Tim Wilcox on mon 14 oct 02
The following is a letter I sent to some people I knew through my
Archaeology connections. But under the suggestion of Kathleen Nez I am
asking Clayart for more people to attend and some suggestions about how to
handle this gathering since it is the first one I am hosting. Mostly
logistics like wether or not to charge a registration fee for wood and
possibly renting a truck for a clay gathering field trip and a porta potty
and perhaps limiting the attendance since there are so few accomodations in
leupp, AZ. For those that don't know the Pecos conference is an annual
conference on southwestern archaeology and, the Anasazi style Black-on-
white pottery is a ware that uses low iron natural clay and a burnished
white kaolin slip, painted with rocky mountain beeweed boiled down into
syrup (basically sugar) then fired in such a way that the carbon from the
sugar does not burn out and leaves a black design and the iron in the clay
does not oxidize producing a white to gray clay body.
Hello fellow potters,
I am kicking around the idea of hosting an informal Black-on-White firing
in Leupp AZ during the month of february. It will be cold but there will
be a fire to keep us warm. I am thinking about this because it's been over
a year since I made any Black on white style pots.
And I would like others there because I learned much at last years pecos
conference. I picked feb because it is still winter and the 100 mph spring
winds haven't started yet. they don't let up until June. Then it is hot
hot hot. Well there is a three day weekend right after valentines day But
I am open to comment on the date. I am also open to any other
suggestions. I am saying informal because I've never hosted anything like
this before.
Here are some logistics:
1 There are no accomodations in leupp. Winslow is 29 miles away and
Flagstaff is 50 miles.
2 I may charge a small registration fee just to have some juniper wood and
sandwich fixins for lunch.
3 I fire in old leupp which is about three miles from the town of leupp.
There is no running water or electricity there. (maybe we will have to rent
a porta-potty, there are however alot of tamarisks around)
Write me back and tell me if you are interested and what if any thing else
you would like to see. I am open to other primitve firings as well.
Basically I am providing a place for us all to get together and fire
without the fire restrictions and red tape found in the cities or forests
where the pecos confernce is usually held.
John Guerin on tue 15 oct 02
In a message dated 10/14/02 10:42:22 PM Central Daylight Time,
timothy.wilcox@NAU.EDU writes:
<< the Anasazi style Black-on-
white pottery is a ware that uses low iron natural clay and a burnished
white kaolin slip, painted with rocky mountain beeweed boiled down into
syrup (basically sugar) then fired in such a way that the carbon from the
sugar does not burn out and leaves a black design and the iron in the clay
does not oxidize producing a white to gray clay body. >>
From classes I've taken with Acoma, Hopi and Tewa potters, I believe the
black paint is magnesium dioxide powder. The boiled down beeweed syrup
(guaco) is added as a 'binder' to make the magnesium dioxide adhere to the
ceramic surface after the firing.
John Guerin
Tucson, AZ
Tim Wilcox on thu 17 oct 02
While there are some mineral black paints especially out toward Acoma on
the Black-on-white Kayenta pottery it is strictly organic. It is the way
they fire the pots that does not burn out the carbon paint. It is called a
neutral firing (not oxidizing and not reducing). This has all but died out
ca. 1300 when you see the explosion of polychrome pottery. Although I here
some acoma potters still fire that old way. Most modern Native American
pottery is fired in an oxidizing atmosphere and that would burn off any
carbon based paint and leave only a ghost of the original design. That is
why you only see the manganese/Beeweed combination today. There are some of
us that are trying this again and learning every time we do it. Sometimes
they don't turn out good somtimes the paint is grayed out. But last year
at the Pecos confernce we had many nice looking pots. So if you want to
learn more about this you should come out to the firing in feb.
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