Monthly Archives: March 2013

Master Potter Shiro Tsujimura teaches Prime Minister

 

When the student is ready the master appears :

 

Past Japanese PM, Morihiro Hosokawa left the tough political arena for another path that was possibly just as demanding. After retiring from Japanese politics in 1998, he decided to retreat to a quieter life in the countryside of Japan. The plan was to do some reading, a bit of contemplation and stop to smell the cherry blossoms. But then on a whim he decided to learn pottery. Leafing through a pottery book  wondering who would be an appropriate teacher, Shiro Tsujimura caught his attention, particularly for his Shigaraki pottery. Additionally his reputaion for being a gruff and wild spiritied master supported  his decision as he didn’t want favouritism from being an ex PM.

 

 

 

The Elusive Tea Bowl Workshop

Shiro Tsujimura at The Elusive Tea Bowl Workshop

 

When Shiro Tsujimura  was younger he considered becoming a Zen monk, and underwent formal training at Sanshoji, a Zen temple monastery, until he took up the discipline of clay at the age of 22. He was no stranger to an austere lifestyle as Morihiro discovered after he was accepted to study with him. Shiro built his house and studio in the mountains at Nara, where he  lived with his wife, 3 large dogs, around 20 cats and the bats, moths and insects that visited through the generous gaps in the walls. Sometimes for meals they would roam the woods looking for wild mushrooms and Hosokawa had to adapt to no mobile phone usage and an outside toilet made entirely of wood.

Tsujimura would rise at 6am and go to his wheel and start throwing and go through to mealtime around 7 pm.  Hosokawa sat next to him at another wheel each day and watched and also threw clay. His instructions were succinct. ” Chuck it ” for abandon that attempt and start again, ” you ask too many questions ”  if a question was asked and “stupid man” – for some encouragement. There is a saying, ” the less a master tells you the more you learn “. While in the studio, department store and gallery people would come to visit Tsujimura, asking him if he would like to do an exhibition. It didn’t register that the 73 year old man apprentice covered in clay used to be their Prime Minister. After 18 months Morihiro Hosokawa felt he had discovered the joy of using a pottery wheel and creating works and left to work in his own studio. Morihiro Hosokawa mostly makes tea ceremony ware, using many of the different glazes that characterise each of Japan’s famous pottery districts. Hosokawa also practices the art of calligraphy.

 

 

Morihiro Hosokawa

Morihiro Hosokawa on his pottery wheel

Hosokawa Morihiro garden ceramics

Hosokawa Morihiro garden ceramics

Hosokawa-Morihiro

Morihiro Hosokawa

Hosokawa Raku chawan

Morihiro Hosokawa Raku chawan

Stoneware tea bowl raku black

Stoneware tea bowl raku black – Morihiro Hosokawa

2008 Morihiro Hosokawa

 Black raku stoneware –  Hosokawa  2008

(  Five Colleges and Historic Deerfield Museum Consortium )

Morihiro-Hosokawa

Morihiro Hosokawa

tea-bowl

Tea Bowl Morihiro Hosokawa

hosokawa-morihiro

Shigaraki fired vessel

 

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Morihiro Hosokawa

Works by  Shiro Tsujimura :

 Shiro’s summation of  his artistic approach:  “A lengthy period of study isn’t necessary to make good pieces,”  “It’s not a matter of killing yourself over technique, but of the result.  It’s not even whether you use a traditional wood-fire kiln or a gas kiln. That is, it’s not a matter of process, but of whether you make pieces in the image you hope for. In the end, it is the artistic goal, the spiritual aspect.”Shino tea bowl

Shino tea bowl

ShiroTshujimura

Shiro Tshujimura tea bowl

Iga-Uzukumaru-jar

Iga Uzukumaru jar

flower-vase

Flower Vase Iga Style

( Ippodo Gallery )

Tsujimura Shiro Tea Bowl

Tsujimura Shiro Tea Bowl

(  Lacoste Gallery )

 

Shino-Sake-Cup

Shino Sake Cup

Sake cup Ido style

Sake cup Ido style

Black oribe style tea bowl

Black oribe style tea bowl

Ido-tea-bowl

Ido tea bowl

Iga-Water-Jar

Iga Water Jar

Shiro Tsujimura

Natural ash glaze large jar

 

Karatsu tea bowl

Karatsu tea bowl

Kohiki jar

Expressive abstract Kohiki jar

Natural-ash-glaze-faceted-vase

Natural ash glaze faceted vase

Japanese-Art_TsujimuraShiro

Tea Bowl – Shiro Tshujimura

( Lesley Kehoe Galleries )

Natural ash glaze spherical vessel

Natural ash glaze spherical vessel

Other Japanese ceramics  that have caught my attention  lately :

Slab Molded Ikebana Vase

Slab Molded Ikebana Vase

John Dix Chawan

John Dix Chawan

( http://flyeschool.com )

Inayoshi-Osamu

Inayoshi Osamu

( http://flyeschool.com )

Modern-Japanese-Chawan-Tea-bowl

Modern Japanese Chawan Tea bowl  – Kawai Toru

Takayuki Sakiyama

Takayuki Sakiyama

Tetsuya-Ishiyama

Tetsuya Ishiyama

(  ippodo gallery New York )

 

Shoji Hamada

Charger – Shoji Hamada

Ichino Masahiko

Ichino Masahiko

( Yufuku Gallery, Tokyo )

Mihara Ken

Mihara Ken

( Yufuku Gallery )

Maeta-Akihiro-porcelain-faceted-vase

Maeta Akihiro porcelain faceted vase

( Yufuku Gallery )

Cited Sources

www.e-yakimono.net/html/hosokawa-morihiro-jt.html

http://jmiyazawa.com/tag/shiro-tsujimura/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clayart in animation

475px-475px-Animation_vase_2

 

A 5,200-year-old bowl found in Iran’s Burnt City in the 1970’s featured a series of five images that researchers have  identified as being sequential, much like those in a zoetrope. Giving the bowl a spin, one would see a goat leaping to snatch leaves from a tree, as seen in the video clip below. What is also interesting is the images were drawn in distinct frames, similar to a film strip.

