President

Linda Carnes-McNaughton (Pittsboro) is Collections Manager/Lab Director of the Cultural Resources Program, Fort Bragg. Linda is author of many professional papers and articles, including The Mountain Potters of Buncombe County, North Carolina: An Archaeological and Historical Survey.

 

Vice President

Mark Hewitt (Pittsboro) was born near Stoke-on-Trent, England, and began an apprenticeship in 1976, moving to NC with his wife Carol in 1983.  Mark is the author of numerous articles about potters and pottery.  In 2005 he co-curated “The Potter’s Eye” with Nancy Sweezy at the North Carolina Museum of Art.

Treasurer

Ed Henneke (Seagrove) obtained his undergraduate and graduate engineering degrees from The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD.   He began his career as an Assistant Professor at Florida State University and moved to Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, VA, where he served as a professor, researcher, and administrator for thirty-six years.  From 1989 through 2002, he was Department Head of Engineering Mechanics, and from 2002 – 2007, he was Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies in the College of Engineering.  He retired from Virginia Tech in August 2007.

Secretary

Meredith Heywood (Seagrove) is a potter who first began visiting Seagrove in 1959 and moved there in 1976.  A potter for the past 30 years, she and her husband Mark operate Whynot Pottery.

 

Ann Busick (Fuquay Varina) is a graduate of Denison University and a retired high school teacher.  Ann, along with husband, Monty, is an enthusiastic collector and promoter of North Carolina pottery and a long-term supporter of the North Carolina Pottery Center, having volunteered on numerous occasions with the annual auction and other premier events.  She supports the potters of the state and appreciated the heritage of this craft and tradition.

 

Bruce Daws (Fayetteville) is currently the city historian for Fayetteville, an avid pottery collector, a researcher/scholar, the founder to the Fayetteville Transportation and Local History Museum, a member of the Historic Interpretations Task Force for the City of Fayetteville, a member of the Historic Commission, and a member of the Fayetteville Light Infantry.  His background includes experience with city governments, museum operations, historic research, grant writing, and fund-raising.

 

Cindy Edwards (Pittsboro) is a longtime collector of NC pottery and past director of the NC Arts Incubator in Siler City. She has been an antiques dealer for over twenty-five years and past president of the North Carolina Antiques Dealers Association.

 

Susan Greene (Asheboro)Greene is the Marketing Chair of the Seagrove Area Potters Association. She is passionate about cultural heritage, tourism, people, pottery, plants and the connection and promotion of them all. She serves on the North Carolina Pottery Center auction committee and is a member of TreesSeagrove, a local chapter of TreesNC. A graduate of Belmont University, Susan has extensive experience in educating and marketing.

Everette James (Chapel Hill) is an honors graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill, Duke Medical School and the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health.  He has published over 500 articles and 20 books covering medicine, American art, folk art, N C decoys, pottery, quilts, and Southern furniture.  He most recently received the Governor’s Long Leaf Pine Award for service to the state.

Jennie Lorette Keatts (Seagrove) owner of JLK Jewelry established August 1999 at Jugtown Pottery in Seagrove, NC.  Keatts background before moving to NC was in Hospitality and Tourism Marketing.  Nine years were with Warwick International Hotels as Director of Sales & Marketing/National Sales Contracting, followed by 3 years with the Denver Convention & Visitors Bureau as an International Tourism Marketing Director. She holds a BA in Environmental Biology from the University of Colorado. Keatts has been active in the Seagrove community, being involved in the inception and on the Board of the Seagrove Area Potters Association for 3 years, and most recently on the Steering Committee of the successful Celebration of Seagrove Potters, serving as Co-Chair of Publicity. Her business JLK Jewelry has been successful and she is represented in galleries nationwide. 

Michael Kline (Bakersville) born in 1961 Michael has been a studio potter since 1993. He studied pottery, painting, and printmaking at the University of Tennessee and holds a BFA. He also studied under Michael Simon at the Penland School of Crafts in 1989. After teaching pottery the Westside YMCA in New York City he joined Mark Shapiro and Sam Taylor in Worthington Massachusetts and built a studio and kiln at Stonepool Pottery.  In 1993 Michael began his Okra Pottery Studio. He designed and created wood fired-salt glazed tableware with a botanical theme in Massachusetts until 1998 when he was awarded a Resident Artist position at the Penland School of Crafts. At Penland Michael developed a body of work in translucent porcelain as well as large-scale stoneware pottery inspired by the traditional stoneware of the Catawba Valley and Seagrove areas of North Carolina.  Michael lives in Bakersville, North Carolina with his wife/goldsmith, Stacey Lane. They have two daughters, Evelyn and Lillian.

Pam Lorette Owens (Seagrove) married Vernon Owens in 1983.  The Owens established the Jugtown Museum in 1988 and oversaw the process to have Jugtown listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Pam is currently serving as the Exhibition & Auction Committee Chair.

 

Caroleen Sanders (Concord and Rock Hill, SC) is a beautician and a traditional Catawba Indian potter. She was trained by her Mother, Verdie Harris Sanders, Nola Campbell, and Earl Robbins.

 

Gertrude (Gay) Smith (Bakersville) has lived and worked in Bakersville, NC since 1994 after artist-in-residencies at Penland School and the Archie Bray Foundation.  A studio potter for 30 years, she teaches pottery workshops across the USA and abroad.

 

Lane Wharton (Raleigh) a graduate of the University of Chicago Law School.  Lane has been a lawyer in private practice in Raleigh for the past 34 years, specializing in representing the State in connection with the problems of financially-troubled insurers.  Lane has also served as on the Boards of Directors of several non-profits including the Food Bank and Planned Parenthood affiliates in the Triangle.