Blaine Avery is busy here in Columbia.

The Pocosin Arts’ resident artist has been doing repair work on the  Pocosin Arts Center which was flooded back in 2011.

He also had a presentation scheduled for July 26 at the Vineyards on the Scuppernong Winey at 6 p.m.

“I’ll be speaking about my work and the amazing journey that being an artist it has taken me in life. From staring out as a Potters Apprentice to designing and building my own studio and home on fifteen acres of land in rural N.C. just outside of the small town of Seagrove. Where my inspiration for my work comes from, how it is connected to present yet rutted in the past,” said Avery when asked to give some details of the presentation.

Avery has been a studio potter since 1991.  He took an apprenticeship with Sid Oakley at Cedar Creek Gallery in Creedmoor, NC.  After a year under Sid’s direction, Avery stayed on at Cedar Creek, renting studio space as a resident artist, and selling his work through the gallery, along with other galleries throughout the southeast.

Avery was awarded a scholarship in 1996 to study glaze formulation at the Arrowmont School of Crafts in Gatlinburg, TN under Lanna Wilson and Pete Pennel.  There he furthered his understanding of the chemical formulation of clay and glazes.  This enabled him to begin developing surface decorating techniques that became the foundation for the work he is known for today.

“I really like taking things apart and figuring out how they work. I have ever since I was I kid it’s that inquisitive nature in me that lead to be a potter, the technical side of ceramics, glaze formulation, clay formulation, building and firing kilns, and all the equipment that needs to be kept up and running. There is so much more to ceramics then just molding things out of clay.It was also was what lead me to design and build my own studio and house from start to finish,” says Avery in an online entry on his blog.

In 2002, Avery moved to Seagrove, NC to open his own retail gallery and studio, Avery Pottery and Tileworks. Today, Blaine sells his work primarily through his gallery, through select craft galleries and fine craft shows.

“It is hard to pick just one thing as being my favorite piece of work, because it is ever evolving. Currently though I have become fascinated with the surface of my work and painting imagery taking from my rural surroundings. Some are from plants, animals and even the clouds above, my eyes are always open looking at the endless possibilities that connect me and my work to the past and present,’ said Avery