Face Jugs by Su N.: December 2011

The 2011 Mountainside and Icehouse Pottery shows are over. It's time to start playing the mud in earnest. Hope you'll be back occasionally to see who's been born for the 2012 shows! Thanks to you all who have come here to visit and especially to those who have stopped by a table or show, met me and my friends and then come here to see the family albums.

Happy Whatever-the Holiday-you-celebrate. But from me - Merry Christmas! - because I think that everything that can be made right is folded into those words. Whether you believe in a jolly man who breaks into your house to eat cookies and leave tokens of love, or a baby who grew up to make a difference by doing what was right. Both of them were thinking of others first and that's what can fix the world.

Face Jugs, Ugly Jugs, FUN JUGS!

Most simply put, “Face Jugs” are vessels decorated with faces. Their long history gives insight into our culture and people overcoming the influences set against them.

The Face Jugs in America likely had their start with slaves in the South, perhaps influenced by the ancestry worship in Voodoo from the Caribbean. The slaves adopted them to mark graves; by law the slaves could erect no grave markers, nor were they permitted to read and write, but they could make these jugs after their work hours in the potteries. And the jugs could defy masters as slaves weren’t able; for example, many of the jugs depicted smoking faces, although slaves were denied the habit. As the Christian influence grew, the face jugs grew more ferocious to fend off the devil so their relatives could get to Heaven unchallenged. A broken face jug was an indication that the dearly departed was in battle with the devil over their soul.

North Carolina farmers used pottery to augment their income. When they became bored, they adopted the slave art of face jugs as a release; the potter showed off to a boss, customer or other potters. The fiercer the better: the hooch jugs decorated most often needed to be unique (and scary!) to keep youngsters from getting into the alcohol. After the civil war, tin and glass came into widespread use; the need for pottery declined, affecting the farmer/potter’s income. When Prohibition came and the potters realized that they needed the bootleggers’ payment for their wares, it was explained that as a person became more inebriated, the faces became scarier and uglier, thereby influencing many to stop their drinking. The temperance movement could hardly complain and face jugs once again defied pressure from a dominant force.

Face jug characters glimpse our character; what amuses or is curious about the people and events around us. Each of these jugs comes alive with all their foibles and oddities. And they have that most important feature when we choose those we love: they make us think, but also smile or giggle or laugh. And a little of that each day makes life worth living.

Face Jugs by Su N.

The Shows are over for 2011

Face Jugs, Ugly Jugs, FUN JUGS!

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