There is a potter rebellion against the Museum of N.C. Traditional Pottery, and a desire to stage a seperate festival the same weekend as the Seagrove Pottery Festival. Refer to Southern Pines The Pilot staff writer John Chappell's "Potters Rebel on Festival" article as well as a statement of intent or resolution that has been published in area newspapers as a "letter to the editor".
The public should be aware that immediately following the death of Seagrove Pottery Festival founder Richard Gillson, an attempt was made to transfer control of the 26 year old festival and bankrupt the Museum through the efforts of a high ranking Randolph County employee. That particular effort failed.
Seagrove potter and Museum supporter Phil Morgan may be accurate in his determination that plans for a private festival is a power play that appears to be a hostile takeover of the Seagrove Pottery Festival. Many Museum supporters are not willing to rebel against an organization that continues to support them economically and provide a lucrative sales event.
The Seagrove Pottery Festival, named as a Southeast Tourism Society Top 20 Event for the second year in a row, is a financial bonanza for many area potters, and it is unfortunate that some potters do not understand the issues and the risks associated with the destruction of a Top 20 sales event.
According to Chappell's article, potter Ben Owen stated that the Seagrove Pottery Festival should have always been his group's festival.
The festival is owned and operated by the Museum according to it's non-profit charter. The Museum uses festival proceeds to maintain a free information facility that continues to promote local potters throughtout the entire year.
The downtown Seagrove Museum showcases local pottery, distributes maps and educates the public about the scores of shops in the area while helping them plan their visits. Most simply stated, a large portion of Seagrove Pottery Festival proceeds are invested back into the Seagrove pottery community, and the Museum supports and represents all Seagrove area potters in a fair and equitable manner.
A second festival will harm attendance at the Seagrove Pottery Festival and may cause financial harm to the Museum. It could also cause a negative impact on the ecomonic vitality of less fortunate potters within the Seagrove area.
A rebellion does not appear to be a wise or intelligent solution to economic challenges that face the Seagrove area. Seagrove potters who would prefer to simply make pots should take interest in such a rebellion, expecially one that could seriously affect their business of selling those pots.
27th Annual Seagrove Pottery Festival
When: November 22-23, 2008 Where: Located At: Seagrove School, 528 Old Plank Road, Seagrove, NC.
Richard Gillson, 1936-2008.
Friend, Artist, Potter, Promoter, Visionary. No man did more to define the famous "Seagrove Area Potteries" or to nurture the traditional arts and crafts in the heart of North Carolina than Richard Gillson. His personal mission was to promote the Seagrove pottery tradition and create the most inclusive, creative, open, democratic, consistent and accessible organization in the Seagrove area.
Proposed Museum Information Center
This new and modern facility, transformed from the old downtown grocery store building, would enable the Museum to continue it's mission - to preserve and perpetuate the pottery tradition of the five-county Seagrove area, which includes Randolph, Lee, Montgomery, Moore, and Chatham counties. This area is currently home to the largest group of working potters in the nation, and is rich in North Carolina's pottery heritage that has continued in Seagrove for over 200 years.
The Randolph Plate - Circa 1775
In 1983, the Museum of NC Traditional Pottery purchased its first piece of antique pottery for the museum's permanent collection, for $6,200. It is a beautifully decorated slipware plate, 13 inches in diameter, dated by experts to the late 1700s. It is believed to have originated in Randolph County, which is further supported by the fact that it was acquired from a Randolph County family in which the plate has been for many generations. The unsigned plate's age, quality of design, condition and rarity make it one of the finest and most significant pieces of antique pottery ever to be found in the Seagrove area.
Museum gives birth to NC Pottery Center
Under Richard's leadership, the museum helped start the N.C. Pottery Center by donating nine acres of valuable commercial real estate, a large house, historic pottery, financial support and staffing to the Center over a period of many years.
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