J B Cole Pottery

 These three bottles have been in the family since my grandparents built the house that we live in. I remember them being the only pottery displayed on the mantel when I would visit in the summers.
 When Mark and I first moved here and were raising two young kids Mark thought it would be best if these pots went to live with my parents in Virginia just to keep them safe.

Then one day, after we had become potters, my parents came to see us and brought them back to the farm. My mother thought that we should have them back. They have been displayed on the mantel ever since.


No matter what new and different pots we add and subtract from the mantel these are always there. They feel like home to me.
They make me think of my grandmother and grandfather and spending the summers with my sisters and brothers on the farm.  My Grandmother was not from here but she fully embraced the local pottery that was made here.
She enjoyed her time in and out of the pottery shops and was a close friend with both Nell Cole and her husband Phil. My grandmother would be my introduction to Walter and Dorothy Auman at Seagrove Pottery.

A few years back my mother also handed over this footed bowl that might have been made for a cake stand even if it is not that flat.  I am not sure how a cake would fit on it since it is more bowl shaped.

 I have always thought that this footed bowl would look great in a dinning room that had some clean modern lines with white walls and bright light streaming through the windows. Does this happen to you? Do you see pots and think that you know where they should live?

 I just cleaned these up and thought that taking a layer of dust off them would give you a better look at how pretty this glaze is.

The rumor that surrounded this glaze was that there was gold dust in the glaze.
Really?, Gold dust.... Well it did sound good.

 I have added a link to an article that my brother Jay wrote before he died. If you have a minute you might enjoy reading it.











 Cheers,
M

It's all in the company we keep

Mark and I took a little drive on Sunday to spend some time with my brother Jay, his wife Leslie and meet the new addition to his family Jax.
Jax is a bundle of joy and energy bouncing all over the house and making sure that the cats and all his people are in order.
We enjoyed traveling up on Sunday and being gulped up by the Blue Ridge mountains.
To get to my brothers we have to first get I-77, a trip on its own from our house.
I don't know if you have ever heard the expression, " you just can't get there from here."
But- my brother and I both live in areas where this rings true.
Once on I-77 we have to go and touch the edges of West Virginia and turn left to hear back into the depths of the Virginia mountains to find him.
Riding up early on Sunday morning made for a scenic drive.
Once we got there we were greeted by Jax, the family dog.
Spending time with my brother is always a treat and getting to talk about old NC pottery and have him show me some examples of work made by the potters of our youth are something I treasure. I learn something new every time.
He has collected some fine examples of Philmore Graves pieces and it was a treat to see them in person.

While we were there we took a swing around to his law office, he is a lawyer by trade.
I know all the lawyer jokes and I am sure you do too- so save them for later.
When I walked in his office I thought- "who would not trust a lawyer who displayed these in his office"?
It would put me right at ease to be among such good company as this.

Some great CC Cole's Pottery.
Look at those glazes- bring back the lead!

From  the JB Cole family.
Look at the handles on these-especially the one that seems to be from the hear no evil series.
The small three handled piece in the front is a Nell Cole Graves wife of Phil Graves.
That little pot just fit in my hand and the handles...sweet!

Pink! or maybe I should say rose...

and like I said, "it's all in the company you keep."
I turned around and found a shelf of my bottles, a slat glazed tea bowl of Mark's and an egg vase in the left hand corner.
I felt pretty good to see myself being displayed along with some of the old Masters.
 Then I spotted one of Mark's vases behind my brother's chair.
Nice......

There have been several post about supporting art and artist.
This is a fine example of someone who cares enough not only to buy art but share it with others.
I hope that the people who walk into his office found some comfort in the beauty of the work.
I know I did.
There is nothing better then to deck your work office out with pottery or any art.

 A super nice bottle of Mark's over on Jay's left.

And last but not least the boss of the office and house Jax.

How could you not love this face?!!
We are back in NC and back to work tomorrow.
With a little PT thrown in for good measure.

Virginia Shelton

When Mark and I moved to Seagrove in 1976 one of the throwers who worked at JB Cole's Pottery was Virginia Shelton, a niece of Waymon and Nell Cole.

Virginia was one of Bascom King's daughters.
Bascom was married to Nell's sister Vellie.

While going through pictures I found these great pictures, taken what looks to be many years back, of Virginia Shelton.
I thought I would share them with you.
As you can tell in some of them she must have had a warning that photographs were being made.
She is so pretty in her dress and with her hair all fixed up, but note the feet.
I love that she has no shoes on.



Virginia was one of those potters who Mark and I would go and visit with when we had a quest for the knowledge of how to make pots.
We were enrolled in the local community college, but we were also embedded in the history of the surrounding potteries.
Going to Cole's to watch someone like Virginia or Waymon for that matter was a treat.
They could both throw and talk at the same time. I guess they were very used to the many visitors which came and went.
One of the best things about Seagrove in those days was the ability to wander through the work areas of the local potteries.
As long as you did not get in the way you could stand and watch for hours.
It was easy to find a place and settle in for a spell.
Mark and I both took a great liking to Virginia.
Generous, kind and sharing.

























Although both of us knew we would never be able to out turn Virginia.
She, like many of the potters who were here when we first moved here, is long gone.
But we keep these potters close in thoughts when we are working.



The last picture must have been taken at a later date then the ones above.