NC Mountain Pre-Conference Artist

Schedule/Registration

William Baker has worked as a studio potter in western North Carolina for the last 14 years,initially as a resident artist at the Odyssey Center in Asheville before establishing his own studio in Bakersville near the Penland School of Crafts. William creates functional and sculptural work beginning on the wheel and fired in a wood burning soda kiln.  From the initial design of each piece to the loading and firing of the kiln, William strives towards a balance between refinement and the constant exploration of process, observing and sharing the interactions between clay and fire.

Wood Song Pottery, Joy Tanner and William Baker: 

Cross draft wood/soda kiln.  Internal firebox, sprung arch, 20 cubic feet stacking space total.

This kiln is designed as a hybrid and can be fired with either propane or wood.  Wood firings generally last approximately 24 hours and include 5-6 pounds of soda ash added.

Details:

www.williambakerpottery.com

@williambakerpottery

NC Mountains Pre-Conference Artist

Schedule/Registration

Josh Copus Compound

Lindsay Bostic West is a studio potter in Swannanoa, North Carolina, just over the mountain from her hometown of Fairview. The prospect of wood firing pottery led her to pursue a degree in ceramics at UNC Asheville where she had the opportunity to fire an anagama kiln twice per semester. She was immediately hooked on wood firing. After graduation Lindsay had the opportunity to work for Kyle Carpenter and through that work fell in love with salt glazing. She was able to marry the two types of firing in 2020 when she and her husband Matt West built a wood fired, salt kiln on the mountain they live on.

Lindsay makes functional pottery with minimal decoration, relying mostly upon slips, and the placement and atmosphere in the kiln, to produce rich, organic surfaces. She enjoys incorporating plant material into her studio practice by pressing seedheads and budding stems into her work.

Details:

https://www.lindsaybosticpottery.com/

@lindsaybosticpottery

NC Mountains Pre-Conference Artist

Schedule/Registration

Horacio Casillas was born in Chandler, Arizona and raised in Jalisco, Mexico until the age of 5. His family then moved back to the US to the small city of San Angelo, TX. In 2013 he received his BFA in ceramics from Angelo State University and later went on to recieve his MFA from the University of North Texas in 2018. There at UNT is where he fired his first wood fired pots, gaining an immense appreciation for atmospheric firings. Horacio’s work was published in the 2019 January issue of Ceramics Monthly, and he has exhibited nationally in galleries such as Companion Gallery, Clayworks, and the Houston center for contemporary craft. Horacio recently concluded a one year residency at The Epic in Grand Prairie, TX and is currently back in San Angelo, TX working as a production potter at The Old Chicken Farm Art Center.

www.horaciocasillas.com @horacio_casillas_jr

NC Mountains Pre-Conference Artist

Schedule/Registration

BRCC Anagama

Douglas Caulfield was raised in a pottery family. His Grandmother, Marilyn Jones, started a ceramics studio in Montreat, North Carolina in 1974. His mother took over the studio in 1992. The studio, Sally Jones Pottery, functions as a community art center that offers classes to mostly amatuer and hobby potters. While he was raised surrounded by potters and crafts people, it wasn’t until his late teens that he began to truly appreciate his connection to ceramics. Douglas began attending the University of Mississippi after high school and after some time there he signed up for a ceramics class. At first I thought it would be a fun way to get elective credits and bolster my gpa. Douglas was mistaken. After his first experiences with atmospheric firing he was hooked and ended up applying to be in the BFA program. Ole Miss offered him a glimpse into the world of professional ceramics and knew that this was a community that he belonged in. He did not finish my degree at Ole Miss, but after moving to North Carolina to help Preston Tolbert build kilns Douglas started the process to finish my degree at the University of North Carolina, Asheville. His work is mostly wood fired or soda fired. Right now he is exploring surfacing, specifically high alumina shinos and how they resist wood ash and soda.

NC Mountains Pre-Conference Artist and Organizer, Conference Organizer and Panelist

Schedule/Registration

National and International invited guests to Copus' PreHEAT firing include:

In 2007 Josh Copus graduated from university and bought a house on two acres of land outside of Marshall, NC.  He intentionally burned down that house, built an outhouse, a kiln shed, and began construction on a three chambered climbing kiln that would become know as the “Temple”.  Since then the Temple has been fired 37 times and the land has been transformed from a swamp into a center for woodfired ceramics. Two more kilns were built in 2010 and recent years have seen the addition of various infrastructure improvements, including a studio, a barn, wild clay processing facility, contemplative labyrinth garden, and the party plaza. 

