Who is Georgia Harris?

Georgia Harris was born on July 29, 1905, in Lancaster County, South Carolina. She dedicated her life to the preservation of Catawba pottery. She learned how to make Catawba pottery from her mother and grandmother when she was nine years old. It was common within our tribe to teach pottery-making along family lines from generation to generation. "I just fooled around with it when I was a kid ... just making little old things ... didn't make anything worthwhile ... but after I got a little bigger, we'd make something look pretty good and then we'd start to tearing it up. And my mother would say, 'Leave that alone ... put it down.' Said, 'If you tear up everything you got, you'll never learn how to make a pot!'"

From the 1930s to the 1960s, the Catawba pottery tradition suffered greatly through the demand for cheaply made goods at tourist centers. But Harris refused to compromise the quality of her work. She continued to make museum-quality pieces, utilitarian large and small vessels, and smoking pipes. "When you make anything, make it to where it can be used," she said.

Harris was largely responsible for the revival of the pipemaking tradition through the use of the squeeze mold, a technique borrowed from neighboring Moravian immigrants in the nineteenth century and modified for Catawba use. She introduced important shapes to the Catawba repertoire, such as the graceful snake pitcher, derived from the traditional "snake pot" effigy vessel, the long-necked pitcher, and the "wedding jug."

Harris was a role model and teacher who worked with many apprentices. For her, making pottery was fun. "I like to make them when I feel good. My husband used to get after me.... 'Why don't you quit doing that?' And I said, 'Well, I like to do it.' He says, 'There's a lot of hard work in it.' And I said, 'I know it. It's a lot of fun, too.'"

Georgia was selected to be part of an exhibit of Catawba clay in 1973 at the Columbia Museum of Art, which was the first time that the traditional practice was showcased as art. She was a trailblazer in showcasing Catawba clay as a beautiful, high-quality artform that should be valued and priced according to that value. 

Georgia was honored with the designation of Master potter from the Catawba community and her art was purchased by collectors and museums throughout the world. In 1997, Georgia was honored with an award from the National Endowment of the Arts, the United States highest honor for artists.

Portions of this article were found on the NEA website: https://www.arts.gov/honors/heritage/georgia-harris