EXCITED TO SHARE THE NEWS, NATHAN IS BACK AND STAYING TO OPERATE MAYS POTTERY!
Martha Cooper, master potter, graduated from Stetson University in 1972 with Art degree. Her influences date back to her childhood in the Ohio River Valley where potteries like Rookwood and Roseville popularized multicolor pottery with floral decorations and pastel matte finishes. After producing pottery for several potteries in the piedmont of North Carolina, she opened her own gallery in 1985 on the banks of the Haw River in Pittsboro, NC.
Nathan has been around pottery his entire life and made pots at his mother's studio since he was a toddler. He graduated from Gardner-Webb University in 1993 and began his career apprenticing with master potters - including Ed Weintraub of Chapel Hill, Bill Stewart in Waxhaw, NC and Tom Gilsillan of Whitefish Pottery and Stillwater Gallery in Whitefish, MT where Nathan's work is displayed. His tableware, face jugs and ceramic drums have been featured at Liquidamber Gallery in Pittsboro, NC and at Village Craftsmen Gallery of Ocracoke, NC.
Traveling abroad, he taught pottery courses at the University of Costa Rica where he shared his fascination and techniques in folk art pottery.
(More of our Costa Rica experience at http://coopermays.blogspot.com Click photos "Studio and Gallery in Junquillal..." and "Nathan at University of Costa Rica")
Their styles, though different, complement each other. One can peruse the Gallery at Mays Pottery and find something for just about any taste.
Representing over 60 years in the craft, Martha offers functional decorative items in porcelain and stoneware, also her fused glass. Nathan makes a variety of serving pieces, dinnerware and whimsical face jugs. Their experience in the world of clay is undoubtedly the mark of excellent craftsmanship in Carolina pottery tradition. Come visit them on your next trip to North Carolina.