For Josh the land project is an extension of his creative process and equally import as his work in the studio.  The land is an ongoing sculpture and a conduit for his interests is community interaction and social practice work. The WNC Pre-Heat will be the largest event held on the land to date and an exciting opportunity to share it with all of you.

Josh Copus Bio

Details:

www.joshcopus.com

@joshcopuspottery

NC Mountains Pre-Conference Artist

Schedule/Registration

BRCC Anagama

Mary Cotterman has always been interested in how humans interact with nature. Most kids love to play in the dirt, but when Mary was young, she would make pinch pots out of the black Texas clay and have her mother bake them in the kitchen oven. When Mary was twelve, she learned at a summer camp how to throw on a potters wheel for the first time. It enticed her to a life of working with clay to create objects that meet the shape of a human hand with something nourishing. Potters have historically had to travel to find the right materials, bringing with them the magic and wisdom of fire and transformation. Similarly, Mary's interest in pottery and tea led her to move to China in 2015. She learned from old masters how to make and pour tea in the Chaozhou Gongfu Cha style, and also learned to speak Mandarin. Meanwhile, she studied making tea pots at the Ming de Yuan production studio. Later, she had a studio above a friend's teapot shop and made work there for a year while continuing to study tea arts, mentoring in formal Cha Yi from a master from a Beijing school. Mary was the first foreigner to study Chaozhou shou la hu teapots. In 2017, she worked a residency at Sanbao International Ceramics Village in Jingdezhen, the home of porcelain. There she curated and managed a gallery, and had the opportunity to study the way nature and people relate, how a confluence of stone, trees, and rivers, can create the perfect place to make fine wares. In 2018, Mary returned to the United States by taking the long way across Europe. She relocated to Asheville, North Carolina, where she could expand her knowledge of medicine, foraging for local plants, and learn traditional folkways and earth based practices. She makes her own distinctive pottery in Asheville, and every vessel contains the wisdom she has absorbed from around the world.

NC Mountains Pre-Conference Artist

Schedule/Registration

Josh Copus Compound

Henry James Haver Crissman earned a BFA in Craft from the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, MI in 2012, and a MFA in Ceramics at Alfred University in Alfred, NY in 2015. He and Virginia Torrence co-founded and co-direct Ceramics School LLC, a contemporary ceramic centric community art school and artist residency in Hamtramck, MI. He lives and makes art in Hamtramck, MI, and is currently an adjunct professor at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, MI, and at SAIC in Chicago, IL.

NC Mountains Pre-Conference Artist

Schedule/Registration

BRCC Anagama

John Cummings is a working ceramic artist living in Asheville, NC area. John keeps a studio space located at Southside studios. John is from Indiana, where he went to undergraduate at University of Southern Indiana and earned a B.S. in Studio Art. He went on to graduate school at the University of Mississippi earning a M.F.A. in Studio Art with an emphasis in Ceramics. After graduate school he spent three years working as an artist assistant for Jun Kaneko, where he learned how to build extremely large-scale ceramic work. Currently he is an Adjunct Professor in Art at the University of North Carolina at Asheville and teaches privately around the Asheville area.

NC Mountains Pre-Conference Artist

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Marjorie Dial is a studio artist whose practice includes sculpture, print-making, and writing. Dial grew up in Columbia, South Carolina. In 2011, she took a community art class and everything changed––“When I first touched clay at the age of 40, I felt like I woke up from life and started dreaming.” She received her MFA in Craft from the Oregon College of Art and Craft and calls Portland, OR home. In 2017, Dial purchased a 30-acre farm in WNC with a vision for a residency project that would serve artists, writers and art professionals with a focus on ceramics. The past two years, she has been developing the property: restoring thefarmhouse, building a bunkhouse, clearing the land of debris, and setting up studios. Called Township10, this new residency blends a trifecta of Dial’s passions: for the South, for deep art practice, and for artists who teach, mentor, lead, and disrupt.

www.marjoriedial.com

www.township10.com

@marjoriedial

NC Mountains Pre-Conference Artist

Schedule/Registration

Joey Sheehan/ the Golden Antelope

Will Dickert is a studio potter in Asheville, NC.   He was raised in Southwestern Virginia and attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville where he earned a BA with a focus in ceramics and was awarded a NC teaching licensure for k-12 art education. 

