By DOUG GRAVES
Ohio Correspondent

WILMINGTON, Ohio — Even as he farmed in Clinton County, Ray Storer taught industrial arts and art to Ohio schoolchildren for more than four decades. With retirement just a few years ago, he bid farewell to the occupation he so dearly loved.

But Storer, a former educator from the Cincinnati area, still clings to the potter’s wheel, since it was through this that he shared countless hours with former students.

“I dearly loved education,” he said. “If I had to do it all again, I’d go to the same schools. I do miss the people of Anderson Township. I’ve had a few visitors from that area pay me a visit.”
Storer kept a potter’s wheel in his classroom. “I even kept the wheel in the woodworking room,” he said. “Wherever I taught, I took my potter’s wheel.”

While teaching in Cincinnati, Storer, along with his wife, Betty, and son, Brooke, tended their 52-acre farm near Wilmington. There they raised corn, soybeans, cattle, goats and miniature horses.
“We farmed for 30 years, but I’m now 72, and it got to be too much,” he admitted.

The animals are gone and the acreage is now contracted to a neighbor, who tends the corn and soybeans. But the 1850 barn with its many hand-hewn beams is still put to good use. It remains home to the family business: Grandpa’s Pottery.

“We named it Grandpa’s Pottery in honor of my father, who was referred to everyone in the area as Grandpa,” Storer said.

An additional small house adjacent to the old barn has historical significance, as it was used as part of the Underground Railroad.
“Wilmington is a strong Quaker community,” he said, “and the Quakers were advocates of the Underground Railroad.”

Much of the pottery is made-to-order, though most sales are to passing motorists. The family orders clay by the tons from Laguna (Calif.) Clay Co. That company specializes in clay of various colors and textures.

“One type of clay will give you results different from another type of clay,” Storer said.

This trio creates and sells urns, pots, cups, saucers, bowls, plates, candleholders, wall hangings, wind chimes, pitchers, ornamental wall hangings and much more. Annually, they sell more than 6,000 pottery pieces.

“It’s a lot of work, but a lot of fun,” said Brooke, a 1982 graduate of Turpin High School near Cincinnati.

There’s a lot of spiritual symbolism in Storer’s pottery – no surprise, since he was a minister for 50 years. He recently retired from the pulpit at a church in nearby Morrow. He calls one piece his “Fruit of the Spirit” bowl. There are eight “points” to this creation.
“The bowl reminds us we should live with love, joy, peace, gentleness, goodness, kindness, patience and self-control,” he said. “That’s found in Galatians 5:2.”

One four-sided piece, he calls his Four Squares of Life. “To get the most out of life, one must love, play, work and worship,” he said. “Much of what I do and create is symbolic.”

Ray and Brooke create from the potter’s wheel, though father claims son is the better artist. Betty stains and glazes each piece to color specification. Each creation ends up in the kiln, which fires each piece at 1,600 degrees Fahrenheit.

Storer is enjoying retirement and has the perfect hobby to keep him busy. But he often gets teary-eyed when he thinks of days in the classroom with his potter’s wheel.

“I was able to reach a lot of troubled youth in those days merely by fascinating them with this potter’s wheel,” he said. “I think all the kids enjoyed seeing it in action. I know I miss them all a lot.”
To catch a glimpse of the Storers and their creative artwork, the family will be at the 2008 Wilmington Art and Pottery Festival Aug. 1-2 at Roberts Centre, at Interstate 71 (exit 50) and State Route 68 in Wilmington. The Storers will also host an open house at their farm at 3558 State Route 73 on Oct. 18, from 9 a.m.-4 p.m.