Mark Hewitt examines one of the pots he has made in his studio. | Photo by Joshua Dolgoff
Story by Joshua Dolgoff
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TRACK 1: For 68-year-old Mark Hewitt, pottery is an art form defined by repetition, habit, and improvement… a combination that always keeps his hands on the clay.
SOT 1: :13 “I sometimes think I’m just beginning to get good. You know, I don’t think I’ve quite crested yet. There’s gonna be a certain, you know, physical decline inevitably, but I don’t think I’m quite there yet.”
:10 Mark Hewitt/Potter
TRACK 2: Hewitt was born into pottery in Stoke-On-Trent, England, and would eventually move to the United States and establish his own pottery in Pittsboro, North Carolina in 1983 with his wife Carol. Since then, Hewitt has put his own flare into his pottery, with mugs being his signature piece… and there’s simply no other way to mold it… Hewitt loves making mugs.
SOT 2: :16 “It’s like a tangible poem… I’m able to sort of embody all of that in a moment of creativity when I’m at the wheel, when I’m decorating it when I’m putting the handle on it when I’m glazing it, and I get to drink coffee out of it.”
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Hewitt makes 120 of these mugs per day, taking him 2 minutes and 40 seconds to craft each one, but his desire to make each piece better than the last one is what has kept him going for the last 46 years
SOT 3: :09 “The favorite piece is the next one. I’m a dreamer. You know, I want to do it better next time. You know, I’ve made some pretty nice stuff, but the next one is going to be even better.”
TRACK 3: Carol saw this drive in Mark from the very beginning, and she sees it as his inspiration to always strive for more.
SOT 4: :15 “I think what was more telling was him saying, I just want to make the best pot ever made. It’s that dedication to excellence. And that just shows in the way he does his work.”
:10 Carol Hewitt/Mark’s Wife
TRACK 4: Mark and Carol’s pottery business is a well-oiled machine as Mark makes the product, Carol handles the finances, and they come together to do the marketing, forming a dynamic duo.
SOT 5: :07 “I pedal really fast she steers. So I’m extremely grateful, thankful for all that she does.”
TRACK 5: Together with his wife, Mark is serving a larger purpose within the pottery community as he spreads his long-standing knowledge of ceramics and maintains the pottery tradition in North Carolina.
SOT 6: :13 “Mark’s interested in not only having making excellent pots himself, but having pottery be understood and appreciated in the larger world and bringing the joy of handmade ceramics to as many people as possible.”
TRACK 6: And as long as he’s enjoying it, he’s going to keep doing it until the wheels fall off. I’m Joshua Dolgoff, reporting.
