08/17/2026
One of the founding families of Seagrove Pottery are the Cravens, and our featured potter today, Donna Craven is a 7th Generation potter!
She creates an array of small to large pots woodfired and salted to create drippy, atmospheric surfaces that highlights her designs on these traditional forms.
Donna began as a journeyman potter in Seagrove in 1996, and spent years working day & night with various artists and studios in the Seagrove community. She built her first groundhog kiln in 2001 and held her first kiln opening later that year.
Her pots are wood-fired and salt-glazed, giving the pots a rich surface to reflect the earth-based materials. Donna fires for around sixteen hours to cone 12 (2450 degrees F) with an overnight preheat.
"I’m known for my larger pieces that are thrown and coiled with a one-inch extended coil. My work is grounded in tradition, yet reflects my own influences that produce a combination of strength, simplicity, and gracefulness that is undeniably unique. I frequently employ a taped decoration technique using manganese or a combination of crackle slips and ash glaze to achieve my effects. I’m always searching for the one pot that mirrors my idea of perfection and frequently find that it is the rare, unexpected quality when pulled from the kiln that makes the work so beautiful and satisfying. It’s a lot of hard, humbling work and I’m honored to be part of a tradition that is thousands of years old. I am a 7th generation, direct descendant of Peter Craven from Randolph County."
Donna Craven Pottery is open by appointment or special event, check out more details on our website:
https://discoverseagrove.com/potters/donna-craven-pottery/
Instagram: donnacravenpottery
