This handsome Lulu Scott Backus hand-built earthenware flower frog stands 4.75" high by 3.5" in diameter. It has a handsome design, hand-built in the form of a cluster of Mushrooms. It is glazed in a rich combination of brown, black, blue and green, with an aqua green blush over the top surfaces of the mushroom cluster. There are six mushrooms in all, two are toadstools. It has a gloss finish. This very well executed flower frog is signed with Backus' cipher on the side edge as shown in the photos. A white paper label that was on the base remains, no idea what it means. Backus was a rock star as potters go, with a wonderfully rich history in ceramics (see below). This flower frog is in original studio condition, no apologies. This flower frog was hand-built by Backus from conception to its firing in the kiln. Her work is not plentiful, so I feel priveleged to offer some of her pieces for sale. I recently acquired a small collection of her works and will be listing them going forward. This flower frog is a wonderful example of the American art pottery movement in the first part of the 20th century.
According to online sources, Lulu Scott Backus (1873-1955) attended the State Normal School at Brockport, NY. After graduating, she worked at Brockport School 13 where she was not only principal, but taught drawing and music as well. She also taught drawing at the Rochester School for the Deaf.  
Her affiliation with RIT began when she attended the art and craft teacher training program at the Institute, when the University was known as the Rochester Athenaeum and Mechanics Institute.  She completed her postgraduate work with Theodore Hanford Pond, working in jewelry and pottery.  She also worked under the direction of notable potter Frederick Walrath, c1909.  Later, she specialized in ceramics and worked under Charles Fergus Binns at Alfred University.  She returned to the Rochester Athenaeum and Mechanics Institute and served as director of the Craft and Ceramic Department starting in 1918. She remained at RIT until her retirement in 1952.  Backus exhibited her work extensively, and was known for her colorful and experimental glazing techniques. She was a successful ceramicist, head of the YWCA Arts and Crafts Hobby Shop, and a member of both the American Ceramic Society and New York Society of Ceramic Arts.  She was the recipient of the prestigious Lillian Fairchild Award in 1927.  She exhibited at the Syracuse Nationals from 1933-1935, 1937-1941 and 1948.  Lulu Scott Backus died in 1955 at the age of 82.