Dan McLain is an up and coming ceramic artist from Bakersville, NC.

He started working with his hands in the medical profession, then changed gears once he found his love for making pottery. Dan McLain is now opening a studio at the Mahogany House in Waynesville.

Says McLain, “I had been working in the surgery department for the past thirty years and began making pots for stress relief. I realized that this was what I wanted to do. I was soon training under some of the finest potters in Western North Carolina. I was making more pots than I had room for and began selling them. After many years of participating in a festival here or there, because the hospital schedule always took priority over anything else, I just didn’t have time to balance the two.

“After moving to Clyde, I met Teri at the Mahogany House and she made me an offer I couldn’t refuse — studio space. Now I can give my pottery my full focus.

“I studied with some fine potters in the early years. I was able to take some of their styles and modify them to become my own. I like to take plain cylinders or bowls and alter their forms to give life and character to each pot. I apply the glazes with a brush so I can layer different colors and designs that you wouldn’t get by dipping your pot into a bucket of glaze.

When asked about his plans for the future, McLain shared, “One thing I am excited about is teaching classes. I hope to share with my students the satisfaction you get from creating pottery with your own hands. I hope that they will find joy making their own style of pottery.”

If You Go: McLain Pottery demonstration, Friday, October 2, 2015 from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Mahogany House Gallery, 240 Depot Street, Frog Level, Waynesville.