East Fork Pottery: Alex Matisse, Connie Coady, and John Vigeland on the apprenticeship system

This week on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with the members of East Fork Pottery; Alex Matisse, Connie Coady, and John Vigeland. Alex founded the pottery in Madison County, NC after training with both Matt Jones and Mark Hewitt. East Fork Pottery's strongly thrown functional forms and slip-trailed motifs reference English slip ware, southern American ceramics, and an aesthetic that has become intimately linked with North Carolina.

In the interview we talk about the rites of passage that are embedded in the apprenticeship system, the athleticism involved in making big pots, and romanticizing the life of a country potter. For more information on East Fork Pottery please visit their website www.eastforkpottery.com.

East Fork Pottery is nestled into one of the many beautiful "hollers" of Madison County. When I arrived to do the interview the late afternoon shadows were slowly moving across the surrounding hills. Looking up into the forest I felt like I had accidentally slipped into a movie landscape. In the interview we talk about how easy it is to romanticize the life of a country potter. The picturesque location of East Fork could motivate any urban potter to retreat to the hills of North Carolina. To read more about East Fork I recommend you read The Bitter Southerner's excellent article All wealth is from the Earth.