It is with a heavy heart that we share the loss of one of our loved students here at The Village Potters, Shawn Roberson. Shawn was loved dearly by all who knew him. When he strolled into the studio he carried joy and gentleness with him.

I first met Shawn at The Village Potters, during a monthly NC Clay Club that we hosted, years ago. Clay Club is a gathering of usually about 30 potters from the area sharing food, fun, laughter and demos. Our friendship began that evening and deepened over the years.

Shawn would drive down from Tennessee once a week to study Raku and other alternative firing techniques with Village Potter Judi Harwood and a group of wonderful Raku obsessed potters. He loved be a part of this wonderful community. He made functional pots and Raku pots that most often explored geometric shapes, but every once in a while he would make work from the other end of the creative spectrum, using soft edges and closed forms. Shawn always generously shared his techniques and how he discovered his successes with clay.

As we have grown so exponentially and became a Clay Supply Company, Shawn was kind to stop by my office and encourage me as a business person and often gave me advice on how to sharpen our accounting.

He loved to talk about pots and the process of making them. His favorite subject was his wife Sarah. “My Sarah”, as he lovingly called her. Shawn was the quintessential gentleman (Gentle Man) and his love and devotion for his wife was easily recognized and admired by all. Our love is turned toward her and his family now.

Shawn was a wonderful potter and an accounting professor at King University in Bristol TN. He was an integral part of our family here. He will be missed but we feel blessed to have known him and to have shared in wild creative journey with him. 

Sarah Wells Rolland

The Village Potters Owner and Founder