Meaders School of Folk Pottery

    The most important things to consider when contemplating on opening a pottery shop is the availability of clay and wood. Clay is found in abundance along the fall line of the Piedmont region of southern states. In some areas it is difficult to obtain, due to industrial and residential growth reducing the availability. 
There are two kinds of clay and the potter has use for both, in his clay body and glazes. There are primary and secondary clay. Primary clay is found in the same location, where time, heat and weather over the millions of years has broken it down into a powder like substance. This is the purest type, but of no value by itself. the secondary clay through the forces of nature's flood, normal rain run-off has moved it to lower elevations, mainly near rivers and large streams. During this process it has picked up other organic matters such as iron, silica, manganese and feldspar. Along the way it has picked up impurities that must be removed. The availability of this clay is the reason many potters initially migrated to North Georgia from Virginia, North and South Carolina .  The discovery of clay does not with in itself mean it is usable. There are three important factors that has to be considered. Is it pliable or plastic enough to be turned on the potter's wheel and stand up after being shaped, also not crack during the drying stage. Will it with-stand the temperatures necessary to resist blistering, cracking or shrinking too much. Twelve or thirteen percent is acceptable. Number three, will it hold the glaze applied prior to being placed in the kiln. If it has too much decayed organic matter, the pot itself will absorb the glaze leaving a rough surface, neither will it hold water. This type of clay can be used for yard (unglazed) pottery or what we call redware. No one clay works good by itself, usually a good clay body has three different types of clay. For most potters they have to mix clay from two or three different areas. My father located a deposit of clay in 1921 that we are still using that the three different types are in the same location.  Finding the deposit of clay probably contributed more to the appearance and demand for our pottery than any other one thing, especially when the alkaline glaze is used. Clay is like one of those slogans we hear today. "Its better when aged".  Clay requires patience, it works best if dug in the fall, exposed to winter elements,, rain and freezing temperatures, then in the spring its loose, unbounded from years of being impacted under so much weight. After being put through a pugmill it needs to be kept moist and rested for a period of time before being used. Digging or using a potter's term (raising the clay) mixing and preparing for use is a hard, demanding and persistent process. That is why most potters patronize a supplier. The cause of cracking in drying or firing may not be inferior of the clay, but in preparation. Clay requires a rest period between each stage to make it not only plastic but strong. Time spent wedging the clay over a taut wire, the last stage of preparation before being formed into a ball depends upon the various shapes and size of product to be made. My father was known for his thin walls of his 6-10 gallon urns. The clay he used for these items was set aside, covered with damp burlap sacks, placed aside from the rest, allowed to age and be stiffer than the rest. the temperature of the clay is very important, when below 65 degrees it becomes stiff and unyielding. also clay that is left unattended will often freeze making it unusable until reprocessed. Clay now is stored and shipped in plastic bags. A potter can use a less desirable clay by adding other materials. Grog is often added. Grog is refractory broken unglazed jugs or used brick. silica is often added to increase the temperature range and reduce shrinkage. the potter cannot be gentle with his clay, but must be patient, full of hope and faith in god; as a farmer has when sowing his seeds in the spring. A shovel of clay to a non-potter appears to be just dirt or a rock, what a potter sees is a serviceable urn or maybe a beautiful vase. It is his responsibility to reform and shape this clay to the image that entered his mind prior to being placed on the potter's wheel. a master potter makes what he sets out to make, or he folds it and starts again. The potter knows that he  like his clay must rest and practice patience to stabilize his life.

Written by my Dad - CJ Meaders 1921 - 2003