He aims to create stoneware objects that are fresh in design and intent, but that embody a feeling of sentimentality and familiarity.  His work is wood-fired using a number of techniques and kilns, both traditional and contemporary in design and effect.  His work is driven by a strong affinity and love for the Southern Appalachian region, its people and traditions. Teaching is a passion that continues to play a significant role in his involvement in the arts in his community.   

Details:

www.willdickertceramics.com

@willdickertceramics

NC Mountains Pre-Conference Artist

Schedule/Registration

Josh Copus Compound

Gillan Doty was raised in rural New England, spending time in both the Adirondacks in New York and the Monadnock region of New Hampshire. Gillan discovered clay in high school and went on to receive a BFA in Ceramics from the Maine College of Art in Portland, Maine. After graduating he wasnawarded a year long residency at the Northern Clay Center in Minneapolis, MN. Following his time at NCC, Gillan relocated to western North Carolina and is currently an Artist in Residence at Odyssey Clayworks in Asheville. He is also an assistant to potter Akira Satake. His experiences in the northeast, midwest, and now the southeast have all greatly influenced the work he is currently making.

gdoty@meca.edu

gillandoty.com

6038314765

NC Mountains Pre-Conference Artist

Schedule/Registration

Josh Copus Compound

Native to North Carolina, Easters grew up in the Piedmont and migrated to the Blue Ridge mountains in 2011. She discovered ceramics in undergrad at UNCA, where she first learned the process of wood firing and has been refining her skills ever since. She currently lives and practices her craft in Asheville, where she is also an instructor at Odyssey ClayWorks.

Kristen Easters' work seeks to preserve the essence of ephemeral beauty found in nature through an alchemical union of materials, maker's touch and fire's dance in the kiln. Her craft process is fueled by the desire to achieve a harmonious marriage of these elements recorded on the surfaces of her wares.

NC Mountains Pre-Conference Artist

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Nancy Fuller is Taiwanese by birth but was raised in the North East of Scotland. Having trained as a printmaker, she went on to attain a Masters in the History of Art and Archaeology of Asia in 1999 at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. 

A Chinese language scholarship took her back toTaiwan in 2000 to explore her roots and whilst there she found a sense of connection through the ancient ways of pottery. After studying at various studios her discovery of anagama-fired pottery was like the missing jigsaw piece. In addition to language, culture and tradition, it embraced the natural environment, and in essence revealed the Taiwan she was looking for through the medium of wood-firing. Her quest to build her own kiln resulted in her undertaking a year-long training with anagama master Suzuki Shigeji in Shigaraki, Japan, supported by the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation. 

During her training she was also a resident artist at the Shigaraki Cultural Ceramic Park and it was there that she met Karatsu master, Nakazato Takashi. Realising his ‘Nanban’ aesthetic might suit the clays available to her in the UK, she studied reduction cooling with him at the Anderson Ranch Arts Center, USA, through support from the Scottish Arts Council. All her work is fired in an anagama which she designed and built herself on a croft in rural Aberdeenshire.  

www.nancyfuller.co.uk

@nancyfullerpottery

NC Mountains Pre-Conference Artist

Schedule/Registration

Josh Copus Compound

Denny Gerwin began his education at Bowling Green State University in Ohio where he earned a BFA in 2004. Then, he pursued post-bach studies for two years at the Hartford Art School in Connecticut. After finishing his MFA at Utah State University in 2009 he was hired on to teach Ceramics and Sculpture. In 2010 Denny was featured in the Emerging Artist issue of Ceramics Monthly magazine and was awarded a residency in the Arts/Industry program at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center. Denny accepted a position as Professor of 3D Art at Queens University of Charlotte in 2012.

Denny enjoys making his work alongside his students in the on-campus studio, and showing his work in national juried exhibitions and regional invitational exhibitions. He also travels the country doing workshops involving demonstrations of specialized techniques and processes, lectures about experiences in his artwork and in teaching, and working with groups of artists and students to fire wood-burning kilns.

Details:

https://www.dennygerwin.com/

@dennygerwin

NC Mountains Pre-Conference Artist

Schedule/Registration

Josh Copus Compound

Tristan Glosby is a ceramic artist in Asheville, North Carolina. He started working with clay and wood firing in high school and received numerous awards for his work. Before moving to Asheville, Tristan worked with local artists in Northern Virginia and as a studio assistant at several clay studios. As part of the Asheville community, Tristan has enjoyed firing with several artists. He particularly enjoys firing train kilns because of their versatility and responsiveness. Tristan currently works as an assistant to several artists in the Asheville area in addition to selling his own work.

