Back Country Artz on Pottery 02/17/2010
We sell handcrafted functional pottery but did you know that pottery has been around since the Neolithic Revolution? It’s amazing to think that something that mankind has been using since such early times is still very functional today, in our techno-savvy world. Where pottery was once placed in a hole in the ground then covered in dirt and a bon fire lit above it, now it is fired in electric kilns were temperature is more easily controlled, although some artist still use older methods like outdoor wood fired kilns. The potter’s wheel that many of us are familiar with today came to be, around 3000 BC, prior to that clay was moulded by hand into the desired shape. Glaze was developed in the 9th century BC for use with decorative tiles but was not used for functional pottery like vesicles to hold water, until much later in the 1st century BC. The first glazed pots appear in the Middle East and in China during the Han Dynasty circa the 1st century BC. These are just a few interesting facts about pottery. I find it fascinating that much of this ancient pottery still exists and sometimes is all that is left at archaeological sites. I love that we can learn so much from the remnants left behind, about the civilization that was there and how they used that pottery. Today we like pottery for very different reasons. We no longer rely on it as our only way to store water. Now we buy it because we love it, and for its beauty and decorative quality. Pottery allows us to have something made from a chunk of clay from the earth, shaped by an artist’s hand, glazed and fired so that the finished product is its own unique creation and is a little link to our past. When we buy local handcrafted pottery we reduce our carbon footprint by shopping local. We support local artists and we have a beautiful, unique and well made accessory to show for it! Comments Your comment will be posted after it is approved. Leave a Reply | About UsOur name was inspired by where we live. Rural British Columbia. Canada is largely back country, we are on just over five acres and often have deer, moose and bears in our back yard. ArchivesAugust 2010 |
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