Showing posts with label clay. Show all posts
Showing posts with label clay. Show all posts

Sunday, 5 August 2018

The Writing Is On The Pots

I always say that I have a constant stream of new commissions that keeps me on my toes, often sending me off to my library to research a new technique or genre, but I think this is the first time that I've been asked to add Latin inscriptions to pieces that I've made. That's exactly what the Ashmolean Museum, Latin Inscriptions Project asked me to do, firstly in creating a full Arretine Ware, Terra Sigillata, (Samian Ware) production set: Punches, Mould and Finished Bowl.





Then there was the beautiful Victory Lamp, bearing the greeting, ANNV / NOVM / FAVTVM / FELICE(M) Annu(m) / nov(u)m / fau(s)tum /felice(m) which translates as ‘A happy and prosperous New Year!’  In this case the museum asked for not only the lamp itself, but the mould that made the lamp and the archaetype that was used to make the mould, again providing an insight into the complete making process.


And last but by no means least this set of Pan Pipes, or Syrinx. The brief did not require that the pipes should actually be able to be played, but as I had all the measurements I felt I should at least try, and they do in fact make quite a passable tune, which can be heard here https://youtu.be/zFLME8SZAvQ  All are now in use at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford 








Visit my website at www.pottedhistory.co.uk

Friday, 2 June 2017

Firing The Vindolanda Kiln

On May 31st I, with the help of two of the stalwart Vindolanda volunteers, fired the newly built replica Roman pottery kiln at the Vindolanda Museum: See my earlier post Roman Pottery Kiln and Workshops at Vindolanda.


44 pots of varying sizes were packed tightly into the chamber, tile/amphora sherds (actually roughly made curved slabs of fired clay) were then laid over the pack.  On top of this a very coarse mix of mud, gravel and organic material was spread and finally I plastered a mix of sand and clay over the surface, leaving three exit flues at the back of the kiln, through which hot gasses could escape.

I'd made the decision to attempt a black-burnished ware / greyware firing which involves starving the kiln of oxygen towards the end of the firing causing an intensely reducing atmosphere within the chamber.  This has the combined effect of pushing carbon deep into the pores of the clay and converting iron oxide within the clay body from its red Ferric form to black Ferrous oxide.  In the case of this firing this was achieved by closing down some of the exit flues for the last 200 degrees and, once we had reached the target temperature of 900 degrees, completely sealing the top of the kiln then stoking as much fuel as possible into the firebox and then sealing it closed.


The kiln was lit at 8:30am and we began sealing the kiln at 6pm giving a total firing time of nine and a half hours and an average temperature rise of 95 degrees per hour. Once begun, firing is a continuous process, even being distracted for a few moments can result in a temperature drop. As a 21st Century potter I have the advantage of an thermocouple and pyromenter (High temperature thermometer) my Roman predecessors would have had no such technology at their disposal.  Their temperature measuring techniques would have relied on their senses: in the early stages of firing a potter needs to take things very slowly, ensuring that trapped moisture in the clay doesn't blow his/her pots apart, a hand placed over the exit flue will give an indication of temperature and whether the gasses are moist or not; once the kiln is over 600 degrees C the colour of the pots in the chamber, seen through the exit flues will give the potter all the information they need.






I arrived to open the kiln at noon the following day and upon opening one of the exit flues was surprised to smell smoke, and by the level of heat emanating from the kiln. I realised that the fuel in the firebox had converted to charcoal and that, with the influx of oxygen caused by opening the seal, it was about to reignite.  We therefore opened the firebox and immediately raked out all the accessible fuel which did indeed immediately burst into flame. We then resealed the kiln because the pots were obviously too hot to unpack, unfortunately not having anticipated this turn of events, I had not brought the pyrometer with me and there fore while I knew it was hot, I didn't know how hot!  If fired pots are cooled through the 250 to 200 degrees stage too quickly they can crack, known as "dunting", this is caused by the fact that silica molecules within the clay rearrange themselves at 226 degrees, so it's safest to wait till the kiln is below 200 degrees to open it. After a trip to my workshop to collect the pyrometer, we returned to the kiln at 4pm by which time the temperature was 186 degrees  and the decision was taken to open it.



