February 2014 - Ceramics and Pottery Arts and Resources

Dish, Charger, Plate

February 27, 2014

Modern plate trends

Plates have been around ever since our distant ancestors conceived the idea of a dinner party for the tribe and felt a need to create a few clay plates to enhance the presentation.
As far as practical innovations go, the current trend of large, voluminous plates in restaurants for extra presentation possibilities has to be questioned. I’m sure the chefs get themselves into an artistic fervour when they are confronted with that large white ceramic canvas, begging to be adorned with some Zen streaks of the sauce and a dash of garnish.

Almost simultaneously, as nouveau cuisine became minimalist in quantity, the plate doubled in size. A knee jerk reaction to the age old standard of piling food on a small plate. At least the elegant white expanses invite contemplation while waiting for the second course or the artistic presentation can offer a deflection if one gets stuck in an awkward dinner conversation. As table space is a premium in most restaurants, the waitresses must be cursing this challenge for arranging the plates on the table. Not to mention the acrobatic skills involved in carrying several plates at the same time.

Strawberry cometa nuovo presentazione

I do have to concede though, these monumental dinner pieces have added an appealing aesthetic to the the dining experience. But be beware of attending a Greek wedding, the larger flying shards at the plate bust finale can be life threatening.

Ceramic plates, dishes and chargers have been a fantastic vehicle for ceramicists that have a flair with the brush and a desire for that extra space to strut their strokes.

Steven Hill

A Mexican vintage octagonal pottery plate featuring a Mexican maiden carrying fruit in a basket, Tonala or Tlaquepaque, Jalisco, c. 1920-30’s

( pocascosasarts.com )

Tony Morris, Poole Pottery – Mid Century

Virtual Museum Of Poole Pottery

Cibaldi Silvia charger

Tony Morris Poole Pottery

Virtual Museum Of Poole Pottery

Marsha Rafter platter with handles

Warren Mckenzie plate

Waylande Gregory charger, USA pre-1939

An early example of Gregory’s ceramics and glass fusion technique with melted glass in the background area around the horses.” Dia. 21.75 inches

( maineantiquedigest.com )

Chinese Famille Rose Porcelain Plate

Safavid Persian dish (1501-1732)

Kashan Minai pottery dish, Persia, 12th-13th century

Ai Hanazuka

Persian Safavid Blue and White plate

André Methey plate

Antique Japanese Kutani Akimari dish

Rene Buthaud plate – 1930, France

Circular dish in stoneware – beige sandstone with craquelure enamelled motifs.

Cibaldi Silvia -1939

David MacDonald incised geometric design dish inspired from a Nigerian tradition.

USA

Earthenware dish – incised and painted with polychrome glazes – Afghanistan 12th-13th century

Josh Deweese large platter

Ellamarie Woolley

Jackie Lynd,- Rörstrand

John Glick

Schaller Gallery

Martina Lantin

Marc Bellaire – Mardi Gras 3 dancers

Ulisse Pagliari charger

Moorcroft ‘Trout’ Plate

Sanam Emami – green serving dish

Swimmer – Vanni Saltarelli

17 inch abtsract ceramic charger characterized at the top by a human figure with outstretched arms and legs drawn up in the act of swimming

La Belle Jardiniere – polychrome faience yellow, blue, brown embossed

Sèvres, Musée national de Céramique. Photo : Paul Starosta

Victoria Christen – large oval dish

Schaller Gallery

Plate with king hunting rams, late 5th–early 6th century; Sasanian period

Pozzi Giancarlo charger, Italy

Edwin and Mary Scheier, Glazed & Incised Earthenware Charger

Steve Fullmer

Shoji Hamada dish

Stepanova platter – Jaquailne Thompson

Japanese Kutani polychrome porcelain dish – 1900

Jenny Mendes hand painted dish

Randy Johnson plate

Randy Johnston has been working in ceramics in his Wisconsin studio for more than forty years.

Pucker Gallery, Boston

Mexican Folk Art plate with turquoise inlay

Sandra Bowkett. square scraffito dish

Japanese Satsuma porcelain plate

Alexandra Tollet sgraffito dish – long haired women

Carl Cooper, oval dish

–

Posted in: Creative – 1 Comment

Wild Pottery and Ceramic Fixation

February 20, 2014

Wild Pottery in the woods of Sussex – a weekend course in primitive pot making.

After harvesting the clay from the banks of a running stream at Wapsbourne Farm, it was mixed with some pre-prepared grog (biscuit fired clay that has been ground to a powder) and fashioned into pots using your hands while sitting on logs around the camp fire which was created from wood foraged from the surrounding woods. The primitive technique used were similar to the methods employed by the ancient Romans. The simple procedure employing the most basic resources is outlined below.

