Bulldog Pottery, Seagrove, North Carolina

Flowing Phenomena Yunomi, drinking cup, Samantha Henneke, Bulldog Pottery, Seagrove, North Carolina

"Cake", an exhibition at the Dinnerware Museum, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Cake Stand- Ceramic stand made by Bruce Gholson and Glass globe made by Joe Grant

Last year, at the end of the summer, Bruce accepted an invitation to be included in the special exhibition "Cake" curated by Margaret Carney, the director of the Dinnerware Museum. The Dinnerware Museum is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The exhibition "Cake" is on view from April 9 - September 4, 2016, with open hours on weekends or by appointment.  

After accepting the invitation and thinking about what to design, Bruce was struck with the inspiration of a collaboration with the glass artist Joe Grant, director of the glass studio program at STARworks in Star, NC. just five miles south of Bulldog Pottery.  

Images of the cake stands can be seen online at Cake Invitational. Bruce glazed the stand with our black molybdenum crystalline glaze which shows its distinctive iridescent stars and flower shapes. 

Bruce's and Joe's cake stand is 20 inches tall and 11 inches in diameter. A cake could be several layers tall and still have space for some decorative elements or figures under the dome. The Stand and Globe is available for purchase from the exhibition for $675.00, with some of the proceeds going to support the Dinnerware Museum.  

"The Dinnerware Museum celebrates a significant aspect of our daily lives. The permanent collection features international dinnerware from ancient to futuristic times; created from ceramic, glass, plastic, metal, lacquer, fiber, paper, wood and more. A delight for collectors, foodies, and visitors worldwide, the Dinnerware Museum has been described as creating a dream museum one place setting at a time."

You can see images of the exhibition opening on the Dinnerware Museum Facebook page. 

It was a stimulating experience working on this project with Joe Grant, and I am looking forward to doing it again.

Joe Grant and Bruce Gholson at STARwork Glass studio, Star, NC

Margaret Carney sent us an image of Bruce's and Joe's cake stand displayed in the Dinnerware Museum. 

View of inside the Dinnerware Museum, Ann Arbor, Michigan

The Cousins are coming.... June 4-5, 2016

Cousins in Clay in Seagrove, NC at Bulldog Pottery/Gholson&Henneke

8th annual Cousins in Clay

June 4-5, 2016

 Hosted by

Bruce Gholson

Samantha Hennke

Michael Kline

Honored Cousins for this year's "Cousins in Clay", Bulldog Pottery, Seagrove, NC

Julia Galloway
Dug Stanat
Tara Wilson

at Bulldog Pottery/Gholson&Henneke
3306 US Hwy 220 Alt
Seagrove, NC 27341
910-428-9728 for more information or visit our website Cousins in Clay

#CousinsInClay

Cousins in Clay in Seagrove, NC at Bulldog Pottery/Gholson&Henneke

Winter Nature Photos One-a-Day for a Week

Nature Image,  Day 1, Samantha Henneke, Bulldog Pottery, Seagrove, North Carolina

A couple of weeks ago I was nominated by a friend to post a picture a day for seven days on Facebook.  I have enjoyed venturing out into our yard to find an image. I usually don't stray outside too much in the winter. I am a warmer weather being and seem to gravitate to the brighter spring colors and summer balmy temperatures.  But I have found that through these recent images I am really enjoying the colors of the photographs I am coming home with.  The olive greens, lavenders, vanadium, and silver greys are enchanting and invigorating in a different way than the eye popping chartreuses of early spring and brilliant colors of summer flowers.

I wanted to share with you the images from that week.

Nature Image,  Day 2, Samantha Henneke, Bulldog Pottery, Seagrove, North Carolina

Nature Image,  Day 3, Samantha Henneke, Bulldog Pottery, Seagrove, North Carolina

Nature Image,  Day 4, Samantha Henneke, Bulldog Pottery, Seagrove, North Carolina

Nature Image,  Day 5, Samantha Henneke, Bulldog Pottery, Seagrove, North Carolina

Nature Image,  Day 6, Samantha Henneke, Bulldog Pottery, Seagrove, North Carolina

Nature Image,  Day 7, Samantha Henneke, Bulldog Pottery, Seagrove, North Carolina

Nature Image,  Day 8, Samantha Henneke, Bulldog Pottery, Seagrove, North Carolina

29th annual North Carolina Potters Conference - 2016

Tony Clennell- Pottery Demonstrator- 29th annual NC Potters Conference

Tony Clennell is a potter and teacher living in Aylmer, Ontario.

  

  The 29th annual North Carolina Potters Conference is now open for registration.  

