Sunday, February 3, 2013

Not 'Dutch courage' Dutch help!

Once Upon A Time .... (this will be a continuing story)
following a curious ad on a noticeboard in a little country supemarket this potter bought a very nice Heinz Welte German made kiln from an elderly dutch potter deep, deep in the Wheatbelt of Western Australia.  The lady's house, with its own airstrip, as ye do, was nestled almost invisibly in the countryside and so far from the local township we actually got lost for hours trying to find the main road again.  The kiln sits in my garage waiting to be relocated to a permanent spot and Henry uses it as a temporary shelf for various cans and tools.  Nobody else wanted her stuff - her entire studio full of ceramic materials and tools - nobody wanted to travel that far down so many twisty winding roads, to even have a peep.  Too hard!  It is near a place we visit often so we just happened to be nearby occasionally.  Health issues had turned her from potting to painting and she would have to return to Europe shortly because Australia didn't want her or her husband anymore because his job was not permanent and due to their age, although they'd lived here productively for years.  It is savage but true.  I bought a good few other items, but it was clear that the rest would go into the skip if nobody else turned up.  A month later, we hired a van from our neighbours, recently moved here from India, to pick up the kiln. Juliette (the lovely old lady) actually gave me almost all of her materials and bits because she felt they'd be properly used and appreciated - and that is the point of this post as you will see.  The Indian neighbours hadn't seen deep Aussie country like this before and were enthralled.  This is some of what I got ...


Now, here I am knee deep, literally, in the annual clear out of my little garden studio. Dead spiders are trapped and dehydrated on their own webs, rendering them unthreatening collateral damage of the hot summer.  Leathery dried, shrunken skinks and their abandoned eggs no longer upset me much, they get chucked on the garden beds as a kind of cathartic, karmic compost.  I haven't seen any of our blue tongue lizards yet this summer but a recent slithering movement under the lemon tree then under the avocado tree may have been a bluey.  I just hope it wasn't a rat or - Oh GAWD, a snake. That is what would most likely get me to reconsider Australia as my home.   We Dublin girls aren't all that tough you know.  

I am still unpacking all that Juliette gave me, figuring out what it is, and where it should go.  Bless her methodical and thorough ways, it was all packed carefully so it wouldn't budge or get damaged, the cardboard and polystyrene boxes are all labelled - in Dutch.  There's the rub as Shakespeare once wrote.  As you see from the photos, a tiny fraction of what I have, they are in Dutch and I cannot read, speak or even curse in Dutch.  I have one potter I can ask but if you can help, please do.  I have heaps more!  I have tried Google translate but it was not too helpful or relevant.

Juliette told me her Grandfather (or great grandfather) had been a very accomplished potter/artist, and I have a few things with his name on them so they must be very old.  I wouldn't be surprised if some of the things she passed on to me had been his once.  So you can see why it is a bit special and not just a 'good score'.  































9 comments:

  1. glazuur chroomrood = chrome red glaze. nikkel = nickel. mat zwart = matte black. vulkanische as = volcanic ash.

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  2. kristal basis glas. kobalt titaan = crystal glass base. cobalt titanium. kupfer grĂ¼n = copper green (in german). Reinhold Frentz is a german ceramic supply.

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  3. gemalen fritte 2495 = Milled Frit 2495 (you'd have to google the frit to find out composition). nikkel glazuur = nickel glaze. vergaar onderglazuur = underglaze gatherer (?)(could it be veegum?)

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  4. (these are german) basis creme nien = cream base lines. basis kristal glaze = based crystalline glaze. It looks like a bunch of materials for crystalline glazes. After the effort to test these materials - They may not be useful to you even if you think you know what they are. Best of luck!

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  5. Marcia, thank you you wonderful helpful and kind person. Hope you enjoy your clay, dog and knitting, we have a lot in common. Elaine

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  6. 2nd attempt at comment - I see Marcia got there before me, and I think she's far better than me anyway by the looks of it.
    If there's anything specific just ask. (Kim sent me from FB BTW)

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  7. Looks like some gems there - I'd be itching to try them out!

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  8. hi Elaine,
    Although I do not understand the whole text. But i´ve got a question.
    Who is Juliette? Because it´s my grandfathers name on the card. Reinhold Frentz. I lived at that adress a long time.

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  9. Desiree Frentz, Juliette is an older dutch artist who had been living in Western Australia for some years, deep in the countryside. Her grandfather was a potter in the Netherlands. Juliette is an artist in clay too, but retired. She was selling me her pottery materials as she is returning home to Europe with her husband. Some materials are very old, she took care of her belongings. i would guess some of what I got from her was her grandfathers too. Did your grandfather have a business which sold artist or pottery materials? Had you seen such a label before? Her name is Juliette Verdel Kesdenrr. my email is potterlalab@gmail.com if you want to write off the blog

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