Page 48 - Winter 2022
P. 48
s|∂ARCHIVES Vinnie’s Vault
Editor’s note: The following story about the late Michael Simon was written by The Oconee Enterprise Publisher Vinnie Williams and published Feb. 3, 1983. The famed potter died last year in Athens.
Pottery is a way of life for Michael Simon
By Vinnie Williams
Although he makes handsome tapered cups with handles, potter Michael Simon drinks his own tea from thick handleless cups that fit his palm.
Pottery,ofcourse,ismorethanpracticalordecorative;itisan art form that is a tactile thing also.
“I like the notion of people handling my cups and bowls.
That is part of what makes a good piece of pottery,” said Simon, who is one of Oconee County’s longest-established potters.
He came to the Farmington area in 1970. In 1972, he established 29 Oaks Pottery on Old Watson Springs Road.
Simonton attended the University of Minnesota, where he
In 1983, potter Michael Simon fashions one of the bowls that brought him national recognition. “Before I’m done, I want to make a wide variety of beautiful things,” he says.
sVinnie Williams was the owner and publisher of The Oconee Enterprise newspaper in Watkinsville, Ga., and OCONEE THE MAGAZINE. PAGE 46 | OCONEE THE MAGAZINE | WINTER 2022
