FROM THE DESK OF OUR
EDITOR
Fair days are ahead. . .literally.
. .as we begin the final countdown for our
county fair-themed 2010
Plus, there’s all the variety you’ve come to expect from your club newsletter: a “Chat Room” interview with Evelyn Boonenberg. . .a visit to the AAPA Show with Betty Carson. . .a profile of unique ‘50s ceramist Marc Bellaire. . .an estate sale you’ll wish had been held in your neighborhood. . .and that’s just for starters! So, off we go!
Last issue’s
According to the 1951 catalog, this
We had two winners this time around, the correct answers arriving within minutes of each other. Both Cheryl Kamm and Evelyn Boonenberg identified this circus-y pair as the beloved Clown & Clown Dog Snugglers. Said Cheryl, “this pair is one of my favorite snuggles – I have them all.”
“Big Top”-themed prizes await both Cheryl and Evelyn at the Convention. Until then, you must live in suspense!
In keeping with our county fair theme, this issue’s
“We’re usually found in brown, but not always. If you
find us decked out in purple, it will be a very moo-ving
experience!”
As always, the answer will be found somewhere within the pages
of Ceramic Arts Studio: The Legacy of Betty
Harrington. Once you’ve found it, email your
Editor right away: donaldbrian@msn.com The first person submitting the correct
answer will receive a 2010 Convention Commemorative!!
It’s always a thrill to hear from someone who worked at
“My aunt, Marion ‘Mybbs’ Triggs, was a decorator at Ceramic Arts Studio in 1945-46.
I have a ‘Sven’ she painted, plus a unique ‘Gay ‘90s Man’ – there were problems
with the mold, so he was not properly struck. Interesting! She loved her job at
And thank you for writing, Toni! Our best to “Mybbs”!
HOORAY FOR THE WPA!
Our thanks to the Wisconsin Pottery
Association (WPA) for including a lovely article about our upcoming Convention
in the latest edition of the WPA newsletter. As
And remember:
OUR
One of the special treats at each year’s Convention is the opportunity to chat with our honored guests: those who worked at Ceramic Arts Studio, and those whose efforts have kept the Studio legacy alive and thriving. Joining us this year will be former Studio employees Karl Ahlen, Ruth Paulson, Pat Hermsdorf (with husband Harvey), and Itzy Sand (with wife Dorie). Tim Holthaus and Jim Petzold, who founded our club, and co-authored the definitive book on the Studio will also be among our Convention honorees.
In their note letting us know they
would be attending this year, the Sands wrote: “The
And, as you might imagine, we look forward to seeing each of our honored guests, too!
MISSING BETTY
Longtime club member Betty Carson, (whose informative and entertaining article on the AAPA Show appears elsewhere in this issue), unfortunately won’t be able to attend this year’s Convention due to health reasons. Wrote Betty:
“As
And we value yours, Betty! Hope you’re up and around again soon!
MORE FROM BETTY
Last issue’s “
“My favorite pieces (if you can pick a favorite)
are the ‘Fire’ and ‘Water’ couples. And a special note to club President Hank
K: your ‘favorite pieces’ add credence to my philosophy:,
it does not have to be valuable to be valued! Be it
2 feet tall or
2 inches – worth 5 grand or 5 cents – if it touches your heart, that
is what makes it a valuable item!”
MOUSE IN THE HOUSE
For the record, Hank’s favorites that Betty mentioned were
his entire
Where will he pop up next? The “tail of the Mouse” will continue. . .
KIND WORDS FROM
Nothing’s nicer than an occasional pat on the back, and former Studio decorator, and
“Well, the much-anticipated arrival of your latest gem
arrived yesterday. I looked through my mail and ignored everything else when I
saw the
“I immediately started reading, and even forgot to take
time out to eat my supper, and take my usual required pills. How’s that for
being engulfed with curiosity?
“I was so intrigued by all the different information, and
want to tell you that I am getting an education on the life and times of
Ceramic Arts Studio! Although I had been an employee there, I am learning so
many new things about its creations and the wonderful people who worked there.
