This is a guide for anyone interested in the art of pottery. This book covers everything from the nature and properties of clay to glazes and firing techniques. It contains step-by-step instructions and clear illustrations on how to prepare clay, use molds, build by hand, throw on the wheel, turn, cast, and decorate pottery. Additionally, the book offers information on high-temperature wares, porcelain, and working with children.
Excerpt from The Potter's Craft: A Practical Guide for the Studio and Workshop What then, are not manufactured products as now put forth a menace to the art life of the nation? Are not the people being educated in the use of and be lief in machine-made ornament and meretricious dis play? Perhaps so, but no good purpose will be served by a ruthless condemnation of these things. Art ap preciation is a most subtle thing and no one may dictate to his neighbor as to what he should or should not admire. It took time for the public to understand and patronize the product of the machine even though the price was favorable. It will take time for an appreciation of craftsmanship to influence the land but this consummation will most assuredly come. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
Excerpt from The Potter's Craft: A Practical Guide for the Studio and Workshop This Book is the outcome of an experience extending over a period of thirty-six years. Twenty years ago it would have been impossible for the science of ceramics was not then born. Ten years ago it would have been wasted for the Artist-potter in America had not arrived but now the individual workers are many and the science is well established. Written teaching must be imperfect, but I have endeavored to set down the exact methods by which my students are taught, in the hope that those who cannot secure personal instruction may read and understand. As far as possible didactic statements have been avoided and the attempt has been made to lead every student to experiment and to think for himself. In other words, I have tried to erect sign-posts and occasional warnings rather than to remove all obstacles from the road. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
A landmark survey of the formative years of American studio ceramics and the constellation of people, institutions, and events that propelled it from craft to fine art
From the 1880s to the 1950s, pioneering American artists drew upon the rich traditions and recent innovations of European and Asian ceramics to develop new designs, decorations, and techniques. The extraordinary range and inventiveness of these American interpretations of international trends—from the Arts and Crafts and Art Deco movements to the modernism of Matisse and the Wiener Werkstätte to abstracted, minimalist styles—are exemplified in this book by more than 180 works from the outstanding collection of Martin Eidelberg. Splendid new photography and engaging essays by two of the foremost experts on American art pottery trace the period’s decorative developments, from sculptural and painted ornament to adornment with deeply colored glazes and textures. Featured makers include the renowned Rookwood, Grueby, and Van Briggle Potteries, as well as leading artists such as Maija Grotell, George E. Ohr, Frederick Hurten Rhead, Louis C. Tiffany, Rockwell Kent, Adelaide Alsop Robineau, and Leza McVey. A vivid and accessible overview of American ceramics and ceramists of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Gifts from the Fire reveals how artists working in the United States drew upon diverse, global influences to produce works of astonishing variety and ingenuity.
