Posts Tagged ‘Visiting North Carolina’

« Older Entries

NC Pottery Center in Seagrove, NC, Announces Results of The Potter’s Palette Fundraiser

Friday, February 17th, 2012

As I have said before – this is the kind of art auction fundraiser that I can get behind and support and it turns out to have been a very successful idea – one soon to be copied by other non-profits. But, this will be the NC Pottery Center’s for the time being.

Here’s the good news.

Unique canvases created by NC’s premier potters for the first-of-its-kind event at the NC Pottery Center in Seagrove, NC, were auctioned on Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012.

“The Potter’s Palette” featured over 90, 12”x12” canvases produced by clay artists from around the state, who were invited to create a canvas using any medium they desired, to be sold in a fund raiser to benefit the NC Pottery Center. The outstanding results raised over $18,000 during the event, which included live Celtic music by Seagrove potter Michael Mahan and an outstanding buffet of food produced by Jennie Lorette Keatts with some help from sister Pam Owens.

The palettes are still on display at the NC Pottery Center’s website (www.ncpotterycenter.org). This unusual and new event, brought another level of creativity to the North Carolina Pottery Center, and was a wonderful showcase for a different side of talent that the clay artists in NC have to offer.


Painting by Mary Paul and John Garland

There was an air of excitement and festivity during the event where bidding went high for the exceptional paintings. The highest bid was $1700 and every palette sold, with over half bringing $100 and much more. Absentee bidding was also available at the Center and on the NCPC website and bidders came nationally from GA to VA, to CO and CA to participate in the event. Virgil Thomas of Able Auctions generously and graciously lent his expertise, while potter’s pictures were described by NCPC Vice-President and notable potter, Mark Hewitt of Pittsboro, NC, and displayed by Seagrove potter Fred Johnston and volunteer Kirk McNaughton.

Highlights of the evening included over $14,000 of palette sales, over $4,000 of donations and ticket sales and over 70 registered bidders. The NC Pottery Center relies on its fundraising activities and membership, to maintain its ongoing exhibitions and educational  activities, as the main revenue stream.

Supporting potters included: Rita Abee, Colleen Black-Semelka, Cynthia Bringle, John Britt, Tammy Leigh Brooks, Jeff Brown, Chad Brown, Bonnie Burns, Kyle Carpenter, Donna Craven and Susan Greene, Daphne Cruze, Naomi Daglish, Jeffrey Dean, Kim Ellington, Seo Eo, Mary Farrell, Abe Fenberg, Michelle Flowers, Becca Floyd, Carol Gentithes, Terry Gess, Bruce Gholson, Vicki Gill, Beth Gore, Tom Gray, Sue Grier, Michele Hastings, Samantha Henneke, Mark Hewitt, Meredith Heywood, Mary Holmes, Helene Icard, Tonda Jeffcoat, Mary Paul and John Garland, Daniel Johnston, Fred Johnston, Matt Jones, Ann Raven Jorgenson, Jennie Lorette Keatts, Crystal King, Michael Kline, Keith Lambert, Bruce Latham, Janice Latham, Andrew Linton, Dan Lovejoy, Nancy Lovejoy, Levi Mahan, Michael Mahan, Alex Matisse, Eck McCanless, Fiva McCanless, Milly McCanless, Susan McGehee, Karen Mickler, Alexa Modderno, Lynn Morrow, Ben Owen III, LoriAnn Owen, Pam Owens, Travis Owens, Vernon Owens, Hal and Eleanor Pugh, Joseph Sand, Caroleen Sanders, Hitomi Shibata, Takuro Shibata, Paula Smith, Barbara Strassberg, Roy Strassberg, Tom Soumalainen, Bobbie Thomas, Scott Thomas, John Viegland, Kate Waltman, Doc Welty, Dina Wilde-Ramsing, Charlotte Wooten and Jared Zehmer.


Painting by Bruce Gholson

The evening was supported and sponsored by: The Goodknight Foundation; Lucy C Daniels; Daniel & Genene Uyesato; Martha Luck Johnson; Dr. Terry Zug; Brad Crone; Mark & Carol Hewitt; Ed & Gloria Henneke; Harriet Herring; Ellen Jordan; Dr. Linda Carnes-McNaughton; Janice & GE Gavin; Lane Wharton; Charles W Millard III; Jo M Grimley; Shelton Gorelick; Something Different Restaurant; Peggy Myers; Archie Purcell; Nancy Farmer. Many volunteers stepped forward in their efforts to support the NC Pottery Center helping with check in and registration to the food service and auction. The NC Pottery Center is grateful for the generous support of our sponsors and volunteers, without them our efforts would be lacking!

The North Carolina Pottery Center offers educational opportunities to statewide schools and individuals, changing historical and contemporary exhibitions, demonstrations, and information about statewide potters. The NCPC is a private nonprofit entity, funded primarily through memberships, grants, admissions, and appropriations.

The NC Pottery Center is open, Tue.-Sat., 10am to 4pm. Admission (excluding free special events): $2 – adults, $1 – students 9th through 12th grades, Free – children through 8th grade, free – NCPC members. The center is handicap accessible and groups and tours are welcomed.

For further information and details call 336/873-8430, e-mail to (info@ncpotterycenter.org) or visit (www.NCPotteryCenter.org).

Share this article

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Fundraisers, NC Pottery, NC Pottery Center, NC Visual Arts | Comments Off

A Trip to Seagrove, NC, to a Fundraiser for the NC Pottery Center – The Potter’s Palette – Feb. 4, 2012

Wednesday, February 8th, 2012

As is usually the case – many planets have to come into alignment for Linda and I to be able to go somewhere together. I hate it when I have to go somewhere without her and she hates it even more than I do, but it just so happened that the Feb. 2012 issue of Carolina Arts was launched – e-mail notices were sent out and she was off from her other job on Saturday, Feb. 4. So we made plans to head to Seagrove, NC, to visit a few potters and then attend The Potter’s Palette, a unique fundraising art auction where potters from throughout NC were asked to make a painting to be auctioned off in support of the NC Pottery Center.

