Elizabeth Ringus

Elizabeth Ringus, Paw Print Pottery Barnwell, Barnwell County. Interview recorded June 2007.

Liz Ringus has been turning pots for over 36 years. A native of Massachusetts, Ringus and her husband Paul moved to the Barnwell area in 1990. Her pottery shop is located in the Little Red Barn Studio, a building with deep community roots. Originally the commissary building in the little mill village of Leigh - one of the towns displaced when the Savannah River Nuclear Site was established - the building was moved to its current location in the 1950s.

Ringus fires in electric kilns and mixes her own glazes. She uses two primary clays, both from North Carolina. Ringus produces a wide variety of functional wares - bowls, pitchers, mugs - as well as face jugs and more decorative Raku ware. Her shop also carries work from several local artists, including quilts, rag rugs, blankets, photography, and woodcarving.