Ken Sedberry
North Carolina

Wood-fired stoneware
Functional
8.25"w x 6"l x 8.25"h

About the Artist
I received my M.F.A. from the Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, R.I., in 1977. I accepted a Residency at The Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, Montana, where I studied and taught until 1979. Returning to the East Coast, I taught at The Catholic University of America until 1981.
My family and I moved to North Carolina, where I designed and built my first studio and wood-fired kiln. For 27 years, I lived and worked in the small mountain community of Loafer’s Glory. In 2008, I designed our current home and studio space along the Toe River in Burnsville, NC.

Artist Statement
I chose, a long time ago, to finish most of my work in the wood burning kiln. This process is more common in Eastern pottery tradition than Western. Unlike firing in a gas or electric kiln, firing in a wood kiln is a process that demands constant attention. It requires gradually bringing the heat to approximately 2300 degrees.
I love the process of stoking the firebox. There’s a connection there. You stay right with it from beginning to end. Wood firing means allowing this process to take some part in the aesthetics of the work. The variables are infinite and one gives in to chance. There are two to three months work in every firing and there are no guarantees. It’s continual risk. Wood fired pots are traditionally earthen colored, subdued, reserved and muted shades which are beautiful. My goal, however, has been to achieve color in wood firing - colors which combine with the conventional wood firing hues to create surfaces not unlike those found in nature’s wildest fauna, flora and oceans!

*Teapots that are purchased will remain on display in the gallery for the duration of the exhibition, through September 14, 2026.
After the show closes, teapots will be carefully packed and shipped by September 28, or they may be picked up at the gallery.