Montgomery County
Pottery
Margaret worked in
several creative positions prior to becoming the potter of such beautiful works
of art that have become part of Black Belt Treasures’ expanding gallery of
artists and craftsmen. She took her first clay class in 1984 but reconnected to
clay in 1996 when she started a small studio in her home.Prior to this she worked in the graphic
industry producing magazines, an ad agency and also created custom gold
jewelry.
According to Margaret,
she feels that her love of drawing comes through in her clay work.Jewelry that was created in the late 80’s was
interesting and gave her “a skill set” she uses today. She said she created a
piece of jewelry for Tanya Tucker, “one of the more colorful characters” she
had worked with.
Describing her work,
Margaret says she uses smooth white stoneware clay (“a perfect canvas”) for
handmade stamps which are used to texture slabs of clay. The slabs then become
functional and decorative vessels, boxes, vases, dinnerware and teapots.Slip-trailing is a surface treatment that
enables Margaret to create patterns and handwritten messages on her work.She says her “glazes are generally
translucent greens and neutrals that allow the pattern and other surface
embellishments to show through”.She
mixes unique and specific color glazes in her studio.More complex work takes longer than the usual
two weeks to complete a piece.
Ceramic and sculpture
classes taken in college were forerunners to her continuing education which she
says is vital to an artist working alone.She has studied in Ashville, NC, Arrowmont School of Crafts in
Gatlinburg, TN, and in a clay studio in Natchez, MS.
Besides Black Belt Treasures, Margaret’s work is
available in the Montgomery Museum of Art’s Gift Shop, Amamo in Mountain Brook,
and Mississippi Craftsmen’s Gallery, Ridgeland, MS. Shop.