More Modern Day Art Pottery Masters

There are so many accomplished potters on the scene today that it's sometimes hard to choose who to feature.  This time though, the decision was easy.  Jeremy Briddell and Adam Silverman are two artists whose works are currently on display alongside the classic masterpieces of Gertrud and Otto Natzler at the Museum of Contemporary Craft in Portland, Oregon.  The exhibit organizers chose these two men because their pottery demonstrates the influence that the Natzlers' work has on ceramics today. 

Jeremy Briddell began as a studio assistant for Missouri ceramicists John Balestreri, Jun Kaneko and Ken Ferguson.  He earned both a Bachelor's and Master's degree in ceramics.  His work is considered to be a modern expression of mid-century modernism and resides in some very prestigious collections, both public and private. 

 

Briddell currently works from his home in Tempe, Arizona with his wife Cyndi Coon, who is a multi-media artist.  Together, they showcase their creations on a website called Laboratory 5.

 

Adam Silverman has been making pots pots for friends and family for over 25 years, but he didn't decide to turn pottery into a career until after he worked as an architect and started a successful clothing business.  After the tragedy of 9/11, Silverman's priorities changed, and he decided to leave the profit-driven business world.  He has been a professional potter since 2002 under the name Atwater Pottery. 

 

Adam Silverman combines contemporary designs with non-traditional glazes to create modern day masterpieces. His work resembles classic art pottery, but has its own distinct personality.  He has been featured in several US and international publications, including the May 2007 issue of the New York Times and the September 2008 issues of the UK's Elle Decoration.

 

Silverman's most recent accomplishment is becoming the Studio Director of the new Heath Ceramics retail studio facility in Los Angeles.  September 2008 marked the 60th anniversary of this mid-century era pottery, and they celebrated by partnering with Adam Silverman to open a second retail location.  Silverman's pottery can be purchased from several galleries, including Heath Ceramics.

Just Art Pottery

Norse Pottery - Viking Bronzes to American Arts & Crafts: A Tradition Transplanted

Viking Bronzes to American Arts & Crafts: A Tradition Transplanted is a rare chance for art pottery enthusiasts to view a sizable display of Norse pottery.  From September 24 through November 30, 2008, the Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin will be hosting an exhibition of this scarce pottery from the American Arts and Crafts movement. 

Museum visitors will find a unique collection of pottery that was created by Thorwald Samson and Louis Ipson, two Danish immigrants, during the early twentieth century.  In 1903, Samson and Ipson opened their pottery company in Edgerton, Wisconsin.  Their work was based primarily on traditional Scandinavian designs.  They used the forms and motifs of ancient Scandinavian artifacts as inspiration for their Norse pottery.  Their matte, black, metallic glaze and occasional green and gold highlights give their pieces the distinctive look of antiquity.

Guests who are visiting the Norse pottery exhibit will have two opportunities to attend visual presentations at Villa Terrace. On Sunday, October 12, Dr. Sheryl Samuelson will give a presentation entitled Norse Pottery: Viking Bronzes as American Arts & Crafts.  Dr. Samuelson is a prominent collector and pioneer researcher of this unique pottery.

On Sunday, October 26, guest-curator Nicol Knappen will give a presentation entitled European Elements of American Art Pottery.  In addition to being a former editor of the Journal of American Art Pottery Association, Knappen is a founding member and past president of the Wisconsin Pottery Association.  She will be sharing information about the origins of Norse Viking designs, which can be traced back to the Stone Age.

The Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum is open Wednesday through Sunday from 1:00 to 5:00 P.M.  Admission is $5.00 for adults and $3.00 for seniors and students.  Children and museum members are free. 

Just Art Pottery

Just Art Pottery Affiliate Program

After many requests we are finally ready to offer an affiliate program.   All you need to join our affiliate program is a website, newsletter or other means of promoting our art pottery. We can even pay commissions on phone orders you help generate.  We take care of all aspects of order processing and customer service.   

Our affiliate program is simple and here is how it works:  

• Sign up. Once your application has been approved, we provide you with unique individual links to our website and product categories that you will need to provide to potential customers. 
• Visitors to your site will click your links to come to our site and purchase items. When your referrals click through to Just Art Pottery using your links and purchase an item you will receive 5% of the sale value.  Our average order is over $450 so your commissions can add up fast. 
• Our website software records your visitor's purchases and the revenue you earn on the sale.
• Once a month or every other month if your balance is less than $20 we will send you payment for your sales.  Payment can be made by check or paypal.

