ceramics

  • Coastal Artists Ebay Store

    Designer Rick Rivadeneyra and ceramicist Suzanne Sollenne are California natives who sell their tiles and other work through the Coastal Artists ebay store. Their relief and other types of tiles are unmistakably Arts & Crafts, from subject material to glaze. They currently have several dozen different designs available, from relief tiles in striking wooden frames to borders and multi-tile friezes. The stock changes almost every day, so keep an eye on their site!

  • Greg Myroth’s artpotteryblog.com

    Justartpottery
    from our friend Greg Myroth, owner of JustArtPottery.com:

    We are pleased to announce the recent start-up of ArtPotteryBlog.com. Just Art Pottery has been selling quality arts and crafts ceramics such as Teco, Grueby, and Marblehead as well as collectible American art pottery such as Roseville, Rookwood, Weller, and more online since 1997. ArtPotteryBlog.com is designed to provide current news on the art pottery market such as auction results; related arts and crafts events and pottery show schedules; related industry trends and issues; as well as collector interviews. The site will also serve as an information source on a variety of topics related to antique and contemporary American and European art pottery. The blog is interactive and reader participation and comment is encouraged.

  • Blue Slide Studio: Art Tiles in Point Reyes Station

    Ho_crafttile_12
    I recently spent a weekend in Point Reyes Station, a small community – mostly an artists’ colony but with more and more B&Bs and other attractions built for weekenders – just north of San Francisco. I did a fair amount of window shopping while I was there, and noticed the beautiful Arts & Crafts-influenced tiles marked "Blue Slide" in one shop. Today, I found an article by Joanne Furio in the San Francisco Chronicle on the makers of these tiles:

    For inspiration, tilemaker Gordon Bryan doesn’t have to go very far. His
    studio in Point Reyes Station overlooks golden hills where cattle graze. When
    not working, he can be found birding, gardening, surfing or on his 22-foot
    fishing boat. So it’s not surprising that the cow, the black-headed grosbeak,
    the oak leaf, the willow and the herring have all found their way into his
    handmade tiles.

    "That is Gordon’s thing," says his wife and business partner, Pamela
    Bridges, who helps with the company’s books and serves as her husband’s main
    critic. "He is Mr. Outdoors. He loves nature. He can be out surfing and get
    some of his inspiration."

    The couple, who have been together  25 years, have been in business almost
    as long. They founded Blue Slide Art Tile in Humboldt County  in 1982 and have
    been in Point Reyes since 1986. In 2001, they moved their tile making from a
    rented warehouse to a converted Chevron oil depot they  expanded into a
    3,200-square-foot studio in Point Reyes Station.

    From a one-man operation that sold tile-topped tables mostly to relatives
    and friends, Blue Slide has grown into a nationally distributed artisanal firm.
    Bryan estimates that even the simplest tile is touched at least 30 times.

    note: photograph by Penni Gladstone; a gallery of related images accompanies the full article on SFGate.com.
     

  • Gainey Ceramics

    Gainey Ceramics has sold planters, vases and tile – marketed as "the California original" – since the 1950s. Their Inglewood shop has been producing functional and especially interesting items, mostly planters of a wide variety of shapes and styles (modern and classic, Mission revival [ 1 / 2 ], Craftsman and Asian) but also a variety of architectural and decorative tile.

  • Roycroft Pottery on Ebay, update

    E4_1
    An update to our Roycroft Pottery thread the other day – it seems that Ebay seller (redacted) is now offering a 9-inch dragonfly vase, available from the artist herself for $100, for a buy-it-now price of $250. This is not illegal or even a violation of Ebay rules, but certainly seems unethical to me – not the selling of something for more than it costs or is available elsewhere, of course, but specifically withholding the fact that it could be bought directly from the artist for far less. I have tried to have some sort of dialogue with this person, and got back a reply that I thought seemed to sidestep the issue and simply noted that ‘this is my vase and I will sell it for whatever I want’ – certainly true, and the dealer certainly does have that right. But with every right comes a responsibility: in this case to educate would-be buyers a bit in this forum or in ebay descriptions. This particular seller was responsible, though, and updated the auction description quite substantially to give credit to the creator. However, other sellers – and even some legitimate antique dealers – misrepresent the provenance of items, and continue to withhold information about items which they should share with prospective buyers, in spite of explicit professional guidelines to be completely forthright. Buyer beware!

