From the Ashes..

Oh what did they do in Paris?

2011-12-14T18:23:00.000-08:00

Well, at least in France. Someone today contacted me in regard to what pottery would be used by someone in France around 1325 (roughly).

Per the National Museum Wales, they say here:

"During the Middle Ages, several regions of France exported pottery to Britain - notably northern France, Normandy and the Ardennes. Most of the French pottery found in Wales came from the Saintonge area of south-west France.

The trade in pottery from the Saintonge area to Britain began early in the 13th-century and lasted for about 500 years. At the start of this period the English ruled neighbouring Gascony, and many of the vessels that have been found in Wales probably made their way to Britain from the ports of La Rochelle and Bordeaux as part of mixed cargoes (wine being the most important commodity).

Pottery from the Saintonge area was made from a fine clay that was well suited to the throwing of light, thin-walled shapes such as those seen here. The clay also had a low iron content, which meant that, when fired, it produced a vessel with a white or buff fabric."

Per the British Museum here:

"The clear glaze and the choice of greens and browns used to decorate the body of the jug may well have been influenced by Italian pottery, particularly from Orvieto. The distinctive pulled lip spout and the decorative motif of the bird and shields are both features which commonly occur on Saintonge products of this type."

Here are some examples of this type of ceramic jug:

Bowls in Medieval England

2011-08-08T17:39:00.000-07:00

Bowls have been around for an incredible amount of time. You'd think it was easy to document certain shapes for whatever culture, but it's been a little on the tricky side. I think what happens is, especially with pottery, that pieces tend to get handed down or, if they break in use, they are mashed up and used for the garden or whatever sideline the person decided at the time. Broken pottery has a variety of uses, from sharpening knives to using the ground bits to help with paving a road (like sand).

Also, a bowl doesn't really have many different shapes to it. You can belly it out more or have a straighter wall, play with the lip or the foot, but it is pretty much the same more or less.

Here is a Medieval bowl, late 11th-mid 14th century bowl from the Museum of London.

Some of the details on this one.

Material: ceramic; earthenware
Measurements: H 43 mm; DM (rim) 108 mm
Museum Section: Medieval
Summary: London-type ware? flared dish. Splash-glazed internally.

Maiolica Misconceptions

2011-06-12T22:10:00.000-07:00

I was having a discussion with someone in regards to Maiolica, and it dawned on me that perhaps others had the same ideas and misconceptions about this very popular technique.

Italian 17th Century Drug Jar

I say popular because out of the many ceramic decorative techniques that have been done over the centuries, this is still being widely done worldwide, and it carries a pretty hefty price tag by the talented artist. It’s also reasonably easy to reproduce. Many hobby shops and do-it yourself ceramic stores like “Color me Mine” chains have hobby equivalent kits and samples of the white base glaze with the multi-colored paints (glazes) to use on top of it in order to fake the original look. In addition, there are still potteries (towns) in existence that have been making this same pottery for over 800 years which says a lot about the demand of the art as well as the strong tradition.

Her questions were: “Why didn’t our medieval cousins in Spain or Italy just use porcelain which was all white instead of using a white underglaze across the less than lovely earthenware? And why do both sides instead of one side? And Maiolica is only Italian, isn’t it? It never came into Spain, nor did other countries like Spain have such lovely wares like Maiolica.”

Dish with Bird, Hispano Moresque 15th Century

>whew< Lots of questions. Here are the answers: I think the best approach is explaining what is Maiolica and all the rest of the questions (misconceptions) will be answered. Maiolica is another name for Tin-glazed pottery or earthenware. There are actually several names for Tin-glazed pottery depending on the origin of the pieces. Tin-glazed pottery is pottery covered in glaze containing tin oxide, which is white, shiny and opaque. (See tin glazing.) The pottery body is usually made of red or buff colored earthenware and the white glaze was often used to imitate Chinese porcelain. Oxides or colorants are used across the base glaze in order to decorate the piece and the glaze and oxides melt together in the kiln. The other names for Tin-glazed pottery can be Hispano-Moresque Ware (Spain), Delftware (Netherlands & England), Faience (French), Maiolica (Italy and very general term used modernly for the technique), and Majolica (a term that has seeped into ceramic consciousness from the 18th Century). The technique came through Moorish potters originally and was named for the trading island on the trade route called Majorca (at least one of the stories for the name is). Through Majorca the wares went to Spain, then to Valencia and finally to Italy.

With this being said… per the Victoria and Albert Museum: “The term 'maiolica' was used in 15th-century Italy for lustrewares imported from Spain. It is usually said that the name derives from Majorca, an island that played an important part in this trade. But it has recently been argued that the name derives from 'obra de Mallequa', the term for lustred made in Valencia under the influence of Moorish craftsmen from Malaga. The name was soon adopted for Italian-made lustre pottery copying Spanish examples, and during the 16th century its meaning shifted to include all tin-glazed earthenware.” (Website over here.

Lusterware, Hispano Moresque 15th Century

Tin-Glazed wares were invented because of the popularity of China porcelain, especially the blue on white pieces (which are still being produced in China and other Asian countries). In most of Europe, the potters didn’t have access to porcelain or any sort of clay that was remotely that white, smooth or reflective. Also they didn’t have the know how to get their kilns hot enough to fire porcelain to the correct temperatures for vitrification. Chinese porcelain was highly sought after and it was very popular with the rich and well to do. So, as a potter trying to make a living, they tried for years to come up with a way to recreate porcelain using what they had on hand. The earliest samples of tin glazed pottery have been found in Iraq in the 9th Century.

So, for a potter to hit it big time and get more commissions, they would want to try to conceal their red or buff clays with some sort of white glaze, then decorate it with oxides (colorants) to make their pieces look as close to the porcelain as possible. If you left one side unglazed, then the whole faux finish was lost.

