THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 2, 1995 TAG: 9506300062
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TERESA ANNAS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 94 lines
JUST SOUTH of Greensboro, in the tiny Tar Heel town of Seagrove, a kind of potter's field has grown up.
Generations back, ceramicists from Staffordshire, England, came to America and settled in this region, where clay could be found and where the climate suited the work. The English style was adapted over time, and new shapes and forms were made to accommodate the needs of the new world.
The Seagrove potters are still at it.
Seven are slated for demonstrations and a sale at Norfolk's Hermitage Foundation Museum on Saturday and next Sunday. The ceramicists are Norfolk natives Meredith and Mark Heywood of Whynot Pottery, John Mellage and Beth Gore of Cady Clay Works, Laura Dixon and Drew Krouse of LDDK Studios, and David Stuempfle.
Their reputations extend beyond their region. LDDK Studios recently completed an enormous clay mural for New York's Penn Station.
Time has brought change to the Seagrove potters. Nowadays, most of them send off for their clay, rather than spending countless hours and effort digging up the clay, then drying, cleaning and processing it.
In the age of technology, an enclave of potteries would not be expected to thrive. Not so in Seagrove.
``When we opened in 1982, there were nine pottery shops,'' said Meredith Heywood. ``Now, there are something like 70.''
The Heywoods moved to Meredith's grandparents' farmhouse in the nearby hamlet of Whynot in 1976.
They weren't potters when they arrived. Mark was a furniture manufacturer. Meredith was at home taking care of their two kids, plus the goats, sheep, rabbits and a garden.
All it took to hook them was a few years of hanging out with ceramicists.
The interest was piqued in Meredith from age 8, when she remembers meeting potters at her grandmother's farm in the summer.
Soon after the Heywoods moved into the farmhouse, they befriended a clay-crazed couple. Agnes and John Winthrop talked excitedly about their craft, and convinced Mark that if he could make furniture, he could throw pots.
One thing led to another. Jugtown, a well-known pottery founded in the 1920s, loaned the Heywoods a pottery wheel and some clay.
The Heywoods set up a makeshift studio in their basement. Then they enrolled in classes at a local community college. Encouraged by pottery pals along the way, the couple gradually developed their new hobby into a family business.
By now, Whynot Pottery has crawled out of the basement and onto the sprawling rural estate. The couple, now in their early 40s, have built several structures on their property for various processes - glazing, firing, wheel-throwing. There's even a separate sales shop.
``We do functional pottery,'' Meredith said. ``We like the fact that what we make can be used every day.''
In their designs, ``we walk a line between the traditional and the contemporary potters in the area.''
In Seagrove, ``there have been potters here for more than 200 years,'' she said. Usually, the potteries are kept in the families. Among the well-known names are Cole, Owen and Auman.
In each of the families ``shapes have been passed down from generation to generation. There is a tradition.''
The Owen family is a good example. The grandson of Benjamin Wade Owen, one of the first Jugtown potters, was exhibited earlier this year at The Chrysler Museum of Art. Mark Clark, the museum's curator of decorative arts, wrote that Owen III is ``the most talented young native potter in North Carolina.''
Local interest was strong. While it's fairly unusual for work to sell out of a Chrysler exhibit, about 25 of Owen III's pots were bought by Hampton Roads fans, Clark said.
The show, he said, ``turned a couple of people who said they didn't like pottery into collectors.''
Meredith Heywood said Seagrove pottery is very collectible, but more for the value of everyday use and enjoyment than as an investment.
The Heywoods use some of the region's classic shapes, ``then change them somewhat, so they become our own.''
Low-fired earthenware is traditional in Seagrove. The Heywoods, however, prefer stoneware, which they fire at high temperatures in a gas kiln. ``It's just what we like. We feel the product is very durable, and we like the colors you can get in a gas-reduction kiln.''
Pitchers, bowls, honey pots, canister sets and jars are among their forms. In addition to their own gallery, they sell their work At Ocean Annie's shops on the Outer Banks, and at galleries throughout North Carolina.
``At one time, glaze recipes were so secret,'' Heywood said. ``That was the backbone of the business.''
Nowadays, there's more camaraderie than competition among the potters, she said. ``It's great to be in an area with so many potters. If you have a problem, there's always somebody you can call. And people are glad to help.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Mark Heywood, a Norfolk native who is participating in the
demonstration and sale at the Hermitage, created this piece.
by CNB