Background
Stratton was born in Hancock, Michigan, in the Upper Peninsula and later moved with her family to Ann Arbor, following the death of her father, and from there to the Detroit area, when she was in her early teens.
Stratton was born in Hancock, Michigan, in the Upper Peninsula and later moved with her family to Ann Arbor, following the death of her father, and from there to the Detroit area, when she was in her early teens.
There she attended her first art classes at the Art School of the Detroit Museum of Artist She followed that up with two years of studies at the Art Academy of Cincinnati, from 1887 to 1889, where she studied with the regionally important sculptor and educator Louis Rebisso.
Returning to Detroit she founded the Pewabic Pottery, named after an old copper mine (or sometimes, the Indian name of a nearby river) in Michigan"s Upper Peninsula, with Caulkins in 1903. In 1907 the enterprise flourished and moved from the Carriage House behind the Ransom Gillis House, on John R Street, to a new building designed by Detroit architect William Stratton located on Jefferson Avenue, where the business still thrives. She died on April 15, 1961.
Under her leadership, Pewabic Pottery produced architectural tiles, lamps and vessels.
The Pewabic Pottery became known far and wide for its iridescent glazes, and was used in churches, libraries, schools, and public buildings. New York architects McKim, Meade & White asked her to create the tiles for the roof garden of the Hotel Pennsylvania.
Her work can be seen in Detroit at the Cathedral Church of Saint Paul, the Fisher Building, and Eliel Saarinen"s Kingswood School for Girls. Pewabic Pottery is Michigan"s only historic pottery.
lieutenant is designated a National Historic Landmark.
Stratton established the ceramics department at the University of Michigan and taught there. She taught also at Wayne State University. Today Pewabic Pottery offers classes, workshops, lectures, and internships for potters of all ages.
Her art was exhibited at the Detroit Art Club in 1995, and was a charter member of the Detroit Society of Women Painters and Sculptors.