Delftware, Jar with William of Orange on it

Pottery, however, is far from easy. It is definitely part art and very much the science of chemistry. There are basics when creating a glaze, since all glazes have a glass element, a melter (something that melts the glass-glaze element), and a stabilizer (something that keeps the glaze from running off the piece and together) within them. You have to worry about textures (smooth or rough… and there are tons of variants in between), the opacity (is it a clear glaze or opaque, again variants within), and then one of the biggest factors of all, which is, how the glaze “fits” on your clay body.

What “fits” is that when you glaze your pieces, will the glaze be what you envisioned it to be or will there be glaze faults. There are numerous glaze faults, each one needing troubleshooting through a series of chemical adjustments, application variation and changing up firing (one list of glaze faults and how to fix them is here. A few of the common glaze faults can be crackling, pin holing, blistering, running, and crawling. With tin glazed pottery, one of the issues the potters were having was a glaze fault called “shivering” which was when the glaze was literally falling off the pot either right after firing, or later. Shivering is when the glaze compresses too much and pops completely off, or that it squeezes the clay body so much that it cracks off.

Italian Drug Jar, 17th Century, Maiolica

Being that this was such a popular technique once the secret was out on how to make it, most European countries have a version of it. They just don’t always call it by the same term as “maiolica” (see above for the various terms). More recently, as the archeologists were digging up tombs in Egypt, they came across very bright blue pottery and thought it was tin glazed work, so they called it “faience.” This is actually not the same at all, but what we potters call Egyptian paste, used for beads and smaller decorative items. It is a clay body that has the glaze mixed within it, so when it fires, the turquoise glaze develops across it’s surface.

Being that we live in such a modern age, with airplanes and the ability to pretty much get whatever we need as artists, many of us forget that it wasn’t always like this. For potters in Europe, they worked with what they had and developed over time new techniques. That’s the great thing about history, seeing where it all started and how far along we came, even if it’s only a piece of pottery.

Italian Drug Jar, 17th Century Maiolica

Dishes in Medieval Oxford

2011-06-11T10:03:00.000-07:00

The plate is an important part of any meal, the centerpiece of the modern table, however, dishes were used earlier on as well. A dish is usually a shallow piece with taller more vertical walls than a standard plate. I suppose you could compare it to dog food dishes of today in some cases.

This example below is from the Ashmolean Museum:

*Common Name Early Medieval Oxford ware
*Class Dish
*Height 56-65mm
*Identifier PW45
*Production centre dispersed industry to the north west of Oxford
*Distribution local
*Use baking and preparation of food
*Date Late 12th - early 13th century AD
*Published in Mellor in Allen 1994, Fig 70 no 1, 328
*Historic context ditch in rural hamlet

In the Period, plates had multiple uses. They weren't just to sit on a table, but more to be used in preparation of cooking or also used in the process of baking.

Some links for Maiolica

2011-02-26T16:13:00.000-08:00

Maiolica (also known as tin-glazed pottery) is one of those techniques that seems to enthrall so many. When I first started doing pottery over 12 years ago, maiolica was one of the first things I dabbled in. As someone who recreates pottery (not just painting, but the entire vessel), maiolica since it was created, really is more of a decorators paradise. I believe this is why the technique is still being done to this day and that it isn't linked to any one vessel or shape, but it was used on everything from sculpture to plate.

There is a definite skill set involved in doing maiolica as apposed to a potter that does perhaps less painterly pieces. Today there are hobby solutions, companies that make glazes that have created base glazes and the colorants that copy the effect of what was done in history without the lead. Companies like Duncan, Amaco, Hobby Colorobbia (here is a place you can buy all three of those glazes online) have tested and sell over the counter, food safe, low-fire glazes that are bought at local clay distributors or online. Color Me Mine, a chain of stores that you can go in, buy pieces to paint and fire, also can help you make maiolica ware, are nationwide (I believe). Making the maiolica effect is next to simple to recreate nowadays, but it's the brushwork and the designs (and design placement) that really makes a piece more accurate.

Here is a great link to some maiolica pieces at the Fitzwilliam Museum to take a look at if you are contemplating doing some maiolica anytime soon.

Chafing Dishes shown

2011-02-13T13:00:00.000-08:00

Having an open flame wasn't always the most safest thing to have. Not only was it smokey, but you didn't want to burn your house down if your home wasn't build with a chimney. You know, not all houses were made of bricks. Not all homes were built for hearth cooking. So, chafing dishes were a great thing to have on many levels.

Hot coals were placed within the bowl and a skillet or pipkin would rest on the very top.

Accession number: 5976
Collection place: Surrey/Hampshire border
Production date: 1550-1700
Material: ceramic; earthenware
Measurements: H 76 mm; DM (top) 158 mm; (base) 89 mm
Museum Section: Post-Medieval
Summary: Surrey/Hampshire border whiteware, green-glazed chafing dish, with oppsed horizontal loop handles and pedestal base, with a rectangular aperture. The rim of the bowl is cut into a series of triangles.
Location: Object stored at Mortimer Wheeler House (Ceramics and Glass store)
Sub-category: Surrey/Hampshire border ware.

Accession number: A26128
Collection place: London
Production date: 1480-1680
Material: ceramic; earthenware
Measurements: H 180 mm; DM 199 mm
Museum Section: Post-Medieval
Summary: London-area post-medieval slipped redware, green-glazed chafing dish. One side of the body is missing. Triangular aperture in the pedestal base and one handle.The rim has a triangular projection as a support and there are three slits in the centre of the bowl.
Location: Object stored at Mortimer Wheeler House (Ceramics and Glass store)
Sub-category: Surrey/Hampshire border ware.

