Before I forgot, I need to pay some due respect...
This past Friday night, I had the pleasure and the honor, to share a couple different stages, both with GLORIOUS Company.
Not only did I get to share the Rotary Stage with my Zambamboogee bandmates, Bruce Saunders, Sue Saunders, Joey Howell, and Scotty Young, some of my favorite peeps on Earth...
We also got to share the larger stage of Siler City's Innagural 3rd Friday Event (of the season) with, among other tasty wonders, my very FAVORITE ceramic Artist's in the area, and that would be Bruce Gholson and Samantha Henneke of Bulldog Pottery. (with Ana Howard running a very close second, and a few other's following).
Now I have been keeping tabs on these guys for the last few years, since I met Samantha at a Bruce Baker booth design workshop here in Siler. Since then I once happened upon their truly charming, lovely and idyllic studio/compound/hen house down near Sea Grove, NC, several years ago. And it was there boys and girls, that Samantha and Bruce, enlightened me to the world of blogging, encouraged me to consider starting one, and inspired me to create the blog that you are reading today! (in fact, I don't know if you know this, but I have 6 different blogs now, you can check them out by clicking on my smug mug on the right.
So what do I love about Bulldog Pottery?... Where to begin....(I am no pottery critic, but I know what I like!)
Well, I think that the first chord that Bruce struck in me, was his love of paleontology. According to his bio, this has been a life long fascination for Bruce, and it sure comes through in his work....
So, pressed into the surfaces of Bruce's vessel's one is apt to find a long prehistoric looking fish skeleton, slithering around the pot, as I saw at their show for instance. Bruce's enigmatic combination of prehistoric rock surface with ceramic vessel surface has always attracted and intrigued me.
Then there is their sense of form, evident in the vessels themselves. These are with out a doubt graceful, but also possess a certain poise, and tension, which I also find very attractive in these objects.
Clearly, these two have a mastery of form, which I need to explore more...
But what really blew me away, was the masterful handling of glazes, and the synthesis of these glazes, with the forms, and occasional embelishments.
Each of the several vases stood boldly on its own, each with its own very strong character.
Sumptuous colors, oozed down, and then seemlessly defracted in a manner that speaks more to mineral, than liquid- a grand giving of voice to glaze.
It has been a long time since I have been so RELENTLESSLY bowled over by a group of objects!
I was given some relief by Samantha's masterful, but playful paintings in glaze, which explored a friendly insect world, in calm but vivid colors.These two body's of work played as nice counter points to one another, and wonderfully united in exquisite sets of mugs, where intricate line work, giving delicate presense to exquisite animals, played most subtly with thin washes of glazes.
What more can I say with out repeating my self- delicate, exquisite.
They were also some really nice and light touches, such as the collection of plates and bowls bearing a sort of abstract fish motif, which felt like sort of a playful and kid friendly counter point to some of their weightier work. A delight!
So, If you like Reptire Designs, you are gunna LOVE Bulldog Pottery. In fact, you might forget you ever heard of Reptire whu?
So if you find yourself in the Neighborhood, come on down to the PAF Gallery in downtown Siler City, to take a gander. I promise you, it will be WELLworth your while!
PS, Guess what? You can get some peeks of their work at the PAF Gallery just by clicking on this link.
And you can even see some shots of the opening by clicking here (though I really don't think these shots do it justice! sorry guys! You'll have to come back and take some more!)
OK, And HERE is a the tasty taste (though just a tiny taste) of what you can find in Siler City, up intill April 13th. Don't MISS this!
This past Friday night, I had the pleasure and the honor, to share a couple different stages, both with GLORIOUS Company.
Not only did I get to share the Rotary Stage with my Zambamboogee bandmates, Bruce Saunders, Sue Saunders, Joey Howell, and Scotty Young, some of my favorite peeps on Earth...
We also got to share the larger stage of Siler City's Innagural 3rd Friday Event (of the season) with, among other tasty wonders, my very FAVORITE ceramic Artist's in the area, and that would be Bruce Gholson and Samantha Henneke of Bulldog Pottery. (with Ana Howard running a very close second, and a few other's following).
Now I have been keeping tabs on these guys for the last few years, since I met Samantha at a Bruce Baker booth design workshop here in Siler. Since then I once happened upon their truly charming, lovely and idyllic studio/compound/hen house down near Sea Grove, NC, several years ago. And it was there boys and girls, that Samantha and Bruce, enlightened me to the world of blogging, encouraged me to consider starting one, and inspired me to create the blog that you are reading today! (in fact, I don't know if you know this, but I have 6 different blogs now, you can check them out by clicking on my smug mug on the right.
So what do I love about Bulldog Pottery?... Where to begin....(I am no pottery critic, but I know what I like!)
Well, I think that the first chord that Bruce struck in me, was his love of paleontology. According to his bio, this has been a life long fascination for Bruce, and it sure comes through in his work....
So, pressed into the surfaces of Bruce's vessel's one is apt to find a long prehistoric looking fish skeleton, slithering around the pot, as I saw at their show for instance. Bruce's enigmatic combination of prehistoric rock surface with ceramic vessel surface has always attracted and intrigued me.
Then there is their sense of form, evident in the vessels themselves. These are with out a doubt graceful, but also possess a certain poise, and tension, which I also find very attractive in these objects.
Clearly, these two have a mastery of form, which I need to explore more...
But what really blew me away, was the masterful handling of glazes, and the synthesis of these glazes, with the forms, and occasional embelishments.
Each of the several vases stood boldly on its own, each with its own very strong character.
Sumptuous colors, oozed down, and then seemlessly defracted in a manner that speaks more to mineral, than liquid- a grand giving of voice to glaze.
It has been a long time since I have been so RELENTLESSLY bowled over by a group of objects!
I was given some relief by Samantha's masterful, but playful paintings in glaze, which explored a friendly insect world, in calm but vivid colors.These two body's of work played as nice counter points to one another, and wonderfully united in exquisite sets of mugs, where intricate line work, giving delicate presense to exquisite animals, played most subtly with thin washes of glazes.
What more can I say with out repeating my self- delicate, exquisite.
They were also some really nice and light touches, such as the collection of plates and bowls bearing a sort of abstract fish motif, which felt like sort of a playful and kid friendly counter point to some of their weightier work. A delight!
So, If you like Reptire Designs, you are gunna LOVE Bulldog Pottery. In fact, you might forget you ever heard of Reptire whu?
So if you find yourself in the Neighborhood, come on down to the PAF Gallery in downtown Siler City, to take a gander. I promise you, it will be WELLworth your while!
PS, Guess what? You can get some peeks of their work at the PAF Gallery just by clicking on this link.
And you can even see some shots of the opening by clicking here (though I really don't think these shots do it justice! sorry guys! You'll have to come back and take some more!)
OK, And HERE is a the tasty taste (though just a tiny taste) of what you can find in Siler City, up intill April 13th. Don't MISS this!
