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From left, Folk Pottery Museum trustees and judges John Luhn, Stewart Swanson and Bill House admire the “Best of Show” four-face jug created by Daniel Bollinger.
Despite pouring-down rain on Saturday morning, September 3, the 14th Annual Folk Pottery & Arts Festival attracted lively, bouyant crowds all day. Some vendors set up tents on the soggy lawn. Other craftspeople had tables in the community hall, selling pottery or fiber arts.
The Sautee Nacoochee Center’s African American Heritage Cabin and the Native Peace Garden were also open to visitors. The Blacksmith shop gave demonstrations. And the Sautee Nacoochee Center and History Museum were open, too.
A group of folk singers contributed to the festive atmosphere. “This was a collection of old-time musicians whom my husband Walter and I gathered from near and far,” Jeanie Daves said. “This is music based primarily in that of the Scottish and Irish ancestors who immigrated to the Appalachian area.”
The historic gym housed the folk potters,their tables crowded with their wares. Many of them come from the original pottery families in the area: Meaders, Hewell, Ferguson, Crocker and Craven. Over the years, they’ve taken on apprentices, so you’ll see old timer Roger Corn and newer potters Lolly Lynn and ‘Best of Show’ potter Daniel Bollinger.
In the old days, folk pottery was utilitarian: milk jugs, butter churns, storage crocks, whiskey and syrup jugs. Pots were protected with glazes. These potters found their clay in streambanks and bottomlands.
Buggy jugs have a wide flat bottom, so they don’t fall over in a wagon. “One side of my family made pottery,” said Mike Craven. “The other side made whiskey.” Craven smiles and says, “It was a good partnership.”
But in the early 1900’s, glass jars and cans began to replace pottery in everyday life. To survive in the business, some potters switched to garden pottery. Others specialized in face jugs or other decorative pottery for tourists. Ceramic animals like roosters were inspired by local country life.
But this 14th Folk Pottery & Arts Festival would not have been possible without the foresight of benefactors Dean and his wife, the late Kay Swanson. They created a stunning museum in 2006 to house a collection of northeast Georgia’s folk pottery.
Emory Jones, Meaders-family kin and Folk Pottery Museum trustee said, “The original old-time potters like my granddaddy, Wiley, and his brothers would probably be pleased and astounded to know that decades later, people still gather to honor their craft and appreciate what they and the other potters started.”
‘I feel so honored to work amongst a dedicated team of volunteers, artists and colleagues,” said Meghan Gerig, Director of the Folk Pottery Museum. “Despite the rainy weather, we were able to pull together a successful show.”