Life & Work with Joe Frank McKee of Sylva

Today we’d like to introduce you to Joe Frank McKee

Joe Frank, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My fascination with clay began in 1991 with a college pottery class. I wanted to learn all I could about clay from the moment I began on the wheel and did so by obtaining my Master of Fine Arts in Clay. I graduated and got married in December of 1996, then my wife and I opened our first McKee’s Pottery location in February of 1997 in Ingram, Texas. Thus, this began my career as a studio potter. In 2003, we made the decision to move to the quaint town of Dillsboro, NC in the Great Smoky Mountains. This is where our 3rd and 4th business locations would be, but by 2018 the Town of Dillsboro had lost being a depot for the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad and went from mostly arts and crafts stores to mostly breweries and restaurants. It had been the kind of town where we could bank on 9 months of great sales and 3 months of slow sales but slowly moved to the opposite of that. So we decided to move production to the studio at our home in Sylva and remain there today. I have kept busy with wholesale gallery orders, traveling to art shows and pottery festivals around the country and most recently giving workshops on low fire finishing techniques like Raku and Horsehair.
During my time in Dillsboro, I partnered with 2 other potters to form the Western North Carolina Pottery Festival and will celebrate our 20th anniversary this November! I am very proud of our work that brings in about 40 potters from across the country to our annual juried event in Sylva.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
No, not really. Sales during election years were always down, paying shop rent was difficult some years, art festivals can be great some years and horrible other years, the town you choose to set up shop in declines as mentioned above. The life of an artist is rarely smooth, but to those of us who choose this life, it is better than working behind a desk or for corporations or doing something that is uninspiring to us. It really does take a ton of work and time to produce and sell good pottery, but I am proud of having made it work for almost 30 years.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
In my opinion what sets me apart from other potters is that I create both functional and decorative pottery. My decorative lines are more creative and artistic, yet my functional pots keep me in touch with customers who enjoy using pottery on a daily basis.
My functional line is made up of tableware, vases, bowls and a few decorative items like candle lanterns and oil lamps. I use a variety of glazes to obtain purples, teals, browns and natural tones.
All my work is thrown on the wheel.
For the decorative line, after the pots are bisque fired, I prepare them for a finish firing using materials such as terra-sigillata slip, ferric chloride, horsehair and/or a variety of raku glazes. Some pieces are a combination of finishes and techniques. At this point, smoke, fire, temperature and chemical reactions come in to play a vital role in my work. For my personal satisfaction, I strive to obtain that one line, carbon mark, color and/or smoke pattern that completes each piece making it feel finished.

How do you define success?
Feeling accomplished, satisfied and happy after a day in the studio, after a show or after a gallery delivery or workshop. If I am happy with my work, then I know there is someone out there who will be, too and at the end of the day that helps me feel successful as an artist.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @mckees_pottery
• Facebook: McKee’s Pottery