Flowerdew Collection

Driving to see this collection near Charlottesville, VA, was an amazing experience - I had an address and a google map but it was unexpectedly a lovely place to visit, with a gated entrance and a man in charge of visitors who welcomed me and gave me permission to proceed up the private driveway. What a start!

A fascinating trip to view some of this collection, held by University of Virginia, solidifies exactly the direct link between the tobacco and pottery trade between Bideford and the Eastern Seaboard of America.

Flowerdew Hundred dates back to c1620, is on the James River and was in essence a tobacco plantation and factory and saw the “transformation of English Settlers into Americans” (from Commerce and Conflict: The English in Virginia, Flowerdew Hundred Foundation). During a time of peace with the local tribes, there was an opportunity for the English to expand their settlements and for colonists to take over the Indian’s abandoned villages. Flowerdew Hundred was established in this way and was “one of the earliest and most important of the large, privately owned plantations established in Virginia during the tobacco boom years 1617-1625” (from Commerce and Conflict).

It also has some of the richest and best preserved English settlement sites in the US. There are many examples of pottery, mainly plainware in their collection. I visited Karen Shriver, curator of the collection near Charlottesville – Karen introduced me to the collection and then pulled a few pieces for me to see and photograph. These vessels included a lovely ballister pot, c1624-28, most likely used to transport butter; a milk pan base with a green glaze and several smaller gravel tempered sherds, some with a lead glaze c1650 -1775. All these pieces have been identified as originating from North Devon.

Photographs taken by Dave Green, with permission given to use them courtesy of The Rectors and Visitors of the University of Virginia

Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

During the last week of the Fellowship I had an appointment to visit Kelly Ladd, curator at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s archaeological collections. This was exciting because I had already been to Williamsburg during the first week of my trip and I was so pleased that Eric Klingelhofer suggested that I return to the town and see another collection.

To quote the Foundation’s website “(the Foundation)….conducts original research on seventeenth- and eighteenth-century colonial archaeology and material culture,…..The Department also oversees the largest colonial-period archaeological collection in the United States, consisting of several million objects and fragments recovered during more than 60 years of excavation; extensive comparative historic-period faunal and archaeobotanical collections; and the Martin’s Hundred collection of early seventeenth-century material culture” It is the last sentence about Martin’s Hundred collection that is particularly relevant to the North Devon pottery finds.

Martin’s Hundred was one of the earliest 17^th century plantations, located along the James River and was settled in 1619 by the English. Richard Carter bought the land in the early 1700s and built on this earlier site.

Kelly had pulled a lot of finds for me when I arrived and they were split into 2 categories – 18^th century plainware and first quarter 17^th century sgrafitto ware. The former, pottery sherds were excavated in Williamsburg itself and the latter were found at Carter Grove, Martin’s Hundred. We talked a lot about the plainware sherds and the colouring of them – I pointed out that it seemed unusual for the North Devon plainware to have grey in it, Kelly said it was a result of the oxidation that occurs during firing (due to the position of the vessel in the kiln and the firing temperature), which gives the red clay a striking grey ‘core’ running through the middle like a liquorice allsort.

The 17^th century sgrafitto ware from Martin’s Hundred was beautiful and amazing to be able to hold something that old that came from North Devon – the finds were of the signature yellow colour glaze with both floral and wavy patterns. Interestingly Kelly also identified what the Foundation believes to be local copies of North Devon slipware in amongst the collection, some of which were more of an orange colour glaze.
Fascinating to think that in the 1600's, North Devon slipware was being copied and they liked the sgrafitto so much to create their own version.

Further reference can be made to the Martin’s Hundred site in a book of the same title written by eminent British archaeologist Ivor Noel Hume, which is a fascinating account of how he and his team excavated the site and their archaeological practices.

Photographs were taken by Dave Green and reproduced By permission of Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Archaeological Collections.

