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1914-July 6, 2002
Burlon Craig has been called the "godfather" of Catawba Valley potters. His introduction to the craft came at age 14, when he apprenticed with a western North Carolina potter. In 1942, Craig joined the Navy, and when he returned, he began creating pottery in Vale, NC, while working at a furniture store. His style: face jugs. Using clay that he dug from the ground himself and making his own glazes, Burlon revived a style of pottery that had all but died in the Catawba Valley. After he retired from the store, he began full-time farming and pottery making. His face jugs and snake jugs would sell almost more quickly than he could make them, and his work became so widely known that UNC-Chapel Hill author Charles Zug III featured him in his book, Turners and Burners: The Folk Potters of North Carolina . Two years before the book was published, in 1984, Craig received the prestigious National Folk Heritage Award by the National Endowment of the Arts.
His work became so popular in the 90's that he began giving visitors a number to ensure that people who had traveled some distance could peruse his wares without being trampled. For many years he was considered the last potter of Catawba Valley, but in 1981, Charles Lisk moved to the area and worked with Craig for many years. Until his death, Craig still dug his own clay and made his own glazes.
Source: Allmans Auction
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