Nathan Willever

The clay and glazes I use for my pots have been developed using local, un-processed materials through research and testing. I knew there had been a rich tradition of potters working in the Philadelphia region making lead glazed slipware, and by the early 18th century salt glazed stoneware. Areas with a history of pottery making have always had a source of good clay. 

In 2018 I was able to find a source of refractory stoneware clay that is high in iron. I hand-dig and process my own clay from a sand mine and soil blending company called Stancills. Located near the north-eastern corner of the Chesapeake River, the “Marlboro Clay” was deposited in the region by a shallow marine environment during the late Paleocene period, around 55 million years ago. Wood firing the clay often brings out “Bizen” style surfaces.  The coarse nature helps produce the “Gohonde”, or firefly-like spots seen on the reduction fired work.

Once I found the clay, I moved onto developing glazes that highlight it. The most important glaze material is what I call Mineral Hill feldspar. I found this rock by researching felspar mines that were in use during the early 19th century. Mineral Hill is located in Media, Pennsylvania.  This area was briefly used as a soda feldspar mine. After collecting the rock, it is first calcined to 1700 degrees, then crushed in a ball mill for use in the glazes. Wood ash, a by-product from wood firing, is sifted and used in conjunction with the feldspar to achieve my Nuka and Mineral Hill green ash glaze.

Using these unprocessed, “wild” materials has influenced how I make pots.  It has produced surfaces that will age and develop over time, much like the pots from Korea, Japan and Europe that I have found inspiration from for years. My hope is that the pots show where they come from while being influenced by traditions from many cultures.

Nathan Willever was raised in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Ceramics from Maine College of Art.His functional pottery made from local materials have been featured in numerous national exhibitions and publications such as the Ceramics Monthly, Pottery Making Illustrated and Clay Times. In 2019 he was selected to be a Ceramics Monthly Emerging Artist. He has taught workshops at institutions such as Ox-Bow School of Art and Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. In 2018 he was selected by Haystack to be a guest artist at The Shigaraki Ceramic Culture Park in Shigaraki, Japan.  He was awarded The 2018 Sybille Zeldin Fellowship at The Clay Studio in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. In 2019 he was a Windgate Scholar at the Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts.Nathan is currently a long term Resident at The Clay Studio.