The Meaders Family: North Georgia Potters

I am presently working with the Smithsonian Institution on a project to republish this valuable monograph on the Meaders family and their pottery making history. This book was originally published the Smithsonian Folklife Studies Series in 1980. The original authors are Robert Sayers and Ralph Rinzler. As an organizing editor, I intend to expand this monograph by approximately thirty percent to include the following:

· Color photography of pottery produced by the Meaders family, as well as photographs of the equipment and tools in the Smithsonian archives.

· An essay by Robert Sayers, one of the original authors, outlining his experiences in North Georgia while conducting and presenting his research.

· An updated bibliography of resources.

· Technical information on glazes to include approximations of recipes, photography of test tiles and color effects of metal oxides in alkaline glazes.

· A lab analysis of the traditional, local glaze ingredients, such as creek "settlins", various wood ashes and glaze rocks.

· An essay detailing the events that have occurred from 1979 to 2003 within the Meaders Family, relative to the topic of North Georgia Pottery, including an expanded family tree to include births and deaths within the Meaders family since 1979.

· Updated photography of:
- Hunt's Crossroad store in White County, GA
- Meaders Family Members
- Old Meaders Homestead
- A New Meaders Kiln

In terms of the editor's preface, I plan to outline the connection between folk ceramic traditions of the East and West, particularly focusing on the connection between Chinese and Korean forms and surfaces relative to Southern United States alkaline glaze technology and its origins. In addition, I will make connections between the philosophies of William Morris and Japanese Philosopher, Seotsu Yanagi relative to US Southern folk traditions. Lastly, I will talk about the collectability of the objects created by the Meaders family, their influence in the tradition and the role E-Bay and the Internet has played in reviving an interest in folk culture.

Ultimately, I will describe the impact this work has made in the study of material culture and why folk-influenced work becomes more important the further technology takes us away from the tangible experience and the natural world.