| For more information about this article or gallery, please call the gallery phone number listed in the last line of the article, "For more info..." |
October Issue 2006
North Carolina Museum of Natural Science in Raleigh, NC, Features Works by Bruce Gholson and Samantha Henneke
The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences' Nature Art Gallery welcomes the return of Seagrove, NC, potters Bruce Gholson and Samantha Henneke, also known as Bulldog Pottery, in a show that begins on Oct. 6 and runs through Nov. 26, 2006.
Bulldog Pottery (so-named for the couple's two American Bulldogs that share their home and studio) made a powerful impression on visitors when they were at the Museum two years ago. "Bulldog Pottery's 2004 show was one of our most successful and popular shows and our customers have been asking ever since when they will be back," said Gallery Curator Karen Bethune. "We're delighted that both potters have an avid interest in science and nature which is reflected in their work, making for a perfect fit for the Museum and the Nature Art Gallery."
Since their last show, Gholson and Henneke have become more skilled and their work is in greater demand than ever before, attracting the attention of collectors and the media. They're known and admired for their nature-themed functional platters, vases and bowls, as well as their unique large three dimensional picture boxes that are made to be hung on a wall. They also specialize in elegant porcelain forms and extensive glaze development. Not surprisingly, theirs is a collaborative working relationship where they brainstorm with one another about forming techniques and glazes while playing off each other's intuitions.
Gholson and Henneke moved to Seagrove in 1997, founding Bulldog Pottery shortly after. Prior to transplanting to Seagrove, they both received degrees from the prestigious New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. Gholson received his MFA in 1997 and Henneke received her BFA in 1995.
Known for having a culture of pottery, Seagrove attracts many potters who find refuge in a community of other potters and consequently make this area of the Piedmont region their ultimate home. "Because of the long standing tradition of pottery in that area and the quality of the clay many potters visit and never leave," said Bethune. "It's pretty cool that these potters are able to find inspiration from the strong heritage of Seagrove and can immediately become a part of history because they are potters."
Using an eclectic mix of form, imagery, texture
and pattern, Bulldog Pottery's work was recently featured in Our
State Magazine's July issue in an article on Seagrove potteries
called Feats of Clay, by Eden Foster. In her book, The
Remarkable Potters of Seagrove: The Folk Pottery of a Legendary
North Carolina Community, Charlotte Brown, director of the
Gallery of Art and Design at North Carolina State University makes
a keen observation about the re-located pair. "Their aesthetic
is contemporary, American and personal and they are captivated
by their adopted home place. They find inspiration for their work
in the landscape, in arrowheads they find by the hundreds, in
the insects that swarm in summer months, and in the imagined fossils
of this verdant land."
For more information check our NC Institutional Gallery listings,
call the gallery at 919/733-7450 or at (www.naturalsciences.org).
Carolina Arts is published monthly by Shoestring Publishing
Company, a subsidiary of PSMG, Inc.
Copyright© 2006 by PSMG, Inc., which published Charleston
Arts from July 1987 - Dec. 1994 and South Carolina Arts
from Jan. 1995 - Dec. 1996. It also publishes Carolina Arts
Online, Copyright© 2006 by PSMG, Inc. All rights reserved
by PSMG, Inc. or by the authors of articles. Reproduction or use
without written permission is strictly prohibited. Carolina
Arts is available throughout North & South Carolina.