Customer Reviews

The Potter's Eye: Art and Tradition in North Carolina Pottery

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The Potter's Eye by Mark Hewitt and Nancy Sweezy is a must for lover's of North Carolina pottery. Organized in a logical way, the book offers a wonderful review of the stoneware tradition still alive in North Carolina. The book connects the North Carolina tradition of pottery making with traditions in Europe, Asia, and other states in the U. S.

Lavishly photographed with rich details, The Potter's Eye is sure to impress. Perhaps the best part of the book are the interviews included with modern potters: Kim Ellington, Mark Hewitt, Ben Owen III, Pam Owens, Vernon Owens, and David Stuempfle. Legends in their own time.

The Potter's Eye is not a coffee table book. It will become an integral part of your library as soon as you receive it.

Peace

A fine book with essays and some 90 photos with commentary on pieces shown in the NC Art Museum's early 2006 exhibit. But if you are not familiar with pottery and potting be sure to read at least the first dozen or so comments on the individual pottery pieces - some important descriptions and definitions are provided of the various kinds of kilns, pottery designs and styles. Otherwise you may be baffled by the name and term dropping later in the book.

A book I will revisit often. The photographs are superb and the essays are insightful. I especially liked the discussions by potter and exhibit curator Mark Hewitt on the interplay of tradition and contemporary work: "a delightful syncopation of perception and expression, nudging the old world into the present...tradition is a mirror, reflecting who we are and how we measure up. It is the voice of our pottery forebears, encouraging, revealing, holding our feet to the fire. Tradition is one of the voices of the divine."

The Potter's Eye was an exhibit at the N.C. Museum of Art. This companion book manages to capture the exhibit. Mark Hewitt's and Nancy Sweezy's words illustrate the pots almost as well as the photos. This is a book I return to time and again for inspiration.

You spend your whole life being told to look for pottery from you GG Grandfather (Thomas Chandler). That he was a potter, or he made pots, but to find out just how good is really was was humbling. The images in the book are amazing. I have been a photographer my whole life and this book really captures the essence of the the pottery. It was nice to see someone actually take the time to photograph the pottery with good composition and great lighting. Thank you for revealing my families cherished past.

An absolute gem of a book; clear, comprehensive, and beautifully illustrated.