Shirley Corl

The Story of ACJA member Shirley Corl of Corl's Kiln's
By Captain Budge Currier (Shirley's son)

Have you ever seen an artists work and wondered, "How did they make this?" I have often seen a wonderfully made cookie jar and thought, wow I bet that this was made in an expensive workshop with sophisticated equipment, exact specifications and a laborious process. The truth of the matter is sometimes quite the opposite.

During the next few minutes you are about to learn the trade secrets behind Shirley Corl's marvelous little company Corl's Kiln. Most of you have seen and no doubt appreciated Shirley's high quality and detailed products. She started making cookie jars in 1990 and has since expanded her product line to include string holders, pie birds, and shakers.

Shirley's most recent jar, "Uncle Remus", is a perfect example of her work. Uncle Remus seems to come alive as you stare into his eyes; he even plays Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah.

Shirley's Turnabout Leroy/Lucy is another example of the quality put into each jar. Her shakers and sting holders are equally as wonderful, as can be seen in the Mammy string holder.

Ok, so how does she do it? Believe it or not, she works in a converted garage in her home in Caro, Michigan. Her workshop is simple; nothing flashy with works in progress stacked everywhere. Shirley's fancy tools consist of nothing more than a paintbrush, a table, and a kiln. I have learned that the secret to her success is not a fancy workshop, but rather her desire to make each jar or shaker unique, deserving of the Corl's Kiln seal she puts on the bottom.

Shirley begins each jar the same way - with an idea. The idea phase is usually quite scary so we leave her alone for a while. From the idea, she then molds a sculpture. From the sculpture, a mold is made. When she gets the mold, production can begin. Of course her production line consists of herself. She pours the jars, cleans the raw clay, paints, fires, and glazes all by herself. Occasionally she will have some help, but most of the work and all of the painting on every jar is done by her, by hand, one jar at a time. After the molds are made, she can usually complete the rest of the process in about 4 days, depending on the detail of the piece she is making.

I was amazed when I saw her paint a jar. The process is quite remarkable; you cannot even tell exactly what color you are painting until AFTER you fire the jar. Each jar is a special order and customers can pick what color they want, how much gold, and which accents or details they want on each jar. Not a single jar gets shipped without Shirley's stamp of approval. I have seen her break many jars that would have held a dozen chocolate chip cookies just fine, but she considered substandard due to minor flaws. If you are interested in seeing more of Shirley's products visit her website at: http://www.corlskiln.com Let us know what you thought of this article and what you think of our site. Oh, and remember, the next time you see a jar that Shirley made, think of a simple, talented lady sitting on an old stool quietly painting away in a garage in Michigan. Thanks!

*Editor's (Sandi Phillips) note: Shirley will be doing the show jar at Belleville, for the National Cookie Jar Show. She is in the process of sculpting them; when the proof is done she promises us a photo! Shirley, we would like to thank both you and your son Budge; we'll be looking forward to seeing the show jar!

Turnabout Leroy/Lucy