Judith Duff- Seagrove Cousins in Clay May 2012

Judith Duff woodfired Clay Basket

Judith Duff will be one of our honored guest potters for "Cousins in Clay" at Bulldog Pottery in Seagrove, North Carolina.  Cousins in Clay is an intimate contemporary pottery sale that takes place on Memorial Day Weekend May 26&27, 2012. There will be quality time to spend with the potters and pottery collectors, as well as Greek Music and snacks during Saturday afternoon, and a potters potluck on Sunday! Michael Kline will have a brush demonstration both Saturday and Sunday (details and specific times to come)

We are very excited to have Judith Duff bring her beautifully textural, stone-like  pottery to Bulldog Pottery.

From WNC Magazine written by Angie Newsome

"Wrapped in deep earthen colors and subtle undulating grooves, Judith Duff’s pottery begs to be picked up and held. From orange tea bowls to platters stamped with seashells, her pieces are tactile, yet ethereal and organic, combining her background in clay with a passion for Japanese aesthetics. “Always growing through change,” the Brevard potter writes in her artist statement, “I value the unique and unusual.”

To read the complete article about Judith Duff visit WNS Magazine's website.

Judith Dudd altered wood-fired clay vase

Ron Meyers- Seagrove "Cousins in Clay" May 2012

The 4th Annual "Cousins in Clay" in Seagrove, North Carolina will be held on May 26 and 27, 2012 at Bulldog Pottery.  Bruce and Samantha are very pleased to announce their honored guest Clay Cousin Ron Meyers.

Ron Meyers is a retired ceramics proffessor and studio potter living in Athens, Georgia. He was one of Bruce Gholson's instructors at UGA .  (Bruce received his undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia in 1978.)  Ron Meyers shows his work all over the country and is a workshop favorite throughout the states.  I read an article about him on Critical Ceramics by Barbara Kirk about his show at the AKAR gallery in Iowa City, Iowa.   She mentions that an early passion of his was to be a professional cartoonists.  I found this to be very interesting because I can imagine stories behind his drawings. His animals have strong personalities, and I can continue to wonder what are they up to next after posing for their portrait with Ron.

Ron Meyers will be here at Bulldog Pottery on May 26 & 27, 2012 for "Cousins in Clay". You will be able to meet him and collect a piece of his pottery.

We will introduce our other honored Cousin in Clay guest soon.

Ron Meyers two cups

Jack Troy kiln opening this weekend Oct 29 2011

This weekend! October 29, 2011
Jack Troy's kiln opening!

Preview

Some of the pots unloaded today from the wood kiln. Some of these might just be for sale at this weekend's show in Bakersville, NC. Don't hesitate. See you at 10 a.m. Friday morning! Here's a link for the invite.

Pattern

Yesterday, as I sat in my shop looking over all the pots that I was painting, my daughter, Evelyn, came in from just getting off the school bus and after my inquiry into her school day, I was struck, really struck, by the shirt she was wearing and its pattern.

I'm not sure how it will translate itself onto my pots, but I'm sure something interesting will emerge. The colors remind me of Iznik pottery. Patterns, too. Maybe I will paint some of my porcelain dishes with some similar colors and slip them into the wood kiln this weekend.

You can find out what happens if you come out next week for the "Mountain" Cousins in Clay here at my place in Bakersville. Go to our Cousins in Clay web site for details and directions.

Wish me luck.

The Mountains: Dispatch From Bakersville!

It's 64 degrees here in the Blue Ridge today! A welcome rain has cooled everything down and the gardens are bursting! I [cousin Michael, here] have been working towards a new collection of pots for my wood kiln and the summer couldn't be finer.

Our little field of corn, potatoes, beans, and melons is a pleasure to walk through every day with its fragrant tassels and searching vines. After a nice rain, it's a must to take my boots off and walk on the red clay in bare feet.


Soft clay, imprints, a trail.

A lot of this red clay finds itself to my shop where I turn it into something with a different use. It's no wonder that pottery thrives in NC to this day, from the earliest transformations of the stuff by Native Americans to the Cousins in Clay!

view from the Mountains Cousins in Clay in Bakersville (on a sunny day!)

"COUSINS IN CLAY"

Memorial Day Weekend

May 28 Saturday 9-4

May 29 Sunday 10-4

Michael Kline's Brushwork Demonstration

Saturday 2:00-3:00

Sunday 1:30-2:30

(This is from our (Bulldog Pottery's) e-mail that we sent out today)

Jack Troy just returned from Australia as a presenter on a panel at the Australian Wood-firing Conference. He is a renowned potter from Pennsylvania, ceramics author, teacher, and poet. Creative energy is clearly unlimited for Pennsylvanian potter Jack Troy, who weaves his productive life around his passion for ceramics. He has taught over 185 workshops, written 2 books about clay, a book of original poems, published over 60 articles and book reviews, and won awards, all while producing a constant stream of pottery in his Pennsylvania studio.