OK, two points have to be addressed before we can continue. One, I have grown to dislike art auctions, like many artists who are asked on a regular basis to contribute artworks to them. There are way too many of them and some are just a facade for some folks to throw a party for themselves and take home some cheap art. Also the “art auction” seems to be only a burden of the visual art community – what about the performing and literary arts? But, I do support art auctions that make sense for the artists to support. NC potters supporting the NC Pottery Center is a given.

Point two – what another fundraiser? Yes, fundraisers are the name of the game these days. Government funding of the arts is almost non-existent and has been shrinking over the last decade. Believe me, these folks would love not to do it, but it’s a fact of survival.

What I loved about The Potter’s Palette fundraiser was that it wasn’t potters giving more pots to be auctioned off – reducing the market value of their pots in the name of a good cause. This was asking them to work out of the box creating art that doesn’t compete with their pottery – appealing to pottery collectors – offering them a chance to bid on something rare and unusual – a real one-of-a-kind item. This concept is similar to the collaborative pots auctioned off during the Celebration of Seagrove Potter’s festival. How often can you bid on a pot made by two different potters – who are not married to each other?

The trip to Seagrove from Bonneau, SC, the headquarters of Carolina Arts is about a 3 1/2 to 4 hour drive – some on rural roads, but mostly on Interstate highways (I-95 and the future I-73 & I 74), with Florence, SC, acting as a rest stop. We left early to drop in on a few potteries that I have not been to since I stopped delivering the paper – over a year now. I was in Seagrove in November of 2011 for the Celebration of Seagrove Potters, but had no time to visit individual potteries. Besides, most were at pottery festivals that weekend.

We got to the rest area just outside of Seagrove about 12:30pm. We had lunch and headed to Bulldog Pottery to pay a visit to Samantha Henneke and Bruce Gholson, as well as Max the wonder bulldog and Ed and Gloria Henneke. But we had to settle for two out of five. Max was walled off from us. The excuse was that Max had pottery studio dust feet, which Max being Max would end up all over us (a big bummer) and they claimed Ed and Gloria were down in Florida, but I think Ed was still mad at me over the fact that Michigan had beaten Virginia Tech in a bowl game. Some people take a football loss like that hard. Just kidding Ed – it’s a good thing Michigan had paid off the refs ahead of time – right.

We got a tour of their new studio space. Well it was not so new to them, but new to us. Again, I’m amazed at all the stuff and equipment that goes into making pottery. If the public only knew what I have seen – behind the scenes of making art – they wouldn’t complain about the price of art much. At least you would think that. Most think it just involves a potter’s wheel and some clay.

We also got to talk some more about social media. Which is when my head started hurting and I noticed that there were two pots still spinning on wheels and the light bulb when off – they’re in the middle of working.

We next headed to Whynot Pottery to visit with Meredith and Mark Heywood to see what they were up to since we last saw them. Yes, I follow the blog and Facebook entries of these folks, but you can’t get the whole picture from those postings. Besides I still like the old school social media where you talk with people – face to face.

My mistake at Whynot Pottery was when we went inside their home, I sat or melted into their couch. If we didn’t have the event at the Pottery Center to go to and Linda wasn’t on call Sunday for her 911 job – I might have ended up watching the Super Bowl from that couch. Talk about visitors who never leave – it could have been me.

You ever notice that when couples get together that eventually the guys will be talking on one subject and the gals on another and sometimes the two paths of conversation will cross – and make sense? We had a few of those, but mostly we talked about a project they are working on with a designer from Charlotte, NC, who is working with a bigger designer in California.

At this point no one knows where this project will lead, but it really sounds interesting in that these designers are going to be pitching American Made up against Made in China and hopefully American consumers are ready to buy into the concept of the value of American craft over China’s price. We hope to have more about this project later.

Once I looked at the time, I think it took me about 20 minutes to transition slowly to a point where I could move off of that couch. My body didn’t want to go.

We got to the NC Pottery Center in downtown Seagrove just a little after the event started and the parking lot was packed. And, so was the Center. Very soon we were standing in a line which eventually led to the food, which was being provided by Jennie Lorette Keatts, of JLK Jewelry at Jugtown, who we later learned was a caterer in a previous life. And what a spread it was – steamed shrimp, smoked salmon pate, tuna pate, sundried tomato tapenade, Rosemary white bean spread, Asian marinated meatballs, miniature quiches, stuffed baby red potatoes, cheeses, fruit, veggies, desserts, and more. You won’t see any photos of the food, as there was never a time that there wasn’t a crowd of people around those tables, except during the live auction, and I found it impossible to fill my plate and take pictures. But I know my priorities.


Michael Mahan (r) and Phil Winn (l)

Wonderful Irish music was being provided by Michael Mahan, of From the Ground Up Pottery, and Phil Winn from Greensboro, NC. It doesn’t seem fair that these artists have so many talents. They should have left some for the rest of us.


NC Potter Center Board Member Michael Kline serving up drinks


A last minute inspection of works to be auctioned


More inspections


Potter Fred Johnston of Johnston and Gentithes Art Pottery giving folks a closer look at a work

Soon the live auction was starting, but it took the crowd a little time to settle down. There was a lot of excitement in the air and so many people to talk to. Bidding started a little slowly, but before you knew it – it was moving along fast and the bidding was getting heated on some of the items. One painting by Vernon Owens of Jugtown Pottery went for $1700. The high bidder was somewhere on the other end of a cell phone manned by Travis Owens. The crowd erupted when the auctioneer called out – “Sold for $1700!” I later learned that Alex Matisse’s painting came in second and brought a final bid of $1650.


Travis Owens making a bid for the mystery person on the phone


Mark Hewitt describing a painting

One of the highlights of the auction was the commentary by Mark Hewitt of Pittsboro, NC, potter and board member of the NC Pottery Center, about each of the paintings being offered. His comments got interesting, especially when it came to a work by himself or of a good friend. At times it sounded as if he was auditioning for a job at Sotheby’s or to be an Art History professor.

