pottery ...

pottery ...

... a day with the Cherokee Nation

To make smaller pots, the women use the ball method where the clay is shaped into a ball and then the thumbs are pushed into the center. These pots are given their characteristic shape by using the forefinger to sculpt the outside.

For the larger pots, the craftswomen use the coil method which begins with a flat disc of clay and slowly emerges in the hands as coils are placed on top of one another. After the pot has been formed it is placed in the sun to dry until it is firm enough to work with.

Later, the pot is brought in and carved to an even thickness by using a metal tool or a seashell. A damp cloth is used to wipe away all scrape marks. By rubbing the pot with a bone or a smooth stone, the craftswomen perfect their work by giving the pot its shiny finish. Designs can be applied on the larger pots by using wooden paddles or bones that have the designs already carved into them. By using sticks, seashells, and other items, the women can draw the designs on the smaller pots. Once the designs have been placed on the pots, they are again placed in the sun to dry until they turn a chalk-white.

The pots are now ready to be fired, so a deep pit is dug and a fire built. Each pot will be placed around the edge with the openings toward the fire and left there until the fire goes out. The type of wood the pots are fired with determines their color. Darker colors come from the softwoods that give off more smoke. The lighter colors come from hard woods that have more flame than smoke.

The Cherokee people have never used a potter's wheel or any type of mold in making their pottery. Paint or glaze was rarely used, though the smooth natural luster of each vessel does not lack in aesthetic beauty. The pots you will see at the Oconaluftee Indian Village have been carefully crafted using the ancient traditional methods.

Oconaluftee Cherokee Village, 2010

http://www.cherokee-nc.com