The remarkable piece of pottery was unearthed from a burial site by Italian archaeologists, who hadn’t noticed the special relationship between the images that adorned the circumference. That discovery was made years later by Iranian archaeologist Dr. Mansur Sadjadi, who was later hired to direct the excavation of The Burnt City, located 57 kilometers from the city of Zabol in the southeastern Iranian province of Sistan-Baluchestan.

317px-238px-boz7

While no one questions the early instance of animation, researchers have been at odds over the significance of the earthenware bowl’s artwork. It was originally thought to depict the goat eating from the Assyrian Tree of Life, but archaeologists now assert that it pre-dates the Assyrian civilization by a thousand years. Maybe some budding entrepreneur had it spinning on a pottery wheel and charged admission to come and witness the dancing goat.

While this is a rare example of a deliberate sequential animation, other techniques were also exploited to add an animated look to pottery. The pottery of many early civilizations have images that depicted their lifestyles. Village life, religious icons and rituals, sporting activities and other pursuits like hunting were a popular narrative. Several panels on pots were sometimes utilised and pottery imagery became a form of storytelling and  historical documentation. The round surface quite often contributed to the perception of motion and added to the dynamic. Some pottery artists had the skills to create figurative imagery that was full of movement, sometimes supported by decorative patterns, which also have the ability to convey motion.

 Figurative and decorative pottery art have maintained their popularity through the ages and they surely stir up deep psychological connections with the past. Both form, imagery and richer hotter colours contribute to an appearance of kinesis and these possibilities are explored below. It is notable that from a Feng Shui perspective, ceramic pieces that express movement are useful for placing in Chi static locations as they promote chi flow.

Amphora vase, designed by Eduard Stellmacher

 Amphora vase, designed by Eduard Stellmacher

( Treadway Toomey )

Safavid-Blue-and-White-Bottle-vase

A Safavid Blue and White Bottle Vase, Persia, 17th Century .

( Sotheby’s )

Beth Tarkington

Beth Tarkington

Birthe Flexner

Lidded Jar – Birthe Flexner

sascha-brastoff-wall-plaque

Sascha Brastoff –  red earthenware tribal wall plaque

( Eric Berg’s Early California Antiques )

Ceramic-vase.-Ruscha-Milano

Ceramic Mid-Century vase – Ruscha Milano

Claywork A Little CompanyTurtle Spiral

Claywork – A Little Company   …    Turtle Spiral

David-Porras

David Porras

Dragonware Plate Rayven Vintage

Dragonware Plate  – Rayven Vintage Etsy

 [ Dragons are generally displayed with a lively dynamic ]

eldreth pottery

Eldreth Pottery

Island Girl Pottery

Island Girl Pottery – Etsy

Jennifer McCurdy

Cut Wheat Vessel – Jennifer McCurdy

Rough Curly Vessel

Rough Curly Vessel – Nicholas Bernard

Light Blue Kelly Lynn Daniel

Light Blue Teapot and Mug – Kelly Lynn Daniel

Mata Ortiz-Paquime Pottery

Mata Ortiz-   ” Paquime Pottery”

Mitchell Grafton Brown Snake jug

Mitchell Grafton – Brown Snake jug

model wearing paisley silk.

Model wearing paisley silk Balenciaga gown 1954

( An example of a static pose, creating a sense of movement by virtue of composition )

Plate with a hunting scene

Plate with a hunting scene

Queen Tut Pillow by Gail Markiewicz

Queen Tut Pillow by Gail Markiewicz

Satsuma ware Vase

Satsuma ware Vase

Stig-Lindberg.

Stig Lindberg.

textured-platter-Michael Kifer

Textured platter – Michael Kifer

( c2ceramics.blogspot )

The-Statue-of-the-Unkown-Maroon

The Statue of the Unkown Maroon –  Port-Au-Prince. Haiti

Vase--Elio Schiavon

Italian modernist vase -Elio Schiavon,  circa 1960

Villeroy and Boch vase

( Treadway and Toomey )

Chinese turquoise vase

18th/19th Century Oriental turquoise glazed twin handled bottle shaped vase

( Denhams Auctions )

plate by Mara

Plate by Mara – emotions expressing movement

june-kaneko

June Kaneko – spirals always convey motion

Hercules and Hydra

Hercules and the Hydra Serpent

Jennifer Mecca-vase

Jennifer Mecca  – Vase With Orange Flowers

421px-561px-black statue

Gliding Kuan Yin statue

PierreReymond(1513-1584)French enamelist

Solomon Turning to Idolatry

Pierre Reymond (1513-1584) French enamelist

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Three Raku BottlesAlan and Rosemary Bennett Cedar Creek Gallery

Raku fired fish

Alan and Rosemary Bennett – Cedar Creek Gallery

Deniseb Romecki

Denise Romecki

F L U X from candas sisman on Vimeo.
 
