Biography

I am a native of Hickory, North Carolina. I traveled, served and went to Haywood Community College to learn pottery making. After returning to the Hickory area and opening my first shop I became aware of the local Catawba Valley pottery tradition. I sought out Burlon Craig, a renowned folk potter, at his shop in nearby Henry, NC. Burlon mentored me in finding and using local clay, firing a large groundhog kiln and making the forms and glazes that distinguish Catawba Valley Pottery. I moved my home and shop to Vale in 1987 . I continue using the local clay, glaze and history as inspiration for my work.

Kim Ellington

COLLECTIONS:

Museum of International Folk Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Hickory Museum of Art, Hickory, North Carolina

Crocker Museum of Art, Sacramento, California

The Baron and Ellin Gordon Art Galleries, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia

Mint Museum, Charlotte, North Carolina

North Carolina Museum of History, Raleigh, North Carolina

North Carolina Pottery Center, Seagrove, North Carolina

Visual Arts Center, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina

Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, New York

PUBLICATIONS:

February 1998 “In My Own Backyard” Ceramics Monthly

June 2000 “Checking For Clay” Studio Potter

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Books:

‘Valley Ablaze: Pottery Tradition in the Catawba Valley’, Jason Harpe and Brian Dedmond. Goose Pen Studio & Press, Conover, North Carolina, 2012

The Individual and Tradition, Folkloristic Perspectives’, Edited by Ray Cashman, Tom Mould and Pravina Shukla. Folklore Institute, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, 2011

‘The Living Tradition – North Carolina Potters Speak’, Michelle Francis and Charles “Terry” Zug III. Goose Pen Studio and Press, Conover, North Carolina, 2009

The Potter’s Eye: Art and Tradition in North Carolina Pottery’, Nancy Sweezy and Mark Hewitt, University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 2005

‘North Carolina Pottery, The Collection of the Mint Museum’, Barbara Stone Perry, University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 2004

‘The Kiln Book, Third Edition’, Frederick L. Olsen, Krause Publications, 2001

‘Catawba Clay, Contemporary Southern Face Jug Makers’, Barry G. Huffman, Huffman Publishing, 1997

Video Documentary:

‘Pottery Revival in the Catawba Valley’ University of North Carolina Television, Folkways, 1998