NC Mountains Pre-Conference Artist

Schedule/Registration

Joey Sheehan/ the Golden Antelope

My studio is in Asheville, North Carolina. I make porcelain pots both fired in my

high fire gas reduction kiln and in wood kilns throughout western North Carolina,

with plans to build a wood kiln at my home. My work centers around two of my most

passionate loves: food and flowers. I strive to make classic, elegant shapes that

serve to elevate their everyday uses.

Candice grew up in the middle of nowhere, Kentucky and studied art at Centre College where she first touched clay. After earning her degree, she worked for a large production pottery in East Tennessee where she was fortunate to make a lot of mistakes, and learn even more. She set up her own studio in Asheville, North Carolina in 2010 and has steadily grown her ceramic practice and fallen in love with the sometimes cruel, but equally rewarding mistress that is wood firing.

NC Mountains Pre-Conference Artists and Organizers, Conference Organizers, Panelists and Demonstrators

Schedule/Registration

Bandana Pottery is Michael Hunt and Naomi Dalglish.  They live and work in the mountains of Western North Carolina in the town of Bandana, and they continually search the region for wild clays and materials to use in their pots and glazes. The mystery of white slip over the landscape of coarse dark clay inspires them and they eagerly explore the relationship between clay, slip, glazes, and the affects of their wood-fired kiln.  This sense of discovery propels and continues when you bring their pots into your home and creatively interact with them in your daily rituals, sense of space, and celebratory meals.

Our pots are fired in a large wood-burning kiln which is a modification of traditional kilns from Thailand. During a visit to Thailand in 1998 Michael was fascinated by the beautiful shape of Thai wood-fired kilns. This shape seemed like it could be adapted to fit the criteria they needed. The most interesting thing to them about the Thai shape is the way its form imitates a flame. After much thought and research we altered the shape and proportions to improve structure, working comfort, and to give more articulate firing control.The pots are loaded through the door in the front of the kiln, which is then bricked up for the firing. The kiln is continually stoked with wood for thirteen to sixteen hours until the pots are 2350 degrees Fahrenheit and the glazes have melted. The wood ash from the kiln lands on the pots and creates subtle variation in the clay and glazes. The varying atmosphere from reduced (or “smoky”) to oxidized (or “clean burning”) also has a powerful effect. 

Michael Hunt Bio

Naomi Dalglish Bio

Details:

www.bandanapottery.com

@bandanapottery

NC Mountains Pre-Conference Artist

Schedule/Registration

Josh Copus Compound

Hamish Jackson makes functional pots from local materials. The connection between pots and place is central to his philosophy. Hamish has been experimenting with wood soda firing during his time as a graduate student at Utah State University (USU).

Hamish has travelled widely for the love of pots and learning his craft. He started out at Winchcombe Pottery in England, completed a four year apprenticeship for Mark Hewitt in North Carolina, and has also spent time in Thailand and Japan. At present, he is investigating the possibilities of using local rocks and minerals as the primary ingredients in ceramic glazes.

Currently, he fires his pots and tests in a wood soda catenary arch kiln that he helped build last year at USU. It excites him to see how local materials react in this atmosphere – and often, his favourite pots out of a firing are the least expected.

Details:

https://www.hamishjacksonpottery.com/

@hamish.jackson.pottery

NC Mountains Pre-Conference Artist

Schedule/Registration

Josh Copus Compound

Abandoning his PhD thesis in solid state physics, James established Prairie Dog Pottery Inc in 1993 in eastern Iowa, USA. Having fired his stylized human heads in a wide variety of kilns and fuels while studying ceramics, the public decided for him he should become a woodfirer.

Despite the much longer than normal time he required to become a thrower, James has almost exclusively used hand-building in his career. His sculptures are solid running up to 12 inches thick.

Over the years he built a number of kilns ranging from 8 feet to 30 feet long. He is currently firing a small kiln with a grid of vertical holes in a castable arch allowing the introduction of charcoal, corn, furnace wood-pellets, and anything else small enough to fit though the holes, virtually anywhere in the kiln.

His current kiln, and the one planned to be built and fired at Josh Copus’ home during the pre-conference, are the end result of a series of kilns designed expressly for coaling effects in the entire kiln but with reduced risk of breakage from insertion of fuel.

