“Pottery was born into me,” Joel Queen says, and rightly so, with eight generations of Native American “coil-built” traditional pottery on his family tree. In a roadside studio near Cherokee, Queen uses only his fingers and a small amount of water — no potter’s wheel — to create thin-walled, patterned pieces, the same way his ancestors did, “hand-building” blue clay and engraving or stamping it with textured paddles he’s carved himself. Smooth quartz stones and even Mason jar lids are his polishing tools, and when it’s time to fire the pot, it’s done outside in a “hot, fast fire” of hemlock wood. He recently sold the largest pot he — or any Cherokee — has ever made. The studio door frame had to come off to fire it.
Feature image, above: In addition to his own gallery in Whittier, Queen’s work has been displayed at the Smithsonian Institution, the British Museum, and Monticello.
North Carolinians need not depend on the luck of the Irish to see green. With our islands and parks, greenways and fairways, mosses and ferns, all we have to do is look around.
The arrival of warmer afternoons makes it a wonderful time to stroll through a historic waterfront locale. From centuries-old landmarks and historical tours to local restaurants and shops, here’s how to spend a spring day in this Chowan County town.
Before a chef served elegant charcuterie, she was a young girl discovering refined flavors at the local Hickory Farms shop.
In the North Carolina Foothills, a music program — and its talented host — celebrates the diverse genres that have shaped our musical landscape.
