Book Review | Global Clay

After years of losing clay pots to freezing and cracking I found this book helpful in understanding why I should search for and select pots made from a clay with a high mineral content. Errington Reay and Company has been in business for over a century and makes salt glazed pots that withstand the humid cold of a British winter.  Other historic pottery makers are Littlethorpe Potteries and The Farnham Pottery Company. In the United States, Catawba Valley Pottery of North Carolina also hosts artisans to continue the pottery creation tradition. John Burrison includes an extensive history of companies and people using clay for their art. 

From the publisher:

"For over 25,000 years, humans across the globe have shaped, decorated, and fired clay. Despite great differences in location and time, universal themes appear in the world's ceramic traditions, including religious influences, human and animal representations, and mortuary pottery. In Global Clay: Themes in World Ceramic Traditions, noted pottery scholar John A. Burrison explores the recurring artistic themes that tie humanity together, explaining how and why those themes appear again and again in worldwide ceramic traditions. The book is richly illustrated with over 200 full-color, cross-cultural illustrations of ceramics from prehistory to the present. Providing an introduction to different styles of folk pottery, extensive suggestions for further reading, and reflections on the future of traditional pottery around the world, Global Clay is sure to become a classic for all who love art and pottery and all who are intrigued by the human commonalities revealed through art."

References and Sources.                                  

Errington Reay and Company

Littlethorpe Potteries 

The Farnham Pottery Company

Catawba Valley Pottery of North Carolina 

Bergspotter

Pewabic Pottery and Tile

https://gardenandgun.com/articles/seven-southern-towns-for-pottery-lovers/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=socialmedia&utm_campaign=october2023_pdfacebook&utm_content=pottery&fbclid=IwAR1krXQpwucTkHAz7JwdjPABX6weoqxoOxvjHDNg1179rG4a-KfTTfkolOw_aem_Abt6BRMBPjJ9EJIkwxnmfgiHe7GMg8t-7pYZYoXZ8zpj_Foqf3muakr3EPgn3db3WN1yEa4WIooF96iuEqY4NwcE

https://pittetarch.com/

 January 5, 2021