Wild Clay Art in Asheville
That’s me, a 5’ 1” mom standing on my toes to pose with my 6’2’ son, Josh, in front of a display of pots that were part of the show he was a co-curator of. The exhibit opened at Asheville’s American Folk Gallery and was the result of a grant that Josh and his colleague, Matt, received to research the influence of local materials in making pottery, a subject I recently wrote about in “A Life time Supply.” It was purposely scheduled to coincide with the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR), held at Asheville’s University of North Carolina this weekend where Josh and Matt are scheduled to present their research findings tomorrow. 
The night was a Who’s Who of Josh’s life and an opportunity for my husband and me to put names to faces. We met Josh’s peers and mentors, teachers from Penland and UNC, friends and other potters, some of whom rent space at Josh’s studio, Clay Space.
Some of the pieces displayed were ones made by a Japanese potter that Josh recently studied with. Others were from England from a potter Josh connected with during his trip to England last year. Most were made by North Carolinians like Josh and Matt, and all the pieces reflected the theme of the show, having been made with wild clay dug from the areas where the potters live.
A few pots held branches of cherry blossoms or dried grape vines. People mulled about drinking wine and eating cheese and crackers while appreciating the pottery. I talked “blogs” with the owner of the gallery, who has been thinking about starting one herself, and received compliments for and about my son. After the show we ate dinner with a potter from Josh's community who I discovered knew my cousin years ago in Massachusetts. It was warm enough to eat at an outside café. The noodles were hot and the beer cold.
Read more here…
Comments
Your son is very handsome Colleen! His work is absolutely beautiful! You must be a very proud mom!!!
Posted by: tammyb. | April 8, 2006 9:08 AM
YES! He is handsome and so is his pottery. I know you are very proud of him!
Posted by: kenju | April 8, 2006 1:11 PM
He sure did grow didn't he?
Lovely description and photos of the pottery show. It sounds so pleasant and pleasing. :-)
Posted by: Pearl | April 8, 2006 1:18 PM
"People mulled about drinking wine and eating cheese and crackers while appreciating the pottery."
Sounds like heaven to me!
Say hi to Josh and let him know how proud his aunt is of his accomplishments.
Posted by: Kathy | April 8, 2006 1:42 PM
Sounds like you guys are having a great visit. It's a very nice mother and son photo.
Posted by: Mayberry | April 8, 2006 2:19 PM
Lovely pottery indeed. Congratulations to him and to you, you did the job raising him. Moms should always be allowed to take some credit for their success.
Posted by: srp | April 8, 2006 3:45 PM
What a wonderful experience to share with such a delightful young man. Had to go read the rest to see more about his talent and the wonders of local clay.
Posted by: Leslie | April 8, 2006 6:16 PM
Yes, I, too am proud of you both. The pictures are truly marvelous!!! xoxo
Posted by: Sherry | April 8, 2006 7:31 PM
Nice work--the conference on Undergrad Research sounds interesting--were you attending it too?
Posted by: sage | April 8, 2006 9:15 PM
What a nice looking young man. And what lovely pottery. You must be very proud of him.
Posted by: Simply Coll | April 8, 2006 9:26 PM
Is that the "little boy" from a few posts down? Mom doesn't look a day older. My 13 year old daughter is taller than me, and she's no six-footer.
I love pottery. It's an ancient and beautiful art. The connotations of the word "vessel" say it all. Cultural cornerstones.
Complements to and about Josh.
Posted by: Rick | April 8, 2006 10:59 PM
There is a rhythm to hand thrown pottery that is never duplicated. Each piece seems to sing its own song of not just the creator but also a song of where it has been before. How blessed you are to have such concert within your reach. And ps. get photo of You and Josh.
Posted by: Red Queen | April 9, 2006 7:48 AM
Love that line, Red Queen... "each piece seems to sing its own song of not just the creator but also a song of where it has been before."
Rick, the photo below on Fooling Around is my nehpew Patrick and was taken a few years ago. Although those almost could be my two sons...both a blonde pair with the same age difference.
I'm surprised Kathy and Sherry didn't ask me what cousin Josh's potter friend knew from Mass.
Hopefully I'll be able to visit around and catch up later today.
Posted by: colleen | April 9, 2006 10:48 AM
This is wonderful Colleen; you must be very proud indeed, and with good reason!
Posted by: D L Ennis | April 9, 2006 1:48 PM
As you have said to me before "this is where you're going girl".........I find it a riot that Rick thought this was the "little boy" from earlier post! You always did call them the protegies and I have one that's into art too. Love from the mom of the "little boy" who is savoring his littleness right now.
Posted by: Trish | April 9, 2006 7:42 PM
How handsome...and you look so pretty! I know you must be very, very proud of him. I love his work.
Posted by: deana | April 9, 2006 11:09 PM