There wasn’t any painting that didn’t attract a bid – thank you bidding audience, and at least 50 percent of the paintings went for over $100 and some climbed to $400, $500, $600, and higher as several bidders fought to become the owner. A few bargains were had for what I would call a steal, but the bidding was well spread throughout the crowd. Some of the potters who had contributed a painting were also bidding on other potter’s paintings. The spirit of a true fundraiser was in this crowd.


People checking their bid sheets to see which painting is up next

Before the evening was over, what I would call halfway over by looking at the bid list, Linda and I had to head back to Bonneau. Linda was on call on Sunday, and although she didn’t get called in and was able to participate in the first ever Carolina Arts All Day Super Bowl Celebration, we didn’t want to take the chance of getting home around 1 or 2am and she getting that dreaded call to come in to work at 7am.

The Pottery Center has not issued a final total raised during the event, but it might come in over $15,000. An official press release will come later, but I’d say it was a very successful venture, one that I’m sure we’ll see again and will no doubt be better than this first one. That’s the way they roll in Seagrove.

You can see other photos from the event (better than mine) at the Pottery Center’s Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/North-Carolina-Pottery-Center-Seagrove-NC/102520396006). While you’re there you might want to “Like” it to keep up with future events. Their annual potter auction will be coming up soon.

You can read more details about this event at an earlier post I made on Jan. 31, 2012, at this link (http://carolinaarts.com/wordpress/2012/01/31/north-carolina-pottery-center-in-seagrove-nc-offers-the-potters-palette-something-different-feb-4-2012/).

To learn more about the NC Pottery Center, check our their website at (www.NCPotteryCenter.org).

Share this article

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Fundraisers, NC Pottery, NC Pottery Center, NC Visual Arts, Pottery | Comments Off

The February 2012 Issue of Carolina Arts is Now Ready to Download

Wednesday, February 1st, 2012

The February 2012 issue of Carolina Arts is up on our website at (www.carolinaarts.com) – all 68 pages of it. We had over 84,000 downloads of the January 2011 issue – a new record.

We ask that you help us bring the news about the Carolina visual art community to others by spreading the link for the download around to your e-mail lists and posting it on your Facebook page. Once people see all that is going on in the visual art community they will spread it around to their lists and on their Facebook pages.

The link is: (http://www.carolinaarts.com/212/212carolinaarts.pdf).

If you are receiving this because you are on someone’s list, you can send us an e-mail to (info@carolinaarts.com) to be placed on our list, so you will get a notice of every new issue.

So download that PDF and dig in – it’s going to take a while to get through this issue. And, don’t forget to find a way to thank our advertisers – they make the paper possible.

Thanks – Tom and Linda Starland
Carolina Arts
843-825-3408
info@carolinaarts.com

Share this article

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Carolina Arts, NC Visual Arts, SC Visual Arts | Comments Off

North Carolina Pottery Center in Seagrove, NC, Offers The Potter’s Palette – Something Different – Feb. 4, 2012

Tuesday, January 31st, 2012

Here’s an opportunity to purchase something unique and help the NC Pottery Center at the same time. Imagine owning a painting – yes, I said painting by Mark Hewitt, Cynthia Bringle, or Vernon Owens – great potters, but not known as painters – other than painting glazes on their pots. Now that would be a conversation piece for any pottery collector at any level. If you’re the highest bidder – you might be able to brag of such a possession.

But don’t get me wrong in thinking that owning one of these paintings will just be a novelty – some of these people are very talented with a brush and canvas. As you may know – artists are talented people – many are multi-talented as you’ll see when you check out the 80 canvases being offered on the Pottery Center’s website.


Work by Mark Hewitt

Can’t be there on Feb. 4th – no worries. You can make your absentee bid online at the Pottery Center’s website, but it won’t be the same as being there during the event in the heat of the action. There’s nothing worse than learning that your silent bid was topped out by $2 – especially when you would have paid much more. So, if you can’t make it and will be making an absentee bid online – remember to bid as high as you would go to have one of these special works and that the money is going to help the NC Pottery Center keep its doors open. That’s what art auctions are all about – helping out and getting something in return – not just getting a bargain.

And if you bid against me – remember that I’m the publisher of a newspaper – like Rupert Murdoch – once I make a bid – others might as well stand down or dig very, very, deep into their pockets. We’re used to getting what we want. All I have to do is make sure I don’t come with a pair of my pants that has holes in the pockets. I wonder if Rupert has that problem?

Here’s the press release:

The North Carolina Pottery Center in Seagrove, NC, the center of pottery in North Carolina, invited NC clay artists to work outside their regular palette by creating a 12″ x 12” canvas, using any medium they desired. The response has been a wide array of creativity, which is only to be expected by the talented potters of NC. On Feb. 4, 2012, the public will have the opportunity to bid on these outstanding palettes and the opportunity to own a canvas. Truly a one-of-a-kind piece to complement any pottery collection! Many of the artists will be featured guests, and there will be several clay creations to complement the canvases available to purchase as well, making it really a one of a kind purchase. The canvases are posted on the NC Pottery Center’s website at (http://ncpotterycenter.org/canvases.html) with absentee bidding offered until Feb. 1, 2012, at 4pm.

The fun and festive event begins at 4pm on Feb. 4, 2012, with Irish tunes played by Michael Mahan, Seagrove potter, painter and musician and Phil Winn of Greensboro, NC, and includes a scrumptious buffet featuring an array of delicious hors d’oeuvres from gourmet bites to seafood and cheeses to desserts and festive beverages. An event not to be missed!


Work by Bruce Gholson

Response from the potters and the public has been hugely enthusiastic. Potters from all areas of NC have painted and the canvases are all are currently on display at the North Carolina Pottery Center. Certain themes have spontaneously emerged including birds, especially roosters, fish, cows, houses, pottery imagery as well as some abstracts and mixed media with some surprises and real gems and many have associated stories, some of which are outlined below.

