It was a lifetime ago – I was just 20. I was there for a Paulus Berensohn workshop on pinched pots. It was very therapeutic.I remember that I wound up making these very dainty coiled buildings – go figure. There was a wonderful woman – maybe her name was Judith? who attended that week with me and we wound up traveling up north together – my first trip. Anyway, on the first day of the workshop Paulus did a great introduction circle – that I still remember and use till this day. He introduced himself and then the person to the left of him introduced themselves and then introduced Paulus. By the time we got to the last person, that person was able to introduce everyone in the group. It was very cool. I left the world of clay many years ago but that was a terrific week for me – California in the 70’s….
Photos from Debra
Debra R. posted these and I thought I would put them up here. They are a blast from the past, especially the maps and the picture of the people on the back of the truck on Swanton, in the valley.
(Click on the photos to see them bigger)
Memories of Big Creek
There are so many memories I have of growing up at Big Creek Pottery. The time we borrowed a cow for a student who said he must have a cow to milk, and what happened when that cow went into heat; the time when the whole shelf of crockery fell down, and someone turned it into a rather disturbing practical joke; the time when a friend of my parents was howling at the moon and running through the field across the road, stepped in a golpher hole, and broke his leg in two places. He was brought in on an old door and taken to the hospital, and then fell in love with the other friend of my parents who was visiting – a nurse, of course – and ended up marrying her on the deck of the Big House.
There was the cannon which shot rolls of toilet paper.
There was the phone booth made from an ancient outhouse.
There was the evil rooster who attacked people.
There were moments I remember when people were having dramas that I, as a child, didn’t understand. Here is your chance to tell me about some of those moments, good or bad, the details you remember. The things that made it different than anywhere else.
Welcome to Big Creek Pottery
I’m researching stories about Big Creek Pottery, one of the first summer craft schools which resided near Davenport, California from the mid-1960’s to the mid-1980’s, and the place I grew up. This blog is the collecting-point of all that I find, and I hope that old students will please email me at heatherdoodle-at-gmail-DOT-com (written that way to avoid spammers), with their stories, pictures, and whatever else they can think of that will contribute to the effort. Eventually, I hope to put together a book with all I’ve collected. Wish me luck!
