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While in Turzovka, Peter was
a drotár.
Drotárs were craftsmen skilled in the use of wire and
tin to make and repair household utensils. They were
especially skilled at creating a tight wire mesh around
crocks, pottery, and ceramic ware to repair them when
they developed cracks. They fashioned tin pots and pans
from sheet metal, and repaired those with holes. This
was largely a door-to-door service, with no
transportation other than their feet. Some continued the
craft when they emigrated. There are accounts of
Slovak established factories in major U.S. cities that
manufactured pots and pans, where many drotár immigrants
sought employment
Peter's work was evident throughout the Lamont
neighborhood. Many of the large earthenware crocks
used for storing lard, dill pickles, and sauerkraut by
his Slovak friends and neighbors were reinforced in this
fashion. As a kid, I always wondered how and why
they put "chicken wire" around the crocks
Over the decades, the craft has evolved into a highly
skilled wire art-form. Today's drotárs create
everything from fine jewelry to statues from intricately
worked wire.
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The woven wire
covering on this ceramic
pot is typical of the handiwork of drotárs.
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Drotar wirework as an art-form
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A typical
drotar.
(Early 1900s)
Click for
larger image.
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