[3] It is unclear how Drake learned to read and write. Your email address will not be published. Drake is known for the massive size of his ware and the largest jar attributed to Drake holds 40 US gallons (150 l) and measures 29 inches (74 cm) tall, with a circumference of 85 inches (220 cm). The sherd was just a piece of a nearly whole vessel discovered in a 1950 era trash midden. The bright colorful illustrations bring Dave the Potter to life ; not only bringing to light an important part of our heritage to children, but also introduces them to pottery that is both personal & personable. Either way, it has. Explore classroom activities, puzzles, teacher resources and enrichment pdfs for this book. Dec 7, 2018 - Dave the Potter was an American ceramist who worked in the Edgefield potteries of South Carolina as both an enslaved and free man. Thanks for your sensitive evocation of Dave’s life and work. Are they in museums – if so which ones – or in private collections? Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave is a 2010 picture book written by Laban Carrick Hill. Dave the Potter by Laban Carrick Hill is a Caldecott Honor Book. Drake's treatment under Franklin Landrum was poor. Required fields are marked *. Can you advise where the pots pictured above are? We honored as the descendants of Dave. As a native son born and raised in proximity to Edgefield, I’ll pile on with the reminder that it is in SOUTH Carolina. His last signed pot is dated 1862. Following the death of Harry Drake in 1832, Dave became the property of Dr. Abner Landrum. They took second place in a 1000km Le Mans race, riding a pre-production BMW 900. A Caldecott Honor. Educators share their 5 best online teaching tips; Feb. 17, 2021. That exhibition is reviewed in this issue of CFile. Contemporary potters who have examined Drake's thick-walled, large capacity storage jars are amazed at the great strength and skill that was required to produce vessels of such size. Receive our FREE bi-weekly newsletter for latest posts. The well known inscription, "I wonder where is all my relations / Friendship to all—and every nation," demonstrates Drake questioning his heritage and personal history. Drake's poetry at this time increased from one every few years to three in 1857, eight in 1858, and seven in 1859. Can you please advise where the pots pictured above are now? Historians argue that previous actions made by the United States government (i.e. Drake lived and worked in Edgefield for almost the entirety of his life. He had several different owners (doesn’t that word rankle?) Celebration of Dave Potter Day. An enslaved African American, he often signed his works "Dave." [15] Pieces by Drake frequently feature the initials "LM." – children Trying to learn more about Dave and his family. But when Dave created it, this jar was just one of thousands produced by slaves in the potteries of the Edgefield District of South Carolina. The enslaved 19th-century potter Dave, who lived and worked near Edgefield, S.C., could transform 60 pounds of clay into a 40-gallon pot. I’d like to find a print quality image of one of the poem jars, if possible, for a book. A Milwaukee Art Museum interview with Theaster Gates regarding Drake. For more information see our Facebook of the same name. It describes in great detail the steps that Dave went through to create his pots. Dave's pots, like those of most of the Edgefield potters, were alkaline stonewares, but Dave's had a rich streaky brown and green glaze, … Dave takes clay from Big Horse Creek and puts it on his potter's wheel, eventually shaping it into a jar. In 1849 Lewis Miles acquired ownership of Dave and brought him to a new pottery he had built at Stoney Bluff. [9], After the death of Harvey Drake, David Drake was enslaved by Rev. [10] Drake's jars are bulbous in form, similar to most ware produced in antebellum Edgefield. thanx,. Born about 1800, Dave spent most of his life in a rural South Carolina district famed for its stoneware. Viscerally impacted by the horrors of slavery, Dave found a way to record his story. Leonard Todd's interest lies in the fact that two of his ancestors enslaved Drake at some point in time, The 1998 exhibition The Life and Works of the Enslaved African American Potter, Dave at University of South Carolina's McKissick Museum was the first exhibition devoted solely to Drake's pottery. best wishes It begins with comparisons on how everyday people viewed dirt, while Dave knew it would make beautiful pots for flowers, storing food, and memories. Miles / Where the oven bakes and the pot biles" - July 31, 1840 - Here, Dave made reference to then-owner, Lewis Miles. An award-winning celebration of an American hero. [3], At the end of the Civil War, Drake was a free man and it is thought he took the surname "Drake" from his first owner Harvey Drake. It became the core of an artisan village named Pottersville. – sisters A complete change of direction put Potter on former European hydroplane