A very Bagni birthday

I love Italian pottery, and one of my favorite designers is Alvino Bagni, who was mentored at Bitossi by Aldo Londi before opening his own studio.

I already have three Bagni pieces, and I'm always looking on Ebay and Etsy for more. A couple of weeks ago, I found a small vase that I loved, but I decided to take a chance that the seller would lower the price if it didn't sell. Sure enough, that's exactly what happened, and today I won the auction at the reduced price...the perfect birthday gift for myself. (Even better, when I paid by PayPal, I discovered that I had a balance from a refund I had forgotten about, so I was out-of-pocket less than $5. Nice surprise!)

The vase measures 5.25" in diameter by 6.75" high and is in that warm Bagni matte brownish-orange that always attracts me. I also find the abstract design stunning.

If you look very closely in the lower right-hand corner of the Raymor tag, you may be able to see the faint letters BAG, which was Raymor's code for Bagni pieces. I'm hoping, without the camera's flash, it will be more legible in person, but I knew what I was looking for and could just make it out.

Dryden pottery

A blog friend just scored a sweet piece of pottery while on vacation in the Midwest. Neither she nor I knew anything about the maker, and the label was almost worn away, but I'm an obsessive researcher, so I kept digging till I found out a few things. This post is for Rebecca.

Just after returning home after World War II, James Dryden met Norman Plummer, a ceramist and an employee of the Kansas Geological Survey. Plummer took Dryden to the best clay and ash fields in Kansas and introduced him to J. Sheldon Carey, head of the ceramics department at the University of Kansas.

After a crash course in ceramics, Dryden opened a pottery in his hometown of Ellsworth, Kansas, in 1946. From an early age, Dryden had been interested in art, and his mother had seen to it that he had lessons in drawing and painting. He had become an especially talented cartoonist, which he put to use designing signs and brochures for the company. College courses in chemistry had given him the tools needed to formulate glazes from Kansas ash.

The timing of his enterprise couldn't have been better. Because of the war, no one had been producing pottery for four years. Stores had no stock. Tourists had just started traveling again, so there was a market for souvenir ware and utilitarian household pieces. Soon he had customers like the  Harvey Houses along the Santa Fe Railway, Macy’s of New York, and Van Briggle of Colorado Springs. Numerous souvenir shops ordered items with their names, so he devised a technique of inscribing bisque ware through unfired glaze with a dental drill.

By 1956, he realized that he needed to change locations, so he chose Hot Springs, Arkansas, which had a bustling tourist trade and more hotel rooms per capita that year than any other city in the U.S. In Kansas, his items were slip-cast, but in Hot Springs pressed pieces and thrown pottery were added. In the early Arkansas years, all materials were locally--clay from Malvern, talc from Bryant, and quartz from the Ouachitas. In later years, commercial clay has been used.

Markings vary greatly. Some include a form number and a hand-inscribed "Dryden." Many do not have a form number. A few have a block-printed company name. Pottery made in Kansas in 1954–55 for Van Briggle of Colorado is marked “Anna Van.”

In Arkansas, Dryden has employed hundreds of artists who have thrown on the wheel or decorated pottery. They have sometimes initialed and dated their work. Examples are "Maij-Lis" by May Lis Foster from 1961-61 and "ARS" by Arval R. Sanders in the 1970s. Dryden's son James Kimberly (generally known as Kimbo) was the first to add the word "Original" to the bottoms of thrown pieces. In the early 1970s, the words "Ozark Frontier" were added to the company logo. Foil stickers can be found as well.

Drydenware was undervalued until it gained national attention in the 1990s. Now the value is steadily increasing. The company is still in business and offering tours in Hot Springs after 68 continuous years producing pottery. The hallmark of Drydenware is the variety and beauty of its glazes.

G. L. Dybwad and Joy V. Bliss have written a book entitled Dryden Pottery of Kansas and Arkansas, and their informative article "Dryden Pottery--An Arkansas Treasure" contains much more information about the subject than I have offered here. 

From bookstopshere.com

Rebecca's beautiful vase, with partial sticker
midcenturymodernremodel.com

ebay.com - cshcollectibles57

ebay.com - calvertcollection

ebay.com - archaeologic

ebay.com - jenpicked

ebay.com - karenew20

ebay.com - herculean2005

West German pottery: Ceramano

Ceramano was founded in 1959 by Jakob Schwaderlapp, who also started Jasba. The company was created to provide higher-end art ceramic pieces to complement the less expensive, mass-produced Jasba lines. Ceramano pieces were more like studio ceramics, as they were of better quality and were sometimes more experimental. Although most companies used molds to speed production, some Ceramano pieces were made by hand.

