The Greensboro Historical Museum’s Shop in Greensboro, NC, Offers Celtic Pottery Trunk Show and Demonstration – Dec. 1, 2012

The Greensboro Historical Museum’s Shop in Greensboro, NC, will offer a John Dortch Memorial Series Event – Greensboro’s Celtic Pottery Trunk Show and Demonstration, on Dec. 1, 2012, from 2-5pm.

Talk with Greensboro artists, Janet Gaddy and Timothy Moran, who produce pottery influenced by their Celtic heritage and personal reflections. Gaddy, a Greensboro College instructor, creates porcelain sculptural pieces and stoneware folk art, while Moran, a North Carolina certified master potter, specializes in crystalline glazes on wheel-thrown porcelain.

Work by Janet Gaddy

Using his potter’s wheel, Moran will create a ring vase during the trunk show event at the Greensboro Historical Museum Shop.

Work by Timothy Moran

The Celtic Pottery’s trunk show will include smaller decorative pieces along with monumental collectibles.

The Greensboro Historical Museum is located at 130 Summit Avenue in Greensboro. Museum and Shop Hours: Tue. – Sat., 10am– 5pm and Sun., 1-5pm.

For further info call 336/373-2043 or visit (www.greensborohistory.org).

The North Carolina Pottery Center in Seagrove, NC, Receives Z. Smith Reynolds Grant

The Board of Directors and Staff, on behalf of our Membership, are pleased to announce that the North Carolina Pottery Center in Seagrove, NC, has been awarded a grant from the Zachary Smith Reynolds Foundation, Inc.  This special grant for $65,000 will be distributed over a two-year period and will serve as the core support for the installation of a new executive director.

The NCPC is very excited about this opportunity to begin a nationwide search for a new museum director. This is a remarkable accomplishment for the NCPC given the present economic climate. By finding the NCPC worthy of this financial award, the Trustees of the Z Smith Reynolds Foundation, Inc., have demonstrated their confidence in the museum to bring stability and economic development to the pottery communities of our state. In keeping with the mission of the NCPC, to promote and preserve our state’s continuing pottery traditions, this grant will bring us the leadership required to move it forward into new partnerships, resource sharing, increased educational offerings, greater exposure, on-going exciting exhibitions, workshops, and off-site events.

The Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, Inc., was founded in 1936 and named as a memorial for the youngest son of the founder, R. J. Reynolds. In 1951 the foundation was increased by a trust from the uncle, William Neal Reynolds.   The Foundation, now comprised of the income from the ZSR Trust and the W. N. Reynolds Trust, has distributed grants to recipients of all 100 North Carolina counties, totaling more than $493 million. The NCPC is very honored to be one of the latest recipients of this prestigious award. This endorsement will provide the NCPC with valuable standing as it approaches a new future of vigorous partnerships targeted towards the promotion and preservation of our pottery and the arts.

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.

Also, don’t forget the Pottery Center will be hosting its 13th Annual Auction, “Going, Going, Gone to Pots,” on Thursday, Aug. 23, 2012, at Leland Little Auction & Estate Sales in Hillsborough, NC. This year there will be an unprecedented, star-studded, pre-auction supper, called, “Fill Your Plate,” with food prepared by several of the Triangle’s best chefs, and served on plates made by North Carolina potters. You can read all about it at this link.

For more information, please call 336/873-8430 or go to (www.ncpotterycenter.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.

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.”

Works by Cynthia Bringle

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.

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.

Work by Liz Summerfield

“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 Nick Joerling

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.

Center for Visual Arts at Clemson University in Clemson, SC, Announce the First Annual Clemson Ceramics National Juried Exhibit – Deadline – Aug, 17, 2012

The Center for Visual Arts at Clemson University in Clemson, SC, announce the first annual Clemson Ceramics National Juried Exhibit, which will take place Oct. 3 through Nov. 7, 2012, with the theme “Containment”.

We are pleased to present the first Clemson Ceramics National, a biannual juried exhibition, which will rotate thematically. Our inaugural exhibition asks artists to explore “containment” through the lens of functional ceramics. “Containment” may be used literally or conceptually in the works, according to the artist’s individual interpretation. The goal of this year’s Clemson Ceramics National is to showcase a diverse collection of ceramic tableware and functional objects, and bring a broad range of contemporary voices from across the country to the Upstate.

