Random ramblings about creating southern-style alkaline or “ash-glazed” pottery in a wood-fired groundhog kiln.
Hand-Made Fire Brick
Through out the past month, we have been making hand-made fire brick for my new groundhog kiln which is under construction. It has been quite a learning curve! Temperatures have run in the upper 90’s each day of the past month of June and has slowed work. The fire brick are being made from local…
Dr. Abner Landrum
Dr. Abner Landrum spent many years in efforts to better the way of life for the citizens of South Carolina. In the process, he saved hundreds of thousands of lives across the entire tier of southern states. Dr. Landrum was an enlightened and educated physician, born in the Edgefield District of South Carolina in 1785…
Col. Thomas J. Davies’ Palmetto Fire Brick Works
Peeler had worked alongside Farrar while he was at the United States Pottery Company in Bennington before coming south. Peeler obviously possessed or gained a working knowledge of refractory and the kaolin clays surrounding both Bath, SC sites in the 6 years he had been around. Southern Porcelain Manufacturing Company also made firebrick in the…
The Mysterious Face Jug
As long as man has worked with clay making vessels, imagery of the human face has been modeled. In North America the earliest known face vessels or jugs were made by the Native American mound builders of the Middle Mississippi region. There have been a number of these found in grave sites and were associated…
A Great Site for Artists, Craftsman and Lovers of Their Work!
It’s not often I endorse anything on this blog. I mainly intend to educate and inform about Old Edgefield alkaline glazed stoneware pottery; however,I wanted to share a great site for artists and art patrons, alike. Larry Hitchcock and Sharon Sinclair have put an enormous amount of time, energy and finances into America Creates. This…
A Time for Everything
I’m amazed as I look at my little counter at the bottom of this blog and see around 9,000 visits. I often wonder how the reader leaves this page…. Did you learn anything? Was it a useful tool in the search for knowledge about Edgefield pottery? Am I still true in my heart to my…
October Kiln Firing
The groundhog kiln was fired over October 18-20. As firings go, it was a bit shorter, but always just as grueling. In order to have a successful firing, dry wood is of paramount importance. Even slightly damp wood will cause failure to reach the required 2,300 F degrees and the kiln will…
Hot Time in the Old Town!
The August firing of the groundhog kiln went really well, in spite of the brutal upper 90 degree weather. Oh well, it was typical southern USA August weather. It took us around 38 hours from start to finish. I had tears in my eyes and was contemplating giving pottery up forever at about hour #…
Good June firing
Old Canal Pottery We fired up the kiln on a hot day. It was 102 degrees F both days the kiln was fired. It took us about 40 hrs. to bring it up to around a cone#11. Thank god Brian showed up at about hour 37 because I was suffering from extreme heat exhaustion, having…
An Amazing Tradition
I would like to invite you to view my work in the 20th Anniversary Show at the South Carolina State Museum in Columbia, SC. I juried into this show which was wonderfully curated. It runs from April 25-Sept.7, 2008. As more and more people become aware of the unique ceramic tradition that started in the…
Oldest Pottery in North America
I love the old alkaline glazed pottery of the southern USA. This area has contributed greatly to the ceramic tradition of this country. Little did I realize just how much! While doing research for an upcoming project for the area clay artists group, I stumbled upon some amazing facts that I was unaware of. The…
Pottery News…
I’ve spent some time making a few modifications to the groundhog kiln and am ready to try it out. A bag wall or baffle was placed in the rear of the kiln, creating a small chamber. The idea is to cut down on the smoke a bit, maybe even out temperatures some. Also, a cast…
A Special Visit
I had a pleasant visit and discussion with a world renown ceramicist the other day. Her name is Tacy Apostolik. She is an exception in the Japanese ceramic tradition having served a two-year apprenticeship with Shigaraki Master Kiyotsuga Sawa in Japan. She spent around fourteen years over there learning the secrets and traditions involved in…
Super Hot Kiln Firing
The groundhog kiln was fired on the weekend of August 10, 11 and 12th and was it ever HOT! What is usually a very hot job no matter what time of year was almost unbearable due to the ongoing heatwave over much of the southern USA. Records are being shattered every day and we just…
Is it Old Edgefield or Just Modern Pottery?
Lately, it seems, I am having this discussion over and over with more and more people. It involves what exactly constitutes “Old Edgefield Pottery” or “Old Edgefield-style pottery”. To start with, this refers to wood-fired, alkaline or ash glazed type of pottery made in the 19th and early 20th Centuries in what was known as…
June Firing
I’m posting some pics of a few of the pots from the most recent firing in June. The glazes turned out really nice! Very typical Old Edgefield or oriental-type glazes with lots of drips and runs from ash. The color of the glaze is a little darker than in the past. This is because I…
Clay Prospecting
Recently, one of the last potteries from the Old Edgefield District has found itself in the way of progress. Baynham’s pottery was relocated in the late 1800’s to this location from Trenton, SC. They managed to keep production of utilitarian pottery into the 1930’s. This site was the location for brickmaking, as well as garden-type…
The Weather Warms
I apologize for the length of time since my last post. I managed to get a firing in between some of the spring fronts that race through this time of year. I once lost the better part of 2 month’s work when a storm came out of nowhere with high winds blowing down the chimney…
A Bit of Pottery History
While the winter weather hasn’t been very good for firing the groundhog kiln, I thought I’d add a brief post about the history of Edgefield pottery. I hope these weather systems with all of the rain and low pressure will let up soon! The drying racks are full of some nice pottery needing only fire…
Holiday Wishes
HAPPY HOLIDAYS! I made this photo during a past ice storm and would like to share its beauty with you. Old Canal Pottery would like to thank all of you who have supported the pottery through purchases, donations of materials or labor. It has been an exciting past year! As recently as the past…
Bits n’ Pieces
It has been a while since I posted. I have been busy making the next kiln full of pots. It has also been very busy digging and processing clay. We are trying to switch over to all native clays. This area is blessed with some mighty fine stoneware clays which is why the Old Edgefield…
A Hard Firing….
Another firing was accomplished over a two day period in the groundhog kiln. As firings go, it was a little more difficult and protracted than usual. Cooler weather was called for by the weather guy, but I swear I didn’t feel it. I did feel the 30% chance of rain all night and into the…
Summer Fades…
I thought I’d share some thoughts and photos while I talk of pottery. I guess it’s all related. I took this photo in July on a typical sweltering 99 degree day. It is titled Boy and Dog. I love it for the pure, unbridled joy that both creations are sharing in unison. It is the…
Another Week…
I’ve spent the past week turning pots and other assorted chores with hopes of firing another load of pots in a week or two. Pretty ambitious! The museum at the Augusta Canal Authority will be getting many of the pots from the last firing to re-sell so I must replenish my stock. With a wood-fired…
Groundhog kiln fires first load of pottery!
After one and a half years of construction and trials, the groundhog kiln at Enterprise Mill in Augusta, GA has produced its first successful firing! Old Canal Pottery has seemed more of a dream than any business that would ever materialize. You can’t imagine the joy felt after such a long journey filled with…
DEXTER POTTERY 