Pottery Traditions:
Bigmeat House of Pottery, Cherokee
The Bigmeat name is synonymous with Cherokee pottery. Matriarch Charlotte Welch Bigmeat (1887-1959) was steeped in the pottery tradition. Each of her five daughters–Tiney, Ethel, Elizabeth, Mabel, and Louise–became potters. The youngest Bigmeat daughter, Louise, together with her husband John Henry Maney, established the Bigmeat House of Pottery at the entrance to Painttown. Today's shop sits across the road from Harrah's Casino. The Joel Queen Gallery is located a few miles away. Grandson of Ethel Bigmeat, Queen maintains a gallery and website to showcase contemporary work that incorporates traditional motifs and techniques with unique approaches to working with clay.
Bigmeat Pottery, 652 Painttown Road, Cherokee; 828-497-2650
http://www.visitcherokeenc.com/
Joel Queen Gallery, 1036 U.S. 441, Whittier; 828-497-2444
http://www.joelqueengallery.com/
