Pewabic Pottery Glazes a New Trail

Detroit’s own Pewabic Pottery is on the verge of a campus expansion, several years in the making.  According to Executive Director, Terese Ireland, they are in the process of acquiring land adjacent to the historic property to add additional parking and building space.  The extra room is sorely needed since, at more than one hundred years old, Pewabic now welcomes 55,000 visitors per year.

Much of the organization’s success is built upon the artistic and entrepreneurial legacy of Mary Chase Perry (Stratton).  She was born in 1867 in Hancock, Michigan, part of the U.P.’s copper mining country.  At the age of ten she moved to Detroit, and by twenty, the visionary artist was studying painting and sculpture at the Art Academy in Cincinnati, Ohio.  Eventually she moved back to Detroit where she met neighbor, Horace Caulkins, a dentist.  The artist and the dentist would soon form an unlikely partnership.

In an interview in The Detroit News in 1932, Perry said, “I was trying to decide what I wanted to do, and had gone to spend a week at the lake shore to think the thing over.  A paper fluttered along the beach and I picked it up.  There was an article printed on it headed ‘Develop the Resources of America.’ The article outlined the rich possibilities in our own soil for making the clays for pottery. Ever since I have been trying to develop the resources of America by using the clays found in our soil.”

Since Caulkins had invented a kiln to make dentures from porcelain, Perry asked him to make a kiln for her for firing ceramics.  With his Revelation Kiln, and her artistic talent, a new venture was born.  On October 8, 1903, Revelation Pottery, as it was known at the time, accepted its first order from Chicago’s Burley & Company.  Mr. Burley suggested that a new name was in order.  The partners finally agreed on “Pewabic”, a Native American word commonly believed to be derived from the Chippewa words, wabic (metal) or bewabic (iron or steel).  It was also the name of a copper mine in Perry’s hometown of Hancock.

After four years, Pewabic Pottery moved from its original space, a stable on Alfred Street, to the current facility at 10125 East Jefferson Avenue.  The new home was designed by architect William Buck Stratton, whom Perry would eventually marry.  In 1991, the Tudor Revival Style building Stratton designed, which still houses the pottery, was designated a National Historic Landmark.

Over the years, under the direction of Mary Chase Perry Stratton, Pewabic Pottery produced nationally renowned vessels, tiles, and architectural ornamentation for public and private installations locally and throughout the country.  Today this unique craftsmanship can be seen in the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C., the Nebraska State Capitol, New York’s Herald Square, and Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium, among others.  It is particularly prevalent in Michigan, where Pewabic installations can be found in churches, public facilities, and private residences throughout the state.  Pewabic pieces can also be seen at the Detroit Institute of Arts and the Smithsonian.

Mary Chase Perry Stratton lived a long and remarkable life, dying in 1961, at the age of 94.  Throughout her career she did much to advance the arts and culture of Michigan.  As an artist, her experimentation with unique iridescent glazes was unprecedented.  In 1947, she received the coveted Charles Fergus Binns Medal, America’s highest award in the field of ceramics.

Today, her visionary style lives on through the artistry of a new generation.  Pewabic now functions as a nonprofit determined to showcase and cultivate new talent.  It is a multifaceted operation that includes education, design, fabrication, and exhibition.  According to Executive Director, Terese Ireland, Pewabic not only exhibits artwork from about 70 different artists all year long, they also teach 8,200 kids and 1,200 adults annually.  Many of the children are under-served artistically so programs are made available through grant funding. 

Pewabic also has a powerful fan in Martha Stewart, arguably a kindred spirit to its founder.  On December 5, 2007, Stewart featured Pewabic as one of Martha's Secret Sources on her popular television show.  She displayed several vases, ornaments, and tiles during the segment, and even described a personal connection.  “I have visited it (Pewabic Pottery) several times, and in fact, all the bathrooms in my house in Maine, my house called Skylands, all the bathrooms were fashioned from Pewabic tiles.  That’s what started me thinking about it and wondering where did these beautiful things come from?”  Stewart went on to explain that she has even used Pewabic tiles in her television studio and that her daughter, Alexis, has them in a home as well.

The impact of that national exposure was felt immediately.  “The big change Ms. Stewart was able to do for us was with our relatively new web store”, said Ireland.  “We saw significant increases in orders that started the day her show aired, and as it was shown in different places around the country, our orders seemed to come from those states.  I’m happy to say we were able to fill all of the orders we received.”

The national exposure has undoubtedly helped to raise awareness and money for the expansion, but more help is needed.  Pewabic Pottery operates under the direction of the Pewabic Society, a private, 501(c)(3) non-profit membership organization, dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the organization as a ceramic arts learning center and gallery.  The gallery is open to the public free of charge 7 days a week throughout the year, except for holidays.  Those wishing to support the organization through purchases or membership are encouraged to come visit this historic gem in person at 10125 East Jefferson Avenue in Detroit or online at  www.pewabic.org.