I actually don’t know Nicholas, Nicholas Mosse… but I love the Irish pottery his firm produces; I’m not sure when I bought my first piece, but it was a simple mug in the design of the jug I also have. The first mug was quite fine clay, but sadly after many years of much use, many cups of coffee enjoyed from it, it broke… so the next time we went to Ireland I bought another mug and later the jug. This second mug also got cracked (the ceramics are so beautiful but they should be used, not gazed at!)
Nicholas Mosse established his pottery in 1976; he had trained in his craft in England and Japan, and the technique he uses for his patterns is with a cut sponge… like many of us did with paints on paper when we were children. This is a traditional Irish technique… and Ireland was renowned for producing wonderful ceramics from the eighteenth century.
If you look at his web-site there is a most interesting description of how the pots are made from choosing and mixing the right clays… and then there is a series of processes to prepare the clay for making into the items, including blunging, sieving, filtering and pugging the clay… I love old-fashioned technical terms! Once the item has been made and dried to a certain hardness it is ‘fettled’… but why not look here and see:
http://nicholasmosse.com/how-its-made
Nicholas and his workers produce the most gorgeous pots at his works in Bennettsbridge, County Kilkenny, every single item made by hand. The designs are created by Nicholas’s wife Susan who is a botanical artist, creating one new design each year. If you ever visit Ireland and want a lovely and useful souvenir, or a gift for someone, then buy a mug or a jug or a dish or a bowl or a plate or a teapot or a butterdish or a ramekin… Whatever you choose will always be a joy!
Lois Elsden 