Billy Ray Hussey lives and works in the heart of a vital pottery-making community situated near Seagrove, in the central Piedmont area of North Carolina. This region is a historical and contemporary center for potters, and here the centuries-old ceramic traditions hold sway. As a child, Hussey lived near one of the oldest studios, Owens Pottery, which is still active today. Like many in the community, he made his first clay sculpture as a child, at the age of 10. While Hussey is very respected for honoring the artmaking practices of the past, he also has become quite well known for his whimsical and comical interpretations of familiar forms.

This clay bank in the guise of a devil’s face is a fine example of this Hussey trademark. Though devil faces on jugs are quite common—most potters in the Seagrove area have made more than a few of them—the devil face bank is not a traditional form. Hussey’s bulbous clay container is embellished with a highly exaggerated nose that nearly enters the mouth. The pointy ears, bulging eyes, and groomed goatee serve to reinforce the humor in this caricature. Technically, the artist has employed two traditional decorative elements: the “coleslaw” hair—created using a nineteenth-century technique in which wet clay is squeezed through burlap—around the horns and the heavy glazing under the eyelids, which creates the effect of tears, further separating this horned beast from any notion of evil.

Brooke Davis Anderson, "Devil Bank," in Stacy C. Hollander, American Anthem: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum (New York: Harry N. Abrams in association with American Folk Art Museum, 2001), 403.