Tickets are $15 per person, or $25 for a pair, and are available through the website or by calling 336/873-8430 and also a limited quantity at the door. We encourage purchase in advance.


Work by Levi Mahan

Piedmont Area Potter Painters include: Tom Suomalaine, Crystal King, Donna Craven & Susan Greene, Janice & Bruce Latham, Paula Smith, Eck & Fiva & Milly McCanless, Joseph Sand, Hal & Eleanor Pugh, Michael & Levi Mahan, Mary Holmes, Susan McGehee, Ben & LoriAnn Owen, Samantha Henneke, Bruce Gholson, Beth Gore, Chad Brown, Daniel Johnston, Kate Waltman, John Viegland, Stephanie Martin, Charlotte Wooten, Abe Fenberg, Jeff Brown, Michele Hastings, Fred Johnston, Carol Gentithes, Vernon Owens, Pam Owens, Jennie Lorette Keatts, Phillip Pollet, Alexa Modderno, Bonnie Burns, Bobbie Thomas, Scott Thomas, Tom Gray, Mary Farrell, Meredith Heywood, Ann Raven Jorgensen, Vicki Gill, and Jared Zehmer.

Charlotte Area Potter Painters Include: Andrew Linton, Caroleen Sanders, and Roy & Barbara Strassberg.


Works by Dina Wilde-Ramsing

Costal Area Potter Painters Include: Helene Icard, Dina Wilde-Ramsing, Keith Lambert, Tonda Jeffcoat, and Seo Eo.

Mountains Area Potter Painters Include: Kim Ellington, Tammy Leigh Brooks, Michelle Flowers, John Britt, Michael Kline, Terry Gess, Matt Jones, Doc Welty, Alex Matisse, Becca Floyd, Cynthia Bringle, Karen Mickler, and Kyle Carpenter.

Triangle Area Potter Painters Include: Lynn Morrow, Mark Hewitt, Daphne Cruze-Zug, Ronan Peterson, Mary Paul & John Garland, and Nancy & Dan Lovejoy.

The North Carolina Pottery Center offers educational opportunities to statewide schools and individuals, changing historical and contemporary exhibitions, demonstrations, and information about statewide potters. The NCPC is a private nonprofit entity, funded primarily through memberships, grants, admissions, and appropriations.


Work by Meredith Heywood

The Center is open, Tuesdays – Saturdays, 10am to 4pm. Admission (excluding free special events): $2 – adults, $1 – students 9th through 12th grades, Free – children through 8th grade, free – NCPC members.  Handicap accessible. Groups and tours welcomed.

For further information and details call 336/873-8430, e-mail at (info@ncpotterycenter.org) or visit (www.NCPotteryCenter.org).

Share this article

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Fundraisers, NC Pottery, NC Pottery Center, NC Visual Arts, Piedmont NC Visual Arts | Comments Off

The Potter’s Palette………..A Different Spin on Creativity and Fundraiser for the NC Pottery Center in Seagrove, NC – Feb. 4, 2012

Monday, January 16th, 2012

Seagrove, NC……And someone said that making a tile is as close to a painting as a potter can get – how wrong they were!  The NC Pottery Center presents “The Potter’s Palette”, featuring over 80 12” x 12” canvases done by prominent NC clay artists. Clay artists from around the state were invited to produce a canvas using any medium they desired to present a different expression of themselves and their talent, to be sold in a fundraiser to benefit the North Carolina Pottery Center. The results are impressive and are currently on display at the Center in Seagrove.


Painting by Daphnie Cruz Zug

This rare and unique fundraiser is the first of its kind at the NC Pottery Center. On Feb. 4, 2012, the public will have the opportunity to bid on these palettes and the opportunity to own a canvas created in a medium not used everyday by these outstanding artists. Truly a one-of-a-kind piece to complement any pottery collection! Many of the artists will be featured guests, and there will be several clay creations to complement the canvases available to purchase as well, making it really a one of a kind purchase.


Painting by Levi Mahan

The canvases are posted on the NC Pottery Center’s website (www.ncpotterycenter.org) and absentee bidding will soon be offered until Feb. 1, 2012, at 4pm, for those who can not attend this special event. The fun and festive event begins at 4pm on Feb. 4, 2012, with live musical entertainment and a delectable buffet featuring an array of delicious hors d’oeuvres from gourmet bites to seafood and cheeses to desserts and much more. Join us for this wonderful spread and a selection of beverages while you preview the collection and register to bid. The exciting auction starts at 5pm.

Participating clay artists include: Rita Abee, Colleen Black Semelka, John Britt, Tammy Leigh Brooks, Jeff Brown, Michele Hastings, Bonnie Burns, Kim Ellington, Mary Farrell, Alexa Modderno, Michelle Flowers, Becca Floyd, Mary Paul and John Garland, Terry Gess, Vicki Gill, Tom Gray, Mark Hewitt, Meredith Heywood, Helene Icard, Tonda Jeffcoat, Fred Johnston, Carol  Genthithes, Matt Jones, Jennie Lorette Keatts, Crystal King, Bruce and Janice Latham, Andrew Linton, Nancy Lovejoy, Dan Lovejoy, Mary Holmes, Michael Mahan, Eck McCanless, Milly McCanless, Fiva McCanless, Beth Gore, Karen Mickler, Lyn Morrow, Vernon Owens, Pam Owens, Ronan Kyle Peterson, Phillip Pollet, Hal and Eleanor Pugh, Joseph Sand, Caroleen Sanders, Barbara Strassberg, Tom Suomalainen, Bobbie Thomas, Doc Welty, Charlotte Wooten, Daphne Cruz Zug, Kyle Carpenter, Seo Eo, Roy Strassberg, Abe Fenberg, Susan McGehee, Levi Mahan, Ben Owen III, LoriAnn Owen, Samantha Henneke, Bruce Gholson, Daniel  Johnston, Kate Waltman, John Viegland, Alex Matisse, Donna Craven, Susan Greene, Anne Raven Jorgensen, Stephanie Martin, Michael Kline, Cynthia Bringle, and Keith Lambert.


