Paul Haigh: Fantasy Born of Clay and Fire

06/30/23 • 37 min

Enter the fantasy world of Paul Haigh, a chemist turned potter, who creates weird stuff for weird people. His work is a blend of his fascination with horror, mythology, science fiction, and games like Dungeons and Dragons. Ultimately, Paul sees his work as an escape from the real world.

Paul is known for his face jugs, which are wheel-turned jugs with faces stuck on them. Traditionally, the faces are abstract or even cartoonish, but Paul enjoys making his look realistic. Originally face jugs were made by enslaved people in the American South. There are many theories on the original purposes of face jugs, ranging from religious practices to grave markers. It is common for the expressions and features on face jugs to be scary. The creepy faces may have been designed to scare off evil spirits or to keep children from consuming booze stored inside. This type of pottery fell out of favor in the 1920s but was later revitalized by potters to sell to tourists.

Sculpting realistic human faces is a challenge. Our brains are specialized in recognizing human faces and we can easily spot mistakes. It took years of practice for Paul to be satisfied with his work. There’s a lot of broken pottery from when he was still learning.

Paul enjoys interacting with collectors at art shows. He loves that a significant portion of his collectors are women over 60. With their wisdom and confidence, they no longer care what others think of them and they collect what they want.

Paul lives in central North Carolina, near Seagrove, the pottery capital of the United States. Highway 705, which runs through the region, is nicknamed the Pottery Highway. Paul was a potter prior to moving to NC from New Hampshire. One of the highlights of creating pottery in NH was his wood firing kiln, made from 30,000 pounds of brick with a 15-foot chimney.

Mentions:

Carolina Pottery Festival (Shelby, NC in November): http://www.ccartscouncil.org/carolinapottery/
Catawba Valley Pottery Festival (Hickory, NC in March): https://catawbavalleypotteryfestival.com/
Holly Arts Festival (Pinehurst, NC in October): https://www.homeofgolf.com/events/
League of NH Craftsmen Fair (Concord, NH in August): https://nhcrafts.org/annual-craftsmens-fair/
Ryan “Humanburger” Jones: https://ryanjonesartwork.bigcartel.com/
RVA Krampus (Richmond, VA in December): http://www.rvakrampus.com/
Star Works NC: https://www.starworksnc.org/

Check out Paul’s work at:

https://www.whmudworks.com/
https://m.facebook.com/Wiley-Hill-Mudworks-108145139230652
https://www.instagram.com/paul_haigh_pottery

Mentions:

Carolina Pottery Festival (Shelby, NC in November): http://www.ccartscouncil.org/carolinapottery/
Catawba Valley Pottery Festival (Hickory, NC in March): https://catawbavalleypotteryfestival.com/
Holly Arts Festival (Pinehurst, NC in October): https://www.homeofgolf.com/events/
League of NH Craftsmen Fair (Concord, NH in August): https://nhcrafts.org/annual-craftsmens-fair/
Ryan “Humanburger” Jones: https://ryanjonesartwork.bigcartel.com/
RVA Krampus (Richmond, VA in December): http://www.rvakrampus.com/
Star Works NC: https://www.starworksnc.org/

Check out Paul’s work at:

https://www.whmudworks.com/
https://m.facebook.com/Wiley-Hill-Mudworks-108145139230652
https://www.instagram.com/paul_haigh_pottery

Previous Episode

Introducing Season 5 of Halloween Art and Travel

This is Kristen Stafford, your host of the Halloween Art and Travel Podcast. This is where you get the stories behind some of the best Halloween art being created today. I’m excited to share my 2023 season with you – the 5th season of this podcast.

This season, I’ll be releasing new episodes on the 13th and 30th of each month, from now through October. I’ll also drop additional episodes in-between those two dates, but always on dates that contain the number 3. Subscribe and follow in your favorite podcast app so you don’t miss a single one.

I’ll continue to bring you artists that create in a variety of styles and new mediums. My first two guests are Paul Haigh who creates weird stuff for weird people and David Everett of Chicken Lips. Later in the season, I’ll treat your ears to a miniature artist and a glass blower. I’ll also share with you tips on finding spooky furniture to add to your collections.

After needing to put it off last season, I’m finally launching my first ever monthly companion newsletter at the end of June. Visit www.halloweenartandtravel.com and put your email address in the subscribe box so you don’t miss a single edition.

Now, go forth and start getting ready for Halloween. Now that we’ve passed Halfoween, it’s just around the corner. I’ll see you back on June 30, to introduce you to artist Paul Haigh.

Next Episode

David Everett: Spooky Characters for All Seasons

Step into the magical world of David Everett, where spooky meets mischievousness. In a strange twist, a man who was scared of skeletons as a boy, now creates them with his sculpting tools. The unique name for his business, Chicken Lips, came from a family brainstorming session. David proclaims his spirit animal is a chicken and he loved the humorous angle of incorporating the expression, “as useful as lips on a chicken.” In his studio, you’ll find David creating Halloween and spooky twists on other holidays, such as a skeleton Santa.

His recent relocation to Arizona has inspired him to create cowboy skeletons and cactuses with menacing faces. The animated holiday specials by Rankin/Bass, such as Mad Monster Party, inspire him and give him a dose of nostalgia. Another favorite is Disney’s Haunted Mansion, which he used to visit twice a month when he lived in California.

Play-Doh is a deep tie to his childhood. It’s one of his favorite scents and he still keeps a can on his desk. He uses it to make quick sculpts to test out ideas. It helps him feel like a kid again.

Our guest shared his thoughts on the impact of AI on creatives. He is concerned about deep fakes and disinformation. As a graphic designer, he sees how it is a creativity tool and he’s excited to see how it will help him and others with the design process. Artists that embrace AI can thrive and create new, interesting works.

David’s advice to creatives is to create what you love – your audience will find you if you are truly passionate about what you are doing. He feels blessed to have such enthusiastic collectors.

David releases new artwork on the 13th of every month. The best way to stay in touch with him is to subscribe to his monthly email newsletter via his website.

Check out David’s work at: