60 years later, historical Iowa pottery sees spotlight

More than 60 years after her death, Susan Conrad’s pottery, made under the name Polomeme, is now being shown in a gallery at the Creston Restored Depot.

Conrad, who began her line of pottery sometime in the 1930s, continued making pottery until her death in September 1965. Her passion for pottery, and the extended history of pottery especially in local Native American culture, helped refine her talent and made Polomeme a national name.

On the bottom of Conrad’s creations, scratched into the clay directly sourced from Iowa, is always “Polomeme.” While Conrad occasionally had a pottery partner at points in her career, Conrad kept the name through decades of artistry.

What is known about Conrad is minimal. She grew up in Shenandoah and was a frequent part of KMA radio broadcasts with her sisters as one part of the program “Kitchen Klatter.”

After Edith Hansen left KMA in 1944, Conrad would be hired as her replacement on the air and in the monthly KMA Guide. Conrad wrote a few background details on her life, including the origin of Polomeme, which she said was “[American] Indian for butterfly.”

Conrad’s column in KMA’s magazine would come to a quick end; Hansen would return to KMA shortly after her husband fell ill and returned to Shenandoah, and Conrad remained a supporting player at KMA.

In a 1941 article by an unknown author in the Pennsylvanian paper The Millersville Snapper, Conrad and her partner J. Eldwin Sawhill visit Millersville University students to make pottery and explain the history of the art.

“How often have you heard the popular saying that there is beauty in everything around us?” the article asks. “Did you also know that there is even beauty under our feet if you know how to find it?”

In this visit, Conrad showed several pieces from her personal collection to the students, from an Egyptian perfume bottle to Mexican water jugs. As the feature went from history to practice, the article gave one of the only descriptions of a Polomeme creation.

“We were made to feel ashamed of our modern crafts when we saw the perfect pieces of pottery which were made by the American Indians with the aid of very crude instruments,” the article lamented. “Many students are probably trying to make pottery themselves by following the directions given by Mrs. Conrad.

“It seemed so simple to center the clay on the potter’s wheel by holding the left hand stiff on the left side of the clay and by pushing it in with the right hand; to hollow it out or open it by pushing from the inside; to draw it up; and finally to give it individual shape.”

One piece in the gallery is painted with a banner from the 1957 Iowa State Fair, which likely meant that Conrad continued creating pottery into the later years of her life before her death in 1965.

Other oddities in the collection showing at the gallery include miniature pots, vases, pots, bowls and even a small table lamp.

Conrad’s Polomeme artwork is available for viewing at the Creston Restored Depot Monday through Friday this month from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.