 
 
 
 

 

Sculptural artist – Allison Newsome

475px-407px-Clay-Woman-Digging-Steamers

 

Allison Newsome’s detailed and intricate sculptures and ceramic reliefs address issues of the environment and how humans interact with it. Locations where she has resided such as the redwood forests in her native Northern California, Mexico and Prudence Island at Narragansett Bay have been sources of inspiration for her sculptural art. Her works all reflect an intimate connection with the elements. Clay-Ojai-Harvest, Shell Tree Gotto, Clay-Woman-Digging-Steamers typically traverse her ongoing themes of sustenance and the wilderness. Her body of work has explored the fundamental, utilitarian, methods implemented on our land and water and how our landscape and human psyche have changed from the wilderness to the agrarian, into the industrial / post industrial. Highly textural pieces combine with earthy palettes and splashes of colour to express her unique narrative. In addition to clay she also utilises other natural elements such as branches, shells, and flowers to create ephemeral sculptures.

Alison Newsome’s ceramic sculptures are in the permanent collections of The RISD Museum, the Newport Art Museum, Mobile Museum of Art in Alabama, and The Beatrice Wood Museum. Her artist residency at the Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts in Ojai, California resulted in a strong body of work and a video http://www.beatricewood.com/allisonnewsome/newsome_video.html

Allison Newsome received a MFA from Rhode Island School of Design and a BFA from Chico State University.

 475px-346px-newsome_blog-(2)

 

 

 

 

 

Shell-figure-in-a-grotto

Shell figure in a grotto

 

 

 

 

runnels-and-rivers

runnels and rivers

 

 

 

 

Bronze-Woman-Mining

Bronze Woman Mining – Allison Newsome

 

 

 

Amphora-workshop

Amphora workshop

 

 

 

 

allison-newsome-sculpture

Allison Newsome sculpture

 

 

 

 

well_shaft_cups

Well shaft cups sculpture

 

 

 

 

 

 

shell-tree-grotto

Shell Tree Grotto

( The Cove installation )

 

 

 

newsome_pre-pottery

Post Pre-Pottery Figurine Workshop – Thursday – Sunday, October 24 – 27, 2013

The Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts
Tel: 805-646-3381 or email us at [email protected].

Neolithic pre-pottery figurines (5,000.00-3,000.00 BC) as a metaphor and point of departure for clay sculpture.

 

 

 

 

Ojai-Orange-Pants-collection

Ojai Orange Pants collection

 

 

 

 

pink blossom branches

Pink Blossom Branches

 

 

 

 

sespe_mountains

Sespe Mountains

 

 

Shell tree-in-the-grotto

Shell tree in the grotto

 

 

 

 

High Tide

High Tide

( On Island exhibition )

 

 

 

 

Factory Garden Folly

Factory Garden Folly

 

 

 

Clay-Salt-Marsh-with-Reclining-figure

Clay Salt Marsh with Reclining figure

( Agrarian series )

 

 

 

 

Clay-Orange-Skirt

Clay Orange Skirt

 

 

Clay-Ojai-Harvest

Clay Ojai Harvest

( Agrarian series )

 

 

Clay-Nun-Buoy-with-Pelican

Clay Nun Buoy with Pelican

( Aquatic series )

 

 

Clay-Mid-Channel-Buoy

Clay Mid Channel Buoy

 

 

Clay-Lighted-Bell-Buoys-in-progress

Clay Lighted Bell Buoys in progress

 

 

 

Apple-blossom-branch-skirt

Apple blossom branch skirt

As in nature Allison pushes the extremes of her materials. Her combination of glazes heightens the drama and lustre of each work, giving life and motion to the sculpture.

 

 

amphorae_and_figure

The Harvard Amphora and the Figure workshop was a multi-disciplinary collaboration with University of Rhode Island’s Inner Space Center and included Amphorae research from Black Sea Byzantine shipwreck discoveries. The Amphora shape has long been associated with the human figure as it not only contains fluids, but makes figurative reference to the foot of the pot, the shoulder, the neck, and other aspects of the body.

 

 

 

 

almonds_harvest

Almonds Harvest

 

 

 

 

The-cove-series

Sculpture from The Cove series

 

 

 

 

Water-rocks-clay-nd-corn

Water, rocks, clay and corn

Images of corn feature in Allisons sculptures. ( a universal symbol of connection to the Earth and ruled by the Earth Element – you can smell the earthiness in fresh corn )

 

 

 

 

donkey_night

Donkey night

 

 

newsome_workshopStill-of-three

Still of Three

 

 

 

orange tree

Orange Tree

 

 

Newsome-Strassacker-bronze statue

Allison at bronze factory – Strassacker, France

 

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Balance of Water  – during construction

214px-500px-Bronze-Narra

Narra of the Narragansett –  2011

( Bronze sculpture )

updated

Allison Newsome Garbage Patch Gyre Murale

Garbage Patch Gyre Murale – 2013

Ceramic mural by Allison Newsome

Allison Newsome_Pastoral from her Dream Stone wall installation

Allison Newsome – Pastoral

Transport_Amphora_Commodities-2013 by Allison Newsome

Transport Amphora Commodities-2013 by Allison Newsome

zoomorphic_2 workshop - 19th-Century-Neoclassical-Sculpture-Allison Newsome

 -19th Century Neoclassical Sculpture-

Allison Newsome zoomorphic 2 workshop, Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts, Ojai, California

Sculpture Embraces Horticulture

Biomimicry ceramic raincatcher – exploring biomimicry with a series of three rain-cistern sculptures whose ceramic leaf shapes will assist in their collection and storage of water.

