Crafting from clay

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Tradition and innovation merge in Heath (Strong Fox) Widdiss, a member of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah).

Crafting one-of-a-kind pots from the colorful clay of the sacred Gay Head Cliffs ties him to his youth, learning how to make hand-formed pinch pots from his grandmother, Gladys A. Widdiss (1914-2012), a tribal elder, Wampanoag historian, and renowned potter who herself learned the technique at her own mother’s knee.

Widdiss, though, displayed a yearning for innovation from a tender age. “I always wanted to throw the clay on the wheel, and my grandmother used to tell me, ‘That’s not what we do.’ She never said more, but you didn’t ask. You didn’t question Gram when she had her serious voice.”

Widdiss didn’t practice his craft for the 32 years he spent in law enforcement, which started on the Island shortly after high school, and then continued in Southborough: “I’d always planned on returning to the pottery when I retired. A couple of years before, I started taking wheel-throwing classes. I felt the pinch pots were Gram’s thing. I didn’t want every time I presented a piece of pottery the response to be, ‘Oh, your grandmother did it this way,’ which was a compliment. But I wanted it to be my own thing.”

Likewise, Widdiss admits, “I felt with the pinch pots that it was a lot of work for the end result. I thought, at the time, if I throw it on a wheel, I can get a pot faster. I did my courses with store-bought clay, and could quickly throw a bowl and pot.”

He soon discovered that, unlike a consistent, store-bought clay, each color from the Cliffs — yellow, pink, white, red, black — has a different compound, and thus reacts differently when trying to be shaped on the wheel.

“The minute I put it on the wheel, it was almost like my grandmother was laughing at me. I tried pulling it up like any store-bought clay, and it doesn’t behave the same way. It took me quite a while to make a bowl. As the wheel goes around, you may have one thing in mind to do, but the clay will start to form itself. You have to just roll with it.”

Over time and with much experimentation, Widdiss has learned how to work with the special clay, and the process is complex.

He gathers each color, working with a shovel at the base of the Cliffs so as not to disturb their receding structure. “The best time to go is right after the rain, because it washes the sand away and exposes that good clay, which is like cream cheese.”

He brings it back to his studio, first making a slurry, which he then strains to remove any residue of sticks and leaves.

Each color then goes into a pillowcase, which helps the clay stay together and not crack while drip-drying as it hangs from a bungee cord: “Once it gets to the point where you can take it out of the bag without having to pour it out as a liquid, I put it on a board to let it air-dry outside until it is a consistency I can work with.”

Widdiss next shapes each color into a flat square about 3 by 3 inches. Using his unique method, he creates a single mixed-color block ready to be thrown on the wheel: “Normally, when you throw a pot on the wheel, you’re pulling the clay up and down, getting it to wake up so it will do what it is that you want it to do.

“But each color has a mind of its own, with one wanting to go out, another going up, and another going down. The pot can start to wobble, and the mouth can start to angle and completely fall apart. Negotiating the clay to get it where you want is a process.”

Widdiss then trims the pot with metal tools to create the final shape and remove the brown film that occurs when it is made on the wheel, thereby revealing the original clay colors.

Instead of firing the pieces in a hot kiln to harden them, as you do with regular clay, Widdiss dries them indoors with a dehumidifier, which takes about two weeks. They dry too quickly in the sun, causing the dreaded cracks.

Widdiss then goes over the pots with steel wool to remove any rough areas, moving to the final touch of applying an acrylic-based sealer that accentuates the brilliant natural colors: “Using the acrylic spray excites me because, in my head, those colors are what I remember as a kid that the clay looked like on the Cliffs.”

The colors, which are more intense than what we see with the naked eye today, are essential to Widdiss’ satisfaction. “When somebody handles the pots and is as happy as I am, it’s awesome. I think they’re that beautiful. I know it sounds corny, but that’s what I’m hoping for.”

It is not just his grandmother and great-grandmother who were artists. Today, his father, Donald, and brother, Jason, create stunning wampum jewelry. The upcoming exhibition at the Martha’s Vineyard Museum, “Generations: A Legacy of Art and Culture,” opening August 31, will highlight this family’s ties to ancient ways.

The Gay Head Cliffs are essential to Widdiss’ spirit. Even in his youth, he recalls, “Almost every day, no matter what, I had to ride my bike out to them. It was like touching base. And to be able to make the pots now is just amazing. It’s been a dream come true.”

For more information about Heath Widdiss, visit gayheadpottery.com. You can acquire his pottery at Stony Creek Gifts in Aquinnah and at the Aquinnah Wampanoag Powwow on Sept. 7 and 8. “Generations: A Legacy of Art and Culture” will be on view at the Martha’s Vineyard Museum through Feb. 23. Opening reception is from 5:30 to 7 pm on Friday, August 30.