Red Drum Pottery "provides haven and
inspiration for the work of local potters
BY EARUNE WHITE
Correspondent
It was humid the day I went in
searchofRedDrum Pottery. Afraid
because of my lousy sense of direc
tion, I was pleased to find signs
leading the way.
In the Old Cotton Mill in
Edenton, Wes Lassiter and Rhonda
Bates have set up shop. Estab
lished in this location for two years
now, word of mouth has helped
Red Drum to become a reputable
business.
tual about having a kiln that comes
from the earth.” Pieces fired in a
wood kiln receive an ash texture
and vibrant colors that make them
one of a kind. It’s dramatically dif
ferent than the electric kilns she
and Wes work with now. In the past
four years she has been involved in
lighting five different wood kilns.
(Not only are wood kilns attractions
for artists, but have historic basis
that may be forgotten because of
the lack of them.) Among those
kilns that Rhonda helped with was
the largest anagama kiln in North
Rhonda continued sculpting, or
as some call it, “painting with
fire”. Her favorite thing to make
is teapots, which require creativ
ity. She still paints and her work
can be seen alongside her mugs in
the pottery. When I walked into
her studio that day, she was mak
ing a casserole dish. Later the
piece will probably be adorned
with the fish and earth tone paints
that have become the signature of
Red Drum creations.
For those that prefer custom de
signs, Red Drum is equipped for
..nuftuiwwrt*
~JtL
WHh Rhonda Bales' most bizarre creation, "Sugar Rocky," in the middle, she and Wes Lassiter sit in their
bamboo lea hut with homemade teapots for a traditional Japanese tea ceremony. The two share a real
excitement about their work and a love of creativity. (Photo by Earline White)
that tob. Wes and Rhonda have
just begun to customize mugs for
individual companies. Other ob
jects for sale include knickknacks
and tons of functional items such
as colanders, platters, and candles.
Unlike Rhonda, Wes had no back
ground in the arts when he started.
A charter captain, a banjo player,
and a newspaper advertising and
marketerfromCharlotte, Wes had
no idea that he would be so ful
filled by playing with clay. “The
minute I touched the clay, I fell
in love with it,” he said as he
sculpted a bowl. “I learned ev
erything from Rhonda,” he said,
but it can easily be noticed that
he has done quite a bit of grow
ing on his own. “The hardest
thing for me was the weight.
Making it so that the weight was
evenly distributed through the
whole piece was challenging. It’s
a physics thing.”
When asked what he most liked
to create, Wes said, “I like work
ing with the pitcher form.” He
held up one of his latest accom
plishments that was waiting to
dry. The piece sits side by side
with one of his first bowls he
keeps as a souvenir in the stu
dio. “I like to dare the clay, to
take it to extremes, and see how
far it will go,” he said.
Wes and Rhonda are a team.
Originally with a shop in
Ocracoke, a lot of their custom
ers were tourists. Since the dev
astation of Floy d, they closed the
shop on the island and moved
inland. There still remains an
excitement between the two that
can be seen in their eyes. “When
I am working over here I can’t
wait to go and see what Wes has
Wes Lassiter sculpts a bowl at the Red Drum Pottery studio he and
partner Rhonda Bates operate in Edenton. (Photo by Earline White)
done. And he rushes over here
and pokes around looking at
what I just finished,” Rhonda
said.
Not only are these two a great
working pair, but a spiritual one
as well. Rhonda confided that
she and Wes have a “Hall of
Fame” in their house. “Wes made
a coffee table from a piece of drift
woodcj Each time we make some
thing we really love we put it in
the middle of the Hall of Fame
table.”
The two just seem to thrive off
of each other and their art shows
it. For those lucky enough to get
there, Wes and RhoMa will be
having a show on the Outer
Banks in July. On the 5th and
6th in Chicamacornico at the
Rodanthe Lifesaving Station,
there will be an arts and crafts
show in which Red Drum Pot
tery will be taking part.
A long way from her D.C. home,
Rhonda has thrived on the charm
ofEdenton. Being able to walk to
work and having cultural events
nearby has helped to inspire her
and Wes. Now Rhonda longs to
find some raw farmland or wood
land to build a wood kiln and com
plete a dream. Recently at a work
shop with one of the top three tea
bowl makers in the world, Peter
Callas, Rhonda realized she des
perately wanted a wood kiln. She
said, “There is something spiri
Carolina in Bailey.
After acquiring her Bachelor of
Fine Arts from Corcoran School of
Art in D.C, Rhonda worked as a
waitress, cleaned houses, and hung
wallpaper to support herself. Her
passion was painting, but it wasn’t
profitable.
When she started making pottery
she knew it would be a long time
before her pottery skills equaled'
those of her painting skills. She
sajd, “The possibilities of pottery
are, like painting, endless.” So
NOTICE
Public Hearing
The Chowan County Board of Commissioners will hold
a public hearing on Monday, July 10,2000 at 9:00 a.m. in
the Commissioners Room, Courthouse. The purpose of
this hearing is to receive comment on the proposal to not
pave 2.2 miles of SR 1313 (West Bear Swamp Road) as
proposed in the 2000 -01 Secondary Roads Program
presented to the County Commissioners by NCDOT on
June 2, 2000; but instead, to pave .4 mile to pass the one
residence on the road. The County proposes to transfer
the funds saved to other road projects.
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