Allison-Newsome-Raincatcher series

 Ceramic Leaves – Biomimicry Raincatcher

Allison-Newsome--Bio-Mimicry--rain-catcher-series

Allison Newsome Biomimicry rain cistern sculpture

Allison-Newsome - Biomimicry raincatcher Blitheworld Mansion

 Raincatcher sculpture – Allison Newsome

Yellow flower ring catcher - Allison Newsome

Allison Newsome – Yellow flower ring raincatcher

yellow-flowere-detail-3rainy-day

Yellow Flower Raincatcher – Alison Newsome

Blithewold Mansion Gardens and Arboretum –    Bristol, Rhode Island, USA

 

 

 

Audrain-Museum-Rhode-Island-Newport--balustrad-and-lion-finials Alison Newson

Lion Balustrades – Alison Newson

To be installed at the Audrain Museum, Rhode Island, Newport

a-newsome heart sculpture - three figures holding a heart

Bronze sculpture for Heart Health group – Allison Newsome

Alisons Website is HERE

 
 
 
 
 

 

Rock Art from the Dreamtime.

Kimberly-rock-art

Wandjina  rock painting – ( Kimberley Foundation )

Aboriginal rock paintings in the Kimberley

 

Bradshaw/ Gwion Gwion

 

The Kimberley mountain ranges stretch across the northern tip of Western Australia. Joseph Bradshaw, an English pastoralist  found the original rock art sites in 1891 on the Roe River in the north-west Kimberley. They became known as the Bradshaws, but currently the figures are more commonly known by their local Aboriginal name Gwion Gwion or Gwion, a name derived from one of the Aboriginal beliefs in the Kimberley that explains their origins.  The Bradshaws are significant to world history because instead of depicting animals, they use humans as the primary subject. The use of humans as subjects is very rare for paleolithic art. This  mysterious form of rock art could legitimately be referred to as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

 

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Ancient Bradshaw cave art paintings

( Bradshaw Foundation )

 

The late Graham Walsh, documented and studied the art for over 40 years. The combination of the pictures themselves and the oral history of the local tribes led Walsh to conclude that they were painted by an unknown Asiatic race before the last ice age. Walsh also concluded that they were a form of iconography. Walsh based his conclusions on the fact that the paintings showed no signs of development and simply appeared in their most advanced form.

It is an Aboriginal understanding that the fauna and flora of the landscape possess an ‘increase centre’ or an area of high electro-magnetic energy where the performance of correct rituals will increase the life essence or Kurunba stored. The natives know that it is not the actual paintings in the caves that activate the Kurunba but the rocks on which they are drawn; the rocks being imbued with the ‘spirit’ of the entities depicted. Sacred works of art such as the Wandjina act as powerful images, capable of stimulating and intensifying mind power during rituals, similar in nature to Vantras or designs used in Tantric meditative techniques. Bradshaw/Gwion rock art  is best recognised from the depiction of graceful, active, long-bodied humans, often of a mulberry hue with tassels, hair adornments, and possibly clothing .

 

 

The-Kimberley-Region-North-Australia

 Bradshaw rock art figures

( Bradshaw Foundation )

 

 

Out-in-the-Back-Country Ancient Australian rock painting

Bradshaw rock art in the Kimberleys

( photo – Hugh Brown  )

 

325px-447px-Tassel-Bradshaw-Figures---ancient rock drawings

 Bradshaw Tassel figures

( Kimberley foundation )

 

 

 

Bradshaw-Paintings Gwion rock painting at King Edward River black figures on red rock walls

 Gwion rock painting  at King Edward River

 

473px-351px-Bradshaw-Paintings---Gwion-

 Bradshaw/Gwion  rock paintings

( Chris O’Connel photo )

 

Australian aboriginal rock paintings.- vivid figures painted on rock

 Bradshaw rock art – Graham Ezzy – flickr

 

Bradshaw-art in the kimberley

Bradshaw Art of the Kimberley

 

 

Wandjina

 

Here, in some distant age, mysterious enigmatic images of mouthless beings, some clad in robes and surrounded by what appears to be a halo, were inscribed on the rock faces of numerous caves. Sacred to the Aboriginal of the Kimberleys, the images are revered as awesome beings who in primeval times, wandered around the landscape, instructing the indigenous people in the use of weapons and tools and initiating the tribal laws, rites and customs, and after completing their task they disappeared into the heavens or into the ground. They called themselves Wandjina, sometimes spelled Wondjina.

Wandjinas, the other rock art style for which the Kimberley has long been famous, were first recorded by the explorer George Grey in the Kimberley in 1837 . These Wandjina sites are found in the Glenelg River area.

At least 4,000 years old, it is a living art form representing ancestral beings originating in the sea and the sky.  Images of Wandjina are characterised by halo-like headdresses and mouthless faces with large round eyes, fringed with eyelashes, set either side of an ovate nose

The large scale, and solid or static appearance of the Wandjina art contrasts with the Bradshaw/ Gwion art, with its more delicate images of a usually smaller scale, and its less tangible connection with contemporary indigenous culture.