James has also been fortunate to be able to help bring together woodfirers from around the world for several events of 3 to 4 weeks duration to share techniques and cultural exchange.

www.prairiedogpottery.com

sandbur@netins.net

NC Mountains Pre-Conference Artist

Schedule/Registration

Joey Sheehan/ the Golden Antelope

NC Mountains Pre-Conference Artist, Conference Panelist

Schedule/Registration

Eric Knoche uses various styles of wood firing in his naborigama kiln to create his surface affects, but one that he has focused on is a deviation of a charcoal shoveling technique often used in Bizen, Japan. He was introduced to this process of firing by his teacher Jeff Shapiro. 

During loading, Knoche leaves 4 to 6 inches of clearance between shelf layers next to stoke ports to shovel in the charcoal.  At various points in the firing he covers the work on each level with charcoal using a long stainless steel chute. A wide range of effects are possible, depending on the variables of the firing, which include the materials and forms, the kind of charcoal, when its introduced; and the time, temperature and rate of the firing.

Eric Knoche Bio

Details:

www.ericknoche.com

@ericknochestudio

NC Mountains Pre-Conference Artist

Schedule/Registration

Dian Magie fell in love with wood firing when she began assisting Judith Duff with loading and firing her train kiln soon after moving to North Carolina in 2000. After retiring as Director of UNC Center for Craft, Creativity and Design in 2010 she built her cross-draft wood kiln (the Cougar Kiln designed "to make it easier for women over 50 to fire) by Will Baker. WIth 36 cu ft stacking area at 6 ft high for ease of loading, the kiln has great flashing and fires evenly to cone 11-12 throughout in 15-17 hours.

Details:

www.dianmagiepottery.com

@dian.magie

NC Mountains Pre-Conference Artist

Schedule/Registration

Courtney Martin is a full time studio potter living and working in the mountains of North Carolina near Penland.  She grew up just outside of New York City on Long Island.  After high school Courtney went to college at the University of New Mexico.  During her first year at UNM, she took a ceramics class on a whim and fell in love with clay.  After graduating with a BFA in ceramics, Courtney moved to western North Carolina to work with and apprenticed for Terry Gess, Michael Kline, Cynthia Bringle, and others.   While working with other potters, learning more about making pottery and the business of pottery, Courtney continued to develop her own voice in ceramics.  She has taken and assisted in classes at Penland, Arrowmont, Odyssey and Santa Fe Clay.  In 2006 she stopped working for others and began making her living making pots.  In 2007 Courtney was awarded the Regional Artists Project Grant towards funding to build a kiln.  By August of 2007 she had completed building her wood fired cross draft climbing kiln.  Since building her kiln, Courtney work has continued to grow and find audiences all over the world.  In July 2010 Courtney had a solo show in Okinawa, Japan.   She is represented by (among others) Freehand Gallery, Penland Gallery and Taos Clay.  

Details:

www.courtneymartinpottery.com

@courtneymartinpotter

NC Mountains Pre-Conference Artist

Schedule/Registration

Shane Mickey was born in Ridgeley, WV. a small rural town in northeastern West Virginia. He grew up in a family that worked with their hands and promoted a hard work ethic.

In Western Maryland, at Frostburg State University, Shane found the ceramics department near the end of his studies and was quickly drawn over to an art major. Shane finished graduate school in 2000 from the University of Tennessee.

Searching for a more relaxed lifestyle and more tranquility Shane moved to the mountains of Western North Carolina where he operates a full time studio with his son, Evan. In 2016 his return to teaching began at Mars Hill University’s Fine Arts Ceramics program where he trains students to become successful potters as well as successful business people. Shane has been a board member on his local arts council, Founding potter of the Spruce Pine Potters Market, a member of Potters of the Roan, and the Southern Highland Craft Guild as well as the American Craft Council. His work has been shown in numerous galleries and shows across the country, including; Morean Arts Center, Charlie Cummings Gallery, The Signature Shop in Atlanta, GA, The Strictly Functional Pottery National, and Blue spiral One in Asheville, NC.

Shane Mickey is owner of the Spring Creek Anagama, a community wood kiln in Bakersville, North Carolina and Maintains Shane Mickey Pottery and Showroom in downtown Bakersville.

