Turtlecreek Potters
1985 Turtlecreek Potters Redware Christmas Dish – Signed Mary Shooner, Folk Art Tray, Morrow Ohio
1985 Turtlecreek Potters Redware Christmas Dish – Signed Mary Shooner, Folk Art Tray, Morrow Ohio
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AT A GLANCE
- Type:
- Decorative plate
- Subject:
- Christmas Tree | Holiday Inscription
- Style:
- American Folk Art / Studio Pottery
- Artist:
- Mary Spellmire-Shooner
- Era:
- Late 20th Century (1970–1999)
- Circa:
- 1985
- Origin:
- Morrow, Ohio, USA
- Maker:
- Turtlecreek Potters
- Material:
- Redware (earthenware)
- Dimensions:
- 5” high × 4” wide
- Condition:
- Excellent (EX)
- Color:
- Blue glaze, yellow and green slip, natural clay base
- Decoration:
- Slip-decorated, glazed, hand-inscribed
- Maker’s mark:
- Turtlecreek Potters mark, 1985, signed “Mary”
Low stock: 1 left
1985 Signed Redware Christmas Tray with “Peace on Earth” with Stylized Tree
Collector’s Note
Redware is among the earliest ceramic traditions in America, valued for its warm clay body and hand-decorated surfaces. In the late 20th century, artisans revived this historic form through studio pottery workshops like Turtlecreek Potters. Signed examples—particularly by recognized makers such as Mary Shooner—are especially desirable, as they represent both the continuation of early American craft traditions and the emergence of important contemporary folk potters.
This charming redware Christmas dish was created in 1985 at Turtlecreek Potters in Morrow, Ohio—part of the Workshops of David T. Smith, known for their historically inspired craftsmanship and revival of early American decorative arts.
Small in scale but rich in character, the rectangular tray features a hand-piped slip decoration in warm yellow and green over a deep blue glaze. At the center, a stylized Christmas tree is topped with a radiant star and accented with dotted garlands, while the border carries the inscription:
“Peace on Earth Goodwill Towards Men”
The reverse reveals the natural red earthenware clay body and is inscribed with the Turtlecreek Potters mark, the year 1985, and the potter’s name Mary, attributing the piece to Mary Spellmire-Shooner.
Artist Biography
Mary Spellmire-Shooner is an American studio potter and co-founder of Shooner American Redware, widely recognized for her role in the late 20th-century revival of traditional redware pottery. She has dedicated her career to studying and recreating historic earthenware forms using period-appropriate materials and techniques, helping to preserve one of America’s earliest ceramic traditions.
Her work has been exhibited and collected internationally, including placements in the White House and Camp David, as well as museums in both the United States and England. Early pieces created during her time at Turtlecreek Potters—such as this example—represent an important formative period, bridging workshop-based craftsmanship with the refined historical interpretation that would later define her career.
Pieces from this period reflect the American folk pottery revival of the 1970s–1980s, when traditional redware techniques were reinterpreted through contemporary studio practice. Both decorative and functional, this dish works beautifully as a small serving piece, soap dish, or seasonal display accent.
Explore our Antique & Vintage Pottery collections for more redware, yellowware, mochaware, salt-glazed stoneware, and earthenware pieces shaped from clays using regional pottery traditions.
We ask that when making your purchasing decision that you consider the photos as part of the item's description.
We ask that when making your purchasing decision that you consider the photos as part of the item's description.
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