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.