For potters, their craft is the collision of passion and art.
Once used as an instrument for survival, these hand-sculpted vessels in various forms share stories of a past civilization and the people whose ingenuity made a more sustainable life possible. Although not a necessary addition to life today, the mug that holds your morning coffee or the dish decorating your bedside table adds to your personal story.
Throughout North Georgia, galleries and workshops are filled with creatives who are excited to tell their story and merge it into yours. Meet these five women potters and be inspired to discover other artists along the North Georgia Pottery Trail.
Celena Schoen
“I am an artist and a potter,” explains Celena Schoen. “Most of my career, my ceramic work has been made using midrange commercially available clays and glazes. I do enjoy exploring other materials and firing techniques. There is something about the transformative nature of fire that holds me transfixed. Any good potter knows to respect that power.”
Using the traditional pottery styles and themes she grew up seeing in Northeast Georgia and incorporating humor, color, texture and environment is her natural creation process. She enjoys finding imaginative ways to fill the gaps between those traditional jugs and the stories written for them.
Her work can be found in the permanent collections of the Georgia Museum of Art in Athens and the Folk Pottery Museum of Northeast Georgia, as well in private collections around the world, and is available at Mark of the Potter in Clarkesville and the Christopher Park Gallery in Greenville, South Carolina. She also participates in local events that focus on folk art and pottery, such as FinsterFest at Howard Finster’s Paradise Garden in Summerville and the Folk Pottery and Arts Festival at the Folk Pottery Museum.
Schoen views her work as a legacy for future creatives. “Handmade items are becoming a luxury in a world,” she explains, “where everything from the vessels holding dinner to the music in the elevator can be mass produced and computer generated. If we don’t celebrate our individuality and creative spirit now, how will the next generation know it’s possible?”
To view her work, visit chickenmanart.com.
Heather Elyse Head
Using local red clay, Heather Elyse Head creates face jugs and other pieces of folk art. “I think the bright colors and a focus on female face jugs make my work unique,” she says. “My goal is to make people smile when they see a piece of my pottery.”
Preserving the rich history of pottery from North Georgia plays a crucial role in her work, not only for its unique transformative art but also because of the role it’s played in society.
“I was lucky to learn the craft from some of North Georgia’s best folk potters, including my grandfather-in-law, Billy Joe Craven, and my friend, Dal Burtchaell,” Head says.
Her work can be found at the Craven Pottery showroom in Gillsville and the gift shop at the Quinlan Visual Arts Center in Gainesville.
For Head, the most rewarding part of her work is getting to share the whole pottery experience with her 7-year-old daughter, Rowan. “She already has plans to be a potter when she grows up,” she says.
Visit mudandrust.com for more information.
Meghan Hudson
“Sharing a good story is such a Southern thing,” explains Meghan Hudson of h.made studio in Athens. “It’s how we connect with each other and stay rooted to home, and I think my work is unique because I use my pottery to tell my story. Each lace texture or floral pattern is a visual reminder of the people and places that have shaped me and what I consider home.”
Hudson’s style of distressing the clay and the color palette is unique and speaks to a casual but heirloom Southern style. She uses a mixture of low-fire red clay with white clay slip on top of the red clay, then sands off the white in places so that the red clay can show through.
“I’ve always loved weathered furniture, chippy paint and things that have age, so I wanted my work to feel like it’s a piece you’ve had for a long, long time,” she says.
People are reminded of their family, homes and history through Hudson’s creations, and having customers connect with a part of her story is the most rewarding part for her. Then they, in turn, share a piece of her work with someone, “such as purchasing a hydrangea platter for a sister who moved away, but hydrangeas remind them both of home or a lace platter because it reminds them of their grandmother’s lace doilies.”
“Telling my story through my pottery is why I feel the need to create,” Hudson says.
Visit hmadestudio.com for more information.
Rachel Staggers
“I began my journey of creative expression, as most artists do, with a void,” explains Rachel Staggers, head potter at Mark of the Potter. “I could not find ware to suit my tastes. Now I make it for myself and for anyone who needs their everyday mug to say something about who they are, something a little bit dark and mysterious, perhaps. My work bridges the gap that can sometimes be found between art and function. I want it to push boundaries and make you think a bit more about everyday items and how they serve your life.”
Staggers describes herself as a functional potter, specializing in folk, horror and whimsical pottery. Keeping the tradition of handmade functional pottery alive maintains a balance of art and function. She creates items that can outlast generations, which also preserves roots to pass on to future generations.
The most rewarding aspect of her work is twofold: “seeing customers find the perfect piece or hearing one of my apprentices describe the moment they were able to grasp what I have been teaching them and apply it to their own creative practice.”
Visit markofthepotter.com for more information.
Sara Blair
“My style is very light and feminine,” explains Sara Blair, a young artist. “I utilize slip trailing to add fine details, embellishments and floral elements to my work. I strive to create an atmosphere that is busy but meditative, repetitive and welcoming, offering the viewer a break from life’s adversities.”
Diagnosed with severe obsessive-compulsive disorder at an early age, Blair turned to ceramics as an escape for her wandering mind.
“It became my profession; it became my medicine, my cure,” she says. “When I am throwing on the wheel, sculpting or slip trailing, I am focused on the feeling of cold clay on my hands or the slip sticking neatly onto a pot’s surface. When I am glazing, my mind is running through possible glaze combinations, ways to enhance my piece with different colors and textures. Intrusive thoughts have no room. That’s why I create work that is meditative. I want to give others that sense of rest if they need it.”
Blair encourages visitors to see her work because it might offer them the same peace it offers her. “I want my work to be enjoyed, whether that is by drinking their favorite beverage out of a mug or by viewing and getting lost in the details of an ornate, sculptural vessel.”
Check her works out on Instagram at sarablairart.
