CAMARK POTTERY

THE CAMARK POTTERY OF CAMDEN

BEGINNINGS & ASSOCIATES

Established in 1926, the Camden Art Tile and Pottery Company was the

product of a collaborative effort led by the "vision, faith, and energy" of

Jack Carnes. This group of associates included talented ceramists like John

B. Lessell, Jennie (Mrs. John) Lessell, Stephen Sebaugh, Charles Sebaugh,

Edmond Sebaugh, Alfred P. Tetzschner, Boris Trifonoff, Frank Long, as well

as businessmen like Luther Ellison, secretary of the Camden Chamber of

Commerce. The leadership and talent of this group established the foundation

for a 60-year operation known as Camark Pottery, "Cam" from Camden and "ark"

from Arkansas.

Samuel Jacot "Jack" Carnes was born in Zanesville, Ohio, and grew up in an

area with many active art pottery companies. Carnes, familiar with art

pottery manufacturing, wanted to create a South Arkansas ceramic industry

that would capitalize on the region's prosperous oil, gas and timber

industries. He knew that his pottery operation would benefit from the area's

inexpensive energy, ample clay deposits and plentiful labor supply. Carnes

hoped Camden would become a second Zanesville, considered the cradle of the

American ceramic industry.

Carnes hired John Lessell, and then later Lessell's wife, Jennie, to head

Camark's art department. Lessell pioneered the development of the luster and

iridescent treatments, while the Sebaughs and Alfred Tetzschner were

instrumental in instituting ceramic operations and designs at Camark Pottery

with the help of Boris Trifonoff, a glazer. Frank Long, the former Niloak

Pottery thrower, was responsible for turning and was the company's only

known thrower. Luther Ellison, responsible for many successful economic

developments in South Arkansas, worked closely with Carnes to secure this

art pottery manufacturing enterprise for the city.

Construction on the Camden plant started in December 1926. By February

1927, the main building was complete, the two natural gas-fired kilns were

nearly finished, and additional clay testing had begun. The plant was

completed in March and production started in late spring.

CAMARK POTTERY - PHASES OF ART POTTERY

Camark's art pottery production from 1927 to 1933 can be divided into

three phases. The first phase lasted less than a year, from summer 1927 to

spring 1928, and involved the development of luster and iridescent wares.

These wares, created by John Lessell, consisted primarily of vases and lamp

bases with decorative designs of floral, scenic, and conventional motifs in

flat enamel, high gloss and luster enamel finishes; they were marketed as

"Lessell ware." The second phase lasted just over a year, from mid-1928 to

late 1929, when production centered on Alfred Tetzschner's

Modernistic/Futuristic and Crackle lines. These modern wares were based on

both old and new ceramic design elements in bright and contrasting colors

and shapes. The third phase of art pottery production lasted from 1930 to

1933. Under the direction of Boris Trifonoff, the company used only glazed

pottery without hand decorations, matte and bright combination colors, and

solid colors enhanced by shapes to create art pottery designs for the first

time. Building on patterns introduced in the late 1920s, Camark Pottery

created new glaze combinations including mottles, stipples, and drip

patterns.

The company attempted a new art pottery line in the 1940s and 1950s after

hiring Ernest Lechner and Leonard Kohl; this mass-produced and

hand-decorated line was known as Industrial Artware. Industrial Artware

constituted hand-painted decorations and shapes with molded relief floral

patterns, each individually hand painted. The company marketed its last

attempt at artistic wares as the Hand-Painted line.

This talented group of artists, designers, ceramists, and other

clay-workers contributed to the art pottery concepts used at Camark.

Personnel changes, supply and demand, the economy, and changing consumer

tastes marked the end of each phase of production, resulting in the

company's gradual move away from art pottery manufacture. In all, these

associates' work not only placed Camark Pottery firmly in American art

pottery history, but also helped establish a solid economic foundation that

helped the company survive as a major pottery manufacturer.

CAMARK POTTERY - LESSELL'S LEGACY

John Lessell continued a luster and iridescent legacy begun 25 years

earlier. Working for major pottery companies like Owen China Company, J. B.

