Cynthia Bringle

The arts have been calling me since I was a child growing up in Memphis, TN. I took my first painting class when I was a teenager and could have made my first sale at age 14. I turned it down because I wanted to keep it.

Certain I was destined to be a painter, I enrolled in the Memphis Academy of Art. A required class in clay and a chance to throw at the kickwheel, however, caused me to reconsider. The next year, after a few more classes, everyone knew if you wanted to find me, the clay studio was where I’d be.

To immerse myself even more, I spent my summers in the early 60s, taking classes at the well-respected Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Maine. After graduating with my BFA from the Memphis Academy, I moved to New York to earn my Masters in Art from Alfred University.

With my degree in hand, I moved back to Tennessee to open my first studio. After several summers spent teaching at the Penland School of Craft, I realized the North Carolina mountains were calling me. Although there were only a few studios in existence at the time, I had a sense it would become a community of artists. I have been living in the Penland Community since 1970. I feel honored to be recognized as the unofficial Mayor of Penland.

My work continues to be primarily wheel thrown. I suspect there will never come a day when I’m not fascinated by how each piece takes shape. The same holds true for the excitement I feel opening the gas or wood kiln after a firing. There’s simply no detail about the process, whether trimming, altering or glazing, that I don’t enjoy.

[Source: Artist's Website https://www.cynthiabringlepottery.com/our-story]