Details:

Shane Mickey

@shanemickeypottery

NC Mountains Pre-Conference Artist

Schedule/Registration

University of North Carolina- Asheville Anagama

Master Kiln Builders was formed by Minnesota potter Donovan Palmquist. Since 1996, he and his crew have built over 500 kilns for schools, individual artists and institutions throughout the US. Projects have ranged from a one-cubic-foot salt kiln for a private studio to eleven kilns at a major university. Please type a short biography of 125 words (for website & press). Donovan Palmquist has been making pots for over 45 years. Currently, he makes pots part-time and is the owner of Master Kiln Builders. He received his MFA in Ceramics at the University of Minnesota in 1988. He exhibits his work nationally, and has re-ceived numerous grants and awards. He has served on the Board of Directors at the Northern Clay Center in Minneapolis, and has taught at the Northern Clay Center and Anoka-Ramsey Communi-ty College. His primary interest is high-fire functional work, with a current focus on thrown and altered vessels in atmospheric (so-da/salt and wood) firings.

Details:

Kilnbuilders.com

Eurekapots.com

@masterkilnbuilders

NC Mountains Pre-Conference Artist

Schedule/Registration

Remo Piracci became a potter after being a master woodworker for many years. His love of clay connects him to the earth and her spirituality. Putting his hands together while pulling clay feels like praying for him.

He has studied at Appalachian State University, Odyssey Center and Penland. Remo was fortunate to have Daniel Johnston as a mentor who taught him the Thai method of building large functional storage vessels which culminated in Remo building a 140 cu ft. Anagama kiln at his studio in Valle Crucis, NC. Remo now lives in Zirconia, NC and he just finished a firing in a new 60 cu ft. Sasukenei smokeless kiln he constructed at his studio.

NC Mountain Pre-Conference Artist

Schedule/Registration

For Akira Satake, the act of creation is a collaboration between him, the clay and the fire. Collaboration means finding what the clay wants to be and bringing out its beauty in the way that the beauty of our surroundings is created through natural forces. Undulations in sand that has been moved by the wind, rock formations caused by landslides, the crackle and patina in the wall of an old house; all these owe their special beauty to the random hand of Nature. The fire is the ultimate random part of the collaborative equation. He hopes the fire will be his ally, but he knows it will always transform the clay in ways he cannot anticipate.

In 2013 he opened Akira Satake Ceramics/Gallery Mugen as his working studio and exhibition space in the River Arts District in Asheville, NC and built a wood fire train kiln at his studio.

Akir Satake Bio

Details:

www.akirasatake.com

@akirasatake

NC Mountains Pre-Conference Artist

Schedule/Registration

Galen Sedberry is a potter working in Burnsville, NC - sharing a studio with his father and potter Ken Sedberry. Galen’s interest in clay peaked during a year off from college when he began helping Ken in his studio and learning the basics of throwing, glazing and firing. Galen then returned to college, receiving a degree in Appropriate Technology. After several years in the solar industry, first as an installer and later as a superintendent overseeing the construction of utility scale solar projects, his hands found their way back to clay.

Currently I am investigating the possibilities between deliberate surface decoration and the limitless variables derived from wood firing. I want my imagery to evoke themes of movement and energy, an aesthetic that I rely of the firing process to deliver. I relish this collaborative approach, as it forces me to give up a fraction of control - allowing chance and serendipity to play a small role. The imagery I choose to decorate my pots derives entirely from my immediate surroundings, including the natural color hues I see outside my studio window.

NC Mountains Pre-Conference Artist and Organizer, Conference Organizer and Demonstrator

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Joey Sheehan works in the rugged Appalachian mountains of Madison County, NC.  His work is fired in my two chamber wood kiln that he describes as the "double barrel snub nose train with a cat in the back." 

Sheehan's pots are a combination of functional glaze ware and sculptural work with surfaces and forms that exemplify the wood fire process.  Sheehan calls his kiln the Golden Antelope.  It is a two chamber wood burning kiln and is designed after the extended throat bourry box kilns described in Steve Harrison's book Laid Back Wood Firing.  He describes the kiln as a double barrel snub nose train chamber in the front with a catenary in the back.  The front chamber is nitty and gritty with a lot of ash and wood in direct contact with the pots, while the back chamber is essentially a reduction glaze chamber with some flashing.

He strives to create extravagant and dramatic surfaces with heat, flame, ash, and occasionally soda in the front while still creating large bodies of clean glaze ware, subtle flashing throughout and fly ash in the back.