I think the results speak for themselves, everything was well coloured by the reduction, the variations from pale grey to black being very much in keeping with Roman originals.  If you'd like to own one of the pots from this firing watch the Vindolanda website and my Blog for news, or drop me an email and I'll let you know when they come up for sale.



Visit my website at www.pottedhistory.co.uk

Monday, 11 April 2016

Neolithic, Bronze-Age & Roman Pottery Making Classes/Workshops 2017

You may have seen me, in Further Tales from Northumberland on ITV, teaching Robson Green to make a Roman pot. You could do far better, (sorry Robson) if you join me on one of my one day pottery workshops coming up soon, email or phone to book:

Roman Barbotine Pottery Sunday  26th March 2017: Learn about this roman slip trailing technique and make your own Roman Hunt cup, or celebrate the Roman Circus by making Chariot Racing & Gladiator Cups. One day workshop £65

Roman Samian Ware - Saturday & Sunday  8the & 9th April 2017: Learn about the pottery that conquered the ancient world, by making your Roman pottery tools then creating a replica Samian Ware Bowl. Two day workshop £98

Prehistoric Pottery - Saturday  22nd April 2017
Learn the basics of Neolithic and Bronze Age pottery, making your own Prehistoric pottery tool kit then creating and decorating replica Beakers and Bowls. One day workshop £65


These workshops are designed for adults. No previous experience is necessary, but if you have made pots before or have an interest in archaeology, they will add to your skills and knowledge of the subject. They combine basic pottery making techniques and history, but most of all they are fun.

Contact me for further information:
Email; info@pottedhistory.co.uk
Phone; 01669 621238
Mobile; 07989871504
Twitter; @pottedhistory
Potted History
Gregory Court
Rothbury
Northumberland
NE65 7PJ

Visit my website at www.pottedhistory.co.uk

Saturday, 2 April 2016

Replicating The Aldbourne Cup


I always enjoy what I do, but lately I've had some amazing commissions, here's the story of one of them: Towards the end of 2015 I was contacted by John Dymond and Alan Heasman, from the Aldbourne Heritage Centre in Wiltshire, asking if I would be able to replicate the Aldbourne Cup for display in their museum. I knew the pot well or at least I thought I did: It was excavated by Cannon Greenwell, in October 1878, from a Bronze Age barrow near the village. Normally my replicas recreate a pot as it looked on the day it was first made, however after some discussion and various meetings of members of the Aldbourne Heritage

I had replicated it on numerous occasions based on drawings and photographs but I decided to make an appointment to visit the British Museum, the cup's current home, and have a close look at it. I'm really glad that I did, because what hadn't been obvious from the images, was the fact that the perforations that formed the decoration, were circular rather than square. Many Bronze-Age beakers, food vessels and the like, are decorated by impressing a shallow toothed comb into the wet clay, forming dotted lines. These combs are almost invariably made by cutting grooves across the edge of a flat piece of bone or antler, this results in a row square or rectangular teeth. The Aldbourne cup on the other hand, had been decorated with a comb composed of round pins, probably three 2mm pins placed in a row and sharpened at the tips to produce 1mm holes spaced 1mm apart. As luck would have it the same burial produced 2 bronze pins pretty much fitting this description, which previous investigators had suggested may have been tattooing tools. A little research yielded images of Polynesian tattooing combs, that informed my reconstruction of a tool suitable for decorating the pot.



Another peculiarity of the decoration was that, while I knew that there were two holes passing through the wall of the pot, as there are with quite a few examples of accessory vessels, in this case some of the impressed decoration actually appeared to go right through the wall of the pot. I believe that this was accidental and occurred where impressions on the outside and inside, exactly coincided with one another.

