A new decade has begun, time for roaring twenties ceramics. No I don’t mean vintage ceramics from the twenties of the last century, but freshly fired 21st century ceramics.
No matter how much I love historical ceramics, the current handmade ceramic tradition can only be maintained by making it now.
And the ceramic tradition is still very much alive, judging from what I’m all encountering on Insta. The hashtag #ceramics has 10 million posts on Instagram. Okay not as popular as #Love (2 billion), #Fashion (759 million) or #Art (583 million), but still 10 million is nothing to sneeze at.
The #ceramics of 10 million
In less than 10 years, ceramic lovers around the world have shared 10 million images of ceramics they loved or hated. Ceramics that inspired, that drove to despair and a range of other emotions.
How will the ceramics tradition develop over the next decade? That’s the question… No, not the question, because the efforts of all ceramists, ceramic lovers and ceramic collectors around the world over the next 10 years will dictate it.
Ceramic fireworks
And what about me? I love discovering new techniques. I’ve done that for the last 10 years, and I’m going to do that for the next 10 years. The twenties are like raw clay: ready for use. And the best way to usher in the new year is with fireworks. No fireworks that pops, mutilates and pollutes, but with ceramic fireworks.
That’s why I started looking for “Mocha Tea” in the new year. That’s not a tea to drink steaming out of a hand-shaped mug, but a way to make oxides pop on fresh clay slip.
In the past, ceramists brewed a tea with (chewing) tobacco in which the oxides were mixed. Nowadays it is made with vinegar or citric acid (a lot healthier for modern ceramist).
Roaring twenties ceramics
The effects are promising, but there are still many Mocha Tea variants to make and try. Besides, I have not yet fired and glazed the test tiles, so what the final result will look like is still a question. The year has barely started and I’m already looking forward to my new firing…
I don’t know what my next ceramics firing will bring, let alone how the next decade will turn out. But what I do know is that I am going in at full speed. Roaring twenties ceramics don’t make themselves, everyone is needed.
Happy new year!
So I wish all ceramists, ceramic-lovers and collectors a happy new and roaring twenties ceramic decade. May we continue the handmade ceramic tradition for the next 10 years in many mysterious ways!
Also interested in handmade ceramics?
Take a look at my shop! With the discount code “JAN2020” you get this month (January 2020) 10 discount! A good start to the roaring ceramic twenties.
Pssst: the discount code also applies to my Etsy shop
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