Harvesting clay from the stream at the WoWo campsite in Sussex, England

Making the pots. Course leader Ruby Tayor provides Roman-style tools: chicken bones and sharpened sticks for shaping the pots and creating patterns on their surfaces

Once the pots have been made, they’re left to dry for a week before firing

Pottery being fired in a woodland fire in Sussex :

Before the firing, the pots are placed around the edge of the fire warm up so the extreme heat change doesn’t damage them

A platform is built over the embers of the fire to stack the pots on for the firing

The pots are stacked tightly at the centre of the fire

As the fire burns up through the platform the sticks catch fire. Sticks are piled up around the pots to keep the heat in.

Pots are temporarily blackened by the flames

The pots cool in the dying fire

Milk can be used to glaze the inside of the hot, newly fired pots, making them less porous

Final inspection

Photographs above : Frederika Whitehead/Guardian

Wild Pottery

Native Hands wild pottery course

…

Ceramic Fixation

A certain degree of fixation and obsession is needed to get any creative project up. Even more so if you are forging new techniques and methods and being lead along an inspirational path to your fulfilment. Sometimes that intense focus can lead to attachment. Michael James Hawk from artblog explored the psychology of attachment for an artist : “ You dive into a piece, the piece gets invested over a long period of time with your skill and passion, sweat and blood (and precious dollars). You begin to identify with the piece as a parcel of your thinking, your intelligence; an extension of your corpus. Pride swells on the brain: pride of creation, pride of ownership.

The symbology (content) itself maybe gripping or stunning enough to send you, the artist, into otherworldy states (artist as audience). Anthropomorphic pieces further trick the brain into subconscious attachments and associations, such is the power of mimesis of the human face, body and gestural expressions.
When it’s finally time to divest of the piece — when that decision has been made — often it is difficult to let it go, so great are the attachments.”

” Koan for the day: when an artist gives away their Art, into that dry arms-length marketplace, remember the pain of their bodily spiritual divestment.”

Conversely, in some instances an artist is glad to release their creation and get closure so they can get back to a normal routine or maybe embrace the joy of starting another project. Then again they might just want to recoup their investment and pay the rent.
Below is a random collection of different innovations in clay from ancient to modern that might have resulted from inspired fixation.

Zuni jar – earthenware, white slip, pigments

New Mexico,USA c.1880

Cincinnati Art Museum

Mervyn Gers – Koi swim ceramic plates

Monumental Minton vase – height 24.5 “

( Treadway Toomey )

Sculptural geometric vase – Andrew Van Assche

Let it rock :

Kristine Tillge Lund Copenhagen, Denmark

Kristine Tillge Lund rocking a ceramic bottle

( http://konsthopp.wordpress.com/ )

Kristine Tillge Lund Vase

Tile project by Kristine Tillage Lund

Vietnamese sculpture of Sydney Opera house – The artisans from the 400 year old Thanh Ha village spent two months making this piece.

Chinese Fangyi – Ceremonial Wine Vessel

( the original wine cask ? )

Green Gio Ponti table lamp

Root Hound – Kate MacDowell porcelain sculpture

Moser Karlsbad elephant vase – 20th century

( Heritage Auctions )

Steve Young Lee,-Cups Panel

Deformed vase with scroll pattern – Steve Young Lee

Familia Terracotta Teapot Set by Normann, Copenhagen

Designer Ole Jensen

Culture clash – Coca Cola Vase (1997). A vase from the Neolithic Age (5000 – 3000 BCE) with a Coca Cola logo from the 50’s

From Ai Weiwei’s Dropping the Urn exhibition.

Ceramic bottle by Nils Thorsson for Royal Copenhagen

Chewing Gum – Haidar Maidh

Emilio Casarotto abstract sculptures

Eva-Champagne – ceramic wall sculpture

Hybridized biomorphic sculptures highlighting the infinite varieties and unifying order that occur within the natural world.

FOGLIO – Brian Sironi, Italy

FOGLIO – Brian Sironi slab built vase

Inalco stoneware porcelain wood textured tiles, Spain

Inalco stoneware porcelain textured wall panels.

Metavoid by Akiyama Yo

Takuro Kuwata vase

Pottery in India – making a Ganesha statue

Stephen Bird – “ Persian blue shoot out “

Modernist ceramic bathroom furniture ( Basin, bidet, toilet ) – Ceramica FLAMINIA, Viterbo, Italy

Automotive cookie jar – Mainly Art

1951 Buick Le Sabre clay model

A 1951 Buick Le Sabre

Archaic ritual vessel (Greece )

Chinese Kangxi Style Double Moon Flask

–

Posted in: Creative – 4 Comments

Mexican Folk Pottery Tradition

February 13, 2014

The most dominant of Mexico’s crafts is in the pottery arts. Ceramics was considered one of the highest art forms during the Aztec Empire, the knowledge of making pottery is said to have come from the god Quetzalcoatl himself. The cultural trait of using bold mixtures of vivid colours in art and fabrics was also prevalent in the rich pallete of colours used in traditional Mexican pottery decoration.

