In collaboration with Clayworks, the A Life Preserved in Clay workshop begins by sharing the picture book Dave the Potter, Artist, Poet, Slave written by Laban Carrick Hill and illustrated by Bryan Collier with the participants. Then, working with a Clayworks teaching artist, each student will make a small pot. Fee includes all materials, instruction and firing of pots. Please note: pots will have to be picked up at Clayworks (4506 Monroe Road, Charlotte, NC 28205) one week later. Additional details will be provided by the Clayworks instructor.

This workshop is limited to 15 participants. Early registration is suggested as sessions are first come, first serve.

About Dave the Potter

Born about 1800, Dave spent most of his life in a rural South Carolina district famed for its stoneware. His creations included mammoth storage pots, some more than 2 feet tall and 6 feet around, finished with elegantly molded mouths and earth-tone glazes, one of which is included in the Gantt Center’s upcoming exhibition America I Am: The African-American Imprint. But the most distinctive feature of Dave’s work was the mark he left below a pot’s lip. Sometimes he signed his name and put the date. Other times he wrote verse, usually a short rhyme. That he wrote anything at all is ­extraordinary as very few slaves could read or write and those who displayed their knowledge risked punishment or death.

About Clayworks

Clayworks is a non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of ceramic arts, advancement of artists and students, and enrichment of the communities it serves. Programs are designed to facilitate an environment of artistic exchange between students, instructors and working artists.