One reason why such deep decoration might be desirable is if it was intended to be filled with some contrasting coloured material for decorative effect. When looking at the original, it did appear to me that this might be the case ad I thought that in some of the holes I could detect evidence of a lighter material. For this reason I went back to the Heritage Centre members asking the question “to inlay or not to inlay”. Warwick Hood, who had done considerable research, and presented a paper to the Aldbourne Heritage Group on the subject of the cup, kindly pointed out the following reference in Canon Greenwell's 1890 Archaeolgia article, entitled “Recent Researches in Barrows in Yorkshire, Wiltshire, Berkshire, etc.”:

"There is one particular in which it is of much interest, and which has not hitherto, I believe, been observed in pottery from a British barrow. The impressions forming the pattern, and which have been made by a sharp-pointed tool, probably a bronze pricker, have been filled in with some white material like finely powdered chalk applied when in a semi-liquid state. This white material was certainly not the result of the vessel being in contact with chalk, for the surrounding earth was very dark coloured and without any admixture of chalk whatever."

The Aldbourne IV barrow had in fact contained two Aldbourne Cups and in this case Greenwell is referring to the second. Nevertheless the evidence suggested that this had been the case with both the cups and the decision was made, that in the case of the cup in original state, white chalk paste would be applied. This was done by crushing chalk to a paste with a little water, rubbing it into the decoration of the fired pot, polishing off the excess and sealing it into place with a layer of beeswax. I knew it would dramatically change the appearance of the pot, but I probably wasn't prepared for just how stunning it would look. I learned so much more but watch out for a paper later.




Although the Aldbourne Heritage Centre has been open during it's development, I was delighted to be invited to attend the official opening, along with Phil Harding of Time Team fame and Neil Wilkin, Curator, British and European Bronze Age Collection at the British Museum, where the replicas were officially handed over to the Centre.




Visit my website at www.pottedhistory.co.uk

Monday, 5 January 2015

Childlike Exuberance

One of the best things about running historical pottery workshops in schools, is seeing the uninhibited exuberance of the children's work. Unlike many adults, they are not afraid to express themselves in paint or clay and as a result the pots and sculptures they produce have a vitality, often lacking in the more carefully considered work of their seniors. When I return the fired pots to the schools, the children are amazed and delighted to see how the fire has changed and preserved their artwork. 

For more information about my pottery workshops for schools and museums see my earlier post HERE.

Egyptian Canopic Jars by Blackhill School Children
Egyptian Canopic Jars by Blackhill School Children 
Egyptian Shabti Figures by Blyth School Children
Roman Head Pots by Keilder School Children


Mediaeval Green Men by Bedlington School Children



Visit my website at www.pottedhistory.co.uk

Tuesday, 3 June 2014

Greek Pottery Workshops at Wolfson College Oxford

Here are some photographs from my recent Greek Pottery Technology workshop at Wolfson College Oxford, in which participants not only learned about the ceramic science behind the creation of Black and Red Figure wares, but also had the opportunity to try their hand at a Greek style momentum wheel and created their own Rhyton.

 






Visit my website at www.pottedhistory.co.uk

Thursday, 6 February 2014

Pots for Stonehenge and Wiltshire

I take delight in every project that I undertake but being asked by English Heritage, to make all the replica pottery fro the new Stonehenge Visitor Centre and by the Wiltshire Heritage Museum in Devizes, to make replicas for the Gold from the time of Stonehenge have been a particular highlights of the past year. In each case making the pots not as they look now, after several millennia in the ground, but as they would have looked when new. The first part of the project was to produce a selection of large Neolithic Grooved Ware vessels, to be used in the prototype Neolithic Houses which English Heritage built at Old Sarum, as a precursor to building a group at Stonehenge. These pots were based on originals excavated at Durrington Walls. 


