(From left) Alysha Baier, artist; Joe Frank McKee, artist
The Western North Carolina Pottery Festival celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. The event will bring together 44 exhibiting potters from 15 states on Saturday, November 8, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., in Sylva’s Bridge Park. The festival has been selected as one of the Southeast’s Top 20 Events and is considered to be one of the premiere pottery festivals in the country, attracting thousands of attendees each year. “We are incredibly excited to continue the legacy of this popular and nationally respected event,” says Joe Frank McKee, who is a co-founder of the WNC Pottery Festival.
Nathan Falter, artist
Potters are juried into the event and compete for booth space at the festival. Throughout the day, master potters with varying styles and techniques will demonstrate throwing and firing pots.
Will Dickert, a studio potter and teacher from Asheville, has participated in the festival for seven years and feels honored to be this year’s Featured Potter. “For me, it always feels like a reunion of sorts,” he says, “with amazing clay artists from around the region and the country, loyal patrons and pottery enthusiasts, and friends. I plan to curate and showcase my best selection of handmade, woodfired pots from my most recent firings.” His stoneware pots are created from clays sourced in North Carolina.
Dickert appreciates the WNC Pottery Festival for the chance it gives potters to showcase their hard work and dedication to their craft. “It offers makers a chance to face their audience or patrons and form personal connections with each other, with customers and with the youth who attend the festival,” he says. “It educates people on the process, training and techniques used to create a wide range of ceramic art while providing tangible and authentic examples of finely made studio pottery.”
Bridge Park is located at 76 Railroad Avenue, in downtown Sylva. Admission to the WNC Pottery Festival is $5 per person and includes a raffle ticket for multiple prize drawings at noon and 2:30 p.m. Children under 12 are admitted free, but pets are not permitted. Attendees can purchase advance tickets and sign up for early admission on the website. Learn more at WNCPotteryFestival.com.
