Potters Conference
Potters Conference 2013
REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!
The 26th Annual NC Potters Conference
March 1, 2 & 3 2013
ABOUT CONFERENCE
The North Carolina Potters Conference is a premier ceramics conference. Through its history the conference has featured the some of the best ceramics artists from around the world. This conference centers on simultaneous demonstrations cultivating a dialogue of techniques, concepts, and experiences between the artists and the audience. Unlike other conferences, you do not have to pick and choose with workshops to attend. All the demonstrations and presentations are scheduled for the entire group. Potters at any skill level will come away with new ideas and inspiration to improve their work. Even non-potters have found the weekend a worthwhile introduction into the world of ceramics.
REGISTRATION
$225 - Includes Lunch and Dinner on Friday and Saturday and Lunch on Sunday. Participants are responsible for securing their own accomodations.
Pre-Registration is Required by February 15, 2013 and limited to 150 participants.
Dwight M. Holland Scholarship
In 2012 a scholarship fund was started to honor Dwight Holland, his vision, and his years of leadership for the NC Potters Conference. A limited number of scholarships will be available for students to attend the conference.
Eligibility
To be considered, applicants must be currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate studies program with a focus on ceramics.
Apply
To apply, send an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with the following:
3 - 5 images of your work
Essay 500 words or less about why attending conference would be of benefit to your education and career.
Deadline
February 1st, 2013
REFUND POLICY
Because plans are made on the basis of the number of registrations - funds are obligated in advance of the Conference. Those who cancel prior to February 1st will receive a full refund. Those who register and cancel prior to February 15th will receive a $100 refund. No refunds will be made after February 15th.
AGENDA
Thursday
Registration - The Randolph Arts Guild
1:00 Registration/Check-In - Opens
5:00 Registration/Check-In - Closes
5:00 Reception/Exhibition -
7:00 Reception Concludes
Friday
8:00 Registation/Check-In
9:00 Welcome, Announcements, Introductions
9:30 Slide Presentations
Julia Galloway, Peter Beasecker, Tara Wilson
11:00 Break
12:00 Lunch
1:30 Demonstrations
Julia Galloway, Peter Beasecker, Tara Wilson
5:00 Break
6:30 Dinner
7:30 Presentation by Andrew Glasgow
Saturday
9:00 Demonstrations
Julia Galloway, Peter Beasecker, Tara Wilson
12:00 Lunch
1:00 Demonstrations
Julia Galloway, Peter Beasecker, Tara Wilson
4:00 Break
6:00 Pig Picking
After the Pig Picking you are invited to an after dinner party at Dwight Holland’s house
Sunday
9:00 Lectures
Peter Chartrand, Joe Molinaro, Noah Scalin
12:30 Lunch
CONFERENCE EXHIBITION
Each potter in attendance may bring a maximum of five representative pieces for display at the Conference. Pieces for sale should be priced to include a 25% commission to the Randolph Arts Guild. Payment for items sold (less the 25% commission) will be mailed on April 15th.
LODGING
Attendees are responsible for their own accomodations.
Fairfield Inn | 336-626-9197
Hampton Inn | 336-625-9000
Holiday Inn Express | 336-636-5222
Quality Inn | 336-626-3680
Comfort Inn | 336-626-4414
CAMPING
Deep River Campground | 336-626-4069
Holly Bluff Family Campground | 336-857-2761
Zooland Family Camping | 336-381-3422
Housing for presenters courtesy of 
NO CHILD CARE
There is no child care. Please, no children at the conference.
SPOUSE CARE
Only an additional registration for the conference secures a space for meals and activities for spouses or accompanying friends
ANIMAL CARE
No pets, please.
LOCATION
The North Carolina Potters Conference is sponsored by the Randolph Arts Guild and is headquartered in the W. H. Moring, Jr. Arts Center located at 123 Sunset Ave. in downtown Asheboro, NC.
PRESENTERS
Julia Galloway
“Since pottery weaves into our daily lives through use and decorates our living spaces with character and elegance, I create pottery that is joyous. Teapots to celebrate drinking tea with friends; a pitcher decorates a mantel even when it’s empty; a mug with texture inside the handle gives our fingers a place to play. Cream and sugar sets have their own inherent dialogue, reminiscent of close conversations that take place during their ritual use. Pottery is a reflection of our reality, our fantasy and ourselves.”
Julia Galloway is a utilitarian potter, professor and the director of the School of Art at the University of Montana. She exhibits, lectures and teaches workshops across the United States and Canada. Julia is on the Board of the Archie Bray Foundation and served on the Board of Haystack Mountain School for Crafts for nine years. She has been an Artist in Residence at the Archie Bray Foundation in Montana and at the Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Colorado. Julia has demonstrated at the Utilitarian Clay Conference, and National Conference for the Education of Ceramic Arts. Julia has exhibited across the United States and Canada, including solo exhibitions at Lill Street in Chicago, the Clay Arts Center in New York, and Trax Gallery in California. She is in the collections of the College of William and Mary, the Archie Bray Foundation, the Long Beach Museum of Art and the Renwick Gallery at the Smithsonian. Her work has been published in Ceramics Monthly, Studio Potter, Art and Perception and Clay Times. Julia’s work has also been featured in the “The Ceramic Spectrum” by Robin Hopper and “The Art of Contemporary Pottery” by Kevin Hulch. She has developed the "Montana Clay" and the "Field Guide for Ceramics Artisans" websites. Julia recently moved to Missoula from New England.
Peter Beasecker
“There are a number of individuals in my past who have played an important role in my education as an artist and person. Invariably I recall certain teachers through pivotal remarks or expressions ensconced in memory. Often they resurface when encountering familiar problems, giving me a moment to reflect upon their particular insights and personality.”