Many of the bases of Ceramano vases are hand-marked and include the name of the decor (style/line). The principal designers, although there were others, were Hans Welling and Gerda Heuckenroth. You might remember from the previous post in this series that Heuckenroth also designed for Carstens.

In the 1970s, as studio ceramics lost their popularity, Ceramano bought the Waku Feuerfest Keramik factory in order to step up their mass-production, but this venture proved unsuccessful, and the company closed in the 1980s.

Note: I encourage you to go to the websites I cite in this series. They do a much more thorough job of providing information on each company, as this series is meant only to be an overview. On those sites, you will find a wealth of specific information about designers, decors and production methods. In particular, Ginny and Forrest Poston of Gin-For's Odditiques do an outstanding job of explaining the markings of each company.

From potsandpots.com and ginforsodditiques.com

etsy.com - PasterCorte

etsy.com - CzechGlassCollector

etsy.com - RetroFatLava

etsy.com - 1001vintage

etsy.com - AustinMetroRetro

etsy.com - fotobox

etsy.com - vintage2remember

flickr.com - julianshimmin

etsy.com - ginforsodditiques

Here are some excellent photos of Ceramano markings from Ginny and Forrest Poston's site. They note the clay used by Ceramano is usually reddish brown and that the markings are usually hand-made and include the name of the company and the decor and often the initials of the designer. However, they also say that some items have been found with very few markings.

genforsodditiques.com

ginforsodditiques

The following bottom is of a Ceramano piece has lines resulting from wire being used to separate the vase from the table of the wheel. This technique originated with Japanese potters, but it has been used worldwide.

ginforsodditiques.com

Italian dove bowl

I've had a run of luck lately. First, I got the Alvino Bagni ashtray on eBay for $20, and a couple of days later, I got this Bitossi dove bowl, made for Goodfriend Imports in the 1950s, for less than $10. The glaze on the outside is a warm golden brown with incised hearts, and on the inside it's a deep maroon. We have a number of white-winged doves in the trees in our back yard that sing to us every evening, so I'm especially fond of this piece.

Both pieces have made their way to my room divider and are right at home with the other Italian and West German ceramics in my collection.

American studio pottery

I thought you might like to look at some beautiful American studio pottery while I continue to recuperate from the flu. Enjoy!

All images from americanpiepottery.com

Glenn Spangler

Isabel Parks

Nancy Wickham

Robert Maxwell

Snake River Pottery

Only one in the bush

It's said that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. This time there was only one bird in that fabled bush, and it wound up in someone else's hand.

I saw another beautiful bird on eBay. This one was by the 20th century California-by-way-of-Texas ceramist David Stewart. I was familiar with his slip-cast Lion's Valley line, but I wasn't familiar with his studio pottery until I found this piece. Research has turned up a wealth of information about him that I will share soon.

David Stewart bird
ebay.com -- two-cool-dudes

ebay.com -- two-cool-dudes

ebay.com -- two-cool-dudes

ebay.com -- two-cool-dudes

In the store: More Italian pottery and some cool glass

When my daughter found the cute Caltempo Fish Fin tidbit server the other day, she also brought back a few other pieces, among them a great orange pedestal bowl that's almost a foot in diameter and 6.5" tall. I haven't figured out its history yet, but I'm searching. It's stamped "Handpainted in Italy" inside the pedestal...not the usual handwritten markings on pieces Raymor or Rosenthal usually imported from Italy. What it may lack in pedigree, it makes up for in size, texture and color. It's a stunning piece.

(Update: 8/20/2013 - This is an Aldo Londi design for Bitossi, part of his "Seta" collection. It was produced between 1957 and 1965.)

She also got a very nice quality glass bowl in a rich amber color which is very large and very heavy. It's not marked at all, but at this stage of my research, which admittedly isn't very far along,  I'm guessing Viking, although Wayne Husted did some crazy freeform bowls for Blenko in the 60s. If any of you have any information about either piece, please share it with me.

Italian pedestal bowl by Aldo Londi for Bitossi

Freeform glass bowl, maker also unknown

Gertrud and Otto Natzler

Otto (1908-2007) and Gertrud Natzler ( 1908-1971) were a married couple well known for their work with ceramics.  The Austrian-born couple came to the United States after the German annexation of their country, settling in Los Angeles.  Natzlers worked together until Gertrud’s death in 1971.

Gertrud made the vases and bowls, while Otto created the glazes and worked the kiln. Gertrud is known for her simple, elegant designs. Otto perfected over 2,000 glazes, which gave each piece a unique color and texture. Some were smooth, while others were pocked and cratered.

