Story outline
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Pond Farm Pottery
Welcome to Pond Farm Pottery, the former home and studio of Bauhaus-trained ceramicist Marguerite Wildenhain. -
Stop 1. Marguerite Wildenhain
Perched on Pond Farm’s southern hillside, Marguerite Wildenhain’s modest home embodies a life rebuilt after upheaval. Trained at Germany’s Bauhaus, Wildenhain fled Europe. At Pond Farm she joined an artists’ colony at Pond Farm. Following personal losses and the colony’s 1953 dissolution, she remained here, transforming her practice into Pond Farm Pottery and shaping American studio ceramics. -
Stop 2. Grounded in Nature
Under the peach tree by the barn surrounded by the redwood forest, students gather each morning during Marguerite’s summer sessions as she shares ideas from philosophy, literature, and current events. The natural environment and the landscape she cultivated here were a critical part of Marguerite’s life, work, and teaching. -
Stop 3. Craft of Pottery
In the south studio Marguerite’s wheel sits in the corner, a testament to sustained craft and teaching. Trained at the Bauhaus and the first woman in Germany to earn the title of master potter, she emphasized rigorous, fundamentals-driven methods. Her teaching centered on repeated work at the wheel: a limited repertoire of basic forms honed through careful observation and critique. Students refined their technique throughout the summer sessions. -
Stop 4. Workshops & Community
Inside the barn’s main studio, rows of kickwheels line the north and south walls, evoking the rhythms of Pond Farm’s summer sessions. From 1952 to 1980, about 25 students spent nine intensive weeks here, working six hours a day and forming a tight-knit community called the “Pond Farmers.” Decades later former students carry on her teaching through their practice. -
Stop 5. Marguerite’s Impact
In the barn’s upstairs showroom Marguerite quietly displayed and sold her pottery, believing work should speak for itself. Leaving Germany, she built a resilient school of practice whose influence endures through her students. -
Stop 6. A Historic Site
Pond Farm Pottery preserves the spirit of Marguerite Wildenhain and the artist community she helped sustain. Though she stopped teaching summer sessions in 1980, she continued living and working here until 1985. In 1963 the surrounding land became part of Austin Creek State Recreation Area. Designated a National Historic Landmark in 2023, Pond Farm celebrates a legacy of craft, community, and landscape that continues to inspire visitors worldwide. -
Stop 7. Continuing Marguerite's Legacy
Pond Farm Pottery celebrates Marguerite Wildenhain’s dedication to craft and the Bauhaus-influenced pottery community she helped sustain. The site preserves her studio practice, teaching methods, and belief in learning through making, illustrating how disciplined artistry shapes lives and communities.
Voices
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Jane Rekedal
Pond Farmer
CyArk
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Wayne Reynolds
Pond Farmer
CyArk
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Birgit Nielsen
Interpretive Senior Park Aide, CA State Parks
CyArk
Gallery
Partners
About the Project
This virtual experience is a collaboration between CyArk, California State Parks, Parks California, and Stewards of Coast and Redwoods. In the virtual experience, virtual visitors can explore Pond Farm Pottery, part of Austin Creek Recreation Area in Guerneville, California and the former home of Bauhaus ceramicist, Marguerite Wildenhain. The experience highlights first-hand insights from park interpreters and “Pond Farmers” who were Marguerite’s students.
Related Links
Credits
Thank you to Wayne and Caryn Reynolds, Jane Rekedal, and Birgit Nielsen for your insight about Pond Farm.