Potters practice an ancient art in the Carolinas

Potter Kate Waltman unloading new work from a collaborative wood firing at Ben Owen Pottery (Photo by Jerry Wolford)

Whoever said travel broadens and deepens life’s experiences wasn’t pointing to anything resembling my grandmother’s stoneware jugs and jars — but after an early June trip to North and South Carolina, I’ll forever associate simple, clay pots with compelling generational narratives.

The pewter-gray utilitarian vessels I inherited have no potter’s initials or distinguishing verse like those found on some of the work of now-acclaimed potter David Drake (1801-1870s), an enslaved man in Edgefield in west central South Carolina. One of Drake’s jars went for $369,000 last November at a sale by Brunk Auctions in Asheville, North Carolina, setting a world auction record for his work, recognized by major institutional purchases for the past few years. His work and life were featured in June in an article in The New York Times. A two-handled jug from Drake circa 1840 was acquired in 2018 by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and is on display.

Old Edgefield Pottery from the town’s Courthouse Square, I visually traced the larger story of a cottage industry existing here for more than two centuries. Justin Guy, master potter on site, explained the history of his — and the region’s — pottery as he worked at his wheel. (I later learned Guy’s research had earned him an adjunct faculty position at nearby University of South Carolina Aiken campus.). 

Working in red, purple, yellow and white clay, he said he occasionally finds a new clay. He has “about 20 tons of it waiting to be worked. … The nature of a potter is experimentation,” he said. “I never met a clay I didn’t like.” Besides his creations for sale in shades of green, gray and brown (often adorned by Guy and his wife with fauna and flora designs), his studio/shop/museum displays two pieces of Drake’s pottery; Guy said he grew up playing in “piles of pottery shards” at the nearby plantation where Drake spent his last years.

I could have chatted with Guy longer regarding everything from dealing with impurities in clay to the influence of barometric pressure on the kiln-firing process — but I moved on to the North Carolina Pottery Trail.

Seagrove, south of Asheboro in central North Carolina, is often called the “Pottery Capital of the United States,” with 80-100 working potters and about 50 shops, studios and galleries. The best first stop is the North Carolina Pottery Center, which honors the Tarheel State’s pottery tradition by exhibiting and selling works — and telling the stories of many potters.

Moddware in Seagrove (Photo courtesy Moddware)

Other must-stops along the trail include David Seagrove and Alexa Modderno’s Seagrove Stoneware Pottery/Moddware. They also operate The General Wine & Brew, a new wine-and-beer bar on the trail. Also worth a stop are Eck McCanless Pottery, which offers impressive agateware; Johnston & Gentithes Pottery and Sculpture, where I found the engaging combination of local clay and English porcelain; and Ben Owen Pottery, where an older building now serves as a museum for earlier generations of Owen family work. For the most unusual face jugs you’ll ever see, check out King’s Pottery.

Also plan to make two historical stops: Jugtown Pottery, which dates to 1917, and my personal favorite (because of items for every price point), Original Owens Pottery, the oldest continuously open pottery shop in the state (part of the Owen family is involved with Jugtown Pottery).

Save time for the Carolina Bronze Sculpture foundry and gardens. Gardens are open daily, but make contact for tours encompassing wide-ranging activities, including lost-wax, sand and aluminum casting.

Nov. 19-21: Celebration of Seagrove Potters Studio Tour The 14th annual event features more than 35 potters and ceramic artists and includes an online auction.

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