Salters

2011-01-28T12:47:00.000-08:00

Salt was an important seasoning throughout period. In my series "for the kitchen" here is an example of an item that was just for keeping salt safe on the table. Thought, it doesn't really look like the safest place to keep salt.

Accession number: 5904
Collection place: Surrey/Hampshire border
Production date: 1551-1700
Material: ceramic; earthenware
Measurements: H 61 mm
Museum Section: Post-Medieval
Summary: Surrey/Hampshire border ware salt with a yellow glaze on the nowl and on underside of the bowl in places. There are kiln scars on the rim and some of the rim is chipped.
Location: Object stored at Mortimer Wheeler House (Ceramics and Glass store)
Sub-category: Surrey/Hampshire border ware.

Here is another one for good measure.

Accession number: 83.463/25
Collection place: Surrey/Hampshire border
Production date: 1567-1633
Material: ceramic; earthenware
Measurements: H 58 mm; D (base) 54 mm; (rim - incom) 85 mm appro
Museum Section: Post-Medieval
Summary: Surrey/Hampshire border ware pedestal dish with a green glaze on the outside. Part of the bowl is missing.
Location: Object stored at Mortimer Wheeler House (Ceramics and Glass store)
Sub-category: Surrey/Hampshire border ware.

From the broken one, you can see more how it is shaped and works more.

Funerary urns: art throughout the ages

2011-01-15T08:40:00.000-08:00

Throughout history and in many cultures, death and how it is handled, is somewhat of an art form. Burying noble Kings and Queens, powerful Chieftains, with all their worldly goods for their "afterlife" is an ongoing theme is a number of lands, throughout the centuries. And while, we as modern Americans mostly don't surround our bones with chariots and furniture (well... not usually) we do have a few fancier ways of handling death.

I realize this is a sensitive subject for most people. As a potter, the urn is something rather important as it is a tribute to ones life and spirit. It has been made, again, throughout the centuries in most if not all cultures. In Egypt, jars were made to hold precious organs of the dead. Vikings and Gauls alike had urns to hold their ashes and to this day, ashes are displayed in some of the most fantastic pieces of artwork you can possibly imagine.

While this is modern, I wanted to share this LA Times article on Funerary Urns as Modern Art. The article itself is really fantastic and the urns are inspiring.

More kitchen essecentials

2011-01-02T12:39:00.000-08:00

These are a little on the later period side for SCA members, however, like I mentioned in a previous post, storage vessels are an important part of the kitchen. A number of SCA participants want to make complete kitchens, so I figured I would try to make suggestions wherever I could.

Accession number: 5933
Collection place: Surrey/Hampshire border
Production date: 1550-1700
Material: ceramic; earthenware
Measurements: H 83 mm
Museum Section: Post-Medieval
Summary: Surrey/Hampshire border redware skillet with clear glaze internally and long, straight side handle; one side of the vessel is missing.
Location: Object stored at Mortimer Wheeler House (Ceramics and Glass store)
Sub-category: Surrey/Hampshire border ware.

Cauldron Cooking in Medieval England

2010-12-19T11:51:00.000-08:00

cauldron, caldron [ˈkɔːldrən]
n
(Cookery) a large pot used for boiling, esp one with handles
[from earlier cauderon, from Anglo-French, from Latin caldārium hot bath, from calidus warm]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003

********************

caul·dron also cal·dron (kôldrn)
n.
1. A large vessel, such as a kettle or vat, used for boiling.
2. A state or situation of great distress or unrest felt to resemble a boiling kettle or vat: a cauldron of conflicting corporate politics.

[Middle English, alteration of cauderon, from Norman French, diminutive of caudiere, cooking pot, from Late Latin caldria, from feminine of Latin caldrius, suitable for warming, from calidus, warm; see kel-1 in Indo-European roots.]

*****************

While looking over the Museum of London.org site, I came across this lovely Cauldron. I'd never seen this one before and this is one of those pots that I am excited to see because, while it is fairly broken, it shows different handles and some fairly modern looking feet. I spoke briefly in a previous post about pipkins and tri-pod pipkins, so the cauldron, at least this one, is one step above a pipkin. It's like the father of cookpots. This one has feet and it's big. It's handles on either side really show that this thing was ment to be full of liquid and hauled up. It probably had a lid by the deep gallery it has (potter term... inside lip I guess you would call it). There wasn't one on the site, but I would assume there was one by the size and because it is a cauldron (it's cooking use, there is a need for a lid).

Accession number: 18931
Collection place: London
Production date: Medieval; late 13th-mid 14th century
Material: ceramic; earthenware
Measurements: H 240 mm
Museum Section: Medieval
Summary: Largely reconstructed London-type ware cauldron with opposed, angular loop handles, glazed internally.
Location: Object stored at Mortimer Wheeler House (Ceramics and Glass store)
Category: Medieval glazed ware.
Sub-category: London-type ware.

I really would love to try to make one of these one of these days!

Pipkins and Late Medieval cooking

2010-12-15T11:35:00.000-08:00

While being a potter and being in the SCA, a number of people seem to want the "pipkin," however, I believe they may feel that the pipkin automatically comes with three "feet" or legs. Not the case.

In history, cook pots come in all shapes and sizes. The tripod pipkin, does indeed, comes with three legs (stands or short rods, if you will that are attached to the bottom of the pot, balancing the vessel). There are also skillets and a variety of pots for cooking as one could imagine looking at our cooking stores.

Here is a sample of a standard pipkin, with a pinched pouring lip and pulled handle.

Accession number: A20607
Collection place: London
Production date: Late Medieval; 15th century
Material: ceramic; earthenware
Measurements: H 97 mm; DM (rim) 132 mm; W (with handle) 207 mm.
Museum Section: Medieval
Summary: Complete Late London-type ware pipkin with pinched pouring lip, and thin, clear glaze inside and out.
Location: Object stored at Mortimer Wheeler House (Ceramics and Glass store)
Category: Medieval glazed ware.
Sub-category: London-type ware.