Painting by Alexa Modderno


Painting by Pam Owens

Tickets are $15 per person, or $25 for a pair, and must be purchased in advance.

The North Carolina Pottery Center offers educational opportunities to statewide schools and individuals, changing historical and contemporary exhibitions, demonstrations, and information about statewide potters. The NCPC is a private nonprofit entity, funded primarily through memberships, grants, admissions, and appropriations. The Center is open Tuesdays – Saturdays 10am to 4pm, admission (excluding free special events): $2 – adults, $1 – students 9th through 12th grades, Free – children through 8th grade, free – NCPC members.  Handicap accessible. Groups and tours welcomed.


Painting by Dan Lovejoy


Painting by Fiva McCanless

For further information and details call 336/873-8430, e-mail to (info@ncpotterycenter.org) or visit (www.NCPotteryCenter.org).

Editor’s Note: The NC Potter Center is a great place to visit if only to learn about pottery, the history of pottery in North Carolina, what kind of pottery is being made in North Carolina today as well as the Seagrove area, but beyond that, it presents important and education exhibitions of pottery – historical and contemporary. It is also a great educational facility for the region’s school students. And because offering all that takes money – lots of money – they need the public’s help to supplement the funding they receive from local, regional, state and national sources. Whether you take part in one of the fundraisers offered, you can always make a donation – on a visit, by mail or on their website. Anything you can do will make a difference.

Share this article

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Fundraisers, NC Pottery, NC Pottery Center, NC Visual Arts, Pottery | Comments Off

Taking a Look at Marketing Techniques in the Carolinas

Thursday, January 12th, 2012

This year we’re going to take a look at how the visual art community in the Carolinas is marketing itself. We’ll start with this posting which expresses some of the problems I have to deal with on a daily basis in collecting info about the visual art community. After this we’ll go into many of these points in more detail.

I’m going to borrow a technique from comedian Jeff Foxworthy in pointing out some problems about marketing in the visual art community in the Carolinas.

This posting is not meant to embarrass anyone, but to be instructive in a humorous way. Luckily for me and others in the media these examples represent the minority not the majority, but, can often be a daily occurrence. Some of this is directed at organizations and some is for individuals.

So here we go…

You might be pretty bad at marketing when you don’t have a website, blog or Facebook page. An e-mail address that you don’t check very often isn’t going to cut it either. When you send an e-mail out, be available to respond to someone’s question about what you sent. Don’t hit send and then disappear for a week. And, don’t change your e-mail address every other year. You have to have venues where you can communicate with the public and other members of the visual art community.

You might be pretty bad at marketing when your website lists a year’s worth of exhibits for the year 2008 and it’s 2012. If you can’t keep current info on your website why have one? Once someone sees you are that far out of date – they won’t be returning to your site anytime soon. How could they trust any info they find there?

You might be pretty bad at marketing when your website list a year’s worth of exhibits – without any year given and they are from 2010. Without a year’s date no one will really know for sure when these events will take place or if they already have taken place. The year is as important as the day and month when it comes to dates.

You might be pretty bad at marketing when your website only lists the exhibit you are currently showing. If you don’t know what your next exhibit is – just a few weeks away, how can someone plan to come see your exhibits. Some people make it a big deal to tell you about past exhibits – two or three year’s worth, but don’t bother to put anything about future exhibits even the next month’s exhibit. Some people like to make plans ahead of time – not at the last minute.

You might be pretty bad at marketing when your website only lists the reception date and its hours for the exhibit you are currently showing or in the future. This says that if you can’t come to our party – we don’t want you to bother us during the run of the exhibit. Don’t worry, most people will not travel anywhere these days without knowing that what they want to see will be there – open for viewing when they arrive.

You might be pretty bad at marketing if you have to pay someone to make changes or additions to your website. Instead of learning a few key strokes you’d rather pay someone who is laughing at you all the way to the bank. The fancier a website is the more complicated it will be and the more money it will cost you – month after month, year after year. A good website gives information – not a show. If websites are too complicated – use a blog format instead – they’re mostly free and simple to operate. I’m not trying to take money away from website designers, but part of their fee should include showing you how to make updates. And it should be simple.

You might be pretty bad at marketing if you send out a press release just days before an event begins. You’re really bad when you send it out after the event has begun.

You might be pretty bad at marketing when you send your press release in all caps – hoping the person you sent it to will retype it for use. Or you decided to use several different styles of type and every other paragraph is in a different color – just so it would be noticed. Don’t worry – you got their attention. You’ll most likely go in their special file.

You might be pretty bad at marketing when you send your press release as a picture or PDF that can’t be copied easily. Did you just want them to see it or did you want them to be able to re-use it? And no media outlet is going to use that special invitation you created or poster – that would be giving you a free display ad.

You might be pretty bad at marketing when you don’t have any photos of the work you’re about to show when the media request photos. If your artists can’t provide media ready images – you need to find more organized artists to offer exhibit opportunities. And how about sending one with the press release and letting them know they can request more.

You might be pretty bad at marketing when all you can send the media is the dates, title, and a short description of the exhibit. You have no press release to offer, and you wonder why no one comes to see your exhibits. And, don’t send one publication an article written in another publication as a press release. It happens more than you would think.

You might be pretty bad at marketing when your organization changes the person in charge of doing marketing every year. It usually takes six months for someone to catch on to what it takes and how to do it right – meaning they only have six months to do what they learned before they have to learn how to be the organization’s treasurer – for a year. If you get someone who is good at PR – keep them any way you can.

You might be pretty bad at marketing when you are still sending your press releases by snail mail in 2012. And, with non-profit postage the mail person doesn’t even have to deliver them. First class postage is the only way to learn that the people you are sending mail to are still there at that address. Using first class postage is the only way to clean up your mailing list.