champion Willie Ryan's Crescent - a three cylinder two stroke that should really have stayed in a boat. Miles | Where the oven bakes & the pot biles | 31 July 1840, I wonder where is all my relations | Friendship to all – and every nation |16 August 1857, I made this jar for cash | Though it is called lucre trash | 22 August 1857, Making this jar: I had all thoughts | Lads & gentlemen: never out walks | 30 January 1858, I made this for our Scott | it will never – never – rott | 31 March 1858, This noble jar will hold 20 | fill it with silver then you’ll have plenty | 8 April, 1858, A very large jar which has four handles | pack it full of fresh meat – then light candles | 12 April, 1858, When you fill this jar with pork or beef | Scot will be there to get his peace. Dave Potter. The earliest pottery vessels which bear attributes of Dave's later pots date to the 1820s and were made in the Pottersville workshop. The poems have charm, sadness and practical instruction. This pottery business and the area, within which David Drake worked is known as Pottersville. You have provided a partial list of Dave’s inscriptions at the beginning of your article. In 2010, the children's book Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave was written by Laban Carrick Hill and illustrated by Bryan Collier. Where was he born where was he buried, I’m trying to find out where Potter Dave is buried? Scholars speculate he was taught by Landrum, who was known to be a religious man and may have taught Drake how to read the Bible. Dave belongs to Mr Miles / wher the oven bakes & the pot biles /// —July 31, 1840 I made this Jar = for cash — though its called = lucre Trash // —August 22, 1857 a pretty little Girl, on a virge Volcaic mountain, how they burge —August 24, 1857 Great & Noble Jar hold Sheep goat or bear —May 13, 1859 I saw a leppard, & a lions face, `` Dave learned to read and write, and probably began working in the potteries in his late teens, learning his trade from the European-American potters. It won the Coretta Scott King Award and was a Caldecott Honor book in 2011. [10] Some of these were explanatory "Put every bit all between / surely this jar will hold 14;" and some, like the one above, were commentaries on the institution of slavery. list of his poems near the end of my book, “Carolina Clay: The Life and Legend of the Slave Potter, Dave,” published by W. W. Norton. [3] During the antebellum period, Drake was one of the 76 known enslaved African American to have worked in Edgefield's twelve pottery factories. The subject of my book, Carolina Clay, is the extraordinary 19th-century potter known as Dave.He occupies a place in the history of Southern folk pottery that is close to legendary. David Drake (c. 1800 – c. 1870s), also known as "Dave Pottery" and "Dave the Potter," was an American potter who lived in Edgefield, South Carolina. "[10] The use of Drake's ware ranged from pitchers for buttermilk, jugs for molasses or whiskey, churns for butter, large jars for pickling vegetables or preserving meats such as venison and bear. One of Dave’s most passionate chroniclers, Leonard Todd (whose family roots included most of Dave’s owners), explains what followed: “Because Dave was no longer able to operate the foot treadle that moved the potter’s wheel, he teamed with another slave, Henry, whose arms were crippled but whose legs were strong enough to drive the wheel. No signed or dated pots have been found from the period. One night after some serious drinking he fell asleep on a railway line land lost a leg to a passing train. Are they in museums – if so which ones – or in private collections? Dave was one of seventy-six known enslaved African and African American men and women who worked in the Edgefield District's twelve pottery faccories during the antebellum period. [3], Drake's earliest recorded work is a pot dated July 12, 1834. Above image: A shard from one of David Drake’s works. To learn more about Read for Success, click here. Thanks for this. Either he stopped do this of his own volition, or more likely he was prevented from doing so by his owner at the time Franklin Landrum. ), American potter and poet who, while a slave in South Carolina, produced enormous stoneware pots, many of which he signed with his first name and inscribed with original poetic verses. Known as Dave the Potter, Dave challenged anti-slave literacy laws by learning to read and write and he inscribed poems on the pots he made. "I wonder where is all my relations / Friendship to all and every nation" - April 16, 1857 - This piece alludes to the buying and selling of members of a slave family. Well, it's about erotica that generally involves a girl - or occasionally a man - who is forced to dress in restrictive and possibly humiliating outfits and engage in a relationship that is not entirely on her own choosing but which she does because the society in which she lives in expects it of her. 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