Cooking in Late Medieval England

2010-12-07T11:29:00.000-08:00

Cooking really hasn't changed all that much over the centuries. A good shape, once it is figured out, is used culture to culture, for hundreds of years. It is particularly true with the cookpot. Styles and decorations may come and go, but for the most part, the roundness and basic shape really is stand from early BC until even now.

Since I am just showing samples of Late Medieval England right now, here is a "jar" or a cook pot.

Details as follows:

Accession number: 5821
Collection place: Hertfordshire
Production date: Late Medieval; mid 14th-mid 15th century
Material: ceramic; earthenware
Measurements: H 143 mm; DM (rim) 165 mm
Museum Section: Medieval
Summary: Late Medieval Hertfordshire Glazed ware (2419) cooking pot.
Location: Object stored at Mortimer Wheeler House (Ceramics and Glass store)
Category: Medieval glazed ware.
Sub-category: Late Hertfordshire glazed ware.

What every Medieval kitchen needs: The Jug

2010-11-26T12:34:00.000-08:00

The kitchen is more than cookpots. In a kitchen, one needs storage jars for all those ingredients to keep them dry. Colanders, mortar and pestles for crushing, bowls for mixing, and serving plates. There wasn't running water in the house (well, unless the roof was leaking, which is bad) so, having jugs to go gather water from the well or nearest water source was a good thing to have.

The jug was a multi-tasker. It not only brought water into the home for cooking, but it could also hold other liquids (ale, wine, broth, soups, etc) both hot and cold. One can also use it to fill a tub for the yearly bath (in some cultures) or help do the washing. Some people used jugs to drink directly from while others used as pitchers. Some had pinched spouts, while others didn't. And it isn't a surprise by it's versatility that there are so many jugs of so many sizes and shapes found in digs.

I'll be posting a number of Jugs to show a few examples in the future.

Accession number: A15259
Collection place: Hertfordshire
Production date: Late Medieval; mid 14th-mid 15th century
Material: ceramic; earthenware
Measurements: H 330 mm
Museum Section: Medieval
Summary: Late Medieval Hertfordshire Glazed ware baluster jug with green glaze, stabbed handle and stamped boss decoration in the form of stars.
Location: Object stored at Mortimer Wheeler House (Ceramics and Glass store)
Category: Medieval glazed ware.
Sub-category: Late Hertfordshire glazed ware.

Cookware in Late Medieval England

2010-11-26T11:21:00.000-08:00

As I research pots to make, I figured I would post a few of the more interesting I come across in a series.

I have many pottery books I've collected over the years, but I tend to look over the Museam of London's online collection a lot. I do this because of their variety as well as they tend to add stuff, which to me, is fairly exciting if it is a new shape or new item that they haven't had up before.

One of the first ceramic objects I am posting is a dripping dish. Details below:

Accession number: 23053
Collection place: Hertfordshire
Production date: Late Medieval; mid 14th-mid 15th century
Material: ceramic; earthenware
Measurements: H 44 mm; L 301 mm; W 240 mm
Museum Section: Medieval
Summary: Reconstructed Late Medieval Hertfordshire Glazed ware dripping dish, with pinched pouring lip at complete end, straight strap handle in centre; almost complete.
Location: Object stored at Mortimer Wheeler House (Ceramics and Glass store)
Category: Medieval glazed ware.
Sub-category: Late Hertfordshire glazed ware.

Looking at this, to me, it looks like the other side that is broken, may have had a pinched pouring lip as well, but I would have to look at a few other examples to make sure they were made in production like that. I think that it had one because it looks a little thicker before the break, preparing for that.

I found an interesting account of dripping dishes and use at Pennsic 2009 (as well as cooking at Pennsic, which was the main point of the article) over here.

Great Western War: the Day After

2010-10-11T10:31:00.000-07:00

Per usual, I did a number of pieces for Great Western War this year, however I did forget to take pictures before the event. I did take shots there once I set them up on my iphone.

These are various 11-12th shapes mostly English...

Here is some later pieces, some Italian influences.

The pitcher is Italian, the cookpot is English and very late and probably more out of period by about 50 to 100 years.

Some of my silly fun pieces... sushi plates with organic forms as well as sake cups.

Roman mortar and pestles.

Tudar "goblet"...

I'm actually doing a clear down of my stock so that I hope do find brand new forms to do (knock on wood) so hopefully in the next few months I will have cups and so forth that I have never done before.

I'm also planning on a new modern line since people just keep asking for modern work and I turn down an enormous amount of business as my historical work sells fair slowly. The amount of time I spend on the historical research doesn't cover my costs, so I'm afraid that I have to find a happy balance or else I will have to completely stop all pottery production completely. I certainly hope people understand.

Lids: Examples

2010-09-28T17:50:00.000-07:00

Per Wikipeda:

A cover or seal for a container. A lid, also known as a cap, is part of a container, and serves as the cover or seal, usually one that completely closes the object.

Lids have been found on pottery dating back as far as 3100 BC.

There are a variety of lids on clay vessels for a variety of wares. Teapots, cook pots, bowls, cups, boxes and everything in between, can have lids of varying types. Some lids are also made of clay, while others can be made of another material such as wood, fabric, cork, metal, etc. It is whatever covers the mouth of the vessel, sealing it.

One of the best books I refer to is "The Japanese Pottery Book" by Penny Simpson, Lucy Kitto and Kanji Sodeoka, because it has so many wonderful sketches. Two pages it has great examples of lids (cross sections) and then, some drawings of pots that would use lids. I've scanned the images for your own records to see them and inspire you the next time you want to make a lidded container.

