Jenny Scarborough
Stoneware handmade on Ocracoke by Sarah Fiore.
Stoneware handmade on Ocracoke by Sarah Fiore.

Two Ocracoke potters share a love of clay, and an admiration for the other's work.

Salt Creek Studio features tiles and mosaic art by Maria Logan. Just around the corner, also on Back Road, functional stoneware pottery by Sarah Fiore is one of the many reasons to visit Bella Fiore.

Bella Fiore re-opened in June after a December fire. Sarah's studio is still out of commission while a construction crew re-builds her home, but a wall of shelves is stacked with bowls, mugs, plates and sushi sets that survived the blaze.

"Twelve years ago I started with just a studio, and I kept adding things I love," said Sarah. She loves Dana Kellan jewelry, raku goddesses, and fragrant bath products, all of which can be found in her one room shop, nestled between the Back Porch Restaurant and Secret Garden Gallery.

Potters love pottery. Sarah is excited about a new line of porcelain by Asya Palatova imprinted with sassy sea creatures. Over the years, her shop has evolved to include a diverse selection of jewelry, original watercolors and pastels by Outer Banks artists, paper mache, wood sculpture, and perky handblown glass chickens.

Shopkeeping is fun! says Sarah.
Shopkeeping is fun! says Sarah.

Bella offers "lots of whimsical stuff," said Sarah, who says fabric headbands and high quality temporary tattoos have been popular items for all ages. Enormous straw sunhats and sturdy lightweight bags continue to tempt beach goers.

You won't find any hunter green, a shade that makes the owner shudder, at Bella Fiore, but over the years Sarah discovered she can't always predict what will sell. "I've learned that not everyone shares my taste," she laughed.

Something that is to her taste? "I love Maria's work," said Sarah, who purchased her father's day gift from the studio. She also commissioned Maria to make bird cake toppers for her May nuptials.

"I was so honored," said Maria, who says the paired birds that say "I Do" and "Me Too" have been a popular item.

Birds feature in much of Maria's work, which makes sense, as she also works monitoring nesting populations on shoal islands in Pamlico Sound. (Bring on the pelican tile!) She first came to the island on a solo road trip seven years ago, felt a connection to Ocracoke, and returned to volunteer with the National Park Service over a winter.

Maria having a Hee Haw moment.
Maria having a Hee Haw moment.

That turned into a summer job as a NPS biotech. Then she fell in love. "Life just kind of happened here," said Maria. Her man, Matt Sheehan, works in construction, and sacrificed several months of his days off during the spring to prepare the studio for opening. Matt crafts the reclaimed wood frames for Maria's pieces, and builds furniture that may someday be sold at Salt Creek Studio.

Although her new venture means his honey-do list grew significantly, it required a fancy new saw, and that made him happy, said a smiling Maria.

During her Kansas childhood, Maria's grandparents instilled an appreciation for the natural world. In addition to egrets, ravens, robins and songbirds, Maria's tiles have delicate renditions of cattails, pine cones, lily pads and sea life. She is continually developing new designs.

"Art and nature always went hand in hand," said Maria. "This is what we did in Kansas: go find the pretty rock and paint it with markers."

Maria draws inspiration from wildlife and wild places.
Maria draws inspiration from wildlife and wild places.

Her parents moved to what counts as country, even in Kansas, and live on 40 acres with a creek burbling through. Maria's eyes glow as she describes it as "a beautiful place to visit, full of snakes, mammals and birds," with the native plants offering respite from the acres of wheat and cornfields. Maria named her studio after the creek, pleased that the name Salt Creek works for Ocracoke as well.

Maria's slab work is decorative and functional. Her tiles and mosaics can be hung on the wall, or incorporated into counter tops and back splashes.

Many visitors to the shop take a minute before they notice Maria working behind the counter. Two large pieces, of a flounder and a mahi mahi, were being prepared for firing and glaze on a day I stopped by. Tiles in progress lined the window sill.

"Everything starts with a drawing," explained Maria, who has a degree in studio art and a master's in art therapy. She imprints her tile designs onto a slab of clay, and then uses carving tools to add depth and texture to each piece. The mosaics are drawn, then hand cut, fired and glazed. Making a chart and assigning numbers to over 200 pieces of clay just made sense, said Maria.

Octopus in four parts by Salt Creek Studio.
Octopus in four parts by Salt Creek Studio.

Maria is optimistic her work will appeal to enough people to keep her busy throughout the year. Homeowners on and off the island are already commissioning pieces that can cost up to $500. "The internet is a really wonderful tool," said Maria, who confessed that marketing is foreign to her. Here's where you find Maria on the internet: www.saltcreekceramics.com.

She hopes showing only her own work, and perhaps the select work of other island artists, will be enough to keep the studio in business. "Keep it simple. I really like that idea," said Maria. "What satisfies me is making and creating." The challenge of coming up with new ideas before each season does not daunt her. She's excited for winter to unleash her creativity and build up a stockpile of work.

Making a living as an independent artist and a life on a barrier island was not a foregone conclusion. After receiving her degrees, Maria went to work in Denver as a behavioral therapist. "I was mostly in an office, and I wasn't happy. I had a truck payment, a condo, bills." She assumed marriage and children would be her next steps. "I thought that was what you were supposed to do," she said.

A flounder mosaic awaits glaze.
A flounder mosaic awaits glaze.

She was persuaded to leave Denver and travel the west in a friend's vanagon. They parked it in Castle Valley, Utah, where Maria taught herself tile-making under the rim wall and towers of rock. She started with a tiny test kiln and a book on how to make tiles. "I liked clay. I like blending drawings into this tactile art form," said Maria.

After working out of a small studio behind her home and showing at the Homegrown Handmade Market, Maria invested her savings in a larger kiln and opened her storefront in late May. Response has been good so far, both from customers and Ocracoke's community of artist and gallery owners, who have offered encouragement and tips, said Maria.

Salt Creek Studio is open Monday through Saturday from 11 - 5. The shop is tucked between The Flying Melon and Blackbeard's Lodge. Look for a small hand-lettered blue and white sandwich board sign. Then look up. Bella Fiore is open Monday - Saturday, from 10 - 5.