Is there a better way to spend a blustery January day than herding an energetic 4-year old around pottery galleries? Probably. But you’re not reading this blog for practical parenting advice (I hope not!) Anyway, being of the mindset that exposure to art and breakables at an early age is formative, and spiked with adrenaline-filled moments for the parents too, our family set off one Saturday morning to discover Seagrove.
Seagrove, NC is about 90 miles east-northeast of Charlotte. It’s a town made famous for its red clay soil and longstanding ceramics traditions. There are families in Seagrove who’ve been making pottery for generations, and there are well over a hundred individual pottery studios throughout the region. Similar to a winery tour in Napa, you could easily spend days following the pottery trail, driving from one studio to the next and meeting the artists at work. Unlike Napa, you will not require a chauffeur. (Although now that I think of it, one would be nice.)
As you can see, the pottery galleries are numerous and rather spread out around the Seagrove area. Click the map to go to the visitors’ guide website.
Because the potteries are so numerous and dispersed, first time visitors might want to begin with a stop at the North Carolina Pottery Center. In this modern, light-filled museum you’ll get a good overview of the history of pottery traditions in the region. The museum has a nice collection of some of the area’s finest historical works, as well as a collection of current works by Seagrove potters. I found it very helpful in pinpointing which pottery studios I wanted to visit on our trip.
The North Carolina Pottery Center
Next we stopped at Seagrove Creations, which is a local gallery that represents the works of many of the region’s potters. Again, a good place to get a broad overview and purchase works by different artists.
Pottery by Ben Owen, at Seagrove Creations.
Pottery by Donna Craven, at Seagrove Creations.
By now we had an idea of some of the local studios we wanted to see, and we headed off down the road with our map in hand. Our first stop was going to be Ben Owen’s pottery studio. But when we got there we found out he’s closed in January! As it turns out, several local potters do close in January, so it’s probably not the ideal month to visit. Nevertheless, we had better luck with our next couple of stops. Frank Neef and his wife Cindy relocated from Missouri and opened their studio in Seagrove last year. Frank has been a potter for over 30 years, and specializes in crystalline glazed and pierced porcelain.
Crystalline glazed and pierced urns by Frank Neef
I liked these etched vases by Frank Neef. The one on the right came home with me!
Next we paid a visit to Avery Pottery and Tileworks. Blaine Avery has been working as a potter in Seagrove for over 18 years. I was especially interested to see his tile work, but he also crafts beautiful plates and vessels.
Tiles and plates by Blaine Avery
