Stephani Stephenson on mon 15 sep 03
Ah faience, Faenza!
It is really fascinating to see how a process travels and
how the words either change or cling to it as it travels
And of course the journey with low fired tin-glazed earthen
ware started before Faenza.. The island of Majorca, picking
up the term majolica from there, building on a tradition
before that, from Moorish Spain, coming there from the
Persians and near/middle East.. and of course all the
geographical names have changed too.
As to the discussion of the color of clay with regard to
Terra Cotta.....from what people are saying , it sounds to
me as if the tree has branches. That the traditions of
glazed pottery , unglazed clay modeled sculpture, and
glazed or unglazed architectural ceramics each have
developed their own special uses of this lovely pair of
words which the Italian language has given us.
In M.C.. Richard's book, "The Crossing Point", she talks
about the German word or root word for clay as coming from
the word 'ton', which though I chuckle at the association
of 'ton' with 'weight' and the heaviness of clay.,
is really associated with 'tone' ,
calling to mind sound, vibration,
and yeas, clay is sensitive and resonates with the movement
of earth, the movement of the hands.
There is another pair of words which I love, printed on
boxes of clay I use to get.
I always thought if I ever had a 'stage' name or an alter
ego I would choose 'Arcilla Humeda'..
which means 'moist clay' in Spanish.
That's a name you can dance to!
Stephani Stephenson
steph@alchemiestudio.com
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