 March 4-6, 2016
Friday - Saturday - Sunday

Asheboro, North Carolina
Hosted by the Randolph Arts Guild
Opening Reception/Networking, Thursday 6:00 PM 

#NCPottersConf

  The NC Potters Conference begins Friday morning with three slide lectures by the demonstrating potters: Tony Clennell, Sunshine Cobb, and Steven Godfrey. After Friday lunch they begin their afternoon of demonstrating together on stage.  There are large TV screens for optimal and close-up viewing of the artists as they work and interact with each other and the audience. This year Chris Staley will be presenting his talk Friday evening about creativity and clay.  Tony Clennell, Sunshine Cobb, and Steven Godfrey will be demonstrating all day Saturday. After Saturday's barbecue dinner at the Exchange, Dwight Holland invites the conference participants to his home for conversation and to see his extensive pottery collection.

 Sunday Morning Talks: This year's presenters are Ulysses Dietz-curator of the Newark Museum in New Jersey, Garth Johnson-curator of the ASU Art Museum in Arizona, and Art Markman- Professor of Psychology and Marketing at the University of Texas in Austin.  Sunday morning talks are dedicated to the memory of Walter and Dorothy Auman.

 After Sunday's lunch the North Carolina Pottery Center in downtown Seagrove will be open for visitors. Steven Blankenbeker will give a talk about North Carolina Clay Sunday afternoon.  The two exhibitions at the NCPC  are: Object Lessons: "Ceramics from the Gregg Museum of Art and Design," and "Wild Clay: The Story of North Carolina Clay".

 Always the first full weekend of March, this year the 2016 Conference dates are March 4-6.  Pre-registration is necessary and can be done online at the Randolph Arts Guild website.  The registration is $250.00 and includes Friday-lunch and dinner, Saturday- lunch and dinner, and Sunday lunch. A Thursday evening reception/networking is sponsored by the Rising Sun Pottery. The NC Potters Conference is sponsored by Highwater Clays, Potters Council, and "Ceramics: Art and Perception | Technical."

 For more conference information please visit the Randolph Arts Guild website and
'Like and Follow' the North Carolina Potters Conference facebook page.

Sunshine Cobb- Pottery Demonstrator- 29th annual NC Potters Conference

Sunshine Cobb is a full-time studio pottery in Sacramento, California

Steven Godfrey- Pottery Demonstrator- 29th annual NC Potters Conference (image from Schaller Gallery)

Steven Godfrey is the Assistant Professor Of Art at University of Alaska Anchorage, Anchorage AK.

Chris Staley - Talks Friday Evening for the 29th annual North Carolina Potters Conference

Stay tuned for the synopsis of Chris Staley's presentation

Garth Johnson - Talks Sunday morning for the 29th annual North Carolina Potters Conference

Garth Johnson is the curator of ceramics at the Arizona State University Art Museum in Tempe, Arizona.

Agrestic Modern

"There is a new generation of potters that make engaging, rustic work that looks to Scandinavia and the Mediterranean rather than Japan for inspiration. Agrestic Modern combines geometric simplicity with expressive, yet surprisingly austere surfaces. The artists discussed in this lecture, including Rebecca Chappell, Mike Helke, Giselle Hicks, Joseph Pintz and Jordan MacDonald give a contemporary twist to work that draws from a broad range of historical influences."

Ulysses Dietz - Talks Sunday morning for the 29th annual North Carolina Potters Conference

Ulysses Dietz is the curator of Decorative Arts at the Newark Museum since 1980.

Great Pots: art, craft, whatever

"Some pots are just pots. Some pots are art. Actually, any pot can be art if someone says it is. The Newark Museum started collecting modern pots and calling them art in 1909. My presentation grows from the idea was that a great pot was conceived of as a work of art that ordinary human beings could actually relate to and own and use to make their homes better, more beautiful places. Craftsmanship mattered. Design mattered. Nothing else mattered.

   I’ll discuss the transition from the Arts & Crafts Movement, whose core premise was to make art accessible to middle-class consumers, to that movement’s rebellious child, the Contemporary Craft Movement. This was also founded on the notion of making handcrafted objects accessible to a wide audience. My thesis is that the very existence of ceramic art in this context was geared to redefining art in a way that undermined the social and cultural pretensions of the fine art world, but that something strange happened. As potters have evolved into ceramic artists and somehow decided being “just” great potters isn’t enough, pots gradually have become just another pawn in the complex games of collecting and curatorial one-upsmanship that drives the market today."

Art Markman - Talks Sunday morning for the 29th annual North Carolina Potters Conference

Art Markman is a professor of Psychology and Marketing at the University of Texas in Austin.

Increasing creativity through Smart Thinking

"Creativity is prized in the arts, and is also a critical part of success in business.  Despite its importance, few people understand the roots of creative problem solving.  In this talk, I explore the psychology of creative thinking.  I examine the development of effective habits to maximize the quality of knowledge that supports creative endeavors.  I also discuss how to overcome a fear of failure to develop new ideas.  Finally, I explore personality characteristics related to creativity and how to enhance their positive effects while minimizing their drawbacks."