A new view. I will miss my old view of deer and bluebirds-
But- this is not a bad place to look out and see the wildlife
on the pond!
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
the new view
A new view. I will miss my old view of deer and bluebirds-
But- this is not a bad place to look out and see the wildlife
on the pond!
moving on
These are photos of the before and after.
We cleaned and painted the lower room, which is normally used for bisque.
It is all ready for a wheel!
It will feel good to throw a pot.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
a letter for funding The NCPC
We are writing to you because we have an urgent need for funds to keep the doors open at the North Carolina Pottery Center. Without immediate financial assistance, the Center will have to close in just a few months.
Over its ten-year life, the Center has enriched the lives of tens of thousands of North Carolinians, as well as people from every state and many countries around the world. It has continually provided us with wide ranging, well designed programming including:
•a permanent exhibit on the history of North Carolina pottery,
•more than fifty changing exhibitions featuring individuals, regions, ethnic groups, schools, pottery associations,
•classes in pottery making and workshops by master potters,
•firings by potters using our two wood kilns,
•educational events for children, scouts, and teachers; lectures by potters and scholars,
•an extensive oral history program, and
•most recently, 250 people attended the opening of our current exhibition, “Contemporary Pottery from North Carolina’s Indian Communities.” Some of the featured potters had never seen their work in a museum before.
In a state that values pottery as we do, it makes no sense to close an institution that embodies what is certainly our most important and famous indigenous art form.
As you know, in December of 2007, the Board of the Pottery Center entered into an agreement with the Department of Cultural Resources to transfer the Center’s assets to the State and operate the Center through the North Carolina Arts Council. Funding for this move was inserted into the expansion budget at $300,000 but was cut from the Governor’s budget. As no legislator stepped forward to introduce a bill to support the Center, the current budget will not provide any funding.
The Department of Cultural Resources does want to take over the Center and will ask for funding in next year’s budget. In the meantime, we have to keep the Center open, admittedly on a somewhat reduced schedule. We can do this if we can raise $100,000. The Arts Council has indicated that it will offer a substantial amount of support as well. This is to some degree a gamble that the State will come through, but we think it is a gamble that is well worth taking.
Seven donors have already pledged a total of $10,000, so we are off to a good start toward our goal. All contributions are most welcome and are tax deductible. You can easily make your donation online by following the link at the bottom of the Center’s home page www.ncpotterycenter.com. Checks should be made to the North Carolina Pottery Center and mailed to NCPC, P.O. Box 531, Seagrove, NC 27341. Donations of stock can be made to the Center through your local broker.
This letter is just one part of a vigorous, multi-faceted, fundraising campaign. A very generous supporter of the Center has just given 250 pieces of pottery to be put up for auction, and a number of potters are organizing raffles of their work. We will announce other initiatives in the coming months.
Some years ago, Pennsylvania potter Jack Troy wrote, “If North America has a ‘pottery state,’ it must be North Carolina. . . . There is probably no other state with such a highly developed pottery-consciousness.” Let’s keep that special pottery-consciousness alive. Please join us in saving the Center.
Sincerely,
Tim Blackburn Cynthia Bringle
Mark Hewitt Terry Zug
Vernon and Pamela Owens Dan Finch
Over its ten-year life, the Center has enriched the lives of tens of thousands of North Carolinians, as well as people from every state and many countries around the world. It has continually provided us with wide ranging, well designed programming including:
•a permanent exhibit on the history of North Carolina pottery,
•more than fifty changing exhibitions featuring individuals, regions, ethnic groups, schools, pottery associations,
•classes in pottery making and workshops by master potters,
•firings by potters using our two wood kilns,
•educational events for children, scouts, and teachers; lectures by potters and scholars,
•an extensive oral history program, and
•most recently, 250 people attended the opening of our current exhibition, “Contemporary Pottery from North Carolina’s Indian Communities.” Some of the featured potters had never seen their work in a museum before.
In a state that values pottery as we do, it makes no sense to close an institution that embodies what is certainly our most important and famous indigenous art form.
