Mrs. Swimmer has never used a potter's wheel. Instead, she molds pots and bowls, often beginning with coils of clay. She uses traditional techniques for smoothing and shaping, then presses designs into the clay with wooden and bone paddles, sea shells, and smooth rocks. After drying the pieces in the sun, she fires them in an open pit. The woods she chooses for firing determine the final color.
Hardwoods produce less smoke and thus a lighter gray color.
And if you mix oak and maple and birch, that gives you a spotty color, and sometimes it gives you a picture on the bowl, too. Amanda Swimmer's expertise in working with clay has won her national recognition and many awards. Her pottery has received prizes at the Cherokee Fall Festival in North Carolina, and is on display in Raleigh, in Washington, D.C., and as far away as New Mexico. For over thirty-five years, she has demonstrated pottery making at the Oconaluftee Indian Village in Cherokee. She has also taught pottery to Indian children locally and has always been willing to give demonstrations or teach classes for interested groups or individuals.