Artist: Samantha Henneke
Samantha Henneke, NORTH CAROLINA
View Artist's Products
I am a full-time studio potter living and working in Seagrove, North Carolina with my husband Bruce Gholson. Together we work in our art studio and maintain a pottery sales shop open to the public daily. I grew up in Blacksburg, Virginia surrounded by the Allegheny and Blue-Ridge Mountains. I attended my home-town college, Virginia Tech. During my 4 years of classes at Virginia Tech I searched the halls for my place in life, and I finally found my focus during my junior year while taking a pottery class. During the spring of 1991, in the basement of the dining hall I fell in love with clay. After completing one more year at Virginia Tech I transferred to the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University and graduated with a BFA in Ceramics in 1995. My studio art pottery aesthetics are traditional with a flare - a dotted mug, an insect on a plate, or a swirl on a covered jar. I also enjoy creating fantasy landscapes depicting life in the garden. I compose crystalline glazed paintings on porcelain canvases of scenes such as a lavender dressed girl dancing with a red ant, a portrait of a red-eye fly, or a jewel beetle. I love my life as a studio art potter and I am grateful for my ability to pursue my passion.
Making pottery in the studio is an orchestration of designing the shape, decorating the form, applying the glaze to accentuate its surface and firing the glazed pottery piece to maturity. The daily process of working with clay is a gratifying experience for me. I want my functional work to be beautiful and comfortable to use. I primarily work with smooth textured clays, such as porcelain or light colored stoneware, for the brilliant color response glazes have when applied and fired onto white or light toned surfaces. I enjoy decorating the surface of the pots I make, and many times I will design the clay forms for particular glazing techniques. My approach to surface decoration varies depending on my choice of glazes, the type of firing, and my current mood. Sometimes I like to decorate the piece with a simple swirl and other times the plate becomes a canvas for an insect image or a dotted pattern which can show how tight patterning can affect ones vision, creating an op-art effect of movement and vibration. I am fascinated with macro photography and exploring my garden collecting images of insects in their environments. I utilize this activity to capture stories among the foliage, to create colorful compositions, and patterns to form a snapshot in time and imagination.
EDUCATION:
1992-1995 New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, BFA in
Ceramics, Cum Laude, Dean's List: four semesters.
1988-1992 Virginia Polytechnic Institute, GPA 3.2
WORK EXPERIENCE:
2012 - 2018 Co-Chair for North Carolina Potters Conference, Randolph Arts
Guild, Asheboro, NC
2000-… Studio Potter and partner at Bulldog Pottery, Seagrove, NC.
Aug. 1997-2000 Potter and designer at Dover Pottery Seagrove, NC.
Aug. 1995-97 Studio Potter, and part-time glaze researcher at Moore-Merkowitz
Tile Company in Alfred, NY.
1997 Adjunct Professor at Alfred University, Liberal Arts Pottery,
spring semester.
1990-1992 Virginia Tech Slide Room Assistant, cleaning, masking, mounting,
and cataloging.
COLLECTIONS:
2012 Fidelity Investments, Cary, North Carolina
2012 Mint Museum of Art Randolph, Charlotte, NC
2009 Scott Cornelius Design Studio Ltd. Bulldog table lamps in the
permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institution: Presently in
the First Family’s, Private Quarters of the White House.
2008 Mobile Museum of Art, Mobile, Alabama.
2006 Gregg Museum of Art and Design, NC State University, Raleigh.
2005 Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte, NC.
Workshop and Presentations:
2017 One-Day Workshop at University of Mary Washington,
Fredericksburg,Virginia.
2017 Presentation at Liberty Town Arts, November, Fredericksburg,
Virginia.
2015 Presentation for North Carolina Pottery Collectors, December,
Raleigh, NC.
2015 One-Day Workshop and Presentation at Pembroke University, North
Carolina, March.
2014 Two-Day Workshop and Presentation at Eastern Carolina
University, Greenville, North Carolina, October.
2012 University of Georgia, April, Visiting Artist
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS:
2019 H20, NCECA Minneapolis 2019, Group Exhibition, at the Waterbar
and Public Studio.
2018 Beauty and the Beast, May 4- July 15, Green Hill Art Center,
Greensboro, NC
2017 Functional Ceramics 2017, March 22- April 22, Wayne Art Center,
Hosted by Ohio Designer Craftsman, Wooster, Ohio
2017 American Pottery Festival, September 8-10, sponsored by
Northern Clay Center, Minneapolis, MN.
2016 American Pottery Festival, September 9-11, sponsored by
Northern Clay Center, Minneapolis, MN.
