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 the Old Edgefield District. This district is no more since it was divided into the modern day counties of Aiken and Edgefield. We all agree that the 20 or so old potteries located in the old district qualify as having had made Old Edgefield Pottery.

Now, let's get down to matters of present day. I was born and live in this same area of South Carolina in discussion. I produce wood-fired, ash-glazed pottery from the native clays of this area. It is very difficult to make pottery in this manner. I fire a groundhog kiln at my house and one at my studio in Augusta, GA. I describe my work as Edgefield-style, not Old Edgefield.

I see a lot of modern pottery for sale on ebay, in galleries, etc., describing it to be "authentic" Old Edgefield pottery or Old Edgefield-style pottery. Yet, it was fired in an electric or gas kiln, made with commercially bought, blended clays and may have been made in Montana. How is that even close to what the true old pottery is? It's NOT! The truth is, Old Edgefield pottery gains in popularity by the day. Each new auction of old pottery tops the previous auction. There are many out there who are capitalizing on this and misleading the public as well as their customers.

As I stated, it is hard work to produce pottery in the old manner. Often, the better part of a kiln load of pottery is lost or damaged due to events beyond control. The tasks of keeping good wood in supply and dealing with digging and processing the clay are endless, not to mention the hours spent making pots and glazing them. It can take the better part of a day just to load a groundhog kiln and up to 40 hours to fire it! There are excellent potters in my area who make good pots, but they don't have anything in common with the Old Edgefield pottery produced here or authentic reproductions of it. They have few failures in their electric kiln and really churn the pots out. And, for reasons I've yet to understand, charge outrageous prices for their work.



An Edgefield-style piece I made. This look cannot be duplicated in modern electric or gas kilns.

So, after my long rant, I propose a new title to apply to this modern work produced by modern methods, Edgefield-inspired pottery. Let's all work to honor the most significant pottery to ever be produced in the USA by not mudding the water and purposefully misleading the public. Let's use appropriate terms and descriptions when advertising our pots.

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 earthenware production. The site is presently being cleared for a storm water retention pond.

The many sherds left scattered about the site show that Albany slip was the preferred glaze treatment. Jug handles were joined at and onto the necks. There was a small number of sherds that appeared to have a Bristol or whitish-gray glaze. The pottery site has the remains of at least 2 groundhog kilns visible and several waster piles.

Many of the remaining foundations of structures on the site were made from brick with the markings "PEERLESS/AUGUSTA. The large number of unmortared single bricks scattered about the site may indicate these were made here.

The pottery sat on top of a vein of blue-colored clay. This clay was layed down when an ancient sea covered this area and is a kaolinite high in alumina, which is great for stoneware pottery. While this clay by itself is somewhat short or non-plastic, it performs beautifully when blended with the buff stoneware clay veins that alternate with the blue clay at the site.


We have managed to procure a sizeable quantity of the clays from the site. Though Baynham's pottery site will cease to be, collectors of their pottery can take heart as Old Canal Pottery continues the tradition of southern alkaline-glazed, wood-fired stoneware pottery using clays from the old site. The clays fire to a light gray color.

Blue clay contrasted with red earthenware clay

A sample of the blue clay

Our kiln is filled and the wood is cut and stacked. We will be firing our latest work soon!

The Weather Warms

I apologize for the length of time since my last post. I managed to get a firing inbetween 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 into the kiln. The pots were at about 2,000 degrees F and I heard much pinging and cracking as cold air met hot pots! I look forward to those long drawn out high pressure cells that linger over the southern USA and provide long periods of stable weather because that's the time for a wood-fired groundhog kiln.



This is a photo of some of the small-medium face jugs after dipping them in glaze and before they were fired. They turned out real sweet and sold real fast. My camera has not yet been repaired so I'm behind on photos and real lost without it.




I usually put 3-4 of these cone plaques around the inside of the kiln when I fire. They provide a record of the temperatures in various parts of the kiln. I do good to see one set when I fire due to the intensity of light, but I can see one set close to the front door. This helps guide me in determining when to halt firing. The cones are numbered, the higher the number the higher the temp it melts at. Here I wanted to get to 2,300 F (the middle cone 10) but waited until the 11 cone bent before stopping to insure the temp in the back had time to get high enough. Additionally, I go by color and I also hope to see what looks like shimmering drops of water on the outside of pots. This is the melted glaze and means I can stumble around like a real tired zombie and start closing the kiln up! Ya-hoo! Bed, sleep!

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 two weeks, alterations have been made to the kiln using materials donated by supporters. These improvements would have been financially prohibitive without the generousity and efforts of the Augusta Canal Authority, Modern Welding Company and Thermal Ceramics Corporation.

The improvements consist of two steel chimney extensions with heavy plate dampers and an additional 4 inches of ceramic fiber insulation on the kiln arch. These will greatly affect kiln handling and reduce fuel consumption. The kiln is loaded and we are awaiting better weather to try out the new modifications.


I would ask you to think of those in this world with the least and remember them in your thoughts and prayers. As you settle comfortably in for the Holidays with your loved ones, try to keep in mind those who are sick, hungry or homeless. Make a promise to make a difference...help change the course of this world or someone's fate by simply caring and putting forth some effort.