Debi and I went to CPF last weekend in Shelby with friends Valerie and Mary Anna. That is one big pottery festival -- I couldn't believe how many people there were (potters and customers). I saw a bunch of pots that inspired some thoughts about things I might like to try and there was such variety in the work I saw there.
Most of my favorites that I saw there are the potters I already know: Ron Philbeck, Julie Wiggins, Adrienne Dellinger, Corine Guseman & Hal Dedmond. In my opinion, Ron's booth should have gotten the 'best in show' award - it had great feng shui and flow, unlike many of the booths I tried to squeeze into.
A new favorite potter that I found is Jeff Martin (Boone). I bought one of his tumblers (I'll try to remember to post a picture later). His work was striking (sgraffito in black & white, with a small splash of red). Jeff's tumbler is my new favorite drinking vessel. Debi and Val bought tumblers too.
Debi bought a dinner plate from Marjorie Hawthorne (Gaffney). She came close to buying at least 3 other plates before we made it to Marjorie's booth. I'm glad she waited... when she showed me Marjorie's plate, I knew it was the plate for us. I think it's a nice plate, but I don't know for sure, because Debi hasn't let me use it yet.
I got to see Rust Pottery (Gastonia, Fred & Debbie Rust) again. They have this one glaze that I fell in love with the first time I saw it. Debbie said the glaze was called pussy willow (266 on a dark clay body). It's a sort of grayish brown with a silky smooth matte finish. Unfortunately, the only piece they had left with the pussy willow glaze was a large planter, so we didn't get anything from them. We'll definitely be looking for them at the sales this weekend.
Goodall Pottery (Charlotte, Babs & Greg Goodall) had some interesting pieces. Debi and I were both very curious about their trumpet flower hose guards. I thought they were funky, upside-down candleholders at first. Hose guards - who knew?? I also really liked Babs’ cowboy plates.
Valerie liked Ray Pottery’s (Seagrove) work a lot. Their glassy red glazes were very striking & made their work stand out quite a bit. She would have bought a piece but couldn't get close enough!
Tom Seelos (Marietta, GA) had some interesting carved pieces. A lot of luminary-type pots that were very intricately carved. Looks like it would be a lot of work.
Valerie liked Skunk Hollow Pottery’s (Campobello, SC, Arthur and Debbie Chapman) incense burners.
I enjoyed Center Point Clay Studio’s (Asheville, Kathie Kline) blue/brown glaze combination. They also had some nice big mugs.
Valerie bought a fun piece from Gardner’s Dirty Dog Pottery (Morganton, NC, Betty L. Gardner) for a gift.
We bought a sort of art deco cat sculpture for Isabel from Connie’s Clay Creations (Candler, NC, Connie Bennett). We bought Amelia a turtle at the Barn Sale, so we go the cat for Isabel. Both the turtle and the cat have both been repaired a couple of times. I actually made a back-up cat and turtle for when they are busted beyond repair.
Debi loved Hog Hill Pottery’s (Vale, NC, Scottie Fox & John H. Post) semi-circlular vase. I thought they were weird looking. But then again, vases are not really my thing. They had some kaleidoscopes that were way cool. I’ve loved kaleidoscopes since I was a kid; combining them with pottery is a winning combination for me. Their Angel candlesticks caught our eye too. You knew they were angels, but they were subtle.
Val bought a bird feeder from Anne B. Thompson. Anne’s mom really loved my “Make Pots, Not War” t-shirt. We chatted a bit while Val was making her purchase and decided that George Bush’s time would be better spent taking pottery classes and that we’d take up a collection for his tuition. Wishful thinking. I liked Anne’s logo:
It seems we saw a lot of potters who had horsehair raku pieces. It’s funny how you don’t see a particular form or style for a long time and then it seems to be everywhere.
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