Furniture Romp and Potter Visit

Investigating furniture at MESDA during the 2011 Summer Institute

 This morning I had the chance to basically be a glorified chaperone for a group of furniture makers who were visiting the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA). It was great to go through the rooms and watch what objects they were attracted to, and be a part of their close inspection of the pieces. I became a part-time guide at MESDA late last fall and really enjoy spending time with the objects, sharing the collection with visitors, and learning from experienced visitors like these furniture makers. It reminded me of my days in the Winterthur Program which sometimes (more often than not) looked like this:

Learning about tea tables, their construction, and identification

 I really enjoy teaching and learning about history and culture through objects. Learning about the manufacture of those objects just makes the whole study even more exciting. Following ceramics, furniture is probably the close second in my material culture interests (and then a close follow-up is glass and textiles). I will have to tell you about my boat building and furniture making experiences some day. Luckily, this morning we did not have anything happen like this:

My reworking of a Lewis Miller print from Pennsylvania with a cupboard being toppled by a bull

 This afternoon I had a lovely excursion to meet up with Dennis Allen from Whistle Creek Pottery at the North Carolina Pottery Center and show him through the exhibition I put together. Some time ago, I had the small-world experience of reading Dennis' blog and then poking around to learn more about him. I noticed his shows were primarily in Southern Ohio (where I grew up) and then saw something about Lebanon, Ohio (where my family is from). Long story short, Dennis is from Lebanon, and it is nice to make a connection with a distant, yet local (to my roots), potter! It was great to walk through the exhibition and talk about my thought processes with developing the exhibition and the various pieces and potters involved. It was also a great chance to get to know Dennis a little more! Thanks, Dennis for visiting!

Dennis Allen at the North Carolina Pottery Center

 I have been wrapping things up in the studio this past week for a firing next weekend. Last-minute glazing and some decoration will take place in the coming days. I also have some minor work on the kiln to complete (just some mortar issues). Here are a few snapshots from the studio this past week:

Finished basket form for this week's 52 Form Project form

Decorated plates and smaller plates

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!

North Carolina Pottery Center Events and Exhibitions

Vase heading to the Pottery Center auction

This piece is heading to the 14th Annual Pottery Auction to support the North Carolina Pottery Center. It will be on Wednesday, August 28th at Leland Little Auctions in Hillsborough.

The opening for the newest exhibition at the Pottery Center was yesterday evening. The exhibition is entitled "Foodwares: Pottery for Storage and Preparation of Food" explores the historical and contemporary uses of pottery forms in and around the kitchen with food preparation. It was excellently curated by Mary Ferrell from Westmoore Pottery. I have a compost crock in with other lidded forms:

Compost Crock (upper right)

And a pickling crock:

Straight-sided half-gallon pickling crock with weight and lid

Most of the contemporary pottery in the exhibition is for sale! I was also captured at the opening laughing (at what, I cannot remember!):

Photo by Samantha Henneke with Bruce Gholson and Brenda laughing

Here are a few highlights of historic pieces in the exhibition:

Archaeological Moravian cooking vessels from Salem

Large Mixing bowl

Be sure to check out this exhibition and try to make it to the pottery auction to support the mission and efforts of the Pottery Center!