William J. Gordy (d. 1993), Georgia Art Pottery, Cartersville, Bartow County. Interview recorded June 1981.
Dorris Xerxes "D.X." Gordy (d. 1994), Primrose, Meriwether County. Interview recorded June 1981.
Son of Georgia potter W.T.B. Gordy (1877-1955), D.X. Gordy took over his father’s shop and gradually moved away from the traditional forms produced by earlier family potters. Gordy retained the traditional methods of production while constantly seeking out new forms and experimenting with a wide variety of decorative treatments and glazes.
His intricately turned pieces often included painted country scenes. Working in his shop in Greenville, Georgia, Gordy spent much of his time exploring local mineral deposits to use in the innovative glaze recipes that made his stoneware so distinctive.
Like his younger brother, William “Bill” Gordy began his potting career as a youngster in his father’s pottery shop in Meriwether County. Gordy left the family pottery and worked as a journeyman turner in several potteries in North Carolina, including the Hilton, Kennedy, and Herman Cole shops.
Most of these potteries had already begun their transition from utilitarian ware to the manufacture of brightly glazed art pottery meant for the passing tourist.
Gordy returned to Georgia and set up his own shop in 1935. Bringing these new potting concepts with him, Gordy was one of the first Georgia potters to introduce the shift from traditional forms to the newer art pottery.
