Seagrove Pre-Conference Artist

Registration/Schedule

Invited Artists: Jari Versternen

Michael Mahan fires for the effects of natural wood ash and flashing in his Manabigama, a cross-draft kiln designed by potters Bill Van Gilder and John Theis. His firing methods vary as he and his son have spent considerable time trying different ways of firing and cooling, using a wide variety of clay and local materials. Mahan built his first wood-fired kiln in 2009. He built a second kiln of similar style in Ireland in 2013, where he and his Irish wife Mary Holmes spend their summer every year. Michael has been making pottery since the early 1980s.

Michael first learned pottery making at the craft center at North Carolina State University while studying writing and editing. He took production pottery classes at Montgomery Community College in Troy, NC, after a short career as a reporter at Asheboro's The Courier-Tribune. He worked for several potters in the Seagrove area before he and his first wife opened up Wild Rose Pottery in Seagrove, NC.

Michael’s son Levi now works out of what was formerly Wild Rose Pottery, and Michael operates a pottery shop in the community of Westmoore, seven miles down the road.

Seagrove Pre-Conference Artist, Panelist

Levi Mahan grew up in Seagrove, North Carolina at Wild Rose Pottery, run by his parents. Since 2009, he has worked for and learned from his dad at From the Ground up Pottery. Levi has assisted with wood kiln building, loading, and firing for potters across North Carolina. He fires with wood while focusing on incorporating local materials whenever possible.

Details:

www.fromthegrounduppots.com

@fromthegrounduppottery

www.levimahan.com

@levi_mahan