Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Beatrice Wood at the Renwick

I had never seen a Beatrice Wood piece before I saw these pieces sharing the case with the previous teapot.

Now I know why everyone has a fit over her glazes. (The formulae for which she took to her grave, unfortunately.)
They absolutely GLOW. This is a mustard glaze with a rich brown background is almost hare's fur glaze. It just vibrates. I wish so much I could take my jeweler's glass to that surface. I think I would see a slide of microscopic crystals tobogganing down the sides of the rims and across the surface.

I'd love to know the heft and weight of these pieces; they look as if they could be light.

Too bad my camera's battery sighed it's last just after I took this shot.

2 comments:

togeii said...

Thanks for showing these photos. I have never seen a Beatrice Wood piece until now.
Dave

Clay and Fiber Artist said...

Most of the work I've seen in publications and on the web seem to be rather crudely thrown or constructed and have bright luster glazes. And I wasn't much impressed, thinking that "The Mama of Dada" as she was known, was famous more for her lifestyle and the movement she was associated with than her skill.

I take all that back after seeing these. They look like they are well made. Now I'd like to see more of her work. Just to have a closer look at the glazes.

Who knows, this could be a one-off.