Earth Things Pottery, Art, and Fine Crafts … Pleasant Garden NC

Carolina Culture | 14. Apr, 2011 by Rex Horne | 5 Comments

While I do enjoy the quiet atmosphere here in Pleasant Garden, and have been here since October of 2010, I still miss the art world of the city. As I was driving around, looking for something interesting, I kept passing two signs reading “Earth Things Pottery”, and decided to investigate. First, I checked to see if they had a Facebook page, and sure enough they did. After checking out some photos, I decided to leave a friendly message to see if they might be interested in doing a story here on HYPENC. The answer was “YES!”, and “they” ended up being a very nice lady named Trenessa Dammann. When I arrived thirty minutes later, Trenessa greeted me at the door and invited me inside. It took a minute to take in all the art that she features. Over 30 plus artists, all from NC, adorn the walls, shelves and even some on the floor, that were being placed on new racks as of this visit. One of the first things I was shown was a very cool handbag made out of coffee bags (insert major brand here), and was even shown how strong and durable the bag was. Earth Things is a pottery store, and Trenessa does all of the pottery pieces, and is kind enough to feature artists work for sale in her store, she even let me leave some business cards there.

And what about the art? The is a long list of local artist, and i will share some with you. First off Trenessa’s pottery includes coffee mugs, planters dinnerware, toad houses for your garden, and many other pieces, but the artwork closest to Trenessa’s heart has to be her ” Pet Memory Art” line. She explains the creative process this way: “These pieces of pottery are burnished with a polished stone giving it a smooth, glass-like surface. During the firing process, the pot is removed from the kiln and allowed to cool. From there, the hair or feather (from your deceased pet) is applied strand by strand. This must be done quickly before the pot cools below 800* (which is approximately 30-45 seconds), or it will not accept the hair. As the hairs burn, a “trail” is formed on the surface of the pot. After cooling, the piece is waxed with a clear paste to enhance the markings and surface. Your pet’s name is permanently written on the bottom of the pot.”

Other artists featured at Earth Things Pottery include H2O tiedyes from Winston-Salem, Sassy Gems from Greensboro, Brian Jones pen and ink artwork from Gibsonville, In The Light Glassworks from Asheville, Convoluted Notions from Sanford, and one of many favorites of mine, Soap and Stone from Greensboro.