Ceramic Glazes (http://www.technogypsie.com/science/?p=3793) – Denver Museum of Art/ Art Museum (http://www.technogypsie.com/reviews/?p=838).
Ruskin Pottery
Article and research by Thomas Baurley, Technogypsie Research, August 7, 2017
Research is being conducted, please come back for more information and photos.
Ruskin:
“In 1898 Edward Richard Taylor (1838-1912) and his youngest son William Howson Taylor (1876-1935) established Ruskin Pottery near Birmingham England. The Taylors named the pottery after writer and critic John Ruskin, whose ideals of quality and beauty they sought to embody in their works. The Ruskin Pottery style was based on hand thrown and hand-turned ceramic bodies with unusual glazes. The Pottery produced decorative vessels, tableware, buttons, and small glazed plagues called enamels, intended to be set in silver or pewter as jewelry. Howson Taylor continually experimented with new and sometimes difficult glaze techniques, resulting in four primary glazes – souffle, luster, crystalline/matte, and high fired flambe – each explored in the following cases. When Ruskin Pottery closed in 1933, Howson Taylor refused to share his glaze recipes, writing, “Why let another firm make rubbish and call it Ruskin?”” Though the secrets were lost, the works on view in this exhibition – drawn from a remarkable gift by Carl Patterson of over 200 objects – illustrate Ruskin’s dazzling range of glazes and shapes from its short but prolific history.” ~ Display at the Denver Museum of Art.
Ceramic Glazes (http://www.technogypsie.com/science/?p=3793) – Denver Museum of Art/ Art Museum (http://www.technogypsie.com/reviews/?p=838). Wandering around Denver, Colorado. New Life in Colorado: Chronicle 26 – Chronicles of Sir Thomas Leaf and Prince Cian. Adventures in Colorado. Photos taken Saturday, August 5, 2017. To read the adventures, visit http://www.technogypsie.com/chronicles/?p=21965. To read reviews, visit: www.technogypsie.com/reviews. All photos and articles (c) 2017 Technogypsie.com – by Leaf McGowan and Thomas Baurley. All rights reserved. www.technogypsie.com/photography
Souffle Glaze
“Produced primarily from 1898 to 1914, souffle glazes were the company’s earliest technique. Souffle glazes were sprayed onto biscuit (single-fired) wares which were fired again after glazing. The spray application produces streaks or mottled effects. Ruskin Pottery founder William Howson Taylor described the finishes as ‘suggestive of the rich hues seen in rock pools at low tide.’ Many souffle glazes are monochrome, but some examples display contrasting colors or naturalistic stencilied motifs.” ~ Denver Museum of Art display.
High-Fired Flambe
“William Howson Taylor’s greatest glaze accomplishment was his high-fired flambe glaze, inspired by red glazes made in China during the 1600’s and 1700’s. This achievement required mastering the reduction-firing process, where the potter reduces the amount of oxygen in the kiln, which then causes copper-based oxides in the glaze to generate a range of colors, including cherry red, green, purple, and blue. The highly unpredictable process resulted in one-of-a-kind pieces.” ~ Denver Museum of Art display.
Ceramic Glazes (http://www.technogypsie.com/science/?p=3793) – Denver Museum of Art/ Art Museum (http://www.technogypsie.com/reviews/?p=838). Wandering around Denver, Colorado. New Life in Colorado: Chronicle 26 – Chronicles of Sir Thomas Leaf and Prince Cian. Adventures in Colorado. Photos taken Saturday, August 5, 2017. To read the adventures, visit http://www.technogypsie.com/chronicles/?p=21965. To read reviews, visit: www.technogypsie.com/reviews. All photos and articles (c) 2017 Technogypsie.com – by Leaf McGowan and Thomas Baurley. All rights reserved. www.technogypsie.com/photography
Luster
“Between 1905 and 1926, Ruskin Pottery produced luster-glazed wares. A metallic glaze applied over a colored glaze gives these objects a iridescent sheen. Ruskin’s luster glazes required five kiln firings, making them expensive to produce. Luster ceramics were especially popular in America, ad Ruskin’s kingfisher blue was the most desirable and unusual of these glazes.” ~ Denver Museum of Art display.
Ceramic Glazes (http://www.technogypsie.com/science/?p=3793) – Denver Museum of Art/ Art Museum (http://www.technogypsie.com/reviews/?p=838). Wandering around Denver, Colorado. New Life in Colorado: Chronicle 26 – Chronicles of Sir Thomas Leaf and Prince Cian. Adventures in Colorado. Photos taken Saturday, August 5, 2017. To read the adventures, visit http://www.technogypsie.com/chronicles/?p=21965. To read reviews, visit: www.technogypsie.com/reviews. All photos and articles (c) 2017 Technogypsie.com – by Leaf McGowan and Thomas Baurley. All rights reserved. www.technogypsie.com/photography
Crystalline / Matte
“In the early 1920s, Ruskin founder William Howson Taylor developed a glaze that took two forms: crystalline and matte. The crystalline glazes have distinct crystal formations: the matte glazes are not glossy and often include horizontal bands of colors dripping into one another. The pieces required only two firings and were sometimes molded rather than hand-thrown, making them more economical to produce than luster or flambe wares.” ~ Denver Museum of Art display.
