|
Bill Lynch has been making
pottery in this 'creek-place' since he and Sharon bought the old mill
property in 1978. Ben and
Emily, their children, were born here in 1979 and 1981.
Sampsel's Mill was built in 1818 and ran on water-power until it
closed in 1951 and fell into disrepair.
The modern building out back, where the kilns are
now located, housed the pottery for the first eleven years here.
They converted the summer kitchen building into a showroom, and
also sold wholesale and at craft shows, where Bill won several awards
for his work, including the Booth of Distinction Award at the Central
Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts in
State College
, and the Phil Patterson Award in Ceramics at the Pennsylvania Guild of
Craftsmen's
Franklin
and
Marshall
show. He has also had
several exhibitions of his work. In
1989 the mill was restored
and adapted for pottery making and sales.
People have been making pottery for thousands of
years, and there's a magic in how pottery brings people together...
makers and users, givers and receivers.
The Lynches feel connected to the thousands of people using their
pots, and
enjoy meeting those who purchase them, having made many friends among
the customers in their twenty-five years of living and working on Penns
Creek.
The stoneware and porcelain are lead free,
dishwasher and food safe, designed to be enjoyed through everyday use.
They strive to bring the qualities of strength, utility and beauty
to each piece they create.
Bill has been thrilled recently with the pots coming
out of his large two-chambered wood burning kiln, the Ngborigama. The
firing process has dramatic and unpredictable effects on the glazes, which are designed to react to flame and ash during the forty-hour
firing process.
The water wheel that turned its
first revolution here in 1818, has been replaced by the potter's wheels
that turn here today. Come
and see.
|