Pedestal lamps in Saxon-Norman England

2010-09-25T21:44:00.000-07:00

Pedestal Lamp
Saxo-Norman AD 850 - 1150

* Common name Early Medieval Oxford ware
* Class Pedestal lamps
* Height left, 56mm right, 145mm
* Identifier PW50
* Production centre a dispersed industry to the north west of Oxford
* Distribution local
* Use for lighting interiors
* Date 11th - 12th century AD
* Published in Jope, Jope & Rigold 1950, Fig 21 nos 3 and 2, 59
* Provenance found in 1894, one near the University church with pottery, skeletons and a Roman coin; the other from properties associated with wealthy merchants.

I'm always looking through websites for new things to make. I came across this "new" simple project off the Ashmolean Museum site. I find it interesting since it looks like a bowl or even an early version of the English beakers that came out much later. The more you look at pottery and really analyze the various forms, to more you can see similarities throughout the centuries. Sometimes you can see the influences between cultures as well (if there was trade between them, that is).

Pot: Butter pot

2010-09-19T10:13:00.000-07:00

Definition: A large, cylindrical or slightly bulbous vessel, taller than it is wide, used to store dairy products.

Definition per the Historic Ceramics Glossary online

Its use, to store butter. As far as I've read, butter filled most of the pot then covered with salted water. Probably a cloth was draped across it to keep out bugs, etc (but this is a guess on my part). These pots were taken to market, dairies and so forth, filled and emptied a lot.

There are more modern "butter bells" and "french bells" made in the 19th century and those are sold in gourmet shops, however, there aren't any period references that I have seen yet that show a pot with a lid.

I like this Butter site since it has a lot of various information, but not all of it is 100% accurate. I do like some of the stories on there however. It's fun at least.

pot; butter pot Production date: 1580-1700 Measurements: H 155 mm; D 110 mm
Museum of London collection

Documentation: 12th-13th Century Iranian Beaker

2010-09-12T16:05:00.000-07:00

The Original Piece from “Ceramics from Islamic Lands” by Oliver Watson.

Throughout history, ceramics have been an important part of people’s lives. Clay was used to line water baskets to stop them from leaking, helping women carry water from riverbank to hut. Fired clay was used to serve and cook dinner in, to build homes with, and as jewelry decoration. All cultures and all walks of life used clay, whether it was weapons to protect their homes, the tiles they walked over or even the cups they drank from. Its been used before our time period and still, to this day; we still use this very functional art form.

Clay is a soft, sedimentary from rock (igneous) that had been eroded into a mud-like consistency by nature (weather, wind, rain, etc). Fire solidifies the chemicals of the clay, melding them into one package. Once fired, you’ve basically created your own rock. There are three types of clay bodies: earthenware, stoneware and porcelain.

Most potters during our years of study used manual potters wheels to create their wares after digging their own clay from the ground. These wheels varied from “slave” wheels (meaning another potter would help them rotate the wheel) to various types of kick wheels. Clay was found from clay deposits locally to the artisans, developed by hand into a workable material by adding various natural materials to the clay (like sand or ground up bisque). The heavy processing of clay made the clay able to withstand the fiery temperatures of the kilns as well as controlling shrinking and plasticity.

The wheel head placed firmly on a spinning cross section with a flywheel at its base that was kicked in order to make it rotate, creating motion of the actual wheel head. Depending on how fast or how slow the wheel spun, it would vary the effects, textures and size of the piece being made.

Stoneware is fired in a kiln at lower temperatures because of the clay’s melting points. In period, Stoneware was the main clay that was available and the potter’s technology; they only knew how to fire to certain temperatures. Pieces are fired before they fully vitrify (meld together) to allow the clay’s natural pores to stay open. With the addition of sand, this helps the clay body withstand the thermal shock of being put above hot coals (the pores allow it to expand and contract depending on the temperatures being applied to it). Without this, a pot can act like a drinking glass when boiling hot water is poured in and crack. In Period, lead glaze was used.

In our century, I used an electric wheel and an electric kiln. I also bought my clay, instead of digging and processing it myself.

As pictured, this Beaker in Period is:

· A Frit body
· Decoration carved through black slip
· Under a Turquoise Glaze
· Iran
· Found in Syria
· 12-13th Century
· Found in “Ceramics from Islamic Lands” by Oliver Watson page 336

What I did:

· A Stoneware clay body
· Decoration carved through black slip
· Under a Turquoise Glaze
· Simplified decoration and resized for more modern use

A “slip” is thinned potter's clay (usually thinned with water and deflocculants) used for decorating or coating ceramics. Also referred to as an engobe.

A Frit body has a lot of alkali-lime-lead-silica within it, giving it a very glass-like appearance. Frit is a melter in modern times for glass, metal and clay. I used stoneware instead because the stoneware I use is very durable. All the glazes and engobes/slips were tested and used in Period manner, applied and used in a Period way. Only, everything is very food safe.

Bibliography:

“Ceramics from Islamic Lands” by Oliver Watson. Thamas & Hudson Inc. 2004. New York.
“The Craft and Art of Clay” by Susan Peterson, Pretence Hall Publishing. 1995. New York.
“Pottery Decoration” by Thomas Shafer, Watson-Guptill Publications Inc. 1976. New York.
"The three books of the potter's art" by Cipriano Piccolpasso. Victoria and Albert Museum. 1934. New York.
“World Ceramics” by Robert Charleston. Hamlyn Publishing Group. 1971. England.
Wikipedia under Clay and Ceramics

Ceramics and techniques

2010-09-12T15:48:00.000-07:00

I've had a number of people come to me recently in regards to seeing some of my documentation. Since I also have a number of students as well who haven't seen a lot of my older work, I figured that my blog needs a jump start anyhow. I will start posting my documentation as well as project notes.