The last week of the Fellowship

I had followed up on some contacts I had been given by archaeologists Eric Deetz and Eric Klingelhofer whilst they were at Fort Raleigh National Park in Manteo, so the last week was planned to be spent back in Virginia on the pottery trail again.

I went back to Williamsburg on Tuesday afternoon, via Norfolk Airport to drop off our friend Sally who was visiting from Tucson. I had an appointment with Kelly Ladd, curator at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s archaeological collections.

During the week I also visited the DeWitt Wallace Museum of Fine Arts; Bly Straube (again) and Merry Outlaw at Preservation Virginia in Jamestown; Karen Shriver at the Flowerdew Hundred Collection, as part of the University of Virginia at their study centre near Charlottesville; Contemporary ceramicist Michelle Erickson’s pottery at Period Designs in Yorktown; and The Department of Historic Resources state archaeology collection of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in Richmond.

Each of these appointments and visits were fascinating and definitely put Bideford and North Devon’s slipware and earthenware well and truly on the pottery trail map. They all deserve an individual post accompanied by photos and will be written up shortly.

Leaving Manteo

The last couple of days in Manteo were very weird and strange as we were involved in a car crash on October 23^rd and so we had to miss our Bon Voyage Party and waste 2 days waiting for a replacement hire car as the last memory.

To coin a phrase we were ‘t-boned’ – I was driving and started to turn left at some traffic lights, turning on to a main road and as I pulled out someone ran straight into me driver’s side on as he had gone through a red light. Luckily myself, Dave (who was in the front passenger seat) and our friend Sally (visiting us from Tucson and was in the back) were all not too badly injured. Sally was actually hurt the most and had a ot of bruising and was hardly able to breathe immediately after the accident. Sally and I were whisked off very quickly to the hospital, in separate ambulances, for an MRI to check for any damage. I took a little longer to get out of the car as I had neck and head pain and so the paramedics didn’t want to take any chances and the damaged driver side doors were cut off by the ‘jaws of life’ courtesy of the fire department so I didn’t have to climb out over the passenger side!

All of this was expertly handled by the various departments – police, fire, hospital – the driver of the other vehicle was devastated and hung around until we were all on our way to the hospital. His insurance company will handle and pay for all the costs for the car and medical treatment.

The worst thing was that we missed our Bon Voyage party that had been organised for us by our friend from The Elizabethan Gardens, Carl Curnutte. We did put in a brief appearance on our way home and there were a few people still there, but it was very sad not to have everyone gathered to say goodbye to, eat and drink with, deliver a leaving speech and take final photos of the many great contacts and new friends made. There was a lot of food and rink left over and we were given some 'to go' boxes filled with goodies to eat when we got home. We finally made it home to recover and get over the shock of it all about 3 hours after the accident. Carl Curnutte was amazing - he came to the scene immediately and stayed with us at the hospital, driving us all home. Thank you Carl!

The Sunday and Monday were the last 2 days in Manteo and very frustrating as the rental car company had to be dealt with, we had to wait until 4pm on Monday for another vehicle and were going backwards and forwards to the rendezvous point only to have another delay (tho I did borrow a friend’s car on Monday) and also had to fit in packing and tidying and cleaning the house.

So an unusual and unplanned end to the Manteo side of the fellowship.

I left feeling that an awful lot had been put into place as very much a starting point for future projects, collaborations, journeys and relationships. A lot has been learnt about how a small town has worked together to plan and develop it, particularly with a view to creating an attractive place for both residents and visitors and to capitalise on the history there. I have drafted a 3-year plan for an Arts Exchange Programme, between Bideford Bay Creatives and Dare County Arts Council initially, with scope for other partners to become involved, including Bideford 500, Burton Art Gallery and Museum in Bideford and The Elizabethan Gardens, The Lost Colony and the Aquarium in Manteo. As the start of the 3-year plan, there is a confirmed 'postcard project' that will happen at the end of May / beginning of June 2011 with an exchange of artist made postcards in Bideford and Manteo and a simultaneous exhibition of them in both towns.

