Turning Leaf Design

Introducing Deb Burckhard, an award winning pottery with a variety of artistic pursuits. A South Dakota native, Deb creates incredible horsehair pottery out of her Kimball studio.

Horsehair pottery is fabled to have come from ancient Indian tribes that wanted to preserve the spirit of their horses in various phases of their lives.

Simple shapes and forms of vessels and vases are transformed into one of a kind works of art. Fired at a high temperature to give the clay body strength, each piece is then fired a second time to just below red hot and quickly removed from the kiln.

At this point, the horsehair strands are gently applied to the hot surface. The extreme heat from the vessel causes the hair to etch a unique carbon pattern. The pots are not glazed and are somewhat porous. The finished piece can be used as a piece of art or filled with dried twigs or grasses. If a fresh flower arrangement is desired, a plastic cup or liner can be fitted into the vase to hold the water.