Studio Art Pottery Stoneware Bowl by Marty Morgan

   I was just going through my studio pottery collection while organizing my cabinets, etc, so I decided to post about this bowl I picked up a couple weeks ago at a local thrift shop.

I love it when I get an identifiable piece, and I was able to get confirmation from the artisan potter her self that crafted this beautiful bowl a few years ago, Marty Morgan, whose studio is located in Gloucester, Massachusetts, which is only a couple towns North of me.

I was told by Ms Morgan that this stoneware bowl was made of cone 10 stoneware, fired in a gas kiln, and glazed with a Rutile blue over a glossy white glaze creating the lighter blue overlap color over the orange/brown, etc..

Artisan Studio Pottery Hand Crafted by Hector Marrero, Puerto Rico

  Although I have acquired several more studio pottery pieces for my collection over the last few months, I haven't been keeping up with identifying the artisans & posting about them here on my Studio Pottery Blog.

The problem is mostly because "studio pottery" is pretty much any & all pottery that is hand made and the fact is, there are countless thousands of people who make or have made pottery, the majority of them unknown and certainly not famous, so, often is virtually impossible to identify who made it, when it was made and so on.

Today however, I was able to immediately identify the maker of a studio pottery vase I found in a local thrift shop.  It is signed Marrero Puerto Rico.   A quick Google search led me to a video on YouTube, featuring the artisan who made this pot, Hector Marrero.  

Artisan Hector Marrero from Guaynabo Puerto Rico masters the art of wheel thrown ceramics

Rowantrees Pottery of Blue HIll Maine >R Marked Creamer & Cup

  I have several studio pottery pieces in my collection that I still haven't identified, photographed, and shared here on my Studio Pottery Blog and since I just picked up these two studio art pottery pieces by Rowantrees Pottery of Blue Hill, Maine, I decided to show them here on my blog.

  Thanks to Ted Ackley on the Studio Pottery Collector's Group for identifying the >R makers mark as that of Rowantrees Pottery, Blue Hill, Maine.

I'm not sure which decade these pieces were made, and looking around online, it appears that Rowantrees Pottery have used several variations of marks over the years, some of which included the name Rowantrees, sometimes even including Blue Hill Maine, most of them have some variation of the Rowantrees Pottery >R signature makers mark..

Rowantrees Pottery opened in 1934 and was in production until 2009. Rowantrees Pottery was founded by Adelaide Pearson and her partner, Laura Paddock. Sheila Varnum, who is now in her 80's, was a Rowantrees Pottery employee of 30 years when she assumed ownership of the pottery studio in the 1970s..

According to Andrew Phelan, author of the book "Following the Brick Path, The Story of Rowantrees Pottery" , Rowantrees Pottery's products are "highly valued by collectors", yet, I don't see that claim even remotely accurate since there are many examples of Rowantrees Pottery that have been available online for quite some time and remain unsold at low prices.

There's also Rowantrees Pottery reproductions, produced by Lowell Hill Pottery, although I can't see why anyone would want reproductions when one can easily find an original.


Update: Jan. 25. 2015.   I am thinning my collection and have decided to list this Rowantrees Pottery set on eBay.

Italian Artisan Ceramic Plate Signed Ravello

  I've been quite busy over the last couple of weeks, so have been neglecting to update this blog with my various studio pottery finds in my collection and since I just took some photos of this little plate signed Ravello, I decided to write today.

Last week I found this beautiful little ceramic plate in a thrift shop.  It appears to be wheel thrown and shows all the characteristics of being hand made.  It is painted with some sort of raised enamel & then was glazed.  The bottom of the plate is signed Ravello, and at first glance I thought it was a studio pottery artisan's name signed with a Sharpie, however, after a quick Google search, it turns out that Ravello is a town on the Amalfi Coast of Italy, a town known for their beautiful hand crafted and hand painted ceramics.

I don't know which specific Ravello artist made this little plate, but it's beautiful and am happy that I found it.  If anyone knows who may have made this, or its possible age, naturally a modern piece from late 20th century I believe, but also possibly 21st century.  I honestly don't know, but the piece does show signs of age, so, maybe it's a little bit older than I think.    I'm not sure what the pattern or style is called, so if anyone reading this post knows the answer, I'd greatly appreciate your help.

More Studio Pottery Added to My Collection

Today I decided to go back to one of my favorite charity thrift stores because they were having a half off sale, and I ended up bringing home a few more studio pottery pieces to add to my collection.

