Well, it’s been another year that has come and gone and that chain of regrets you carry throughout your life is getting longer and longer. Each time I make one of these reports about my trip to Seagrove, NC, to attend one of the Celebration of Seagrove Potters events you say, “I think I’m going to go check out that Seagrove community and see if it’s everything Tom makes it out to be.” But, you never go and here you are reading about another trip I’ve made and you still haven’t gone yet. Seagrove isn’t like the Scottish legend of the village of Brigadoon, which rises out of the Scottish mist only once every 100 years – it’s there every day, of every year – just waiting for you to discover it.
So, with this report, I’ve come to warn you that on the evening you go to bed after reading this post you’ll be visited by the three spirits of Seagrove, first the spirt of opportunity, then the spirt of generosity, and finally the spirit of no regrets. They will guide you on your journey showing you how you always have the opportunity to visit Seagrove, it’s centrally located in the middle of North Carolina, right next door to South Carolina; once there, you’ll find the largest selection of hand-made works of art at reasonable prices – plus one of a kind treasures that can make any art collection the envy of museums nation-wide; and finally after once making that trip to Seagrove, you’ll break away from your chain of regrets – at least when it comes to visiting Seagrove. I can’t be held responsible for your other regrets. Yes, you know who I’m talking about – you should have gone to the prom with me – not that jerk you went with.
And, if you happen to be reading this on a Friday, you’ll be waking up Saturday morning to find that the three spirits have done their magic all in one night and you haven’t missed a thing – you’ll have the whole weekend to shop to your heart’s delight in Seagrove – the Pottery Capital of America. And, for the rest of your life you’ll always know that there is a special place where you can go – any time – to find just what you need or always wanted. You can also find that special gift for a friend, co-worker or loved one. You’ll now carry the Spirit of Seagrove with you and will spread it to others, for all your days. And, although Gene Kelly will never sing a song about Seagrove, it won’t matter as you’ll always have your pottery.
That’s the Seagrove Carol.
In my story, it’s been over three years since my last visit to the Celebration of Seagrove Potters which took place on the weekend of Nov. 22 – 24, 2019. It was their 12th Celebration. Why had it been so long for me to get back there – well, it was the Troubles (not like the Troubles in Northern Ireland, but my war on cancer). I’d say I won that war, but you can never say that, but I’m kicking its ass and it will be no trouble to me – evermore.
So Linda, my better half, and I headed to Asheboro, NC, for a stay at the Fairfield Inn on Friday, where we were joined by our Godchild Emma (who is now 34 – she says we’re Godparents for life) so we could attend the Friday night preview event. We were all looking forward to being back, as part of the big Celebration. She first discover Seagrove on a trip with us about 4 years ago. She made her first purchase Friday – but don’t tell anyone it’s a Christmas present.
A few things had changed since my last visit, the historic Lucks Cannery, was now the Luck Comer Lail Event Center. The live auction was now an online auction, opening up the opportunity for bidding to many more folks. The live auction had become an event where people were looking for bargains instead of remembering that fundraisers are things where people give more – not take advantage. And, I’m three years older. But a lot had stayed the same: talking with old friends, discovering new pots – calling out to me, “Take me home!”, the fact that I eat more deserts than the food I should, and that the rest rooms are a hike away.
I myself, first learned about Seagrove about 13 years ago when the Seagrove potters were having their own Troubles. You see, Seagrove has been having a pottery festival for a long time, in fact this year’s was the 38th annual Seagrove Pottery Festival. But somewhere about 13 years ago the people who ran that festival wanted to make it bigger by letting in potters from other areas. Some Seagrove potters wanted to keep the festival just for Seagrove potters. So there was a big brew-ha ha about it and you know where there is trouble someone always tries to get me in the middle of it and I did (as usual) and I sided with the Seagrove potters and since then Carolina Arts tries to do everything it can to promote the Celebration. I don’t hide the fact that there is another festival taking place in the same little town during the same weekend – but they never send me info about it – until this year. I guess they didn’t like me siding with one group over the other – It only took them 13 years to come around. Besides I could never see the harm to the original festival having another festival take place at the same time that promoted people to come to Seagrove. It’s not like they’re not going to find out about the other festival – unless they were deaf, dumb and blind.
And, I started delivering papers to Seagrove, back when we did that kind of stuff. I miss those monthly trips. But everything turned out OK in the end. I’ve always liked pottery, but I guess I just fell in love with Seagrove. And, even though Seagrove is a small town, it has some pretty enterprising folks who project its image bigger than some big cities.
From here on, I’m going to let the photos I took tell the rest of the story, with a few words from me. Well, maybe more than a few words depending on the photo.
This was where people checked in.
A tile from Acacia Art Tile by Meredith Heywood, also of Whynot Pottery.
