It was 1903 in Detroit when Mary Chase Perry (Stratton), china painter, co-founded Pewabic Pottery with her neighbor and Revelation Kiln inventor Horace Caulkins in an old livery stable. The word pewabic came from the Ojibwe or Chippewa word for metal, “wabic”. The Pewabic Pottery still exists today, although it changed locations in 1907 to another part of Detroit, where the new building was designed by the architect named William “Buck” Stratton, who became Mary’s husband in 1918. Along with experimenting with glaze chemistry, Mary taught classes at Wayne State University and lectured at the University of Michigan, where she had a hand in establishing the university’s ceramics program.
The iridescent glazes are added to pieces after the first glaze firing, and are fired at a lower temperature, with a total of three firings. According to the Pewabic Pottery website, “The metallic looking surface is achieved through a process called fuming in which a vegetable oil mixture is introduced into the kiln at peak temperature.” Over the years, Pewabic Pottery has also made many tile installations. The pottery is now a non-profit corporation. The video at the bottom of the page will show you a little bit about Pewabic in the 21st Century. The video is from 2013, so the events at the end of the clip have already happened.
Pewabic Turquoise Iridescent Vase and Pewabic Copper Iridescent Vase – images from https://www.worthpoint.com/