Georgia > Northeast Region> White County >Nacoochee

A sample of Meaders pottery that will be a part of a year-long exhibit of the work of this North Georgia pottery-making family.

A year-long special exhibition opened this month at the Folk Pottery Museum of Northeast Georgia, displaying new aspects of the Meaders family influences on folk pottery in northeast Georgia, the southeastern states and the nation.”When John Milton Meaders loaded his mule-drawn wagon with pots crafted by his six sons in 1892 and traveled to homesteads and communities near his Mossy Creek home to sell those wares, he began traditions that would endure into the twenty-first century,” Museum Director, Chris Brooks said by way of explaining why the museum had chosen to stage a special exhibition of Meaders family pottery.

By 1910, L.Q. Meaders took over his father’s role as principal sales representative and spokesman for the Meaders family potters. Two decades later, he further documented the family’s importance to Southern Appalachian folk pottery when he taught at Brenau College in Gainesville.

“The present generations of the Meaders family have been sharing stories with us and gathering significant examples of the L.Q. Meaders pottery to present to visitors in our new exhibition,” Brooks said.

The special exhibition joins permanent displays of more than 180 items of northeast Georgia folk pottery, video, dioramas of pottery use, paintings and photographs that show two centuries of continuous development of a distinctive folk art in northeast Georgia.

The Folk Pottery Museum of Northeast Georgia showcases the handcraft skills of one of the South’s premier grassroots art forms, and explores the historical importance and changing role of folk pottery in southern life.

Northeast Georgia’s pottery tradition is nationally known. The Meaders family of White County was featured in Allen Eaton’s 1937 book, Handicrafts of the Southern Highlands, and was honored with a special event at the Library of Congress in 1978, when the Smithsonian Institution’s documentary film on the Meaders Pottery was released.

Links:

• Read more about the Folk Potter’s Museum of Northeast Georgia.
• Take a self-guided driving tour of studios and workshops of Northeast Georgia folk potters.

Barker’s Creek Mill, on the Hambidge Center property, has been restored several times.  It is usually open on Fridays and Saturdays for grinding grains brought by local residents.

The Hambidge Center is the creation of Mary Hambidge, a feminist, environmentalist and preserver of Mountain culture, who was 50 years ahead of her time. She helped her husband, Jay Hambidge, codify his ideas pertaining to classical-art design principles, which they labeled Dynamic Symmetry. Their work gained international recognition. (more…)

The Heritage Art Loop is a self-guided driving tour of Northeast Georgia craftspeople, artists, plus some interesting places to eat. Officially, it starts in Athens but you can jump in at any point on the map and take all or part of the tour. Points along the way include: Masada Leather and Terrapin Brewery in Athens, the potter Tina McCullough, Christie Moody’s Blue Heron Glass Art Studio, and the Point of Art Gallery.

There is link to an area map that we could not get to work. Alternatively, you can download a pdf copy of the Heritage Art Loop brochure that has a map on it.

See the Heritage Art Loop profile.