Also the town of Manteo is very excited about and keen to jointly celebrate Bideford's Heritage Day on July 2nd, being organised by Bideford 500's Committee and by me as their Project Development Worker. There will be a live web link up and celebration on the day so that both communities can see and hear each other.

The Pottery trail unfurls again

Mike Z (Zee) and Doug Stover, National Parks Service staff at Fort Raleigh National Park told me that some archaeologists were coming to the Park to do a dig and that I should meet them and contact archaeologist Nick Lucketti, from the First Colony Foundation, to make arrangements to do so. I called Nick and though he isn't coming personally he told me that I need to make contact with them when they arrive. They were coming with students from Mercer University to do a dig near the Earthen Fort.

He also told me to look out for a book written by Ivor Noel Hulme about artefacts found at the 'Martin's Hundred' site near Williamsburg VA. Its in 2 volumes and volume 2 lists all the finds. I have since borrowed a paperback version about the site from a friend, Brian, and its proving to be a fascinating read so far, with North Devon pottery sherds being identified at the site – more on this later!

The 2 Erics – Klingelhofer and Deetz, eminent archaeologists, turned out to be a mine of information and proved to have some great contacts and were extremely generous with passing on names of people / organisations I should make contact with and places I should visit in the future to follow the North Devon Pottery trail. Alas some of these I won't get to visit on this trip as they include St Mary's in Maryland, Newfoundland, Maine, Ireland and Barbados.

Shame I can only do one Winston Churchill Fellowship in my lifetime!

Contacts they did give me that I can do on this trip are The De Witt Wallace Museum in Williamsburg, the Flowerdew Hundred Foundation at UVA in Charlottesville and the Department of Historic Resources in Richmond.

Nothing of any significance was found on the dig, apart from 2 postholes. I have finalised appointments to visit all these places and people this week, when I leave Manteo (the 26^th) and head back up into Virginia. So a bit of an itinerary change, but an opportunity not to be missed.

The Manteo Arts Scene

Since being here I have been making contact with the many art galleries and artists who are here in Manteo, some of whom came to our reception the day after we arrived and have kept in touch. In downtown there are numerous spaces to show and sell artwork – Dare County Arts Council have their new premises with 4 gallery spaces, all showing work by local based artists, (Manteo and the Outerbanks). The people who live here are in 3 categories depending on whether they were born here or have moved, or just visiting (natives, locals and tourists) akin to North Devon's locals, incomers and grockels. The artists are natives or locals.

There are also a few other galleries showing work by a mix of local artists, including Full Moon Gallery, run by Sharon Enoch which is an eclectic mix and includes wine, photography and Sharon's own pottery. A lot of the work in the galleries is very commercial and sells to the visiting tourists, so there are a lot of coastal scenes, birds, flowers, boats - very similar in subject matter to artwork for sale in North Devon. In fact there are more galleries that pop up once you start walking around dowtown, these also include Gallery 101, Endless Possibilities (based on recycled wares), Washed Ashore which has some 'funky' hand painted high stools and a kids rocking horse and pottery in the windows of the large downtown book store.

I met the owners and potters at 'Wanchese Pottery' in downtown – so called because they used to live in Wanchese and relocated to Manteo. I have yet to go back and watch Bonny at the wheel but have had a chat with Bob on the porch whilst he was playing with their kitten, who has adopted them. They have a small studio and shop by the Maritime Museum and make a variety of pots. Bob said they are down in stock due to a busy summer season and have different colours, the ones I have seen are different green glazes, from aqua to grass, and Bonny and Bob make mugs, plates, dishes and bowls that hold pebbles with wicks in to act as candles. Another potter is Nancy of 'Nancyware' and she has mainly her own stuff for sale in the shop.

