Hippopotamus, Quiet Inspirations, Meadham Kirchhoff

Tuesday - Clay Share

Statuette of a Hippopotamus

 Hippopotamus, Middle Kingdom, 1981–1885 B.C. Egyptian; collection of Metropolitan Museum of Art

It is easy to get a warm and fuzzy feeling when looking at this Hippopotamus sculpture. After reading about it we find out the Hippopotamus was a dangerous animal to the Egyptian people, and was one animal that they kept a keen wary eye out for as they fished the waterways.  This turquoise hippo was found in a tomb with three of its legs broken, to prevent the creature from harming the deceased in the afterlife. The legs were repaired after its discovery as part of a burial tomb.

Egyptian faience is a self glazing ceramic paste that goes back 7,000 years ago. It is primarily silica with fluxes added as soluble salts. As the material drys, the salts collect at the exposed  surface as the water evaporates. Copper is added to the material to obtain the turquoise color. When fired, a glaze develops at the surface where the fluxing salts have become concentrated, and the silica mass becomes fused.  This process is a transitional technology between glass and glazed clay objects.  Essentially it is a glass material worked as a paste rather than as a material in a molten state, and then sintered, rather than fully melted.
Contemporary Egyptian paste formulas have for the most part been adjusted to contain enough clay and other materials to make them more plastic than the original faience formulas, making them easier to work with.
This Egyptian Hippopotamus is in the collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  Amy Waller Pottery has further information on her blog Amy Waller Pottery. Also there is an interesting article about Faience by K. Kris Hirst.

Hippopotamus, Middle Kingdom, 1981–1885 B.C. Egyptian; collection of Metropolitan Museum of Art

Thursday - Potters Pick
Judith Duff

Quiet Inspiration: Japanese Influence on North Carolina Potters - at the North Carolina Pottery Center, Seagrove, NC

Judith Duff, a potter from Brevard, NC. is the curator for the upcoming "Quiet Inspirations: Japanese Influence on North Carolina Potters" at the North Carolina Pottery Center, in Seagrove, NC. Opening Reception is on Saturday, February 7, 2015 from 12:00—2:00 p.m.

There will be a presentation by Judith Duff at the North Carolina Pottery Center on March 8, 2015 Sunday, 2:00 pm. right after the North Carolina Potters Conference. For more information about the exhibition visit the North Carolina Pottery Center and for more information about the North Carolina  Pottery Conference visit the Randolph Arts Guild. 

Quiet Inspiration: Japanese Influence on North Carolina Potters - at the North Carolina Pottery Center, Seagrove, NC

Playing off the Instrument
Meadham Kirchhoff

Meadham Kirchhoff  - Edward Meadham and Benjamin Kirchhoff - Teamwork

Break out the under-glaze, over-glaze, and lusters; grab you some bright mason stains, … it's time to compete with confections as rich as these, and shed our self imposed ceramic aesthetic proprieties.

We post our: Clay Share - Tuesday,

Potters Pick - Thursday,

Playing off the Instrument - Sunday

weekly on our Bulldog Pottery Facebook Page

Our exhibition in the Nature Art Gallery

Bruce Gholson, Gloria Henneke, Samantha Henneke, Ed Henneke at our exhibition in the Nature Art Gallery

There still is time to go see the show in Raleigh!  Our exhibition will be up until October 30, 2011.

It was like a family reunion for us Friday evening at our opening in the Nature Art Gallery. The Nature Art Gallery is in the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. This was our fourth show there.  It was great to see the staff again, most have been present for all four of our exhibitions there, starting in 2004. 

Our first and second show was when the whole up stair's space was dedicated to rotating exhibitions.  Now 1/2 of the space is dedicated to the monthly exhibitions and the other 1/2 has a permanent gallery where you can buy a variety of Art. All of the shows have been memorable and all of the shows we have made something a little different.  Having a goal like this to strive for I believe has many advantages for us.  We tend to try something a little bit more involved, draw something new, and explore an idea that we have been wanting to do.  

We finally have uploaded individual images of all of the pieces that are in the show on our Bulldog Pottery flickr site. 

Life at the Bulldog homestead has been full of all kinds of activity. We are on our way to D.C. today for Pot Hop (Home Show Pottery Sale) and Jam with Massachusetts's potters Sam Taylor and Mark Shapiro. All four of us together will be giving demonstrations at the Hinckley Pottery Studios on Saturday evening. If you would like info about this event check out Hinckley Pottery's website. If you would like more info about where we will selling our work call (336_302_3469).

We will be dropping off our painting to the North Carolina Pottery Center today on our way out. There will be a special fund raiser coming up very soon at the Umstead Hotel in Cary, NC. You can read all about it at the North Carolina Pottery Center's website. 

