Leigh Taylor Mickelson on mon 14 jun 04
Baltimore Clayworks Presents
Mark Hewitt
Giving Contemporary Expression to North Carolina's Stoneware Tradition
Baltimore Clayworks presents Mark Hewitt: Giving Contemporary
Expression to North Carolina's Stoneware Tradition, a solo exhibition of
Hewitt's utilitarian pottery. The exhibition will be in the main
gallery from June 26 - July 24, 2004. The artist will be in attendance
at the opening reception on Saturday, June 26, from 6 - 8pm. Admission
is free.
In conjunction with the exhibition, Mark Hewitt will lead a wheel
throwing demonstration workshop entitled Showing It All on Saturday and
Sunday, June 26 -27, from 10am - 4pm. Hewitt will demonstrate a variety
of throwing techniques for big and small pots and share some of his
decorative tricks. He also expects and encourages discussions on
materials, kilns, values, and marketing.
About his work, Mark Hewitt states, "Some potters are clean, some are
dirty. I like clean lines, deft touch, noble ideas, big hearts, keen
focus, decorative flair, wild clays, wild firings, luminous quality,
open minds, and cunning wit. On balance . dirty." He prefers to sell
work to people who will form a relationship with it through use. "The
pieces of my work that I love the most are all pieces that I use over
and over again."
Mark Hewitt comes from a family steeped in ceramic tradition. His
father and grandfather were directors of Spode, a fine china
manufacturer, in Stoke-on-Trent, England. For three years, Hewitt
worked under Michael Cardew at Wenford Bridge Pottery in Bodmin,
England, and then moved to Connecticut to work with Todd Piker. He also
spent time studying traditional potteries in West Africa, Taiwan, Korea,
and Japan. Hewitt specializes in the production of oversized planters,
storage jars, vases, and high quality tableware. He uses North
Carolinian stoneware clay that he mines and refines himself in the
production of his work and finishes it with traditional Southern
alkaline and salt glazes. Hewitt holds three annual firings that yield
upwards of 2000 pieces each and attract hundreds of eager collectors to
his rustic farm studio in Pittsboro, NC.
Baltimore Clayworks is a not-for-profit ceramic art center located in
the Mt. Washington neighborhood in northwest Baltimore. Founded in
1980, Clayworks is housed in two reclaimed and renovated buildings
located across the street from one another. This organization offers
classes, artists' spaces, exhibitions, and programs in the community.
Hours are 10am - 5pm, Monday through Saturday. Open until 7pm on
Thursdays and 12 - 5pm on Sundays. For more information call Baltimore
Clayworks at 410-578-1919 or visit our website,
www.baltimoreclayworks.org.
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