Born in Stoke-on-Trent, England, Mark is the son and grandson of directors of Spode, the fine china manufacturers. As a student in the early 1970′s, Mark read Bernard Leach’s “A Potter’s Book,” and decided to become a studio potter rather than an industrial manager. This decision led to a three-year apprenticeship with Michael Cardew, and later another with Todd Piker in Connecticut.

In 1983, he moved to North Carolina to set up a pottery. Mark built his own vast wood kiln and began making distinctive functional pots, specializing in very large planters and jars. He uses local clays and blends different North Carolinian and English folk traditions together into a contemporary style.

Mark’s work has been featured in numerous publications including the Smithsonian magazine, American Craft magazine, and he has written extensively in the ceramic press. Mark has exhibited in London, New York and Tokyo, as well as throughout the US. He is well-represented in museum and private collections. Mark co-curated the highly-regarded exhibition, The Potter’s Eye: Art and Tradition in North Carolina Pottery at the North Carolina Museum of Art, which was accompanied by an illustrated book. In 2017, he curated a show and edited the accompanying book at North Carolina Pottery Center entitled Great Pots from the Traditions of North and South. Mark and his work have also featured extensively in the nationwide PBS TV series, Craft in America.

Mark has received numerous awards. In 2013 he received the Sam Ragan Award from St. Andrew’s University for contributions to the Fine Arts of North Carolina. He was awarded the 2014 Voulkos Fellowship by the Archie Bray Foundation for outstanding contributions to the ceramic arts. Twice, in both 2013 and 2014, he won Best In Show at the North Carolina Botanical Garden Sculpture in the Garden exhibition. Mark was one of five finalists for the 2015 American Craft Council’s Balvenie Rare Craft Award.

Mark is past President of the Board of Directors at the North Carolina Pottery Center.

Gallery - click images to enlarge

Related work

Mark Hewitt

MARK HEWITT