Archie Johnson & Ruth Cohen - MUD AND FIRE POTTERS

Clay with its infinite possibilities has hooked us since the early 70’s at Pratt Institute in NYC where we first got mud under our fingernails. Over the last 40 years, we have learned that finding a voice with clay is a never ending process. Insights gleaned from ancient and current masters guide us in exploring traditional and contemporary design elements in this centuries old craft/art form. As clay is transformed while spinning through our fingers, we know that today’s organic forms are subtly different from those made a year ago and the vision for tomorrow’s will gradually unfold, yielding boundless creative freedom.

At MUD AND FIRE POTTERS we produce functional, decorative and sculptural pottery made from stoneware clay and wood-fired to 2400 degrees in our bourry box kiln, The Firefly and our noborigama kiln, Dante. Our work, slowly evolving over time, maintains simplicity of form, rooted in Asian, Western and Jamaican/African cultures. Most of our wheel-thrown and altered pieces are characterized with shell markings and stamps. Wood-firing with or without glaze and natural ash, produces intriguing textured surface patterns with earthy hues.

Proudly we quote Cecil Baugh, a Jamaican potter: I am a maker of pots, not of speeches…When I look at my hands, I see a potter’s hands…Some of what I have written, not in words, but in texture and colour and in the form of my pots, will remain, hopefully for many generations.

On Monday of this year's tour, we will demonstrate throwing a variety of forms including bottles, bowls and pitchers. Please visit us, tour our studio and check out Dante and The Firefly.

Our studio is located at 1002 Bow Bridge Road in Little Meadows, PA, just one mile east of State Route 858. A large stone bearing our insignia is on our side of the road. We can be contacted at (570)623-3335 and mudandfirepotter@aol.com. At your leisure, we hope you will peruse our website, www.mudandfirepotters.com and find us on facebook.