 

 

 

Bigge Island rock art by indigenous Australians

 Bigge Island rock art – Kimberley WA

 

 

 

Kimberley-Wandijina-painting on cave walls

 Kimberly rock art painting  – Wandjina

 

 

 

Australian Wandjiina-rock-art-kimberley

Wandjina rock-art at Raft Point in the Kimberley

 

raft-point-rock-art cave ceiling rock paintings

 Raft Point Wandjina rock art

 

wandjina rock art australia red and white wall art

Wandjina rock art, Australia

( Stevo850 Flickr )

 

wandjina rock painting on a vertical wall

 

The Aboriginal people always drew only what they saw. They never expressed any creativity or fantasy in the rock paintings.

They believed the Wandjina’s are  the originators of all human customs, and the inventor of all implements.

 

 

wandjina cave art in Australia

Aboriginal cave painting of a Wandjina

 

 

Exploring the Australian Kimberly rock painting

Moran River 2002

( bradshaw foundation )

 

 

Introduction-to-the-Bradshaws - outback native art

 Graham Walsh and Robert Hefner III

( bradshaw foundation )

 

Narwala Gabarnmang cave art Australia

Narwala Gabarnmang is covered on its ceiling and pillars with rock art, and only accessible by a 90 minute helicopter journey from the outback town of Katherine. Researchers consider the site one of the most extensive rock art sites in the world, described as the ‘Sistine Chapel’ of Australian rock art sites.

 

 

The-art-sites-of-Ubirr,-Nourlangie-Rock-and-Nanguluwur-are-internationally-recognised-as-outstanding-examples-of-Aboriginal-rock-art

 Ubirr, Nourlangie Rock and Nanguluwur are  outstanding examples of Aboriginal rock art

 


Ubirr, Kakadu rich red Australian landscape

Ubirr, Kakadu, Northern Territory

 

The-art-sites-of-Ubirr,-Nourlangie-Rock-and-Nanguluwur-

 Kakadu rock art

 

 

 

The-Aborigine-Corroboree body painting in Australia

  Corroboree dance with String Cross

( bradshaw foundation )

 

Australian Aboriginal-art-painting

 Edward Blitner ?

 

 

 

Australian bark painting

  Bark painting from western Arnhem-land depicting a woman with two dilly bags and a digging stick. The design was probably associated with ceremonies to increase fertility.

( Scala Archives )

 

australian-indigenous-bark-painting whits figures on a dark background

 Bark painting depicting two pairs of male and female figures, possibly spirit beings, with two snakes

 

 

 

Wandjina Serpent rock painting large serpent with a human figure

  Wandjina Serpent rock painting

 

 

 

The-Kimberley-Region rock art paintings of cranes

  Grahame Walsh views a painting of Cranes

( bradshaw foundation )

 

 

mysterious-mountains sculpture by Thanakupie

Mysterious Mountains  – late Tapich Gloria Fletcher ( Thanakupi ), an Indigenous ceramicist and sculptor born in the remote Aboriginal community of Napranum, near the tip of Cape York Peninsula.

( Cairns Airport )

see more from a post on Thanakupi here

 

Australian Bardi Dancers at Stonehenge

 Bardi dancers from Western Australia at Stonehenge, the first Aboriginal dance group to stage a performance there.

Photo: Julian Andrews

 

Bark aboriginal painting of hunter and kangaroo

 Bark painting in X-ray style depicting a kangaroo and a hunter. The specific form of cross hatching served to associate paintings with individual clans and to endow the objects painted with spiritual force.

( Werner Forman Archive )

 

bark-painting-lightning-man Australian aboriginal

   Bark painting from western ArnhemLand, depicting a legendary ‘Lightning Man’ or Wala-Undayna, one of the super-natural beings of the Dreamtime.

( Werner Forman Archive )

Australian-aboriginal-sacred disk - carved stone

  Churinga. It was believed that the ancestors of the Dreamtime and their weapons had become these sacred discs.They represent each person’s immortal spirit, while the design is a totemic pattern of the associated sacred site.

 ( Werner Forman Archive )

Wandjina-rock-art

 The Wandjina weren’t depicted with mouths because they never spoke, they only communicated telepathically, according to ancient beliefs.

 

 

Clayart bliss at Vallauris

 

Vallauris ceramics invariably have a distinctive look, whether it be the the iridescent Art Nouveau wares from Massier, the vivacious, colourful, highly textured glazes or the expressive mid-century, modernist hand painted pieces that typically characterise the region’s pottery.  The adventurous glazes of Vallauris were applied to both conventional forms and the more radical sculptural designs.

GILBERT VALENTIN Ceramic pitcher

 Gilbert Valentin – matt black glaze  with red enamel pitcher

( Rago )

 

Evolution of Vallauris pottery 

 

Located in a region in south-eastern France, Vallauris is nestled among low coastal hills and with its rich supply of clay, has been a pottery-making centre since Roman times. Originally the suppliers catered for the local market with culinary and garden wares and some exports. Following the arrival of the railways in 1873, production and distribution opened up and the region soon had around 50 producers.

