The name "Burlon Craig" surfaces memories even for North Carolinians who are not potters. Not only is Burlon a familiar face in the pottery community, his work is so well-known around the state that people come to Catawba Valley pottery festivals from throughout North Carolina, just to buy a piece of his work. As far as North Carolina is concerned, Burlon Craig is the Michaelangelo of clay. Those of you who were a part of Folkways' beginning may have remembered a program in 1982 that featured the famous artist. Pottery Revival in Catawba Valley not only revisits Burlon 16 years later, but it introduces the apprentices and succeeding generations who carry on his tradition.

Burlon's favorite pottery style is the face jug. In addition to face jugs, he makes several more traditional pieces, but all of them leave his hands practically the moment he takes them from the kiln. Kim Ellington and Charlie Lisk, two potters who learned how to turn pots by watching Burlon in the studio, now each have their own shops. But the greatest testimony of Burlon's success is his son, Don, and his grandson, Dwayne, both who have taken up pottery as a trade but have implemented their own styles.