Mark Hewitt Pottery's Summer Kiln Opening goes Local!

Preview: Friday August 28, 4-7pm
Saturday, August 29, 9am - 5pm
Sunday, August 30, 12 noon - 5pm
and
Saturday, September 5, 9am - 5pm
Sunday, September 6, 12 noon - 5pm

The upcoming Kiln Opening at the Mark Hewitt Pottery, just east of Pittsboro, NC, features pots decorated with a new, luminescent, granite glaze, made from our own local "Chapel Hill gravel". One of renowned potter Mark Hewitt's talents is mining and refining local materials to create his own clay body and glazes. This recent load of nearly 2000 pots, fired in Hewitt's huge wood-fired kiln, will be on view at the pottery for two weekends at the end of August and early September. Hewitt has been mining local clays for over 25 years to use in making his pottery, but using Chapel Hill gravel in his glazes is a new departure. “I have a new ball mill that tumbles the gravel into a fine powder which I then use as a glaze material," explains Hewitt. "Everyone knows the tan colored gravel on pathways around the area, but not many people know how beautiful it is when you melt it at 2400 degrees Fahrenheit.” As usual the Kiln Opening will offer a full range of pottery, small and large, including mugs, bowls, jars, bud vases, planters, pitchers, and more...with hundreds of pots priced below $30. All the pots in this firing are stamped “77”, the identifying mark of this seventy-seventh firing of the salt kiln.

The Hewitt Pottery Kiln Openings are always popular events. The preview on Friday evening, August 28th, from 4pm-7pm is a chance to view all the new pots, see fellow pottery lovers, and enjoy the refreshments provided. The Kiln Opening continues on Saturday, August 29th, 9am - 5pm, and Sunday, August 30th, from 12 noon - 5pm. The shelves are replenished for a second weekend, Saturday, September 5th, 9am - 5pm and Sunday, September 6th, from 12 noon - 5pm.

Later this fall, on October 7th, Hewitt will be featured in a nationwide broadcast of a new episode of the PBS TV series, "Craft in America.” Several “viewing parties” are being held around the state that evening to benefit the North Carolina Pottery Center located in Seagrove, NC..

A master potter, teacher, and author, Mark Hewitt is also one of the featured artists of the Chatham Studio Tour which is held the first two weekends of December. Born in Stoke-on-Trent, England, Mark is the son and grandson of directors of Spode, the fine china manufacturer. In 1983 he and his wife, Carol found an old farm at the end of a dirt road near Pittsboro and set up their pottery. 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 blends Southern folk pottery traditions with African, Asian, and European influences, to create his own contemporary style. "I moved here for the clay", Hewitt remarks. "Where there is a lot of red clay, there are pockets of gray or cream-colored clays, which I use to create a stoneware clay body." Good clay, wood to fire the kiln, people with an eye for fine pottery, and close proximity to Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill made choosing Chatham County a wise decision.

For more information about these events, or to schedule a visit to the pottery at some other time, you can call or emailing 919-542-2371 or mark@hewittpottery.com. Directions and images of the new pots can be found at www.hewittpottery.com.