The abundance of colours in crafts and other constructions extended back into pre-Hispanic times. Pyramids, temples, murals, textiles and religious objects were painted or coloured with ochre red, bright green, burnt orange, various yellows and turquoise.

Tlaxcala Palacio de Gobierno – Part of a mural created by Desiderio Hernandez Xochitiotzin.

Pre-Hispanic pottery was made by coiling the clay into consecutive circles up the sides, followed by scraping and molding the coiled work until the coils could no longer be detected.The Hispanic wares were not glazed, but rather burnished and painted with coloured fine clay slips. The Spanish introduced the potters’ wheel and new glazing techniques, including Majolica. The colourful Majolica suited the Mexican aesthetic and the Talavera pottery is renowned for its variety of Majolica and its mixture of Arab, Chinese, Spanish and indigenous design influences. Also a “ Baroque “ influence developed with a predominance of curved lines and intricate detail. This hybrid of styles was adopted by the local folk art pottery scene with most potters working in family workshops, and everyone participating in the process.
In the very early colonial period, the native artisan classes were persecuted and their art traditions were virtually destroyed, as many of the designs and techniques they used were linked to pre-Hispanic religious practices, which the Spaniards wanted replaced with Christianity. However, technically they benefited from the new crafts and new craft techniques which were introduced from Europe which were often taught to indigenous and mestizo people at the missions. Their knowledge of majolica helped them become competitive with pottery exporting. Fortunatel, many of their ancient pottery styles were rediscovered from archaeological excavations which helped the indigenous artists re-connect with some of their lost traditions. The pottery ranged from the purely decorative – religious statues, musician miniatures and muñecas ( dolls )– to the utilitarian: jugs, planters, cazuelas ( cooking pots ), small plates, chargers, salsa dishes and cups.

Mexico Mayan bowl carved with serpents and human forms, most likely a scene of the underworld 539 AD.

( met museum )

Angelica Vasquez Cruz – Angelica infuses indigenous legends and Mexican history into her pieces.

Arbol Sirena – mexfolkarts

Arnulfo Vasquez charger

Tall vase decorated with the Virgen de Guadalupe used to decorate a shrine to the Virgin in Santa Maria Atzompa, Oaxaca, Mexico

( Karen Elwell – Flickr )

Colonial Talavera dish

Jose Luis Cortez Hernandez large lidded pot, Mexico

Jose Luis Cortez Hernandez Mexican folk art pottery

Dolores Porras

Dolores Porras, an important folk artist from Oaxaca, Mexico. She was born in 1937 in Santa Maria Atzompa into a pottery making family. She grew up poor and could not go to school, beginning to make pottery when she was 13 years old and had a career that spanned over 50 years.

( 1937 – 2010 )

Photo Norma Hawthorne

This pot by Dolores Porras exemplifies her decorative narrative, with her use of iguanas and flowers.

Dolores Porras, the DVD

Dolores Porras clay figurine

Dolores Porras pottery figurine – Artista Artesana de Barro.

( Karen Elwell – flickr )

Miguel Fabian Pedro -San Bartolo Coyotepec, Oaxaca

Faustino Avelino Blanco Núñez

Galeria del Sol Alexander

Jar Mexico (Puebla), 1700 – 1750

The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Jose Garcia Antonio terracotta statue

Juana Gomez Ramirez decorating panthers on a large pot.

Juan-Santos finishing a monumental ceramic vessel.

Nahua Pottery Pitcher Mexico

Man riding a bull candle holder

Uriarte Talavera -Virgin of Guadalupe, Puebla

( .marcobeteta.com/blog/mundo )

Mexican artist Irma García Blanco standing with two of her statues in clay.

Santa María Atzompa, Oaxaca, México.

Pedro Martinez

Sara Ernestina García Mendoza (daughter of José Garcia )

Statuette of the Chupícuaro

Teodora Blanco

Pottery craft of Uruap Tianguis

Tonala or Tlaquepaque lidded bowl with handles

( PocasCosasArts )

Tonala pottery vessel

( Flickr –Dee Kincke )

UriarteTalavera plate

West Mexico Woman ceramic figure

( Saint Louis Art Museum )

Talavera Water Pitcher with vivid colours---Zinnia Folk Arts

Talavera Water Pitcher with vivid colours—Zinnia Folk Arts

Large twin spout pot – Angel Ortiz

Woman with pot garden sculpture by Jose Garcia Antonino who is a blind Oaxaca Folk Art sculptor.

