North Carolina Potter last Guest of Year at USU's Visiting Artist Program

North Carolina potter Mark Hewitt will be on the Utah State University campus March 24-27 as part of the Department of Art Visiting Artist Program. He presents a public lecture Monday, March 24, at 7 p.m. in the Performance Hall on campus (approximately 1090 E. 675 North). The artist will show images and speak about his artwork.

USU art department programs are a part of the Caine School of the Arts, based in the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences.

 

In addition to showing images of his work during the public lecture, Hewitt will present a two-day workshop in the ceramics area of the Department of Art (FAV 121) (approximately 1200 E. 700 North). The workshop is Tuesday and Wednesday, March 25-26, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The workshop presents an overview of the artist’s process.

 

Hewitt will also meet with advanced ceramics students to discuss their artwork. All events are free and open to the public.

 

Born in Stoke-on-Trent, England, Hewitt is the son and grandson of directors of Spode, the fine china manufacturers. As a student at Bristol University in the early 1970s, he read Bernard Leach’s A Potter's Book, and decided to become a studio potter rather than an industrial manager. His decision led to a three-year apprenticeship with Michael Cardew, and later another with Todd Piker in Connecticut, where Hewitt met his wife, Carol.

 

In 1983 they moved to Pittsboro, N.C., and set up their pottery. Hewitt built a very large wood-fired kiln and began making the distinctive functional pots for which he is known. He specializes in the production of very large planters, storage jars and vases, along with a full range of high quality tableware.

 

He mines and refines local stoneware clays and blends North Carolinian folk traditions together into a contemporary style that has attracted a sizeable following. His principal glazes are the traditional Southern alkaline glaze and salt glaze. All his work is fired in a large wood burning kiln the size of a school bus, which he fires three times a year.

 

Hewitt’s artwork has been featured in Smithsonian magazine and on the cover of American Craft magazine. He has written extensively in the ceramic press, and he has exhibited in London, New York and Tokyo, as well as throughout the United States. He is well-represented in museum and private collections.

 

Hewitt’s visit to USU is the final activity in this year’s Visiting Artist Program. In 2008-2009 the Visiting Artist Program will include five artists and an art writer. The guest artists are selected for their national and international reputations, their choices of media and their diverse backgrounds, according to program director Marilyn Krannich.

 

The Visiting Artist Program is supported by a grant from the Marie Eccles Caine Foundation. The Utah Arts Council, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Arts, the Utah Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities, provide additional funding.

 

For more information about the Visiting Artist Program at USU, contact Krannich at (435) 797-7373.

 

 

 

Contact: Marilyn Krannich (435) 797-7373
Source: Art Department, Visiting Artist Program