Sid Luck on war, whiskey and the Luck tradition

This week on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with fifth generation potter Sid Luck. With his wood-burning groundhog kiln, he continues a family tradition of pottery making that has existed in the Seagrove, NC area since the early 19th century. Sid started making pottery for JB Cole in 1957 and though he has had other professions he has never stopped making pottery. He has been named a living treasure of North Carolina and is a recipient of the NC Heritage award.

In the interview we talk about whiskey jugs, war, and the evolution of the Luck tradition. For more information on Sid's work please visit www.lucksware.com. Sid has been featured in numerous articles and two documentaries by Jim Sharkey. You can view a clip from the 1999 documentary Crawdad Slip at www.folkstreams.net.

Sid gave me a tour of the Luck Pottery including the groundhog kiln. This low slung wood fired kiln is unique to the NC piedmont area. The design has been used for everything from lead glazed terra cotta to salt fired stoneware. To add salt to his kiln Sid attaches a metal gutter pipe funnel that is attached to a leaf blower. This ingenious solution blasts the pots with both salt and borax, which he adds in at a 80/20 mixture.