Who knew such art existed? The workers had leftover clay, they had some time, and they broke loose from what must have been a repetitive and dreary job to do art work in clay!
Today there is a collector's market for these folk pottery objects made in the 19th and 20th centuries. There are sculpted heads, many with patriotic themes; animals such as dogs, cats, pigs, squirrels, fish; planters, sometimes used as memorial pieces to be placed on graves; and tombstones even.
"Sewer pipe pottery pieces can be recognized by their weight and resemblance to sewer pipe, which has a clunky look and feel." –Anita Gold
Read about clay pipe factories here, and be sure to see the Grand Ledge Lion sculpture in the slideshow at the bottom:
My best find on this topic was by another blogger who did a great research job with some cool pix—have a look:
I will look for some of this on my next trip to Ohio which seems a likely place to find this stuff.
For armchair travelers, check out this book, Illustrated Handbook of Sewer Pipe Folk Art.
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