Lula Bolick

Artisan
Lula Bolick

In the hills of North Carolina, clay has a way of telling stories. For 5th generation potter, Lula Bolick, those stories are deeply personal—rooted in family, tradition, and a love for the land itself.

Lula grew up just nine miles from Seagrove, the pottery capital of the South. Her father was always on the lookout for clay. “He kept a shovel and bucket in his pickup,” Lula recalls with a smile. “If he saw a bank that looked promising, he’d stop, dig some up, and bring it home to try.” That curiosity led them to the rich clay beds of Cheraw, South Carolina where the Bolick’s bring it from still today.

Once home, it’s fed into a hammermill hitched to a tractor and ground fine as flour. Mixed with water and pressed through an old brick mill mold (tractor-powered too) it emerges in long, smooth cylinders, “like round sticks,” Lula says with a smile. From there, after getting the air bubbles out, it becomes hers to shape.

On the wheel, she makes the transformation look effortless. With quiet ease, she coaxes each piece into being– pitchers, vases, even pumpkins, every movement as natural as breathing. Watching her, you’d think the clay was always meant to become something beautiful.

Firing is its own tradition. The Bolicks use electric kilns for everyday work, but twice a year the wood kiln is lit—a living link to their heritage. Those days are special: a rope holds back eager visitors as fresh pieces are priced and set on tables. When the rope comes down, the rush begins. Everyone knows they’re taking home not just pottery, but a piece of history.

For Lula, pottery isn’t just craft—it’s kinship, memory, and grace shaped in clay.