Catalina Collectors Blog

Here’s a heads up for our Catalina Collectors. Come on down to Pasadena this Saturday and Sunday, January 23 & 24th for the 11th Annual L.A. Pottery Show. We’ve packed up our wares and will join all the other amazing dealers exhibiting and selling. Lots of Catalina, and lots of good prices! We will offer 10% off all items at the show, including our books and sale items, just for mentioning this site or our on line web shop: www.potteryhound.com.

You can also meet Author Susan Toomey Frost, who will be there signing her new book, “Colors on Clay: The Art of the San Jose Workshops”, right next to our booth. Check out the NFS showcase of interesting pieces from our collection, along with historic imagery provided by Susan herself.

Hope to see you there!
Carole Coates

Do you have a rare piece of Catalina that you would like to share (image wise) with the Catalina collecting community? Perhaps an installation in your home or a display? A lot of the fun with Catalina are the unusual and one-off pieces made by workers in off hours that come to light every year, sometimes very early red clay pieces, or tiles with a twist. Here are images of one of the more unusual pieces of Catalina we’ve seen in 20 plus years. It is a very large (12″ tall) Catalina Toby pitcher, and it was most likely a wedding gift given to a young Mexican American couple who lived and worked on the Island.  The husband played in the smaller mariachi style band that Mrs. Wrigley’s sponsored and was also a laborer at the tile plant.  The image that appears in our book on page 157 shows Mr. Isidro Tarango (see below.) He is second from the left in a demonstration of “tuneful Pottery” at the Bird Park.

The Tarango family history is fascinating and goes way back on the Island. As serendipity would have it one of Isidro’s daughter-in-laws is practically our neighbor. The images above are courtesy of Sid and Sandy Tarango, but you can see the piece for yourself this September 2009 at the Catalina Island Museum Exhibit in their new case.

Sorry for the long delay between postings but we’ve been very busy putting the finishing touches on a book to document the Catalinaware exhibit we guest curated at the SFO Airport Museums last year, as well as some other fun projects you’ll hear about soon. The new book will be in print before the end of the year. For those of you who saw the exhibit, we have also included additional material, many new surprises and never-before-seen finds, as well as more information on the Catalina artists and ceramists. A striking new development occurred last year when, in collaboration with our brilliant colleague Susan Toomey Frost,  we finally discovered the connection between San Jose Workshops (made in San Antonio, Texas during the WPA era) and Catalina Island Pottery & Tile. We didn’t want to jump the gun on Susan’s excellent new book “Colors on Clay“, which will reveal the new information in much more detail, but since the previews are out we felt it was no longer necessary to keep it under our hat. No wonder we love both! The glazes were created (or passed along?) by the same individual, Frank Henderson, who left the Catalina Island Pottery & Tile Factory in 1930 to go to Texas with these very same special glaze formulations. It is also another Catalina connection to Malibu’s Rufus Keeler, since Mr. Henderson also worked at Calco Tile prior to joining Catalina. The trail continues with Mr. Henderson’s visit to Mexico to establish Lamosa’s early tile output, and his later stay at Camark Pottery. We look forward to sharing images showing the various similarities between the makers. Yes, we are history nerds, and Mr. Henderson is seemingly the Forrest Gump of the tile world.

It is that time of year again! Next month on September 20th, Saturday only, the small but choice 12th (?) annual Catalina Pottery and Tile Sale on the Island is the place to be for both serious Catalina collectors and newbies. It is the only “All Catalina” show, so it is no wonder that some people fly across the country to attend. Rarities always bring top dollar, but the more common pieces seem to be relatively affordable. The show has been ably organized all these years by our long time pal and fellow-collector Steven Hoefs. This year we understand that the sellers will be outdoors in the Hotel Metropole breezeway under canopies. Considering the people crunch and oppressive heat in the small conference room during years past this could be a welcome change. People line up for this show prior to its 9AM opening, and it runs until 4PM. Figure to catch a boat, get there a day ahead of time, and join in the fun. There is even a legendary miniature golf contest with specially made Catalina pottery prizes. More soonest on the Catalina Island Museum and their 10th annual special pottery exhibit that runs the entire month of September, but remember, September 20th is a one day “Sale” with sellers (including “us”) coming from all over California, and set-up in a tucked away locale off of Avalon’s main street, and the “Exhibit” is run by the Museum and can be seen at the Casino throughout September (although their gift shop offers some wonderful reproduction wares for sale).

