Nell Cole Graves (1908 – February 17, 1997) was an American potter, and the first female potter in the Seagrove, North Carolina pottery tradition.
Cole was a prolific potter with many current day Seagrove potters claiming her as an influence. She was the daughter of J.B. Cole and a sister to Waymon Cole. She married Philmore Graves and owned Graves Candle Shop as well as J.B. Cole Pottery (now closed), which was located south of Seagrove in Moore County near the Randolph & Montgomery County lines.
She died in the late 1990s and was buried in the old Fairgrove Church Cemetery behind Graves Candle Shop, now Holly Hill Pottery (owned by a Cole protégé Richard Gillson) located along NC Highway 705 about one mile south of the Seagrove Town limits.
Nell Cole Graves died from a stroke at the age of 88.
Famous quotes containing the words cole and/or graves:
“Fifty million Frenchmen can’t be wrong.”
—Anonymous. Popular saying.
Dating from World War I—when it was used by U.S. soldiers—or before, the saying was associated with nightclub hostess Texas Quinan in the 1920s. It was the title of a song recorded by Sophie Tucker in 1927, and of a Cole Porter musical in 1929.
“Her image was my ensign: snows melted,
Hedges sprouted, the moon tenderly shone,
The owls trilled with tongues of nightingale.”
—Robert Graves (1895–1985)