Pond Farm Pottery / California Bauhaus
I recently went on a trip to visit Pond Farm in Guerneville, California. The idyllic site is located near the Russian River on a hilltop above the Armstrong Redwoods State Reserve.
Pond Farm began in 1939 when writer Jane Herr and her husband, architect Gordon, purchased the 400 acre property with dreams of starting an artists’ colony. The site included a large pond (top of photo), hence the name. The San Francisco couple were inspired by Cranbrook Academy of Art, Black Mountain College, and Bauhaus - which the aforementioned had direct links to.Photo: The Press Democrat Sun, Jun 12, 1949
Gordon Herr traveled to Europe in 1938 to search out like-minded artists. This is when he met Marguerite Wildenhain. She was born in Lyon, France, to a British mother and German Jewish father. She was one of the first students of the Bauhaus and studied in Dornburg from 1919 to 1925. Source: Marguerite at Dornburg, 1925. Photo courtesy of Bauhaus-Archiv, Berlin via Marguerite Wildenhain and the Bauhaus : an eyewitness anthology
Max Krehan workshop, 1924. From left to right are Herbert Hübner, Thoma Gräfin Grote, Franz Rudolf Wildenhain, Karl Krehan, Max Krehan, Marguerite Friedlaender and Wilhelm Löber. Photo courtesy of Bauhaus-Archiv, Berlin.
Source: Marguerite Wildenhain and the Bauhaus : an eyewitness anthology
After Bauhaus, she would become an accomplished potter and designer in Germany. Being Jewish, she had to flee Nazi Germany during World War II. She first went to Holland and then to the United States where her brother was living.Source: Marguerite Wildenhain and the Bauhaus : an eyewitness anthology
After multiple attempts by the Herrs, Marguerite accepted an invitation to move to Guerneville and help with the Pond Farm artists' colony. She was the first artist to do so and taught ceramics. Pond Farm Workshops began with a multidisciplinary curriculum. Gordon Herr taught architecture; Marguerite's husband, Franz with sculpture; metal artist Victor Ries and weaving by Trude Guermonprez. Other artists such as Claire Falkenstein, Ruth Asawa and Harry Dixon also taught there.
Seen above in the pottery studio are (left to right) photographer Hansel Mieth, Franz, Marguerite, Ries and Guermonprez, c. 1949.
Source: Photograph courtesy of the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Gordon Herr designed most of the buildings at Pond Farm, including the Hexagon House. Unfortunately it was lost in a fire. Source: Marguerite Wildenhain and the Bauhaus : an eyewitness anthology
The Butterfly Cottages served as student housing near the Hexagon House. They still exist but are on private property near town.
The situation at Pond Farm was rocky. Franz and Marguerite divorced in 1951 and he left for the east coast. Jane Herr died of breast cancer in 1952. There was also infighting among the artists and financial issues plagued the school. The workshops ended in 1953 and most of the artists left.
Source: Marguerite Wildenhain and the Bauhaus : an eyewitness anthology
However, Marguerite continued to teach ceramics through her summer workshops and would do so until she retired in 1980.
Marguerite purchased land from Gordon in 1955. The property included the barn, a
guest house, and her house. The barn was on the property when the Herrs purchased it. The structure was built in 1870 and Gordon added the front section in 1942.
It houses the ceramics studio. Marguerite insisted on kick wheels until the very end when she retired in 1980.
The workshop space in the barn.
Marguerite at the wheel in 1959.
Source: Otto Hagel, Center for Creative Photography. University of Arizona Foundation
A story I've heard often is that Pond Farm students weren't allowed to take any of their work home and had to smash the completed pieces. It turns out that's only half true. The focus was on the form, so students had to master a particular pot before moving on. The pieces were rarely fired.
There was just one small kiln Marguerite used to fire her work.
Marguerite decorating her work.
Source: Otto Hagel, Center for Creative Photography. University of Arizona Foundation
The gallery is on the second floor of the barn.
Pond Farm pottery was sold out of the workshop.
It was also sold at Gump's.
Marguerite's house, from the wheel.
Is that a Ruth Asawa fragment?
It was designed by Gordon and built in 1942.
As seen in this 1942 photo, it was expanded over the years.
The walkway, with embedded Pond Farm pottery fragments.
The Pond Farm mark originated with the Het Kruikje (Little Jug) pottery studio Frans and Marguerite started in Holland.
Speaking of Ruth, her husband Albert Lanier designed this guest house. It now houses visiting artists participating in the Pond Farm Artist in Residency Program. We met a textile artist from Germany on the last day of her residency.
Marguerite lived on the property from her arrival in 1942 until her passing in 1985. Her remains are buried on the site. Right here as a matter of fact. As an avid rock collector, it's a fitting monument to her.
At the end of 2023, Pond Farm Pottery was designated as a National Historic Landmark through the hard work of the California State Parks and Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods.
Pond Farm Pottery is cooperatively managed by California State Parks and Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods.
I was invited by Brad Krey, California State Parks-Statewide Interpretation, Education and Outreach Program Manager. He's a friend from San Diego and was at Pond Farm for a cultural exchange program with "Vannie", CA State Parks' new mobile outreach tool. Students from the area were able to have a live video exchange with students in Germany who attend a school named after Marguerite Wildenhain.
Is there even a better place to watch the Marguerite documentary than Pond Farm?
In addition to Brad, I'm very thankful to (left to right) Brigit Nielsen from the State of California and Laurie Protho from the Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods. They gave use the best tour and are both so knowledgeable and obviously passionate about Wildenhain and Pond Farm history. They added so much to the experience. David, Maz and I had such a great time.
Learn more about Pond Farm and how you can visit at pondfarm.org.