Thursday, September 29, 2005
New Catawba Indian Potter Donald Sanders
This beautiful Catawba Indian head pipe is 2 inches tall and 2 3/4 inches long. This Catawba Indian pottery pipe is a rare piece. It was handcrafted by Catawba Indian potter Donald "Hawk" Sanders who is the grandson of the great Arzada Sanders. This is one of his first pieces.
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Catawba Indian Pottery Peace Pipe 1880's
This is a Catawba Peace Pipe. It is unmarked. Tom Blumer has verified this is very old piece. Made in the 1880's. It is 3 inches tall and the opening is 2 1/2 inches across. This piece was on display in the Catawba Cultural Center for about 8 months. One foot has some damage. It has a vertical watch stem design.
Saturday, September 24, 2005
Catawba Indian Pottery Finished
I would like to close in saying the Catawba Indian potters don't do this for any other reason than the love of making pottery. All of the potters I have met have Catawba pottery pieces all over their homes that they made or was given to them by friends and family. They also have collections of their own Indian pottery which they would not sell for any price. So if you are lucky enough to own or buy a piece you should cherish it forever.
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Burning the Catawba Pottery
This would be my least favorite step. I will explain later. The finished Catawba pottery is burned in a open pit out in the yard. Every Indian potter has a different method of burning. Some use hardwoods, some use softwood and a few just use what is picked up off the forest floor. The fire pits are all different also. Some use wind shields such as cinder blocks or pieces of tin. These are handy to have around is a rain shower should pop up. I was told that the pieces that turn out black were in the bottom and were deprived of oxygen thus causing the black color. Different clays, wood and burning time produce the different colors.
Now the bad part. You spend all those hours digging, molding, scraping and rubbing then when start the burn suddenly you hear a "crack" like a dead limb breaking and you realize all your hours of work has just broken into pieces. You see a tiny air bubble in the clay will cause it to explode. I talked to one potter who has lost as many as 15 pieces in one burn. I'm hoping at this point you can realize the amount of time and most of all the love each potter puts into each piece.
Now the bad part. You spend all those hours digging, molding, scraping and rubbing then when start the burn suddenly you hear a "crack" like a dead limb breaking and you realize all your hours of work has just broken into pieces. You see a tiny air bubble in the clay will cause it to explode. I talked to one potter who has lost as many as 15 pieces in one burn. I'm hoping at this point you can realize the amount of time and most of all the love each potter puts into each piece.
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Rubbing the Catawba Pottery
Next would be the rubbing of the pottery. Catawba potters spend hours rubbing their pieces so the rubbing rocks are their most cherished tools. The more a piece is rubbed the smoother the finish. Marcus Sanders rubs his Catawba pottery until it is smooth as a marble this requires many hours of rubbing. Each potter has his own way of rubbing. Some only rub a piece once but make sure it is rubbed correctly spending hours just on one rub. On lesser pieces called "trade ware" the rub marks can easily be seen. On quality pieces it is very hard to see the marks of the rubbing stone.
Saturday, September 17, 2005
Scraping the Catawba Pottery
Scraping is the same as carving. It is at this stage that the piece is really formed. All uneven places are repaired and the walls are scraped down to make them thinner. This is the step where the potter pays close attention to detail. While the potter is scraping large pieces of clay are removed. The potter saves these scrapings as the clay is a valuable commodity and not a scrap is wasted. Some potters scrape their pieces when wet while others prefer theirs to be dry.
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.
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Preparing the Clay For Catawba Pottery
The raw clay is then strained through window wire to remove impurities such as small stones and sticks. Once both types of clay have been strained then they are mixed to the texture and strength desired by the individual potter.
Sunday, September 11, 2005
Obtaining The Catawba Indian Pottery Clay
The clay is dug from two different secret locations. The Catawba Indians will not disclose the locations and very few white men have seen them. Catawba pottery requires the mixing of the 2 clays to get the correct texture and stability for making large pieces. These are called pan clay and pipe clay. Some smaller pieces can be made from just pipe clay thus the name pipe clay. To dig clay it is normally an all day affair. One location requires that the potter dig a eight foot deep hole big enough to get into and get the clay. The clay vein is about 8 feet below the surface. The clay is wet and very heavy. A 5 gallon bucket is about all a strong man can carry. This bucket has to be carried some distance because of the remote location. Once the potter has the clay he needs he covers that 8 foot hole back up to help protect the location. So as you can see by the time the potter has done this in 2 different locations he has spent a whole day just getting the clay. Most of the younger potters share their clay with their elders or dig clay for family elders.
Friday, September 09, 2005
Native American pottery water jug
Lovely small Native American water jug crafted by master potter Viola Robbins...This Native American pottery water jug has a ruffled rim....This Native American water jug measures 4 3/4 inches to the top and 3 inches across the opening....Viola Robbins has signed the bottom of the Native American pottery water jug....You can find examples of Native American water jugs in Tom Blumers book Catawba Indian Pottery on page 129
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Catawba Indian Pottery Horse Pot
Well Margaret sold her Catawba Indian Pottery Horse Pot. It sold along with her Catawba Pottery Snake Bowl. I knew it wouldn't last long. Horse pots are one of the most desired pieces. I did get a chance to chat with her father Earl Robbins. His health is still not good. He did express the thought that he hoped to start making pottery again. It seems the desire to make pottery is returning. He did tell me he prefers to make pottery in the cooler months. Let's just keep our fingers crossed.
Monday, September 05, 2005
American Indian Pottery Wishbone Candleholder
American Indian Pottery Wishbone Candleholder crafted by master potter Margaret Robbins...This American Indian Pottery Candle holder measures 5 inches tall and 4 1/4 inches across...This Indian candleholder is stunning and very unique...Margaret has signed the bottom of the American Indian Pottery Wishbone Candleholder
Saturday, September 03, 2005
American Indian Pottery Sun Bowl
Small American Indian Pottery Sun bowl crafted by master potter Margaret Robbins...This American Indian Pottery Sun bowl measures 4 1/2 inches tall and the opening is 5 1/4 inches across ....Margaret has signed the bottom of the American Indian Pottery Sun bowl ....This is the first one on the website she normally sells these before I get a chance to list them
Thursday, September 01, 2005
American Indian Pottery Horse Pot
Small American Indian Pottery horse pot crafted by master potter Margaret Robbins...This American Indian Pottery horse pot measures 5 3/4 inches tall to top of his head and 8 inches head to tail....Margaret has signed the bottom of the American Indian Pottery horse pot ....This is one of the most desirable of the traditional pottery pieces
American Indian Pottery Horse Pot
Rate Me on BlogHop.com!
help?
Blog Search Engine -Search Engine and Directory of blogs. Looking for blogs? Find them on BlogSearchEngine.com
