Cub Creek Pottery

John Jessiman, Cub Creek Foundation founder and Director, left teaching after 33 years due to the Universities lack of funding and commitment to the arts.  After a year – long search, he found a 100 – acre historic plantation in central VA and began planning another venture. The seeds for Cub Creek were sown in 1976 when John taught a summer program at Archie Bray Foundation. There he had a small group of highly talented and committed students that in a short time with intensive work, made great progress. This became the vision for Cub Creek. After moving,  John met with others that shared this vision and Cub Creek Foundation was formed.

Although Cub Creek is committed to bringing a variety of creative programs to our region, our most important focus is assisting emerging artists in the development of their careers. Many University and College students develop an interest in the ceramic arts late in their tenure and with other imposing academic requirements have limited experience and are left with few options. The Cub Creek studios are open 24/7 allowing our residents to fully immerse in their development.  At the entry of our program residents are given a copy of our studio handbook which covers many technical issues, firing information, glaze and slip recipes and other important information. Often the residents meet with our director over dinner with discussions related to issues in the handbook and from their studio work.