Details:

www.meltingmountainpottery.com

@joeymakespots

NC Mountains Pre-Conference Artist

Schedule/Registration

Emma Smith is an award winning ceramic artist and creative thinker from Ontario, Canada. Growing up in the shadow of the Niagara escarpment, she aims to celebrate the significance of place, environment, and land, through her life philosophy and artistic practice. Exploring this theme largely through woodfired ceramics with imagery from her day to day, her work is made to be experienced quietly, encouraging moments of contemplation and reflection. Outside of the clay studio she enjoys storytelling through writing and film photography. She is also an active member of Hamilton Aerial Group, a grass roots aerial and stilt theatre company in Hamilton ON that produces narratives using puppetry, clowning, and circus arts. You can find her, her work, and her small homestead, in the rural hamlet of Jerseyville ON.

@esceramics

www.emmasmithceramics.com

NC Mountains Pre-Conference Artist

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Andrew Stephenson was born in England and he received his Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from East Carolina University in 1996. After graduation he moved to Asheville, NC to take a position at the Odyssey Center for the Ceramic Arts. 

Andrew has always loved the wood fired salt-glazed pottery of North Carolina, so when he was offered a two year apprenticeship with Matt Jones, a former apprentice of Todd Piker and Mark Hewitt, he jumped at the chance.

During the apprenticeship he learned the forms and turning techniques that have been passed down from potter to potter since the days of Bernard Leach and Michael Cardew. 

When Andrew was finished with his apprenticeship he bought a house in rural Rutherford county, received a grant, and built his own 300 cubic foot wood kiln and holds several kiln openings a year.

His kiln is a sprung arch crossdraft tube kiln with 280 cubic ft stacking space.

Details:

www.ajspottery.com

@stephensonwoodfiredpottery

NC Mountains Pre-Conference Artist

Schedule/Registration

Shikamaru Taskeshita was born in 1977, as a son of Mashiko potter. He learned pottery making from his father, and also from Industrial Technology Center of Tochigi Prefecture (Ceramic technology center) in 1997-1998. He built his Anagama at his pottery studio in 2000, since then he focuses on unglazed, Anagama firing. In 2011, at Tohoku Earthquake disaster, his Anagama was completely destroyed, but his friends and supporters from many places include overseas helped his kiln rebuild. His wood fire works are widely shown at exhibitions, pottery festivals and galleries nationally and internationally.

NC Mountains Pre-Conference Artist

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Joy Tanner has been a studio potter in western North Carolina for the past 12 years. She has a BFA in Ceramics from UT Chattanooga, was a Resident Artist at the Odyssey Center for the Ceramic Arts and the EnergyXChange. She currently shares her studio, Wood Song Pottery, in Bakersville, NC, with her husband, William Baker.
Joy creates functional and decorative wheel thrown and altered pottery using stoneware and porcelain clays. By hand carving and impressing textures into the surfaces, the atmospheric effects from wood and soda firing create bold contrasts of pattern, color and texture within Joy’s pottery.

Schedule/Registration

Wood Song Pottery, Joy Tanner and William Baker: 

Cross draft wood/soda kiln.  Internal firebox, sprung arch, 20 cubic feet stacking space total.

This kiln is designed as a hybrid and can be fired with either propane or wood.  Wood firings generally last approximately 24 hours and include 5-6 pounds of soda ash added.

Details:

www.joytannerpottery.com

@joytannerpottery

NC Mountains Pre-Conference Artist

Schedule/Registration

BRCC Anagama

Preston Tolbert is a full-time artist working in Statesville, NC. He studied ceramics at Western Carolina University under Professor Joan Byrd. While at WCU he met his wife Sara Tolbert, also a potter. There he started his kiln building career, designing and building several wood kilns. After graduation in 2007, they moved to Clarkdale, Arizona to be assistants to Don Reitz. Working for Don, Preston learned the intricacies of sustained wood firing along with many other skills and techniques. After moving back to North Carolina in 2010, they built a small wood soda kiln and opened a pottery shop in Old Fort. In 2014, Preston enrolled in grad school at The University of Mississippi with Matt Long. There his work developed source and substance, along with technical evolution. He and Sara once again moved back to North Carolina, this time to Statesville, where they are currently developing Warehouse Arts, a facility for workshops, artist residency, and kiln construction. Preston teaches Ceramics at Catawba Valley Community College and Lenoir Rhyne University.

