DAVID STUEMPFLE •   SEAGROVE, NC

David Stuempfle creates his pottery skillfully and in a straightforward manner. He takes his inspiration from various cultures including early Chinese and Japanese wares and the rugged beauty of Korean folk pottery.

“I make my pots from a mixture of local and commercially mined clays and fire them in a tunnel kiln which originally stated out as an adaptation of the local groundhog kiln. My main clay body includes clays that come from my land as well as elsewhere in the Seagrove area. Usually, I slake down the clay that I’ve dug and dried to make it into a slip then screen it and add dry materials. Then it goes into plaster bats set up onto tables to get the water out. There is always clay in the making.

“Although good ideas, materials and techniques are essential, judgment is left for the finished work alone. Studying history has taught me an appreciation of the great diversity of ceramics and has given me an awareness of our own short time to contribute. This has led me to focus on a limited range of work with the intention of exploring it in depth.” — David Stuempfle

Stuempfle studied at the High Mowing School in New Hampshire. He apprenticed for two years in Tennessee and spent the next many years as a journeyman potter in various parts of the United States. He has lived and worked in Seagrove, NC for more than 15 years – a community with a long and evolving pottery heritage. His pottery has been exhibited in venues including the North Carolina Museum of Art, Campbell House Art Museum (NC), The Hermitage Museum (VA), Hambidge Center (GA) and the North Carolina Museum of History.

David currently works from his studio in North Carolina.


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February 1 - February 15, 2021