The other day a friend of mine gave me a copy of Country magazine and said I’d enjoy reading the article titled “Playing in The Mud.” The article is about Jerry Brown, a 9th generation potter from Hamilton, Alabama and known worldwide for his pottery. He is also known for his mule named Blue.
Blue is Jerry’s tobacco chewing friend and clay mixer. Thats right. This mule mixes the clay that Jerry and his kin have dug from the same pit for the past 160 years. Nothing is added to the clay except water. “It’s the pure stuff. Pure mud,” says Jerry, and Blue mixes it. Well, how the heck does a mule mix clay you might ask. Well it goes like this.
Clay is dug up from the pit and placed into a big container called a pug mill. This pug mill has multiple sharp blades that grind up and chop up the clay and it is Blue that provides the power to make the clay. Harnessed to a long rubber-tired pole connected to the pug mill, Blue walks in circles driving the steel blades that chops and mixes the clay. Water is added to the pug mill to get the clay to a proper working consistency and after about three hours of walking in circles Blue’s job is done. His reward….. a plug of chew.
To see a photo of Blue mixing clay click here.
Jerry’s pottery is exhibited in many museums including the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C.
on May 24th, 2009 at 1:08 am
Great story about Blue. I checked out Jerry Brown’s Blog & loved his colorful pottery. I was born in a small town in Minnesota & everybody had colorful dinnerware & jugs made by the Red Wing Potteries nearby. Jerry’s things reminded me so much of them.