NC Mountains Pre-Conference Artist

Schedule/Registration

The Village Potters Clay Center, River Arts District at Riverview Station, #180

Featured Demonstration Participant: Sarah Wells Rolland

Event: "Throwing Big for Woodfire" demonstration by Sarah Wells Rolland on Saturday, May 28 at 11:00am

Exhibit: Kazegama Women, with guest potter Jim McDowell, open daily 10am-5pm

The "Kazegama Women" participating in this exhibit are Sarah Wells Rolland, Lori Theriault, Julia Mann, Katie Meili Messersmith, Judi Harwood, Christine Henry, Ruth Fischer Rutkowsky, Lindsey Mudge, and Karen Dubois. Our invited guest is potter Jim McDowell.

Kazegama means 'Wind' in Japanese, and the Kazegama kiln is an alternative to the traditional woodfire kilns. The kiln is fired with propane or natural gas, and introduction of wood ash and soda ash creates a strong atmospheric aesthetic. Many of the traditions of woodfire are followed: pots are wadded, side-stacked and/or tumble stacked for optimum ash results, and the wood ash and soda ash are sprayed into the kiln at 2300 degrees to create a magic result you would never know was not fired in a more traditional kiln. It really has to be seen to be believed!

The special exhibit will open the week of the Pre-Fire Conference and will remain up through June and is open to the public daily from 10am-5pm.

The Village Potters Clay Center, located in Asheville's historic River Arts District, is an intentional Collective of potters who share a commitment to nurture creative exploration through education, experience, and community. The Village Potters includes a fine craft gallery, a Teaching Center offering ongoing classes for adults, an Advanced Ceramic Studies Program, an Online Study from Afar Program, and online demonstrations and workshops. The Village Potters Clay Center is an educational member of the Craft Guild of the Southern Highlands, and is an official distributor for Laguna Clays.

Details:

thevillagepotters.com

@villagepotters

NC Mountains Pre-Conference Artist

Schedule/Registration

Drawing on a childhood joy of making almost anything with my hands, I knew clay to be my calling the first time I touched it on a turning pot- ter’s wheel. My pots evolved slowly as I earned my skills, being mostly self-taught. I soon added a painter’s touch, my other love and the legacy of my parents, both professional artists.

The introduction to porcelain provided a key element in the develop- ment of much of my work; a marriage of classically simple wheel formed and slab constructed forms, subtle but colorful brush decorations and high firing to a luminous finish known only to porcelain.

My recent interest in wood-firing pottery has resulted in designing and building a wood-fired soda-glazing kiln at my Tuxedo studio in 2009. Constructed as a car kiln, it is one of the first wood-firing kilns of its design. Current work includes stoneware again after years away from it, learning anew to guide forms and glazing to respond to the fire’s touch.

NC Mountains Pre-Conference Artist

Schedule/Registration

Josh Copus Compound

Matt Wegleitner’s creative expression started at a young age and has continued to develop in various mediums throughout his life. Upon arriving to the Western North Carolina area in early 2009, he began making functional wheel-thrown vessels and was shortly after introduced to the woodfiring process.  After a few years of experimenting in functional ceramics he felt his creative expression called for something else…something more personal and expressive.

Matt developed a self-taught hand-building technique during the winter months of 2013.  All his sculptures are assembled in his home studio near Asheville, North Carolina.  To complete his work he participates in group wood firings in the Western NC area, and has completed over 25 firings in his career.  His current body of work consists of eight different series of sculpture, which all feature their own inspirations and design aesthetics.

Notably, Matt has his work in several private collections,  is represented by fine art galleries, and was also an invitee to the 2015 & 2016 Annual Potters Market Invitational at the Mint Museum in Charlotte, NC.

Details:

www.mattwegleitner.com

@mattwegleitner

NC Mountains Pre-Conference Artist

Main Conference Panelist

Schedule/Registration

Josh Copus Compound

CATHERINE WHITE has lived and worked in Warrenton, Virginia since 1988. Her claywork is intertwined with a daily practice of drawing and painting. White has been in more than one hundred exhibitions, most often exhibiting in New York City and Washington, DC. She has had commissions for state gifts from President Obama and Michelle Obama. Represented in both the Renwick and Sackler Galleries of the Smithsonian, she taught at Washington, DC's Corcoran College of Art + Design for many years. A 2012 exhibit at Omen-Azen, a Japanese restaurant in New York City, celebrated 30 years of commissions. Catherine grew up in New York City, studied painting in Aix en Provence and has an MFA from Antioch University.

Details:  

www.catherinewhite.com

catherine-white.tumblr

@artistpotter