A Sixty Six Year Journey Through Plates

I was honored to be asked to collaborate with David Hoff in designing and constructing the Duncan® section of the iLoveToCreate® booth at the Craft & Hobby Association 2013 Convention. This is what we came up wiith!

Duncan Ceramics - A Sixty Six year Journey Through Plates

The company started in 1946 by Erma Duncan and her family.  Low fire earthenware ceramics was a totally new art form that could be presented to the American public as a Hobby.  Most fired art forms throughout the world were made by high firing clay bodies (temperature over 2100 degrees Fahrenheit).  With the advent of low fire clay bodies and low-fire colors a new industry of Hobby Ceramics was born. 

The displayed six plates are designed to give you a cross section of our Fired Arts History.

The plates were hung in order to help tell the story of the evolution of the Duncan® Brand.

 

Some of you may not know that Duncan® used to manufacture kilns. This is one of them that decorated with a mosaic of handmade ceramic tiles. Small pieces of past and present Duncan® mold and bisque designs were made to look as if they were exploding out of the kiln.

 

 

Plate # 1…1950’s - Zebra Design. In the beginning we had few colors, and limited ware design. Since colors were limited, emphasis was placed on simple brushwork with design element. This Zebra represents our Cover-Coat® (an opaque underglaze) product and EZ-Strokes® (a translucent concentrated) product used for brushwork. The plate has brushwork, Sgrafitto work, spattering and some sponging. Once the design is applied the piece was fired and then finished with Pure Brilliance® clear glaze.

 

Plate #2…1960’s - Love Plate. As the Sixties approached and ware styles began to enter the arena, Duncan® began to increase its variety of mold designs. Flower power had taken over the social area and we followed suit with our Love Mug. This plate was inspired by the design on our Love Mug. This plate is completed in Cover-Coats® and EZ-Stroke®. By the mid 60’s colors became more vibrant and more choices were now available. The Duncan® brand was well established as the leader in the Ceramic Work….We coined the slogan of WORLD’S MOST FASCINATING HOBBY.

 

Plate #3…1970’s - Mushroom Plate. By the mid-seventies, ceramic designs began to be dynamic and popular trends of the times were incorporated into ware, as well as new brushwork designs. At the same time Duncan® became very innovative in creating a variety of specialty glazes for the fast growing demand on new products for hobby ceramics. Crystals Glazes™ where introduced to the marketplace. This plate represents the Mushroom craze of the time and the introduction of bright and dynamic Crystals Glazes™.

 

Plate #4 …1980’s - Creative Brushwork. As the Duncan® Brand grew so did our Educational Department and emphasis was placed on creative design. We introduced Signature Brushes to the industry, produced videos, and emphasis was placed aspects of design and brushwork. This plate with a Russian Tole Style of Painting represents our creative style of the 80’s. The piece was made with Cover-Coats® and Signature Brushes.

 

Plate #5 1990’s - The Celestial Look. During the 90’s a new style of storefronts began to enter into the marketplace. Paint Your Own Pottery studios were springing up everywhere. These studios needed a slight variation to the product families on the market to ensure great results for the customers. Duncan® developed a new product family named Concepts®. This family of colors was an underglaze designed for bisque, and needed to be dipped when finished and fired. During the 90’s the Celestial designs were trending. This plate vibrantly shows off what can be done with Concepts®.

 

Plate #6…2000 and forward - I Love To Create® Plate. By this time painting on greenware was becoming less and less common and most people opted to paint on a pre-fired piece of bisqueware instead. Artists and crafters were becoming more experimental in the use of their materials and were passionate about using traditional products in non-traditional ways. Designs became less realistic and more simplistic and imaginative. Whimsical girls in pointy hats and dogs with butterfly wings were everywhere. This piece was designed to signify the new artistic trends of the new millennium.

 

Comments

[Teresa Mitchell]

Thank you for sharing the fascinating history and art!!