Seagrove

This morning I found google alerts advising me of a new pottery war. It is interesting the spin that the press will put on things, or perhaps it is just that they are being fed a bunch of nonsense. As a member of the Celebration of Seagrove Potters steering committee and Co-Chair of Publicity, I have been working with Susan Greene to help put together another community event. It was decided upon once Phil Morgan announced that a new show was being done in Greensboro and was being called the Seagrove Pottery Festival. And it was being done on a weekend that has been the spring kiln opening weekend over the years when people are used to coming to Seagrove. As a business owner in Seagrove, I am not alone in wanting to draw people to our businesses and to experience the uniqueness of this community. Interestingly enough we have quite a few potters that are working together to help draw people here. Take a look at www.CelebrationOfSeagrovePotters.com to see how many openings there will be in April. And over 75% of the potters supported the Celebration in November.

There are a lot of people in Seagrove working together to promote this community in a positive manner. As a matter of fact, a great majority of potters are working together. There are only a few in the area that are trying to create a rift. Perhaps Richard Gilson's daughter summed it up pretty well when she stated that her father would be appalled to see what has happened in his name. These are my thoughts on that matter and do not necessarily reflect all the potters thoughts, but maybe!

Faces for the Center

This is my piece for the Faces for the Center Benefit Auction.

Following the very successful Celebration of Seagrove Potters last November, the potters of Seagrove are again preparing for a community event showcasing the authenticity of the pottery capital of the US.

On April 4th, a group of Seagrove potters will gather at the North Carolina Pottery Center (www.ncpotterycenter.com) to jointly fire the double chambered wood kiln. This will offer visitors an opportunity to watch the process, as well
as view potters demonstrating the process of creating pieces of work. Takuro Shibata, Director of STARworks Ceramics in nearby Star, NC, states "STARworksCeramics is excited to donate our local clay mixed here in Star for the potters
to use to make pieces to be fired in the kiln at the NC Pottery Center. This is a community event and using local clay is an element that makes this firing unique to Seagrove."

These events will coincide with the ending of the Owen/Owens Show, on April 4, the exhibition showcasing one of the original extended Seagrove families, which has been on display since January. Members of the families will be performing their wonderful mountain music and there will be an opportunity to have your catalog signed by the exhibition participants from 1:00pm to 4:00pm.
This day will offer a variety of events from education to historical, all designed to offer the visitor a first hand experience of authentic Seagrove. Pam Owens, NC Pottery Center Board member and Jugtown potter states, "The state of North Carolina is amazing for it's pottery and this day will showcase not only a longstanding family tradition that spans North Carolina, but also an authentic Seagrove experience. The community kiln firing complements this exhibit and is
a wonderful coming together of potters and a sharing of knowledge and ideas, an opportunity for the public to experience the community spirit of the Seagrove Potters and support the North Carolina Pottery Center."

The experience doesn't end on the 4th though. On the 18th and 19th of April, Seagrove potters are planning kiln openings and special events in their shops. The Celebration of Seagrove Potters web site www.celebrationofseagrovepotters.com and the Seagrove Area Potters Association web site www.discoverseagrove.com will showcase all the events taking place in Seagrove over this weekend, aptly dubbed the Celebration of Spring in Seagrove, which quite aptly coincides with Earth Day!

The kiln that was fired at the NC Pottery Center on the 4th will be unloaded during the week of April 18 and each participating potter will donate one of the pieces to the Pottery Center's fund raising auction taking place on Saturday April 18th. The annual fund raising auction is a crucial event for the Pottery Center with proceeds from the auction helping to keep this very important museum and educational center open and operating.
A Silent Auction will be held from 2:30 to 4:00 with light refreshments from 4:00 to 5:00. The Live Auction starts at 5:00, all the events are free and open to the public

The Celebration of Seagrove Potters is a gathering of diverse clay artists joining forces to
showcase the traditional and contemporary pottery of the historic Seagrove community. Our goal is to maintain the authenticity of Seagrove pottery by working together in a community effort to promote the historical, educational and artistic aspects that can be experienced when visiting Seagrove, and to draw customers to the shops to have a first hand Seagrove experience. Our first joint event was the Celebration of Seagrove Potters, November 21-23, 2008, which was a resounding success. Please visit our blog www.CelebrationofSeagrovePotters.blogspot.com to view our final presentation of the event. Seagrove potters working together to bring people to Seagrove!

New Stuff and News Stuff

I have actually been making a few things lately. Also spending lots of time working on the upcoming Celebration of Spring in Seagrove. There will be lots to see on April 4th and a lot more on the weekend of the 18-19th of April.

Seagrove potters will be firing the wood kiln together at the NC Pottery Center on the 4th. The firing will coincide with the ending of the Owen/Owens show and there will be events inside and outside. Each particpating potter will be donating one of the pots from the wood kiln to the Centers auction on the 18th. So come see it fired and then come back and bid on it!

April 18-19 is the Celebration of Spring in Seagrove and many potters are putting together kiln openings and special events. So after a day of exploring the openings and events, you can return to the Pottery Center for the auction. See their website for more details and I'll be updating the www.celebrationofseagrovepotters.com site with the openings and events taking place that weekend. It will be a weekend not to missed in Seagrove!! And maybe I'll even have more stuff made by then, I hope! All these items are available for sale on my web site www.jlkjewelry.com and there are different things on my etsy shop.