Some of these projects might look familiar, however, I certainly hope the notes aren't boring. I think it's probably a good idea to post these to at least share. I'm quite sure my take on how to do things is different than how other potters do them. To me, everyone has their own point of view and style. As long as there is a final product (and no one gets hurt, both the person and anyone else's pot) to me is key.

Hopefully I'll be able to keep this up. If anyone ever wants to ask me a question, feel free to email me. I usually try to respond fairly quickly.

Summer equals new stock!

2009-08-18T21:04:00.000-07:00

I was very busy the past few months. March I found myself with a new full time job, which did take me awhile from doing pottery, however, I was able to allocate some time to slowly build up stock on the weekends between SCA commitments. For those of you who don't know, I volunteer and run the SCA potters guild in CAID and we did a large cup project which I put in hundreds of hours. All proceeds went to the Crown Prints. It was a success.

So, once that project was over, I was able to start making stock again. Crown is next weekend and I should have many new items like new jugs and mugs, as well as bowls, pipkins and plates. Here are some of the items that I will have there.

Side note, if anyone would like anything before that even, feel free to contact me. I take paypal and can ship. I have limited supplies of these items and I don't take commissions very often anymore (I never took many to begin with).

Late Period (1550-1650) English Barrel Shaped Mug

Late Period (1550-1650) English Incised Mug

English Jug (I have to recheck the date on this one, but I think it's 13th Century)

Butter Pot 1600's

Porringer 1600's

Early Gaul....

More Romanware for the English/Welsh Persona

2009-03-06T13:17:00.001-08:00

Brand new and just in time for Caid's Crown, is a "mug" that was based off a form in the book, "Pottery in Roman Brittain, page 52. This tankard or mug, is Severn Valley ware from Kingsholm (Gloucestershire) and was made for Roman kitchenwares during the second and third centuries. Considered "psuedo-samian formed" (another type of ware) and was very regionalized and not very exported since it was mostly made for the Roman armies stationed in that area.

There were earlier forms of Severn Valley ware starting as early and first century when the Romans came. The region from where these potters reached was in the Mendips, south Wales and the Welsh Marches, and as far north as Cheshire.

These pots are normally an orange-red with carved decorations. I doubled and tripled the size of the actual pieces and used my food safe brown-red glaze... and green one. As far as I can tell from my documentation, the originals were NOT glazed, but it was just raw clay that gave it the color and texture.

I think mine is pretty close. I can always get a clay that is exact the same as the one used and glaze clear if requested.

German Sprigged pots

2009-03-06T13:13:00.000-08:00

More fun with sprigged pots. I wasn't sure if I had any images up of these types of drinking vessels. I knew I had done these before in the past (very few) but since I just did a few more, I decided to shoot them for the blog. You can really tell the details on the sprig molding and the hand work I did.

These are roughly 16th century, found in the German Stoneware book I have. The brown glaze is more period than the green, but I do them in both glazes for customers. The green you can really see the details way better (and personally, I like it with the drips and sand).

Random Drinking Vessels

2008-09-16T09:13:00.001-07:00

Trying to update for all my newer pots that I have been making the past six-ten months. I seem to forget about taking pictures of my work and when I remember, it's too late and it's sold.

English Jug 14th Century

English 14th Century

Gaul 2-5th Century

Gaul 2-5th Century

The Gaul items I find a lot more interesting than the English and German pieces since I see a lot of Greek influence in them (plus they are fairly difficult for earlier pieces). Unless you are a potter, you wouldn't know that it's difficult to to manipulate the clay in several directions from narrow to bulbous and back to narrow again. Also, when you have a narrow base, it makes it difficult to throw that as well, then wide, then narrow, without distortion or collapse. Gravity plays a large part with throwing vessels and these guys have been somewhat tricker than their English or German counterparts.

I think that's why I like them. More of a challenge.

Cooking ware

2008-09-16T09:09:00.000-07:00

I made these fancy pipkins (and promptly sold them) all based off period design, however, I made them a little more lighter and "fancier" so, they are a lot more on the modern side in design. They were were fun to make however.

Sort of like a fondue pot, huh?

This one is even more modern (and I still have) plus it has a lid. It was fired in my first firing with the new elements. VERY proud of this one as the glaze really looks great on it.

Bellermine revisited

2008-09-16T09:04:00.000-07:00

I haven't done these in awhile. With my newly reformulated glazes (I mix my own glazes and formulate my own stuff by hand) I made a few recently. These pictures were shot at Highland War in August.

More English Jugs

2008-05-09T15:57:00.000-07:00

Just a few more jugs...

Biconical jug

English jug which is VERY close to a German one. Remember how I said the English and German pots were very similar?

Animal and Human Faces in English Pottery

2008-05-09T15:45:00.001-07:00

Sculpting animals and human faces onto pots has been going on since the dawn of time. It's not surprising to see it on pots from around the world.

Here are some 13th-14th century English examples of jugs that have anthropomorphic and human qualities to them.

Ram's Head jug.

There are holes in the nostrils so that liquid pours out through them. And yes, this is completely historically correct and disgusting at the same time. Think about Gothic gargoyles on Churches and you have the same principle. Jugs with mouths open, pitchers holding water in the form of animals called Aquamaniles, were used throughout the Middle Ages.

Gentleman Jug... heh.

I originally was going to name him man jug, but that sounded wrong. I don't know what he was called. I only have a cut out picture of him. I do believe he might have been a soldier, but this is a guess. There is a lot of clay manipulation on him, both attaching parts and pushing out to sculpt out his chin and cheeks.

These are just my more recent ones.

