Extracted from the article featured in the Winston-Salem Journal:
Piedmont Craftsmen show features work of beloved Lexington potter Clyde Gobble; pieces culled from 58 boxes of his work
Early in his life, Clyde Gobble was a button-up guy, a Navy veteran of the Korean War and an insurance salesman.
At some point, he surrendered to his creative side, becoming a fulltime potter whose sense of whimsy both in his work and life earned him legions of fans and made him a favorite among pottery collectors.
From his studio on an idyllic spread of land in Lexington — sold to him by artist Bob Timberlake — Gobble made vessels, mugs, platters, lamps and his famous bacon cookers and chicken pots, a casserole dish with mushroom-shaped handles.
Often, he left messages to his wife, Bonnie, inscribed on the pieces. Other times, he etched numbers into them. Whether the numbers indicated the year he made the piece or his age was anybody’s guess. But that was part of the fun.
About a year ago, she called Jane Doub, the chief executive officer of Piedmont Craftsmen, to ask a question.
“I have some of Clyde’s work. Are you interested in it?”
Without hesitation, Doub answered yes. But she wasn’t sure what the haul would include.
Months later, a trailer arrived.
“We all sat there thinking, ‘Oh my gosh. This is a gem mine. Who knows what we will find in here?'” Doub recalled. “And that was the interesting part, going through it.”
Piedmont Craftsmen Clyde Gobble Sonny
A utensil jar and a vessel are part of Piedmont Craftsmen’s summer exhibition, “Sonny: The Work of Clyde Gobble.”
Allison Lee Isley, Journal
In all, 58 boxes arrived that day, a delivery so huge that the boxes had to be stored in the basement until staff members could sort through it.
Chris Asuncion-Haynes, the gallery director of Piedmont Craftsmen, was among those who spent a few days separating the mugs, plates, pedestal vessels, jars and show pieces.
“It was like an archeological dig,” Asuncion-Haynes said.
With so much good stuff, the guild decided to add a show of Gobble’s work to its summer exhibition calendar. “Sonny: The Work of Clyde Gobble” opened last month and will run through the summer. Many of Gobble’s childhood friends called him Sonny.
Word of the show has drawn Gobble’s fans from all over, including one from Ohio. Lots of folks from the Triangle have visited, too, reminiscing about how their grandmothers had a house planter or mixing bowl.
Gobble made functional pottery, sturdy, solid pieces that were glazed in earth tones, blues or reds.
Piedmont Craftsmen Clyde Gobble Sonny
Tumblers and a lamp sit on top of a medium glass-top table/planter as part of Piedmont Craftsmen’s summer exhibition, “Sonny: The Work of Clyde Gobble,” at 601 N. Trade St.
Allison Lee Isley, Journal
But he also made large pieces that Doub said were the work of the “kiln gods.”
“To get bigger pieces to fire correctly in a kiln is sometimes a miracle,” Doub said. “You just never know with a kiln when it opens. But I had a feeling as I was going through his work that there were pieces that the kiln gods had blessed, and he must have said, ‘I have to keep this because it may never happen again.’ So, there are pieces that we are selling that are in that vein, where it’s one-of-a-kind, and so beautiful that Clyde kept it in his collection.”
The show includes several of these “showstoppers” as well as some of the utilitarian pieces.
A Winston-Salem native, Gobble took a pottery class at the Sawtooth Center in 1967, which changed the course of his life. While continuing to sell insurance, he worked parttime as a potter from 1967-1974 before launching a new career as an artist.
His work showed up in churches, corporate headquarters and museums.
Gobble became a member of Piedmont Craftsmen in 1971 and later served on the board of directors.
Doub described Gobble as generous spirit and a “character beyond belief.”
When the craftsmen board met at his house for a meeting, he gave each of them a coffee mug as a gift. At gallery events, people were drawn to him as he waxed on about pottery, fishing or whatever else he was into at the time.
His varied interests included space, waterskiing and tending to his azalea garden, according to his obituary.
Asuncion-Haynes recalled Gobble showing up for a Piedmont Craftsmen anniversary event dressed in a camouflage tuxedo and Duck Dynasty hat.
“He had a big ole laugh and was very grandfatherly in some ways,” he said.
Renna Welborn of Mocksville was given a piece of Gobble’s pottery as a wedding gift in 2006. Shortly after, she and her husband bought Ketchie Creek & Bakery in Mocksville, which sells baked goods and local crafts. When it came time to stock pottery, she reached out to Gobble.
“He was honored and so humbled for us to sell his pottery. I loved that about him,” she said. The two became good friends.
“I thought he was the coolest guy, eccentric and interesting,” Welborn said.
She drinks coffee from a Gobble mug every morning.
“I have four,” she said. “And they better not break.”
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