Hollyworld: appalachia

Wednesday, June 30, 2021

Deep Roots

Working on my family tree has been so enlightening. I found my roots are deep in the Appalachian mountains. Even before I knew it, I had a collection of Foxfire books and loved reading the articles. My collection of Appalachian books has grown since then. But more than that, those roots have impacted my work in the studio. I collected antique pottery long before I threw my first pot. I knew that was the kind of look I wanted with my own work. Old. Folk Art. I did my first report in decades for my ceramics class on Burlon Craig, a Catawba pottery. Oh, how I loved his face jugs. I loved the history of them. Mine don't look anything like his, but he inspired me. And my FIL was a woodcarver...his Santas inspired me as well. I'm sure others will open doors for my work that I haven't even imagined yet. Inspiration is everywhere.

As I opened a glaze kiln last week, I saw my past in the new pieces. Face jugs, for sure. But a face soup bowl. Face Planters. (I laugh every time I say that.) Even the glaze I use on these is inspired by the old time mountain potters. It's an ash glaze. You can see the runs on their faces. And those ashes? They came from the woodstove at the cottage.

I wonder if my undiscovered roots inspired my love of Foxfire books? If they spoke to me because some deep DNA tie to those mountains? Maybe my love of kilts is because of my Celtic heritage? Or maybe it's just because men in kilts look good. LOL Either way, my heritage has become a part of what I do in the studio.

We watched an episode of CB Strike last night. An author character was talking about how all writers put pieces of themselves in their books. I nodded. I do that and I recognize it. Himself and I were talking about it. I said so many of my books deal with family and kids. And my future love of pottery is there in Just One Thing. My current love of pottery is going to be highlighted in a new series in '22. (Yes, that was a tease!)

Deep Roots.
I am so inspired by this Appalachian family I've never met. I've heard my grandmother's recording...she's singing with siblings and playing the autoharp. It led to more exploration. I bought an awesome CD of Old Time Music, Songs of the Mountain. I've been playing it in the studio as I build my jugs and think of my grandmother and all the people I've never met. I read a great piece, Mountain Traditions, which led me to their podcast. That podcast led me back to Old Time Music and pawpaws, which I'm growing at the cottage...anxiously waiting for my first fruit.

One thing leads to another. One discovery leads to the next. Most of them end up in a book or in my studio. All of them just become another layer in me. Like Shrek said, I'm an onion...with lots of layers.

Thanks everyone who's been following my writing, claying and family treeing! I hope you're finding your own layers!

Holly

PS. My Hometown Heart short story, Something Unexpected is out next week! I got my start with shorts and always love going back to the format. This one was inspired by and dedicated to two people who really helped me out!

HollysWoods Studio

Hometown Hearts

Crib Notes: Hometown Hearts #1

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A Special Kind of Different: Hometown Hearts #2

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Homecoming: Hometown Hearts #3

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Suddenly a Father: Hometown Hearts #4

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Something Borrowed: Hometown Hearts #5

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Something Blue: Hometown Hearts #6

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Something Perfect: Hometown Hearts #7 available 5/21

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Preorder: Something Unexpected: A Hometown Hearts short story, available 7/21
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Preorder: A Hometown Christmas: Hometown Hearts #8, available 9/21
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Sunday, March 07, 2021

Where I'm From...

I've talked about finding an unexpected branch of my family before. I've got deep Appalachian roots. For this Northern, WPA girl, it was a surprise. But it's led to a bit of a research palooza over the last few years. Not just genealogy. Reading. (I know you're shocked.) One of my first finds was a bit of an intersection between my love of cookbooks and my interest in Appalachia. I picked up Victuals, Ronnie Lundy. I loved reading about the food of the region that was also a bit of a tour. And I felt sort of smug last week when we were watching Clarise and there were strings of beans drying in a house. I said, "Leather Britches." Himself looked at me like I was crazy (that's nothing new LOL) I'm hoping to try drying my own this year.

Anyway, I found a blog, Blind Pig and Acorn, that spends a lot of time talking about all manner of Appalachian things. This week, they had a great post about Appalachian books. I've gone on a bit of a shopping spree since reading it.

But I think one of the biggest influences this unexpected family history has had on me is my pottery. I did a report in school about Burlon Craig, which led to a read-a-thon about southern pottery, which led to discovering face jugs and their long southern history, which led to...well, a bit of a face jug addiction.

I've played with ash glazes and face jug variations ever since. I love that each one has its own personality.

One of my complete joys was discovering my family came from near the Catawba Valley, which is the home of a lot of the potters I love.

I'll be spending a lot of time deep diving into my new collection of books about Appalachia. And someday, we're going to do a West Virginia/Virginia trip. I'm planning to visit places my family came from, as well as visit pottery studios in the region. I can't wait!

Family. Learning about where I come from has truly influenced where I am. It's influenced my writing. It's been a fascinating journey so far and I think there will be a lot of fun twists and turns to come.

I love writing about families as well. My Hometown Hearts series is all about family. Family that's born. Family that's made. Friends who are family. Family that's unexpected. I hope you'll check them out.

Holly

Hometown Hearts: