Submitted photo Susan Weaver, left, and Catherine Keenan, center, present a copy of “Clay: Homer and Shakespeare Introduces Pottery” to Fiesta Tableware Company President Liz McIlvain.
EAST LIVERPOOL — The Museum of Ceramics Foundation has published a children’s book written by Catherine Keenan. “Clay: Homer and Shakespeare Introduce Pottery” is a repetitive poem with hand movements. It tells the story of how clay is transformed into pottery using the Laughlin Brothers Pottery as a setting. The book is illustrated with oil paintings from the museum’s collection. The paintings, by Roland Schweinsburg (1898 – 1963), were commissioned by the chamber of commerce to show the work in pottery. Schweinsburg was a Youngstown and area artist who also painted the TRAP mural “Old Bennett Pottery” in the Ceramics Museum when it was a post office. The museum displays 18 of his paintings and has another 12 paintings that were created as subjects for oil painting.
The book is only available in the Museum gift shop. Although the museum is closed for the winter months, books can still be purchased by calling the museum and leaving a message. An employee will return calls and make arrangements, including pickup or delivery. Available soft or hard, and signed if desired.
A grant from the Ohio Humanities Council helped fund the printing costs (Fulton Books) and will also provide a free copy to all fourth graders visiting the museum as a class group this year. Teachers can schedule guided tours by calling the museum at 330-386-6001 and leaving a message or by emailing [email protected]
Keenan wrote the poem as part of a graduate-level course he was taking several years ago. Museum Director Susan Weaver said, “When I was director of the MoC, Cathi came and told me she had written a children’s book that included pictures of Schweinsburg. I was very interested and finally one day she brought a worn copy for me to read. Despite its appearance, I was very impressed! I knew this was a real gem and a great way to educating children and adults about pottery making, historical pottery, and even art! I knew we had to publish it to share with our community.” He added, “The illustrations in this book are stunning and make it a worthwhile purchase for all age levels.”
Museum staff Wendy Adkins, Jennifer Barrett Weaver all contributed to the editing and design of the publication.
