Diving into the clay

Handbuilt forms by Tina Vlassopulos

(Source: tinavlassopulos)

The best pot that isn’t actually a pot, part 5:

thegoldensmith:

Martin Puryear Maquettes (by The Modern)

This series of images looks to be Puryear laying out a major exhibiton with maquettes on a floorplan.

Puryear’s oversized sculptures have always spoken a potter’s language to me with their curvilinear volumes and concern for craft.

(via cinoh)

snowonredearth:

EGYPTIAN PRE-DYNASTIC AMPHORA.

Some kind of beautiful.

(via stirringupthemeltingpot)

Alchymista strikes again, with a metal widely used in pottery.

I’ll add that chrome combined with tin can make for a striking pink in a glaze, and that chrome is fugitive in the kiln, meaning chrome vapor from one pot can introduce a flash of pink on a neighboring pot if it has tin in the glaze (not necessarily a good thing). Also, chrome resists going into the melt at most temps potters fire to, even while many other metals (e.g. cobalt, iron, coppper) contribute to the melt. Finally, I’m pretty sure chrome yields the same color whether in an oxidized or reduction (oxygen insufficient) atmosphere.

alchymista:

Day 24: Interesting Facts About Chromium
Atomic Symbol: Cr; Atomic Number: 24; Atomic Mass: 51.9961

1. Many chromium compounds are distinctively colored, ranging from bright oranges and yellows to vivid greens and purples; hence why the name of the element is derived from the Greek word for color.
2. Chromium is the only element which shows antiferromagnetic ordering in its solid state at and below room temperature, although, when raised to a temperature above 38°C, the element becomes paramagnetic.
3. Chromium is commonly used to prepare pigments, in the coloring of rubies and gems, in some tanning processes, as a catalyst, and as a decorative and protective metal coating such as stainless steel.
4. As humans, we require trace amounts of trivalent chromium in our diets to regulate protein, fat, and carbohydrate metabolism. It also stimulates insulin activity, which means that future studies on chromium may provide insight into diabetes and how to best treat it. Chromium deficiency can result in poor control of blood sugar levels and diabetes-like symptoms.

Image: Chromium, remelted in a horizontal arc zone-refiner, showing large visible crystal grains.

Alchymista blogged a nice rundown of manganese below. For us potters, it’s the source of that lovely purple/brown/aubergine found in Islamic ceramics.

alchymista:

Day 25: Interesting Facts About Manganese
Atomic Symbol: Mn; Atomic Number: 25; Atomic Mass: 54.938

1. Take a deep breath and thank manganese. As an essential element in photosynthesis, without it, there would be no free oxygen on earth.
2. In our bodies themselves, there is only a tiny amount of manganese (10-20mg), which, comparatively, weighs less than a 100th of a dime! Yet, without manganese, we not only are unable to breathe, but we also could not perform vital metabolic functions.
3. Archeologists studying cave paintings that date back 30,000 years have discovered that not only did these early humans use manganese-based pigments, but they also used it as a cosmetic. In addition, the use of the element to remove green hues from glass was first implicated in the stone age, a technique that is still in use today.
4. Common uses include being used for drying black paints, preparing oxygen and chlorine, strengthening steel and other metals, gasoline additives, quantitative analysis, depolarizing dry cells, various medicines, and making colorless glass.

Image: Manganese is a silvery-gray metal resembling iron. It stimulates spontaneity.

(via crownedrose)

blindriver:

10th century - Found at Iran, Nishapur

white slip, sgraffito, translucent glazes with copper (green), iron (amber) and manganese (purple-brown)

(via snowonredearth)

Best pot that’s not actually not a pot, pt. 8:

suchasensualdestroyer:

India, Powder Horn, silver/shell, c. late 19th Century.

(via stirringupthemeltingpot)

youmightfindyourself:

“Things that are easy to use survive, regardless of what is fashionable, and people want to use them forever,” Yanagi said in a 2002 Japan Times article. “But if things are created merely for a passing vogue and not for a purpose, people soon get bored with them and throw them away.

“The fundamental problem,” he added, “is that many products are created to be sold, not used.” —Sori Yanagi

Sori Yanagi designed functional items. His father, Soetsu Yanagi, was the founder of the Mingei (Folk Craft) Museum in Japan and author of “The Unknown Craftsman”, a book that influenced 20th century potters on at least five continents.

(via cinoh)

Bowl with Human Feet. Egypt. Predynastic, Late Naqada l–Naqada II, ca. 3900–3650 B.C. (via The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

heracliteanfire:

(via snowonredearth)