NC Pottery Center Celebrates Area’s Craft Heritage
arts, culture, denny mecham, heritage, north carolina pottery center, pottery, seagrove,
The small town of Seagrove is one of the country’s oldest communities of working potters‚ so it’s not surprising that it was chosen as the site for the North Carolina Pottery Center.
This airy modern two-story building has a collection of 5‚500 pots and houses exhibits‚ classes‚ lectures and hands-on workshops. It is the first state pottery center in the nation and represents all North Carolina potters from American Indians to the more than 1‚000 potters working throughout the state today.
“Visitors come from all over the country and even internationally‚” says Denny Mecham‚ executive director of the center. “Their education begins as soon as they walk in the door.”
The tradition of North Carolina pottery stretches back to pre-history. The arrival of German‚ English and Scots-Irish immigrants in the mid-18th century brought new forms and techniques to the craft – known affectionately as “turn and burn” – as well as colorful glazes from Chinese Blue to Frogskin.
All these traditions are preserved and promoted by the North Carolina Pottery Center.
The nine-acre site incorporates the Voncannon House‚ originally used as the center and now as a reference library‚ an education center where classes are conducted‚ and the main center‚ erected in 1998.
The permanent collection includes more than 200 pieces of pottery‚ from prehistoric American Indian to the present‚ along with other artifacts and photographs. Rotating exhibits focus on history‚ traditions and contemporary work by the state’s potters.
Displays include a 19th-century farmhouse kitchen with functional pottery. A separate display devoted to Seagrove-area potters also offers a colorful brochure and map to help visitors find their way to the local artisans workshops.
“Ten thousand visitors a year come to the center and that number is growing‚” Mecham says. “Visits have gone up 30 percent in just two years‚ as more people discover their heritage as it relates to the tradition of pottery.”
The number of visitors is likely to increase even more dramatically after 2006‚ when the North Carolina Department of Transportation plans to construct a visitor center on Interstate 73/74‚ a mile below the Seagrove interchange. It will house rest facilities‚ exhibits and displays.
“It will benefit not only Seagrove but Asheboro and other attractions in the area‚” says G.R. Kindley‚ DOT board member and vice-chairman for Division 8. “It is a needed project.”
The building’s unusual design will include an earthen roof with vegetation.
“We want people to stop for it‚” says Kindley. “It will be the only one like it in the state.”
Story by Bridget Huckabee
Photo by Greg Emens