All affiliate applications are reviewed for acceptance and affiliates must accept the following terms: 

• If advertising our products on the web your website or blog must be of high quality and family friendly.  Prior to approval of your application we will discuss your proposed methods of marketing our products.  All marketing methods are subject to our approval. 
• All emails must be sent to permission based lists only. We will not tolerate spamming of any type. 
• We do not allow bidding on our key words or sponsored links using our key words in search engines.
• We do not allow sponsored links using our business, website name or related copyrighted material.  
• Our program is designed to reward affiliates for sending other customers to Just Art Pottery. Please note that commissions are not paid on sales made directly to our affiliates.

Who might be interested in joining our affiliate program:

• Website owners
• Blog writers
• Pottery clubs and associations
• Interior decorators and designers
• Flower shops
• Retailers of contemporary arts and crafts accessories
• General line antique dealers looking to expand their product lines
• Individuals with pottery collector friends who may not be internet savvy

Contact us today to sign up for the Just Art Pottery affiliate program or to discuss potential partnering ideas.

Greg Myroth - Just Art Pottery

Natzler Pottery Currently on Display

If you're going to be in Portland sometime between now and January 25, 2009 you're in for a treat.  The Museum of Contemporary Craft is hosting an exhibit entitled The Ceramics of Gertrud and Otto Natzler.  The nearly 100 pottery pieces on display are from several private collections and West Coast museums.  Altogether, the items represent a range of forms that the Natzlers created over the course of many years.

 

The magical combination of Gertrud's forms and Otto's glazes earned the couple attention and accolades from almost the very beginning of their partnership.  Just four years after they began exhibiting their pottery, the Natzlers won a silver medal at the 1937 World Exposition in Paris.  When German occupation forced them to flee Austria, they quickly opened for business in Southern California. 

The Ceramics of Gertrud and Otto Natzler exhibit includes the viewing of two documentaries, The Ceramic Art of the Natzlers, Artists of the World Series (1966) and Earth, Fire, Water and Wind: The Ceramics of Otto Natzler (1992).  This is a rare opportunity to see the Natzlers at work in their studio and hear them tell about their ideas, processes, and products in their own words.

The museum has also posted an audio podcast of a lecture by Otto Natzler on their website MuseumofContemporaryCraft.org.  The lecture was originally delivered at this same museum in 1975 along with a retrospective entitled Natzler Ceramics.

In order to demonstrate the influence that the Natzlers' work has on ceramics today, there are are selected vessels on display by two contemporary artists, Jeremy Briddell and Adam Silverman.  The entire exhibit is open each week Tuesday through Sunday from 11:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M., with a late closing of 8:00 P.M. on Thursdays.  For more information, contact the Museum of Contemporary Craft at 503.223.2654 or online.  There is a detailed, illustrated brochure about the Natzlers and the exhibit at  http://www.museumofcontemporarycraft.org/pdf/2008_08_Natzlers.pdf.

Just Art Pottery

Seagrove Area Potters Association

Since the late 1700s, the Seagrove area of North Carolina has been an important pottery center.  Today, there are close to 100 active potteries in this region, and many of them have joined together to form the Seagrove Area Potters Association (SAPA).

 

The Seagrove area is not limited to the small town of Seagrove itself.  The SAPA members are potters who live and work in Randolph, Moore, and Montgomery counties in central North Carolina.  Several of them are located along NC Hwy 705, giving the road its nickname of "Pottery Road." 

 

Another pottery hotspot in the Seagrove area is Busbee Road, which is named after Jacques and Juliana Busbee. This couple is credited with bringing national, and even world-wide, attention to Seagrove pottery in the early twentieth century.  The pottery created in the Seagrove area during this time was well-known in galleries and shops across the country, and it is still highly collectible.  Ever since the Busbees came to town, Seagrove has had a reputation for creative, unique, high-quality pottery.

 

From to the elegant stoneware platters of Thomas Pottery to the folk art face jugs of Crystal King Pottery, the members of the SAPA represent many different styles and art forms.  Quite a few of them are from pottery families who have worked with clay for generations.  David Garner of Turn and Burn Pottery, for example, comes from a family whose pottery lineage dates back 300 years.

 

If you're looking for an up close, personal experience with the pottery making process, a tour of the Seagrove area potteries is an ideal opportunity.  The potters of the Seagrove area welcome visitors, and the SAPA helps tourists plan their visits.  The SAPA website and Visitor's Guide list hours of operation and other important information about local potters.

Just Art Pottery

Seagrove Potters Celebration

The Seagrove area of North Carolina has a rich pottery history, with one of the largest communities of potters in the United States. This year, more than 60 of those potters have joined together to organize an event to showcase both the traditional and contemporary pottery of the area.  Celebration of Seagrove Potters will take place at the historic Luck's Cannery from November 21-23, 2008.

