All posts by Daniel Bende

Designs and creates under the trade name DFB-ceramics hand-thrown stoneware figurative ceramics.

Readymade ceramic art by Ai Weiwei; in search of humanity

For me, Ai Weiwei is the Duchamp of the 21st century: a modern, provocative creator of readymade ceramic art. But Ai is much more than that. He is an artist, human rights activist, provocateur, writer, architect, filmmaker, blogger and dissident.

Until March 3, 2024, a large-scale exhibition of one of the leading artists of the moment can be seen at the Kunsthal Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

At the beginning of the new year, we had the chance to visit this exhibition, and it was definitely worth it. Not only to be able to see the objects live, but especially to be confronted with the (in)humanity in China, Europe and other parts of the world. These are issues that Ai has been looking for throughout his career.

Ai Weiwei exhibition "In Search of Humanity" Kunsthal Rotterdam 2023-2024
Ai Weiwei exhibition “In Search of Humanity” Kunsthal Rotterdam 2023-2024

It is not for nothing that the exhibition bears the name “In Search of Humanity”. A search that is always topical, especially now that inhumane measures seems to have become the norm in Dutch politics.

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New ceramic kiln? First calibrate and compare!

If you have invested in a new ceramic kiln (new for you, 2nd hand is of course also possible), you must first get to know him (or her). Just like a new friend, you have to discover each other and slowly grow closer to together. Then something beautiful can blossom between you and your new kiln or soulmate!

Building strong relationships between people can take a long time. But with a new ceramic kiln it can be done much faster. The difference? With a ceramic kiln you can set and measure everything.

So first calibrate and compare is my motto, but how do you do that?

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Ceramic raw materials: calcining is nothing but hot air, LOI explained

If you make your own glaze recipes, you use ceramic raw materials with hot air… or “LOI” for short. Sometimes this LOI is removed from the raw material beforehand by “calcining” it. But what exactly is that and why do ceramists do it?

By hot air, I don’t mean (this time) all the crap that bloated types spew into the ether. I’ll probably talk about that another time, but this time I want to talk about “Loss On Ignition” or the abbreviation LOI. In other words, the evaporation of substances by intensely heating them: calcining.

Let me explain using the raw material kaolin and a kiln that we will fire at 750 0C (1382 F). Time for an experiment!

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Top three reasons to buy a small ceramic test kiln (and one to get rid of it)

I recently purchased a small Rohde ceramic test kiln from Keramikos. In addition to congratulations on ” the little one” :-), I was also asked: why buy a test kiln? After all, I can also fire my work in my larger (150 liter) kiln.

glaze testing unfired

A good question and a nice reason to list my reasons for my investment in this blog. I came up with this top three and one to get rid of my kiln…

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We live together for a year and the little one is coming!

Big news: the little one is coming! For more than a year I have been living with my new flame . But something was missing in our relationship… Besides my great love, I was looking for something smaller; because size certainly matters.

After in-depth conversations, we figured it out: our relationship would only survive if there was also a little one…

But how do you get a small one? We sought assistance from Keramikos. And they were able to help us immediately. There was a lot of choice, but in the end we agreed. The choice was made, the papers arranged. And Keramikos went to work for us.

And finally the time has come: we have a small Rohde 35 liter ceramic kiln, isn’t it a cutie? Together with my big flame: a 150 liter Rohde frontloading kiln, we now form a beautiful family….

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What should a ceramics lover visit in Amsterdam? Ceramics in the Rijksmuseum!

The collection of ceramics in the Rijksmuseum is somewhat underexposed. Everyone knows “het Rijks” of Rembrands “The Night Watch” and other paintings. But ceramics enthusiasts will also get their money’s worth! Men with beards, women in blue, white gold and much more…

How much more? 7,250 more to be exact… Because that’s how extensive the ceramics collection in the Rijksmuseum is. Reason enough to start this new year off right with a fresh dive into ceramics history.

The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam 2 January 2023

Where do you dive in and what can you discover?

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Ceraminations: Imaginations at Making Ceramics

Imaginations come and go, the art is to recognize and preserve the Ceraminations . They are the ceramist’s treasure trove. Maybe not immediately, but after ripening they are worth their weight in gold, just like a good cheese…

Modern life is surrounded by all kinds of information flows. Books, social media, events and interactions: with Frodo (my parrot), my girlfriend, fellow ceramists and students. What happens to all that input?

