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Welcome
to the NC Pottery Hall of Fame!
Potters
have been working in North Carolina for thousands of years. Native Americans
were the first to discover the uses of North Carolina clay. Later settlers
made clay vessels for home and farm use. Today, there are over 500 potters
working in the state. North Carolina has gained fame around the country
for its long history of pottery making.
Work by these potters and more can be seen at the Mint
Museum of Art and the Mint
Museum of Craft + Design.
| BURLON
CRAIG - Folk potter |
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Burlon
Craig's Weeping Eye Face, c 1979
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Folk
potter, Burlon Craig, was awarded the National Folk Heritage Award
by the National Endowment of the Arts in 1984. In 1995, one of
his face jugs sold for thousands of dollars in New York City.
Today, Burlon still digs his clay from clay pits and grinds the
glass for his glazes as potters did hundreds of years ago. Burlon
lives in Vale in Lincoln County.
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| JOHN
A. CRAVEN - Really Big Potter |
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John A. Craven's 15 Gallon Masonic Jar, 1855
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John
A. Craven worked as a potter in the early 1800s in Randolph County.
John produced some of the largest pieces of stoneware ever made
in North Carolina. A huge 15 Gallon jug is on display at the Mint
Museum of Craft + Design.
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| WALTER
AND DOROTHY AUMAN - Potters and Collectors |
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Leaf
Dish by Potter and Collector Dorothy Cole Auman, c. 1950
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Walter
and Dorothy (Dot) Auman were quite a team! Dot made the clay
pots. Walter mixed the glazes and fired the pots in the kiln.
They also collected up to 2000 pieces of pottery from potters
across the state. With this collection they opened up the first
pottery museum in Seagrove, North Carolina. Eventually their
huge collection was sold to the Mint Museum of Art. They received
the Governor’s Distinguished Service Award for Lifetime
Achievement in 1990.
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| JACQUES
AND JULIANNA BUSBEE - Pottery Entrepreneurs |
Jugtown
Pottery Mark.
A "Mark" is a notation on the bottom of pottery
that tells who made the object.
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Jacques
and Julianna Busbee of Raleigh, North Carolina established Jugtown
Pottery in Moore County, North Carolina in the early 1920s.
They encouraged young potters to experiment with new shapes
and colors. With their help, the pottery business grew and prospered.
Today dozens of potteries are located near Jugtown Pottery.
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| CHESTER
WEBSTER - Bird and Fish Potter |
Chester
Webster's One Gallon Rumlet, 1846
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Chester
Webster is called the "Bird and Fish" Potter. Look closely
at his work and you will find a small bird or fish drawn into
the clay. He lived in the 1800s and worked at Cross Creek, which
eventually became Fayetteville. There are over 37 pieces of pottery
that have survived by Chester. The Mint Museum of Art owns 20
of these.
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| DANIEL
SEAGLE - Catawba Valley Potter |
Dan
Seagle's Meat Storage Jar, 1830
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Daniel
Seagle was the first well-known potter from the Catawba Valley
Region. His family settled in the area that is now Lincoln County
in the late 1700s. By the mid-1800s, he was operating a successful
pottery business, which his son continued after his death.
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| BEN
OWEN - Master Potter |
Ben
Owen's Han Vase, 1935
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Ben
Owen was the first Master Potter in North Carolina. Artists and
arts organizations at the Dogwood Festival in Chapel Hill, North
Carolina gave this title to him in 1933. Tis vase made by Ben
Owen was one of the first objects that the Mint Museum of Art
bought for its collection when it opened in 1936.
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| MICHAEL
SHERRILL - White House Potter |
Michael
Sherrill's Twisted Tea, 1992
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Michael
Sherrill’s pots are featured in the White House Collection
of Crafts. His work was selected by Hillary Clinton, wife of William
Jefferson Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States to
become part of this collection that has been on display in the
White House. Michael is originally from Charlotte, North Carolina
and now makes his home in Hendersonville, North Carolina.
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