I have a keen interest in historical arts and traditions. I also have a desire to make sure they are not forgotten, but are taught and passed on. I didn’t know what Terra Sigillata was until I was introduced to it in Ceramics at AAU. Since then I have researched, explored and experimented with the process. The more I learned to more respect I gained, it is now one of my favorite techniques to do with clay. Terra Sigillata is a fine clay slip that is carefully prepared and applied to an unfired clay piece, and then fired at a relatively low temperature. It will seem burnished without the tedious work of burnishing with a rock or spoon back, and a glaze is not needed. Terra Sigillata is fascinating to me both as a sculptor and as a natural medicine healer. I love the idea of using a material that is beneficial in both ways. A sculptural piece with Terra Sigillata applied is visually and tactilely appealing. It has a soft smooth texture much like leather. It can be made shiny or left with a soft satin sheen, depending on the surface and where an artist wants to take it next. Versatile, Mason stains can be added to make it colorful, or it can be left natural, generally a reddish, white or black tone. It has been used for thousands of years and is finding its way back into sculpture today.
The name terra sigillata has its origin in Roman, where the process of applying terra sig to a clay piece was said to first come from. The name may have come from Rome, but many cultures historically have pots and sculptures with Terra Sigillata applied. Peru, Maya, China and Southwestern Tribes, with horse hair pottery, all used the same process. Terra sigillata is a Latin word meaning sealed earth. If you research terra sig or sigillata, many peopl...
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... laying horse hair on them, the heat will cause the hair to burn (it stinks!) and will leave a permanent, unique design. Although there is some breakage when the hot pots or sculptures are brought out into the cooler air, the horse hair effect is beautiful and distinct.
Personally, I have some white bentonite clay and also some French green clay, both used for medicine that I am going to try as a terra sig slip and see if they fire well.
Reference:
Harriot, Thomas; A Briefe and True Report of the New Found Land of Virginia, 1590
Tracy W. McGregor Library of American History, Special Collections (A 1590-1634 .B79 GE)
Pitelka, Vince; Professor of Art / Head of Clay Department, Tennessee Tech University http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka/professional/terra_sig.htm http://ancientpoint.com/inf/71066-large_authentic_fragment_from_a_roman_terracotta___terra_sigillata_1.html
Breen, T. H., and Stephen Innes. Myne Owne Ground: Race and Freedom on Virginia 's Eastern Shore, 1640-1676. 25th anniversary ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. 142 pages (kindle edition).
Early Virginia's flourishing cultivation of tobacco drew a diversity of people, from fresh war veterans and former soldiers, to adventurers and ordinary people looking to recoup from former monetary losses. However the tobacco did not only alter the country culturally and economically, but it “ threw more wood into the fire.” It strengthened the infamous individualistic attitude the colonists had. The advent...
Virtual Jamestown. "Indenture Contract of Richard Lowther." Personal Narratives from the Virtual Jamestown Project, 1575-1705. http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/jamestown-browse?id=J1046
Thesis: The Roanoke colony proved to be an unsuccessful venture in the New World for England, since leaders of the expedition held the viewpoint that privateering would prove to be the most profitable aspect of founding the new settlements in the West. However future, still unsuccessful attempts to make a permanent colony at Roanoke, helped England understand how to build a prosperous one; and it became a building block for establishing future colonies for England and helped shape the ideas that would help launch their empire.
Ceramics are most commonly used in dental applications as restorative materials for crowns, cements and dentures.
Often when looking at American history, people tend to lump all the characters and actors involved as similar. This is especially the case in regards to Early American Colonial history. Because the Puritan communities that grew rapidly after John Winthrop’s arrival in 1630 often overshadow the earlier colony at Plymouth, many are lead to assume that all settlers acted in similar ways with regard to land use, religion, and law. By analyzing the writings of William Bradford and John Winthrop, one begins to see differing pictures of colonization in New England.
