Kate and Ed Coleman, artists
The 14th Annual WNC Pottery Festival returns to the town of Dillsboro on Saturday, November 3, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Selected by the Southeast Tourism Society as one of the Southeast’s Top 20 Arts Events, the festival attracts thousands of clay aficionados annually. This year’s gathering promises top-tier craftsmanship from 44 master potters.
“The show just keeps getting better,” says festival co-founder Joe Frank McKee. “The fact that it is a juried event makes it highly selective and I think visitors appreciate that it is always fresh and different.”
Artists from 17 states, including seven new potters, will be among this year’s exhibitors. A large variety of styles and techniques will be showcased, ranging from glazed sculptural tree forms to mixed media pottery made of clay, reed and wood. Throwing and fi ring demonstrations by participating potters will take place every half hour. “We will have a soda kiln this year and some new fi ring demos for the crowds on Saturday,” says McKee.
The festival’s featured artist, Judy Brater, of Knoxville, Tennessee, will demonstrate methods she uses in creating her carved, painted and fired one-of-a-kind vessels. Brater makes ceramic bird nest vases and bowls combining wheel thrown, slab construction, coil and surface decoration techniques. She completes the pieces with sculptural floral and bird details before glazing and kiln firing.
“After 46 years as a ceramic artist, I participate in very few shows,” says Brater. “The WNC Pottery Festival is my favorite due to the outstanding quality, the supportive organizers and volunteers and the positive energy.”
Pre-show events, including the 10th Annual Clay Olympics, will be held from 1–3 p.m. on Friday, November 2, outside Tree House Pottery, on Front Street. Potters will compete to see who can make the largest cylinder and the widest bowl from five pounds of clay in five minutes, and who can throw the best creation from two pounds of clay in two minutes while blindfolded. A surprise event will not be revealed to participants until the games start.
“The potters have a lot of fun and the competitions really get the crowd going, especially when the big boys and girls go head to head in close heats,” says McKee.
WNC Pottery Festival attendees can also enjoy historic Dillsboro’s fall colors, downtown shops, craft brews and award-winning barbecue.
Admission to the WNC Pottery Festival is $5 per person and includes a raffle ticket. Children under 12 receive free admission. For more information, visit WNCPotteryFestival.com.