You might be pretty bad at marketing when your mailing list has more people on it that have died, moved away, or didn’t even want to get mail from you – than people who would actually come to your exhibits if they only knew about them. Again, use First Class stamps and take people off your list when that mail is returned.

You might be pretty bad at marketing when you say you don’t have time for marketing exhibits you are presenting. There’s no reason to have exhibits if you’re not going to market them – especially with the free opportunities you have available to you, as well as the paid opportunities.

You might be pretty bad at marketing when you don’t understand what marketing is. You’re the person who calls the local newspaper and tells them you want to change your ad – when what they give you is a free exhibit listing. The word “ad” means paid advertising.

You might be pretty bad at marketing when you contact the media and ask them – “if I bother to write a press release will they use it?” I’m sure the media is just hoping you’ll go that extra mile – make the effort – so they’ll have something to do to fill the time they have to spend at work.

You might be pretty bad at marketing when you spell the name of your featured artist three different ways in one press release. For individual artists, make sure you have the correct names of the institutions you say you have had exhibits with when you give the presenter your resume. I often wonder if people are not just making things up when they get those names wrong.

You might be pretty bad at marketing when you send an e-mail to the media and don’t put your name in the e-mail. Identify who you’re with or give a clue to the person you sent it to as to who they would get back with if they had a question. Give your name on all e-mails and for whom you are sending it. It’s also a good idea to make sure you include a telephone number – sometimes people may be working on deadlines and decide to call for clarification of some of your information.

I could go on, if I devoted more time to this or just waited for tomorrow’s mail and e-mail to arrive, but I think you get the point or at least I hope you do. But there is one more:

You might be pretty bad at marketing if you’ve gotten angry reading this instead of learning from it. You might not be the person who should be doing marketing. Remember, the media doesn’t have to include what you’ve sent them – they’re getting press releases from a lot of sources other than you. And they have limited space these days.

So where do you fit in?

Look, I’m not saying we’re perfect at marketing ourselves – we’re not. I’m just trying to help people get better at what they send out as PR.

I myself often send reply e-mails looking for further info that was in the e-mail I received, but just missed it as I scanned through it. We’re getting a lot of them all the time so there is not a lot of time to read through each one as we receive them. I’d spend all day reading e-mails and getting nothing else done. I’ve also helped a few folks correct some big mistakes they have made in their PR. After 25 years I’ve read a lot of press releases – the good the bad and the ugly.

I’m always happy and ready to talk to anyone who wants to know what info we need, how we would like to get it and when we would like to receive it. That time spent will just make my life better down the road. I’m all for making my life better, but these suggestions will make everyone’s life better – the media, the sender, and the reader.

We have a whole section on our website (www.carolinaarts.com) called “How the Paper Works” that explains how to get yourself included in Carolina Arts. We even give an example of how to write a press release.

Share this article

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Marketing, NC Visual Arts, SC Visual Arts | Comments Off

Tracking the Numbers for the December 2011 Issue of Carolina Arts

Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012

This will be my last report on the download numbers each month other than a mention in my commentary in the paper. It’s taken time to keep up with the stats and it’s a bit of a distraction from other things. The last year has been a roller coaster from the 8,929 downloads we got with our first electronic issue in Jan. 2011 to the 83,826 downloads we received from the Dec. 2011 issue – another record month.

We had 569,581 downloads of each monthly issue during the month it was launched. That’s not the total number of downloads during the year as people kept downloading copies of various month’s issues – long after that month had passed. Like in December, 199 people downloaded that Jan. 2011 issue to take a look. That’s one of the great things about being an electronic paper. Old issues are available on our website so that anyone who discovers our paper can look at back issues – in total, the same way everyone saw them when they were first launched. Since 1999 we’ve made the articles form old issues available for viewing, but it wasn’t until Aug. of 2004 that the entire issue could be seen – articles, photos and ads. If you check it out you’ll see our website has a ton of stuff archived there.

Last year we had one outstanding issue that seemed to attract a lot of viewers or at least a few who were willing to promote it month after month. This would be our “cult” issue – March 2011. During the month of March it attracted 45,298 downloads – more than the months of April, July, and September, but each month after March it still kept attracting a lot of downloads for an issue which had been long over. The Mar. 2011 issue received 5,151 downloads in December 2011. The March issue received more downloads than our Jan. 2011 issue did during the months of May, June, Sept., Oct. and Nov. By the Summer, I was suspecting that some one or a group of folks were doing something to boast the March numbers. They were so out of wack with the other numbers for previous issues. Something unusual had to be going on.

For the first time I’m admitting that I started under-reporting the March download numbers to see what would happen, hoping someone would contact us and complain, but they just kept coming. In total the March 2011 issue of Carolina Arts has attracted 129,727 downloads – that’s 84,429 after the month of March. It’s amazing and a mystery as to what’s going on. Whatever is going on, it’s good for everyone who was in that March 2011 issue as they are getting a lot of exposure – over and over again.

Of course nothing is as puzzling as the case of the “other” category in our stats. The good folks at our server tell us that this number could represent more downloads of the paper, but they can’t tell for sure because they are coming to our site from un-trackable sources. I’m like – what? For many months last year we had more “other” counts than downloads of the main issue. It’s very frustrating not knowing what these numbers represent but in the last two months our downloads of the main issues have been out pacing the “other” numbers. It’s very strange. But then, isn’t everything about the Internet strange.

The Numbers

It’s worth repeating that the Dec. 2011 issue of Carolina Arts received 83,826 downloads. Coming in at the number two spot was the “other” with 59,005 and of course in third place was the March 2011 with 5,151 downloads.

In fourth place this month was our Aug. 2011 issue with 1,844 downloads. Then it was Nov. 2011 with 633, July 2011 with 298, Jan. 2011 with 199, June 2011 with 170, and Feb. 2011 with 97 downloads. The April, May, Sept. and Oct. issues were somewhere below the top 200 categories on our stats list – which includes 10,001 categories on our website. The stats only track 10,001 items. We have well over 30,000 items on our website.

