Turn Pottery Into Art Pottery: The Pre-Conference Workshop

by Kate Nixon

 

During the third week – and subsequent weekend – of February, the National Arts and Crafts Conference at the Grove Park Inn will annually celebrate a cornerstone ideal of the Arts and Crafts Movement, known as “Head, Heart and Hand.” Throughout the weekend, educational seminars are presented to conference attendees, sharing the latest research with conference participants and challenging the mind/head to further consider the depth and magnitude of the movement. The “Heart” is represented by the passion of collectors during the National Arts and Crafts Shows, held annually in the Vanderbilt wing of the Grove Park Inn. Lastly, the “Hand” is shown through the offering of Pre-Conference Workshop, where those interested can bring out their inner artisan as they learn from artisans, many of them Roycroft Master Artisan, the skills of woodblock printmaking, hand-hammered coppersmithing, embroidery, metalsmithing, and a new addition in 2022: art pottery decorating.

In this new workshop called “Hands On: Decorating Your Own Art Pottery” led by exhibitors John and Scottie Post of Hog Hill Pottery, participants will hand-decorate a bisque-ware bowl that would be fired to completion and, later, mailed to their home address. Conference attendees that sign up for this workshop will develop designs, and pattern repeats, on test strips and discuss various decorative motifs in American Art Pottery. Using black wax resist, the bands of decoration will be outlined and under-glaze colors will be brushed onto the bisque-ware bowl. Participants will have guided practice with wax resist, under-glaze, and finishing glaze techniques.

John Post of Hog Hill Pottery Studio, a studio potter out of Vale, North Carolina, will lead the workshop and feature the method of Cuerda Seca, teaching it to those of all experience levels. A spanish technique, the method of Cuerda Seca involves wax line applicators used to create thin lines; the method is also called “quilling.” “Quilling has been used in ceramics to put down a fine line,” says John Post. “It is a matter of staying within the line, so it would take practice on paper, but you could create your own. It will be some hands on guided practice.”

The workshop will be offered for the first time at the 2022 National Arts and Crafts Conference at the Grove Park Inn on February 17th from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM and February 18th from 8:00 AM to 11:00 AM before the open of the National Arts and Crafts Show.

For information on how to register for “Hands On: Decorating Your Own Art Pottery” or to explore the four other annual workshops being offered, please click here.