    [note: article edited 04.03.06]

  • Roycroft Misrepresentation on Ebay

    Bj_product_page
    David Mathias wrote on the Greene Style Furniture mailing list recently that he had seen a number of items of "Roycroft pottery" for sale on Ebay. As many collectors know, aside from a small amount of china used on the campus and produced by Buffalo China, the Roycroft mark never appeared on any commercially-produced pottery until the current resurgence of the movement, and to this day nobody knows what the original experiments looked like as none survived.

    David did a little investigation and noticed the vase for sale was a beautiful trapezoidal dragonfly design by potter Janice McDuffie, part of the current Roycroft Renaissance, who has been selling her work under the apt name Roycroft Pottery since the late 1970s. It certainly is Roycroft pottery – but it is not a rare antique, and the seller was allowing the price to climb far above the actual cost of buying such an item new – and they certainly are available! So rather than the money going to the artist who made them, an Ebay seller was withholding information about the item and allowing the price to be inflated for their own personal gain. Certainly they have that right, this behavior is frowned upon in the antique business and the buyers should be made aware of whole truth about the items they are bidding on, especially when it comes to handicraft items. David did contact all of them – and none responded. It seems they enjoy being taken to the cleaners, and if so, then let them get what they want.

    Example: Ebay user (deleted) (whom I have communicated with, and whom understands the problem – (s)he has contacted Ebay to change the description and make clear that this item is neither antique nor hard to acquire new) has this item, which costs $100 new, up on Ebay now; the reserve has not yet been met even at a current bid of $152! Janice would be glad to sell anyone who asked for $100, and then you’d be dealing with the artist herself. So – please bid responsibly, and don’t support unscrupulous dealers.

  • Jeannine Calcagno Niehaus, potter

    NiehausstudiobigJeannine Niehaus is one of my favorite ceramic artists. At her Santa Cruz, California workshop, Jeannine produces a range of Japanese-inspired vases, plates, bowls, and other pieces using stoneware, porcelain and raku materials/techniques. Her work is a perfect accompaniment to A&C interior architecture, as some of her repeating motifs – wisteria, narcissus, bamboo, iris, eucalyptus, gingko, etc – are patterns embraced by the founders of the various Craftsman movements as well, and have made their way into her work via her intense study of Art Nouveau decoration ahd the floral decoration traditions of China and Japan. Jeannine has been a professional potter for almost thirty years, and began her career not long after receiving her BA in art from San Jose State in the early ’70s. Her work is sold almost solely at juried crafts shows throughout California, as she prefers having direct contact with those who purchase her work.

    She’ll be showing at a number of shows throughout 2005, and if you’re anywhere near one, I urge you to stop by and see her work.

    • May 14 & 15, 2005: Clay in Courtyard, Soquel CA
    • June 11 & 12, 2005: Live Oak Park, Berkeley CA
    • August 10 & 11, 2005: American Craft Council wholesale show, Ft. Mason, San Francisco CA
    • August 12 & 14, 2005: American Craft Council retail show, Ft. Mason, San Francisco CA
    • Throughout September, Jeannine will be traveling and studying throughout Japan, but will return soon after for a few more shows…
    • October 8 & 9, 15 & 16, 2005: Santa Cruz County open studios – Jeannine’s studio will be open for sales & demos
    • November 2005: a gallery show in Gualala, CA, date & location TBA
    • December 2005: Christmas shows, dates & locations TBA

    For more information or specific show dates and locations, email Jeannine. Also, please see the pictures of her work that I’m adding today to our ceramics photo album.

  • Object Fetish: Ebay, April 2005

    Roy4

    Lots of good stuff on Ebay this week – tomorrow I’ll go through A&C items on various Craigslist regional sites, but today I’ve got a few deals from ebay to share.

  • Catalina Tile

    7622798_1c44deb7a4I spent a number of childhood summers at Toyon Bay on Catalina Island, and in Catalina’s biggest (almost only) town of Avalon first saw the colorful tile that was made there at the beginning of this century. I was back in Avalon a little over a week ago and was able to get pictures of a few examples of Catalina tile, most of which are up in the Hewn & Hammered Flickr group.

    Even though the Catalina Tile Co. stopped making tile many years ago, a number of talented artists are making both faithful reproductions of hand-glazed Catalina tile and designs (including some pretty amazing murals) based on the Catalina style.

    I’ve seen more and more Catalina tile in private collections and at museums recently – I guess folks are dusting off pieces that their parents and grandparents picked up on weekend vacations earlier in the century. A few books on the subject – both general histories and collecting guides – are available.