Owens Pottery, and Weller Pottery, Lessell produced wares that earned him

recognition as the premiere luster and iridescent decorator. Born in

Mettlach, Germany, Lessell married Jennie Onstott, who became his partner.

While in Ohio, he used Arkansas clays supplied by Jack Carnes to produce a

Lessell line, which later became a prototype for Camark Pottery. Following

Lessell's death in December 1926, Carnes hired his wife. Like her husband,

Jennie played a vital role in the company's production of luster and

iridescent pottery called LeCamark.

The Sebaugh family of Pennsylvania also played an important role in the

history of the Camark Pottery Company. Stephen Sebaugh was an expert kiln

burner and worked with Lessell for many years in making the luster and

iridescent wares. Charles Sebaugh, the plant's superintendent, learned the

luster and iridescent process too, having worked closely with Lessell at J.

B. Owens Pottery and Weller Pottery. Charles, who was responsible for the

successful manufacture of luster and iridescent ware, also applied the

tinted gold, which was "a critical and important part of the vessel's final

worth and appeal." Edmond Sebaugh arrived a year later to head up the

packing and shipping department.

The company used past Lessell artistic designs in the Lessell and LeCamark

wares, knowing that such patterns had proven popular with earlier consumers.

Camark's luster wares included Lessell and Oxblood (Silver Luster) designs,

nearly identical to Weller's LaSa line. Old English, Camark's iridescent

line, was based on Weller's Marengo line. Camark's Coraline consisted of a

textured body with irregular gold or black lines identical to Lessell's

Swastika Keramos line, made by Owen China Company. The company created two

new luster lines, Venetian and Jeanne, which had backgrounds of mirror black

and textured flatblack, upon which luster Jonquil, Poppy, and Conventional

designs were placed. Jennie Lessell's decision to leave the company in 1927

resulted in a fundamental shift in production emphasis, ultimately ending

Camark Pottery's first art pottery phase.

CAMARK POTTERY - MODERNISTIC & FUTURISTIC

Alfred Tetzschner, of Saxony, Germany, Lessell's friend and former

co-worker, became the head of the art department as Camark Pottery entered

its second art pottery phase. This phase came in two parts: first, the

introduction of the Modernistic/Futuristic wares and the Crackle line, and

second, the increased reliance on glazes and forms for decorations. The

Modernistic/Futuristic line, developed by Tetzschner in 1927, included more

than twelve different designs influenced by the Art Deco style, which first

appeared at the 1925 Paris Exposition Internationale.

The Modernistic/Futuristic line appears to be Camark's first true artistic

endeavor. Designers attempted to merge the modern industrial age of

machines, automobiles, and airplanes with ceramic pottery to create objects

with aesthetic value. Charles Sebaugh wrote in 1928 that "every age

expresses itself in a distinctive style, and our modern age expresses itself

in one way-in Modernistic art.'' Common Art Deco characteristics include

geometric motifs and nudes; Camark claimed it was the first company to

"commercialize the futuristic pattern." Tetzschner asserted that his

Futuristic/Modernistic designs were uniquely his own, but evidence does not

support these claims.

Tetzschner also created Camark Pottery's Crackle line, which mimicked a

technique known as crazing, or the cracking of a glaze over a ceramic

vessel. Similar to Weller Pottery's Cloudburst, Crackle came in colors of

Yellow, Orange, Ivory, Green, Blue and Gold in both matte and bright glazes;

some appeared in Modernistic/Futuristic shapes. Tom Shiras, the "walking

editor of the Ozark" visited the plant and observed that the "artist

[Tetzschner] works out all the designs that are to go on the exterior,

finishing each one completely. Girls with artistic ability then copy the

originals." The Modernistic/Futuristic and Crackle designs, however, did not

last, for these lines were discontinued by early 1929.

Other artistic endeavors under Tetzschner's leadership included

traditional glaze manipulation like the tri-chromatic Yellow & Blue, the

bi-chromatic Green & Blue, and the Celestial Blue Black Overflow.

Tetzschner's whereabouts were unknown by 1929, and by decade's end, the

Camark Pottery Company had entered their third and final phase of art

pottery production.

