11th Annual Face Jug Show

The 11th Annual Face Jug Show

April 5 – 26, 2023

Show goes Live on our website: Wednesday April 5th at 11 AM at WWW.AMERIFOLK.COM 

Opens in the Gallery: Friday April 7th at 11 AM 64 Biltmore Ave, Downtown Asheville             

Opening Reception: Friday April 7th, 5-8 PM 64 Biltmore Ave, Downtown Asheville

It’s coming! Get ready for American Folk’s 11th Annual Face Jug Show! We love to dedicate every April to these wild, wonderful, and culturally iconic vessels!

Face Jugs began to appear in this region of North Carolina in the very early 1800s and were created to store moonshine. Because these potters were intending to scare children away from drinking the alcohol inside, they began to add snakes, grimacing faces, and devil horns to these jugs. In those days, self-sufficiency ruled, thus handmade locally-crafted clayware was common. Our regional soils contain all the elements needed to make hardy clay, and our forests plenty of wood for the fueling of kilns. Many of the potters represented in the Face Jug Show are still following those old-school traditions: digging and creating their own clays as well as firing in wood-fired kilns. While these techniques are labor-intensive, the passionate pursuit by these skilled craftspeople is evident in the pottery they create. The Face Jug has become an eagerly sought after, as well as a widely collected part of our mountain heritage.

Each year American Folk Art curates an eclectic selection of these jugs, made by select potters who use their own knowledge & creativity to explore and expand upon the beloved tradition of these works. Mike Ball follows the traditional face jug method, incorporating glass drips and broken plates for the teeth of his faces, while also putting his own indelible mark on the tradition itself. His contribution to the ongoing and ever-evolving art form is the eyeball jug, which of course will feature in this year’s show. Stacy Lambert’s story jugs are an expansion of the traditional face jug form. His rich color palette and three-dimensional interpretations of people and animals are as much fun as a potter ought to have. 10 other regional (and further afield) potters will be featured, including, new to this year’s show, South Carolina potters Vicki Miller & Tim Whitten.

 “It’s really such a fun time of year here in the gallery. We love sharing the history and tradition of these unique jugs with folks who are new to the face jug scene, and we also have the opportunity to reconnect with our most steadfast collectors during this event. It’s a wildly popular show and not to be missed.” says Julia L. Mills, gallery owner.

Whether you can visit the gallery in person or only visit online, please join us in celebrating this storied pottery tradition at American Folk Art.

The show will debut on the gallery website WWW.AMERIFOLK.COM at 11 AM Wednesday April 5th and for one hour, every piece included in this year’s show will be available for previewing before sales begin sharply at 12 PM via telephone. Remaining Face Jugs will be displayed in the gallery from Friday April 7th – Wednesday April 26th.