You don’t see ceramic shops around much anymore. When I say ceramics, I am talking about the kind that comes out of molds as opposed to that which people form with their hands and/or on a potter’s wheel (that is usually referred to as pottery.) I have done both, but I grew up painting ceramics with my mother because in those days there were ceramic shops on the Army bases we lived on.

So when I saw a ceramic shop on North Jackson in Athens back in the 80’s, I was ecstatic. I had owned some molds of my own, even a kiln, but I had neither the time nor the money to get more molds or buy the “slip” (liquid clay) to pour into the few molds that I had. Before I discovered K-T’s Ceramic Shop in Athens, I donated my kiln to an Etowah nursing home and sold my few molds.

K-T’s got its name from the first initials of the couple who owned and ran the business. I just knew the wife as Katy and, to my chagrin, I have forgotten her husband’s name. Obviously, it started with a T. They were older, he was retired from a previous occupation and this was a post-retirement venture. For Katy, this was not a half-hearted venture. They had a huge number of molds! Regardless, this was the perfect family activity for us. Our kids were gung ho.

We paid for the ceramic pieces, which included the cost of paint and firing, and once or twice a week we went and painted together. There were new painting techniques that I learned from Katy. My favorite was ‘dry-brushing’ where you start by painting the entire piece with black paint and then bringing up various colors, lighter layer over darker layer. This allowed the darker colors to remain in the crevices and supply depth as well as contrast. The last part was painting on details like eyes and mouths. It is hard to picture, but it makes for a stunning ceramic figure. I did hundreds of pieces over the six or seven years we went there.

One thing I really liked about her collection were the huge number of Indian-themed molds. She had at least a couple dozen and I did most of them. Some have since broken due to our love of cats. One, a Native American on a horse, bit the dust when my son and his buddy decided to play a game of football in the den. I have to admit that I broke one or two, usually in moves.

Still, it was sad when Katy and her husband had to give it up due to ill health. I set up a table at home, had several boxes of paint, but it was not the same and I eventually sold most of my unpainted bisque (fired ceramics) to another ceramic shop in Oak Ridge when we had to move.

I never drove along North Jackson after they closed without thinking of Katy and her husband. The building houses a plumbing supply shop now. Our children still remember those times together with fondness. When I pull out one of the figurines of dinosaurs, animals, or Christmas decorations, I also think back to those wonderful hours spent at K-T’s Ceramic Shop. That was just one of the things our family did together while the kids were growing up. What does yours do?

Susan Kite is the author of five published books, two books awaiting publication and a novelette that will be included in a 100 year Anniversary of Zorro. She is also a member of Author’s Guild of Tennessee. You can find out more at www.bookscape.net