Kilian's wares harken to a time and tradition that North Carolina was known for."
- Susan Wear Kluttz, former Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
Hand-spun on the potters' wheel. Traditional techniques and tools are used in tooling wares. All wares receive a special mix of 3-6 earthen elements and 2-4 earthen oxides that, when cured by a high firing (2232°F) within the pottery kiln, adheres to the stoneware clay body to create a matte glazed surface.
The great part of our wares being made with stoneware clay is that they are non-porous, allowing each ware's surface to be easily kept clean and safe. All wares are glazed with food-safe elements, safe for your family to eat from.
All wares are durable and cured twice by high-temperature firings. Dishwasher-safe and microwavable. Stronger than glass, durable as stone. - Please note that wares are not meant for oven use unless specially noted in a ware's description.
The term "Pottery" is used to describe the result of working clay into a vessel, a usable vessel. In certain artistic circles, it also refers to work that may be less than functional, and in the future, any artistic expression of clay will more than likely be called "Pottery". It wasn’t always this way; in the past, "Pottery" was a term reserved specifically for " a place where pots are made" ( like "Factory" or "Bakery" )- in a broader sense, including cups, saucers, plates and other various 'encooterments' that made life, well... livable. ("Cuppery" never did flow off the tongue! ) The person who fashioned the clay was and is still called the "Potter".
Kilian was awarded the "Heritage Artist" of IBXArts in 2010 and "Artist of the Year" by Scuppernong Gazette in 2009. He and his family were featured in Our State in 2010.
A major difference in Kilian’s work has been based on authenticity. He develops his own glazes and has been unfettered by conventional training as he is self-taught.
Kilian started in clay at the tender age of eight and opened his ceramic studio in 2007 in the swamps of the Inner Banks of North Carolina. His experience has yielded many accomplishments, such as creating a collection for "Historic Somerset," designing & crafting the "Hi-Plains School of Missions" participant awards, acceptance into Mino, Japan's International Ceramics Festival, and exhibiting in the exclusive Imperial Art Centre's HANDCRAFTED Exhibition of 2017.
He now instructs several clay classes at the Bower Center for the Arts in Bedford, VA.