Tommy Bullen poses with unpainted trophies for the 8th Annual Bloomin’ BBQ & Bluegrass. (The Herald/Submitted Photo)

The talented potters at The Old Mill’s Pigeon River Pottery are back at it again – hand sculpting custom trophies for the 2012 Bush’s Best TN State Championship BBQ Cook Off at Bloomin’ BBQ & Bluegrass.

The trophies, which include chickens, pigs, bulls, Bush Bean cans, and Wampler’s Sausage rolls, highlight local craftsmanship. Each trophy takes from two to five hours to sculpt, three to five hours to paint and weigh anywhere from five to fifteen pounds each. Because of their size, it takes weeks for each hand sculpted trophy to dry correctly.

“I enjoy the chance to do something different and challenging,” said head potter Tommy Bullen. “This is one of the few times a year I get to sculpt something this size and the only time I get to use acrylics as a medium.”

The pieces are wheel thrown pieces that are pieced together and either altered or sculpted.

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