Introduction to Majolica

Process

My first Tuesday morning at Open Hearts consisted of introductions. I had visited the students before leaving for Italy, so that I could familiarize myself with them and explain what they would be learning in my class; and many of them remembered me. They went around the room telling me about themselves, and I in turn re-introduced myself to them. I described my trip to Italy; referencing the images I'd taken as visual aids. They were fully engaged by the photographs, asking questions about each place, how long I had stayed, and which city was my favorite. The students became particularly excited by the images of Majolica and my explanation that they would each get to create similar pieces of pottery. When I showed images from the Grazia and other Majolica workshops, they responded enthusiastically to the bright colors and extraordinary designs. They asked me to describe what the factories were like, and the beauty of Deruta itself.

We began by studying the images of surface design, and sketching ideas based on these for their pieces. Using Panayiota's "pizza" template, the students drew the outline of a plate or bowl onto their paper. Following my example on the white board, they divided the pot into three sections, the smallest being the central circle, then in eighths. I guided the students in creating designs of their own invention, or inspired by those we had studied. Some of the students combined invented designs with inspired ones. They created mostly elaborate geometric patterns, repeating the same shapes or pattern of shapes. For these students, the parameters set by the uniform template was effective for organizing their ideas, and they thrived within the boundaries.

Other students utilized the "Ricco Deruta" design, depicting the famous plant of Deruta in the center, surrounded by radiating patterns. These students interpreted it as a flower with 8 petals, along the 8 division lines of the template. They surrounded the center with familiar geometric shapes, such as hearts, stars, and circles. Organic swirling patterns were also popular among these students.

The use of color patterns varied widely among students. Some worked in primary and secondary combination color schemes, while others worked with complementaries, or warm color triads. Some used binary color schemes, and some worked in the absence of color. A few created designs composed entirely of vivid pigments, and these tended to ignore the limits of the template. My students possessed an understanding of color schemes and the concept of repeating images to form patterns, based on painting classes they had taken at Open Hearts, and they applied this prior knowledge to their templates. Different students excelled in either design construction or color scheme based on their levels of functioning, skill level, and personality. Those with exceptional abilities in design construction required intense structure in order to succeed; while the ones with surpassing pigment awareness worked best without instructed limitations.

Throwing on the wheel proved to be successful with a limited percentage of the class. I initially showed a series of images taken in the Grazia workshop, documenting the throwing process from beginning to end. I then demonstrated each step on the wheel, and guided each student's hands as they performed them. Most of the students who responded positively to the texture of the clay and the act of creating a form on the wheel tended to have higher levels of kinesthetic function than those who abstained. However, a few high functioning students made clear decisions not to participate, due to the untidiness of the clay and other reasons. One student in particular informed me that he had worked for three years in ceramics in high school, and simply didn't "like pottery anymore." For those who participated, the positive reinforcement they received once their pots were thrown outweighed the drawbacks of working with clay. They received the satisfaction of a product of their own capability.

In response to the limited number of students who participated in wheelwork, we used a class period to form pinch and coil pots, as well as other clay figures. Some of these were inspired by images I'd taken of majolica animal figures in the Grazia Museum, others were completely the students' invention. This modification had a higher success rate than throwing, as every student participated in forming handmade clay objects. Some students made sculptures of familiar characters, such as cartoons, Nascar racing cars, and their pets. Others made functional forms, such as coil bowls and coffee mugs. One student constructed a coil-cooking dish to "cook green beans in."
After their pieces underwent a bisque firing, students hand-painted a white base glaze on them. We used lead free, non-toxic glaze as a safety precaution. Following glazing, they copied their designs from the templates onto the pots using ebony pencils. Some students were more successful with transposing their two dimensional designs onto a three dimensional surface than others. We then applied color, using majolica overglazes in the traditional hues of green, brown, blue, yellow, and orange. The same students who flourished in design construction applied pigment precisely within the boundaries of the lines; while those who preferred to operate without restraints filled the surface of their pieces with color, as they would a canvas. Students studied images of majolica that I had photographed in Deruta and magazines while applying color.

After glazing and surface design were complete, the pieces were fired a second time at a low temperature. However, they did not reach their optimal appearance during this firing, so a third firing at a high temperature was necessary in order to achieve the characteristic glossy effect of majolica.