So, Edmund de Waal covers this history at length in White Road, but during the 17th and 18th centuries in Europe, rich people collected Chinese and Japanese porcelain like crazy–like it was toilet paper during the pandemic; like there was a zombie apocalypse on, and the only things that could stop zombies were teacups. SoContinue reading “Ceramics Saturdays: The Porcelain Cabinet at Charlottenburg”
Tag Archives: ceramics
Ceramics Saturdays: Vershenkte Teekanne!
One of the neat things about Berlin is that you’ll just find random boxes of stuff on people’s stoops with a little sign that says “Verschenken!” (“give away”). On my way to drop off some knives for sharpening, I picked up this teapot (coffee pot, really) with a dashing little peacock on it. No ideaContinue reading “Ceramics Saturdays: Vershenkte Teekanne!”
Ceramics Saturdays: Edmund de Waal
I just finished reading Edmund de Waal’s White Road, a poetic and gripping personal history of porcelain–from its discovery in China to its infection of the rest of the colonial world, first through feverish collection and later through emulation as enterprising potters in Germany, England, and even the Americas attempted to reverse-engineer the “white gold”Continue reading “Ceramics Saturdays: Edmund de Waal”
Ceramics Saturdays: John Almeda
You can’t tell from this image, but these pots are TINY. The bowl on the left is just big enough for the tip of my thumb to fit into and as thin as an eggshell. And John Almeda throws them en plein air on a tiny portable wheel the size of a big poker chip.Continue reading “Ceramics Saturdays: John Almeda”
Ceramics Saturdays: Picasso
I’ve never been a fan of Picasso’s paintings, certainly not of his treatment of women, but I surprised myself by finding his ceramics utterly charming when I first encountered them in the Albertina in Vienna several years ago (where I took the picture of the goat dish above). They’re joyful, whimsical even, but paradoxically spareContinue reading “Ceramics Saturdays: Picasso”
Saturday Ceramics: Betsy Williams (Enbi Studio)
I met Betsy Williams on the High Road to Taos during the annual fall festival where artists put on two open-gallery weekends. She trained in Japan and is current researching wild clays. I love her work and have owned several pieces over the years (none currently; I tend to get pieces I can use inContinue reading “Saturday Ceramics: Betsy Williams (Enbi Studio)”
Ceramics Saturdays: Modern Korean Ceramics
There is so much really interesting work going on in Korean ceramics today–young potters taking the clean, organic forms of tradition into experimental lines and colors. The incense burner pictured above is by my friend Jeewon (Mellanie) Jeong, an incredibly talented young ceramicist with a Master’s degree from Seoul National University and now her ownContinue reading “Ceramics Saturdays: Modern Korean Ceramics”
Ceramics Saturdays: Korean Celadons
Korean celadons began being produced in the Goryeo dynasty (918–1392 BCE) roughly contemporaneously with Song celadons, and that’s not accidental: diplomatic and trade relations between the two regimes facilitated the transfer of techniques for mixing the iron-rich celadon glazes, as well as the kiln structures best suited for reduction firing. Initially, Korean celadons imitated theirContinue reading “Ceramics Saturdays: Korean Celadons”
Ceramics Saturdays: Chinese v. Korean Dragons
I’m going to do a post next week on Korean celadons, but since I was at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco last weekend, a veritable treasure trove of Asian ceramics, I thought I would illustrate a fun fact first: there’s a neat trick to tell if you have a Chinese or Korean vaseContinue reading “Ceramics Saturdays: Chinese v. Korean Dragons”
Ceramics Saturdays: The Moon Jar
The next couple of entries in Ceramics Saturdays are going to be about Korean ceramics. The moon jar (dalhangari) is one of the most, if not the most, famous of Korean ceramic forms. Thrown all throughout the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), the most collectible and prized examples today date from the 18th century, when technique andContinue reading “Ceramics Saturdays: The Moon Jar”
The Rookery 