Artistic Philosophy of the Sanford Pottery Festival

“Pottery has a rich past, but should be seen in North Carolina as having an even brighter future.  The goal of the SPF is to shape the future of our state’s most celebrated art form.

“In pursuit of this goal, the Sanford Pottery Festival has no geographic limits.  Here, we strive to pull together both traditional and contemporary potters, with a generous leaven of potters from the prestigious art schools that encourage an ethic of caring and sharing among artists to create a symbiotic community in which all of the arts, not just the ceramic arts, will flourish.

“We strive to create a comfortable and convenient event for the public.  The huge success of our first two events (2002 & 2003) pointed out the need for significant improvements in these two areas.  The SPF came of age with its 2004 event and logistics continue to improve every year.

“One of the main reasons why the public so enjoys the SPF is that we work hard to bring them an unrivalled selection of pottery made by a group of artists and craftsmen who will benefit from close exposure to each other, their work and their ways of working.

“Today, potters have the benefits of ceramic science, a large body of technical information, schools of art, advanced kiln designs and an access to purified raw materials unimaginable to earlier potters.  We can only be amazed that our forebears in the field achieved so much with so little.  The only way to truly honor the traditions of pottery is to carry it to even greater achievements.”

Excerpts from extended statements by Don Hudson, Jr.  Co-founder of the SPF