#2 Working with colored clays: AGATEWARE - NERIAGE

THERE ARE A NUMBER OF WAYS OF WORKING WITH COLORED CLAYS: WHEEL-THROWN AND HAND BUILT.

THIS POSTING DEALS WITH A FEW OBSERVATIONS COMMON TO BOTH.

MARBLED EARTHENWARE WARE BOWL - TANG DYNASTY CHINA - 660AD - 920AD

THE ABOVE BOWL IS FROM THE EARLIEST EXAMPLES OF MARBLED WARE MADE BY THE POTTERS OF THE TANG DYNASTY. THE PATTERNING WAS MADE BY    LAMINATING DIFFERENT NATURAL CLAYS, THEN  TWISTING,  FLATTENING AND PRESSING INTO A MOLD THAT HAS PROBABLY BEEN FIRED TO A LOW TEMPERATURE TO STRENGTHEN IT

CLAYS:  

MAY BE NATURAL CLAYS OF DIFFERENT COLORS, OR THEY MAY BE LIGHT COLORED CLAYS THAT HAVE BEEN TINTED  WITH COLORANTS TO CREATE A WIDER RANGE OF POSSIBILITIES.

18TH CENTURY ENGLISH MARBLED  EARTHENWARE 

LAMINATING COLORED CLAYS FOR AGATEWARE AND NERIAGE - SAME PROCESS, DIFFERENT LANGUAGE. AGATEWARE IS THE ENGLISH TERM AND NERIAGE IS THE JAPANESE TERM.

DIFFERENT COLORED CLAYS ARE CUT INTO SLICES AND SLAPPED TOGETHER TO ELIMINATE TRAPPED AIR. DEPENDING ON HOW THE DIRECTION OF THE LAMINATES ARE PRESSED TOGETHER THE PATTERN WILL BE CONTROLLED. IF THE LAMINATIONS ARE PLACED  VERTICALLY ON THE WHEEL THE PATTERNS WILL LIKELY BE FINE AND LACY. IF PLACED HORIZONTALLY, THEY WILL LIKELY BE BOLD. PATTERNS MADE THIS WAY WILL ALWAYS BE RANDOM.                                   

LIDDED JAR BY THE AUTHOR, WHITE, BLUE AND BLACK PORCELAINS LAMINATED AND PLACED ON THE WHEEL VERTICALLY AND FACETTED

PORCELAIN AGATEWARE BOWL BY THE AUTHOR, WITH LIGHT BLUE, DARK BLUE AND WHITE CLAYS LAMINATED AND PLACED ON THE WHEEL DIAGONALLY. FLUTED WHEN LEATHER HARD. ELECTRIC FIRED TO CONE 8

BLACK AND WHITE AGATE WARE VASE BY AUTHOR - SALT GLAZED 

BLACK AND WHITE AGATEWARE VASE BY THE AUTHOR - WOOD-FIRED

THE ABOVE IMAGES REPRESENT A FEW OF THE DIRECTIONS THAT I HAVE WORKED WITH IN AGATEWARE/NERIAGE. THE NERI PART OF NERIAGE MEANS "MIXED". AS A COMBINATION PAINTER/GRAPHIC ARTIST AND POTTER WITH A LOVE OF BOTH GEOLOGY AND HISTORICAL PRECEDENT IN CERAMICS, THE PROCESS SUITS ME PERFECTLY.

SEARCHING FOR THE IDEAL, PERSONAL MEANS OF EXPRESSION IN THIS MEDIUM IS DEMANDING AND TAKES TIME. I HAVE SPEN'T YEARS IN MUSEUMS AROUND THE WORLD LOOKING FOR IDEAL SOLUTIONS THAT I CAN FURTHER RESEARCH AND CLAIM SOME PERSONAL OWNERSHIP OVER. ONCE I'VE UNDERSTOOD THE ORIGINAL OBJECTS AND PROCESSES, I'M HAPPY TO PASS THEM ON TO OTHERS, KNOWING WELL THAT NO TWO PEOPLE WILL EVER INTERPRET THE INSPIRATION IN EXACTLY THE SAME WAY.

MY NEXT POSTING WILL CONCLUDE THIS SECTION ON WORKING WITH COLORED CLAYS, INCLUDING  NERIKOMI, HANDBUILDING PROCESSES FOR CREATING PATTERNED VENEERS AND THROUGH-BODY PATTERN MAKING AS WELL AS ZOUGAN.

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