I have a piece in the exhibition, "225, Kentucky Artist's Celebrate Kentucky's History" at the Kentucky Artisan Center, Berea, KY. ... continue reading...
November Newsletter
Well, as Garrison Keillor would say, it's been a quiet summer here at Lake Wobegon... er.. make that Pottery Rowe. There have been no newsletters, sales, promotions, and some orders that were placed online were delayed. And here's why: I have been diagnosed with Rhupus Syndrone, a combination of lupus disease and rheumatoid arthritis. It took several months to get all the appointments, see the specialists, and get all the test results. I haven't been able to throw pots on the potter's ... continue reading...
Lead in Glazes… Lead Poisoning?
I frequently get asked if my glazes are lead free. They are, and so are the glazes used by any educated western potter. I'll explain why. We've all heard that glass is make of sand. Actually, it's silica sand. But silica melts to form the glass at an extremely high temperature. So it's common to add stuff to the silica to lower the temperature at which it melts. And a cheap, abundant material that will lower the temperature at which glass matures is lead. Yep, that's lead crystal. ... continue reading...
So just what is Bone China?
When the traders traveled the Silk Road to China and brought back Chinese porcelains, most of Europe was still making crude earthenware pottery. After all, in Europe the royal courts used gold and silver. But in China the courts used porcelain, and were centuries ahead of the Europeans in ceramic technology. The cobalt blue on white Ming Dynasty vases are still imitated today. So when these Chinese ceramics began to be imported to Europe, they were nicknamed "china," as that was from wince ... continue reading...
Stoneware, porcelain, earthenware, terra cotta… what gives?
Sometimes the most basic thing to some is very confusing to others. And how potters refer to the clay and firing temperature they use can be meaningless to the general public. So what's up with stoneware, earthenware, etc.? Just what does that mean and why do you care? Those terms define the type of clay used to make a piece of pottery, and implies the general firing range the piece was fired to. Earthenware is fired comparatively low, for ceramics, anyway, at around 1700 degrees ... continue reading...