Historical Coil Pot

Artist Statement

For the Historical Coil Pot project, we were asked to find a pot that was at least 1,000 years old, and use the coil technique to create a pot that is similar in form, but has a modern twist to it. The pot should be at least 10” tall/around and must be modeled after the pot we selected. I created a good-sized pot with a deep red color on the outside, and a few small brown-colored flowers on the outside. I used only coils to create the pot, and after smoothing it out, glazed it with PC-36 and PC-59.

The work is arranged so that most of the attention is on the rich red glaze. Knowing that I needed to include a modern element or something that differed from the original design, I went with reds and browns, as the pot I was inspired by had used a blue glaze. The project evolved a lot, because I started over quite a few times, trying to create a base that was strong enough to support the pot. I made one pot that was about 6” high, but it collapsed because the walls were stretched too thin. As I worked upward, it expanded too much and I didn’t think I would be able to salvage it. However, with some help, I was able to strengthen the sides enough that it stood on its own. The flowers on the exterior of the pot are purposefully colored similarly to the red in hopes that they would draw the viewer's eyes around the pot to try and keep finding them. The inside is designed to be a darker color to create contrast between the red, and the earthen brown.

The pot I chose to model my creation after was made between 700 and 1700 c. in Matara, Eritrea. The pot is a blueish green, which clearly has worn down over time. It has a sturdy base which looks to be approximately 5 inches in diameter. From there it continues upward and narrows to approximately 6 inches across the mouth. The mouth has a round and fairly significant lip. No handles. There is an imprinted texture of some sort on the midsection. It looks like it would have been used to hold flowers or hold water in a household, but not to carry anything. My work is similar in form to this pot, though it is much smaller. I am most proud of getting the pot to hold its form, and not cave in or expand too much. I choose to be bold with the colors because oftentimes I stick to a very repetitive color scheme, which usually is made of different shades of blue. It was fun to choose a different color, and dive into that. For revisions, I would like to glaze more carefully around the flowers, because that area is a bit lighter because I did fewer coats. Also, I would like to have made the flowers much more distinct and carefully painted. The petals are bigger and more rounded than I would have liked. Overall, I am happy with how it came out, though it doesn’t quite mirror my original historical pot inspiration.