The Massier family, a dynasty of potters dating back to before the French Revolution played a key role in the expansion of pottery innovation in Vallauris. Clément Massier began working with his father Jaques in 1856. After his father hired Gaetano Gandolfi, an Italian master-potter, Clement began training with him and pioneered several techniques and metallic glazes including their signature iridescent luster glazed pottery. Subsequently, production turned from utilitarian pottery to more individual artistic creations. He was also joined by his brother Delphin and cousin Jérôme, who soon formed the core of the producers at Massier. Jean Gerbino worked in the early twentieth century at Massier and was installed as a craftsman from 1930. Cedric Massier is the latest and sole practitioner of the family art in Vallauris.

Other traditional pottery production companies in Vallauris were Guige, Saltalamacchia, Gaunet Brothers and Foucard-Jourdan who produced domestic pots in ‘terres vernissés’, using traditional designs and techniques.

 

 

 

Clement Massier iridescent green glazed vase

Jerome Massier iridescent glazed vase

( Liveauctioneers )

 

 

 

Clement Massier Art Nouveau vase with raised relief females

Clement Massier Art Nouveau vase

 

 

Delphin-Massier pitcher with female sculpture handle in mainly turquoise

Delphin Massier Vallauris Majolica Pitcher ( 19.5 inches )

 

 

Vallauris post war pottery revival. 

 

In 1938 Suzanne and Georges Ramie founded the pottery workshop Madura in Vallauris. They produced traditional pure forms of the Provence highlighted with enamels. From the late 40’s, an influx of potters from different parts of the country gravitated to Vallauris, drawn by the attractive conditions of a small, old, picturesque, pottery town in the South of France with availability of material, a qualified work force, workshops, quality of life, and a cheaper cost of living.

Picasso arrived at the Madoura studio in 1946 to experiment with painted, sculptural ceramics. Also that year Roger Capron moved to Vallauris, where he founded a ceramics workshop known as ‘l`Atelier Callis’. Along with Picasso he contributed to the renaissance of ceramics in Vallauris. Other famous artists such as Marc Chagall, Edouard Pignon, Anton Prinner, Victor Brauner, also were introduced to ceramics at Vallauris. The location, once  known as the ” city of 100 potters entered  another”golden age” where it flourished again in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. The rich artistic fabric was further supported by ceramic artists such as Jean Derval, Roger Collet, Georges Jouve, Charles Voltz, Jacques Blin, Gilbert Portanier , Robert Picault, Marius Bessone, André Baud, Jacques Innocenti, Alexander Kostanda , Albert Thiry and Gilbert Valentin .

 

 

 

ceramic-plate-CLOWN-face motif and hand-painted

Hand painted clown face plate – Vallauris

PICASSO---MADOURA-Charger two hands holding a fish

 Picasso Charger – Madoura

Vallauris had become a centre for the production of decorative ceramics and the influence of Picasso and Jean Cocteau had manifested itself in hand-thrown pots, decorated with freely painted figurative motifs.

In 1952, Roger Capron purchased an abandoned pottery in Vallauris and opened a small ceramics factory, with 15 workers. By 1957 he had established a considerable international reputation. In 1980 his factory employed 120 people and during that same decade he reverted to making one-off pieces which were shown internationally.

The potters in Vallauris catered, in the main, for a popular tourist market and only, to a much lesser extent, for a more discriminating public of art-minded collectors. However artistically ambitious works at affordable prices were produced both in artist potters studios as well as in workshops and factories. Vallauris currentlly has a Kitsch Museum which displays thousands of ceramic items that reflect the creative output from the 50’s to the 70’s where audacious art was made for the tourist market by anonymous ceramicists expressing their flamboyance.. Poodles, cicadas,  domestic or exotic animals and other quirky creations populated  a colourful universe. These were usually released under the ” Made In Vallauris ” label.

 

 

Large_Vallauris_Mosaic_Vase by Jean Gerbrino

Large Vallauris mosaic pattern vase – Jean Gerbrino

(  xupes art and antiques )

 

 

marius-bessone

Marius Bessone lava glaze lamp base

Jean-Cocteau-1889-1963 abstract dish with three head motif

Jean Cocteau  ( 1889-1963 )    Trois faces aux triangles  

Impressionist Modern Art Auction

( Christie’ s )

Jean De Lespinasse black stylized mid century cat motif rectangular dish

Jean De Lespinasse –  mid century cat motif rectangular dish

 

 

 

grandjean-jourdan-0-vallauris-vase-bud-vase-with-2-handles-ceramic

Grandjean Jourdan

 

 

French-Vintage-Vallauris ceramic vase with raised relief wasp motif

French Vintage Vallauris Handpainted 3D Cicada Art Pottery Vase

 

 

 

 

VALLAURIS-ceramic-jug with red glaze and yellow inside

Vallauris ceramic jug

 

 

 

 

Cone-Vase-gerbino-vallauris with mosaic pattern

Jean Gerbino  Vallauris vase

 

 

 

 

Vase Bleu Vallauris stylized jug with blue sea foam glaze

Slip cast earthenware free form vase, decorated with ‘Écume de mer’ glaze ( sea foam ).

Vallauris 1960

 

 

 

Vase-Vallauris wind in hair contemporary bust

Poreclain Vase – Vallauris

 

 

 

Charles-Voltz mid century vase

Charles Voltz  Vallauris vase

 

 

 

Baud-red-modernist-vase

Andre Baud vase

Vallauris. France

 

 

Jean Derval-Vallauris-ceramic vessel with cubist head motif

Jean Derval  – 1925

 ( drouot.com )

 

 

Antique-French-Vallauris-vase with loop handles

Vallauris French antique, loop handled, drip glaze vase.

 

 

 

Chagall-King-David-janekaha

Mark Chagall – King David hand painted plate

( jane kaha )

 

 

Vallauris-vase-with-birds matt glaze

Vase with bird motifs signed Vallauris

 

 

 

VALLAURIS---MARIUS-BESSONE-lava glaze vase

Marius Bessone vase – Vallauris

(  tout vendre.fr )

 

 

 

VALLAURIS-FRANCE-lidded vessel with landscape vista

Vallauris ceramic lidded vessel

 

 

 

Vallauris-French-design-ceramic footed vessel

Vallauris vase designed by Auguste Lucchesi

 

 

decorative-panel-with-a-dragonfly-man-by-roger-capron-on-artnet

Dragonfly man – Roger Capron

 

 

Vallauris-ceramic-vase with parrot on a perch motif

Vallauris vase decorated with parrots

 

 

 

vallauris modernist vessel

Twin handled black  Vallauris vase with white abstract piping

 

 

 

roger-capron flared geometric vase

Roger Capron  geometric modernist vase

 

 

 

 

 rue-centrale-vallauris

Rue Centrale Vallauris

 

 

Jacques-Blin vase with panel motifs

Jacques Blin

 

Polychrome-kitschy-modernist-vallauris-vase

Polychrome kitschy modernist vase signed Vallauris

 

 

 

Petite-Chocolatière-ceramic

Petite Chocolatière – Charles Voltz

Vallauris

 

 

 

vallauris-vase-newdekorart

Vallauris art deco vase

( newdekorart )

 

 

 

le-cavalier-pablo-picasso-1950

‘Le Cavalier’ pitcher – Pablo Picasso

1950

 

Alexandre-Kostada

Alexandre Kostanda

 

 

 

made-in-valauris

Traditional form with drip glaze

 

 

 

KOSTANDA--Vallauris

Alexandre Kostanda

 

 

meditation-par-roger-capron-sur-artnet-raku-1995

‘Meditation’ ceramic bust – Roger Capron

 

 

 

vallauris-pitcher-vase-

 Vallauris Pitcher modern shape

 

 

etendart innocenti

Jaques Innocenti coffee set

475px-633px-FymFT-TfI5-TvhRoT.GivA

Modernist sea foam glaze, free form vase signed Vallauris

( Collectors weekly.com )

 

 

Musee-Jean-Cocteau

Musee Jean Cocteau – Menton, France

 

 

 

Roger-Capron-Vallauris

Roger Capron – Vallauris

 ( Exposition “Biot reçoit Vallauris” )

475px-654px-

 Vallauris lava textured glaze vase

 

 

 

LARGE-FLAT-CERAMIC

Large ceramic modernist platter – Vallauris

Vallauris-GLAZED-CERAMIC-VASE with floral decoration

Floral decorated vase, Vallauris

Faïence-Vase-by-Jacques-Innocenti

Faïence Vase by Jacques Innocenti

Vallauris  1950’s

 

 

Roger Capron Vallauris ceramic bottle

 Roger Capron, Vallauris

 

 

Georges-Jouve, lime green vase

Georges Jouve

 

 

Manuela-CERVANTES abstract vase

Manuela Cervantes abstract vase, Vallauris, France

 

 

 

planter-1900-clement-massier

Clement Massier iridescent glaze planter

 

ψ

 Sources cited – ceramicsconversations.blogspot.com.au

www.vallauris.org/

www.vallauris-golfe-juan.fr

 

 

Three Canadian Potters

 

 

Judy Weeden

 

Bird at my window

Bird at my window

 

Judy Weeden describes her approach to pottery :

” More than 37 years ago, I left an academic career in biology to immerse my hands and head in the making of pots, first in Fairbanks, Alaska and now on Saltspring Island, B.C. My first teachers and mentors were steeped in the Bauhaus tradition, but most of my understanding of clay as an artist’s medium has come from the mistakes, failures, hopes and successes the willful clay throws our way. Early in my potting career my work was wheel-thrown functional ware. Presently I am incorporating a broad range of forming methods such as slab assembly, slump and hump molding, throwing and altering, slip-casting, whatever it takes to achieve the forms I want. My pieces are still based on a vessel format and for the most part are meant for household use. Surface decoration with geometric and figurative patterns is achieved by slip-carving or impressing the malleable clay. Some forms require only a simple glaze. ”

475px-339px-heron-2

Heron 2

 

” No two pots are ever alike. My primary goal is to create work that synthesizes beauty and harmony both in a functional and a decorative context. The pots have become a canvas for expressing my own relationship with the powerful natural world around me and my experiences in it. This canvas includes not only the life I see outside my studio window, but my own inner landscape with its needs for linearity and order, compassion for beauty and light, and a dedication to creating my share of these in the world. I hope my work speaks for itself with independence and fearless honesty. ”

 

Technique

” My major decorative strategy is slip-carving or slip inlay at the leather hard stage. The work is then bisque fired to harden it for the remaining steps in the process.

Following the bisque, pieces are covered with terra sigillata made from red firing clay or a felspathic glaze.

Recently, I have begun using underglazes in painting nature motifs on the pots. I like to restrict these colourful paintings to “windows” on the surface of the pots which requires making the pot with that in mind. Underglazing happens in the bisqued surface. ”

All stoneware pieces are fired to cone 10 in a propane kiln.