Out of town on the main road is Silver Bonsai Gallery – so called because owners and jewellers Ben and Kat have their silver jewellery studio there and run the gallery, but they also sell Bonsai trees! Its an impressive studio at the back of the main gallery so you can see them at work. They also have an employee to help them. When we met they were very busy trying to finish some wedding rings for the upcoming 10/10/10 date, apparently a very popular day to get married. We had made email contact with Ben and Kat a few months ago and they were very keen to get to know the arts community in Bideford, so it was great to finally meet. A lot of the work is by local artists – as well as their own jointly made jewellery, also paintings, photography, textile hats, decorated light switch covers (a very American thing) and pottery.

Dave and I met Katy Caroline (she has a mural at Poor Richard;s cafe, above) at First Friday and she won the Beach Book Prize that we judged. She invited us to her art opening at a new venue called 'Art Space' which is at Southern Shores about 20 miles North of Manteo in the OuterBanks. It was good to see her work but also the space – Art Space is a gallery and studio to 3 artists. It's not a huge place but is packed with art on the walls and floors in 2 rooms and the studio areas are in amongst it all. It was fascinating to see that the artists were all working in a relatively small area but producing lots of work, they enjoy feeding off each other in a creative atmosphere, Katy is there every day to paint. I also met a painter who lives in the same area, Rick Nilson. I have seen his work for sale and he has only been painting the past few years. He won the Beach Book prize last year and was there at Katy's opening to support her.

At a party on Saturday night I met a potter, Cody Dough, and she was very excited about the twinning and future exchange plans wants to come over to Bideford as soon as she can. I have yet to see her work but will look out for it in the Arts Council galleries as she has some work there.

There are many other art galleries and spaces all along the Outer Banks, both to the North, up to Duck and down to Hatteras and Ocracoke to the South. In terms of twinning and exchange activity this area is too vast to get to know artists and galleries very well and we have decided that staying with Manteo based artists or artists who show their work in town will be an easier process to manage upon returning to Bideford and making an arts exchange programme happen in the future.

Arts Exchange

At the Artrageous Art Extravaganza art auction, Sunday October 3^rd 2010, Laura Martier, executive director of Dare County Arts Council, gave her public endorsement of our plans to make real arts contacts with our American twin town:

“We have some guests from Bideford England, Sadie and Dave Green. They're our guests of honour tonight and what happens with our guests of honour? We will just make them work. They've been working for us all weekend, working for us on First Friday and working with us tonight. And Bideford is our twin town in England so we're working on some cultural arts exchanges with the artists in Bideford and with the artists in Dare County, so hopefully we'll all get a trip to England out of it; so let me know if you want to get involved in that one!” - Laura Martier

Dare County Arts Council are very enthusiastic about undertaking some arts activity with artists in Bideford. Dave and I have had 2 very positive and productive meetings now. Laura Martier and Fay Davis Edwards are keen to work with Bideford Bay Creatives on a postcard project as a way of introducing the arts community to each other and also for the local community in both Manteo and Bideford to learn a little about the other town, through the arts. We have had it confirmed now that we are to have an exhibition of artist-made cards from both Manteo and Bideford (these will be made by artists from both towns who will make a duplicate one and send it to the other town) at the Arts Council's gallery at the beginning of June 2011 and the opening of it will coincide with the First Friday event in June, on June 3^rd. At the same time Bideford Bay Creatives will stage an exhibition of postcards from Manteo and Bideford artists at Appledore Visual Arts Festival in June 2011. Both towns will also be working with an elementary/primary school and so children will also make and exchange postcards and have them exhibited.

We made email contact in Bideford with Ben and Kathryn (above) at Silver Bonsai Gallery and we have seen them a few times in Manteo. They are both excited about the possibility of an exchange programme and are really keen to get something going, possibly with using a building they have on site that, although isn't ready right now, could possibly be a studio space for a visiting artist. That sounds great, I need to see the space but could be perfect! Ben and Kat are also the right kind of characters to make things happen and I am sure we will keep in touch.

With both of these ventures I need to put some things in writing and have a plan to work to. Laura at the arts council has suggested we have a 3-year plan with the vision for the bigger picture as well as stages that can be achieved along the way. The postcard project being the first stage. This is something I can work on before we leave.