Pewpabic Pottery is a U.S. National Historical Landmark still in operation today much like it was when it was founded in 1903. The studio and school continues its long history of creating pottery and tiles with the iridescent glazes that made them famous, which are like an oil slick with an incredible translucent quality and a phantasmagoric depth of color. The works of Mary Chase Perry Stratton and Horace James Caulkins, the two responsible for the studio’s start, can be seen in collections all over the world from the Louvre to the Detroit Insitute of Arts, and their architectural pieces are in many prominent spots like Herald Square in New York City and Shedd’s Aquarium in Chicago.
The History
An integral part in Detroit’s contribution to the Arts & Crafts movement in America. The Pottery’s first home was a stable on Alfred Street in Detroit. Four years later, Pewabic Pottery moved to a new facility on East Jefferson designed by architect William Buck Stratton in the Tudor Revival style. In 1991, the building (which still houses the Pottery) and its contents were designated a National Historic Landmark and today is Michigan’s only historic pottery.
Under the direction of Mary Chase Perry Stratton, Pewabic Pottery produced nationally renowned vessels, tiles, and architectural ornamentation for public and private installations and later, when the Depression reduced the demand for costlier wares, ceramic jewelry featuring Pewabic’s unique iridescent glazes. Works fabricated by Pewabic Pottery can be seen throughout the United States in such places as the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., the Nebraska State Capitol, the Science Building at Rice University in Houston, and the Herald Square installation commissioned by the New York Metro Transit Authority. Stratton is a member of the Michigan’s Women Hall of Fame.
Hearld Square Station
In Michigan, Pewabic installations can be found in countless churches (including Christ Church at Cranbrook, Holy Redeemer Church and St. Paul Cathedral in Detroit), schools, commercial buildings and public facilities (such as Detroit’s Guardian Building, Northwest Terminal, Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, the Detroit Public Library, and the new Comerica Ballpark,) public spaces (Detroit People Mover Stations) and private residences (particularly in Detroit’s Indian Village and nearby Bloomfield Hills and Grosse Pointe.) Pewabic art pottery can also be found in many private and public collections including the Detroit Institute of Arts and the Freer Gallery at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
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An important figure in Detroit’s artistic and cultural life, Mary Stratton was a founding member of the Detroit Arts & Crafts Society and later served as a trustee of what is now the Detroit Institute of Arts. She established the ceramics department at the University of Michigan, taught students in Wayne State University’s ceramic program and received honorary degrees from both schools in recognition of her accomplishments. In 1947, she received the coveted Charles Fergus Binns Medal, the nation’s highest award in the field of ceramics.
Stratton died in 1961, but the pottery continued to operate for another five years under the direction of her former assistant. In 1966, ownership was transferred to Michigan State University, which operated the Pottery as part of its continuing education program. In 1979, the private nonprofit Pewabic Society was established to administer the Pottery’s operation, and in 1981 Pottery ownership was transferred to the Society, whose board of trustees continues to serve as the Pottery’s governing body. The Society soon began work to restore the building and revitalize the Pottery’s design and fabrication program.
Photo by Derek Farr ( DetroitDerek )
Today Pewabic Pottery is a multifaceted institution with active and growing education, exhibition, museum and design and fabrication programs. The Pottery fabricates heirloom quality architectural tiles for public and private installations, gift and commemorative tiles, vessels, gardenware, ornaments and both reproductions and adaptations of its historic designs. It offers classes, workshops, lectures, internships and residency programs for studio potters and other artists as well as outreach programs (hands-on) workshops, summer apprenticeships, classes for gifted and talented students structured to provide unique educational opportunities to students from preschool through high school. Pewabic showcases ceramic works in widely varying styles and techniques by established and emerging artists. Through its historic exhibits, it tells the story of the Pottery’s role in the history of Detroit, the growth of the Arts & Crafts movement in America and the development of ceramic art. Pewabic Pottery was recently recognized by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as a “Historic Artists’ Homes & Studios” site.
Links: Pewabic Pottery; Pewabic Pottery Store; University of Michigan Museum of Arts; Wikidpedia.
