The Faces of Jugtown

Vernon Owens

Vernon grew up working in his dad's shop, absorbing shapes from his father, M.L. Owens and his uncle Walter Owen, who worked at North State Pottery in Sanford. In the late 1950's, at the age of fifteen, he went to work also for C.C. Cole making as many as 200 small pieces a day. The economy was in hard times and a good product that sold was something to be proud of. While Vernon worked hard to make good pots, he did not think of himself as an artist.

In 1960, John Mare, the new owner of Jugtown Pottery, hired Vernon as to be Jugtown’s potter. Here, Vernon was encouraged to hone the skills he had developed as a youngster. At first he dutifully copied the forms of early Jugtown pieces, but that became a frustration and he began to let the old pots be an inspiration to develop his own forms. After Mare's sudden death in 1962, Vernon leased the pottery and kept it going until 1968 when it was sold to Country Roads, Inc.

Vernon continued at Jugtown Pottery through the ownership of Country Roads, Inc., a nonprofit corporation whose mission was the preservation of hand crafts. He worked closely with the director, Nancy Sweezy, learning glazing and business techniques. In 1983 Country Roads, Inc. moved on to another project and Vernon bought the pottery. He married potter Pam Lorette that same year. While Vernon sells the majority of his pots at Jugtown, they can occasionally be seen at gallery shows and in museums. The main influences in Vernon's pots come from the Moore County, NC pottery tradition, (the utilitarian wares such as jugs, pitchers and churns made in the 18th and 19th centuries), and the art pottery era which began around 1917, from which classical vases and bowls from Korea, China, and Japan became the inspiration. Vernon received a North Carolina Folk Heritage Award from the NC Arts Council in 1994. In 1996 he received a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. Vernon received an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from North Carolina State University in December of 2000.

Pamela Owens

A love of traditional pottery and a potter named Daniel Goodale from her mother's lineage initiated Pam Owens pottery career.  Her first pottery teacher Isobel Karl, who attended Alfred College during what she called, "the golden years", strongly influenced Owens decision to study pottery by apprenticeship. Seven years of pottery apprenticeship, the traditional method of pottery study, began with two years at High Mowing, a small Waldorf School in New Hampshire. After studying in a school environment and a three week study at Wolff Pottery in Connecticut, Jugtown Pottery was her first working pottery experience in 1977. There she learned throwing skills through practice and watching Vernon Owens, a very skilled potter at work. She, like other apprentices at Jugtown, worked in many other areas of the pottery production, absorbing the practices Jugtown employs.

Returning to New Hampshire to attend UNH, Owens found work throwing early American reproduction ware and loading kilns as part of the employment/apprentice process. She apprenticed at Chesire pottery in NH and Beaumont Heritage Pottery in York, ME before returning to Jugtown in 1980. In 1983 she and Vernon were married and have worked together since.

Owens states, "How I landed at Jugtown and this wonderful state that so appreciates clay, still mystifies me, but I am honored to be part of the tradition and do my best to keep it alive, evolving and yet connected to its history. The forms at Jugtown are always subtly changing. We work from the tradition but are not strictly bound by it."

Pam served as a North Carolina Pottery Center Board Member from from 1999-2002 and again for several years until 2011. Pam's work can be seen in the publications such as The Potter's Eye by Nancy Sweezy and Mark Hewitt, 500 Animals in Clay, a Lark Ceramic Book and The Remarkable Potters of Seagrove by Charlotte Brown among others.

Travis
Owens

Born in 1985, son of Vernon and Pam Owens, Travis began making pots at age 2. He is known for making traditional wares like those of his Owen/Owens ancestors, as well as early Jugtown shapes - particularly Asian inspired vases where form and design are paramount.

Travis has led workshops and given presentations at many museums and art centers around the US.

Travis has a Bachelor of Art and Design from the College of Design at NCSU. He is a full time Jugtown Potter.

 

Bayle
Owens

Bayle, daughter of Vernon and Pam, grew up at Jugtown.  Although she made pots for the shop off and on throughout her life, she began work as a full time potter in 2013. Bayle makes a variety of shapes, some with decoration inspired by animals and nature. She also makes sculptural animals, drawing inspiration from the many potters who have made animals at Jugtown during the last century. Brushwork application of slip is a particular focus of Bayle’s work, whether it’s a fox drawn on a functional form, or a fur like texture brushed onto a sculptural animal.

“I have always been drawn to the animals, wild and domestic, who we share this world with. I draw inspiration from the beauty and wisdom of these creatures as I work to capture some essence of their being in my work.”

Bayle received an AA in Professional Craft: Fiber from Haywood Community College in 2012.

Bobby Owens

Born in 1939, Bobby is the son of M.L. Owens. He grew up helping with the loading of kilns and cutting wood for firing kilns for his father. He was hired by John Mare in 1960 to glaze, load and fire kilns at Jugtown Pottery. His love of the process of clay and glazes kept him busy at Jugtown. He continues to work mixing clay and glazing and firing of the cone 6 gas kiln. He is a integral part of the process at Jugtown.