As you know, in December of 2007, the Board of the Pottery Center entered into an agreement with the Department of Cultural Resources to transfer the Center’s assets to the State and operate the Center through the North Carolina Arts Council. Funding for this move was inserted into the expansion budget at $300,000 but was cut from the Governor’s budget. As no legislator stepped forward to introduce a bill to support the Center, the current budget will not provide any funding.
The Department of Cultural Resources does want to take over the Center and will ask for funding in next year’s budget. In the meantime, we have to keep the Center open, admittedly on a somewhat reduced schedule. We can do this if we can raise $100,000. The Arts Council has indicated that it will offer a substantial amount of support as well. This is to some degree a gamble that the State will come through, but we think it is a gamble that is well worth taking.
Seven donors have already pledged a total of $10,000, so we are off to a good start toward our goal. All contributions are most welcome and are tax deductible. You can easily make your donation online by following the link at the bottom of the Center’s home page www.ncpotterycenter.com. Checks should be made to the North Carolina Pottery Center and mailed to NCPC, P.O. Box 531, Seagrove, NC 27341. Donations of stock can be made to the Center through your local broker.
This letter is just one part of a vigorous, multi-faceted, fundraising campaign. A very generous supporter of the Center has just given 250 pieces of pottery to be put up for auction, and a number of potters are organizing raffles of their work. We will announce other initiatives in the coming months.
Some years ago, Pennsylvania potter Jack Troy wrote, “If North America has a ‘pottery state,’ it must be North Carolina. . . . There is probably no other state with such a highly developed pottery-consciousness.” Let’s keep that special pottery-consciousness alive. Please join us in saving the Center.
Sincerely,
Tim Blackburn Cynthia Bringle
Mark Hewitt Terry Zug
Vernon and Pamela Owens Dan Finch
North Carolina Pottery Center
Below is a brief history of the North Carolina Pottery Center written by the Current director.
A Brief History of NCPC
In response to recent letters and articles across the state regarding a fracture that has developed among Seagrove potters, the North Carolina Pottery Center (NCPC) would like to clarify issues regarding the Center and its history referenced in many of the articles. Opened in 1998 in Seagrove, the NCPC mission is to promote public awareness of North Carolina’s remarkable pottery heritage. The Center welcomes and informs visitors to the Seagrove area, enriching their experience through exhibitions and educational programs, and promoting potters working today across the state. The Center has permanent as well as changing exhibitions of contemporary and historical NC and regional pottery. Because of its museum/education mission and nonprofit status, the Center does not operate festivals nor do we create maps. Those projects are managed by other area organizations.
Raleigh architect, Frank Harmon, created the Center’s award winning design. The exhibition and education buildings were constructed on nine acres in Seagrove with $750,000 of state funding matched by $750,000 in private funds. The Center includes a 4,000 sq. ft. exhibition area, a 1,500 sq. ft. educational building, two operating kilns, and a Victorian home which, hopefully, will house a pottery library and study center. On granting the building funds, the State stipulated that the Center represent pottery-making traditions and potters from across the state, not only Seagrove.
Today, with an operating budget of close to $300,000, NCPC remains a private nonprofit, funded primarily through memberships, grants, admissions, and appropriations. The single largest income stream is the annual auction of pottery donated by potters from across the state. Randolph County has provided $25,000 in annual funds since the Center opened. The NC Department of Cultural Resources provided $13,000 in operating funds until 2006 when support was increased to $25,000. The NC Arts Council has also provided restricted grant funding for special programs such a as teacher renewal credits and pottery making projects with Seagrove Elementary School students.
The initial inspiration for the Center came from two legendary Seagrove potters, the late Dorothy (Cole) and Walter Auman. The couple opened Seagrove Pottery in 1953, at a time when there were only seven potteries remaining in the area. In 1969, they moved the old Seagrove train depot to an area behind their shop and opened the area’s first museum, the Seagrove Potter’s Museum, where they also regularly featured the work of contemporary potters. The Aumans were recipients of the first North Carolina Arts Council Folk Heritage Award in 1989, and in 1990 received the Governor’s Distinguished Service Award for Lifetime Achievement for their continuing support to the NC pottery traditions.