2016 Invited to “Potter’s Market Invitational,” September, sponsored by
the Delhom Service League, Mint Museum Randolph, Charlotte,
North Carolina.
2016 Invited to solo exhibition, “Bruce Gholson and Samantha
Henneke,” FRANK Art Gallery, August, Chapel Hill, North
Carolina.
2016 Invited to solo exhibition at “Bruce Gholson and Samantha
Henneke,” Troika Contemporary Crafts, July 1- August 2, Floyd,
VA.
2015 “Women in Clay,” Frank Gallery, October 6 - November 8, Chapel
Hill, NC.
2015 “Potter’s Market Invitational,” September, sponsored by the
Delhom Service League, Mint Museum Randolph, Charlotte,
North Carolina.
2015 “Potters Four,” Ackland Museum Store, June 12 - August 20,
Chapel Hill, NC.
2015 “Distilled Essence III,” Charlie Cummings Gallery, March 7 - 27,
Gainesville, Florida.
2014 AKAR, Featured Artist Exhibition, Sept 26 - Oct 27, Iowa City,
Iowa.
2014 “Potter’s Market Invitational,” September, sponsored by the
Delhom Service League, Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte, North
Carolina.
2014 June 1 - September 14, Maria V. Howard Arts Center, “Bulldog
Pottery - From Our Collection,” Rocky Mount, North Carolina
2014 AKAR Yunomi Invitational, April 25 - May 16, Iowa City, Iowa.
2013 “Potter’s Market Invitational,” September, sponsored by the
Delhom Service League, Mint Museum Randolph, Charlotte,
North Carolina.
2013 “Tea Time: Series II Functional and Conceptual,” North Carolina
Pottery Center, February 2 - April 27, Seagrove, NC.
2013 AKAR Yunomi Invitational, April 19-August 19, Iowa City, Iowa.
2012 “Potter’s Market Invitational,” September, sponsored by the
Delhom Service League, Mint Museum Randolph, Charlotte,
North Carolina.
2012 “By Example-North Carolina Potters and their Mentors,” June 15-
August 26, Green Hill Art Center, Greensboro, NC.
2012 “Bulldog Pottery-New Works,” PAF Gallery, March 16 - April
13, Siler City, NC.
2012 AKAR Yunomi Invitational, March 26 - April 16, Iowa City, Iowa.
2011 “Potter’s Market Invitational,” September, sponsored by the
Delhom Service League, Mint Museum Randolph, Charlotte,
North Carolina.
Samantha Henneke
3306 US Hwy 220 Alt North, Seagrove, NC 27341, 910-428-9728
bulldog@bulldogpottery.com www.bulldogpottery.com
2011 “Bulldog Pottery: New Works,” North Carolina Museum of
Natural Sciences, Nature Art Gallery, 60 pieces, October 7-
October 30, Raleigh, NC.
2011 National Teapot Show VIII, Cedar Creek Gallery, May 21- August
21 Creedmoor, N.C.
2011 AKAR Yunomi Invitational, March 26 - April 16, Iowa City, Iowa.
2011 "Frozen in Fire-Crystalline Waves,” Dunedin Fine Arts Center,
show during NCECA, March 20 - May 1, Tampa, Florida
2011 “New Generation of Seagrove Potters,” Feb.-Apr.10, North
Carolina Pottery Center, Seagrove, NC.
2010 “Potter’s Market Invitational,” September, sponsored by the
Delhom Service League, Mint Museum Randolph, Charlotte,
North Carolina.
2010 AKAR Yunomi Invitational, April 2010, Iowa City, Iowa.
2009 “Potter’s Market Invitational,” September, sponsored by the
Delhom Service League, Mint Museum Randolph, Charlotte,
North Carolina.
2009 “Ceramics-Southeast,” October 12-November 19, University of
South Carolina in McMaster Gallery, Columbia, SC.
2009 “Think out of the Box,,” Cedar Creek Gallery, October 2 -
November 8, Creedmoor, NC.
2009 “Potters Market Invitational,” sponsored by the Delhom Service.
2009 “Drawn to Clay:Vessels Embazoned,” Claymakers, August 21-
October 10, Durham, NC.
2009 “Drawn and Decal,” Mudfire Gallery, July 11 - August 1, Decatur,
GA.
2009 “Art of the State-NC Treasures,” Cedar Creek Gallery, June 12-
September 6, Creedmoor, NC.
2009 AKAR Yunomi Invitational, March 27 - July, Iowa City, Iowa.
2008 “Potter’s Market Invitational,” September, sponsored by the
Delhom Service League, Mint Museum Randolph, Charlotte,
North Carolina.
