As a break from serious research, here is another in the series of old-time occupations of our ancestors. Please remember to check out the past 195 tips on the KYRESEARCH message board shown in the URL in my signature line. And, remember to go out and vote today! Sandi TIP #196 - GRANDPA WAS A POTTER My dearest friend's daughter is a wonderful potter and I have seen many of her creations and purchased a few along the way. This is a fascinating occupation and an extremely old one. Pottery was brought to America as early as 1635 when Philip Drinker worked in Massachusetts. Almost every village soon had a "pot house", a one-man operation and kilns dotted the countryside. American pottery in early America was normally called "redware" and was shaped from ordinary brick clay which took its color from its iron oxide content. The colors limited the finished product; pots ranged from a pink to a bright red; but the clay was too soft and porous. The clay used by the potter is originally leached from rocks, has very fine particles and due to its adhesive nature, stick together and more easily moldable. Most clay has varied colors in from impurities - white, red, yellow, tan and blue. The old time potter dug his own clay with his bare hands and sifted out rocks, pebbles, leaves and what other debris might be found in it. The better he did in sifting, the better the finished product. After cleaning the clay it was mixed in a pug mill. To keep the clay from cracking in the kiln, the potter mixed it with clean sand while the clay was in a soupy state. Flint might be added if he wanted a stronger and harder stoneware. The excess water was eliminated by evaporation which allowed the mass of clay to thicken. When it was found to be the right consistency, the potter made balls or clumps of clay and stored in a damp area to cure. When ready, the clay blob had to be checked for air bubbles. The potter or his apprentice beat the clump of clay with a special club - much like the preparation for bread making. He kneaded it thoroughly. Then, while the clay was soft and workable, he would shape it by pressing it into plaster or metal molds. Plates, bowls and various jugs were formed by throwing the clay on the potters wheel. The wheel is a circular table which revolves on a vertical shaft. It was then spun around its own center causing the object to be round. When the potter was finished with one or many pots, he put them on pegs on the wall and let the clay dry for several days. Handles were then added if required and then put on the shelf until it was totally dry. The term used was green when it was dry. The kiln, circular and built of common brick had a domed top for redware, for harder products it had a conical top. Redware was glazed in the second firing of the clay. But, even fresh from the kiln, the redware could break easily; it is much like the flower pots we have used for years. The fire was intensified and the pottery maintained in the kiln for a good period of time. Then the kiln was allowed to cool down and wasn't opened until it was almost cold. The glaze used on the pottery was red or white lead and sand. The potter dipped the piece, trying not to miss a spot. He poured glaze in the pot and sloshed it around; the glaze was left to dry and then they were re-fired. The glaze, after it was fired, had no color. The potter colored brown by adding magnanese or green by adding copper oxide. The glaze, a pure lead, was deadly poison and the potter could get it on his hands. Many of the pottery pieces were decorated by the potter by etching in designs of flowers, bids or fish and coloring them with cobalt. This is a simple explanation to a difficult process and I hope I have done it justice! © Copyright 3 November 1998, Sandra K. Gorin, All Rights Reserved, sgorin@glasgow-ky.com Sandi Gorin - A Kentucky Colonel 205 Clements Ave., Glasgow, KY 42141 (502) 651-9114 PUBLISHING: http://www.members.tripod.com/~GorinS/index.html BARREN CO OBITS, WILLS, DEEDS & BIBLE RECORDS: http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/USA/Ky/BarrenObits KYRESEARCHING TIPS: http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/USA/Ky/Tips KYBIOGRAPHIES: http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/USA/Ky/Bios