To promote the idea of a permanent pottery museum, Dorothy and Walter encouraged pottery lovers across the state to create a new organization, subsequently named the Museum of Traditional North Carolina Pottery (MTNCP). Through auctions of donated pots and gate receipts from their annual Seagrove Pottery Festival, funds were raised to purchase a nine acre tract of land and a house in Seagrove. In the late 1980s, Dorothy Auman became a founding member of the North Carolina Pottery Center. Led by the Aumans, and with the assistance of the existing members of the MTNCP, the North Carolina Arts Council, and many potters and pottery aficionados from across the state, funds were raised to match the state commitment to construct the Center’s facilities. The MTNCP then became a fundraising group, the Friends of the North Carolina Pottery Center, and managed the Seagrove Pottery Festival.
Some members of the Seagrove pottery community and the Friends group, however, believed strongly that the Center should focus only on promoting Seagrove pottery. Given the mandate of the state legislature that the Center represent the entire North Carolina pottery heritage, this became a contentious issue that could not be resolved. In 2001, the Friends group dissolved its relationship with the Center. The departing group resurrected the name MNCTP and took the rights to the Seagrove Pottery Festival. The North Carolina Pottery Center maintained ownership of the property and buildings and continues today to offer a full schedule of museum exhibitions and pottery programming, including demonstrations, workshops and student education.
Recent discussions between the NC Department of Cultural Resources and the Center’s Board were directed at solving a chronic funding shortage for operation of the Center and to expand the museum and education activities held there. Given the State’s substantial investment in the building of the Center, the Board of NCPC offered to give the assets of the organization to the Department of Cultural Resources if funds could be identified to support staff, programs, and general operating expenses. These funds are not expected to be available for the new fiscal year and the Board is now dedicating its energies to finding stable long term funding.
Denny Mecham
Director, NCPC
A Brief History of NCPC
In response to recent letters and articles across the state regarding a fracture that has developed among Seagrove potters, the North Carolina Pottery Center (NCPC) would like to clarify issues regarding the Center and its history referenced in many of the articles. Opened in 1998 in Seagrove, the NCPC mission is to promote public awareness of North Carolina’s remarkable pottery heritage. The Center welcomes and informs visitors to the Seagrove area, enriching their experience through exhibitions and educational programs, and promoting potters working today across the state. The Center has permanent as well as changing exhibitions of contemporary and historical NC and regional pottery. Because of its museum/education mission and nonprofit status, the Center does not operate festivals nor do we create maps. Those projects are managed by other area organizations.
Raleigh architect, Frank Harmon, created the Center’s award winning design. The exhibition and education buildings were constructed on nine acres in Seagrove with $750,000 of state funding matched by $750,000 in private funds. The Center includes a 4,000 sq. ft. exhibition area, a 1,500 sq. ft. educational building, two operating kilns, and a Victorian home which, hopefully, will house a pottery library and study center. On granting the building funds, the State stipulated that the Center represent pottery-making traditions and potters from across the state, not only Seagrove.
Today, with an operating budget of close to $300,000, NCPC remains a private nonprofit, funded primarily through memberships, grants, admissions, and appropriations. The single largest income stream is the annual auction of pottery donated by potters from across the state. Randolph County has provided $25,000 in annual funds since the Center opened. The NC Department of Cultural Resources provided $13,000 in operating funds until 2006 when support was increased to $25,000. The NC Arts Council has also provided restricted grant funding for special programs such a as teacher renewal credits and pottery making projects with Seagrove Elementary School students.
The initial inspiration for the Center came from two legendary Seagrove potters, the late Dorothy (Cole) and Walter Auman. The couple opened Seagrove Pottery in 1953, at a time when there were only seven potteries remaining in the area. In 1969, they moved the old Seagrove train depot to an area behind their shop and opened the area’s first museum, the Seagrove Potter’s Museum, where they also regularly featured the work of contemporary potters. The Aumans were recipients of the first North Carolina Arts Council Folk Heritage Award in 1989, and in 1990 received the Governor’s Distinguished Service Award for Lifetime Achievement for their continuing support to the NC pottery traditions.
