M A K E R S B AC K
I N
T I M E
House of Clay H OW O K L A H O M A’ S F R A N KO M A P OT TE RY WO N TH E H E A RTS O F S E R I O US CO LLEC TO RS BY MELISS A MERCER HOW ELL
Pioneer Woman launched her line of cookware and Oklahoma City’s Chef John Bennett famously flew in Kaiser’s ice cream for the wedding of Julia Child’s niece, Frankoma pottery was in kitchens and on tables across America. Best known for its dinnerware coated in prairie-colored glazes, Sapulpa-based Frankoma Pottery’s wares have become highly collectible in recent years, ranging in price from $5 for a popular mug to $10,000 for a rare, early piece.
LO N G B E F O R E T H E
22
405 HOME
FA L L 2 0 2 1
This photograph of Frankoma Pottery in Oklahoma City, circa 1965, shows a thriving enterprise.
A Piece of Oklahoma Some collectors of Frankoma pottery are drawn to its southwest flavor. Colors such as Desert Gold, Redbud, Sky Blue and Prairie Green provide a palette inspired by regional landscapes. The colors are punctuated by molds created with Western motifs such as wagon wheels, buffalo and American Indian figures. But for serious connoisseurs such as Jeanne Taylor of Vinita and Randy McFarlin of Ada, collecting is more a devotion to the soul of Frankoma. “I live in Ada and have been going to the (Frankoma plant) since 1962,” said McFarlin, who is president of the Frankoma Family Collectors Association. “You put a piece of Frankoma pottery in your hand and it speaks to you. I understand that. It tells you a story.” Taylor agrees. “I see it as celebrating my roots, literally – I mean, the fact that it’s made from Oklahoma clay. When I give it as a gift, I say very honestly, ‘Here’s a little piece of Oklahoma,’” she said. What to Look For The value of a piece of Frankoma Pottery is determined by the mold, clay and glaze used. The rarer, the more expensive. Lighter clay extracted from the Ada location is more valuable than the darker Sapulpa clay because of
PHOTO COURTESY OF OKLAHOMA HISTORICAL SOCIETY
The State’s First Pottery Business Frankoma was the brainchild of John Frank, a graduate of the Chicago School of Art, who was invited in 1927 to come to the University of Oklahoma and establish a ceramics program. In 1933, he launched Frank Potteries, Oklahoma’s first commercial pottery enterprise, which he renamed Frankoma Pottery in 1934. In 1936, Frank left full-time teaching and devoted himself solely to the business. With the help of local geologists, Frank found light clay suitable for his pottery near Ada. Two years later, Frank moved to Sapulpa with his wife, Grace Lee, and daughters Donna and Joniece. They built a factory there on Route 66, but continued to transport clay from Ada. Unfortunately, the business languished through the Depression years. “Norman didn’t particularly want us,” Grace Lee Frank told the Tulsa World in 1983. “John was so in love with his work that he thought everybody was crazy for it. But they weren’t. His biggest ambition was to create beautiful things that the average person could afford.” Eventually, demand for Frankoma pottery grew and began to flourish in the 1950s. Frank discovered another clay deposit near Sapulpa and began extracting it from Sugar Loaf Hill in 1954. Building on the success of his traditional pieces, Frank also began to utilize his marketing acumen and developed an entirely new line of commemorative pieces, which have also become sought-after collectibles.