After Gertrud’s death, Otto continued to work with clay into the 1990s. He died at age 99. The Natzler’s pottery is highly collectible and quite valuable. 

portlandart.net

worthpoint.com

artpotteryblog.com

portlandart.net

portlandart.net

portlandart.net

treadwaygallery.com

liveauctioneers.com

Just a little work...not a complete facelift

One of my favorite boomerang-shaped dishes had a small chip, so I did a little web surfing to find tips on how to cover up minor flaws. I found this post by mod-mod-world on the Modish site, and I thought I'd pass it along to you.

How to Fix-up that Chip

You probably have at least one piece in your hutch, angled in a particular way, in order to hide an unsightly chip. But you love the piece and, if you're like me, will never get around to having it professionally repaired. The following is a technique that I have been successful with for some time, and if you're feeling creative, it can help bring back some of that lost beauty.

One thing that I'd like to say first is that this type of repair is not intended to restore the piece for food use. One of the materials used contains toluene, a toxic chemical found in products such as spray paint. This repair is simply to get that piece looking good for display use only.

You will need the following materials: 

• A "white putty" type of hobby filler*   You can find this online or at a hobby shop. This item contains toluene.
• Air-drying, gloss enamel paint for glass and tile. These come in little bottles in many colors.
• A very fine piece of sandpaper (a 320 grit)
• A sponge

The Steps:

1. The first step is to fill in the negative space of the missing piece with the white putty. Over-fill the chip a little bit; we are going to sand down the excess later. Let the putty dry for 30-60 minutes.
2. When the putty dries, it will turn gray. Sand it down with a very fine 320 grit sandpaper to exact contour of the missing piece. This type of sandpaper will not scratch the surrounding glaze; do not use a typical grit type sandpaper. Don't rely on your eyes to get the perfect contour. Close your eyes and run your finger over it. If you can feel where the filler begins and ends, then keep sanding. If you sand too much, you can add more filler and repeat Step 1.
3. Now that you have the perfect contour, it's time for the real artistry. In this step, you put on the first layer of glass paint. You will likely need to mix colors to get a perfect match the the glaze of your piece.Apply the paint mixture with very light dabs with a sponge. (Just cut off a little piece from your dish sponge. A small piece is easier to work with.) In this first pass with paint, cover the putty and slightly feather the paint over the surrounding glaze to hide the edge of the repair. You want the repair to blend in as much as possible, and the feathering is important. That's why we're using a sponge and not a brush. Let the paint dry and repeat.
4. It will probably take about 3 or 4 layers of light dabbing with the sponge and paint mixture. The repaired spot will have a very fine texture from the sponge, but if you've matched the paint mixture to the glaze of the piece well, and you've feathered the edges, you will still have a nice result.

The repair is very durable too. After 7 days, the item can be submerged in water.

*My Note: Milliput, an epoxy putty, is available on amazon.com. I'm sure you can find it at your local hobby stores too. It comes in several basic colors besides white, like black, terra cotta and gray.

In a pinch, I have had pretty good results repairing minor chips using acrylic craft paint, mixed to match exactly, which I apply directly into the chip with the tiniest brush I own. Then I take clear nail polish (or sometimes a very, very sheer off white as used with French manicure, depending on the glaze of the piece) and apply layer after layer, letting each layer get slightly tacky before applying the next, till the chip is filled.

Hope this helps you work a little cosmetic magic on your favorite piece that's showing its age.

My boomerang dish that has had a chip filled

Mass-ilicious

My latest eBay purchase arrived yesterday, and I was thrilled almost speechless. I knew the vase was 14" tall, but I never dreamed it would weigh so much. At first I thought the mailman had delivered someone else's package to me, and when I verified that my name was indeed on the box, it crossed my mind that the seller might have sent me the wrong item, because I wasn't expecting anything that hefty.

The thing is massive!!! And did I mention gorgeous? It's even prettier than I thought it would be, with a street scene of buildings and trees incised into the rough clay, which contrasts beautifully with the smooth-glazed orange top. Pictures simply don't do it justice, but I've tried anyway. It was sold as either Raymor or Rosenthal Netter, but even if I never find out its true pedigree, this piece is destined to be one of my all-time favorites.

I love it with the leaf-shaped dish I got the other day.  Its arrival called for another round of rearranging, which is par for the course at my house. Things get moved around many times here, because I'm always making room for something new. Eventually some pieces get packed away or sold, but I don't think that will be the case for this baby or the Fenton piece I moved back to the built-ins.