Mystery Pot 41 Maker, Gerry Williams 1926-2014

"Pottery is what I do, who I am, where I come from.”

Gerry Williams was born to American missionaries in the final years of the British Raj in Bengal, India. His parent's friendship with Gandhi began when his father was working to bring septic systems to India's rural poor. Gandhi's philosophies of nonviolence and the importance of living an ethical and politically responsible life influenced young Gerry throughout his life.

Early in World War II, Gerry returned to the US to attend Cornell College in Iowa. When he was called up for military service a year later, he claimed conscientious objector status and performed an alternative war service. A few years later, Gerry refused to re-register for the draft for the Korean War. He served two years in Danbury Penitentiary rather than go to war.

The idea of making pots began to interest Gerry in the late 40s. He had heard that The League of New Hampshire Craftsmen was an excellent place to learn how, so he moved to Concord. Director David Campbell gave Gerry a broom and told him he could sweep the floors and study pottery making with renown potters Viveka Heino and Richard Moll. He began making functional earthware from red clay he dug from local mudflats. The League was a rich environment to learn, not only the craft of pottery but also about the social movement of the arts.

Gerry Williams met his wife, Julie when she interviewed him for her morning talk radio show. Together they built their home and a studio in rural Dunbarton with the help of the local crafts community in 1955. Gerry's work expanded to include expressive architectural forms in porcelain and stoneware as well as sculptural work with political messages. 

In 1972, a fire reduced the pottery studio to ashes. Everything was lost. The crafts community in the Northeast rushed to the rescue. The studio was rebuilt in two weeks.

From those ashes came two of Gerry and Julie's most successful endeavors, they co-founded the Studio Potter magazine and Phoenix Workshops.

There were only two magazines about the ceramic arts at that time. Craft Horizons (now American Craft) focused its content on galleries and shops and Ceramics Monthly, whose focus was academia and schools. Gerry recognized a need for an informative and technical periodical that was for the craftsman. The Williams traveled extensively to interview studio potters in their environments. Gerry's favorite stories were about someone who had given something up to follow clay. Studio Potter is widely recognized as a literate and influential magazine in the ceramic field.

Phoenix Workshops attracted potters from around the world to participate as both teachers and students. 

Gerry Williams will always be remembered for his outstanding contributions to the field of ceramics. His original research in wet fire technique and his photo resist technique were groundbreaking. Forty years of pot making produced a great variety of works. From the quiet elegance of a copper red vase to bold political work, Gerry Williams's work was always innovative. His love of and enthusiasm for our humble medium was shared widely through the Studio Potter, Phoenix Workshops, and teaching. A potter's life well lived, indeed.

'Green Honeycomb Vase' Gerry Williams c. 1980s from the Bailey Collection

Carved Stoneware Vase, Gerry Williams, circa 1950s

Copper Red Glazed Vase, Gerry Williams, 2000

'Get Back' Gerry Williams, circa 1970s

Gerry Williams obituary from the Concord Monitor

https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/concordmonitor/obituary.aspx?n=gerry-williams&pid=172290463