Pinkul Pottery makes functional pottery with an attention to detail of true artists.
We began working with clay when we moved to Dysartsville North Carolina; a small rural community in the foothills of the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. We were juried into the Southern Highland Crafts Guild in 2004 and we sell our pots through the guild shops, as well as other galleries and also from our studio showroom.
We make mid-range stoneware pottery that is wheel thrown, hand built or a combination of the two. Occasionally we also work in porcelain. Most of the pieces pass through both pairs of hands before they are finished. After being formed, dried, and carefully cleaned, the pieces are fired to 1960 degrees F. This makes the clay strong enough to be handled and glazed without breaking or dissolving; yet still porous enough to absorb glaze. The glazes are then applied by using techniques such as wax resist, layering, dipping, brushing or spraying. We develop our own glazes so they fit our clays and form a strong, tight, impervious glass coating which is permanently fused to the clay when they are fired to 2200 degrees F. The glazes are blended from clays, ground rocks, and minerals, metal oxide colorants such as cobalt, copper, nickel, and titanium. We only use materials that are considered safe for foods.
Fred’s passion is finely made table ware. From the ergonomic mug with the perfectly curved lip and roomy handle, to the bowl whose curvature fits beautifully in your hand, to the casserole dish with a perfectly fitting lid, his pottery mixes functionality with beauty wonderfully. His deep plates have nicely turned rims and feet that can accommodate a beef stew with gravy just as well as a large salad with all the trimmings.
As for me I make my pieces from rolled out slabs, from clay that is pinched, coiled, paddled and poked. My work is seldom round, but the geometry of my teapots, plates, or platters contrasts beautifully to the organic patterning and design work that I incorporate.
