Hewitt Opening

Contact Person: Carol Hewitt
424 Johnny Burke Rd.
Pittsboro, NC 27312
919-656-8889
mark@hewittpottery.com
www.markhewittpottery.com

W. M. Hewitt Pottery announces their Summer Kiln Opening 2008
PREVIEW: Friday, August 22, 4pm-7pm
(a chance to view the new pots.…no sales or reservations)
SALE: Saturday, August 23, 9am - 5pm
Sunday, August 24, 12 noon - 5pm
and
Saturday, August 30, 9am - 5pm
Sunday, August 31, 12 noon - 5pm

Each firing of the huge wood-fired kilns at the W. M. Hewitt Pottery in Pittsboro, NC holds over 1500 pots and challenges master potter, Mark Hewitt, with big risks and exciting aesthetic opportunities. For the recently unloaded fifth firing of his newest kiln, Hewitt made several massive “Obelisks,” 62 inches tall and 250 lbs., and a similarly-sized massive lidded storage jar, “bigger than anything I’ve ever made,” says Hewitt. He and his two apprentices have been experimenting with a new range of colors - russet pinks and soft blue glazes, dark alkaline greens, rich caramel browns, and pale celadons. “I’m particularly happy with the tall, elegant, “Art Deco” vases”, adds Hewitt, who has also made several dozen iced tea tumblers, smaller lidded jars, tall pitchers, cereal bowls, dinner plates, and nearly 100 comforting mugs. All the pots in this firing are stamped with an “E”, identifying the fifth firing of the new kiln, along with each maker’s mark. Hewitt’s sales are always popular events, and the pottery will be open for two weekends this year to accommodate people’s summer travel plans, the weekend before Labor Day, Saturday, August 23, 9am - 5pm, and Sunday, August 24, from 12 noon - 5pm, and Labor Day weekend itself, Saturday, August 30, 9am - 5pm and Sunday, August 31, from 12 noon - 5pm. A preview on Friday evening, August 22, from 4pm-7pm is a chance to view all the new pots. Refreshments are provided, but there are no sales or reservations made that evening.

Mark Hewitt, master potter and author, is one of the featured artists of the Chatham Studio Tour. Born in Stoke-on-Trent, England, Mark is the son and grandson of directors of Spode, the fine china manufacturers. “As a student at Bristol University in the early 1970's, I read Bernard Leach's "A Potter's Book," and decided to become a studio potter rather than an industrial manager,” says Hewitt. This decision led to a three-year apprenticeship with Michael Cardew, and later another with Todd Piker in Connecticut, where Mark met his wife, Carol.
“In 1983, we moved to Pittsboro NC to set up our pottery”, Mark notes. Mark built a very large wood kiln and began making the distinctive functional pots for which he is known, specializing in very large planters and jars, along with finely made smaller items. He uses local clays and blends the different North Carolinian folk traditions together into a contemporary style that has attracted a sizeable following. He has recently made and fired two huge “Obelisks”, measuring 62” in height and weighing about 250 pounds. His work has been featured in the Smithsonian magazine and on the cover of American Craft magazine, he has written extensively in the ceramic press, and he has exhibited in London, New York and Tokyo, as well as throughout the US. He is well-represented in museum and private collections.

In 2006 Hewitt co-curated a major exhibition with Nancy Sweezy entitled "The Potter’s Eye: Art and Tradition in North Carolina Pottery," at the North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, NC. The exhibition juxtaposed traditional pottery from around the world with the work of six contemporary potters and ran from October 30, 2005 – March 19, 2006. UNC Press published an exquisitely illustrated catalogue/book by Hewitt and Sweezy of the same title.
Mark's work was featured in the PBS series, "Craft in America," and in the accompanying book and travelling exhibition. The show was aired nationally in May 2007.

Hewitt's pottery has been featured in the Smithsonian magazine and on the cover of American Craft magazine. He has written extensively in the ceramic press, and has exhibited in London, New York, Atlanta, and Tokyo, as well as throughout the US. He is well-represented in museum and private collections.

Customers are also welcome to visit the pottery between kiln openings by appointment.

Visits can be scheduled by calling or emailing 919-542-2371 or mark@hewittpottery.com.

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