Early Wally Smith Ceramic ‘Spaghetti’ Utensil Holder

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An early ceramic spaghetti vase made by Wally Smith, circa 1970. Glazed inside and out in pastel blue and pink … Read more An early ceramic spaghetti vase made by Wally Smith, circa 1970. Glazed inside and out in pastel blue and pink with white, the word “Spaghetti” is spelled out in a serif capital letters. Signed “Smith” underneath.

Wally Smith received a BA in Education from the University of Tennessee and an MS in Crafts from the University of Tennessee.

“From the moment I touched the potter’s wheel in Miss Gill’s undergraduate class, I was absolutely hooked. It was Miss Gill that took me to meet a professional potter, Charles Counts in Rising Fawn, Georgia. Charles lived on a mountaintop in a rustic house with a small studio next door. That was a life changing moment for me. Before that I had no idea that people could create a living by making pottery. After meeting Charles Counts, I decided that being a potter was the life for me; and a few years later, that dream came true.”

After graduation Smith began producing a full line of functional work using stoneware.

In partnership with Joe Osolnik, Smith opened his first retail gallery, The Potter’s Mark, in 1971 outside Gatlinburg, TN. After a fire in 1988 he moved to Hilton Head Island and opened Smith Galleries with his wife, Jean. In 1992 Smith retired from pottery making and became a full-time Gallerist. See less