We glazed two kilns full of crystalline vases for this weekend in D.C.  Some came out very sweet indeed, and we will have many other pots as well.

Below are images of our opening night.

This is the sign for the exhibition at the entrance to the Museum Store

When you walk into the Museum Store look up, and you will see where the exhibition space is.

Gallery director Karen Bethune talking with Bruce Gholson.   Karen is the one that arranged the work so wonderfully.

Another, Best shirt ever. Steve has some of the best most awesome shirts 

We were happy with the number of people that came to see our work It was great.

This is a good view of the space and our pots arranged on the pedestals.

Jim Davis is a book maker. He will be in a show at the Ackland  Museum Store, you can read about the event on facebook or follow the Ackland Museum Store's tumblr blog.

When you walk into the NC Museum of Natural Science, and begin the journey through the exhibits you will find out all kinds of information about North Carolina and our natural resources here.

Crystalline Potters of Seagrove at the North Carolina Pottery Center

From Left to Right : 

 Bulldog Pottery, McCanless Pottery (platter), Wyndham and Brookhaven Pottery, Uwharrie Crystalline, Dover Pottery, Pottery By Frank Neef, and Eck McCanless Pottery

Crystalline Potters of Seagrove

September 24, 2011, Saturday, 10am-4pm at the North Carolina Pottery Center in Seagrove

The Crystalline Potters of Seagrove show is the first event of its kind.  Seven different crystalline pottery shops from the Seagrove area are coming together to show the amazing range and versatility of this special effects glaze.  The show will feature both zinc silicate and molybdenum crystalline.

Event will be held in the oak grove behind the North Carolina Pottery Center – 233 East Avenue, Seagrove, NC 27341.  There is no admission fee for the event, NCPC admission - $2/adults, $1/students 9th-12th grade, Free/8th grade and under.  Questions – Contact Rhonda (336) 873-7412

Rain date – October 1, 2011 

NC Faces and Places

The North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh issued a call for North Carolinians to send in their images of "What says North Carolina to you"? Well, for Bruce and I-- hands down its NC.Pottery for us. We found out about the submission on Thursday with a deadline of less than 24 hours away. We zipped on down to the NCPC Friday morning to take a few photos. The picture of us beside the turquoise floor vase was accepted into the NC Faces group on Flicker. There are around 600 images in the group, and I am not sure how many from that they will be taking for the project. But even if the picture is not accepted for the actual photo installation, we feel proud about sharing the North Carolina Pottery Center and its' Museum with others. The NCPC is a wonderful museum that houses North Carolina Pottery of both past and present. This place is located in Seagrove, NC and provides a place to educate the public about this special art form.

I did a blog post on the NCPC back in 2008. (I read my post of a 1 1/2 years ago (have I been blogging for that long??)) and it said that I planned to do a series of what you can find inside the NCPC. So much for staying on that focus, maybe this can be like another start to that idea. I still think it is a grand idea because there is a lot of different NC pottery in there, and maybe this will be an impetus to continue about what a fantastic role the NCPC plays for educating the public about pottery making. I did do a post about the Squirrel Bottle that is in their collection.

We are standing beside a large earthenware Floor Vase. This piece is attributed to CB Craven of Royal Crown Pottery, circa 1940 in Chatham County.
Here is a full view of the two large pots. The honey yellow Two Handled Vase is by Waymon Cole of JB Cole Pottey, c.1930, Randolph County.

We love this corner of the museum at the NCPC.
Here I am in between the "grand dames" of Seagrove traditional pottery. I am sure there are more Seagrove pottery women that belong here as well. Meredith from Whynot Pottery did some posts about her experiences growing up visiting her grandparents in Seagrove and then moving here in the 70's over in Whynot. I love this image of Virginia Shelton that she posted. Also there is a post about Dorothy Auman. In and around Seagrove, pottery was and is part of everyday life. Whether you made pottery or your neighbor made pottery, pottery has just about touched everyone that lives here in the neighborhoods of Seagrove.

The Reception at the North Carolina Pottery Center

Last week was the "New Generation of Seagrove Potters" reception at the North Carolina Pottery Center. This exhibition features 15 Seagrove Potters that are under the age of 40, which was the "cut off" for inclusion in this show. We thought this was a clever idea for a show and we found it interesting to see the variety of work that is now on display.

We were wondering... "maybe they should plan "the middle age" or "over the ?", I better stop before I get in trouble. Maybe the "Boomers Seagrove Show"?

Below Mark Hewitt is introducing the Seagrove Potters that are showing work in the exhibition.

