Wares oh Wares that little pot gone

There are many types of clay bodied and glaze compositions. The Following three have been pare for the course of history as it was the Asian culture that inundated the western civilisation style and technique in producing wares.

Earthenware

Pottery comprises three distinctive types of wares. The first type, earthenware, has been made following virtually the same techniques since ancient times; only in the modern era has mass production brought changes in materials and methods. Earthenware is basically composed of clay--often blended clays--and baked hard, the degree of hardness depending on the intensity of the heat. After the invention of glazing, earthenwares were coated with glaze to render them waterproof; sometimes glaze was applied decoratively. It was found that, when fired at great heat, the clay body became nonporous. This second type of pottery, called stoneware, came to be preferred for domestic use.

Stoneware

The third type of pottery is a Chinese invention that appeared when feldspathic material in a fusible state was incorporated in a stoneware composition. The ancient Chinese called decayed feldspar kaolin (meaning "high place," where it was originally found); this substance is known in the West as china clay. Petuntse, or china stone, a less decayed, more fusible feldspathic material, was also used in Chinese porcelain; it forms a white cement that binds together the particles of less fusible kaolin. Significantly, the Chinese have never felt that high-quality porcelain must be either translucent or white. Two types of porcelain evolved: "true" porcelain, consisting of a kaolin hard-paste body, extremely glassy and smooth, produced by high temperature firing, and soft porcelain, invariably translucent and lead glazed, produced from a composition of ground glass and other ingredients including white clay and fired at a low temperature. The latter was widely produced by 18th-century European potters.

Chinese porcelain

It is believed that porcelain was first made by Chinese potters toward the end of the Han period (206 BC-AD 220), when pottery generally became more refined in body, form, and decoration. The Chinese made early vitreous wares (protoporcelain) before they developed their white vitreous ware (true porcelain) that was later so much admired by Europeans.

Regardless of time or place, basic pottery techniques have varied little except in ancient America, where the potter's wheel was unknown. Among the requisites of success are correct composition of the clay body by using balanced materials; skill in shaping the wet clay on the wheel or pressing it into molds; and, most important, firing at the correct temperature. The last operation depends vitally on the experience, judgment, and technical skill of the potter.

Dragon Kilns

This weekend Studio Link is out to the farm to fire some of my wares in a large wood fire kiln.

The difference between wood fire and electric kilns are vast. The results achieved when firing a wood fire or gas fire kiln seem to be the desired technique (reduction firing) by most, but, that is just my opinion and there are just as many arguments for oxidation firing (electric).

The Dragon Kiln has to be one of the most fascinating Kilns I have ever come across. It was use over 2000 years ago. Not just for creative art but for production as well as the kiln could hold 80 000 porcelain pots.

Dragon kilns originated in south China about 2,000 years ago

The extinct dragons lie with heads at the base of the hill and tails at the top. Each kiln had a fire bore, kiln house, and smoke outlet, and could produce about 80,000 porcelain pieces at a time.

The wares were fired at 1100? to 1200? for forty hours or so, and cooled for another 24 before they could be taken out to produce the exotic gold-accented black-glazed porcelain so prized by the Japanese and Koreans

Dragon kiln

1 Door about 75 centimeters (30 in) wide

2 Firebox

3 Stacking floor made of silica sand

4 Dampers
5 Flue
6 Chimney
7 Refractory arch

Crystalline Glazes and Porcelain

Josh Pehrson on Facebook

Working with crystals gives any potter a chance to push the envelope of his or her artistic and technical imagination. If you are looking for a challenge of another dimension and loose a few hairs along the way, look no further than the challenge offered by the combination of porcelain and crystal glazes, especially when fired in a gas kiln. You will be introduced to, if not already known, principles of patience, humility, compassion, and perseverance that will be constant companions on your path to discovering one of the most beautiful and difficult art forms in the world of pottery.


While savaging the internet for pottery techniques, clay bodies, and glaze recipes I happened to fall upon a wonderful You Tube video by Josh Pehrson.


Josh Pehrson was born in 1974 in St. Peter, Minnesota and was raised in Fergus Falls. "My passion has always been to be an inventor every day of my life" says Pehrson. Like so many great artists, his works have taken on many mediums. An accomplished woodworker, he apprenticed for four years at a custom shop in St. Paul where he built, repaired, and restored antiquated pieces of Victorian mansions. A love for designing and building motorcycles has also helped hone many of his talents. He was introduced to wheel thrown pottery by his friend and mentor Lori Charest. Josh's fascination with crystal glazes started three years ago and since then it has become an obsession. Combined with great skill, craftsmanship, and artistic sense, these stunning crystalline pieces reflect his influences from life around him.

Earth to Annie

Have you ever wondered how they do what they do? I had the privilege of discovering Earth to Annie in a wonderful and fulfilling workshop. We learned how to slab build functional wares with texture and my true favourite of the workshop was discovering her creative process and what exactly inspired her work. You can find Earth to Annie on line as well I would recommend adding her Fan Page to your Face book account as this is where you can find an Earth to Annie workshop and enjoy the same experience I did.

Well Done Annie, over and out.

"Life is a garden; I'll make the pots for it."

Ben Wolff has been surrounded by Pottery, Horticulture, and Music his whole life. Ben and his half sister Elizabeth Wolff are third generation artists. Ben’s grandfather, Robert J. Wolff, was an American Abstract artist and a professor of art. His father, Guy Wolff, is a potter, pottery designer and musician.

As a youngster, Ben spent weekends with his father, Guy Wolff, watching him throw pots in his shop in Woodville, Connecticut. Ben first had his hands in clay around the age of 1, and actually threw his first, very small piece at the age of 2. As a teenager, Ben worked on his stepfather’s dairy farm, milking cows. (Terry Tanner Farm, Warren CT) Upon graduating high school, Ben worked in various trades but always made time to make pottery with his father.

Since 1999, Ben has made pottery for both the public and for stores around the country. Ben works out of home in Goshen, Connecticut where he creates all of his pieces by hand on a potter’s wheel. He makes, fires, and ships all of his products with help from his wife, Corinne Wolff. (Puppy Too) The pots Ben makes are based on his own visions and designs, following methods learned at Wolff Pottery and beyond.