Mark Hewitt (NC, b. 1955), Large Stoneware Grave Marker with Poppies

Pittsboro, salt glazed stoneware, signed with impressed 1995-present oval potters glyph and "90" for 90th firing to the underside, of waisted cylindrical form, pink glazed field with stylized poppy decoration.

27 1/2 x 11 1/2 x 11 1/2 in.

Private Collection, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Born in Stoke-on-Trent, England, Mark is the son and grandson of directors of Spode, the fine china manufacturers. As a student at Bristol University in the early 1970s, Mark read Bernard Leach’s A Potter’s Book, and decided to become a studio potter rather than an industrial manager. This decision led to a three-year apprenticeship with Michael Cardew, and later another with Todd Piker in Connecticut, where Mark met his wife, Carol.

In 1983 they moved to Pittsboro, NC and set up their pottery. Mark built a very large wood kiln and began making the distinctive functional pots for which he is known, specializing in very large planters and jars, along with finely made smaller items. He uses local clays and blends the different North Carolinian folk traditions together into a contemporary style that has attracted a sizeable following.

Mark’s work has been featured in numerous publications including Smithsonian magazine, the cover of American Craft magazine, and he has written extensively in the ceramic press. Mark has exhibited in London, New York and Tokyo, as well as throughout the U.S. He is well-represented in museum and private collections.

Mark was awarded a United States Artist Fellowship in 2015 for contributions to the creative landscape and arts ecosystems of the county, and was a finalist for the 2015 Balvenie Rare Craft Award for contributions to the maintenance and revival of traditional or rare craft techniques. In 2014 he was awarded a Voulkos Fellowship at the Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts in Helena, Montana, for his outstanding contributions to the ceramic arts.

Good condition.