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Dear Friend,
Around 1955 my father, Bill Vinton, Burma-born son of a Baptist missionary family, concert pianist and Maine guide, was badgered into teaching a course on pottery despite his protestations of ignorance. Thinking fast, he hit on drape molding over river stones. Then came the day he put a strawberry leaf on the smooth stone before slapping the clay over it. Eureka!! For fifteen years he drew increasing numbers of people to Deer Country Kiln in Lovell, Maine where he entertained with stories, impact sculptures, mosquito impressions and demonstrations of dish making. I worked with him summers until I went to Ecuador with the Peace Corps where I met John. I nabbed him. As John put in the windows of the house we built here in Massachusetts, I began Salt Marsh Pottery, and in time developed my own style.
For a number of years I worked alone in one corner of our house, purposely keeping our cottage industry tiny. Gradually I ran out of ideas and had about decided to go into something completely different, when John set aside his painting and devised new designs, our gift card, our large ceramic paintings and convinced me to hire our first employee. That started our "genie-out-of-the-bottle" phase. We grew steadily to about 20 people, moved into an old firehouse, then an old school. Each one of the people working here has improved the line through fresh vision and new ideas such as wedding bouquet dishes, baby prints, and ever better painting. This is partly because the main idea of this pottery is so simple it can lead in many directions. The concept is to roll out a flat sheet of clay and drape it over some shape with texture. We have chosen ocean smoothed stones as shape and flowers for design. We put a flower on top of the stone, slap the clay over stone and flower, pull the dish off, cut and smooth the edges and pull out the flower. After the dish dries, we paint the perfect impression, then do levels of painting and firing. We improve our designs and supply with an intermediate step of a plaster cast from which many pieces can be made. This solves such problems as having enough shad which blooms only a brief time, or getting a customer violets in January.
Around 1988, we started making tiles for individual use as trivets or as architectural installations. This led to lamps and mirrors and clocks and a growing part of the business. We use an old orange hand cranked H Frame press (mechanization!) to squash in the design, then hand finish and hand paint them. They are fabulous and getting better.
These days people from all over the world come here to see the work in production, pat the bronze bunnies, and enjoy the beautiful area. During flower season people can often watch me make the forms. We're happy to welcome people to this place where we Make a Good Impression!
Regards from Betsy, John, and all the Crew.
South
Dartmouth Hand Painted Pottery
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South Dartmouth
Hand Painted Flower Pottery
South Dartmouth Hand Painted Tiles |
South Dartmouth Hand Painted Plates |
South Dartmouth
Hand Painted Bowls
South Dartmouth Personalized Gifts |
South Dartmouth
Personalized Keepsakes |
South Dartmouth Personalized Commemorative Gifts
South Dartmouth Commemorative Keepsakes |
South Dartmouth
Baby Hand And Footprints |
South Dartmouth
Pottery
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