Welcome to my blog

 Welcome to my blog. 

I've never written a blog before - so this will be a new adventure - I'm not sure quite yet what I will write, but mostly about art is what I am thinking! 


So Welcome! 

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Some info on Lead in Glazes

Have you seen the TikTok or Reels videos that show a person going into their local thrift store and checking plates, bowls, and cups with a little marker for lead? When they mark the piece if the mark changes color it shows that there is lead in the piece and they claim that it shouldn't be sold and they offer to get rid of it for the thrift store?  Let's talk a little bit about lead in ceramics and in glass.  Historically speaking lead was added to the components of the glaze as a flux.  Adding the lead meant that the silica that was used to form the glass part of the glaze meant that the glaze could melt at a lower temperature than without it.  This was good because it meant the kiln did not have to get as hot to melt the glaze on the pieces.  In addition, if a artist was using a low-fire clay then during the glaze firing it did not have to get as hot, and potentially over-fire and melt the clay. Lead was also added to glass for the same reason that it was use...
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I'm Torn....Historical vs Different Skills

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 I'm doing some digging into Maiolica research.  I've read Piccolpasso's three treatises on Maiolica a couple of times, and I'm going to go back and dig into it again as both of the last times I've read it, I've come away with different and more information. Each time I've found things that have lead me towards different research and rabbit holes to fall into as well!  One of the things that Piccolpasso talks about in his treatise is that the ceramics were created on a potter's wheel that would have a wooden mold attached to it in order to make the plates or bowls.  This makes complete sense to me, as Piccolpasso was living in the area of the Castel Durante potteries.  These potteries were making mass quantities of pottery for different households, castles and even for the Pope. That said, the artists needed ways to cut time down on making the pieces, and using a mold in the creation of bowls and plates and other dinnerware, makes it considerably easier ...
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Molds

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 Thinking about historical potters, it struck me that there had to be some uniform way to create plates or bowls so that they were the same (or nearly the same) size and dimensions each time or if they were made by different potters in the workshop.  What is the easiest way to create something to be consistent and uniform? Use a mold of some sort!   Today, I made two plates that were the same size and shape through the use of a drape or hump mold.  This is a mold where a slab (flat sheet of clay) is draped over the top and shaped to the mold.  Piccolpasso would have used either a plaster or wooden mold in his workshop. These would have been most likely purchased from another shop, especially the wooden molds.   I could have chosen to use a plaster mold, however, I know that plaster can chip and become less durable over time.  If plaster gets into the clay it can also make the clay explode.  I chose to use a wooden mold in order to make t...
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