29th annual North Carolina Potters Conference - March 4-6, 2016

Tony Clennell- Pottery Demonstrator- 29th annual NC Potters Conference

Tony Clennell is a potter and teacher living in Aylmer, Ontario.

  The 29th annual North Carolina Potters Conference is open for registration.  

 March 4-6, 2016
Friday - Saturday - Sunday
Asheboro, North Carolina

Hosted by the Randolph Arts Guild
Opening Reception/Networking, Thursday, 6:00 PM, March 3 

#NCPottersConf

  The NC Potters Conference begins Friday morning with three slide lectures by the demonstrating potters: Tony Clennell, Sunshine Cobb, and Steven Godfrey. After Friday lunch they begin their afternoon of demonstrating together on stage.  There are large TV screens for optimal and close-up viewing of the artists as they work and interact with each other and the audience. This year Chris Staley will be presenting his talk Friday evening about creativity and clay.  Tony Clennell, Sunshine Cobb, and Steven Godfrey will be demonstrating all day Saturday. After Saturday's barbecue dinner at the Exchange, Dwight Holland invites the conference participants to his home for conversation and to see his extensive pottery collection.

 Sunday Morning Talks: This year's presenters are Ulysses Dietz-curator of the Newark Museum in New Jersey, Garth Johnson-curator of the ASU Art Museum in Arizona, and Art Markman- Professor of Psychology and Marketing at the University of Texas in Austin.  Sunday morning talks are dedicated to the memory of Walter and Dorothy Auman.

 After Sunday's lunch the North Carolina Pottery Center in downtown Seagrove will be open for visitors. Steven Blankenbeker will give a talk about North Carolina Clay Sunday afternoon.  The two exhibitions at the NCPC  are: Object Lessons: "Ceramics from the Gregg Museum of Art and Design," and "Wild Clay: The Story of North Carolina Clay".

 Always the first full weekend of March, this year the 2016 Conference dates are March 4-6.  Pre-registration is necessary and can be done online at the Randolph Arts Guild website.  The registration is $250.00 and includes Friday-lunch and dinner, Saturday- lunch and dinner, and Sunday lunch. A Thursday evening, March 3,  reception/networking is sponsored by the Rising Sun Pottery. The NC Potters Conference is sponsored by Highwater Clays, Potters Council, and "Ceramics: Art and Perception | Technical."

 For more conference information please visit the Randolph Arts Guild website and
'Like and Follow' the North Carolina Potters Conference facebook page.

Steven Godfrey- Pottery Demonstrator- 29th annual NC Potters Conference, (image from Schaller Gallery)

Steven Godfrey is Steven Godfrey is the Assistant Professor Of Art at University of Alaska Anchorage, Anchorage AK. 

Sunshine Cobb- Pottery Demonstrator- 29th annual NC Potters Conference

Sunshine Cobb is a full-time studio pottery in Sacramento, California

Chris Staley - Talks Friday Evening for the 29th annual North Carolina Potters Conference

Stay tuned for the synopsis of Chris Staley's presentation.

Garth Johnson - Talks Sunday morning for the 29th annual North Carolina Potters Conference

 Garth Johnson is the curator of ceramics at the Arizona State University Art Museum in Tempe, Arizona.

Agrestic Modern

"There is a new generation of potters that make engaging, rustic work that looks to Scandinavia and the Mediterranean rather than Japan for inspiration. Agrestic Modern combines geometric simplicity with expressive, yet surprisingly austere surfaces. The artists discussed in this lecture, including Rebecca Chappell, Mike Helke, Giselle Hicks, Joseph Pintz and Jordan MacDonald give a contemporary twist to work that draws from a broad range of historical influences."

Ulysses Dietz - Talks Sunday morning for the 29th annual North Carolina Potters Conference

Ulysses Dietz is the curator of Decorative Arts at the Newark Museum since 1980.

Great Pots: art, craft, whatever

"Some pots are just pots. Some pots are art. Actually, any pot can be art if someone says it is. The Newark Museum started collecting modern pots and calling them art in 1909. My presentation grows from the idea was that a great pot was conceived of as a work of art that ordinary human beings could actually relate to and own and use to make their homes better, more beautiful places. Craftsmanship mattered. Design mattered. Nothing else mattered.

   I’ll discuss the transition from the Arts & Crafts Movement, whose core premise was to make art accessible to middle-class consumers, to that movement’s rebellious child, the Contemporary Craft Movement. This was also founded on the notion of making handcrafted objects accessible to a wide audience. My thesis is that the very existence of ceramic art in this context was geared to redefining art in a way that undermined the social and cultural pretensions of the fine art world, but that something strange happened. As potters have evolved into ceramic artists and somehow decided being “just” great potters isn’t enough, pots gradually have become just another pawn in the complex games of collecting and curatorial one-upsmanship that drives the market today."

Art Markman- Talks Sunday morning for the 29th annual North Carolina Potters Conference

Art Markman is a professor of Psychology and Marketing at the University of Texas in Austin.

Increasing creativity through Smart Thinking

"Creativity is prized in the arts, and is also a critical part of success in business.  Despite its importance, few people understand the roots of creative problem solving.  In this talk, I explore the psychology of creative thinking.  I examine the development of effective habits to maximize the quality of knowledge that supports creative endeavors.  I also discuss how to overcome a fear of failure to develop new ideas.  Finally, I explore personality characteristics related to creativity and how to enhance their positive effects while minimizing their drawbacks."