Ben Owen III: Carrying On the Tradition

By Laurence Holden

From the May/June 1996 issue of Clay Times

Nearly every potter of today's functional ware has asked one's self two important questions: what makes a good pot, and what value can a handmade pot have, when a serviceable plastic mug can be bought for just 50 cents? One young potter, Ben Owen III, is posing these same questions each day in his studio, as he demonstrates how a long-lived family tradition of handmade functional pottery can offer relevance in today's highly commercial world. Owen's work provides an example of how the values of traditional craftsmanship can continue to provide significance in a contemporary world more often driven by consumer appeal and novelty than by an older value of creating necessary goods with a high degree of skill and care.