Join Northern Clay Center for the opening reception of exhibitions "Influence and Creativity: A Retrospective of Rock Creek Pottery" and "Inspiration and Discovery: Pathways to Expression."

Co-curated by Michael Hunt and Shawn Ireland, "Influence and Creativity: A Retrospective of Rock Creek Pottery" offers an intimate look into, and a respectful celebration of, Will Ruggles and Douglass Rankin and their nearly 30 years of creating wood-fired pots at Rock Creek Pottery in Buladean, North Carolina. A critical part of the narrative is the public recognition of the power of learning through tradition, so one will also find select works by the artists who proved to be most influential to Ruggles and Rankin. These artists include Rob Barnard, Willem Gebben, Randy Johnston, Warren MacKenzie, Mark Pharis, and Michael Simon.

Partnered with "Influence and Creativity: A Retrospective of Rock Creek Pottery" in NCC's main gallery, the exhibition "Inspiration and Discovery, Pathways to Expression," honors how their work continues to shape American craft by serving as the inspirational links in a lineage of potters who respect deep roots and who acknowledge that a good pot can emerge naturally through trust in one’s intuition.