New pottery from the Spruce Pine Potters Market

We're very lucky to live in an area with so many world-class potters! These folks sell their beautiful work throughout the country and around the world, so it's a treat to attend the Spruce Pine Potters Market each year and see all that work collected in our humble little town. We've made a commitment to replacing most of our mass-produced dishes with original work over time, and we acquired some great pieces this time around!

A bowl by Shawn Ireland, who lives just down the road from us.

A cup by Mark Peters, whose daughter was in the same class as Jo at Spruce Pine Montessori.

Two plates, above and below, by Courtney Martin, a local potter we've come to know really well. We love her work! I use a pitcher she made at my desk, and we have another plate and bowl of hers we acquired during the Toe River Arts Council Studio Tour last year. (We also own a glass bowl by her partner John Geci.)

A ceramic strainer. Wendi loves her red and purple metal strainers, but the paint coating is coming off of them, and this looked like it would be perfect for rinsing fruits and vegetables. It's done by a potter who teaches the dual credit class at Penland, which lets Mitchell County High School students take art classes that earn them academic credit both in high school and at the local Mayland Community College--but I can't remember her name, and Wendi's not here for me to ask!

And one last piece, by our "house potter" Michael Kline. We own lots of pieces by Michael, and we love his work so much we'll certainly acquire more. This one has a richer, darker color to it than some of the other pieces we own, which makes for a nice contrast.