Terry Watson
STORY RIVER STUDIOS
The Kiln and I
story by KATE HAMILTON PARDEE photos by CHARLOTTE BERKELEY
Terry Watson may be a man of a few words, but his company, Story River Studios, and his art of making pottery speak volumes. Every piece reflects his love of the Lowcountry waters, marshes, and wetlands.
He was born in Meridian, Mississippi, to his parents, Judy and Carl Watson, and has a sister, Tammy. His family moved all over because his father worked for Chevron. They lived in Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia, and Florida. Terry had always been artistic and loved to draw and paint. His father, who later worked for the State Forest Department, instilled in him a great love of nature and respect for forests that is reflected in his designs. Terry proudly says, “When he retired, he was the Park Naturalist at Fort Clinch State Park in Fernandina Beach for 23 years.”
Terry drifted away from his art in adulthood. It wasn’t until a friend introduced him to pottery that Terry’s creativity was rekindled. But first came his introduction to Beaufort, South Carolina. Terry Watson’s first experience in Beaufort was traveling on Route 17 as a child with his Uncle Buster Childs. He had just returned from Vietnam and drove an 18-wheeler from Maine to Florida to Texas. “Visiting these areas was fun. I would ride shotgun with Uncle Buster, and I always looked forward to our stops and my visits along the way.”
Later in his teenage years, Terry’s friend Mike Conway, from Georgia, reintroduced him to Beaufort. As a shrimper with his father, he got Terry a job on a shrimp boat in St Helena — a job Terry shares he felt fortunate to secure. “My connection to St. Helena was immediate. I loved the people, the beauty, and the place. They all tied for number one for me,” he says.
Terry also had a tree service business, which is how he began his relationship with pottery. He became friendly with Frank Horner, a potter for 40 years. At first, Terry had zero interest. The process of time can bring changes.
Terry continued his tree service company, but the demanding work of hauling wood led to physical problems, leading him back to the water on a crab boat; however, as the price of crabs decreased, he decided to try something else. During this time, he also became a kayak guide in the Ace Basin on the waters he loved. But as fortune would have it, the day he decided to give up crabbing, he ran into his old friend Frank Horner in the Publix parking lot. After Terry explained his challenges with crabbing, Horner asked if it was time for him to pursue pottery, and Terry now gave his friend a resolute yes.
Terry started doing pottery with Horner and immediately loved it, and it ignited his creative juices. “I worked and learned so much from him, but, unfortunately, he passed away. It was a huge loss for me, but he truly lit a fire under me to learn all about making pottery.” Terry continued to pursue his new craft and eventually began taking classes with longtime potter Trevor Foster. He attended raku parties at Trevor’s home — an art in which clay is fired fast, removing it while it is still molten hot and placing it in combustibles such as newspaper or straw, which creates vibrant hues in the pottery.
Terry owns and operates Story River Studios from his home in St. Helena and shares that he never gets tired of the process. “It is just in my DNA, and I like nautical and nature stuff.” He continues, “I also want to make people feel good about my work.”
One of Terry’s most popular items is the big bowls he makes to hold shrimp. “Being an ex-shrimper, I put the names of the waterways on the bowls — not the names used on the charts — many of us shrimpers had our distinct names for those areas, like the names Crab Hollow, the Croaker Hole, and Snag Alley are a few.” He continues, “Shrimping, unfortunately, is a bit of a dying industry; the kids don’t want to continue many of the family’s longtime fishing livelihoods, so I want these stories to be told, and they need to be told. They are an important part of the shrimping history.”
He also enjoys making his signature stepping stones, inspired by a stone he saw in a landscaped garden he was working on with his tree company. Pieces of china are embedded in the clay. Terry initially struggled to throw and spin the clay on the potter’s wheel. He believes he is one of the only potters who puts his drawings in a slab of clay, cuts them out, fires them, and places them in concrete.
The most challenging part of the work, says Terry, is “that it takes about a thousand and one processes to make a piece.” You can go through all the steps, fire it in the kiln, and it can be a complete disaster. It can break, the glaze can be ugly, or it can blow up,” he says with a self-effacing laugh. “You just have to keep working until you hopefully get it where it needs to be and you are satisfied artistically.”
“In these stressful times and people’s hectic lives, after people view my work, if I can make them forget and smile for a second or two, that makes me feel good too,” says Terry, who has found financial freedom in the past five years and is fully supported by his craft.
Terry has been known to have a table to sell his pottery at local festivals, including the Beaufort Shrimp Festival and several outdoor shows, where his stepping stones were a big hit. Leslie Woodson Snell, mother of Olivia and wife of Eli, and a planning director from Nantucket Island, bought three to bring back with her to the Island. “I don’t know how I will get them back home safe and sound, but they’ll give me wonderful memories of my visits to beautiful Beaufort. They will look perfect in my garden.”
Terry’s pottery is also available at Beaufort River Glass on Bay Street in Beaufort, Mrs. B and Company in Port Royal, and Gay Fish Company on St. Helena, which features specially designed shrimp bowls signed Frogmore. They were uniquely created for the Gay Fish Company but are also available for sale through him. The bowls have become a popular and signature keepsake for visitors to St. Helena.
Terry’s work is also commissioned. “A woman is coming from Tennessee to see me who ordered bowls and plates,” says Terry, sharing that the woman asked him to make dignity plates — a design to assist disabled individuals and prevent spilling. Terry was happy to be part of designing a piece that helps people.
Although he did not know these kinds of pottery even existed, he innately understood the sensitivity of the project. He was glad to be tasked with making something new, practical, and creative. When asked for specific colors or specialty items, Terry says, “Even if I am unsure how to do it, I will try and learn. I love making new pieces.”
Story River Studios is named after the Story River. It connects the Trenchards Inlet with the Fripp Inlet. Terry’s work can be viewed on Facebook, where you can communicate with him to purchase items along with the previously mentioned stores that carry his work.
Still, waters will continue to run deep in Beaufort with Terry Watson’s Story River Studios. His work is both a tribute to the area and an artistic embodiment of the natural beauty of the Lowcountry. It is an art form that he loves to continue to do, and the Lowcountry resonates in every piece he creates.
Contact Terry Watson for information about Story River Studios pottery at storyriverstudios@gmail.com, or view and like his work at Story River Studios on Facebook.
