31. Dawson, small pot

31.  Dawson, small pot

I do not know Dawson’s given name. Since I bought this at Peninsula Potters, which is a female potters' group, she was a woman.

Grayish-white clay, green, brown, and clear glazes; foot left unglazed. Weight: 382 g (14 oz). Rim diameter: 8.7 cm (3-1/2 in); maximum diameter: 10 cm (4 in); base diameter: 4 cm (1-1/2 in). Height: 9.3 cm (3-5/8 in).

This sits directly on the base. The area within the base was hollowed out. Within this area, the artist incised her surname and stamped a small butterfly. From the base the walls angle upward sharply to the maximum diameter at about a height of 5.7 cm (2-1/4 in). The walls then curve inward to the neck; this section is about 2 cm (3/4 in) high. Above this, the neck (1.3 cm [1/2 in] high) angles outward slightly.

On the exterior walls of the pot, broad green lines angle to the left until they meet the shoulder and then turn to the right and curve downward to the base. Between each pair of green lines are thinner brown lines. Vertically the brown lines have roughly the same shape as the green lines. Thinner, randomly placed, wavier brown lines extend from the vertical brown lines to the left to meet the next green line. The rim of the pot was also covered in green. A clear glaze was then applied to the interior, the walls, and the hollowed-out area within the base, leaving only the foot of the pot unglazed.

This decoration scheme both highlights the shape of the pot and breaks it up. The angled vertical lines emphasize the change in direction in the silhouette of the piece at the shoulder, but their irregularity in spacing and shape add motion to what would be a static object if glazed in monochrome. The result is a piece with spontaneity and verve.

 Purchased at Peninsula Potters in Pacific Grove, California, in the early 1990s.