Waxing lyrical…….

Here is a wonderful looking piece of art pottery…made by Steuler and designed by Heiner Balzar.

Magma..

The glaze is Magma..the range is the ‘Objekt’ series, designed in 1982.  I love the candle holder shape, it reminds me of a nut and bolt….

This is number 7 of the 12 different forms: available in the ‘Objekt’ range; with the Magma decor that we own.. ..number 8 is on the way from Germany..just 4 to go!!

The colour and shape of this particular ceramic, makes me think of industry..all of the Balzar designs had natural glazes and forms…however this really has an industrial feel!..

Nut and Bolt?..or candle holder?…

Great colours!!

There is a hollowed out part at the top of the piece, so you can place a candle in it…if you wanted too…Of course, i could use it  as a candle holder ( i love candles )….but i think it looks better as a decorative piece.

Those tones are just so beautiful…greens, browns and a hint of gold….the magma glaze has varying degrees of gold, and indeed the glaze differs from piece to piece. It is stunning..natural yet elegant..a soft and subtle decor..which i adore!! 

 

Brightening up a dark winter day…..

It has rained hard this Thursday morning..the clouds are many..dark grey and moody.

The sun briefly managed to push through the clouds, so i seized the opportunity to take photographs. My new Karlsruher Elephant and Cortendorf pig posed in the weak winter sun. Glossy and red, they really are stunning.

I also took a picture of my current window display..an eclectic and interesting mix, of materials, textures and shapes..the colour theme however is predominantly orange! Thus bringing a bit of sunshine into my room everyday

The big glass ball is amazing, it glows in the light! I like the contrast of glass and ceramics…

I do not usually put things in my West German vases, they are purely decorative…this Dumler and Breiden monster though, needed something to soften it. So i have put dried teasel in it, I love their naturalness against the gaudy ornate vase!

The Jopeko (on the far right of the window picture) has flowers in it….the shape of this vase is beautiful…but i like the added flowers..they seem to draw the eye to the lines of the vase, even more…  

So, i can have a bit of sunshine everyday..with this sunny window display!!

Well, here are the pictures…

Weak winter sun…filters through….a beautiful soft light.

With flash…to show you those colours!!

Cortendorf..Piggy bank..slot on the back…….

A hole in the nose..not where the money goes!….

Smiling pig!!…check out those ears!!

Karlsruher Elephant!

He looks happy….

Loving those ears..and that trunk!

Great glaze!!

 

Jasba..when she was little…….

She slept a lot..not anymore..oh no!

 

Jasba had a bath….and she didn’t like it!!

Jasba is keeping an eye on me now....after bathgate

 

Showing off..well he is a really cute piggy!!

Piggy in the middle...

..A Cortendorf piggy bank….with friends. I shall save up in this piggy bank…. until i have enough to buy a purple ‘Guitar’ vase…that will take quite a while in small change…i am an optimist however!

The Ceramic birds like my new plant, i love the way the green foliage really enhances this colourful array of pottery.

 I Just thought i would share this stunning selection..the pig is my Christmas prezzie from Julian. He bought it from Stuart Brownrigg at Bygone Times..i love his big ears and cute curly tail…er, the pigs that is..

The red glaze is deep and glossy, a really great piggy all round then!!

 

Another spiky pot……

This Carstens vase has just arrived this morning…Hi there

Good colours..great texture…

The glaze combination: i have never really seen on any Carstens ceramics before; it is matte green and orange, however the orange glaze features on other Carstens pots i own.The green is a pastel shade and i have not seen this before. 

Now i have loads of these prickly pots!… In all different sizes and shapes..or should that be shapes and sizes!?..anyway..

This particular one is 30 cm high and is the third one of this size i own…i have one matte red, one Glossy and a matte gold and cream and now this fella…introducing number 3!..

These colours are rather subtle..subdued and quiet..i like this as the shape of this vase is very ..obvious..outlandish and loud!