2008 “Bulldog Pottery: New Works,” North Carolina Museum of
Natural Sciences, Nature Art Gallery, 60 pieces, October 3-
November 2, Raleigh.
2008 “Potter’s Market Invitational,” September, sponsored by the
Delhom Service League, Mint Museum Randolph, Charlotte,
North Carolina.
2008 Featured Artist along with Bruce Gholson at AKAR Design
Gallery, September 29 - October 19, Iowa City.
2008 National Teapot Show VII, Cedar Creek Gallery, Creedmoor, N.C.
2008 Gen X: Post-Boomers and the New South, Mobile Museum of Art,
Mobile, Alabama.
2007 “Potter’s Market Invitational,” September, sponsored by the
Delhom Service League, Mint Museum Randolph, Charlotte,
North Carolina.
2007 Bulldog Pottery Exhibition at the London Square Gallery, May 5 -
July 4, Norfolk, VA.
2007 “The Natural World,” 90 pieces of Bulldog Pottery in a group
exhibition, Gregg Museum of Art and Design, January 25 - May
13, NC State University, Raleigh.
2006 “Bulldog Pottery: New Works,” North Carolina Museum of
Natural Sciences, Nature Art Gallery, 130 pieces, October 6-
November 26, Raleigh.
2006 “Potter’s Market Invitational,” September, sponsored by the
Delhom Service League, Mint Museum Randolph, Charlotte,
North Carolina.
2006 “North Carolina Pottery from the Elizabeth and Leo Kohn
Collection,” Levine Gallery, Mint Museum of Art, Aug 5 - Nov 5,
Charlotte, North Carolina.
2006 “Color and Memory,” The Rye Arts Center, Rye, New York.
2006 Tea Bowl Invitational, Hardeman Gallery, Mercer University,
Macon, Georgia.
2005 “Potter’s Market Invitational,” September, sponsored by the
Delhom Service League, Mint Museum Randolph, Charlotte,
North Carolina.
2004 “Southern Mugs,” Southern Pottery Work center and Gallery,
Columbia, South Carolina.
2004 “Flora, Fauna, Fossils, Crystals, and Clay,”117 pieces of
Bulldog Pottery at the North Carolina Museum of Natural
Sciences, Nature Art Gallery, October 1 – November 28.
2004 “A Family Affair,” Pannonia Gallery, Blacksburg, Virginia.
2004 “Southern Pitchers,” Southern Pottery Work center and Gallery,
Columbia, South Carolina.
2004 “Seven Studios from Seagrove: Legacy takes a Detour,”
Burroughs-Chapin Art Museum, Myrtle Beach, SC.
2003 “Four Potteries,” a Group Show at Moring Arts Center’s Main
Gallery, Asheboro, North Carolina.
2001 “Strictly Functional Pottery National,” Lancaster Museum of Art,
Lancaster, Pa.
1999 “Wood-fired…A Living Pottery Tradition,” exhibit at the North
Carolina Pottery Center.
PUBLICATIONS and AWARDS:
2018 Amazing Glaze: Techniques, Recipes, Finishing, and Firing, Gabriel
Kline, Voyageur Press.
2016 Mastering the Potter’s Wheel: Techniques, Tips, and Tricks for
Potters, Ben Carter, Voyageur Press.
2016 Ceramics Monthly, Studio Visit article, June/July/August
2015 Regional Artist Project Grant Recipient
2013 5oo Teapots – Volume II, juried Jim Lawton, Lark Books, Sterling
Publ., Co. New York.
2012 The Best Of 500 Ceramics, editor Linda Kopp, Lark Books,
Sterling Publ., Co. New York, 418 pages.
2010 500 Vases Contemporary Explorations of a Timeless Form, by Ray
Hemachandra and Julie Galloway, Lark Books, Sterling Publ., Co.
New York, 420 pages.
2008 500 Platters and Chargers, juried by Linda Arbuckle, Lark Books,
Sterling Publ. Co., New York.
2006 “Feats of Clay” Our State Down Home in North Carolina,
magazine article by Eden Foster, July, 2006, 100-108.
2006 500 Animals, Contemporary Expressions of the Animal Form,
juried by Joe Bova, Lark Books, Sterling Publ. Co., New York.
2006 Brown, Charlotte Vestal, The Remarkable Potters of Seagrove –
The Folk pottery of a Legendary North Carolina Community, Lark
Books, Sterling Pub. Co., New York.
2006 500 Pitchers – Contemporary Expressions of a Classic Form, juried
by Terry Gess, Lark Books, Sterling Pub. Co., New York.
1997-summer Pottery Assistant at Peter’s Valley Craft Center, New Jersey.
1993 Junior Functional Design Award, Alfred University.