Potter turns clay into everyday art
By Kirsten Ballard
Published in News on March 16, 2015 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/MELISSA KEY
Sue Gregg moves the one-fourth inch flattened clay to her working table so that she can start forming a platter by hand. She specializes in items that people can not only admire, but that they can also use.
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News-Argus/MELISSA KEY
"Tuxedo" and other collections of handmade and painted pottery line the walls in Sue Gregg's workspace.
Maybe it was Patrick Swayze's arms.
Or the soulful lyrics of "Unchained Melody."
Either way, Sue Gregg's life changed started when she saw "Ghost."
"I fell in love with that movie," she laughed.
It was the pottery scene that got her.
"I thought, 'Man, that looks so neat'...not that (Patrick Swayze) is going to be there."
When she retired from her State Farm Insurance job, Sue took concentrations in pottery. She took classes at North Carolina State University, Penland School of Crafts and Arrowment School of Arts and Crafts.
She has been working with clay for the last 15 years, but frequently dabbled in painting, cross stitching and other crafts before that.
Her pottery serves a dual purpose, both art and function.
"Mostly, I just like knowing I can use it," she said.
Each room in her house features different pieces of pottery, whether it is a display of bright pottery flowers or her kitchen backsplash.
"If you purchase it, you can take it home and use it," she said.
She tries to price fairly.
"A mug--that's a piece of artwork that's going to be with you for a long time. All mugs are $15, anybody can afford that," she said.
While not making a lot of money on her pots, Sue enjoys the craft.
The under glaze and glazes she uses are toxic-free and food-safe. The pieces are microwaveable and dishwasher safe, though she recommends washing the more delicate pieces by hand.
By building and handpainting mugs, dishes and tables, she creates usable masterpieces.
All of her pottery is made by hand building or wheel-work. It starts on her clay roller in the garage where she presses the clay to a quarter of an inch.
The ideas for her designs sprout in her brain. She does not sketch them out.
"I just play with it until I get it," she said.
She begins shaping the flattened clay, transforming a flat piece of earth into a freestanding sculpture.
After the piece dries, she places it in one of her two electric kilns to be fired.
Sue does not work in the extremely hot or cold months. The clay cracks in the heat and will not dry in the cold. She works what she calls "short" hours, spending five hours puttering around and filling orders.
In August, September and October, she spends long hours in the garage, preparing for her three shows.
She shows in an open house in November and two shows.
"It's a lot of work," she said.
Sue says pottery is very relaxing. She gets lost in her creative process.
Ladybugs and a tree of life are motifs in her work. The ladybugs make her happy, but the tree is what started it all.
"I'm very spiritual, I'm a Christian and it means a lot to me. It's the foundation," she said.
The tree is featured on her business card and dish collections.
Other collections feature tuxedo stripes, olives and holly leaves.
But her newest venture is painting nature scenes with glaze. She says working with the glaze is entirely different than working with paint.
"When you paint something, what you put on that piece, it stays. When you glaze, and put it in a kiln, it's like glass and melts, so you never know exactly what you have," she says.
This is her first time trying scenes with so much detail and color. Each time she opens the kiln, it's a surprise how it turned out.
"You hope that whatever you put in turns out, because you never know what is going to come out," she said.
That gamble is one of her favorite parts of pottery, the constant excitement of her creations.
Though each piece is unique, she makes duplicates to prepare for her shows. She says it does not get boring.
"I do whatever I need to do," she said. "I enjoy all of it."