 

Celebration of Seagrove Potters is a three day pottery show and sale that will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, November 21 with a gala event.  Tickets to the opening night gala will be $35. The ticket price includes food, drink, entertainment, and the opportunity to preview and purchase pottery.  There will also be a chance to bid on one-of-a-kind collaborative pieces created by teams of local potters. Some of these pieces can be previewed on the event's website.  Auction proceeds will be donated to a local charity.

 

The show will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 22 and from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 23. Guests will be able to purchase pottery, meet the artists, and view demonstrations.  To add to the festive atmosphere, there will be music, food, and even activities for the kids.

 

The event's location in itself is an interesting piece of North Carolina history. Luck's Cannery was a major part of the Seagrove community from 1947 until 2002.  The Luck's warehouse where the event will take place is located just south of Seagrove on NC Highway 705, know to locals as Pottery Highway.

 

There will truly be something for everyone at this event.  It's a great opportunity for avid collectors as well as those who are just curious about pottery.  For more information, or for purchasing gala tickets, visit www.celebrationofseagrovepotters.com or send an email to contact@celebrationofseagrovepotters.com.

Just Art Pottery

Lots of Pots - Old House Interiors Article

The September/October issue of Old-House Interiors featured an article titled "Lots of Pots" which focused on early 20th century American art pottery as well as contemporary studio pottery.  The article included a nice summary of active contemporary studio potters including:

• Carol Mead
• Common Ground
• C. Powell Pottery
• David Dreaching Pottery
• Door Pottery
• Ephraim Faience Pottery
• Katrich Studios
• Kreigh Art Ceramics
• Lonesomeville Pottery
• Nichibei Potters
• Sassafras Pottery
• Seiz Pottery
• Studio 233
• Suzanne Crane
• Turtle Island Pottery
• Verdant Tile Co.

The article also includes many photographs showing very decorative displays of Newcomb, Rookwood, Fulper, North Dakota, Van Briggle as well as numerous contemporary pots.  While the photographs and pottery displays are nicely done, a couple of the article's photo captions are incorrect and somewhat comical.  One caption referring to a display of contemporary Van Briggle notes that "early Van Briggle is prized because it is dense and difficult to chip."  Another caption referring to a Rookwood elephant paperweight designed by McDonald introduced in 1925 and totally unrelated to Van Briggle notes that "Artus and Anna Van Briggle were sculptors at heart, as this 3-D elephant paperweight shows."

Still, if you are looking for a summary listings of historic potteries still in operation, studio potters, slip-cast pottery and porcelain as well as vintage, reproduction and studio pottery dealers, the article is worth checking out.

Greg Myroth - Shop For Contemporary Studio Pottery

McCoy Pottery in the News

McCoy Pottery has recently been receiving a lot of press in various art pottery publications.  The August 2008 issue of the McCoy Lovers NMXpress features an article about a previously undiscovered and potentially one-of-a-kind Cope designed McCoy butterfly planter.  The rare planter was discovered in July during the annual Pottery Lovers Festival in Zanesville, Ohio.

The unique butterfly planter is significantly different from the pastel butterfly line produced by Nelson McCoy in the 1940s.  The planter is 8 1/2" long by 4" wide and is glazed in a brown matte, bisque wood-tone glaze. NMXpress reports the McCoy planter sold for almost $1,000. 

In other McCoy pottery news, the May/June 2008 issue of the Journal of American Art Pottery Association featured a rare McCoy elephant planter on the cover.  The article, titled " Yes, McCoy is Art" discusses the rare elephant planter purchased by the authors and the fact that McCoy produced many art pottery lines such as Loy-Nel-Art, Rosewood and Olympia. These art pottery patterns produced by McCoy are comparable to those standard glaze and hand-painted patterns produced by Roseville, Weller, Owens and other Ohio art potteries.  The article also points out that while Roseville, Rookwood, Weller and most of the other well known American art potteries employed many artists and decorators, there were only two designers at McCoy from the mid 1930s through the 1960s (Sidney Cope and his son Leslie). Earlier designers were Albert Cusick and Walter Bauer.

To further substantiate the claim that McCoy pottery is no longer just low priced mass produced pottery, the article notes the sale price for the rare elephant plant was an astounding $5,000.  Several other record sale prices for McCoy pottery including a $10,000 McCoy cookie jar sold in 1998 and the prototype McCoy Robin Hood Planter sold at auction for $11,500 in 2006 are also discussed. In addition I have noted several large McCoy sphinx floor vases and sand jars have sold at auction in recent months with most selling in $2,000 to $4,000 range. 

