Kate Johnson on tue 18 jan 05
Hi Rick...
Thanks for the information, and the links! I've been aware of Don's work
for a long time, but hadn't delved back into it all that much after I got
interested in trying to reproduce period pottery! I'd only read his pieces
in Ceramics in America...the links below are marvelous.
> Historical mochaware was a lead glaze, I suspect a fritted lead and borate
> combination in England. Don Carpentier produces a high quality product.
> http://daats.com/gac/aboutdon/aboutdon01.htm
> http://daats.com/gac/articles/pottery.htm
I loved this qoute from the above article--
"Since these pots were intended for sale at low prices (George Miller has
determined that dipped wares were the cheapest decorated imported ceramics
available in early America), they were produced quickly, with little fuss,
and often showed the results of haste - smeared slip, fingerprints, dents,
and kiln accidents. As Don grows more and more comfortable with the
processes, he works faster and realizes that his speed and even carelessness
produce a more believable piece of pottery. "
This is something I'm learning, as I look at all kinds of redware,
stoneware, slip-decorated and other pottery of the period--the imperfections
are part of the picture! (Maybe I'll learn to stop swearing when I gouge a
mug with a fingernail!) This is the cheap stuff, the mass produced
stuff...the Walmart china of the day. They weren't perfect!
It's ironic, but three pieces in my own small personal collection of period
pottery mean the most to me precisely BECAUSE I see the marks of the potter,
and even the imperfections. An inkwell still has the potter's fingerprint;
another small bottle shows a bit of stuck glaze, and a third piece, an ink
bottle, shows how quickly and surely the potter pulled the pouring lip--you
can see the marks of his fingerprints there. These are very human pieces,
to me, and I feel much more connected to the anonymous potter for these tiny
evidences of humanity.
Best--
Kate
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