Mosaic

The clay end is the area in a potbank or pottery where the clay is worked. Nothing at the clay end has been fired in a kiln. Men traditionally work in this section, and their work is often heavy and laborious. This is the name we chose to give to the mosaic element of the show Five Sisters. The pottery sherds we were using had come from a medieval kiln site, and I chose to use them in a way that gave emphasis to the nature of the clay. Women generally work in the decorating department of the pottery, and a woman who decorates the ware is referred to as a ‘paintress’. This was the name we gave our paintings.

Yesterday Miki Slingsby, our talented photographer, brought over the images he took at York St Mary’s. Here is a small selection.

In the image above you can see the thumb prints of the medieval potters, as they adhered the handles to the bodies of the pots.

This roundel relies on the rhythmic circularity of the pot bases, some of which are decorated with thumb prints as the potter placed them on a board after throwing them.

Here late medieval brown glazed ware is contrasted with green glazed ware. To bring out the colour I have used a liver-coloured marble. Inside the roundel, oxidised strips of the clay body create an effect that almost resembles brushstrokes. It is a lively contrast with the fragments of bases of the ware.

Here, the oxidised handles of the ware create a beautiful spotty pattern in contrast with the ridges of the pot handles. These vessels were mostly for domestic use, and the ridges were a practical feature, making the handles less slippery.

I laid grey marble around the oxidised clay fragments in the roundel here, to give emphasis to the green and terracotta colours of the clay. The slip glazed sherds used in the border, are from a couple of centuries later. They show how varied and rich the colours of the clay can be.

Posted under: Ceramic, Mosaic by Emma Biggs | Tags: Clay End > Emma Biggs and Matthew Collings > Five Sisters > York St Mary's