This year’s juror will be Frank Martin. Martin earned his M.F.A. at Cranbrook Academy of Art and his BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute. Martin is currently an Associate Professor at the University of Tennessee’s School of Art. He is a recent recipient of an Individual Artist Fellowship through a Tennessee Arts Commission Award. Frank’s work has been exhibited in: The State of the Art 2008: National Biennial Ceramics Invitational at Parkland Art Gallery Champaign, IL, The Art of Tennessee at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts in Nashville. His works are in the collections of the Charles A. Wusum Museum of Fine Arts in Racine Wisconsin and the Schein-Joseph International Museum of Ceramic Art, New York. His work is in 500 Vases: Contemporary Explorations of a Timeless Form, 500 Platters & Chargers: Innovative Expressions of Function and Style, Lark Books, Electric Kiln Ceramics: A Guide to Clay and Glazes, The Ceramic Design Book, and Make it in Clay.

All US artists at least 18 years old may submit original functional ceramic work created within the past two years.

Entry must be postmarked on or before Friday, August 17, 2012.

Get all the details at this link (http://www.clemson.edu/centers-institutes/cva/).

For further information call 864/656-3883 or visit (www.clemson.edu/cva).

2012 Behind the Scenes Pottery Crawl in Seagrove, NC, is a Fundraiser for the Northern Moore Family Resource Center – May 12, 2012

On Saturday, May 12, 2012, from 10am to5pm, whether you are a pottery newbie or a seasoned collector, you’ll enjoy the Behind the Scenes Pottery Crawl and help out deserving children and families.

Spend a fun-filled Saturday meeting the artists, touring their studios, and admiring their creations. Come check out 14 memorable potteries in a self-guided car tour. Each pottery will have a unique culinary delight with a wine pairing (beef tenderloin on rounds of French bread, shrimp served with remoulade and red sauces, open-faced pork sliders, an elegant almond torte, to name a few), and demonstrations focusing on different aspects of the craft – from shaping at the wheel, to glazing, to firing techniques. Or you can roll up your sleeves and make a pot yourself with the help of an expert. Last year’s participants were inspired by the beautiful countryside, the world class artistic talent of Seagrove, NC, and the unique way the featured artists live and work.

From Avery Pottery & Tileworks

The 2nd annual Behind the Scenes Pottery Crawl is organized by the Northern Moore Family Resource Center (The Resource Center) which is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization established in 1996 to serve children and families in northern Moore County, NC. The area that The Resource Center serves has been decimated by the departure of manufacturing over the last 30 years and it has resulted in too many children living in poverty. The Resource Center helps at-risk children succeed academically by offering, among other things, after school programs and summer camps. The Resource Center is a United Way agency and their six-week free summer day camp is partially funded by the United Way.  All proceeds from the Pottery Crawl will help children and strengthen local families. Potters will generously donate 15 percent of all sales during the event to the Resource Center.

The Pottery Crawl is much more than a one dimensional art gallery experience. It’s a ‘Behind the Scenes’ look at how and where the art is created. It’s about the uniqueness of each individual potter. To visit the potters is to immerse oneself in their creative world. For them life and work are fused together by their artistry, as many live and work in the same environment. Often they live on winding country roads, and when you venture down them you may find a beautiful sculpture garden, a lush pond, a picturesque log cabin, or a sturdy converted barn.  It’s quiet in the country except for the sound of the clay fired wind chimes, or the crow of a rooster.

View of Jugtown Pottery

And of course, there is the art itself. On this pottery tour you’ll find a rich diversity of styles, colors, shapes and sizes that range from the decorative to the utilitarian. You’ll encounter pieces that are worthy of museum lighting, as well as everyday treasures like place settings, serving bowls and mugs that will jazz up a room or any meal. Every potter is an artist with his/her own unique style.

Seagrove’s pottery tradition dates back to the 18th century, before the American Revolution, due to the high quality of the local clay. Today it’s known for the high concentration of potters, the unsurpassed artistic talent, and the eclectic mix of people – some with roots eight generations deep and others drawn here from around the world.

From the Ground Up Pottery

The following are the potters on the tour: Avery Pottery and Tileworks, Ben Owen Pottery, Blue Hen Pottery, Bulldog Pottery, Chris Luther Pottery, Dean and Martin Pottery, Frank Neef Pottery, From the Ground Up, Great White Oak Pottery, Jugtown Pottery, Luck’s Ware, Old Gap Pottery, Seagrove Stoneware, Studio Touya, and Westmoore Pottery.

Don’t miss this unique event or the opportunity to help local kids and their families. And it all happens on Mother’s Day weekend. So spare Mom that tired gift and spend an unforgettable day with her instead! After seeing the bounty, you may never again give a generic store-bought gift.

