Bobby Hughes

Bobby's work with clay began in the 1980s after meeting John Givvins, pottery professor at Meredith College in Raleigh, NC. John taught and mentored him as he worked as his unofficial assistant. While learning from John, he was also assisting his students; this offered the opportunity to develop how to teach clay work to others.
One technique that especially interested Bobby was John’s experimentation with masking tape to create a decorative glaze resist on his pots. Having grown up doing automotive body work and painting, he was well versed in tape resist as a means of painting pinstripes on vehicles. An "ah ha" moment occurred and he started using striping tape to generate complex designs on bisque pottery. Before long, he was making quality pots, became John’s partner in local craft shows, and we made the tape resist pots a staple. His designs are influenced by the work of Frank Lloyd Wright, Native American, and Japanese designs.