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February Issue 2004
Louise Wells Cameron Art Museum in Wilmington, NC, Features Works of Potter Artistry Ben Owen III
The
name "Ben Owen" is synonymous with pottery in North
Carolina, and the artist representing the third generation of
that family's craft tradition is being acknowledged with one of
the state's highest honors for creative excellence, as well as
an exhibition of recently-produced work. Potter Ben Owen III,
of Seagrove, NC, has been named the 2004 North Carolina Living
Treasure by the University of North Carolina at Wilmington,
and the exhibition A Natural Influence: New Works by Ben Owen
III will open to the public Feb. 5, at the Louise Wells Cameron
Art Museum in Wilmington, NC. The exhibition continues through
May 2, 2004.
"I am honored and flattered that I was selected for this distinction in North Carolina," said Owen. "We have such a great state and many wonderful artists that make it so unique. I am fortunate to have come from such a creative family and a family of potters in Seagrove. The preservation of talents in North Carolina is a vital part of our society. Most importantly, the support from the people of this state has made it possible for artists like me to pursue our creative endeavors in life."
Owen premiers new work in his first solo museum exhibition, A Natural Influence: New Works by Ben Owen III. Thirty objects showcase his recent explorations in clay inspired by forms of nature. Owen incises the surface of his vessels, echoing a lapping wave or rippling sand ridge. Colors and textures of the natural world he reinterprets in such rich surfaces as salt, ash, mirror black or Chinese red glazes.
Ben Owen III continues a pottery tradition in clay that dates back to Colonial America and beyond. The Owen family came to Moore County, NC, from England as early as 1756 in search of clay to produce their utilitarian wares for the early settlers. After working under the guidance of Jacques and Juliana Busbee at Jugtown for 36 years, Ben Owen Sr. opened a shop at his home in 1959 where he stamped his pots "Ben Owen Master Potter," the title he earned in 1928, at the Dogwood Festival. Ben Owen was a great admirer of the early "Oriental Masters" and was greatly influenced by their work, which he studied in museums while working at Jugtown. He refined the utilitarian shapes of his forefathers into more artistic lines and forms. The pottery was finished in many glazes such as bright Orange, Opaque White, Frogskin, Mirror Black and Chinese Blue.
B. Wade Owen, Jr. helped his father at Jugtown and Ben Owen Pottery, glazing, firing kilns and throwing pots. In 1981, he reopened his father's pottery because of a growing interest by his son, Ben III, in making pots. Greeting the public was his specialty, educating them on the history of the community potters. Wade was the master of firing pottery in the groundhog kilns.
Ben Owen III, born Sept. 13, 1968, spent after-school hours and summers with his grandfather. He became interested in trying his skill with clay and, at 12 years old, he decided to seek a career in pottery, hoping to become a "Master Potter". His grandfather was amazed at his diligence and success and was very pleased that he wanted to carry on the craft. After working with his grandfather and finishing high school, Owen III received an assistantship in 1987 to teach pottery at Pfeiffer University as well as study business. In 1989, he decided to pursue further interests in the arts by attending East Carolina University. His studies at ECU created a different facet to his work. Research in form and color began to influence his unique evolving style as a potter. In 1993, Owen III earned his BFA in Ceramics and garnered the outstanding student awards in both the Ceramic Department and the School of Art. He returned home to Seagrove where his interest in clay was born.
In the new century, Owen III and his wife LoriAnn operate the business and enjoy their daughters, Avery and Juliana. There are many influences in the pottery being made today. Many shapes and colors created by Owen Sr. are still being produced. The same Asian influences that guided Owen Sr.'s work are evident in Owen Ill's wares also. In the summer of 1995, he traveled to Japan to be part of a ceramic workshop in Tokoname. This sharing and teaching experience offered much time to research the same influences that Owen Sr. studied as a young potter. Owen III is inspired and influenced by the art of other cultures. Many recent influences in his work come from objects in nature. From the coast of North Carolina, to things found around his studio, to a garden at home inspire him in creating pots with a natural influence.
The North Carolina Living Treasure is a project of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington's Museum of World Cultures administered by Randall Library. It is one of the highest honors given by the state to honor creative excellence.
The 2004 North Carolina Living Treasure Award is given to potter Ben Owen III in recognition of his contributions as an artist and artisan of the first order. He also is recognized for preserving artistic traditions; promoting art as a viable economic industry; and representing the best of traditional arts throughout the state of North Carolina.
Previous recipients include the following: 1987 - Julian Guthrie (boatwright), 1988 - Thayer Francie (marquetarian - marquetry involves shaving layers of veneer from domestic and exotic woods), 1989 - Sid Oakley (potter), 1990 - Bea Hensley (master blacksmith), 1991 - Robert and Ruth Ann Rigaud (husband and wife team of musical instrument builders), 1992 - John Braxton (master gunsmith), 1993 - Harvey K. Littleton (pioneer artist in the studio glass movement), 1994 - Sidney Luck - (traditional potter), 1995 - Arval Woody (fifth-generation chair maker), 1997 - Billie Ruth Sudduth (basket weaver), and 2004 - Ben Owen III (potter).
Also, on view at the Museum is the exhibition, Artists of Southeastern North Carolina: A Juried Exhibition, which will run simultaneously in the museum's Featured Exhibition Wing from Feb. 6 through May 2, 2004.
The exhibition includes works by artists who currently reside in one of the eight counties including New Hanover, Pender, Brunswick, Onslow, Columbus, Bladen, Sampson and Duplin. Jurors for this year's exhibition were Melissa Post, Curator, Mint Museum of Craft + Design, Charlotte, NC and Brad Thomas, Director, Van Every/Smith Galleries, Davidson College, Davidson, NC.
For further infromation
check our NC Institutional Gallery listings, call the Museum at
910/395-5999 or on the web at (www.cameronartmuseum.com).The Ben
Owen Pottery website, at (www.benowenpottery.com) is full of information
on the history of the Owen family and its many connections to
clay. The site also displays examples of current work, and announcements
of special events.
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