Ohrigami TM: the art of folding clay on the potter’s wheel

Smiling man and woman taking a selfie in a lush backyard with trees and garden decorations.

An older man smiling and holding a large ornate ceramic urn or vase indoors.

A smiling woman with short, curly hair wearing glasses, a patterned scarf, a gray blazer, and a necklace.

Photo of Dick and Dot Moran the great grandchildren of George Ohr.

Photo of Dick cradling a Clark House Pottery Mustache Jug. Dot Moran makes us feel like family with her generous kindness, family signed cards and seafood dinners. Their children have welcomed us and helped us with our booth at the Peter Anderson Festive. We feel so honored and blessed to know them.

In 2011, the George Ohr family descendants formally, in writing, welcomed Bill into their family and thanked him for continuing this type of work. (see image below) This was an incredible honor! The direct descendants of George Ohr have purchased more than 250 pieces of Bill’s pottery.

Handwritten note congratulating Bill Clark on the occasion of a seafood gathering, dated 11-6-11, with signatures from multiple individuals.

We are thankful to many happy collectors for their

encouragement and support of our work and the

Ohr descendants that have helped propel us to numerous

milestones in our journey in clay.

After getting married in Florence Italy in 2000, Bill & Pam returned to Greenville, SC and built a wonderful studio together under tall trees behind their home and named it Clark House Pottery LLC. Their pottery is mostly influenced by the designs of the Mission Arts and Crafts movement of the early 1900’s. Their work is one-of-a-kind, hand thrown, sculpted, and decorated art pottery. They make work using earthenware, stoneware, and porcelain clays on the wheel and hand sculpting and then hand glaze each piece with both commercial and custom formatted glazes.

Bill has been making pottery for 55 years and apprenticed with Harding Black in San Antonio, Texas in high school. In 2003, Bill began a new path in clay when he saw a piece of pottery made by George Ohr, the “Mad Potter of Biloxi, Mississippi”. He was determined to discover the mechanical throwing methods on the potter’s wheel that made those light and unusual shapes. Bill has incorporated the method into his own design interpretations and taken it much further.

Pam has been making pottery for 35 years. Pam is known for her twisted clay horse sculptures, which are inspired by her early experiences of freedom exploring nature with my horse. After a career in the medical field, she returned to her lifelong love of art and pottery. Her work is deeply influenced by natural forms, textures, and colors, often featuring designs of flora and fauna. She utilizes a variety of techniques—including carving, sculpting, hand-building, slip trailing, and glazing—to explore and capture nature in her work. Additionally, she enjoys the technical challenge of chemistry involved in mixing her own glazes.