Catawba Indian Pottery

Thursday, September 15, 2005

Building a Catawba Pottery Piece

The potters use a lap board to build on. This lap board can be any shape or material. Normally it is a square piece of wood. The potter molds whatever piece comes to his mind and shapes it by hand. The piece sits on the lap board until it is dry, he can then remove it and use the lap board for another piece. Each potter has his own idea of what a good lap board is. The tools used to model the piece vary greatly. Each potter has his favorite tools. They can be as primitive as sea shells or as modern as contemporary kitchen tools. The piece at this point is very rough and is left to dry somewhat till it's at the stage of hardness that it can safely be handled.