Hobby Ceramics

The weather is ## so we are not camping till tomorrow, so here goes! This topic has been on my mind for a while, and this post is the beginning of a new discussion (I hope). Hobby Ceramics is the general term a huge range of ceramics which were decorated by amateurs at special classes - you paid your money and were supplied with a bisque (glazed but undecorated) shape. You then, under the guidance of a tutor, decorated it with supplied glazes. It was then fired and you were able to take it home. I don't know much about these classes, except that there were a number of different operators and a wide range of shapes. This type of class was 'huge' - during the 1980s I suspect but I have no documentation yet for dates.

It would be lovely to hear from someone who attended (or who ran) these hobby ceramics classes.


You can recognise hobby ceramics by the following:
- they are lighter than most other NZ made items because the clay body is more porous (so it can be fired at a lower temperature I believe)
- the decoration is often amateur/quirky
- almost without exception they have an identification mark hand-scratched on the base - eg someone's name or initials, or even 'Happy Birthday Grandma' or some such.
- from my experience so far, they have two different types of base. The first is flat and shiny with three stilt marks. The second has an odd foot ring, sort of hollowed out at an angle... not sure how to describe it but I have attempted to illustrate with pics below.

The way I see it, hobby ceramics is a valid collectors option. Yes the shapes are formulaic and the quality is um.... variable. BUT the self-expression of the decoration is pretty cool. I will add more info to this post as I find out more, and I am sure others have heaps to add as well. Please feel free to correct any of my info.

This is a cup and saucer, I have left out the handle in order to show the artwork, a copy of those café plates that were around for a while.


Base of cup showing three stilt marks


Base of saucer showing the odd hollowed out foot ring thing!


A crazy little mug I like


With its shiny base with distinctive three stilt marks.

How's this?

Stilts were used by many potteries that fired low temperature brightly coloured wares and not just Hobby Ceramics, I'd like to add.
Also there were National Competitions for Hobby Ceramics and some of the work was the bees knees. I recall hearing about a competition that was won by a co-workers sister is 1998 or 1999.
It was an expensive hobby as not only did you have to buy the bisque fired item, but you also had to pay for the glazes and firings.
Studio potters turned their noses up at this claytons pottery, but it is now a part of our pottery history and who knows there still may be some classes running to this day. Mayco was a huge supplier of low fired glazes for Hobby Ceramics.

Thanks Ev. Interesting... I should start looking for quality products, not tacky!  But somehow the tacky captures my attention.

Haha there are heaps of tacky Hobby Ceramics and they usually say Happy Birthday or Happy Xmas on them.

Val,
If you want "quality", there have been two large fancy vase/jugs I take to be Hobby sitting in the flash trash section of Hospice for a while.
I liken them to Titian or Aquila.
I checked the shapes against the gallery but got no matches.
Maybe just one now.
The base name is "Heka" I think.

I think this oriental wise man is a Hobby too.
I have seen his spotty glaze on lots of what I take to be Hobby.

He's about 14 inches tall. Stilt marks on fully glazed base.
Some on his back too. No names.

I wish my horse eggcup was CL but its way too shiny & glazed on the underside too..

That china looking man may be in Gail Henry. I will check when I get home.

Can't find what I'm looking for in Gail Henry and yes the oriental man is glazed in a distinctive breaking blue/green hobby ceramics glaze.

Here are some of my recent acquisitions - no wonder my shelves are bulging.  These are all hobby ceramics.
Toucans plate. 26 cm across. Better decoration than some.

A desperately ugly jar. I bought this because the shape reminded me of Beach - then got it home and realised that it isn't really like Beach at all - and I can't bear the sight of that glaze. Back to the Sallies it goes! 18 cm high.

A copy of the Christine Harris Studio Ceramics spotty design. A bit rough but interesting. A bread and butter plate.