Sam Williams

Monroe County

Pottery

Sam Williams was exposed to pottery in his father’s farm store. The elder Mr. Williams had begun a collection of crocks and jars that Sam still has. Together, father and son took pottery classes at a Brewton junior college where Sam is still enrolled so many years later. His utilitarian pottery is made to be admired and used. Sam’s natural enthusiasm for life is expressed in his work with clay, and his boundless energy could keep him creating every day.

Using the traditional technique of a potter’s wheel, Sam creates high temp stoneware that he likes to glaze in natural earth tones. His pottery is so precisely made that when a piece is thumped with a finger; the clear tone of a bell rings out. Sam calls his interpretation of a face jug a Devil Jug. A whisky jug base provides the background for the horns, eyes, nose, mouth, and fangs of the unworldly devils. Face jugs were first created by slave potters in the 1840s. Unable to determine their exact purpose, historians know they were cherished by their creators because many were found on the long, arduous journey along Underground Railroad trails.

To learn more about Sam Williams, visit

http://www.potterybywilliams.com