Toe River Arts | Clay
William Baker
Ceramics
542 Wilson Road
Bakersville, North Carolina 28705
Open 10 – 5 pm Monday through Saturday
828.284.4091
Email: williambakerpottery@gmail.com
Online Shop: williambaker.etsy.com
Instagram: @williambakerpottery
Facebook: @williambakerpottery
“From concept to design to final firing, my process for making functional pottery requires an intimate relationship with both preparation and chance. While bringing a vision to life I embrace the challenge of creating a smooth surface free of unintentional marks. This element of control is balanced by the unknowns of firing in a wood and soda kiln. Simple, strong design features enable me to create illustrative surfaces that highlight the natural colors resulting from the firing. Each piece is subject to the whim of wood ash, flame, and soda vapor. In the end, the combination of intentionally crafted forms and an uncontrolled atmosphere for surface design brings my work to life.”
William Baker is a full-time studio potter living in Bakersville, North Carolina. Coming from college at the University of Puget Sound in Washington, he stumbled into clay and has been pursuing this passion for the past 22 years. He was a Resident Artist at the Odyssey Center for Ceramic Arts in Asheville, North Carolina, and has assisted several classes at the Penland School of Crafts. William was a Resident Artist position at the EnergyXChange, in Burnsville, North Carolina. Since 2013, He and his wife, also a potter, Joy Tanner, work at their studio, Wood Song Pottery in Bakersville, NC where they work full time. He spends most of his time creating pottery one piece at a time on the potter’s wheel, using a wood- and soda-fired kiln as one of his most important tools. William also teaches pottery classes and builds kilns for other potters, he is a member of the Southern Highland Craft Guild and the Toe River Arts Council, and exhibits his work in regional and national galleries.