Apprentices & Stamps

Mark typically has two apprentices working with him at a given time, each of whom usually works at the pottery for two to four years. They come from a variety of backgrounds, some straight from high school, some from prestigious art schools. Some have lots of prior experience making pots, some almost none. The pottery is in part production unit, part teaching establishment, with apprentices learning by doing. The group ensemble provides a stimulating atmosphere for the exchange of technique, ideas, and humor, against the backdrop of ongoing hard work. After an apprentice leaves Pittsboro they may spend a few more years working or traveling before setting up their own potteries. Mark is proud of all his former apprentices wherever they are and whatever they are doing, and Web site links and/or email addresses of each former and current apprentice are also listed in the table below about stamps if you would like to follow their progress.

Stamps

Potters stamp pots to acknowledge a sense of completion, to identify ourselves as makers, to recognize our excellence, to mark time, and to help create value. But they are a meagre summary of our individual truths.

All pots from the W.M. Hewitt Pottery are stamped on the bottom with various letters, numbers, monograms, and insignias designating when a pot was made and by whom. Each potter has a unique backstamp that designates that they made and decorated a particular piece. Apprentice pots are additionally stamped with the generic WMH stamp of the pottery. All pots are additionally marked to record the firing number and kiln in which it was fired.

It has come to our attention that on the secondary market, particularly on eBay, pots made the W. M. Hewitt pottery are sometimes incorrectly identified. So, please always remember the Latin phrase, “caveat emptor” or, “buyer beware.” We hope this list will be of interest to customers and collectors alike to guide you in interpreting these markings. If you have questions about individual stamps or firing dates place get in touch.

Mark Hewitt’s Stamps

DATE	STAMP
1984 – 1995	WMH
1995 – current
“Willie Mark” – Hewitt’s “nom-de-terre,” scratched on occasional pots that accidentally escape stamping

Additional number on pots

25	25th firing, December 1991
10	10th year anniversary firing, April 1994
xxxx	Mark’s 40th birthday firing, November 1995
1999	All pots made during 1999
50	50th firing, November 1999
00	All pots made in 2000
60	60th firing, April 2003
66	66th firing, April 2005
69	69th firing, April 2006
71	71st firing, August 2006
72	72nd firing, December 2006
The numbering pattern continues with the number on the pot reflecting the number of the firing.
Occasional glaze experiment abbreviations/indicators are incised on the bottom of pots too.

Letters identifying pots from the new kiln

DATE	STAMP
February 2007 (Test Firing)	A
May 2007	B
The lettering pattern continues….

Apprentice stamps

NAME & link to current web site or email	DATES	STAMP
Martin Simpson Mark’s English friend and traveling potter who has worked at the pottery for a few months most years	since 1990	WMH M
Charley Pritchard	1994 – 1996	WMH P
Joe Christensen	1996 – 1997	WMH O “O” for Joe
Daniel Johnston	1997 – 2001	WMH D
Nate Evans	1997 – 1999	WMH E(1999 changed to NE )
Hallie Hite	1998 – 1999	WMH HH
Matt Jones	Fall 1999	WMH MJ
Eric Smith	2000 – 2002	WMH ES
Joe Cole	2001 – 2003	WMH J
Chris Early	2002 – 2004	WMH ce
James Olney	2002 – 2004	WMH jto
Zac Spates	2003 – 2006	WMH Z
Lara O’Keefe	Fall 2005	WMH OK
Aaron Weaver	2005 – 2008	WMH aW
Noah Riedel	2006 – 2008	WMH No
Joseph Sand	2006 – 2009	WMH JSS
Eryn Prospero	Summer-Fall 2008	WMH Ep
Alex Matisse	2008 – 2009
Julie Jones	2009	WMH JJ
Brad Lail	2010-2011
Seth Guzovsky	2010-2012
Mark Kozma	2012-2014	WMH K
Adrian King	2013-2016	WMH AK, then later
Hamish Jackson	2015-2019	WMH hj
Stillman Browning-Howe	2016-current	WMH S
Will Baskin	2019-2020	WMH wb