Raeren & German Pots

2008-05-09T15:14:00.000-07:00

The Museum of London has an enormous collection online of their ceramic pieces, which is very cool when one is trying to recreate the past. I used to buy books (well, still do) whenever I could with whatever information (good or bad) on pottery from all time periods. Because the Museum of London has such a wonderful collection, I now am far more picky with what I need to purchase (which helps my wallet, let me tell you).

Between 1200 and 1600 there was a huge boom in Germany and their pottery production. They had come across salt firings, which was a big advancement. Salt fires at medium to high temperatures, and for a Medieval European Society, firing above earthenware temperatures had been a big struggle.

Here are some of my German steins all within the 1300-1600 period. Raeren is technically a small city in Belgium very close to the German border, but it is catagorized under "German" wares, per Museum of London.

Sprig attached jug, thumbed foot.

Raeren (Belgium)stoneware biconical drinking mug with thumbed foot, similar to this one off the Museum of London site.

German "becher" or beaker in English. ;)

German forms are very similar to English of the same time period. Germany exported much of their wares, so personally, I have a feeling the English probably copied the Germans, but I haven't really researched this. It is common practice among potters, metalworkers and even glassblowers to copy (or the polite term, "be inspired by) each other's vessels. There are numerous examples of similar beakers in glass and pottery, Aquamaniles in metal and ceramic, and vice versa. Anything to make a buck, right?

Viking's had to drink too, right?

2008-05-09T14:54:00.000-07:00

You knew the Vikings had to drink out of something, right? Well, it's always hard to research this stuff when all the books focus on battles and who is sleeping with whom. Where is the important stuff, like WHAT did they eat or for me, WHAT were they eating out of?

I have a book laying around called "the Vikings," years ago, which had ONE poorly shot picture of these vessels.

Since then, there are other sites and books that I've come across these same vessels. I make these now as cups and as far as I can tell from this website, they assume it was indeed used for cooking/eating/drink.

As far as a lot of my reading went, much of the pottery came from the Rhineland, however. Much of the "Viking" cook wear was made of soapstone or traded because in their areas, clay deposits are rare. We can assume that there were some Viking potters, but like with any nomadic tribe that purposefully plagued a great many lands, they traded a lot. And of course, the Vikings left a trail behind. Much of their pottery is found in the UK.

Modern Fun

2008-05-09T14:47:00.000-07:00

I was playing with some period German shapes and some more modern undertones and got this.

Just having fun. :)

We have new pots! German & English!

2008-05-07T12:32:00.000-07:00

I've been busy over the past few months. Mostly I have been updating several English and German forms that I have done in the past, but some of these are variations of forms that were used in the 1400-1600.

Also, I've re-calibrated my fake salt glazes and plan to drop my other glaze that I used to use. I will be tweaking this more for color choices, but I think it really has the texture and coverage now.

German jug

German Jug (different glaze)

German Jug

English Jug

English Jug with my Tudor Green glaze

English jug, round belly, with Tudor Green glaze

Germann Beaker with Tudor Green glaze

Gaul 5th -6th Century Drinking vessel with fake salt glaze (like second glaze), thrown porcelain

Gaul 5th-6th Century Drinking vessel with fake salt (first glaze)

Most of my work is done on high fire stoneware. All glazes are created by me, the chemistry by me and calibrations, all mine (no computers and I mix everything by hand). Glazes are fired in an electric kiln, which I fire as well.

All forms are researched by me and are accurate historically to the Museum of London site as well as several books.

More Islamic Wares...

2008-02-20T23:52:00.001-08:00

The larger jug was based off a Persian jug that I found at the Metropolitan of Fine Art in New York City.

The design itself is slightly altered, simplified a bit. The carving took me four hours as it was. Scraffitto decoration, black slip brushed onto a whitish clay body, then carved off. It was thrown thin as well. The final piece was given to His Majesty, Edric of Caid just recently.

Mini Pots

2007-09-24T14:36:00.001-07:00

I did these minnature pots for a commission. All of these are 1/3 to 1/12 scale pots, made in the same way as I would my full-sized stoneware pottery. They are high-fire, glazed, dry-footed and trimmed off the wheel. These were all just as difficult, if not MORE SO, because of their size.

Adding the handle was incredably difficult and yes, this can hold liquid.

12th Century Persian

2007-02-05T09:42:00.000-08:00

This is a scraffito-ware, 12th Century re-created beaker. I did all the carving, which took roughly 3 hours to do. I, of course, threw the piece on the wheel, fired and glazed it as well.

This little "mouse" is actually for the turkish/persian bath. It is a loofah (I can't spell) and the bottom is a bit rougher for exfoliation (arg...spelling...boo). There is a small bead on the inside of the mouse which turns this into a "rattle" as well. So, it may look very simple, this form is pretty tricky to throw, create, decorate and glaze.

Something like this can easily collapse while being decorated in the matter I was doing it, the bead on the inside could stick and not rattle, and the worst thing, in the firing, it could blow up as it is a hollow form. This is the more "period" one by the nose, thought I did do more "English" eyes. I liked these eyes better and I NEVER copy anything exactly because all pieces are MINE and I want to put a part of me as the artist into them. I can copy things, but I won't because I don't feel it is right, even if the artist is dead.

Here is the sillier, cuter one that I gave to Her Majesty, Faizeh. It's a little fatter and I did the nose different.

Cool, huh?

Face to Face

2005-10-17T12:03:00.000-07:00

More gaul...a commission for King Uther that I am proud of. These types of "vases" were containers found in cremation mounds. I am unsure if "remains" or people's ashes were inside, but usually they had faces exactly like these on them (I copied the faces pretty closely).

On the base of them, usually was written, "To Mercury" in Latin. As I don't like copying things exact, especially things found in burial chambers, I left off the Latin, but the rest of the piece is "dead" on.

