wnc

Proud to be a Mountain Folk

Posted on by pincupottery

I LOVE THE WESTERN CAROLINA MOUNTAINS!

Folks have lived in these mountains for centuries.  Some locals here in Bryson City can trace their families way back – part of this county (Swain)  is in the Cherokee nation, which means some folks here trace their family back before America was colonized.  With such a long history, there are many stories of people that have lived here.  Two wonderful ladies, Doreyl Ammons Cain and Amy Ammons Garza, want to make sure those stories are told and heard.  Their podcast, Stories of Mountain Folk, contains short interviews with folks that live in the mountains of Western North Carolina – folks that are traditional mountain folk and new mountain transplants.  Everyone that lives in these mountains has a story  – and if their story contributes to the art, culture and place of Western North Carolina, Doreyl and Amy are out to catch that spirit – their story.    I am proud to have been asked to be one of the Mountain Folk and proud that my husband, Jeff, was also interviewed about his banjo making.

Stop and have a listen to my interview and stories of other mountain folk, including my husband,  Jeff Delfield.  Each is just 1/2 hour long and pretty enjoyable!  Before I come on, here an interview with Jenny Johnson of the Swain Center for the Arts, too.  There are plenty of artful and crafty things happening in Swain County, my hometown!

Learn more about Amy and Doreyl’s mission to Catch the Spirit of Appalachia.

THROWING KIDS in WNC!

Posted on by pincupottery

Just Scheduled:
Children’s Wheel-Throwing Classes this winter!

Choose Thursday or Friday after school (3:30-5 pm) or Saturday morning (10 am – noon) for a 2-hour per week class. Four weeks will get your kids started in making pottery on the potter’s wheel.
Everything is included – tools, clay, glaze, firing costs….

$11.25 per hour = $90 per 4-week class
Can’t beat that!
Class size is limited to 6 students, so call to register ASAP!
Limited class size = lots of individual attention.

Give your children some fun time to learn a skill/craft that will give them confidence and build strength and hand-eye coordination.

Call 488-0480 to register.

Timing: Pottery, Parties, Life

Posted on by pincupottery

I do not wear a watch. I used to. In grade school I found myself glancing at my wrist all too often and getting antsy. What is this time thing? How come what can feel like ‘forever’ is only a few minutes sometimes and then what may take ‘forever’ only seems like minutes? I dropped the watch to keep from looking at my wrist so often. Now I look up and around for a clock on the wall or am forced to ask a stranger or worse, take my cell phone out of hiding to check the digital time (I must confess I love traveling to a different time zone and seeing my cell phone reflect the new time).

What does this gibber jammer have to do with pottery? Well, I said in my last post that I would talk about what went into the making of Pincu Pottery’s birthday party and what I can do to make it better next year. All I can say is that timing has a lot to do with whether your clay pot/sculpture is successful and whether your pottery party (or life, for that matter) is successful! Readers, you know how to prepare for a party – and a pottery birthday party is no different.

Not to bore you with details about last week’s birthday party plans and implements, I want to suggest:
IT IS TIME to register for my Southwestern Community College summer clay classes!
(How is that for making the connection between time, parties and pottery?)
I will be teaching a ‘Kids in Clay’ class beginning June 20 for 8 year olds and up. This class may already be full. Also, ‘Beginner/Intermediate Wheel’ begins May 17 and ‘Handbuilding with Clay’ begins May 16. These two are for adults only. They will be really fun!

By the end of a Beginner/Intermediate Wheel class, every student will make a teapot. Take a look at some pictures from my last wheel class:

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It certainly took time and timing to make those pots! And now it is time for you to take a pottery class and find out how time flies when you are having fun in the studio!!!!

Thanks for reading!!!!