Traveling Potter Part II

My hope to have this posted mid-week last week clearly did not happen. Another part of my traveling adventure last weekend was to Don Carpentier's Eastfield Village in Upstate New York.

Each year, Eastfield Village hosts a series of lectures and workshops centered around various aspects of the structures and collections there. One such weekend is generally focused on ceramics of one kind or another, and is fondly called by many, "Dish Camp." It is a great experience that is unlike any conference. It's a laid back environment with presentations in an historic church. People bring archaeological material as well as intact pots to talk about various things or to get other opinions on what they have. The lectures are by people from various aspects of the ceramics world- collectors, scholars, researchers, archaeologists, enthusiasts- and it makes for a great weekend of learning and camaraderie.

I had the pleasure of presenting some of my newer research on Kentucky and Ohio River Valley pottery production There were some great speakers this year talking about a variety of things from archaeological adventures in Burslem, England to new aspects on Philadelphia-made earthenwares.

Rick Hamlin from Massachusetts came to talk with Dave Graci about Whately pottery, and he also demonstrated a few pottery making techniques.

 I did a pottery demonstration, but also demonstrated how kiln furniture functioned in the kiln as well as a demonstration of stacking pots with kiln furniture.

One thing I try to make sure to point out during a demonstration is how the thickness of the walls vary and also that the heft of an historic pot is not always because the potter could not throw well. It also had to do a lot with the clay and whether it had enough plasticity to have high walls, or absorbed water and slumped some at the bottom making for thicker foot profiles.

Each Saturday evening attendees are treated to a period meal cooked by kitchen demonstrators from Old Sturbridge Village. Dinner is served in the historic tavern on site, and often accompanied by music!

I tend to have shop envy when I visit Don's shop!

Don showing how the engine turning lathe operates

On Sunday Don showed everyone his shop and we watched several videos demonstrating his pursuit to learn how to build and operate a potter's lathe and an engine turning machine for making engine-turned creamwares as they did in England in the later 18th and early 19th-centuries. I thoroughly enjoy attending "Dish Camp" and highly recommend anyone interested in historic ceramics to go for a unique experience!

Traveling Potter Part I

I've been horrible to leave you all in the dark for the last month. Needless to say, there's been a lot going on and I will try to catch you up this week. For the past 5 days I have been in New England traveling first to Upstate New York for Don Carpentier's Eastfield Village ceramic workshop (which we fondly call "Dish Camp"). Last night I arrive in Deerfield, Massachusetts and had the opportunity today to work with the students in their Summer Fellowship Program. Slowly, I have been working to try and reach out to programs and conferences for doing workshops to talk about historic pottery, demonstrate pottery making, and particularly talk about kiln furniture and historic kilns. It is really fun to start to see things coming into fruition.

Talking about kiln furniture

I first did a presentation for the students about my background, my work in museums, and my hands-on experience and approach to material culture as a potter. Then we went into a workshop space where I talked about kiln furniture, showed various pieces from my collection, and talked about how to recognize how pots were fired by marks on their surface.

Stacking pots with kiln furniture

I then did a little demonstration with stacking pots in order to show the function of kiln furniture and how the various shapes interact with one another and the vessels.

After showing the students the basics of handles and throwing a vessel on the wheel, I got them on the wheel and making handles. Prior to coming, I made mug blanks in order for them to gain experience with pulling a handle from the side of the mug.

Particularly for students studying objects in museums, I think learning the various aspects of pottery production is important. Even understanding the basics can change your approach and understanding of an object.

 

 Above are their final products from the afternoon, a bowl-like form, and a handled mug! And for kicks, here is my face after my attempt to join two sections resulted in the base being too wet and collapsing:

More to come, stay tuned!

Dish Camp

It was a great weekend at Eastfield Village where I have been in the company of pottery enthusiasts, scholars, collectors, and professionals for the annual Eastfield Village workshop weekend focusing on pottery. Here are a few photos from Eastfield:

This is the chapel where we have all of the presentations

This is an original store from the early 1800s

I did a presentation which combined images from my days at Berea, to Winterthur, to my study of historic kilns, my kiln building, and then how I make, decorate, and fire my pots.  It was an excellent opportunity to reflect on my research on historic ceramics, kilns, etc., and how it has impacted my work as a potter.

At Eastfield we are provided with a hearth-cooked meal on Saturday evening, which is always a treat.

After the lovely supper I prepped some pots for the Sunday demonstration and was eaten alive by mosquitoes! When I asked Don Carpentier for a board of wood to put my pots on to set up, he brought me a piece of wood with a tongue, like for tongue and groove paneling or flooring. I said, "oh, what house did that come from?" to which he responded, "Just an 18th-century Dutch house." So there my pots awaited overnight, on their 18th-century Dutch board.

On Sunday I did a demonstration, talking about throwing techniques, contemporary and historical, and how to recognize various methods of pottery manufacture.  I just got back to North Carolina today and made a mad dash for Starworks to get some clay for the coming week's production. Last week or so of wet work before the kiln firing!

Here are a few more images of my demonstration: