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Elmore County Living • Winter 2010
Clay from the Coosa River is the basis of the pieces created at Carl’s Clays. PHOTO BY PEGGY BLACKBURN
Even with the scaled-back production schedule, there is plenty of work to keep family members busy -- starting with harvesting the clay. Stephens, his two sons-in-law and his grandchildren go to the river occasionally and return with 10 buckets full. “Sometimes I think they go as much for the fishing as the clay,” said Stephens. “They always take their poles with them and come back with a good catch.” Stephens said there is work involved in the excursions. “We’re the only ones who know where it is,” he said. “We have to wade out in the river about knee deep to get it. We loosen it with a shovel and then dig it out by hand.” Once the raw material is at the shop, water is added and it is thoroughly mixed before being poured into the molds. Each batch of clay is test fired in a kiln to ensure it is suitable. “You have to make sure there isn’t sand in it,” said Stephens. “And you don’t ever know how it will come out.” When he first began producing the pieces, Stephens said he had the clay tested to find out the cause of the distinctive coloration. “Turns out there’s iron in it,” he said. “Some clay can have too much color and some doesn’t have enough. That’s why we take each batch, fire it and look at it.” The biggest drawback to working with
Carl’s Clays now has just a handful of commercial accounts, and Stephens and Stewart stick to the promise of producing only a comfortable number of pieces. “I had a few longtime customers I offered it to -- places like Southern Homes & Gardens and We-2 Gifts in Wetumpka,” said Stephens. “There are people who call wanting to be a new account, but we just can’t supply them.” Much of the shop’s business is military personnel. “Eagles are our best seller,” said Stephens. “We’ve gotten orders from the Pentagon, the Secretary of the Air Force, the CIA and military intelligence.” There are other popular figurines offered by Carl’s Clays -- dishes, vases, magnolia blossoms, hummingbirds, angels, Auburn University emblems, elephants, Indians and more. “Our nativity sets are also very popular,” said Stephens. “And, if you can believe it, we have a little armadillo that’s really popular, too.” In fact, the shop is packed with about a thousand different molds, representing a huge selection of pieces. Stephens said he makes many of them himself. “I’m enjoying it now,” Stephens said. “If I want to go fishing, I go fishing.”
the naturally-occurring clay is uncertainty. In addition to losing product because the color is unsatisfactory, pieces may have to be discarded at other points in the process. After the clay hardens, the pieces (greenware) are removed from the molds and inspected. The figurines can be rejected for imperfections at that stage. If they appear acceptable, the seams left by the molds are sanded smooth. Occasionally a piece is broken during the process. After the figures are “cleaned,” they are then fired for the first time. “We can lose some then, because sometimes you get cracks,” said Stephens. “So we look at it after the first firing and if everything is OK, we go ahead with it.” Approved pieces are painted with glaze and fired again, resulting in the shiny finished product. “It’s something you can’t rush,” said Stephens. “The clay can take anywhere from four hours to overnight to dry in the molds, then you have all of the other A hummingbird figurine is one of many items made at Carl’s steps.” Clays. PHOTO BY PEGGY BLACKBURN