Below I am talking with Jeffrey Dean, trying to convince him to put his picture on facebook. He has a facebook profile but has yet to replace the silhouette image with a handsome picture of himself. I took a couple and sent them to him via e-mail, no more excuses now. I looked him up to ask him to be a friend but I don't know who to ask. Jeffrey owns Dean Martin Pottery along with his wife Stephanie. They just recently posted an image on their blog of the new covered jar he was decorating called the Big Lollipop.

Here are some of the attendees looking over the pottery.

Mark Hewitt was telling us about his new show that is on exhibit at the Nasher Art Museum at Duke University in Durham. He is excited about the opportunity and the documentation that the museum did and put on their blog and flicker page. It is wonderful that his work has been recognized in this way.

Below is Hitomi Shibata with her wood fired pottery. They have been building a wood kiln over on Busbee Road. Check out their pottery blog, Touya News to see the building of their kiln. They have done an incredible job of documenting the process and I think is very valuable, especially if you a potter and are wanting some ideas for your wood kiln, or you are a pottery collector and curious about the process of building a wood fired kiln.
Here is Matthew Luck, the son of Syd Luck. They live around the corner from us and have a wonderful annual party in August called Luck's Legacy. Last year I did a post on our blog about the Luck's Legacy event. We went over and hung out for a few hours unfortunately missing the barbecue because we needed to get back to our shop before they served it at noon. You can check out that post here. I love the intense cobalt blue that Matthew gets out of their ground hog kiln. You can see the cobalt blue glaze on the pots at the far left of the image below.

Chad Brown is the grandson of Grahm Chriscoe, a potter that lives just south of us, towards Ether. Chad Brown makes robust stoneware pots, and demonstrates at the Pottery Center every Saturday.

There was a great turn out for the reception even though snow was falling outside and covering the roads.

Susan Green is on my left. She worked on the committee for the Celebration of Seagrove Potters. She has helped the Seagrove pottery community out during the last couple of years, thanks Susan.

Three of the McCanless Clan: Will, Milly, and Eck. Milly owns Dover Pottery & Will owns McCanless Pottery. Eck is a master turner and works with his mother at Dover Pottery. We had a wonderful time working with Dover Pottery when we first moved here to Seagrove.

Here is the group of the "New Generation" that came out for the reception.

What a wonderful evening.

From Left to Right, Hitomi Shibata, Samantha Henneke, Will McCanless, Cyrstal King, Chad Brown, Matthew Luck, Takuro Shibata, Travis Owens, Eck McCanless is behind Travis, Jared Zehmer, Jeffrey Dean, Stephanie Martin. Too see more information and images of the recpetion go to the North Carolina Pottery Center's website.

Samantha's works at the North Carolina Pottery Center

These are the pottery works that are on exhibit at the North Carolina Pottery Center's "Next Generation of Seagrove Potters" Exhibition. I selected four pieces from our Moka Glaze functional series, and two tall bottles from our flowing molybdenum crystalline glaze series.

Tomorrow evening there will be an opening reception that is free to the public to come and enjoy the North Carolina Pottery Center, view the new exhibit, and talk with pottery loving folks like yourselves.

The Next Generation - Seagrove Potters under 40

This exhibition is on display at the North Carolina Pottery Center. The reception is this coming Friday, Feb. 12th at 5:30pm. I will post tomorrow the images of my pieces that are part of the show. The receptions at the Pottery Center are fun and it is great to check out what is new, and what is old. We always like to take a stroll through the North Carolina Pottery Center's Museum. Hope to see you there.

Also of Note there is a STARworks Glass open house the night before on February 11. For only $25 you as an individual or you and a partner can make your own glass heart or flower! If you just want to come and watch and enjoy the fun I know they would love for you to join in. Sounds like a fun Thursday night to me. So if you live near here I hope to see you there too.

NCPC Fundraiser Party in Seagrove

To see more images of the Wednesday night fundraiser for the NC Pottery Center that we had in Seagrove, go to Jennie's JLK Jewelry blog.

Jennie sent me this picture she took of me with David and Nancy. David is a potter and neighbor, and Nancy is the director of Central Park NC. I am wearing a wonderful hand made skirt, top, and scarf that I acquired last year at the Carolina Designer Craftsman Show. Jen Swearington from Asheville made it. Meredith reported that we raised $1500 dollars for the North Carolina Pottery Center Wednesday night during the Craft in America viewing at Jennie's, but Meredith of Whynot Pottery will give a final amount when she gets back from the Crozet Art Fair.

The 1/2 hour before the PBS Craft in America special began there was a re-showing of the interview with Nancy and the STARworks staff, as well as, Kenneth from Comfort South and Eddie from WetDog Glass. Back to back with the Central Park Program was an interview with Vernon, Pam and Travis Owens of Jugtown Pottery. The STARworks blog provides you with two different links to see the video that UNC TV did on Central Park NC.