CAMARK POTTERY - OVERFLOWS AND DRIPS

Camark's third phase of art pottery manufacture coincided with the onset of

the Great Depression. This transition marked the first time that the company

did not market decorated pottery and relied more and more on mold

production. Designers used simple glaze applications, with two or three

color glaze overflows or drips. Frank Long was soon relegated to primarily

throwing flowerpots. Color glaze combinations were developed with the help

of Boris Trifonoff, a Russian ceramist who worked for Indiana's Muncie

Pottery in the 1920s. Although a mold maker, his forte' was glaze

preparation; direct similarities exist between Trifonoff's work at Muncie

Pottery and Camark Pottery, continuing the "copy-cat" pottery development

and marketing theme.

As the economy worsened and sales decreased in the early 1930s, the

company tried to lower overhead and raise production, by making

mass-produced molded pieces and employing simple color combination patterns.

They also introduced what would become two of their most popular glazes for

this time period: Rose Green Overflow (green over pink) and Orange Green

Overflow (green over orange). For the first time, the pottery's artistic

value came from combining the use of shapes with glaze applications. These

glaze decorations, however, were short-lived. Camark Pottery soon shifted to

production of new solid colored glazes in primarily matte finishes on nearly

100 new and mostly simple shapes. Some pieces with artistic expression

existed-most notably the forms with geometric designs and the sculptured

influences of Art Deco.

By the mid-1930s, Camark Pottery moved away from art pottery manufacture

toward mass production of molded shapes. While the shaky economy probably

affected this decision, other factors that may have influenced the company's

switch included the deaths of both Stephen and Charles Sebaugh in early

1933. Although Trifonoff continued to work for the company, designing over

800 molds before his departure in the 1940s, the shapes produced from this

point on were much simpler, including nondescript flower vases, gift shop

wares, and novelty items. With no manipulation of glazes to form aesthetic

values, the company used glazes with just matte or bright finishes of simple

solid colors. Camark Pottery ceased producing ceramic wares with aesthetic

value.

CAMARK POTTERY - INDUSTRIAL ARTWARE

Following a trend among other American potteries, Camark Pottery shifted

their focus in the mid-1930s and began producing molded wares with

monochromatic glazes in semi-matte or bright finishes. The company's

industrial mode became permanent when a continuous tunnel kiln was built,

allowing production of hundreds of finished wares in 20 hours. The tunnel

kiln was a major investment, not only in terms of expenses, but also in

Carnes' estimation of his company's economic status. This resulted in Camark

Pottery's decision to manufacture hand-decorated wares again.

In 1939, Carnes hired decorator Ernest Lechner, Sr., of Czechoslovakia, as

the art director. The company then began producing a new line called

Industrial Artware, which was not considered true art pottery in the

American art pottery tradition. Known as the Hand-Painted lines, these

designs included Bas Relief Iris, Festoon of Roses, Full Blown Tulip,

Castles, and Conventional Designs. While attempting to convey some artistic

intent, this artware was not considered true art pottery because it lacked

individualism and was mass-produced. Camark's concept was not new, since the

Roseville Pottery of Zanesville, Ohio, introduced its Industrial Artware

years earlier.

In 1948, Lechner resigned from Camark Pottery and later started the Iros

Pottery Decorating Company and made three distinct lines: Blooming Flowers,

Iridescent, and Gold Trim. Carnes hired Leonard Kohl, a former Pickard China

employee from Rehau, Germany, as Camark's new art director. Kohl continued

production of the Hand-Painted lines, which then consisted primarily of the

Bas Relief Irises. Kohl left in early 1953 to rejoin Pickard China. While

Camark Pottery's industrial artware was limited to Lechner and Kohl's work,

it constituted only a small part of its overall production as the company

centered primarily on mass-produced molded wares until the pottery closed in

1986.

Camark Pottery Company was a viable pottery operation; it outlasted many

of the older ceramic companies, even those in Ohio. The company's talented

artists ensured a spot for Camark Pottery's contributions within American

decorative arts history and the art pottery movement, while also allowing

for a broader interpretation of American art pottery manufacture.