Tryon Arts and Crafts School instructor Gary Huntoon will discuss “Why Do I Make What I Make?” on Feb. 11.

Tryon Arts and Crafts School’s next bi-monthly Crafts and Conversation lunchtime lecture will be held on Thursday, Feb. 11, between 12 and 1 p.m. at 373 Harmon Field Road and will feature and pottery artisan and TACS instructor Gary Huntoon, who will be speaking on the philosophy of “Why Do I Make What I Make?”

The series was developed to provide an inside look into the art of craft for all within our community. Audience members are invited to bring lunch or a snack and beverages will be provided.

Initially a pre-med major at UCLA, Gary once took a ceramics class just for fun and out of curiosity, and he knew “that was it.”  Fifty years later, he still loves working and “making things” out of clay.

His work has several styles and forms, ranging from whimsical “critters on wheels,” to totems, to the very elegant black “gosu” forms.

He works primarily in porcelain, although his elaborate sculptural pieces are made out of stoneware clay, and he has taught classes and workshops throughout the country.

Gary says that his objective is for his work “to have a timeless quality, unique and strong, not only now but 100 years from now. My work is not limited to just throwing on the wheel or hand-building. I do not want to limit myself to one type of firing, one clay, one technique of decorating or one glaze. Each creative idea demands its own method of construction and finish. Each new material, technique or tool suggests something different to try.”

Come and hear more from Gary. This lecture will be informative and fascinating. Bring your lunch and “join the conversation!”
Contact Cathy Fischer at 828-859-8323 or director@tryonartsandcrafts.org for more information or visit tryonartsandcrafts.org.

– Submitted by Cathy Fischer