Peder Wilhelm McCanless

Peder "Will" McCanless, a second-generation potter, has been around pottery his entire life. He grew up on a family farm in the historic Westmoore Community of rural Moore County, NC. He began working full time, in 1993, for his family's business, Dover Pottery. Possessing a natural artistic talent, Will painted a large portion of the free-hand decorated ware for Dover Pottery, including their classic design themes and newer patterns, which Will created himself. He also played a significant role in improving and refining the quality of Dover Pottery's zinc silicate crystalline glaze. While working at Dover Pottery, Will gained a great deal of experience and knowledge of all facets of the pottery business.

In 1996, he traveled abroad to study Italian maiolica in Italy's oldest and most prestigious maiolica centers, Faenza, Urbino, and Deruta. In addition, Will spent a good bit of time in some of Italy's largest and most influential cultural centers, Rome, Venice, Florence, and Milan. The trip influenced him so much that, the following winter, he took off to Hong Kong and Southeast Asia to absorb some Asian culture. This trip included side jaunts to Macao, Penang, Tiaping, and Bukit Mertajam, where Will witnessed Malay potters, deep in the jungle, making pots from clay dug in the mountains and fired with rice husks from their nearby rice patties. Later, Will studied aristocratic Chinese ceramic art spanning all the Chinese dynasties in Hong Kong's fine museums.

After returning from Asia, Will set off again, in the spring of 1997, to explore some of the world's finest Museums in Great Britain and France. These included the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and of course the Louvre in Paris. Upon recommendation from many friends, Will flew south, from Paris to Marseille, to thoroughly explore the Provence region of France. This proved to be the icing on the cake of all his travels. "Provincial French life really has many parallels to the Seagrove area, with their easy country living and great hospitality. Provincial ceramics share Seagrove's charm with their courtly figures and food motifs. All in all, Provence projects an easy and pleasant informality that resembles Seagrove living."

All of these experiences have helped Will to develop the skills necessary to accomplish his goal of owning and operating his own pottery shop. So, in October of 2006, the dream of McCanless Pottery became a reality. Will McCanless designed the floorplan and acted as general contractor in the construction of the building. He continues to paint beautiful and intricate hand-decorated patterns, and the quality of his crystalline ware is exquisite.

Along with a passion and talent for pottery, Will McCanless also possesses a great musical skill. Will started playing music with his father, Al McCanless, at the age of four. An original member of Celtic Jam, he has played in several other Celtic groups over the last 17 years. After high school, Will attended Brevard College, in NC, where he studied classical guitar performance. He later attended Duquesne University, in Pittsburgh, PA, where he furthered his musical education. Upon returning to North Carolina, Will taught guitar lessons, at Evans Music Center in Asheboro, NC, to about 25 students. Throughout his musical career, he has played in a number of bands. He currently plays guitar, octave mandolin, and tenor banjo in the Irish band, The Peat Bog Banshees. Their repertoire ranges from traditional Irish reels, jigs, and hornpipes to old time and Appalachian fiddle tunes. In addition, The Peat Bog Banshees perform traditional and modern Irish songs that lyrically describe Irish life and the Irish transition to America. They perform anywhere from concert stages to weddings and private parties, as well as regional Irish pubs and restaurants. The Peat Bog Banshees audience can expect to be exhilarated and moved by their uplifting and soulful music. Will also plays guitar in the rock band Sketchbook. Their repertoire consists of original music written by Will and the other members of the band. They play at a number of venues throughout the Piedmont/Triad and Triangle areas.