I have been working with the Kent clay again. These jugs are thrown from the clay with out any processing. It's got all sorts of bits in it- some of them quite large. (When they sliced the clay up at Babylon tiles they took out a lizard! That would have given me quite a surprise when I was throwing!) Of course this makes the finished pots quite rough and robust.Nevertheless it throws beautifully and is a joy to work with.
I still have another batch of the clay left which I slatted down and sieved. It was a lot of work to yield a fairly small batch of clay. I kneaded it up today and it's a wonderful amber, gold colour and completely smooth. I'm looking forward to throwing it. I may be able to throw much thinner.
I tried to get a medieval feel into the top two pots, but I think the thumbing looks a bit as though the jug's wearing a skirt! The medieval jugs in the V and A had sprung bases, I think that the bases may have been added later. Anyone got any ideas about that?
I heard a theory once that said those jugs were probably thrown upside down, later inverted and the top thrown some more. This in order to make them lighter I guess. So the bottoms would have had a slab added and thumbed on. I have no idea if this is true or not. I do quite like yours!!
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of the medieval style jugs, I think they are just the sort of thing that your decoration will work with and I look forward to seeing them develop.
ReplyDeleteI always thought the 'thumbed' decoration on the bottoms was just a way of using the excess clay as the
pots weren't turned.
Let me know when you find out.
Happy New Year.