Monday, June 6, 2011

Don Hollis from East Texas

Don Hollis is a potter in East Texas who uses techniques akin to those used by early Native Americans. He collects and processes his own clay, does not use a wheel, and his process is as green as possible..

The essence of Don Hollis' unique art pottery is the wild clay body made from local Eocene clays. He collects clay from a creek bank on his property or wherever it's found at the surface and offered. The clay is dried, screened, and prepared in small batches yielding enough for one or two pieces at a time. Don forms his pottery with hand building methods such as pinch, coil, and slab. During the drying stage, the pieces are burnished with a smooth flint stone to give the surface a distinctive shine. The pottery is pit fired using wood gathered from the woods around his studio. Dried native plants and select organics added for color, as well as the fire clouds added by Mother Nature during firing, give each piece its final unique character.