The website set another record for visits with 99,268 sessions in Dec., giving us an average of 3,202 visits a day and one of those days our server had to reboot their system and we got no stats for that day. If they hadn’t done that we would have gone over the 100,000 mark.

Way back in college I was studying to be an accountant. My mother was a bookkeeper and she wanted her son to be an accountant – the big bean counter, but by my fourth year I got the idea that I wanted to be a photographer. Those years counting numbers have paid off over the years but I still find number counting to be more boring than interesting. Numbers can tell you things, but at some point I always find something else more interesting. And, there were many times during this last year that I had wished I had never started tracking these numbers. And, a year is enough for me.

When it comes down to the bottom line – we’ve got a lot more viewers of Carolina Arts than we did when we were printing only 10,000 copies of the paper which in its last years was just 24 – 36 pages, covering parts of the Carolinas and back to black and white copy. The paper now is in full color with 50 – 70 pages, covering all areas of the Carolinas we hear from by deadline, and is available at the click of your return key on your computer, tablet or smart phone. What’s not great about that?

If for some reason you haven’t downloaded a copy of our Jan. 2012 issue of Carolina Arts or any of the other issues from 2011, you can do that at (www.carolinaarts.com) or just hit (http://www.carolinaarts.com/112/112carolinaarts.pdf) to download the Jan. 2012 issue.

And, many thanks to those good folks who are sending the link to download Carolina Arts each month out to their e-mail lists after we launch it each month. It’s these people who are helping bring new viewers to our paper. The numbers we are seeing wouldn’t be anywhere close to what they have been without them. It takes a village to deliver a paper and we thank our village members.

Let’s all have a prosperous and happy new year.

Share this article

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Carolina Arts, NC Visual Arts, SC Visual Arts | Comments Off

The January 2012 Issue of Carolina Arts is Now Ready to Download

Sunday, January 1st, 2012

The January 2012 issue of Carolina Arts is up on our website at (www.carolinaarts.com) – all 61 pages of it. We had over 82,000 downloads of the December 2011 issue – a new record.

We ask that you help us bring the news about the Carolina visual art community to others by spreading the link for the download around to your e-mail lists and posting it on your Facebook page. Once people see all that is going on in the visual art community they will spread it around to their lists and on their Facebook pages.

The link is: (http://www.carolinaarts.com/112/112carolinaarts.pdf).
If you are receiving this because you are on someone’s list, you can send us an e-mail to (info@carolinaarts.com) to be placed on our list, so you will get a notice of every new issue.
So download that PDF and dig in – it’s going to take a while to get through this issue. And, don’t forget to find a way to thank our advertisers – they make the paper possible.
Thanks – Tom and Linda Starland
Carolina Arts
843-825-3408
info@carolinaarts.com

Share this article

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Carolina Arts, NC Visual Arts, SC Visual Arts | Comments Off

On the First Day of Winter My Christmas Fruitcake Arrived in the Mail – Oh the Joy!

Thursday, December 22nd, 2011

So, it’s 6:30am and I wake up. Linda has already gone to her 911 dispatch job and there’s no covers on me and it’s a little cool. It only got down in the 50′s overnight so it was a little warm for covers. It’s the first day of Winter, Dec. 21, 2011, and the Amazon weather gal on The Weather Channel – Stephanie Abrams says it’s going to be around 77 degrees in our area today and 80 tomorrow. That’s Winter?

This weather reminds me of my first year in Charleston or more exact, North Charleston, SC. It was 75 degrees on Christmas and on New Years day I went to Folly Beach and got a sunburn. I called my parents back in Michigan and it was 20 below with blowing snow. That was my first Winter in the South in 1974. The next year at the same time we had some of the coldest, damp weather I’ve experienced. That’s Winter in the South. It’s all relative. When you have months of 95 degrees + in the Summer, 30 degrees can seem very cold. And, it’s always the humidity that makes the difference.

So when I first went on Facebook to check things out, I posted a picture of an 8 inch snowfall we had a couple years back and asked Mama Nature – what’s up? Don’t get me wrong, I’m loving it, if not just for the fact that the heater isn’t running all day and I don’t need air conditioning.

About noon, it’s time to make the mail run and if there are some checks in the mail – a run into town to the bank. I also wanted to make a run to the trash site to take some garbage and some papers and plastic to recycle. When I opened our drawer at the local post office there’s one of those slips to let you know you have a package inside. My first thought is – what did Linda or our son Andrew order online now, and then I think it’s almost Christmas – who sent us something in the mail.

When I exchange the slip for a box with the Postmaster I see that it’s from Whynot Pottery in Seagrove, NC. My mind is racing between the notion that it’s a piece of potter or fruitcake that Meredith Heywood made. Either one would be great, but I’ve been jonesin’ for fruitcake lately.

I can’t explain why all of a sudden in the last two years that when Christmas time has come around I’ve had fruitcake on my mind. It had been almost 20 years since I’ve had real good fruitcake. For awhile everyone was making fun of fruitcake – so much so that people stopped giving them as gifts or if they still did – kept it on the down low. Too bad, a good fruitcake is heaven in your mouth and in your teeth for days.

The kind of fruitcakes I grew up on were heavy on the candied fruit and highlighted with a little booze. Linda’s mother made an 80 proof fruitcake that fermented for six months. There was a two slice limit on those cakes and no driving after three. We had a friend back in our photography days who’s wife made a killer fruitcake, but when the shipyard in North Charleston closed they moved away.

So with that box in hand I jumped in the car and drove home. Once I pulled into the yard I realized that I forgot to go to the trash site. So I put the box in the house and went back to finish my duties. When I finally got home I went straight to the box and opened it and there was a little pottery Christmas ornament and a shiny gold box. The box said it was from Southern Supreme – Old Fashioned Nutty Fruitcake. This was the company Meredith and a few other potters from Seagrove had told me about the first time I mentioned my desire for fruitcake a few weeks ago on Facebook.

The box said it was 8 oz. but it felt like 2 or 3 pounds. This was going to be good fruitcake – far from the mistake I made in thinking I might get something acceptable at Wal-Mart. What was I thinking? It was the fruitcake fever that made me do it.

