Video
The potter’s art is a thing of beauty and, seeming, magic. The process looks so easy, but in actuality, years of experience are required in order to work the wheel and apply the right combinations of...
Video
Decorating Clay Founded in 1785, Edgefield boasts a proud revolutionary war history. Abner Landrum is said to have established the first shop in the region around 1810 and the fact that he named his...
Video
Catawba pottery is recognized as one of the oldest and purest traditional art forms in America. Potters such as Billie Anne McKellar, a fourth generation potter, are often ancestors of a long line of...
Video
Adding Layers. The broom form begins to take shape after applying "hips" of broomcorn to the base of the handle. Hips add surface area to the sweeping end of the broom, while adding a foundation for...
Video
The natural world pervades nearly every aspect of the Catawba pottery tradition. Nature-inspired motifs include the turtle, frog, black snake, snail, feather and palm leaf, and are often connected to...
Video
Weaving. After Peter has securely attached the broom straw to the handle, he begins to weave the base of the straw into a uniform shape and pattern around the handle.
Video
Securing Weaving. In this step, Peter secures the finished weaving with a simple knot. The rough, unwoven parts of the broom straw base are cut off using a bread knife.
Video
Flattening. Brooms come in round and flat shapes. For our camera, Peter chose to create a flat , sweeping end that is more typical of a modern broom. Peter flattens the broom by jumping on it. A vice...
Video
Native Americans called it "tree hair." French colonists changed it to "Barbe espagnole," or "Spanish Beard," to ridicule the Spanish conquest of the Americas. Spanish moss survives as its common name...