Friday, June 5 and Saturday, June 6, 2009
at the Townsend Visitors Center
This project is funded under an agreement with the Tennessee Arts Commission.
Highlights for June 5--6, 2009:
Schedule of Activities
Friday, June 5:
12:00 p.m.-7:00pm: Pottery booths open, wheel-throwing demonstrations taking place (check posted schedule), Hugh Bailey's booth, food vendors open.
1:00pm-6:00pm: Peter Rose's Raku Firings, out front: purchase a pot to glaze and fire.
1:00pm-6:00pm: JoeFrank McKee's Raku and Horsehair Firing Demonstrations, in the Pavilion.
1:00pm-6:00pm: Melissa Maney's Cherokee Pottery Demonstrations, in the Pavilion.
3:00pm-7:00pm: Children's Tent open.
6:00pm-7:00pm: Cherokee Music Program with Danny Bigay and Kay Littlejohn-Bring your lawn chairs.
Saturday, June 6:
9 a.m.-5:00pm: Pottery booths open, wheel-throwing demonstrations taking place (check posted schedule), Hugh Bailey's booth, food vendors open, music performances at various times.
10:00am-4:00pm: Peter Rose's Raku Firings, out front: purchase a pot to glaze and fire.
10:00am-4:00pm: JoeFrank McKee's Raku and Horsehair Firing Demonstrations, in the Pavilion.
10:00am-4:00pm: Melissa Maney's Cherokee Pottery Demonstrations, in the Pavilion.
10:00am-4:00pm: Children's Tent open.
Click here for the list of potters and a photo gallery of a sampler of their work.
About our featured potters:
Growing up in the Yellowhill community on the Qualla Boundary, Melissa Maney learned the traditional Cherokee method of making pottery at home. Her grandmother, Cora Wahnetah, was a well known Cherokee potter whose work is owned by the Department of the Interior and is on permanent display at Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual in Cherokee. Melissa's mother, Charlotte Wahnetah Maney, grew up watching her own mother Cora, and she passed on many of those traditional styles to her family.
Melissa Ann Maney has taught in several Cherokee communities, at the Museum of the Cherokee Indian, and at the Cherokee Youth Center (part of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America). She has demonstrated at arts festivals and has pottery in the McKissick Museum in Columbia, South Carolina.
Her work has received many ribbons and awards. She won frst place for her pottery at the Cherokee Fall Fair, and frst place in the Emerging Artist category at the Kituwah festival in Asheville. She has exhibited her pottery in North Carolina, South Carolina, and at the Museum of the Cherokee Indian.
Artist Statement:
"While growing up, I saw my grandmother always making pottery. She would make utilitarian bowls, effigy bowls, owls, and pipes all shaped from clay, and whatever else she felt inclined to make, she made. Sometimes she would have me make little ducks from clay and they always had a little clay cap. Grandma always took great pride in the pottery and great respect for her clay. And, now as an adult and a potter I see now why she had such respect. It was for the love of her family that she made such beautiful pieces of artwork. Grandmother was financially independent; her artwork always provided her a good living. These qualities are what I now strive for in my own artwork. My pottery is about me; the shape, texture, the firing, everything that goes into my pottery is one of a kind. I do not want even two pieces to look alike. I believe there is a bridge that connects my pottery to my grandmothers and I give thanks to God and my mother and grandmothers for passing this tradition on to me."
Peter Rose: 
For more information, call 865-448-6134 or 800-525-6834.
Download the 2009 Smoky Mountain Pottery Festival rack card and post card:
Pottery Rack Card 09Pottery Post Card 09
(Marion Schlauch tray) | (Marge Murphy throwing) | (Marion Schlauch pitcher) |
About our 2008 guest potter:
Hugh Bailey was the featured guest potter for the 2008 Smoky Mountain Pottery Festival. Born in 1934 in Bristol, VA, Hugh obtained his B.A. from Berea College in Art and a Masters of Fine Art from Indiana University. He is a member of the Southern Highland Handicraft Guild, the Foothills Craft Guild, and the Knoxville Watercolor Society. He worked for 41 years as graphic designer for the University of TN publications department, and has been a potter for 50 years, making unique animals and fanciful creatures.
