The Potter's Eye
Art and Tradition
in North Carolina Pottery

By Mark Hewitt and Nancy Sweezy

In conjunction with
The North Carolina Museum of Art

UNC Press, 2006
In the summer of 2005 the North Carolina Museum of Art asked nationally-recognized potter Mark Hewitt to curate an exhibit on the history of the North Carolina pottery tradition from its earliest roots to the present day. The museum also wished to produce the usual catalog to go with the exhibit. Mark, however, had a grander vision and convinced the museum to join him in producing a very polished and lavishly illustrated hardbound book to accompany the exhibit.

I had been shooting Mark's work for several years so he invited me to do the photography for the book. Over the next several months we photographed nearly 100 pots, both at my studio and at such places as the McKissock Museum in Columbia, South Carolina, the Ackland Museum in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and the Smithsonian in Washington DC.

The finished book contains more than 150 photos, many of them presented full-page. In addition, the museum blew up twelve of the images to 6' x 8' for display during the exhibition.

"A handsome heavy book, thanks largely to Jason Dowdle's gorgeous photographs. . . . The writing is poetic, persuasive, and at times, almost polemical."

—North Carolina Historical Review

"(The) authors provide expert introductions to the state's pottery as a whole and to the significant benchmarks of its cultural history. . . . Jason Dowdle created special photography for The Potter's Eye that examines the form and surfaces of each pot in ways not previously expressed in books on ceramics history. This volume is worth owning for its visual beauty alone."

—Winterthur Portfolio

"Exquisitely illustrated. . . . [with] incredibly detailed surface shots."

—Ceramics Monthly

"More than an exhibition catalog; it is a collaborative work of art."

—Western Folklore

The many powerful, full page, color photographs of the exhibits taken by Jason Dowdle . . . immediately grasp our attention.

—The Log Book

"This exciting work succeeds in its mission to 'signal and celebrate the artistry of North Carolina's greatest production potters,' but this work has accomplished much more--it has challenged and tutored scholars and collectors to view the stoneware of North Carolina with a potter's eye."

—Journal of Folklore Research
Keepers of Tradition
By Maggie Holtzberg
Folk Arts and Heritage Program, Massachusettes Cultural Council
Spring, 2008
In the fall of 2007 I was asked to come to Boston to photograph folk art and fine art for the Massachusettes Cultural Council, in conjunction with the National Heritage Museum in Lexington, Massachusettes. Over the course of 10 very challenging days I shot over 100 pieces of art including sculpture, ironwork, wood, glass, painting and other media. The resulting images illustrate a folio-sized book published in the Spring of 2008 by the Massachusettes Cultural Council, in conjunction with an exhibition of the actual pieces at the museum.

Awarded Second Place, Exhibition Catalog Category, by the New England Museum Association Publication Competition, 2008

Jason— "Everyone raves about your photos.  We have 15 of the Keepers craft artists demonstrating at this year's Lowell Folk Festival.  We sent them some of your photos to help publicize the event. The newspaper editor said that in the ten years they've been doing a supplement to the festival, these were the best photos they had ever had. "
— Maggie Holtzberg
This photo of a very large pot (60 inches tall) by Mark Hewitt appeared on the cover of the December, 2004 issue of American Craft Magazine. Inside, accompanying the article on Mark, were six other full-page images of his work which I shot. Mark told me at the time that the editors had not necessarily intended to give him the cover or that much space inside the magazine, but when they saw the quality of the images they changed their minds.
"Jason, I just wanted to let you know that good photos are indeed important.  I just got the results of the ACC Baltimore jurying and I was invited to be in the show.  This is a huge and prestigious show and I am convinced that your fine photos were a big part of my being invited.   So, thanks and I will be back to get some more photos done soon." —Brad Tucker, Potter
"U rock, dude!" —Mark Hewitt, Potter
"Jason— Thanks so much! I can't wait until I have a whole new body of work for you to photograph!" —Lisa Oakley, Glassblower
"Hey Jason, We made the cut! Our image submission to the Piedmont Craft Guild was accepted so we can move on to the next jury phase. Your excellent work was pivotal in making that happen... and again, we thank you!" —Dana and Debra Perry, Jewelers