What is it and who makes it?

Another unique hand crafted product line brought to you exclusively by The Heritage Shop at St. Albans

Phil & Gail's River Hill Pottery features unique hand-woven baskets, at first glance, appear to be made of wood - but are so artfully designed that the illusion's reality unfolds as clay the closer you get to the work. Phil's work in particular, has been so highly regarded it has been prominently featured in two nationally distributed books, Kathy Triplett's 1998 Hand built Ceramics and Diana Pancioli's Extruded Ceramics (Sterling Publishers, 1999).

Gail attributes the attention to hard work, attention to detail and a commitment to high quality. She, in fact had originally worked on the clay baskets that Phil has now taken to a higher level. "Several styles of basket have developed over the years," said Gail. "Five years ago, Phil began to experiment with some new ideas, and that's how our current line evolved." Nowadays, Gail is focusing on her teaching career - and producing a smaller line of small collectable clay baskets to complement Phil's outstanding work.

The artists met while both attending the Kansas City Art Institute, where Phil had been a painting major and Gail studied industrial design. They founded River Hill Pottery in 1978. "For us, working with clay has become a way of life, " said Phil. "We've never worked a day in our lives, since we love and enjoy our work.  Phil Sellers works in a studio adjacent to his home in Madison, Ohio where he lives with his wife Gail and their two sons. Phil earned a BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute and has made a career as a potter since he and his wife founded River Hill Pottery in 1978

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