In a note in the box Meredith said that this was probably more nuts than fruit and the box says that this was “More Nuts than Fruit….Fruitcake”. Opening the box it looked real good too as you can see from the picture. Also in the note Meredith said her husband Mark called this a single serving, which was kind of funny.

Around here, when it comes to slicing pie or cake or dishing out ice cream, Linda always ask if someone wants a “Starland” size portion or a normal portion. I guess my family has a habit of making big portions when it comes to desert. Our family was big so you took a big portion knowing there might not be any left over for seconds.

It took a lot of will power and a public posting on Facebook announcing that I had received a fruitcake in the mail to keep me from opening that packaging and putting a little bit of heaven in my mouth before Linda got home. A lot of will power.

Linda finally got home around 8pm and we had dinner and then I brought out the box. We took a picture first and then had at it.

Linda was reading the back label which said that it was a 100 calories per serving, not bad if you overlooked the fact that this 8oz. cake has 11 servings. That’s 1,100 calories total. Fairly soon Linda remarks that she can’t believe I’m still eating it – almost half-way through. I reply – I can’t seem to stop, but I do. And, before long I felt like I had a brick or two in my stomach. It was sooooo good, but oh my! I think I’ll try and save the other half for Christmas day. At least that’s the plan.

Southern Supreme Fruitcakes are homemade by the Scott family in Bear Creek, NC, which is on NC Hwy. 902 which runs between Seagrove and Pittsboro, NC. They have a website at (www.southernsupreme.com) where you can make an order. Their photo number is 336/581-3141.

This fruitcake is not Yankee fruitcake, but it’s damn Yankee good. And, you’all know what a damn Yankee is – one that comes South and stays. I know something about that.

I can’t say enough about how appreciative I am to Mark and Meredith Heywood for thinking of me and Linda and my recent craving for fruitcake during the holidays. They’re a couple of the great friends we have made in Seagrove – the center of pottery in North Carolina. They didn’t do this to generate this kind of response, but no good deed and fruitcake in the mail goes unrewarded.

Mark and Meredith Heywood operate Whynot Pottery, located at 1013 Fork Creek Mill Road in Seagrove. You can check out their pottery on their website at (www.whynotpottery.com); follow Meredith on her blog at (http://whynotpotteryblog.blogspot.com/); and you can check out the items they have for sale on Etsy at (http://www.etsy.com/shop/whynotpottery?ref=badge). But the best thing is to make a trip to Seagrove and visit their pottery, but call first to make sure they are there this time of year. Of course they are also on Facebook at Whynot Pottery.

Mark and Meredith are going to celebrate their 30th anniversary of operating Whynot Pottery in October of 2012. Marking our own 25th anniversary this year, we know what that means – a lot of blood, sweat and tears down the road and good times too.

Today is also Meredith’s birthday. Happy birthday my friend. We’re a better world with folks like you.

P.S. I want you to know that I’m still holding you to the promise of pineapple upsidedown cake. I know – give you a few days warning before I visit. You can count on that.

Share this article

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in About Seagrove Pottery, NC Pottery, NC Visual Arts, Seagrove Pottery | Comments Off

Tracking the Numbers for the First Ten Days of the Dec. 2011 Issue of Carolina Arts

Monday, December 12th, 2011

Well, it seems we are still riding the top of a pretty good wave this month. The total downloads of the Dec. 2011 issue of Carolina Arts for the first ten days in December is 78,221 – that’s about 7,000 more than last month at this time. I continue to be amazed.

Although it has been a year since the last time I had to hit the road to deliver papers around the Carolinas, I think I could still do it, but I think I’d be in the hospital or still on the road if I had to deliver 78,000 papers. That’s like delivering seven months worth of papers in ten days compared to the old days. Of course this new paper would also be at least three time bigger. Oh my achin’ back!

I can only assume we will be setting new records this month, although it is possible it could be all down hill from now on as most of the monthly downloads come in those first ten days – with a few exceptions. I would expect that by the Friday before Christmas all activity on our website will come to a standstill. And, between Christmas and the New Year – not much will go on either.

As far as the other numbers go, the (other) is in second place with a total of 20,087 – also a little more than in Nov. at this time. In third place is our August 2011 issue with 1,829 and in fourth is – you got it – our March 2011 issue with 1,781. But when I looked at the numbers for Dec. 11th – they had traded places. That March issue is a wonder.

The standings really drop after that. In fifth place was our July 2011 issue with 211 downloads. Following behind was January 2011 with 143; June 2011 with 98; and February 2011 with 27. All other months were below the 200 item number on our stats counter.

Just remember, family and friends come first during the holidays, and we hope you have good ones, but once the excitement is all over – it’s OK to get back to your internet searches.

And, Santa if you’re reading this – all I want for Christmas is more advertisers, more downloads, more “likes” on Facebook, and more customers for the arts. That’s all I want. But, if you like, you can throw in Peace on Earth, good health and happiness for all, and a Democratic landslide in the next election. And, one final thing, let the Carolina Panthers beat the New Orleans Saints on New Years Day – big time. That’s absolutely all I’m asking for this year. Wait, if you could see it to bring gas prices back down to 99 cents a gallon that would be good too. That’s it. I can wait till next year for you to take care of all my debt if you’re in a hurry to get to someone else.

P.S. Santa, Linda and I are trying to cut back on all the goodies this year so there won’t be any cookies this year and without cookies I’m not sure if the milk will be worth leaving out. Besides last year you forgot to clean up the crumbs and there were ants in the morning. We’re not complaining, it’s just if you leave crumbs out – how can you blame the ants. They’ve got to eat too I guess. And, FYI, you do remember Bonneau Beach has a pooper scooper law in place, that was a heck of a surprise you left on the roof last year. I’m just saying.

Share this article

Tags: , ,
Posted in Carolina Arts, NC Visual Arts, SC Visual Arts | Comments Off

« Older Entries