Once I sat down to make my pottery, I decided to make something I thought would have been useful to hunter-gatherer societies, to the individuals that first utilized pottery. I tried to imagine what sorts of vessels would have been a necessity to these people. I concluded that a larger container capable of carrying water over distances would have been more useful than a smaller bowl. I wanted to make a container large enough to transport water. It needed to be light enough to carry for long periods of time. And, it would have to be durable so as not to crack or spill water while being transported. With these thoughts in mind, I began molding my clay.
The first time I experienced clay in depth was in my first ceramics class in college. This is where I spent hours of my time in the studio exploring. After my first soda firing, I knew that I wanted to start a career in clay. I am applying to the master’s program in ceramics to extend my knowledge of clay and to further develop my conceptual thought.
Bake or dry (pottery, bricks, etc.) in a kiln is used in the book, To Kill a Mockingbird. The character,Miss Maudie, bakes a cake for Jem, Dill, and Scout. "I've not got all the morning to pass on the porch-Jem Finch, I called to find out if you and your colleagues can eat some cake. Got up at five to make it, so you better say yes."(287)
Another reason as to which I love her piece was because the title was named Hot Chocolate Pot. had a few pieces that could be considered as a collection. The ceramics appears to be about 12 inches and displayed on a wooden column block.
The object chosen is a Roman tomb relief made of marble; it dates from around the third to fourth century AD. It is Roman in origin, but no specific province or city was specified. The scene depicted on the relief is highly detailed, and it depicts a shop assistant or labourer carrying a basket of goods (likely olives or dates) to a shop keeper. The shop keeper is depicted as reaching for the basket of goods, intending to weigh them by pouring the contents of the basket into the modius measure (a hollow vessel used for measurements of non-liquids) on the floor. This relief, along with other similar reliefs, would have been used to decorate the shop keeper’s tomb.
1. Carville Earl, “Environment, disease and mortality in early Virginia,” Journal of Historical Geography 5, 4 (1979): 365-390
Black-figure pottery was a popular style from 620-480 BCE. Athens soon became the main spot for Greek pottery. The black-figure style had “black figures painted on a light inset background panel, while the surrounding vase surface is a deep, lustrous black” (“Greek Pottery”). The Black-figure style was made by applying a clay slip to the outside of the vessel. The vessel was then fired in an oxidation kiln which turns the slip red. With no oxygen the clay turns black. Next the potters trim and cut lines into the slip or add white and purple mixtures of clay and pigment to depict the details. During this period, painters and the potters started signing their work. Famous black-figure potters/painters were Sophilos, Exekias, the Amasis Painter, Kleitias, Andokides, Ergotimos, Lydos, Euthymides, and Nearchos. Kleitias is known for painting over two hundred figures in six friezes in the François Vase. Exekias an Attic painter is known for being master of technique. The Amasis Painter signed his name on twelve works all recognizably painted by the same
Researchers from the University of Southampton propose that gels made from clay may administer the right environment that would stimulate stem cells to regenerate lost tissue such as cornea, bone, skin, heart, spinal cord, liver and pancreas. Clay particles attract molecules to bind together. Scientists propose that will be able to use the clays encouragement to get stem cells to grow new tissue. Researchers first approach is to regenerate bone lost to cancer or hip replacement failure. If researchers are successful, then stem cells can be brought to a whole other level. Stem cells could be applied to burn victims or to people suffering from diabetes or parkinson 's disease. Clay particles are what could be needed to stimulate the process at a particular point of injury. There are two major challenges for the purpose of basic stem based therapies. The first major challenge is being able to hold the stem cells at the right location. Researchers propose that clay particles gelled in water can injected into the body and held at the exact site of injury eliminating the need for surgery. Clay particles also interact with polymers which are used in scaffolds, which stem cells grow on. Researchers hope this will improve the scaffold’s strength to preserve the support at the site of injury until regeneration is done. The ability of clay to overcome these is huge(Life Science Weekly). Also
For the first assignment, I read two excerpts from Ceramics Art and Perception and one article from Ceramics Technical, the July 2017 edition. While each article focused on a different aspect of ceramics.