Hannah Johnson |
It takes seven acres, two cats, five kilns and three tons of clay
each year to keep Hannah Johnson busy at her home and studio in Scot
Depot, WV. Hannah’s Pottery is her business and making
pottery is Hannah’s passion. After 26 years as a potter,
her enthusiasm for clay and its possibilities remains undiminished.
Hannah creates mostly functional pottery, like platters, plates,
bowls, and pitchers, that serve a purpose beyond decoration. Place
settings as well as unusual fountains and birdbaths often bear her
signature maple leaf in the design.
She learned to “throw pots” with a potter’s wheel
in North Carolina when she tagged along with two friends who were
taking a pottery class. “Three of us went to the class
and all three of us were hooked. We’re all still doing
it.” She was “convinced I had a potters soul when
I first touched clay. It just clicked.”
Twenty years ago Hannah brought her business and her artistic interest
to West Virginia.
She started by showing her work at 10-15 art shows each year.
Now she participates in just one or two shows each year, but hosts
an annual open house at her gallery and sells wholesale to Tamarack
and small gift shops across the country. Her handmade richly
colored mugs are often requested for coveted corporate gifts.
“It is a piece of art made in our state, a distinctive gift
from West Virginia.”
She makes her own lead-free glazes so Hannah’s earthenware
is food safe, dishwasher safe and can be heated in a microwave.
All glazes are silica based, which gives the pottery a glasslike finish.
They start as a powder and are made into a liquid, with additions
like copper, cobalt or iron oxide for color. Pots are then dipped
into the glaze, rather than being painted.
Hannah fires her work at up to 2400 degrees, matching the high heat
used for stoneware. She uses both gas and electric kilns, still
amazed at the different coloration resulting from each. “Sometimes
I can barely wait to see what it will look like. It takes twelve
hours to fire and 12 hours to cool down. I think the gas kiln
give a deeper, richer look, but I love the differences.”
Hannah is a practicing artist as well as a practical one. Her decorative
dishware is durable but not too heavy, “because it is meant
to be used and enjoyed often.” She creates mixing bowls
that are colorful and attractive yet sturdy enough to withstand handling
by a busy cook. A condiment dish with two bowls and a single
handle is as handy as it is ornamental.
Pottery runs in the family. Hannah’s husband Don is also
a potter, preferring the handbuilt technique to the potter’s
wheel. Hannah says the cats provide invaluable assistance in the studio.
“They break things and lay in my lap.”
With an artist’s perspective, and seven acres, Hannah has been
able to nurture a magnificent garden. Customers know to call
before coming, but many bring friends to enjoy Hannah’s garden
as well as Hannah’s Pottery.
For more information, visit hannahspottery.com
or call 304-757-9309.
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