Titian Studio Pottery Blog

 Look away now if you don't like spiders! Sherwood Spider Vase - Side one The original spider vases, with the hand-painted black spider, were made during the Sherwood era , sometime between 1949 and 1954 at Waitakere. A rather realistic spider waits patiently for its next meal on a web strung between two branches. Pinecones sit at the base of this triangular vase.  Why do I like these vases? They remind me of webs sparkling with dew at dawn in our native garden we planted over twenty years ago. I try to be aware of them not only for their beauty, but because they're soooo sticky if you walk into one at head height. Never been one for spiders though, especially the huntsman that come in unexpectedly through our windows. I've only briefly met a white tail spider and that was inside the hood of my raincoat I'd just put on. Danny spotted it and told me, 'Stand Still!! Stand Very Still!!' before flicking it away.   Sherwood Spider Vase (Side two) With the early examp...

So what exactly is a Swoose? Prototype Swoose  - from the collection of Jack* & Rose Brown The yellow Swoose Wall Vase is heavy and chunky indicating the slip was left in the mould for longer than necessary. Also, the glaze is excessively thick. The reverse has three raised firing feet and a keyhole hanging hole, the same as the Sherwood Gainsborough Blue Boy and Pinkie Wall Vase. Here's the link to the Sherwood blog showing the wall vase. Dave Jenkin and Cameron Brown were both dying of cancer. At one of Dave’s last visits to his friend, they chuckled whilst reminiscing over their long friendship and their time in the pottery industry. Cam Jnr quietly listened to their great memories. Both men died in 2002, only a few weeks apart. They had worked at Crown Lynn together in 1948/49 and became great friends. Dave was Crown Lynn’s chief design artist. He designed some very well known pieces including Crown Lynn's earthenware ' Expo '70 Legend of Maui, Sushi Platter ...

  One vase shape in multiple glazes B.102 Grey Stone with Wheat decoration The raised ear of wheat was incorporated into various mould designs. The wheat image was carefully wiped to reveal the white body underneath. Many of pieces that have the wheat pattern aren't numbered but instead have a Presley Ware sticker.  B.102 Pink with Gold handles This is my absolute favourite B.102 vase. I've only seen one other gold handled piece, owned by another collector, in pale green with gold handles. B.102 Mahogany Woodgrain B.102 Oak Woodgrain From 1957, Cameron Brown alongside Teddy Rennie, created the woodgrain glaze in oak and mahogany.  A light brown glaze was  airbrushed onto the pieces, then fine lines of darker brown painted over the top.  George Courts of Karangahape Road and John Courts in Queen Street bought £3,000 worth of Woodgrain earthenware and had their whole shop windows full of it. B.102 Pink and Grey   B.102 Black outer, Yellow inner B.102 Colbalt ...

 Let's start at the beginning. Front L to R: Brown brothers, Cameron (Snr), Neil and Jack with Vivien (Jack’s daughter)  and Cameron Jnr perched behind them. Neil's dog is a Scottish Terrier named Sandy.  Cam Jnr believes this photo was taken in the summer of 1950 before he started school. He thinks it was a Sunday because Jack, who was very religious, was dressed in his Sunday best. Coming home from the war in 1947 with wife Dorothy and baby Cam, Cameron Snr briefly worked at the Waitakere Brick Works with his father and two brothers before joining Crown Lynn. He managed to get jobs for brothers, Jack and Neil there. In about 1949 Cameron left Crown Lynn, briefly working at a timber yard. He, along with Dorothy and little Cam Jnr moved a couple of old army huts from Waitakere Brick Works to a piece of land on Bethells Road opposite the old school house. One hut was for making the moulds and casting them. The second was where they displayed the finished products for sale....