Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Hello!
I just returned from a week and a half in Parowan valley, sorry for the lack of posting... By now I think I have been to most of the canyons along the hurricane cliffs. Some canyons are completely lacking any materials suitable for clay, however there are good quality clays coming from the canyons near Parowan and Paragonah. Im taking into consideration both options; either the ceramics were produced from a single self tempering material, or the combination of separate temper and clay materials. I did locate a volcanic ash that is altered to the point of being a clay, it also contains biotite mica , feldspar and quartz. Currently im favoring the other option of separate clay and temper materials, although it has been difficult to locate appropriate tempering materials.
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3 comments:
Would that volcanic ash clay, then, essentially be pre-tempered? Does anyone know? What kind of precedence do we have for use of clays that don't need or already have a mix of temper? I'm just discovering the world of ceramics thanks to a semester of playing wog to Jim Allison. Interesting stuff, but on the edge of what I typically deem to complicated for me, great for 'theory types.'
Eh hem. Too. I meant 'too'. Proof positive some things are too complicated for me. Sigh.
I believe that Margaret Lyneis is probably correct in thinking that the Snake Valley Pottery is "self-tempered." (People around ASU are a little more strict about what they call temper. Unless it has been intentionally added, they refer to it as the "non-plastic fraction or something like that.)
Although is has never been quantifed, there seems to be a remarkable consistency in both the quantity and proportion of quartz, biotite, and feldspar in the Snake Valley Series. I have difficulty believing that potters would have taken the time to separately collect and create this temper combination.
In my thesis, I demonstrated that the raw, unaltered ash-flow tuffs were chemically distinct from the actual pottery. I am excited to see how these altered tuffs compare chemically to the pottery.
BTW: Margaret Lyneis suggested that I get in touch with you Jason. Good thing you already got in touch with me!
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