With me it always comes out one way or another (rehashed). When I’m working, whether it’s preparing a (glaze) lesson, a ceramics blog or with my hands in the clay, small thoughts jumping around.

Sometimes everyday thoughts (is the garbage picked up today?), sometimes specific (making a series of pots in geometry of the molecules that clay is made up from?).

How do you keep all those references and perhaps (after maturation) valuable Ceraminations?

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Keramion in Frechen: When is a Potter’s Wheel a Pottery Museum?

Keramion in Frechen celebrated its 50th anniversary last year. In all those years we still hadn’t visited this famous ceramics museum in Germany. But this summer we were in the area, so we could no longer resist the pottery sirens from Frechen.

Frechen, near Cologne, is one of the centers on the Lower Rhine where ceramics have been made since 1200. As in Raeren and the Westerwald, artisanal potters have fired “Rheinisch Steinzeug” (Rhine Stoneware) there from about 1400.

Keramion in Frechen, back
Keramion in Frechen, back

But at Keramion, the emphasis is on contemporary ceramic art. After all those historic pots, that’s exactly what we were looking for…

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Pottery museum Raeren, a Modern Pilgrimage for all Stoneware Potters

In pottery museum Raeren (Belgium), you can feel the adventure, excitement and drama that has taken place beneath your feet. Stoneware has been fired in this border region near Aachen (Germany) and Vaals (the Netherlands), for 500 years, This stoneware pottery, “Rheinisch Steinzeug” was the first stoneware developed in Europe.

In the 16th century, this village grew into one of the largest stoneware centers in Europe. Raerens stoneware can be found all over the world. In museums and in private collections of ceramics connoisseurs.

Pottery museum Raeren , inside
Pottery Museum Raeren

Sometimes new finds surface. Literally from shipwrecks such as the “Vergulde Draeck” off the west coast of Australia. But mostly through excavations in Raeren itself.

If you want to feel the history of European stoneware down to your spine, you should visit the Raeren pottery museum. Even if it’s only once in your life… but more often is also allowed!

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What is Stoneware Ceramics? Is it Good or Bad?

Stoneware ceramics were developed in Europe around 1400 in the Lower Rhine area. In cities/villages around Raeren, Cologne and Höhr-Grenzhausen all the ingredients were available. Suitable clay in the ground, wood for fuel and enough technical knowledge to fire the clay at an increasingly higher temperatures.

So in today’s Germany, they have more than 600 years of experience with stoneware. We can therefore take the folk wisdom of this type of ceramics seriously:

“Steingut ist Zeug, Steinzeug ist Gut”

In translation: “Stein” = Stone, “Gut”=Good and “Zeug” = Bad. In short, this German saying teaches us that: “Stone-Good” is Bad and “Stone-Bad” is Good? … Uh, how about that?

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Raging Farmers Dancing on Raeren Stoneware

The raging farmers dance, the farmers dance on Raeren stoneware pottery.

“WER SIN HOEPT WILT HALDEN GANSZ, LAS DEN HVNDEN ER BRVLVEFT ENDE DEI BVREN EREN DANSZ”

“Whoever wants to keep his head whole perchance, let the dogs have their wedding and the farmers their dance” (Raeren proverb 16th century)

Relief negative "der Bauerntanz" (pottery museum Raren)
Relief negative “der Bauerntanz” (pottery museum Raeren)

Raeren potters from the 16th century already warn us about the raging farmers during their dance. Let them run wild, let them dance. Even though it’s a dance on the volcano…

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The rise and fall of Raeren Stoneware

Production Raeren Stoneware, circa 1550:

“Stop! No more wood, the white fire has been reached. Scoop the salt into the kiln.”

Men with faces covered in dirty rags, with blisters on their hands defying the caustic chlorine fumes that hang around the kiln like a white cloud. With tearful eyes they scoop kilos of salt into the kiln. Finally, the kilnmaster gives the signal: they can close the kiln.

For five days and nights they have fired a kiln with more than 2,000 pots. The work of many months is at stake. If this kiln fails, all will be in vain.

Not to mention the consequences for the pottery and the families who depend on it. Can the debt still be paid this month or will it be seized by the freelord?

Oil painting by André Blank: Raeren and the most important export areas (Pottery Museum Raeren)
Oil painting by André Blank: Raeren and the most important export areas (Pottery Museum Raeren)

How did a small village on the Lower Rhine develop into one of the largest producers of European stoneware in the 16th century? For that we have to go back to Roman times…

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