Individual tickets are $45 and Patron tickets are $100, and they include a commemorative pottery piece. Mother’s Day packages are available for $150. The package includes two tickets and several gifts for mom – the commemorative pottery piece filled with chocolates and a bottle of wine. Participants will receive a ticket and program for the event, with a map highlighting all of the participating potteries.  Tickets and programs may be picked up at the Resource Center, 130 S. Middleton Street in Robbins, NC, where guests will also have the opportunity to learn more about the programs that the Resource Center offers, or at The North Carolina Pottery Center, 233 East Avenue in Seagrove.

The Resource Center will also raffle off four-4 piece place settings of tableware from Dean and Martin Pottery and from Avery Pottery and Tileworks. They will also raffle off a salad set, plus salad bowls from Seagrove Stoneware.   Raffle tickets may be purchased separately from tickets to the event, and winners do not have to be present at the drawing. The drawings will take place at 5:30pm at the Resource Center on the day of the event. Raffle tickets for the dinnerware are $10 apiece, and you can designate whether you want to be included in the raffle for the set from Dean and Martin Pottery or Avery Pottery and Tileworks.  Tickets for the salad set are $5 apiece, and for the set of six salad bowls tickets are $1 apiece. Pictures of all items to be raffled will be posted on our website in early April.

From Dean & Martin Pottery

This event is made possible in large part by contributions from St. Josephs of the Pines and Wachovia Wells Fargo.  St. Josephs of the Pines has an active presence in northern Moore County, with its Providence Place development in Robbins – lovely one bedroom apartments for seniors, plus it brings its fully equipped Semi to Robbins for two days each month where local residents can be seen by the Moore Free Care Clinic, meet with the Sandhills/Moore Coalition for Human Care and the Benefit Bank, and soon will be able to see dentists free of charge. Wachovia Wells Fargo provided funding to support the financial education classes that the Resource Center offers as part of its IDA program.

To purchase raffle tickets or tickets to the event, visit the Resource Center website at (www.nmfrc.com), or send checks payable to the Northern Moore Family Resource Center to P.O. Box 190, Robbins, NC 27325 or call the Resource Center at 910/948-4324.

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).

North Charleston Arts Festival in North Charleston, SC, Calls for Entries for Annual South Carolina Palmetto Hands Juried Fine Craft Competition and Exhibition – Deadline Mar. 15, 2012

Fine craft artists from across the state are invited to participate in the twelfth annual South Carolina Palmetto Hands Juried Fine Craft Competition and Exhibition. As the state’s only fine craft competition and exhibition, objects juried into the exhibit may compete for cash prizes totaling up to $6500. The exhibition is presented as a component of the annual North Charleston Arts Festival, to be held May 4-12, 2012, in North Charleston, SC. Applications may be downloaded from the Applications & Registration Forms section at (http://bit.ly/culturalarts).

Deadline for submissions is Thursday, March 15, 2012.

2011 Best in Show Winner – Bird of Prey by Matt Wilson (Metal)

Organized and presented by the City of North Charleston Cultural Arts Department, with assistance from the South Carolina Artisans Center, this unique exhibition offers fine craft artists from across South Carolina the opportunity to exhibit their inspiring objects in the media of clay, fiber, glass, metal, wood, and three-dimensional mixed media. Thousands have enjoyed the refined talents of South Carolina fine craft artists during the past annual exhibitions. Following the close of the exhibition, up to thirty works will be selected to tour the state through the South Carolina State Museum’s 2012/2013 Traveling Exhibitions Program. Sites across South Carolina may request the exhibit to tour in their facilities, thus providing additional exposure for the selected artists.

Clay Burnette will jury this year’s competition. Burnette is Director of Grants and Fellowships at the South Carolina Arts Commission. His pine needle baskets have been exhibited in over 225 shows, including the prestigious Smithsonian Craft Show and the Philadelphia Craft Show, and can be found in collections of the Columbia Museum of Art, the South Carolina State Museum, the Mint Museum of Art + Craft, the South Carolina Archives and History Center, and in many corporate and private collections.  Two of his baskets are included in the South Carolina Arts Commission’s State Art Collection, and are represented in the White House Christmas Tree Ornament Collection.  His work has appeared in numerous books and publications. Burnette was the South Carolina Arts Commission’s Crafts Fellowship recipient in 1987.

The South Carolina Palmetto Hands Juried Fine Craft Competition & Exhibition will be on display May 4–12, 2012, at the Charleston Area Convention Center, located at 5001 Coliseum Drive in North Charleston. An opening reception and announcement of awards will be held at the Convention Center on Friday, May 4, 2012.

For more information about the North Charleston Arts Festival, Palmetto Hands, or other exhibition opportunities, contact the City of North Charleston Cultural Arts Department at 843/740-5854.