It is a history to be appreciated.
“Thanks to all for your dedication to the memory of the talented Betty Harrington, and the busy beavers that worked with her. The fond memories you have restored for me I shall always prize!”
BOOK IT!
Here’s an advance blurb for the latest Schiffer
book by your newsletter Editor, Donald-Brian Johnson. It’s Postwar Pop,
a look at trends in popular culture in the mid-twentieth century, and will be
on the bookstands in early 2011. An excerpt (on ceramist Marc Bellaire) appears
in this issue. Other topics covered
range from Vogue picture records to vaudeville (and yes, there’s even a bit on
And speaking of books: the brand-new 2011 edition of the Schroeder’s Antiques Price Guide (out this month), features an Introduction, all about the joys of collecting, by DBJ.
(In between newsletters, he stays busy!)
YOU SAY IT’S YOUR BIRTHDAY??
Remember that Beatles song “When I’m 64”? Someone we know now qualifies! Hmmmm. Who could it be? Here’s a hint: she has an article in this issue, and it’s on page. . . . .
(Gee! Our publisher Mary Lamm-Feltman
seems to have deleted the page number.
Could that be a hint? Well, just
in case: Happy 64th, Mary!)
And now, on with the show! See you in
Donald-Brian Johnson
Editor
*********************************************************************************
REMEMBERING REUBEN
By Donald-Brian Johnson
Reuben Sand, founder of Ceramic Arts Studio, died on October 21, 2005 of double pneumonia. As per his wishes, Mr. Sand’s ashes were distributed in Half Moon Bay, near his San Mateo, California home. On November 4th, Reuben Sand would have celebrated his 90th birthday.
The story of Mr. Sand and the Studio has, over the years, been told so many times that it has assumed the status of familiar legend. How, in 1940, Reuben and potter Lawrence Rabbitt teamed up to turn a deserted lean-to on Madison’s Blount Street into the loftily-named “Ceramic Arts Studio”. How the Studio’s early hand-thrown pots met with little success (and how many of them leaked!) How a chance meeting in 1941 with the amazing designer Betty Harrington led Reuben and the Studio in an entirely new direction—the creation of figural ceramics. And how, thanks to Betty’s talent for design, and Reuben’s talent for production and marketing, the little lean-to in Madison soon became the nation’s top supplier of decorative ceramics.
What’s often forgotten is just how young Reuben Sand was when he embarked on his CAS venture—only 25. And, while collectors see the Studio years—from 1940 until 1955—as an endless source of study and enjoyment, for Reuben Sand this was just one stop along the way, in a long and successful life and career.
That may be why, for many years, Mr. Sand resisted the urge to reminisce about Studio days—he had, after all, done so much more! Collectors were overjoyed when, in 1993, Reuben agreed to travel to Madison for the first-ever comprehensive Ceramic Arts Studio exhibit, sponsored by the Wisconsin Pottery Association. A touching, final reunion between entrepreneur Reuben and designer Betty was a highlight of the occasion. Then it was back to California, and on with life.
When it came time to begin work on our book Ceramic Arts Studio: The Legacy of Betty Harrington, my co-authors and I felt it was extremely important to include current commentary by the man who started it all—Reuben Sand. We already had, thanks to Betty Harrington’s diligence, and the generosity of her family, extensive materials documenting her part of the story. Thanks to CAS researcher Roseann Lindner, we also had detailed recollections by Lawrence Rabbitt. We’d spoken with many past Studio workers. What we needed was Reuben.
Every several weeks, I called and left a message at the contact number I’d been given. For months there was no response. Then one morning, the phone rang. I picked it up, and a deep, somewhat gravelly voice said, “This is Reuben Sand. Why do you keep calling me?”
I explained who I was, and the project I was working on. There was a pause, then Reuben began to express his doubts. He’d “been interviewed before”; they “always got it wrong”; they “never asked the right questions” and “never let him read it first”.
This went on for awhile. When there was a lull, I assured him that we had something different in mind. We planned on using his comments in the first person, just as he conveyed them, editing only for length or repetition. He would see the material before it went to print, and would have the right to correct (or delete) anything inaccurate.
