Vernon Owens
North Carolina

Lightly salted, reduction fired stoneware
Functional
8.25"w x 5.25"l x 5.75"h

About the Artist
Vernon Owens is a native of Moore County, NC; his roots in pottery go back four to five generations. He grew up working in his father M.L. Owens's, shop, absorbing the style and shapes. In the late 1950's, at the age of fifteen, he also began working for C.C. Cole. In 1960, John Mare, the new owner of Jugtown Pottery, hired Vernon as the sole thrower at Jugtown. Vernon continued at Jugtown Pottery through the ownership of Country Roads, Inc., a nonprofit corporation whose mission was the preservation of hand crafts. In 1983, Vernon bought the pottery; he married potter Pam Lorette that same year.
The main influences in Vernon's pots come from the Moore County, NC pottery tradition and the art pottery era, from which classical vases and bowls from Korea, China, and Japan became the inspiration.
Vernon received a North Carolina Folk Heritage Award from the NC Arts Council in 1994 and a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1996. He also received an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from North Carolina State University in 2000. Vernon’s work can be found in museums and private collections; he lives, works, and sells his pots at Jugtown Pottery.

About Jugtown Pottery
The Owens family of Jugtown Pottery is one of North Carolina’s most enduring pottery lineages, where craft and family have long been intertwined. Vernon and Pam Owens, master potters who helped sustain and revitalize Jugtown in the late twentieth century, built their studio life within Seagrove’s centuries‑old clay tradition. Their children, Travis and Bayle, grew up in the workshop and became accomplished potters themselves, carrying forward the region’s forms, materials, and firing methods. Together, the family continues to evolve the Jugtown legacy while honoring the knowledge passed down through generations.

*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.

National Teapot Show XIII

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Vernon Owens - Teapot with Cobalt & Lavender Glaze