Grooved Ware pots based on finds from Durrington Walls
Next came a film role, at least for my hands. I was filmed making a replica grooved ware pot, from crushing and preparing the raw clay and grog, through building and decorating the vessel, to firing it on an open hearth and finally removing the finished pot from the fire. This video will be showing on a loop in the visitor centre, alongside one of Phil Harding making a flint axe and Neil Burridge casting bronze.


Grooved Ware pot glowing in an open fire
At this point I was invited to join archaeologist and curator Sarah Lunt at Fort Cumberland and at Salisbury Museum, to look at the originals pots that I would be replicating for the Stonehenge Museum display, and the education rooms. It is a huge privelage to have had the opportunity to see and handle such iconic pots as: The Wilsford collared urn, grape cup and Stonehenge cup, excavated by William Cunnington during his excavation campaign 1802 – 1810, along with beakers, carinalted bowls and the small grooved ware pot from Durrington Walls.

Back in my studio I began replicating these masterpieces of Neolithic and Bronze-Age ceramic art, for both Stonehenge and the Devizes Museum, here are some of the results.



Wilsford Collared Urn and Grape Cup along with "The Ceramic Object"
The beautiful collared urn here from the Wilsford G7 burial is one of the finest examples from the whole of the UK, here's the original . I'm not the first to attempt to replicate it, Josiah Wedgwood had a go, although in terracotta and over industrialised for my liking. The refinement of this pot and the care with which the decoration has been applied make it a real challenge to replicate. To a lesser degree the same is true of the grape cup with over 150 individually applied pellets and between each pair, a hole bored through to the interior, at only 6cm tall, that's a lot of detail packed into a very small pot. The third item here is the "Ceramic Object", found in the fill of Aubrey Hole number 29 and so called because no one knows exactly what it is.  

My replicas on display at Wiltshire Heritage Museum, Devizes
The pots below are in the education rooms at Stonehenge

Early Neolithic Carinated Bowl, Grooved Ware Pot, Wilsford Beaker and Ceramic Object
My final job is to make the pots for the Neolithic houses so watch this space.


Visit my website at www.pottedhistory.co.uk

Friday, 26 July 2013

Replica Egyptian Canopic Jars

A set of canopic jars with their storage chest made recently for Maidstone Museum's educational handling collection.




Visit my website at www.pottedhistory.co.uk

Friday, 22 February 2013

ONE DAY, HANDS-ON, POTTERY WORKSHOPS FOR KS2 & KS3 SCHOOLS

Teachers, if you want a workshop for your class that combines a history lesson, with the opportunity for every child to develop their creativity while making their own replica pottery artefact, then you need one of my workshops.


POTTED HISTORY – GRAHAM TAYLOR
ONE DAY, HANDS-ON, POTTERY WORKSHOPS FOR KS2 & KS3 SCHOOLS

ROMAN, ANGLO-SAXON, TUDOR, GREEK, EGYPTIAN, BRONZE-AGE, VICTORIAN and more



These workshops combine an art and craft activity with history and are a cost effective, real alternative to a field trip; I bring a living museum to you.  I present all workshops in period costume, using tools and equipment appropriate to the era.  The day begins working with the whole class using my extensive “Portable Museum” handling collection, which acts as a springboard to talk about many aspects of life in the period.  While many subjects are covered in an informative and sometimes humorous way, these are always pitched at a level appropriate to the age group, clear but never patronising.  I will demonstrate the ways in which the pots were made, which for all except the Bronze-Age workshop, involves throwing a pot on an ancient potters wheel, proven to mesmerise the most boisterous class.  Every workshop has a hands-on element allowing the children to express their creativity, while engaging in an activity that involves real technology from the period.  By the end of the day the children will have gained considerable additional information about the historical era covered and will have produced their own replica artefact to keep.

Other activities that can, on request, form part include Archaeological Challenges, which encourage the children to look closely at artefacts and discover the stories that they can tell us about the people of the past.

The knowledge and skills gained through these activities will equip the children to better appreciate what they see when the next visit a museum, and help them to understand that a potsherd isn't just a "bit of broken pot", it's a piece of the jigsaw of the past and a part of someone’s life.