ON ANOTHER NOTE: Central Park NC is having their annual open house on October 29 at Starworks in Star, NC. This event is open to the public, but an RSVP is needed. The keynote speaker is Michael Schuman, there will also be a workshop on Saturday. To find all of the details for signing up for the workshop and the meeting, go to their website here. Last years open house was a lot of fun. The STARWorks Glass folk gave demos, informational presentations were given, good food, and there was a jazz band. Lots of happy people to talk too. Come out to hear about what Central Park NC is all about!!

Craft in America and the NCPC Partner for a Unique Fundraiser

Fund Raiser for the North Carolina Pottery Center! It is truely Grassroots effort. This will be a wonderful event which will affirm the continuing importance of North Carolina in shaping the ceramic heritage of America. To celebrate this event, there will be a series of simultaneous “viewing parties” in towns and cities across the state, with key patrons of the Pottery Center hosting these parties, inviting friends, pottery enthusiasts, and NCPC supporters, to view the broadcast and eat dessert. Most of the Pottery Guilds around the state, all the way from the coast to the mountains, will also be hosting parties to benefit NCPC, inviting guild members and pottery lovers in their respective communities. It is a truly grassroots effort. In addition, the Umstead Hotel in Cary has very kindly offered to host a Gala viewing party in Cary that night. The evening has been described as, “A big collective hug for all North Carolina potters and pottery lovers!” Our goal for this fundraising campaign is to raise $100,000, with $50,000 for the Umstead event, and $50,000 from all the other statewide events combined. As an incentive, Mark Hewitt has offered to give the person who raises the most money at their viewing party (with the exception of the Umstead event), one of his fabulous garden planters! This is a great opportunity for North Carolina potters and pottery lovers to come together and support the North Carolina Pottery Center, so please contact NCPC, or look at the list below, to find out exactly where you can attend one of these parties. GALA EVENT The Umstead Hotel and Spa, Cary, NC http://www.theumstead.com/ Please contact NCPC for more information. PATRON PARTIES These are being held in Edenton, Wilmington, Fayetteville, Asheboro, Winston-Salem (Triad), Charlotte and Pittsboro. Please contact NCPC for more information. GUILD PARTIES Coastal Carolina Clay Guild, Wilmington, NC . Contact: Hiroshi Sueyoshi suey1@earthlink.net North Carolina Pottery Collectors Guild, Raleigh, NC Contact: Susan Myers rfkps@mindspring.com Durham Clayworks, Durham, NC Contact: Emily Cox emilycox@untamedclay.com Triangle Potters Guild, Raleigh, NC. Contact: Triangle Potters Guild wanderland@att.net Seagrove, Seagrove, NC Contact: Jennie Lorette Keatts jennie@jlkjewelry.com Carolina Claymatters in conjunction with Carolina Clay Connection Contact: Jinny Hargrave CarolinaClay@aol.com and Sylvia Coppolasylviacoppola@gmail.com UNC Asheville. Contact: Brent Skidmore bskidmor@unca.edu Potters of the Roan, Bakersville/Penland area. Contact: Gaye Smith potteryggs@mac.com and Michael Kline michaeljkline@gmail.com

Dan Finch and the Finch Studio Potters : North Carolina Pottery Center

The Dan Finch and the Finch Studio Potters exhibition will be on view until August 1. The North Carolina Pottery Center exhibits around three shows a year. To view the past exhibits go to their website.

An excerpt from Dan Finch's website : "The studio is not only Dan's work space, but is also a school for pottery students to explore the craft. The relaxed atmosphere and studio hours are a result of Dan's friendly, generous teaching style. He is quick to share his knowledge and experiences as he quietly guides students through the learning process. Each student is allowed to grow at his or her own pace, resulting in pots that reflect the individual's personality and creativity."

The next exhibit is :

"Historical Pottery of Fayetteville Pottery"

Highlighting: 19th Century Webster and Pot Pottery

In Gallery I & II.

Also featuring Webster reproductions by David & Deborah Garner of Turn & Turn Pottery, Gallery III.

More information.....

Artist Reception: Friday, August 14, 2009 5:30 - 7:30 pm

(Free to the public)

Support the North Carolina Pottery Center and become a member today

This past Thursday we filled out our membership renewal for the North Carolina Pottery Center located in Seagrove. It is that time of the year again. It is crazy how time flies and it has been a year since they did their membership drive. It is time for another! The Pottery Center, like all non profits has been hit hard with the economic downturn, and can use all the support it can get from potters and pottery lovers. This year we decided to buy a brick from the Gift Brick Program. We have been wanting to do this for awhile now, and there is no better time than the present.

This is the placement of previously purchased bricks.