Making pottery is a favorite hobby for North Carolina farm broadcaster Rhonda Garrison (Southern Farm Network, Raleigh, NC). “For as long as I can remember I’d wanted to learn to make pottery, but had little opportunity or time while living in the Texas Panhandle,” Rhonda said. In the summer of 2007 she moved to North Carolina with three dogs, and only one family member east of the Mississippi so, she said, “I finally had lots of time, and little did I know that I’d moved to the epicenter of handmade pottery on the East Coast!” She explains how she got started. “In the fall of 2008 I took my first class that involved throwing clay on a potter’s wheel at a city-owned art studio, and about the best I could do was throw a fit. I was very disappointed.” But, Rhonda kept seeing pieces that were shapes and textures that were a better fit with what she wanted to do. “I asked how those were done, and a term I’d never heard before was introduced to me – hand building. The difference is that the clay is rolled into a slab, much like one would roll out a pie crust, patterns are cut, much like dress making, texture applied with whatever you can find and like, and the piece is ‘built’ or assembled much like a construction project.” She added, “All of a sudden, I was in love with clay and what I could do with it! I loved finding things in nature that I could use for texture, or carving my own. My agricultural and horticultural background is evident in my work!” 
“For the first couple of years, I spent every possible moment at the studio or in classes learning everything I could about hand building pottery, making new friends and just generally having a ton of fun. My dogs were getting older, and while I enjoyed the social aspect of working in a studio, I felt like I was needlessly missing out on the time my beloved dogs and I had left together. So in 2010, I began moving my work to a home studio in my garage.” There came a time when Rhonda “had worn out my welcome with friends and family with pottery pieces (think good zucchini year).” She donated her work to charitable organizations, including the NAFB Foundation Auction, and decided to start selling her pottery at craft shows and fairs in central North Carolina. In the spring of 2013, Rhonda was accepted into her first juried show in Cary, NC. This year she has applied (or will apply) to 10 juried shows hoping to get into six. Some are big events, some are not, but each one is special in its own way. Selling at craft shows meant Rhonda needed a name for her little business. In keeping with her work environment and her home life, she named her pottery business Dog House Pottery - Raleigh. She concludes, “Funds from these shows go to support my ‘pottery habit’, and pay my veterinarian bills! Look for some of my pieces at this year’s NAFB Foundation silent auction once again!”