Peter Lenzo from Columbia, SC reexamines the southern pottery face jug tradition, by creating his autobiographical head sculptures. We think you will enjoy these incredibly intricate and quirky sculptural interpretations of this Southern regional art form.

Michael Kline from Bakersville, NC is known for his floral brush imagery that gracefully wraps around his wood-fired pottery forms. Michael is our perennial co-conspirator with Gholson-Henneke's annual Cousins in Clay event. Sometimes his pots are covered with a honey amber color glaze that is as appetizing as maple syrup. Look for a Mountain Cousins event in the near future.

Bruce Gholson and Samantha Henneke have created a collaborative environment at their Bulldog Pottery studio that provides them the support to express their independent voices, more than they would be able to achieve individually. Their art pottery has become known for an eclectic mix of form, imagery, texture, pattern, and graceful design all integrated by their rich and distinctive glazes

Michael Kline demonstrating at Cousins in Clay 2011

For the upcoming Cousins in Clay on Memorial Day weekend, 2011, Michael Kline will demonstrate his brushwork technique on both Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday he will begin at 2:00pm and on Sunday at 1:30pm. This brushwork demo will last around 45 minutes. Michael has a you tube station where you can watch some of his techniques.

Michael's You Tube Station

Michael just unloaded a wood kiln, and will be having his kiln opening this weekend at his homeplace in the mountains. Check out his fabulous pottery at his famed "Sawdust and Dirt" blog.

Michael also has a "working potter" two page feature in this months [June, July, August issue] Ceramics Monthly Magazine. Check it out!

Michael Kline Painting Pottery, Pt 1

Carolina Arts Unleashed Blogs, Read all about Cousins in Clay

Carolina Arts publisher Tom Starland writes, "We ran this article in our May 2011 issue of Carolina Arts, but we’ve learned that everyone doesn’t bother with publications these days. Many people’s attention span is just too short for publications. They like blog entries, Facebook status updates or even tweets.

But, I wanted to make sure people interested in pottery would see this – one way or another. I’m hoping I can make another trip to Seagrove (hold the tornadoes this time – please), but it’s a rough time of the month for us to be gone – unless we’ve finished our June issue early. We’ll have our fingers crossed."

Visit Carolina Arts Unleashed to read more about the 3rd Annual "Cousins in Clay".

April and May ads in Carolina Arts Online

This year the Carolina Arts went online. We appreciate Tom and Linda's publication about what is happening in the Arts in South and North Carolina. This month they did included Cousins in Clay. You can read the article at their online newspaper at Carolina Arts Online. We begin on page 36 and on page 37.

3rd Annual Cousins in Clay May 28 & 29

We are in the last three weeks until this years Cousins in Clay. Always such an exciting time for us! Getting the house and yard ready, and pottery made and fired. Recently we have been up early in the morning clearing out the area that Michael will be giving his brushwork demonstration. On Saturday, May 28 he will be presenting his demo at 2:00pm and on May 29 Sunday, 5/29 he will showing at 1:30 pm. He has been making some great work over in the mountains. Michael and his wife Stacey just had an opening at Crimson Laurel Gallery in Bakersville. Follow Michael on his Saw Dust and Dirt blog to find out what he will be up to next!

Jack Troy is at a wood firing conference in Australia. When he returns he will be firing up his own wood kiln.

Peter Lenzo has told us that he has been filling his days with making his head sculptures. He will be bringing various sizes to Cousins this year.

As for Bruce and I, we are throwing and glazing for our Moka glaze kiln. Which means we will have an assortment of bowls, mugs, plates, and jars in our soft and satiny matte glaze. Bruce is also pulling out his bucket of shino glaze, and will be revisiting shino on porcelain and stoneware for this kiln and kilns to come. You can follow us on our blog "Around and About with Bulldog Pottery".

Please join us for this years Cousins in Clay! Sat. May 28 or Sun. May 29, we all will be here and are looking forward to your visit and conversations!

Cousins in Clay ad in Carolina Arts-March 2011

We placed this Cousins in Clay announcement in March 2011 edition of Carolina Arts. Did you know that they are now online? You can visit their website and view and download March's edition of the Carolina Arts. It is full of articles and ads announcing art shows throughout the Carolina's.

Do you read Tom and Linda Starland's blog "Carolina Arts Unleashed"? Carolina Arts Unleashed is a blog that focuses on the arts in South and North Carolina.

It is great to have a publication like this that focuses on the Arts in our communities.