6th Annual Potters Market Invitational Returns with Fresh New Line-Up and Live Music

“When you buy something from the potter, you buy part of that person.”
Cynthia Bringle, potter

What says North Carolina better than handmade pottery and bluegrass music? The Delhom Service League of The Mint Museum is gearing up for the sixth year of its Potters Market Invitational. Pottery enthusiasts come from miles around to view and purchase the best and latest in ceramic art. Ceramics for sale range from traditional utilitarian pots to studio ceramics, including jewelry. Don’t know much about ceramics? The Potters Market is the best place to learn while talking to the individual potters about the scope and vision of their creations.

The sale takes place Saturday, September 11, 2010, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the lawn of the Mint Museum Randolph, located at 2730 Randolph Road in Charlotte. It will feature bluegrass music from fiddler Rose Spinks and banjo player Harry Taylor of the Glazed Over String Band. Tickets are $10 for adults ($8 after 2 p.m.); $5 for children 5-17; and free for children under 5. Ticket sales begin the day of the event at 9:30 a.m. The entry fee includes admission to the Mint Museum Randolph. Proceeds support The Mint Museum’s decorative arts collection. Box lunches are available for purchase from Delectables by Holly.

Many potters have called North Carolina home over the last few centuries. Natural clay deposits attracted potters of European descent starting in the late 18th century. Since then, North Carolina has become one of the country’s richest ceramic meccas, full of unique styles and forms. Each year, the Potters Market Invitational features 40 superb potters representing the state’s most important pottery-producing areas: Seagrove, the Piedmont, Catawba Valley and the mountains, including Penland and Asheville. Potters participate by selection on a rotating basis, giving shoppers access to a wide variety of artists from one year to the next.

Potters returning this year include: Ben Owen III, Donna Craven and Crystal King. Added to the 2010 line-up are a select group of up-and-coming potters known for their distinctive work which is gaining national attention. New potters participating this year include: Jeff Dean and Stephanie Martin, John and Scottie Post, Rob Pulleyn and Hiroshi Sueyoshi.

With North Carolina’s central role in American pottery and growing international reputation, the Mint Museum Randolph devotes special efforts to documenting the history of North Carolina ceramics through its historic ceramics collection. The 6th Annual Potters Market Invitational is presented by the Delhom Service League, an affiliate group of The Mint Museum. For more information, visit www.mintmuseum.org or call the front desk at 704.337.2000.

Exhibition on view at the Mint Museum Randolph February 6- December 31, 2010

Opening February 6 at the Mint Museum Randolph is North Carolina Pottery: Diversity and Traditions, an exhibition that showcases the rich history of pottery-making in the state. Featuring more than 50 works dating from the late 1700s to the present, the installation represents North Carolina’s most important pottery areas, including the Catawba Valley, the mountains, Seagrove and the Moravian settlements.

Moravian potters Gottfried Aust and Rudolf Christ are the earliest potters represented in the exhibition. They emigrated from Germany to the Moravian community of Bethabara in Forsyth County in the mid-1700s. Among the 19th century potters featured are Daniel Seagle from Catawba Valley, and Chester Webster and Himer Jacob Fox from the Piedmont. Craftsmen from the 20th century include Oscar Bachelder, Charlie Teague and Burlon Craig, while contemporary artists and studios include Ben Owen III, Jane Peiser, Bulldog Pottery and Paradox Pottery.

North Carolina is known for its significant local dynasties of potters, and a number of these families are represented in the exhibition, including the Coles of Randolph and Moore counties and the Hiltons of Catawba County. The fact that the pottery tradition in the state has thrived so well for over two centuries is due, at least in part, to talented potting families such as these, who have passed down essential skills and techniques from one generation to the next. All of the objects on view are from the Mint’s permanent collection, which is notable for being the largest public collection of North Carolina pottery in the country.

Delhom Service League sponsors annual fundraiser to benefit The Mint Museum

The Delhom Service League, an affiliate group of The Mint Museum, will hold a sealed bid auction of a unique luxury lamp during the two weeks leading up its annual Potters Market Invitational. The auction, which opens August 28 and runs through September 12 at the Mint Museum of Art, will allow buyers to bid on a beautiful addition for their home and also support the Delhom Service League.

Bruce Gholson and Samantha Henneke, owners of Bulldog Pottery in Seagrove, N.C., designed the lamp’s base. The lamp was generously donated by Scott Cornelius Design Studio Ltd. of New York City and the lamp shade was donated by Neal Johnson Ltd. of Charlotte. Bidding on the lamp will end at 3:00 p.m. on September 12, 2009.

The 5th Annual Potters Market Invitational will be held Saturday, September 12 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on the lawn of the Mint Museum of Art. Widely regarded as one of the most popular pottery sales in the region, the event benefits the Mint’s decorative arts collection. Tickets are $10 for adults ($8 after 2:00 p.m.). Ticket sales begin on the day of the event at 9:30 a.m. and include admission to the Mint.

Exemplifying the region’s rich craft heritage, the Potters Market features 40 of North Carolina’s best potters from the state’s most important pottery-producing areas: Seagrove, Piedmont, Catawba Valley and the mountains, including Penland and Asheville. For many potters who do not sell outside of galleries and kiln openings, the Potters Market is a rare event. For more information, visit www.mintmuseum.org or call (704) 337-2000.