( http://oaxacaculture.com/ )

Caras de Talavera — Flickr

México Vasija mixteca

Jose Luis Cortez Hernandez – Large lidded jar

José Luis Cortéz Hernández was presented with the “Ángel Carranza Award” at the 2013 Premio Nacional de la Ceramica in Tlaquepaque by Presidente Enrique Peña Nieto.

Jose Luis Cortez Hernandez cannister

Talavera-Sun and Moon wall sculpture—Dolores-Hidalgo-Gto
473x607

Jose Luis Cortez Hernandez – Large lidded jar with a panther motif

When Jose was asked where he got his inspiration from for his pottery shapes, he said, “I just feel the shape as I work with the clay.”

A Nahua Painted Jar Mexico

Jacobo Angeles – ‘Timid Owl’

Mexican ceramica meastro – Jesus Guerrero Santos lidded vessel with silver metal features.

Each item featured in our web store is a one-of-a-kind original, never to be reproduced

Tureen – Jesus Guerrero Santos

Jesus Guerrero Santos

Tureen – Jesus Guerrero Santos

See more of Jesus Guerrero Santos at http://www.jgs.com.mx/

Mexican folk art sculpture - wo,men collecting pine cones

Mexican folk art sculpture – women collecting pine cones

Oaxaca Tree Of Life

This ceramic arbol de vida or tree of life belongs to the folk art collection at Casa Panchita, a delightful guest house in Oaxaca Mexico.

Karen Elwell – flickr

–

Posted in: Creative – 14 Comments

Australia pottery – Tania Rollond and Ros Auld

February 5, 2014

Contemporary ceramicists Ross Auld and Tania Rollond are Aussies based in New South Wales. Their styles are contrasting – Ros uses stoneware, slab built textural surfaces while Tania works with wheel thrown, hand painted, smooth porcelain. Their similarity lies with their spontaneous, free spirited designs and originality.

Ros Auld :

Australian potter Ros Auld works from a studio at Borenore near Orange, in Central West NSW, specialising in slab-built, or thrown and manipulated, stoneware forms decorated with wood ash glazes and trailed and incised slips, coloured oxides and gold lustre. Both her sculptural and functional work express surface textures and subtle colours that evoke the Australian landscape.

Ros Auld studied painting and ceramics at the National Art Schools in Newcastle and Sydney. In 1975 Auld worked in the ceramic studio of the painter, John Piper in England.

Ros Auld sculpture vessel

Ros Auld

Fragment 2 – Ros Auld sculptural vase

Earth and Sky – Ros Auld slab built vase

Emerge – Ros Auld sculpture

Escarpment – 42-50-22 cm – Ros Auld

( Artiste Gallery )

Fragment 3 by Ros Auld at Janet Clayton Gallery

Lagoon – Ros Auld

Landscape and Memory – Ros Auld

( Janet Clayton gallery )

Remnant Landscape by Ros Auld

( Janet Clayton gallery )

Ros Auld

Two legged vase – Ros Auld

( Bemboka )

Bluff – Ros Auld

Ros Auld vase

Landlines – Ros Auld

Futher Afield – Ros Auld

Terrain by Ros Auld

Tracks – Ros Auld

Weather Report – large sculptural vase by Ros Auld

See more of Ros Auld works here :

www.artsite.com.au

www.janetc;aytongallery.com.au

Tania Rollond :

As I lean over the wheel, magpie songs swell outside and then flood through the open door. As my pencil searches for a line, the lightning flash of a rosella cuts across the window. As I take up my paintbrush, a passing storm stains the sky and stirs the ants – I take a deep breath as the first swollen drops land.
I shape the forms, draw out the lines and paint the colours that trace these rhythms on each white surface; patterns of this place and time.

Artist Statement for Magpie Songs at Skepsi on Swanston Gallery, 2009

Tania Rollond is a maker of exquisite porcelain vessels. Each is wheel thrown and decorated with drawings and paintings that allude to the natural world. She does not intend for them to directly imitate nature, but hopes that they convey some of nature’s dynamic force. And she loves visual clues that convey the relationships between the infinitely small and the universal. The vessels are beautiful in their own right – refined, elegant and gracefully seductive. However, the very smooth surfaces of those forms are also absolutely necessary because her wonderful drawings on them are an essential, identifying part of each piece.

Much of her work is decorated using a combination of drawing and painting with various oxides and stains – abstracted shapes of leaves, twigs and more touch the surfaces lightly.

( via Julie Gibbons at iamthelab )