Feature Articles


February Issue 2002

Charleston Museum in Charleston, SC, Presents Exhibit on Pottery & Ceramics

The Charleston Museum in Charleston, SC, will present an exhibition entitled, The Difference in Dirt: South Carolina Pottery and Ceramic Arts, which will be on view from Feb. 6 through May 19, 2002.

This exhibition has two main components. One component traces the state's long tradition of fashioning pottery and other utensils from clay, and the other focuses on pottery and ceramic arts made in South Carolina in the last three quarters of the 20th century. The title Difference in Dirt acknowledges the different types of clay characterizing South Carolina's natural clay resources. Catawba Native American potters have used Grey Catawba clay for generations. Bethune is yellow clay found upstate in the areas in and around Kershaw, SC. Kaolin, abundant in the Edgefield district, is white. Kaolin is one of the clays used in making porcelain and during the post-colonial era Carolina kaolin was shipped to the Wedgwood pottery works in Europe.

The traditional section chronicles 1,500 years of South Carolina pottery making through works representing prehistoric, historic, and traditional pottery methods. The exhibition includes Native American pottery, utilitarian vessels made throughout the state from York and other upstate counties, the Old Edgefield District, Union District, the South Carolina Jug Factory area, and works of contemporary folk potters continuing these traditions within the state. The work on view is drawn from private collectors as well as the South Carolina Arts Commission, McKissick Museum, The Charleston Museum, Museum of York County, and the South Carolina State Museum.

The contemporary section of the exhibition includes some of the earliest known ceramic-based sculptures created as works of art, rather than pottery produced for utilitarian needs, as well as ceramic art by contemporary artists working in the State.

The Difference in Dirt exhibitions were created as part of the South Carolina Arts Commission Views from the Edge of the Century, project that features 37 thematically linked art exhibitions and projects in 16 counties throughout South Carolina. Views from the Edge of the Century was designed as an end of century celebration of the visual arts in South Carolina. The project involved college and university galleries, art centers, and museums throughout the state. The project was sponsored by Bank of America with special funding provided by the National Endowment for the Arts. More than a thousand teachers throughout South Carolina and the Charlotte region received educational materials related to The Difference in Dirt exhibition through a special education initiative by the South Carolina Arts Commission.

The Difference in Dirt was organized by the Museum of York County in Rock Hill, SC. The Museum of York County is a York County Culture & Heritage Commission Institution. The Difference in Dirt was funded in part by Bowater, Jim and Judy Udick and the South Carolina Arts Commission.

For further information check our SC Institutional Gallery listings or call the Museum at 843/722-2996.

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