Surprisingly, the remaining pieces signed Graf that I wrote about in my last post were still there and although I liked all of them, I could only afford to buy one, even though they were only $6.50 each after taking 50% off.

Here's a pic of what I picked up today, plus 2 pieces I picked up on Monday.  Some of them are signed, a couple of them are not.  The long necked vessel in the center is the one by Graf, signed the same was as the others.

I hope to show more about each of the pieces I have when I know more about them, so stay tuned.. and of course I'll update with each new find as my collection grows.

At the moment, my collection is still very small, at only 18 pieces so far, although one could argue I have more than that if I counted in the hand made pieces of Asian origin, which I consider part of a separate collection, and not as studio pottery, but Asian art, and I write about those on my other blog.

Here's a photo of the Graf studio pottery vessel.  I call it a vessel, because I'm not sure what the proper name is, or if vase is the right term or not.

I still haven't found out anything about the artist, nor have I learned what types of clay and glazes were used on the Graf studio pottery pieces.

Studio Pottery, Signed Graf, R-S

I am new to collecting studio pottery, so, as of this posting I am unfamiliar with the various types of clay and glazes, therefore do not know much about these 3 studio pottery pieces I've acquired yesterday and today.

I collect Asian art & antiques of various forms, mostly Chinese and Japanese porcelain, so I am frequently visiting antiques shops, thrift stores, and several other second hand merchandise types of stores looking for new pieces for my collection, but it wasn't until very recently that I became interested in collecting studio pottery, and so yesterday while out on one of my usual treasure hunts, I found this tan and blue glazed studio pottery bowl signed Graf, at least that's what I think it says.  It is also marked R-S, but I have no idea what it means.

Later on in the afternoon, I eagerly began searching for information about who made this and from what decade or year it may have been made, but as of yet, I have learned nothing about the artisan who created this piece.   I joined the Facebook group "Studio Pottery Collectors" and made my first post, asking for information on the piece, but thus far, no information has been obtained.

As I continued to look around hoping to find answers I ended up learning a little more about studio pottery, and even came across many auction listings for various different kinds of studio pottery, some of them very expensive, and apparently very collectable.   Although I at this time have no interest in selling, the idea of a piece having high monetary value is appealing to me, because one never knows when a financial emergency may arise, and perhaps it could be an extra investment, or even more importantly, it can contribute to a better estate for my daughter when my time on this earth has come up.

  As a result of seeing the various prices of several forms of studio pottery, I returned to the shop where I purchased the bowl, because I recalled seeing several pieces, all with the same signature, Graf, and all with R-S.   Unfortunately, I could not afford the few higher priced ones, nor was I willing to pay the asking price, however, I did purchase two additional pieces for $2 each, so now have three pieces of studio pottery signed Graf.

 

In addition to the aforementioned tan & blue glazed bowl, there is a blue glaze jar, and what I can only describe as some form of cup, although the bottom portion of the interior is rough and crude, making it unsuitable for functional beverage use.  It has a brown glaze, and the clay feels rough, like coarse sand.

All of them are signed Graf, and all are marked R-S.  The blue jar however, has some writing on it that says "T-826, 10-20-30-40, Co-Ruti" , but I have no idea what it means.

Tan and blue glazed studio pottery bowl, signed Graf.

Blue glazed studio pottery jar, signed Graf.

Brown glazed studio pottery cup, signed Graf


Graf signature and R-S marking on the base

If anyone reading this knows anything about who the artist is of this studio pottery, please leave a comment.  Additionally, as I am a new collector, and wish to learn more, I'd appreciate it if anyone could tell me what types of glaze and clays these pieces are made of, etc.   Thank you.

Small Flambe Glaze Cup

 This small red, green and earth tones glazed bowl is my first studio pottery piece in my small collection of studio pottery.   I think it's Flambe glaze, but I'm not sure.

While out hunting for Asian art & antiques one day, I ended up buying this small flambe glazed bowl at a local thrift shop thinking it was of Chinese origin, however, I can't ascertain whether or not that's the case, nor can I identify its maker or date of production.  I posted photos of it on a forum for Chinese ceramics and was told that it's studio pottery, but for all I know it could even be a current mass produced ceramic product commonly sold in junkware outlets like Pier 1 Imports or Wal-mart.

I just recently begun collecting studio pottery, and although  currently have a small collection, I hope to learn more and continue to grow my collection of studio pottery, which of course I will document here on this blog and share photos of the various pieces I find.