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