Peter Beasecker was born in Toledo, Ohio and received a BS degree from Miami University and his MFA from Alfred University. He has been recognized for many years as a maker of quiet, elegant porcelain pots. Beasecker’s recent work has concentrated on ‘carriers’, dark stoneware vessels holding numerous porcelain cups or bowls. He also continues his porcelain work making simple plates, bowls, and vases. Peter Beasecker joined the faculty of Syracuse University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts in 2009 as an Associate Professor. Prior to this appointment, Beasecker was a Professor of Art at the Meadows School of the Arts, Southern Methodist University, since 1992. He has exhibited extensively in national and international venues, and his work is included in the collections of the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution, The Minneapolis Institute of Art, and the Mint Museum in North Carolina. He has been a visiting artist and workshop leader at over sixty institutions, including Anderson Ranch, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, and the Penland School of Crafts. Beasecker maintains a studio in Cazenovia, New York.
Tara Wilson
“Quiet pots initially speak softly yet reveal complexity in both form and surface through continued investigation and use. Embodied in my wood fired vessels is the serenity that I experience by surrounding myself on a daily basis with a rich natural environment.”
Tara Wilson earned her undergraduate degree at the University of Tennessee and attained an MFA from the University of Florida. Since then she has been creating, exhibiting, and teaching throughout the US. Tara’s vessels feature rich surfaces, representative of the natural world. Nature also inspires her forms, in some cases quite literally, as river rocks become saucers. Bases reference the landscape, evoking a sense of space and awareness of the land. Parallels can be drawn between geological processes and the atmospheric firing process. Tara’s pots physically capture and record their firing process similar to the way sedimentary and metamorphic rocks speak of their history. For Tara, the simple things in life are often the most important. “My pots speak of my passions, while at the same time allowing the user to recognize the important things in their own lives.”
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Andrew Glasgow
Andrew Glasgow is the retired Executive Director of the American Craft Council. An Alabama native, Mr. Glasgow received an Art History degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. After three years as Assistant Curator of Decorative Arts at the Birmingham Museum of Art, Mr. Glasgow joined the Southern Highland Craft Guild in Asheville as the Curator of Education. Four years later, he became the Assistant Director of Blue Spiral 1, a gallery that focuses on the arts and crafts of the South. He returned to the Southern Highland Craft Guild as Director of Programs and Collections before being named Executive Director of The Furniture Society in 2000. Recently, the Penland School of Crafts created the Andrew Glasgow Writers' Residency, which provides time for writers, scholars, and curators to work on topics designed to advance the field of crafts. Andrew currently lives in Asheville, North Carolina.
Peter Chatrand
Peter Chatrand has been a full time professional potter since 1973, working from his home base of the S.E. Arizona town of Bisbee, located six miles from the Mexican border and about forty miles from New Mexico. Peter’s exploration in ceramics has been based in the time honored utilitarian forms of dinnerware and decorative pieces for the home. In the late nineties Peter felt a desire to go beyond the making of craft objects for sale and to find work in the International development sector. A meeting with Ron Rivera of Potters for Peace (PFP) was instrumental in starting him off in this direction. He worked as a volunteer on several of their projects, became a member of the board of directors and in 2003 assumed the post of U.S. Director of the organization. After working at one of PFP’s early ceramic water filter projects in Chihuahua, Mexico, Peter went to Nicaragua for further training and subsequently has worked at ceramic filter projects in El Salvador, Guatemala, Peru, Ecuador, Tanzania and Laos and South Africa. “I am quite proud of the work Potters for Peace has accomplished and the prominent place we have taken in the water and sanitation sector of the development community. A part of the work I especially enjoy is training young people to work in ceramic filter production facilities. They are often semi-skilled and from the lower end of the economic strata. It is gratifying to see them take on this important work and realize that they are part of a worldwide team.”
Joe Molinaro
Joe Molinaro is often referred to as “a combination of anthropologist and artist” Joe is the chair of the ceramics department at East Kentucky State University and an avid explorerer / researcher of pottery traditions deep in the jungles of South America. Joe is the chair of the Kentucky-Ecuador Partnership and his research has been published in numerous publications. Molinaro grew up in the South Bend area of Indiana near Chicago. He was always interested in building and creating, but his passion for ceramics was not sparked until a conversation with a co-worker in college. Based on his friend’s enthusiasm Joe began to seek out ceramics workshops and classes. Ultimately he would attain an MFA from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and would begin his professional career. “Working as an artist is about learning the differences between yourself and others. When a potter puts together a design, it’s always going to be a kind of abstraction of what they see and do every day. Learning from the cultural traditions of others makes this process a much more humble method of seeing yourself and your own experience as it is connected to the world.”
Noah Scalin
“I am acutely aware that my time on this planet is extremely brief – especially when viewed in its context in the history of the universe – and that it can end at any time. I am interested in acknowledging and celebrating this impermanence while encouraging others to do the same. It’s about recognizing what it is to be a part of the natural world, even as we try to place ourselves apart from it. And it’s about understanding the potential long-term effects of our creations.”
Noah Scalin is the creator of the Webby Award winning art project Skull-A-Day. His fine art has been exhibited in museums and galleries internationally, including the Mütter Museum in Philadelphia and the International Museum of Surgical Science in Chicago. He is the founder of the socially conscious design firm Another Limited Rebellion & co-founded The Alternative Speakers Bureau. He has written five books: The Creative Journey, Unstuck: 52 Ways to Get (and Keep) Your Creativity Flowing at Home, at Work & in Your Studio, 365: A Daily Creativity Journal, Skulls, and The Design Activist’s Handbook, co-authored by Michelle Taute.