I didn't have my usual background as you can tell, but I think the colored suede gives it a real interesting effect.

Of all the Gaul!!!

2005-07-12T10:36:00.000-07:00

Hot out of the kiln...Roman-Anglo 3rd-5th century Gaulware. All the rage...or so some soldier told me.

High-fired stoneware, thrown in two pieces, then attached.

Incised decorations...period designs. I'm not sure if this is slightly bigger or smaller than the original (I don't have the dimensions of the original unfortunately). I worked from sketches out of a book.

Inside is their soon to be Majesties of An Tir's combined device centered.

The device was hand-sculpted each time. NO molds were made (not enough time).

Two of these were made, one as you can see is slightly larger. The device inside is slightly larger in order to fit the center better.

They stand probably 6"-7" tall with the bowl section roughly 6" in diameter.

I hope their soon to be majesties like them. :)

Double Walled German Jug

2005-06-26T08:47:00.000-07:00

I was busy, wasn't I? And I am in a rush to get these posts done. This picture its hard to see what I've done, but it's not an illustion...there are HOLES in the jug. And you CAN drink out of the jug.

It's double walled. I just realized I should have taken an inside picture of the piece, but I didn't last night. Basically, there is a separate, thin "rosebud" vase that I threw, slid into the cup, attached permanently into it, and I incised the outside cup. Glazing the entire piece completed it. While this piece has a little more weight than a normal cup, TECHNICALLY it has TWO cups into it, so its not THAT heavy considering its about 8" in height, and its High fired stoneware.

I'm extremely happy with this piece. The engineering of it was incrediably elaborate. I had to figure out how it was done, throwing the pieces was interesting, measuring them out was yet another challenge (because the rosebud had to slide into the main jug tight) and then, I had to attach the pieces blind. The weather was very dry and I was afraid the piece would crack. Then I can to do the incising/craving without crushing all the work I had done before. I couldn't imagine how potters did this in production. They must have figured out a better way than I did it for sure.

Pretty impressive if I do say so m'self. :)

Romano-British Glazed Wares

2005-06-26T08:44:00.000-07:00

That's a mouthful. 1st-2nd Century "flagons" or as close to a "goblet" in ceramic form that I have found. I've found etrustacan, but it wasn't your standard modern goblet, let me tell you. Anywho.

They are made with a black slip in period. I used a very thick black-red glaze instead (can we say FOOD SAFE and more durable). The decoration is APPLIED clay and its all done by hand, using NO extruders, no small clay devices and all worked by my own copying the period technique from thick to thin.

As you can see, I threw a very narrow base with a wider rim. The original piece was SLIGHTLY wider, but as this is California, I gave my piece a wider foot on purpose so it wouldn't TIP over when full of liquid or if an earthquake happened (a rule my professior instilled into me). It's a differnce SO miniscule that most people wouldn't notice and the reality of it makes it MUCH easier to use. I actually have a wider more period one, and the thig tips over constantly. Believe me, people WILL thank me for it.

Decoration very close to period. Double swirl attachments, much more difficult than the German Bellermine attachments as these are closer and NOT molded. This piece is open form, so there isn't any structor to push against like a bottle would have when you are doing an attachment. It is much lighter with the same amount of clay.

The difficulty here was throwing from a narrow base to bloom out to a bulbous belly without warpage or any major twists.

I think it actually came out really good.

Triple Down...

2005-06-25T21:23:00.000-07:00

Firing last night came out very interesting. I do need new elements, so the glaze was a little more matt and texturized than usual (which is what I wanted for a "fake salt peel" which is what I wa trying to accomplish). It was very cool. The reduction/newspaper left a white ash residue on the top layer items (none of those are on this blog yet). Any pieces that the paper touched left a yellow-brown "plume" mark. Not much of a mark, but it was an interesting test.

Within the firing was my German "fuddling" Cup...my triple-partle puzzel cup.

As you can see, it is three separate drinking vessels...

Thrown with no base of their own (so they wouldn't stand if left to their own devices).

The device is designed from a German 17th century design modified with the Caidain cross, sprig molded in a period fashion.

These things are connected by hallow chambers to make people spill.

High-Fired Stoneware, my own glaze mixture LONG since altered. I mix all my own glazes, fire my own kiln. In period, these were fired lower, but I fire higher to promote durabilty of the pieces and virtification of my clay body.

In Los Angeles, I can not fire Salt in my kiln due to emission laws. Salt, when it hits certain tempuratures, turns to cholrine gas. Bad. In all reality, its as bad as a car exhaust, but with the newspaper burning, I'm starting to think its a good idea that we don't fire salt in my kiln.

This project took me three and a half hours roughly to attach. This doesn't count the throwing time, sclupting the mold, making the mold, or the glazing. Probably the entire project was five hours on one piece.

Which explains the amount of photos I took on this one piece and the amount of care I took with it. All in all, I am extremely proud of this piece for the light-weight feel, and over-all look to the piece. It is DEAD close to its original.

Welcome to my Pottery Blog!

2005-06-21T18:59:00.000-07:00

As the summer months are here and I was commissioned as "An Tir's Royal Potter", I will be creating a slew of pots that probably will be one of a kind pieces. I wanted to share them someplace, so I thought I would start a blogg here to see how that worked out.

Hopefully my friends will get a kick out of seeing my work, as I think MANY have never seen it before. I talk a lot about it, but only a few of you really get a chance to see it up close. I do mostly "period historical pieces" so get ready to see some pretty wild stuff. I want to write some articles too if I have the time. We will have to see how this all goes, however. This is all a test.

Hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think! And if you have questions about it (how it was made, what it was used for, etc) don't be SHY! I enjoy teaching people about my work. :)

Cya later!