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Pottery
![]() ![]() ![]() The pottery sites we found were, overall, disappointing. The pottery itself was, for the most part, uninspiring and routine: mugs, plates, bowls, and pitchers showing a lack of originality or imagination. Also, the majority of the pages have a sameness to them that creates the impression that they all came from the same mold. This is too bad, but it does present an opportunity for someone to break out and do something spectacular that will stop you in your tracks.
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By far the best of all the pottery sites, Virtual Ceramics Exhibit is exceptional. Organized as an exhibit of 44 contemporary ceramics by different artists, it works well. You'll find small, quick-loading images, which open to yield larger and additional images, detail views, and information on its size, when and how it was made, and the artist's resume. All of this is beautiful work, far above the rest of the pottery shown on the Web up to now. You'll enjoy the originality and artistry; for potters, this exhibition is a call to action.
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Hogan & Masterson Pottery is a well-designed page with good-sized photos, clear descriptions, and prices of the pieces being offered. While larger photos are available, they're not really necessary. The pieces are standard shapes, but the decoration is different and handsomely done. Well worth a look-see. The type is small, however, and somewhat hard to read. Ordering information is at the end of the page and covers everything you'll need to know.
Kutani is a Japanese pottery style that dates back 300 years. These pages show some examples and outline both the pottery's history and the process by which it's made and decorated. The pages are attractively done, but again, the small type is hard to read. If you're a potter or are interested in some of the traditional techiques, you'll enjoy this site.
Raku is an ancient Japanese pottery technique using pit firing and combustible materials around the piece to produce beautiful, unusual effects. Ramon Camarillo, Raku & Pit-Fire Potter makes high-quality Raku and is another exception to the rule, but small type on a gray background weave makes the text hard to read. Ramon is located in Hawaii and communications speeds were quite slow when we visited. Visit early in the day, before the server gets too busy. The large pictures of his work are worth the wait, however. The pieces themselves, which you can order, tend to be quite expensive.
Stahl's Pottery has a well-designed site, but it's not an active pottery. It's about the restoration of an old, well-known, Pennsylvania pottery that operated between 1930 and late 1950s, with perhaps the only wood-fired kiln in the country. The historical information is interesting, as are the links to a number of other potteries.
Charlie Lange makes stoneware pottery, and you'll see some fine pictures of pieces you can order here. By clicking on the image, you get a larger and clearer version of the piece and more information about it. It's all there, but it could have been displayed more interestingly. Currently, it's more like a catalogue than a gallery or exhibition, and just about as dull. Nothing about the home page really stops you and makes you want to spend time at the site.
Carl Baker makes stoneware and Raku pottery. He does nice work as far as his pottery is concerned. However, the same does not hold for his Web site. The logo takes far too long to load. Four small photos of his work lead to larger images, but without descriptions. Prices are separate from the photos and descriptions, making for a frustrating exercise in matching the descriptions with the works. Baker, trained as a phyicist, has evidently found greater happiness as a craftsman and artist. The home page tells his story.
Taking Clay into the Future ? If this is the future, it's not much different than the present. One large photo of a mug causes the page to be slow-loading. The other smaller photos are the same as on other pages. The background, repeated gray mugs, is distracting and impairs readability. The ordering page was missing the second time we visited, so if you see anything you like, just give them a call. This site is under construction; several features changed during our review period. Coffee Mugs with an Indigenous Touch is the billing here. You'll find a variety of 12-oz. pottery coffee mugs decorated with some very interesting designs. The site gives prices and instructions how to order, but says nothing about where and by whom the mugs are made or who did the designs. They should at least have built an ordering form 2.0.
Dedham Pottery doesn't offer much original work. It would appear that these artists all copied from one another. If they'd use the same amount of imagination in designing the Web pages as they do in designing their product. They'd have better pages.
Linden Hills Pottery has the same old catalogue mentality, same gray background. The photos are a little bigger, thus it's easier to see what the pieces really look like, but not so big as to cause more than the usual loading time. For people who are considered artists, the potters sure don't apply much artistic imagination to their Web pages. Nothing here sets his site off from any of the other pottery sites, not even the pottery, although you can order a custom mug with your Internet address.
Black Pottery from Oaxaca illuminates the art of black pottery, an ancient technique in which the kiln is sealed after adding fuel. The resulting smoke gives the pieces a unique sheen. This page is part of the Folk Art and Craft Exchange, itself worth a browse. You have to drill down a couple of levels to find the good stuff, but it's worthwhile. Folk art has a neat hybrid way of ordering by e-mail and paying by credit card.
Salt Marsh Pottery is the same as every other catalogue and just about as inspirational. The pictures are fairly large so that you can see the detail of the decoration. You can order, too.
The Potter's Page really is for potters. It's a listing of resources, exhibitions and events, with links to other potters.
Prospect Farm Pottery & Guest House, located just outside of Cape Town, South Africa, this site offers a list of suppliers of materials for potters.
Pottery is a hobby and relaxation for Lee Jaffe, who has studied under a Japanese master and spent time in Japan. The only thing of real interest to anyone other than Jaffe's friends are a number of fine photos of pottery made by some of the best potters in Japan.
Young's Studio & Gallery is another nothing page. Totally unimaginative. One photo of a potter's work and instructions on how to order. It's really too bad, because the two pieces shown are intriguing, and you'd likely want to view more of the work.
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Copyright (c) 1995 Ziff-Davis Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Ziff-Davis Publishing Company is prohibited. Internet Life and the Internet Life logo are trademarks of Ziff-Davis Publishing Company. |
![]() QUICK CLICK! Virtual Ceramics Exhibit Hogan & Masterson Pottery Kutani Ramon Camarillo, Raku & Pit-Fire Potter Stahl's Pottery Charlie Lange Carl Baker Taking Clay into the Future Coffee Mugs with an Indigenous Touch Dedham Pottery Linden Hills Pottery Black Pottery from Oaxaca Salt Marsh Pottery The Potter's Page Prospect Farm Pottery & Guest House Lee Jaffe Young's Studio & Gallery |