With grotesquely distorted, drippy eyes, elongated noses, the occasional horn or wart and crumbling, often pointy teeth, the pottery face jugs of Jim McDowell are ugly enough to scare the devil himself.

But that's the point. As frightening as his pottery may be, the Johnstown resident incorporates aspects of African-American history into his show at the Clay Place in Shadyside. In the end, Face Jugs and Friends is more seductive than scary. McDowell began making face jugs more than 15 years ago, prompted by a story from his family history attributed to his great-great-great-aunt Evangeline. A woman alive during the time of slavery herself, she said that one of the ways in which Africans honored their ancestors was to leave jugs near the graves of the deceased. When the first Africans came to New World, they were introduced to Christianity and adopted the Christian belief in the devil. The face jugs placed on graves were intended to be ugly enough to keep the devil away from the grave so that the dead could go to heaven. Each of McDowell's jugs is signed with the fish symbol associated with Christianity. Although it's the artist's personal mark, the signature adds an interesting allusion to the work's religious influences. Although they are not pleasant to look at, knowing the history behind the jugs is enough to make them intriguing. The ugly mugs themselves don't differ much in appearance. Earthy-colored glazes cover each of the strange faces, in varying shades of brown, green, chalky blue, beige or terracotta. Each piece has been wood-fired with shiny glaze. The tribute to history doesn't end with the face jugs themselves. In the statement accompanying the exhibit, McDowell explains that he also took inspiration from a man known as "Slave Potter Dave," a slave from North Carolina who was owned by the publishers of a newspaper. Slave Potter Dave could read and write, abilities illegal for slaves, and he incorporated anti-slavery epigrams into his pottery. McDowell doesn't know for certain if Slave Potter Dave ever made face jugs, but he has incorporated his predecessor's style into his work. The back of one jug that stands about 12 inches tall, complete with wide eyes and drippy ears like a donkey's, reads, "Slavery is wrong be happy." On the back of a deep brown jug, the well-embellished face dotted with what could either be warts or jewels says, "Live simply laugh a lot you are a king." The sayings add another dimension to the works and make them more than just reproductions of historical artifacts. The exhibit is not limited to McDowell's face jugs. Face Jugs and Friends includes the more "traditional" pottery McDowell throws, too. Here, the smooth lines of beautiful vases, urns and birdhouses contrast sharply with the jagged edges and rough texturing of the faces. A smooth pot, about eight inches high, has been glazed with a beautiful iridescent covering and rendered in shades evoking dusk or dawn. Birdhouses crafted by McDowell have been hung fancifully in the gallery and resemble pieces of fruit hanging from a tree. A sea-foam green vase rimmed in chocolate brown contrasts heavily with the rough-edged face jug sitting adjacent to it.

There's not as much substance among the vases and urns and the more practical items as there is in McDowell's face jugs, but there's a definite elegant style.