Greg Myroth - Shop for McCoy Pottery

Modern Day Pottery Masters, Part 3

If you're looking for potteries that still produce quality, hand-crafted pieces, you're in luck.  There are several potters who create contemporary works of art that remind us of the masterpieces from the turn of the twentieth century.  Hog Hill Pottery and Common Ground Pottery are two more contemporary studio potters that offer vases, tiles, bowls, and more in the Arts and Crafts style.

Hog Hill Pottery

This North Carolina studio is where John and Scottie Post create their handcrafted pottery.  The Posts, who have over 30 years of pottery experience between them, make decorative and functional stoneware that is inspired by the motifs of the Arts and Crafts movement. 

Much like the Natzlers of the mid century studio pottery era, the Posts works together to produce original works of art.  John's throwing and firing skills combined with Scottie's design and glazing expertise results in pieces that are truly reminiscent of the original American Art Pottery.

The Posts' style isn't limited to Arts and Crafts, however.  They offer a line of folk art items, including jugs, chicken waterers, and rooster bookends.  Their catalog also contains a selection of samples that were created with the Spanish/Moorish cuerda seca technique.  Hog Hill pieces can be purchased at one of the many Arts and Crafts shows that the Posts attend.  We also usually have a few examples of Hog Hill available through Just Art Pottery. 

Common Ground Pottery

Eric Olson discovered his love for pottery on the first night of the wheel pottery class he took in 1994.  He sold his greenhouse business and opened Common Ground Pottery in a spare room of his house shortly after.  Olson has been experimenting with glazes and surface decorations ever since, resulting in unique art pottery that has become popular with collectors.

Common Ground Pottery's online gallery includes vases, chargers, tiles, and jewel boxes with colored glass inside.  His designs are intricately detailed with elements from all aspects of nature.  Some have repeating floral patterns, and others feature animals and insects.  Whether he uses calla lilies, mushrooms, beetles, or butterflies, the overall effect is stunning.

Eric Olson's studio is located in Wisconsin, but collectors can purchase Common Ground Pottery from the website.  Olson also travels to select Arts and Crafts shows including the Grove Park Arts and Crafts Show every February and the Wisconsin Pottery Show every August.

Just Art Pottery

Wisconsin Pottery Show 2008

The Wisconsin Pottery Association will conduct its 13th annual Pottery Show and Sale this Saturday August 23, 2008 from 9:00AM until 4:00PM at the Exhibit Hall at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wisconsin. 

The show is a great time and is always filled with active pottery collectors and dealers.  One of the nice things about this show is that there is something for every level of collector.  Entry level or budgetary conscious collectors can find moderated priced examples of pottery such as Haegar, McCoy, Red Wing, Roseville and many others.  More advanced pottery collectors will be able to find higher end Rookwood, Roseville, Weller, Grueby, Teco, Newcomb, Fulper, Van Briggle, Norse, Marblehead and much more.  The show also always includes a nice selection of contemporary pottery from makers such as Common Ground, Door and Ephraim Pottery.

Buyers can expect to browse pottery and dinnerware from the 1880s to the present.  Styles displayed and offered for sale will include Art Deco, Arts and Crafts, Mid-Century Modern and Art Nouveau.

In addition to the Pottery Show and Sale, the Association also puts on an annual exhibit.  The 2008 exhibit is titled Pauline and the Pottery of Edgerton, Wisconsin.  The exhibit will include a wide selection of pottery from the Edgerton area including Pauline Pottery, American Clay Works, Edgerton Pottery Company, Rock Pottery, Pickard China, Edgerton Art Clay Works and Norse Pottery.

Previous years exhibits have included topics such as:

• Fulper, Clifton & More The Art Pottery of New Jersey
• Art Deco and Modern Style Ceramics 1910-1940
• The Mission Style: How the Arts & Crafts Movement Influenced American Pottery 1900-1920
• The French Connection: Impressionism in French and American Pottery 1873-1900
• Roseville America's Decorative Art Pottery
• Haeger:  The Early And The Extraordinary

Other popular features of the show include What is it?  Collectors can bring up to two mystery pots for potential identification and evaluation. 

If you get a chance to attend the show, please stop by and and say hi to Lana and I.  We will be bringing a nice selection of Roseville, Weller, Rookwood, a few pieces of Newcomb from a small collection, Van Briggle from a large estate collection and many other items.  If there is something of interest in our inventory that you would like to see at the show drop us an email or give us a call. 

Greg Myroth - Just Art Pottery