A
Message From Mo McKenzie...
Years
of life’s lessons taught me that art is something we cannot control—Art
happens! It happens when it can. The greatest moment of my life was the
discovery of the child inside that wanted out to play.
I’m a
child with an ever-changing toy! The joy of creating is in its dynamic
nature—change leading to change. When I make a form there is always
the hint of more. That hint is the motivation to go to the next step.
What new excitement will happen as I keep going?
My
attraction has always been to simple, primal shape and finish. But, as
my work evolves, a subtle hint of formal and elegant comes out in the
form. I work to create the rustic look, but each piece evolves into what
the clay wants it to be. I have learned to accept this, if it happens,
it is me.
Could there
be anything more fun for a child than to play in mud? Welcome to the
world of Pottery.
More About Mo McKenzie...
Born and raised
in a small town in eastern North Carolina, Mo spent decades fleeing from
boredom. Chasing after excitement in the Military, on a ranch, as a photographer,
cruising the Caribbean, tending bar, and so on—His peace came when
he met his partner Sally and together they found Clay.
For a dozen
years now life has been anything but boring. They established a full-time
pottery, located on a beautiful 31 acre home site in western Moore County
in North Carolina (not far from the Seagrove Pottery area). Their “let
it happen” approach to creativity along with dogs, cats, landscaping,
gardening and enjoyin’ make for a very full life. Mo’s search
is over and he hopes you can sense the excitement he feels in his work.
A
Message From Sally Larson...
I consider myself to be a "creative" and everything I've
been drawn to brings me back to my childhood playing in the woods.
I was lucky to have grown up during a time when kids just "went
out and played"
all day. My love of discovery and learning was fostered by catching
frogs, climbing trees and exploring wetlands. I remember finding some
slippery clay in the stream near our house and played all day pretending
I was an Indian making bowls. Life was so exciting!
Since
I'm an experiential learner and working with my hands is second nature
to me, this "mud" from the earth offers unlimited possibilities
for invention and play-a perfect challenge to my curiosity. In the
last five years a totally unique and personal shape started to ooze
from somewhere inside me to become what I call my "Botanicals".
There is something very self-exploratory about them, beautiful and
imperfect with their uniqueness. I think that is why people are so
drawn to them. I can't wait to see how they continue to evolve!
I also enjoy the process of hand-built work using slabs. After rolling out the clay, I rip pieces and put them together combining shape with texture. There doesn't seem to be any limit to what can be made. My wheel work has focused on large pots. When I make them, it feels like they are "growing" on my wheel challenging me to make them bigger!
I
am so fortunate to have a playmate in Mo living on 31 acres in the
woods with our two dogs and cat. We work in the studio every day but
when the weather is good, we love to putter in the gardens and work
on whatever
"project" we have going on at the time.
More About Sally Larson...
I grew up in Greenwich Connecticut and moved to North Carolina in 1990. I spent most of my life exploring and learning everything I could from photography, spinning wool, weaving, gardening, dyeing wool with plants -. I took pottery in college but didn't continue with it until Mo and I took classes at Montgomery Tech where I re-learned the basics.
Our focus has been to explore the process, develop our skills and especially find our own unique style you see reflected in our work.