Laugh if you want, but these are all the tools that I had left. I just couldn’t come up with some nice neat word to describe them all collectively, but take a look because they’re all pretty cool. If you work with slabs, the Bevel-o-matic is a must have. The Ultimate Edger, on the other hand, is a great accessory for throwers. If faceting or texturing is your thing, the ClayFluter and the Steve Tool are for you. Scroll down for a few pictures!
| Item Code | Description 1 | Retail Price | Bracker’s Price |
| MATBEVEL | Bevel-O-Matic | $15.00 | $15.00 |
| MATEDGE | Ultimate Edger | $10.99 | $8.45 |
| MATEDGELG | Large Ultimate Edger | $12.99 | $9.99 |
| MATFLUTER | Faceting Tool | $12.00 | $8.85 |
| MATSTEVETOOL | The Steve Tool | $18.70 | $13.50 |
![Jim McDowell learned to make pots when the Army stationed him at a craft shop in Germany during the Vietnam war. He discovered a pottery wheel that no one in the craft shop knew how to use but curious enough to take a short train ride to learn from Nuremberg potters. Back stateside, he enrolled in a workshop with David Robinson in Weare, NH that changed the whole path of his life as an artist. Around 35 years ago, he made his first face jug and his style evolved as he learned about the literate enslaved potter, Dave Drake (David Sturm wrote about him in a June 15th post). Jim began to inscribe his beliefs on the jugs to pay tribute to the way Dave Drake would write on his own work. Face jugs are often referred to as “ugly jugs” - and I can definitely see the ugliness of slavery reflected in Jim’s work. I learned that slaves weren’t permitted to smoke, which is why some jugs feature cigars in the mouths of some jugs. In Jim’s words, “When a white boy smoked he was considered a man. An enslaved man could be 90 and still called ‘boy.’ The cigar gives him a form of dignity, but also sticks it to the man.” I honestly would have never made the connection between smoking a cigar and dignity. Some of his jugs also feature wings to honor the lore that “Jesus gave them wings to fly away” when a slave went missing from the plantation (this folklore existed throughout South Carolina, Georgia and the American Gullah). Jim will be featured in a book to be released later this year or early 2021 with the working title, "Black Hands in Clay” so keep your eyes out for this book by Schiffer Publishing. My post today will end with Jim’s own words: “I’m not one to march in the streets with a placard. But my whole life is a resistance. When I carry on the traditions of my ancestors, that’s a resistance. When I make the food of my people—rice and beans, collards, fried okra—that’s resistance. When I sing the old gospel songs that originated from field songs, that’s resistance. When I create face jugs, that’s the ultimate resistance.” [by Anne]](https://www.brackers.com/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)