More tiles from Acacia Art Tile
Works by Ben Owen III. I took this shot as Linda loves purple.
Of course this red color is what most people think of when they think pottery by Ben Owen III, but I’m sure like a band who is tired of playing their old hits, Ben wants you to see his new works.
A man-sized pot by Ben Owen III. I left this arm in so you could judge the size.
It looks better without the arm.
Here’s a work by Bruce Gholson of Bulldog Pottery.
Group of works from Bulldog Pottery.
A wall piece by Samantha Henneke of Bulldog Pottery.
Group of works by Eck McCanless. The style is called agateware, which is made by turning several different colors of clay at one time. Colors are off because of strange lighting.
A view at the bottom of one of Eck McCanless’ works.
Some works from JLK Jewelry at Jugtown Pottery made by Jennie Lorette Keatts. If I loose track of Linda I can always check here.
Here’s my favorite from JLK Jewelry at Jugtown Pottery.
Here’s some works from Johnston & Gentithes Art Pottery.
Group of works by Kate Johnston.
Here’s another photo of what I referred to as big woman pots by Kate Johnston. It’s funny that the two women who make big pots in Seagrove are made by what might be considered small women. The other is Donna Craven. They may seem small, but they both throw big clay.
Group of works by Levi Mahan, son of Michael Mahan whose work you’ll see a little further down the post.
Two face jugs by McKay Pottery. Face jugs are a long time tradition in the pottery world. They were made to keep children away from what was kept inside – shine. These faces would keep me away.
More works from McKay Pottery. Linda bought some normal looking pottery from them, but don’t tell anyone – they’re going to be gifts.
A group of works by From the Ground Up pottery, made by Michael Mahan. It was his Birthday.
This jug by Michael Mahan shows the beauty of traditional pottery.
This Soul Pot by Michael Mahan is the newest addition to our pottery collection. A Soul Pot is meant to be placed so that people who visit your home can pick it up. It is designed to absorb and release positive energies of love and kindness. But in our house it is placed well above the Grand Boys’ reach.
Group of works by Nicholas Havner. These works were new to me. I can’t imagine I’ve missed them before. They were amazing. there is no light or candle inside them – they just glow on their own. Future collection purchase for sure.
The photo just doesn’t do them justice.
These two works are by Frank Neef.
Santa, if you’re watching – I want this on my wall for Christmas. Another work by Frank Neef.
These works are by Ray Pottery. We added one of their works to our collection the last time we visited the Celebration. It took some time to get this photo as people just couldn’t keep away from these works. Like me, many people are drawn to the red color in pottery, but they had some great looking blues too. I just ran out of time to get the photo. Customers come first.
These works are from Seagrove Art pottery. Who I also think might be a new pottery in Seagrove, but not sure.
This work is from Studio Touya, Seagrove’s resident, native Japanese potters, Hitomi and Takuro Shibata. I call this the cat pot, but I’m sure that’s not what it is. They make a lot of tradition pieces, but they also make pots of unusual shapes – they are beautiful.
Here’s more from Studio Touya.
And last but far from least, we have works from Whynot Pottery by Mark and Meredith Heywood. We have just this one photo of their regular works because we spent more time talking there. We have the most of their works in our collection of Seagrove pottery. They sent me the best fruit cake for Christmas one year and I’m still holding out for that pineapple upside down cake – that all I have to do to get it is announce my coming to Seagrove ahead of time. And, I’m going to do just that one day, but I’m n no hurry, Seagrove and I are not going anywhere soon. And, unlike Brigadoon, you don’t have to wait 100 years to find it.
In closing, I’ve seen more people at the Friday night gala, where bidding during the live auction took some people higher than they had hoped to own that one special piece that no one else would own, but I’m sure the crowd’s applause as the auctioneer yelled – “Sold!” made up for the difference in cost. The deserts were crazy good. And, I was so distracted in talking with folks, checking out pottery, and eating another desert that I forgot to take photos. Change is inevitable and I can’t blame the folks in Seagrove for making changes – always trying to make things better for the Seagrove potters and those who support them by buying their pottery.
Saturday was packed as usual. Even on a cold rainy day. And, lots of wrapped up pottery was leaving the building. I made two wet trips to our car’s trunk myself. Our pottery collection has a new member and I can’t wait to go back next year. And, if for some reason I can’t make it for the Celebration, there are always other opportunities, which you’ll find by visiting (https://discoverseagrove.com/). And, I’ll have no regrets as I’ve been there many times. We had to leave early Saturday to get back home as Sunday, Nov. 24th, was our deadline day for our Dec. issue.
One last thing, I want to thank my Seagrove Guardian Angel, Mary Holmes, who always takes care of my needs. I don’t know what I’d do without her. She doesn’t make pottery, but she makes things happen.