Q&A with ceramic artist (a.k.a. Potter), business owner, cook & mom & average domestic goddess, Cathey Bolton

Tell us about you.  Cathey Bolton, 47 years young, living in Waynesville, North Carolina, and grew up in Raleigh. Mother of a beautiful nine-year-old daughter, great Pyrenees, and one cat. I have worked as a ceramic artist for over 25 years, Opened Art on Depot – Studio & Fine Art Gallery located in Historic Frog Level, Waynesville in 2008 (Currently known as Cathey Bolton Design & Claywork). I am Co-Owner of Corner Station Olive Oil Co., which opened in 2018, and Third Bay – Filling station, an artisanal cafe, opened in June 2019.

What is your educational background? I attended my senior year of high school at North Carolina School of the Arts, Winston Salem, NC, where I graduated in the Visual Arts program. From there, I attended East Carolina University, completed my Bachelor of Fine Arts with a concentration in Ceramics, as well as minored in Sculpture & Fiber Arts.

Where did your interest in the arts begin? I have always had a passion for working with my hands, from building furniture for my Barbie dolls in my dad’s woodshop to making their clothes in my mom’s sewing room. The need to work/build or create with my hands has always been there. Though none of my family members were professional artists, many were quilters, woodworkers, weavers, craft artists, and excellent cooks.

Who do you create for? I make pottery for everyone! There’s an intimacy in creating functional art, and I create for people who enjoy the handmade object. It’s incredibly rewarding to know my pieces are being used in lives daily, whether it’s the simple mug, tumbler, casserole, or full dinnerware sets. The thought of making pieces that are passed down to younger generations is an extraordinary feeling. Even though utilitarian pottery is my leading outlet in clay, I’ve had much horizontal growth creating new lines of pottery work: ceramic jewelry, functional sculptures, vases, and ceramic wall art. This assembly of creative outlets keeps me motivated and energized for new and divergent growth in my clay creations.   

How have you changed over the last 12+ years since opening your Studio & Fine Art Gallery? That’s a huge question! Besides honing my craft quality, function, and expanding my pottery wholesale business throughout most of the east coast, I’ve had to grow my business with horizontal and vertical integration. With the troubled economy in 2008, when I opened my studio and gallery, I decided to move my focus away from art galleries and focus my wholesale business with olive oil companies, high-end kitchen and specialty shops. This focus then evolved into creating a line of pottery which was specific to olive oil stores. A few years ago, when I knew we were acquiring my great grandfather’s service station (established in 1928), I began to work through types of businesses I could open that would work well with my current pottery items. With my passion for cooking, unique seasonings and olive oils, I began my investigation and vetting of olive oil suppliers and companies. With the help of my Mom, Katy Bolton, we opened Corner Station Olive Oil Co. in 2018. The olive oil shop has over 80 olive oils, balsamic vinegars and 100+ spices and rubs from around the world. Once the olive oil store was opened, I wanted to showcase our products and decided to take the enormous step into food service. We opened our Third Bay – Filling Station Cafe in June of 2019. This small artisanal cafe gives me a creative outlet to showcase extraordinary products in everyday foods such as sandwiches, soups and baked goods. Just like in my Studio & Gallery, this is a new way to create and get my customers involved in the creative process. My motto for the last few years now has been “Where Craft Meets Food,” this encompasses almost everything in my life: from pottery, creating new recipes in my cafe, using unique olive oils, hand-blended spices and rubs to the presentation of my food. “Quality in all things.”

What is one of your obsessions? Cooking Shows for sure, I’m learning a whole new craft of food, and it is addictive. I plan to attend my very first cooking classes in March at the C.I.A (Culinary Institute of America) in California.

What’s your vision now for your pottery business? I will continue to create, of course. My studio space will be in the old service station, where the olive oil store and cafe is located. The old station is just up the street, one block, from my original studio and gallery. I hope to sell more in my new retail space, which will reduce the amount of time and bodily stress away from high production wholesale.

I look forward to focusing on custom dinnerware sets, sculptural work, creating pottery to use in my cafe, and of course, getting back to enjoying the simple physical experience of creating pottery at my pottery wheel again.

By Cathy Bolton

What is a rare talent you possess that nobody knows about? Picking good wine based on artwork and crazy names.

If I could have a superpower, it would be: To communicate with my three-year-old Great Pyrenees Mix.

Where did the name “Third Bay – Filling Station” come from: 

The space where the cafe is was the last bay built onto the original service station and growing up, was always called the third bay. When talking to my mom about naming the cafe, she said why not call it “Third Bay,” and from there, it was a duh-huh moment, and so the Third Bay – Filling station was named. 

Favorite Spice: My go-to spice blend currently is our Organic Tuscan Bread Dip spice blend from Corner Station Olive Oil Co. Winter weather makes me crave pasta, bread, potatoes, comfort food. This blend encompasses all of that. But wait five minutes… I’ll pick a new one! 

What’s in my fridge right now: I have an obsession with TalkOTexas Pickled Okra, so I always have a jar ready and a backup jar. Other staples include; eggs, cheese, apples, shallots, marmalades, and Hellman’s mayo.

Food discovery that changed my cooking: Excellent Quality Olive Oil! That’s what started this whole new journey into opening the cafe. I wanted others to experience the taste difference, which led to spices, herbs, and rubs. I wanted to show people how to incorporate these fantastic products and spice blends from around the world. 

Recent cooking victory: Rustic Roasted Mushroom, Onion & Garlic Stew. But wait… there’s a new one happening almost every day.

Corner Station Olive Oil, Third Bay
– Filling Station (cafe) & Cathey Bolton Design & Claywork Studio

136 Depot Street Waynesville, NC 28786

Social Media both Facebook & Instragm 

@catheybolton @thirdbaync @catheybolton

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