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WNC Pottery Festival set for Saturday, Nov. 1, in Dillsboro
The fourth-annual Western North Carolina Pottery Festival will be held in Dillsboro Saturday, Nov. 1, with three dozen master potters demonstrating on the streets.
The juried festival spotlights the work of clay artists across the eastern U.S., including featured potter John Fulwood of New Jersey. Throughout the day, potters share their knowledge through hands-on demonstrations that include raku firing, throwing, wood-firing and horsehair firing. An annual highlight is the opening of the wood-fired coffin kiln at Tree House Pottery.
Organizers said they are enthused by the appearance of Fulwood, a renowned clay artist from New Jersey’s Kissimmee River Pottery. Fulwood is known for his cone-10 reduction firing technique.
Travis Berning of Tree House Pottery in Dillsboro and other area potters will demonstrate their craft during the fourth annual Western North Carolina Pottery Festival, which is on tap for Saturday, Nov. 1, in Dillsboro.
In addition to Fulwood, potters will come from the Carolinas, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas, Ohio and Illinois.
Local potters include Brant Barnes of Riverwood Pottery, who has been featured on HGTV; and Travis Berning of Tree House Pottery, who has developed a special technique for implanting leaf designs in clay. Joe Frank McKee, also of Tree House, will demonstrate all day with alcohol reduction raku firing.
Festival hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., rain or shine. Admission is $2 per person and includes a ticket for a day-long raffle. Children younger than 12 are admitted free.
The WNC Pottery Festival has become a popular crafts event in the mountains, with large crowds in each of its first three years.
“There’s getting to be quite an interest in the festival,” says McKee. “Everybody’s talking about it, and we have 11 new potters this year to ensure that the event stays fresh. We also have more decorative work coming in. People will be impressed by the attention to detail.”
For festival information, call McKee at 631-5100, or visit mountainlovers.com.
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