We would bet you
that we are not the only ones in Kings County with some Deichmann pottery
hidden away. While Deichmann pottery is not unfamiliar to many New
Brunswickers, specifically those from Kings County, the story of Erica and
Kjeld Deichmann may not be very familiar to most, nor the little collection of
Deichmann pottery we have amassed here at the museum (below are just a few sample pieces).
The Deichmann
pottery, which they named Dykeland, in reference to the dykes on their property
at Moss Glen, was created by Erica and Kjeld Deichmann. Erica and Kjeld met in
Alberta Wisconsin
to Danish parents, while her father was the pastor of a Danish Lutheran
Church Denmark when Erica
was six, only to move to Canada Alberta
is 1927, drawn by the promise of large open spaces, not found in Denmark , and the fascination with Canada
The original
plan had been to farm and they began by raising chickens, but when their cellar
flooded they discovered clay, and with the discovery of clay they decided to
change course and begin making pottery. They first went back to Europe for a year where Kjeld apprenticed to a potter and
Erica did weaving. The Deichmanns took months of experimenting to finally make
pottery they saw as fit to sell. In the beginning they broke hundreds of failed
pieces of pottery. They also spent untold hours developing their own clay by
combining theirs with other Maritime clay, while Erica also made her own glazes.
The making of their own clay and glazes was a defining feature of Deichmann
pottery, as most potters used premade clay and glazes. Despite their rocky
beginning with pottery, within five years Deichmann pottery had won awards at places
such as the Canadian National Exhibit and had traveled to Paris
and New York
The Deichmann pottery was also known for its pieces with a ‘pebble glaze’, as
well as Erica’s creation of the ‘goofus’, a llama-like creature that Erica was
famous for making. The name did not originate with Erica but was thought to
have come from Malcolm Morley, a visiting English journalist.
Their house in
Moss Glen became a hub for artists and friends to gather. It also became a
great tourist attraction, which only increased when they moved to Sussex
Kjeld died in
1963 and Erica remarried Lieutenant Milton F. Gregg in
1964. Interestingly enough, Lieutenant Gregg has a link to our current exhibit,
“Though Your Lads are Far Away,” an exploration of Kings County during the First World War. Lt
Gregg was from Mountain Dale, Kings County and was awarded a Victoria Cross for his
actions at Cambrai , France
Special thanks to summer staffer Lydia Blois for this post!
Works cited
The New Brunswick Reader April 29, 2000
