Friday 3 January 2014

Mudlarking Mosaic - Half Way There

As a child I knew every picture in every book in my childhood home, every object in every cupboard, every ornament in my grandparent's house. I was particularly captivated by detail and if there was some secret to be found in an image even better. So it's been enjoyable piecing together sections of mosaic with a few secrets of their own. In one section close inspection reveals the relief tongue flicking and roaring lions of Westerwald jugs and chamber pots. 


Produced in Germany from the 16th Century. They were imported to England in volume. These little beasties were probably impressed between 1650 - 1700
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Westerwald Chamber Pot 17th C (Croker Farm)
Westerwald Jug (Christies) 
More intricate details can be found in the sections of salt glazed stoneware, largely originating from medallions on Bartmann Jugs again imported in huge quantities from Germany, often holding wine. By 1600 100,000 pieces of German Stoneware were imported into Britain a year, when the population of London was only 200,000 and Britain's population was under 5 million. 


Bellarmine (or Bartmann Jug) C 1580 (Martyn Edgell) 
A watery mosaic needs a few boats, in this instance topped by a sky of small shards of flowered flow blue, a type of transfer ware where the cobalt blue 'flows' into the white body, produced from 1820. 

Next onto the really tricky bit, well tricky if you don't possess or haven't found the right equipment to cut clay pipes in half or in sections. Unfortunately very easy to shatter, so these sections take ages, but I love their effect. No credit can come to me as again I'm just copying Emma Brigg's mosaic. 



I did manage one innovation however. I couldn't have created a mudlarking mosaic without mother of pearl, found in abundance in one section of the foreshore. There must have been one or more workshops set up along the Thames to inlay the mollusc's creamy secretions into furniture or jewelry. The photo doesn't quite do it justice as you can imagine when it catches the light it's blooming lovely. The long ribbon of pipes and cream ceramic above took a mind boggling three days to put together. 



And finally another 'chunk' coming together.



Back to work next week, I'm going to miss my long absorbing shed sessions. 

9 comments:

  1. I love seeing how this is developing. I found a pic of the original - no wonder you want to make one yourself. It's going to look amazing! Could you tell me how you cut the clay pipe stems up? I'd really like to have a go at that section myself. I've got a small hoard of stems and I'd love to create a small something to put on my wall.

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    1. I'm using Leponitt Glass Mosaic Cutter for everything. The trick with teh clay pipes seems to be to cut very quickly and confidently to stop them shattering - good luck, Julia

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  2. Great job, will be something special when done! I've got about 400 pieces of slipware , just looking for right table top to attach them to. May have to ask you for technical assistance!

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  3. Beautiful work!
    An unrelated thought...
    Have you ever considered putting together type collections of historic ceramics, geared for archaeologists- both students and professionals. In the States, we come across this material but it isn't always very common. Such a "hands on" collection would be helpful and maybe marketable.

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    1. Interesting idea, I have produced a mudlarking box which was the same kind of thing for a friend who would love to mudlark but is too ill to do so. Perhaps one day I'll make some more!

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  4. absolutely gorgeous. I LOVE this mosaic idea.

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  5. Years ago - in the 90s? - Tate Britain had an exhibition of carefully sorted mudlark pieces, found on the shore near both the old Tate and Tate Modern. Schools were involved in the digging IIRC. They were displayed in a set of fine Victorian display chests, as originally used for eg butterflies, with shallow drawers. the collections were classified in different ways - by colour, by age, by use etc. Pieces of pots, plastic bottle tops, toys, sweet wrappers. It was fascinating. Videos of the making, again IIRC. I can't see it on the Tate web archive, but someone there must recall it. You should ask.

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  6. Could you tell me how I can find out what the shards I find in my garden are - I have some like the striped cream/brown pieces in you banner pic, would love to know how old it is and were it comes from - found in a garden in West Wales!

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    1. Sure, they are staffordshire combed slipware 1690-1830, here is a link to an earlier blog post on this type http://mudlarking.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/staffordshire-combed-slipware-1690-1830.html

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