Yikes!!!…Spikes!!

 

Random Roth

Here is a little dish made by Roth Keramik, i assume it was for decorative purposes, as is the majority of West German pottery. I really feel this is a gratuitous ceramic..i mean really, it is too small to be of use. It is just a showy little yellow number with wonderful inky splats all over it. I must confess it seems to have been made just for the hell of it.

We love this Roth glaze, and have it on various other Roth pottery items!

It needs to be displayed at eye level to be fully appreciated. Maybe i could find a use for it….if i use it as a salted peanut holder, it will definitely help me control my snacking  

It has slotted in really well and it is nice to have a little yellow in the collection..little being the operative word!

It is 5.5 cm high and 10 cm wide…yup, it’s seriously dinky!!

Ceramic satellite dish?

 

Colourful ceramic critters…

Tweeting?

Ceramic birds..they match!

Here are 2 ceramic birds, i am not sure what specie they are. I am fairly confident they are made by Carstens, as they have red clay showing at the base and i recognise the glaze type.

They are rather cute and i love things that come in identical pairs…not sure why.. ..I have always wanted a pair of Victorian Staffordshire dogs on my fireplace!..hint hint…( my proof reader is Julian )

This ceramic avian duo, are called Sherlock and Watson..a little bit random maybe…

It is great to vary the West German pottery we collect, i am partial to animal figures, Julian however is fond of wall ceramics…

I did buy Julian a German pottery Walrus for his birthday ( oh..ok it was for me really ) yes that’s right a pottery Walrus. He is very realistic..well other than the fact he is very blue…Julian really likes him. Perhaps a Walrus is a more masculine mammal.

KMK made this sweet fella, this company manufactured a large range of pottery animal figures…including moles and frogs! They also made many other ceramic items.

Well anyway here is the new blue critter….

Wally the Walrus....

What a great face!!

 

Random handles..taken to a whole new level……..

Introducing the Dumler & Breiden Jewel decor floor vase.

45 cm high and orange it may be…but it is the six handles on this colourful ceramic that catch the eye!

Why on earth has it got SIX handles? I love the fact that it has..imagine if symmetry was not applied in the design, and it had five handles on one side and one on the other..now that would look weird.

I have been after one of these pieces for a while. I had seen a smaller version with just two handles and i put it on my “wish list”, however i discovered there was a pot in the range with six handles. Now, that really grabbed my attention.

To me this random madness, in the design of West German pottery is what really grabs and holds my attention. In order to make the ceramic different, the designer just added gratuitous handles.. The majority of West German pottery is..well a bit potty..but this vase takes the biscuit!..What a Unique Selling Point..

Pots that are weird and wonderful and have no particular purpose are the crux of what  WGP is.  Mad designs with outlandish features and vibrant glazes..glazes that are often very complex. Tactile textures and a adventurous colour pallet, are the epitome of this European art pottery…often there seems to be to many colours worked into the decor of  one pot, just to make the ceramic stand out. Often the forms are crazy to look at..sometimes spiky or bubbly this along with the addition of lava on some WGP combined with a multitude of overlaid colour really brings the pottery  life!  

Of course some WGP is plain, in shape and decor…but on the whole, the extravagant bonanza that is West German pottery is totally addictive and is a real treat for the senses!

As there was a number of manufacturers during the 1960′s and 70′s, competition must have made the companies very dynamic. I can imagine them vying over sales…each company seeing what another had produced and trying to out do them. So the ceramics got brighter and were more ornate, embellished gratuitously.. combined with a liberating era, WGP seems to be a product of  a time when material items could be produced just for the sake of it. Pottery produced for pleasure, just because they could. People must have bought it so therefore there was a demand, WGP was manufactured in the hundreds of thousands..and who knows how much survives today.

I know i for one can’t get enough of the stuff…..literally

 

DASHING...DISTINGUISHED DUO........