 

 

 

Judy Weeden

Asymmetrical lidded vessel

 

 

 

My Window

My Window – Judy Weeden

 

 

 

 

Owl-Urn

Owl Urn – Judy Weeden

 

Judy-Weedon-studio

Judy Weeden studio

 

 

Running the gauntlet slab vase

Running the gauntlet-  slab vase

Salt-Spring-Island-Potter-Judy-Weedon

Salt Spring Island Potter Judy Weeden

 

 

 

Teapot family broody hen

Teapot family broody hen

 

 

The-human-form-slab-vase

The Human Form – slab vase

 

325px-342px-memimage

Merimage teapot

 

 

Casserole slab-built

Casserole – slab built

 

crane-2

Crane 2

 

 

 

Evolution-covered-jar

Evolution – covered jar

Judy Weeden website

 

 

 

 

Shane Norrie

Shane Norrie is a resident of Ingersoll, Ontario and has been pursuing a career as a ceramic artists and painter for over a decade. In 2003 he left behind a career in advertising in Toronto to become a full-time artist. As a ceramicist he has experimented with a range of styles, including Raku and produces distinctive organic, earthy tones and textures. His forms and surfaces successfully combine both traditional and contemporary aspects. “Although I experiment with many different types of clay, glazes, and firing methods, my interest is in surface effects and textures.  I enjoy glazes that are transformed by the kilns and firing processes.  I love to be surprised when I unload the kiln.  I think my curiosity keeps my work fresh and interesting.”

To add to his many credits, the Ingersoll District Collegiate Institute created a scholarship in the artist’s name.  The Shane Norrie Art Scholarship honours a graduating student who has chosen to pursue creative post-secondary studies in a visual art-related program. “Art was extremely important to me throughout high school, and I was honoured with a scholarship when I graduated. I thought it was appropriate to offer someone the same encouragement that I received”.

As a painter he favours traditional landscapes in both watercolours and acrylic.

 

 

Lichen-bowl

Wheel thrown lichen bowl – Shane Norrie

 

324px-485px-SHANE-NORRIE46

Acorn Bottle – Shane Norrie

 

475px-475px-Untitled-(Crow)

Shane Norrie landscape painting

 

 

 

SHANE-NORRIE-raku

Shane Norrie – shadow crackle vessel

 

SHANE-NORRIE14

Multi fired wall plate

 

 

 

 

475px-472px-SHANE-NORRIE9

Shane Norrie landscape painting

 

 

SHANE-NORRIE7

Shane Norrie sculpture

 

 

 

SHANE-NORRIE-ceramic-plate

Wheel thrown and carved wall piece

 

 

SHANE-NORRIE

Bronze acorn bottles

 

 

 

shane_throwing

Shane Norrie

 

 

 

SHANE_NORRIE_Paterson_bottles

SHANE NORRIE – Paterson bottles

 

 

 

 

Shane_Norrie-wheel-thrown-raku-vessel

 

 

 

 

SHANE-NORRIE

 Long necked acorn bottles – Shane Norrie

 

 

 

shane-norrie-ceramics

Lidded Vessel

Below are some examples of Shane’s recent ceramics which are thinly-thrown, textured pieces,  reminiscent of the ocean and its surroundings. Foamy tide pools, seashells and dry river beds are the inspiration for this new body of work.Green Lidded Vessel

Green Lidded Vessel

Pierced Lichen Bowl

Pierced Lichen Bowl

Lichen Bowl Medium

Lichen Bowl Medium

Pierced Lichen Bowl with Red

Pierced Lichen Bowl with Red

Shane Norrie website

 

 

Steve Irvine

 

” Pottery has always been more to me than just a way to earn a living. Clay is an instrument of understanding — a way to look for meaning, truth and harmony in my life. Working in the arts also gives me the opportunity to bring a small degree of joy and beauty into other people’s lives, which helps me to find my place in the world.

I am mostly self taught, but I also spent three years as a ceramics major at Sheridan College School of Crafts and Design, in Mississauga, Ontario. In 1974, my wife Joan and I moved into an old country church on the Bruce Peninsula and I set up my pottery studio. I sell mostly on a wholesale basis to shops and galleries in Southern Ontario and I’m also a member of the Owen Sound Artists’ Co-op, which is a retail arts outlet run co-operatively by about 40 artists in the region. ”

box_vase

Small bottle with copper blue glaze

tea=bowl

 Wheel thrown tea bowl of stoneware clay

chawan_raku

Raku fired tea bowl

gold_stud_jar

Gold leaf stud jar

Steve Irving handbuilt vase

Steve Irvine large hand built vase -copper blue glaze lightly spayed on the surface

thrown iron_vase

Wheel thrown vase with a temmoku glaze as a base, plus brush strokes over top in iron, rutile and titanium.

porcelain-vase

Porcelain vase –  copper barium type blue glaze, with gold leaf at the neck

pattern jar

Gold leaf and black glaze pattern jar

Steve Irving teapot

A Steve Irvine teapot – fired to Cone10 reduction, copper barium glaze.

Steve Irving woodfired jar

Steve Irvine handbuilt stoneware wood-fired jar ( high temperature  )

450px-659px-copper_cam

Pinhole fully functional ceramic camera.

325px-480px-steve-irvine

Steve Irvine

black-green-teapot

2005 Teapot – Black iron glaze, with a green trailed glaze pattern over the top.

Steve Irvine website

 

 

 

 

T&S-HARLANDER-CANADIAN-ART-pottery

T & S  Harlander Canadian art pottery