We have been representing artists from New Bern and across the state and country since 1989. As everyone knows, North Carolina is well known for our pottery tradition so pottery has always been a big part of our gallery.
We met Paul and Sheila several years ago and fell in love with their work and have been representing them ever since. Here's what they have to say about their work.
"Our goal is to enhance the celebration of daily life
and enrich it's simple joys. There is an intimate connection between
human hands when we use pots, a shared moment that often seems
increasingly absent in our lives."
All of the pottery produced by Ray Pottery is handmade by the husband and wife team of Paul and Sheila Ray. It is either thrown on a potter's wheel, slab built or extruded. It is then fired in a propane fueled kiln to 2350 degrees Fahrenheit. Glazes are applied by a combination of dipping and spraying. Two of the stoneware glazes we use most commonly are:
Ash Glaze - Known for their subtle colors and mottled surface effects, ash glazes were some of the first glazes to be formulated by ancient Chinese potters. We use pine and oak ashes, collected from a wood burning kiln.
Copper Red - Copper red is achieved by adding a small amount of copper carbonate (usually .25% to .5%) along with tin oxide to a glaze and then firing it in a reducing atmosphere. Copper reds were first developed by Chinese potters over 1000 years ago and are still commonly referred to as "oxblood" glazes.
To see more of their beautiful pottery click here.
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