About Eck

Eck McCanless is a second generation potter and musician/songwriter who hails from Seagrove, North Carolina.

What is an “Eck” anyway?

Eck is named after Texas swing fiddle player, Eck Robertson. Eck’s father, Fiddlin’ Al McCanless is a renowned fiddle player in his own right. He intended to name Eck after Robertson, but Al’s mother (Eck’s grandmother) said the baby had to have a real name. His parents named him Alexander, but called him Eck from the time he was born. It turns out Robertson’s name was Alexander, too. Eck McCanless has yet to become a fiddle player, but plays nearly every other instrument, writes songs, sings his heart out and performs with his band The Radio.

Eck’s Pottery

Eck’s focus is on Agateware, which he makes by turning multiple colors of clay on the wheel at the same time to create a spiral. Once the piece is leather hard, he carves it to reveal patterns hiding within the walls of the pot. It’s best to see it in person to fully understand this style. Eck, being a performer at heart, loves to demonstrate for anyone who visits his pottery shop.

2nd Generation Seagrove Potter

Eck makes creating beautiful pottery look easy, but looks can be deceiving. Eck’s mother, Milly McCanless opened Dover Pottery in 1983, when he was the tender age of nine. He has had his hands in mud ever since. Eck began taking pottery seriously as a career in 1993. He worked for his parents’ shop, making gorgeous forms for the crystalline glazes and the hand painted majolica designs Dover was known for until he opened his own shop in 2011. During his time at Dover, Eck dabbled with many different pottery techniques, but Agateware was his favorite. Dover Pottery was home to both of Eck’s parents, Eck, his two brothers Zeke and Will, his sister Fiva and a whole cast of Seagrove potters over the years before it closed its doors in 2019.

A Place of His Own

When the doors of Eck McCanless Pottery opened in the summer of 2011, Eck was making all his Agateware in varying shades of brown and white. Since then, he has incorporated blue into the mix, which has become quite popular. Most of his current work is made in white, blues and brown. He does a limited run of signed, numbered pieces in a different color every year for the shop’s anniversary in July. Sign up for his mailing list or follow him on Instagram and Facebook if you’d like to be kept in the loop.

They Like Me, They Really Like Me

Over the years, Eck’s work has been featured in Fara Shimbo’s Crystal Glazes, Charlotte Vestal Brown’s Remarkable Potters of Seagrove and Dan Rhode’s Introducing Pottery: The Complete Guide. He has also been featured in several magazines, including Our State, Southern Living and Pinehurst. Eck and his family are the subjects of Jim Sharkey’s film, The Fourteenth Shop, which won the Award for Creative Excellence at the 2002 International Film and Video Festival at Redondo Beach, California. He has been included in several articles and stories about the Seagrove pottery community. He has taught several turning and Agateware workshops, including a 2-day intensive Agateware workshops at Pottery Alley in Lafayette, LA, The Northern Colorado Potters Guild in Fort Collins, CO and Ceramica in Cary, NC. He has also taught turning workshops at the NC Pottery Center and STARworks in Star, NC.