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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 1970's, 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.

His work has been featured in the Smithsonian magazine and on the cover of American Craft magazine, he has written extensively in the ceramic press, and he has exhibited in London, New York and Tokyo, as well as throughout the US. He is well-represented in museum and private collections.

He recently co-curated a major exhibition with Nancy Sweezy entitled "The Potter’s Eye: Art and Tradition in North Carolina Pottery," at the North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, NC, October 30, 2005 – March 19, 2006. UNC Press has published a well-illustrated catalogue/book.

Mark's work was featured in the PBS series, "Craft in America," and in the accompanying book and travelling exhibition. The show was aired nationally in May 2007.

photo of potteries
mark and carol

pots outside
   


resume


Visit the Publications page to download and view some of the articles and catalogs listed on this page.

Get a printable version of the resume.

Mark Hewitt specializes in the production of very large planters, storage jars and vases, along with a full range of high quality tableware. He mines and refines local stoneware clays, and his principal glazes are the traditional Southern alkaline glaze and salt glaze. All his work is fired in a big wood burning kiln the size of a school bus, which he fires three times a year.

Background
Born in Stoke-on-Trent, England; father and grandfather were Directors of Spode.
1976-1979; Apprenticed to Michael Cardew at Wenford Bridge Pottery, Bodmin, England.
1979-1983; Apprenticed to Todd Piker at Cornwall Bridge Pottery, Cornwall Bridge, CT
1978-79, 1982; Independent study of traditional potteries in West Africa, Taiwan , Korea and Japan.

Education
1976: B.A. in Geography, University of Bristol, England.

Permanent Collections
Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
National Arboretum, Washington, DC
Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum, Minneapolis, MN
Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, VA
Mint Museums, Charlotte, NC
Ackland Museum, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
Cameron Art Museum, Wilmington, NC
Minneapolis Institute of Art, MN

Recent Solo Shows 2005-2008
Signature Shop, Atlanta, GA, October 2007
Canadian Clay Symposium, Vancouver, BC, March 2007
Craft in America, PBS series and exhibition, Various locations, May 2007 onward

Exhibitions 2004-2006
October 2005-March 2006 “The Potter’s Eye: Art and Tradition in North Carolina Pottery,” at the North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, NC. Co-curator with Nancy Sweezy. Catalogue published by UNC Press
April 2005 Wooster, Ohio, “Functional Ceramics Workshop”
June , 2004 Baltimore Clayworks, Baltimore, MD
June, 2004 Ferrin Gallery, Lennox, MA

Solo Exhibitions
October, 2003 Signature Shop, Atlanta, GA
April, 2003 10th National Australian Ceramics Conference, Bendigo (also Keynote Speaker)
May, 2002 Gallery Yufuku, Tokyo, Japan
April, 2002 Cameron Art Museum, Wilmington, NC (inaugural show in the Sculpture Court)
June 2001 Gallery Dai Ichi Arts, 24 West 57th Street, New York, NY

Group Shows
AKAR Gallery, Iowa City, Iowa, September 2007
Ferrin Gallery, NCECA, Louisville, KY, March 2007
October 2004 SOFA Chicago, Ferrin Gallery
October 2003 21st Century Ceramics in the US and Canada, Columbus, OH

Publications
June/July 2007 Ceramics Monthly, "Functional Pride: Putting the Fun Back into Functional"
December 2004 Clay Times, cover article, “Mammoth Pots,” by Wendy Summers
December 2004 American Craft, cover article, “Village Potter”, by Ed Lebow
October 2004 “The Poetry in North Carolina Pottery,” in “North Carolina Pottery: The Collection of the Mint Museums,” UNC Press
December 2002 Studio Potter: “Mark Hewitt – Outside,” by Henry Glassie
December 2002 Ceramics: Art and Perception #50: “Marking Time,” by Robert Yellin
May 8, 2002 Japan Times: “Heart and Soul in Your Hands,” Robert Yellin
April 2002 Ceramics Monthly: “The Iced Tea Ceremony,” Mark Hewitt
July 3, 2001 Wall Street Journal: “The Magic of a Very Hot Fire,” Jim Morrison
June 2001 Ceramics: Art and Perception #44, “Just Another Mug,” Mark Hewitt
October 2000 Studio Potter: “Tradition is the Future,” Mark Hewitt
October 1998 Smithsonian Magazine, “Fired with Finesse,” Jim Morrison
September 1997 Ceramics: Art and Perception #29, “A Pot in the Hand,” Mark Hewitt
May 1997 Ceramics: Art and Perception #28, “Jeff Shapiro’s Gestures of Creativity,” Mark Hewitt
January 1996 Studio Potter, “Conversations,” with Janet Mansfield and Emily Galusha
September 1993 Ceramics: Art and Perception #12 “Carrying on a Tradition,” Charles G. Zug III
April 1991 Ceramics Monthly, cover article, “The Making of a Potter,” Mark Hewitt

 

© 2005-2008 W.M. Hewitt Pottery

Mark & Carol photo by York Wilson

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