Philip Shore on wed 24 nov 04
October 8 & 9, 2005. $25 registration fee plus 10% of gross sales.
Outdoors in downtown Asheboro. 32 year old festival.
The reason I'm writing is that this old show (I've run it for 8 years)
needs the revitalization potters can bring. It began as a
two-card-tables-in-the-parking-lot-with-no- hope-of-a-second-year event
and has grown to one attracting 450 vendors of crafts and food with a
small commercial section. Emphasis on craft. But even emphasizing
crafts has not kept vendors from slipping commercial stuff in--some
people take the definition of handmade and turn it to being made by any
old hands anywhere on the face of the Earth.
My board of directors (the sponsors of the show) and I want to take the
show back to its roots. A massive infusion of potters is the ticket
back to craft health. Ours is a pottery-loving (and making)
area--Seagrove is just down the road. All potters receiving this note
are invited to apply and ask any questions that come to mind.. Shoot me
out an egram with a snail mail address and I'll mail you an application
that explains pretty much everything as soon as the new ones come off
the press.
Vendors from the southeastern US have found favor with this event. It
attracts between 80,000 and 100,000 visitors each year. Good
functional/decorative work in a medium price range does well. High art
at high price doesn't do well at all. You may ask why Seagrove potters
don't take advantage of Fall Festival--because they have been there and
done that. Seagrove folks, by and large, are so well set up with their
individual businesses and several special events during the year, that
there is little need to participate outside their community..
I'd be happy to respond to all correspondents. I am not a potter
myself, just a worker in the arts. Since I've signed up with this
listserve, I have received quite a daily education--from buckets to
Bucky, from tongs to Sa-Zen.
Philip (Shore) Randolph Arts Guild, Asheboro, NC
Other events of interest: March 4,5,6 2005--NC Potters Conference--Main
theme: Glazes Pinnell, DeWeese, Robinson plus majolica expert Tim
Wilson of oxford University.
June 5-10, 2005 Seagrove International Ceramics
Conference--demonstrating potters from Australia, Italy, Great Britain,
Canada, Nepal, Ecuador, China with scholars for each with lectures twice
daily and evening events.
Brochures anyone?
Carolynn Palmer on sun 28 nov 04
In a message dated 24/11/04 2:49:09 PM, arts@ASHEBORO.COM writes:
My board of directors (the sponsors of the show) and I want to take the
show back to its roots. A massive infusion of potters is the ticket
back to craft health. Ours is a pottery-loving (and making)...
<< Philip (Shore) Randolph Arts Guild, Asheboro, NC >>
Read your message on Clayart. We did this show many years ago. I believe
it was 1989 or 1990. We sold pots fairly well among everything that went on!
Saturday, just as a really, well-heeled buying crowd was entering the booths,
everything - sales, conversation, the entire art show was held up by horse
afer horse after horse after horse-drawn conveyance passing by within inches of
the my booth. Right down the middle of the booths!
This went on for over almost two hours. Many times, my pottery and myself
were in imminent danger of being wiped out by a huge, restless animal barely
under control of its rider! Then the motorcycle gang, Hell's Angels, themselves,
came through the show with wheel barrels and shovels! picking up horse dung
by the pickup load. The stench was unbelievable and customers were few and far
between afterwards!!!
The following day there was another parade - everyone who had ever won a
beauty contest of any kind, perched in a huge convertible interspersed with every
polititian running for office anywhere nearby!
I have endless video tape of these events.
Can you promise me that this will not happen in 2004?
-Carolynn Palmer, Somerset Center, Michigan
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