Another pause. I could tell he was considering the idea. Then he continued: “What if my comments don’t agree with what other people say?”
“Well,” I replied, “folks will have the opportunity to read both, and can make up their own minds.”
Whether that did the trick (or whether he was just tired of talking to me), Mr. Sand agreed. I was to send him a list of the questions I would be asking. He would call me at a set date and time, and answer those (and only those) questions. “And I want a transcript.”
“No problem,”, I said, (instantly hoping to avail myself of Roseann Lindner’s transcription talents).
And so it began. On the set day, at the set time, the phone rang. I switched on the recorder. “Hello. This is Reuben Sand. Question number one---Donald-Brian Johnson asks. . . . Question number one---Reuben Sand replies. . . .”
Oh boy, I thought. Is this going to be tedious. But I’d put together what I felt were some pretty good questions, and at least we’d have those first-person responses, even if they were being read from a carefully prepared script.
I tuned back in, just as Reuben was intoning a very lengthy
explanation of how he met Larry Rabbitt, and
determined to start a business. “We found an empty lean-to at
“What are rebars?” I interrupted, in spite of myself.
“That’s not on the question list,” said Reuben, and
continued: “
“Why?”
“I answer that in question number 5.”
“Oh”.
There was a pause. “But I suppose I might as well talk about it now. Larry had been making a few items such as ashtrays and bowls and little pots, and fashioned himself to be working in a ‘studio’—had sort of a nice ring to it—an ‘arts studio’. I simply said, ‘if you think that is a good name, OK’. Later on, people wondered how this ‘arts studio’ was kicking out thousands of pieces—there must have been a lot of artists hard at work!”
He chuckled, off script, and enjoying the recollection. From that moment on, the question-and answer list was forgotten, and the memories poured forth fast and furious.
This was just the first of many wonderful phone conversations I had with Reuben Sand. Over the next several years, we’d talk on a regular basis. Sometimes I’d call, to make sure I was explaining a particular facet of Studio life correctly. Sometimes he’d call, to clarify or expand on a previous response, or to tell me to look for “a package on its way” (thanks to Reuben, original Studio catalogs, copyrights, photos, and the like soon added to our treasure trove of research material.)
Sometimes, one or the other of us would call “just to talk”. And, true to my word, I always kept a transcript.
When our book was ready for print, I sent Reuben’s sections to him, as promised, for his approval. He was effusive in his praise, offering few corrections, and asking only for the elimination of one brief anecdote. (An early CAS worker had an unhealthy fondness for knives and other sharp objects. Reuben had found the story amusing when he first told it to me, but now thought it might be best removed. “Who knows?”, he said, “that girl may still be around. And she may still have those knives!”)
Basking in Mr. Sand’s praise, I couldn’t resist adding, “and your words are just as you said them—I’m sure you checked the transcripts.”
“Oh”, replied Reuben, “I never read those. I just wanted to see if you would keep your promise.”
Reuben Sand was easily one of the most fascinating, entertaining people I’ve met in my life—and I never even had the opportunity to meet him in person! Imagine the response he must have evoked in those who knew him and worked with him first-hand. Over and over in my research for our book, I would encounter former Studio workers who would describe Reuben as “the best boss”, and CAS as “the best job ever”. Somebody was doing something right—and that somebody was Reuben Sand.
I once asked Reuben if he ever gave much thought to the Studio “legacy”. A moment or two went by, and then he said, “You know, one of my biggest worries used to be that two thousand years from now some geologist would be digging, and nothing could be found but Ceramic Arts Studio figurines. And the pundits of the time would say, ‘in the years 1940-1960 or so, this was the state of the civilization that existed.’ A pretty good state though. Better than a lot of things they could be digging up. You know, I have so many fond memories of Ceramic Arts Studio and those I worked with. They were all solid, wonderful people. I guess I am just one of the luckiest guys in the world.”
We were the lucky ones, Reuben. Our thanks, for a life well-lived.