To promote the idea of a permanent pottery museum, Dorothy and Walter encouraged pottery lovers across the state to create a new organization, subsequently named the Museum of Traditional North Carolina Pottery (MTNCP). Through auctions of donated pots and gate receipts from their annual Seagrove Pottery Festival, funds were raised to purchase a nine acre tract of land and a house in Seagrove. In the late 1980s, Dorothy Auman became a founding member of the North Carolina Pottery Center. Led by the Aumans, and with the assistance of the existing members of the MTNCP, the North Carolina Arts Council, and many potters and pottery aficionados from across the state, funds were raised to match the state commitment to construct the Center’s facilities. The MTNCP then became a fundraising group, the Friends of the North Carolina Pottery Center, and managed the Seagrove Pottery Festival.
Some members of the Seagrove pottery community and the Friends group, however, believed strongly that the Center should focus only on promoting Seagrove pottery. Given the mandate of the state legislature that the Center represent the entire North Carolina pottery heritage, this became a contentious issue that could not be resolved. In 2001, the Friends group dissolved its relationship with the Center. The departing group resurrected the name MNCTP and took the rights to the Seagrove Pottery Festival. The North Carolina Pottery Center maintained ownership of the property and buildings and continues today to offer a full schedule of museum exhibitions and pottery programming, including demonstrations, workshops and student education.
Recent discussions between the NC Department of Cultural Resources and the Center’s Board were directed at solving a chronic funding shortage for operation of the Center and to expand the museum and education activities held there. Given the State’s substantial investment in the building of the Center, the Board of NCPC offered to give the assets of the organization to the Department of Cultural Resources if funds could be identified to support staff, programs, and general operating expenses. These funds are not expected to be available for the new fiscal year and the Board is now dedicating its energies to finding stable long term funding.
Denny Mecham
Director, NCPC
The Fire
The latest news was the studio fire we experienced just before dark on the evening of July eighth, lightning struck a tree near our studio, followed a gas line into the studio wall arcing into the wiring inside the wall, causing a fire that completely destroyed our production area. It burned through the wall, ceiling and roof in very short order and would have completely burned us out if not for the fact we were home and alerted the Seagrove Volunteer Fire Department immediately. Although the first truck arrived in minutes it took a good while to extinguish the flames and watch for "hot spots". Thank you Seagrove VFD one and all!
Cleanup is under way and progress is slow and steady. Details of debris removal, cleanup and rebuilding have yet to be completed, but we will be rebuilding on the same foundation we built on in the early nineties. We have lost some things and we have saved some things and overall I can say it could have been much worse. Our kilns suffered no apparent damage. Kiln furniture is intact. Much of our bisque ware is ok that will need to be re-fired to clean off the soot.
Our wheels took a big hit but the mechanical parts are ok, Mud Boxes burned, plastic buckled and electronic controls fried.
It's been a month since the fire and I thought I would update folks on how things have progressed. First I have to tell you we were working in shock for two weeks. We were on automatic pilot. We got up everyday and took care of what needed to be done.
We ordered a dumpster ( which is very freeing). We went through everything and either put in on the carport or in a storage trailer we rented or tossed. Our kids came and helped us out. Our son, Joel and his future bride, Katie were here to carry and lug and throw away. Our Daughter, Anna came and I put her on the computer and used her skills to put all the loss in a spread sheet for us. We laughed at one point when she and I agreed to never hire the other, she is not a potter, although I think she could be, and I am a mess on the computer. Don't ask her about my files! She will tell you! Thanks Kids! you are wonderful people.
We had friends who showed up with food or fed us dinner at their house, brought us take out. We had friends who called with support and some who came and helped.
Then we washed walls in the hallway, closed off a section and put a door up. We painted and cleaned everything we could. I was able to obtain a loan on a wheel.
Mark was "adopted" by the folks who run STARworks about 10 miles down the road. He is there while I am here---- it's been a month. We are throwing pots while talking with someone about rebuilding, finishing up with the insurance and moving on.
I had started a web Blog for recipes and it is now for pictures of before and after. I will get a before up when Mark's computer is back from a trip to the Doctor's ( stay away from service pack 3--).
We hope to fire in the next 10 days.
Otherwise- come see us we are still making pots
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)