Catalina researchers Jane and Dan Austin have contributed an outstanding article on Lucie Watkins (1898-1995) that fills in many details (up till now incomplete) about a unique Catalina artist with her own sense of style. Complete with historic images, it’s a fascinating story about Luci’s life and her pottery creations. She developed her own distinctive wares working with both the Catalina Island endeavor and on her own on the Mainland. Many Catalina collectors find a special place in their homes and their hearts for “Catalina Lucie.”

Where did April and May go? We have some new and exciting (we think) articles coming up so check back soon.

CLICK HERE for a new link to an article about the beginnings of Catalina Pottery & Tile by Carole Coates. This newly updated excerpt from her “Catalina Island Pottery & Tile: Island Treasures” book was written exclusively for the catalinacollectors.org site and contains historical background information on the Catalina movement and its beginnings. Hope you enjoy!

We just created our first”Gallery” (click above) with a virtual photographic “Tour” of images and text from the current SFO Exhibit. We’ll be adding in captions as we go and working out the bugs but wanted it on-line for you to see. Enjoy!

Many thanks to pottery guru Jack Chipman for honoring us with our first guest posting about the beginnings of the Catalina pottery & tile saga….

CATALINA WHAT? by Jack Chipman

Did it really happen? Perhaps it was in a previous lifetime. These thoughts come to the surface as I think about my first trip to fabled Santa Catalina Island. Friend and business partner, Judy Stangler and I, [singlepic=1,320,240,,left]made the voyage together, departing the mainland from Long Beach on a not-yet spring morning in 1979. The exact date was March 12 so still technically winter, but after disembarking it felt like we’d somehow crossed over into summer. Besides the great weather, I recall being struck by the quaintness of the place and a feeling of being isolated from the hustle and bustle of the world we had temporarily left behind.

Not long before, Judy and I had decided to form a partnership called California Spectrum, which we envisioned as a research center and retail store devoted to the mysterious vintage California pottery that was beginning to attract many converts like us. I was actually an old-timer by then—having started a collection in the early 70s, at a time when virtually no reference books were available to guide a novice collector. Judy and I knew that a good book on Bauer was desperately needed but Catalina Island pottery held a special fascination for us due the remote location of the business, not to mention the beauty of the existing ware. What we weren’t prepared for was the reaction we got when we inquired about this once-booming business.

While exploring the narrow back streets of Avalon, we couldn’t help but observe the colorful tile-covered planters flanking the doorways of numerous cottage-like dwelling. As we peeked into tiny backyards we saw glazed flowerpots overgrown with plant life that surely was native to the island. I clearly remember spotting a tiled backgammon table in the rear garden of one of those humble abodes. In fact, we were overwhelmed by the abundance of decorative tile on the many public and private buildings around town. It was everywhere. So why the blank stares when we asked residents about the pottery? It was as if the people we asked were muttering in silence: “Catalina what?

Al Fridley had already self-published a funky little book about the pottery titled Catalina Pottery: The Early Years 1927-1937. Surely he had paved the way for us by visiting the island and interviewing former employees and others who remembered the business. It seemed otherwise as we were only able to get rudimentary information from the local Chamber of Commerce. The only lead they offered was the name Bud Upton—a long-time resident and local artist who might be able to help us. We literally stumbled upon him when we noticed a large brightly colored pottery fountain piece in the window of a small gift shop that flanked the marina. We learned, much to our delight, that it was just one of many creations he’d produced at the erstwhile plant.

Finally, we had someone who knew something about the pottery! After convincing him of our determined intent, we secured a secluded bench not far from his shop and set about recording a conversation. Mr. Upton revealed, among other things, that he had designed many of the novelties that were produced as souvenirs for tourists and sold in various Avalon locations during the 30s. What it provided at the time was a sense of accomplishment—that our initial trip to Catalina Island had been a success. It also gave us the momentum to move ahead with our research.

Gerry and Jim emailed the following:

“Stuck in weather at the San Francisco Airport yesterday, and trying to keep amused, we nearly fainted as we came upon the most beautiful and astounding exhibit of Catalina pottery and tile! We were completely floored.
This is a fantastic and very informative display. You should have heard all the comments from the travelers as they passed through. Everyone’s conversation turned to Catalina Island. “Have you ever been there before?” “Look how beautiful this pottery is!” “Where is Catalina Island?” Many people were taking pictures of the displays and the poster boards. Anyway, Excellent Job and Congratulations! ”

Thanks for your eye-witness report.