Outen Pottery, Matthews, N.C.

This film footage, probably from the 1960s, shows R. F. Outen working in his pottery shop in Matthews NC. The film follows Outen, the last traditional potter who worked in Mecklenburg County, through many of the steps required to produce pottery in the traditional method. The first scene shows him working the clay into a usable consistency. The most evocative footage shows Outen turn a tall pitcher in a remarkably short period of time. Following scenes show Outen applying glaze and loading the kiln. This remarkable footage gives us a glimpse of a once important but now vanished local craft.