Exhibition Open

The exhibition I curated at the North Carolina Pottery Center opened this past Saturday. The exhibition, "Old Ways in Mind: Historical American Pottery and Contemporary NC Potters" explores the influences of historic American pottery on North Carolina potters and their work, their kiln firings, and their decorations.

It has been really great to get the pieces up on the pedestals and see everything together rather than just picturing it in my head.

Michel Bayne and his influence from pottery of the Edgefield District of SC

Matt Jones' jug with lettering and his influence from David Drake of the Edgefield District of SC

Mary Farrell of Westmoore Pottery and her influence from Alamance County, NC pottery

I particularly enjoy seeing the contemporary potters' work paired up with images of, or intact examples of their inspirations or influences.

I also included a section to talk about historic kilns, how they were fired, and how the pots were placed in the kiln. I'll be posting some lessons I learned about kiln furniture from this installation!

Talking about the process for lead glazing and other kiln firings and decorating techniques was also a focus of the exhibition. For the most part, I left the exhibition text with each potter's case in their words, primarily in first person, so the visitor can feel like they are listening to the potter talk about their work while viewing the pottery.

The exhibition is on display through early March, so be sure to stop in for a visit!