Terance Painter

Groove Crock Drum

Clay, cone 10 reduction, wood

“Groove Crock Drum is a playable percussion instrument. The vessel is wheel-thrown pottery with a Finnish birch wood top etched with a pen and ink landscape.”

— Terance Painter

About the artist

Terance Painter

My name is Terance Painter, and I have been a full-time potter since establishing Different Drummer Pottery in Maggie Valley in 1980. My work consists of functional wheel-thrown stoneware and porcelain in a variety of colorful glazes. I also specialize in bas-relief landscapes applied to the surfaces of vases, jars, and tiles for wall hanging.

I was born in western North Carolina and grew up just a few hundred yards from my present studio. I began a long love affair with art when I began painting at age 12. After trying my hand at many different media, I settled on studying painting and printmaking at Western Carolina University. It was there that I was first exposed to clay, and after only two weeks in a required ceramic course, I knew that I had found my calling. I have been making pottery full-time ever since.