The structure of the day would normally run as follows but can be tailored to your school day: 9am to break, handling collection and demonstration session with the entire class: After break the class is divided into two or three groups of 10 to 15 children, I work with one group before lunch and two groups after lunch, for approx. 40 minutes to 1 hour each, to complete the hands-on activity.  If time allows there will be a question and answer session at the end of the day, which can be planned to include parents if required.

Hands-on projects are as follows:
Egyptian:        Canopic Jar made from pre prepared pot or Shabti figure mould made
Greek:            Rhyton (Animal head drinking cup) from pre prepared pot
Prehistoric:    Hand built Neolithic bowl and animal/deity figure
Roman:           Roman Head Pot from pre prepared pot
Anglo Saxon: Hand decorated Saxon urn from pre prepared pot
Mediaeval:     Knight Jug from pre prepared pot or a Mediaeval encaustic tile
Tudor:            Bellarmine jar made from pre prepared pot
Civil War:       Slipware Plate/bowl made from pre prepared pot
Victorian:        Painted Plate made from pre prepared pot

The following give an idea of the structure of the day:

ROMAN
The Handling Collection includes:  Amphorae, Samian Ware, Barbotine ware, lamps, deity figurines, greyware, cooking pots, head pots, mortaria, altars, incense burners, votives, etc..

Which are used to lead a lesson covering:  Trade & produce, the empire, transport, the Roman army, Hadrian’s Wall, the gods, Roman Crafts, domestic life and much more.

The Hands-On Activity:  The children will make Head Pots, representations of gods on pots;  I will bring along one pre prepared soft clay vessel for each child, the children will then model these to represent a face.  At the end of the day the pots will be taken back to my studio, dried and fired to make them permanent.  Once they are returned to the school, usually after three to four weeks, they can be painted.  

Alternative Activities:  Making a Roman Altar or Making a Roman Samian Bowl (Useful if a quicker workshop is required)

GREEK
The Handling Collection includes:  Amphorae, Rhytons, Aryballos, Ostraka, Attic Wares, Votives, Military paintings, Deity Figures, Athlete Figures, Toys, Lamps, etc..

Which are used to lead a lesson covering:  Trade & produce, the arts, the Greek & Spartan armies, the navy, Olympics & athletics, democracy, domestic life and much more.

The Hands-On Activity:  The children will make Rhytons, animal headed drinking vessels;  I will bring along one pre prepared soft clay vessel for each child, the children will then model these to represent their own chosen animal, a handle will be applied.  At the end of the day the pots will be taken back to my studio, dried and fired to make them permanent.  Once they are returned to the school, usually after three to four weeks, they can be painted.  

Alternative Activities:  Aryballos making an animal shaped perfume bottle or Attic Bowl Painting on a pre prepared and fired Greek bowl.

Much larger projects can be designed and delivered, if you have any ideas for projects large or small please contact me.

Visit my website at www.pottedhistory.co.uk

Saturday, 26 January 2013

Hebridean Bronze Age Replicas

Just finishing work on a replica Cordoned Urn and Food Vessel for a client.






Visit my website at www.pottedhistory.co.uk

Sunday, 13 January 2013

Slipware Exhibition Pieces




In preparation for a couple of forthcoming exhibitions I've been making a few slipware pieces, starting with this jug for the Saint Valentine's show at Crown Studio Gallery, Bridge Street, Rothbury, Northumberland. It has a heart formed from flowers on one side and Shakespeare's Sonnet 116, "Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments", on the reverse.





For the Parkmade exhibition at Preston Hall Museum, Eaglescliffe, Stockton, I've made this piece inspired by Lewis Carroll's poem, The Walrus and the Carpenter, from Through the Looking- Glass and What Alice Found There, 1872. 


And lastly this platter also on its way to Preston Hall.

Visit my website at www.pottedhistory.co.uk