MOCA GA / Calendar

“Georgia has an amazing history of clayworkers dating back five thousand years with our Native Americans, to the 18th, and 19th Century pioneer potters. The first of which was Andrew Duche a French Huguenot from Philadelphia who migrated to Savannah and made lead glazed earthenware from 1738 until 1741. Because of the rich deposits of kaolin, clay, feldspars, talc, and much more, pottery centers or  “Jugtowns” sprung up near the clay deposits and prospered. The demand for pottery was directly linked to  the necessities of the agrarian society (ie. pots for storing, pickling, milking, sorghum, table ware, and so on). After World War ll thousands of service people returned home and were given the opportunity of using the G.I. Bill to enter college. Art departments were thriving, and a resurgence of interest in the arts in general was abundant.  One could say that this era was the  beginning of the American Craft Movement.  A rich and dynamic history of studio potters began and is thriving today due in a very large part to these early pioneers from the 40’s and 50’s. Today there are Georgia clayworkers involved in almost every possible facet of the field. From wheel work, hand-building techniques, sculptural work, functional work, wood-firing, gas-firing, electric-firing, raku, salt glazing, soda firing, sawdust firing, Salku, and everything in between. There is claywork being done in colleges, craft schools, art schools, and individual and group studios all over Georgia. This exhibition is made up of beautifully made objects that utilize many of these making and firing techniques, and come from all  types of working environments. Claywork is alive and well in Georgia.”

– Rick Berman, Curator