The Smithsonian Institute has three of the most popular US museums; the Air and Space museum, the Natural History museum, and the American History museum. This summer these museums will be open later than ever before. The museums had previously closed at 5:30 pm. Now, three times a week they will be open one to two hours later.
FINALLY!!
What has the Smithsonian been waiting for? I recently lived in DC and can honestly say that, as a local, it was nearly impossible to visit these museums. They were open while people were at work and then mobbed by tourists and children throughout the weekend. With these extended evenings it is my belief that locals will frequent these museums more often. Let's face it, locals are always happier when they can avoid tourists.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Attic Pottery: How it was made.
The following is a description of how a Lekythos, such as the one pictured below would have been made in Ancient Greece, around 400 BC.
Attic clay is rich sedentary clay that is characteristically an orange-red color and has plastic properties, making it ideal for pottery. Once the attic clay is dug up it is purified by levigation with large amounts of water and left to settle. At this time stones and other heavy materials will settle at the bottom.
Once the clay is purified and aged the potter throws the pot. In this process the potter shapes the clay as an assistant turns the potter’s wheel. Once the shape is formed the piece is trimmed and uneven clay is removed. At this point the potter added the handle and left the vase to dry. When the vase became leather-hard it would be burnished. This process involved rubbing a hard, smooth piece of leather or wood vigorously across the surface. This would compact and smooth the surface, making it shiny and more durable.
After burnishing the Painter would have sketched the design onto the clay. Then a slip was added to create the black and white gloss that acts as the background on the vase. The clay was left bare where the images were intended to go, the white areas would have been the exception to this, as the whole area would need to be covered to create the white band. The slip was then burnished. The potter painted over his sketch to outline the red-figures with the same material used to create the gloss. In areas where the Painter would have wanted a brown or lighter shade the gloss applied would have been watered down. Once the design was complete the vase was placed in a kiln. The vase then underwent a three-part firing process. In phase one the kiln reaches approximately 800°C in a highly oxidized atmosphere. Phase two, or the reducing phase, involves closing the air vent and raising the temperature to approximately 950°C. In the final phase the kiln is cooled to 900°C and oxygen is allowed in for oxidizing. The vase is then removed from the kiln, ready for use.
Attic clay is rich sedentary clay that is characteristically an orange-red color and has plastic properties, making it ideal for pottery. Once the attic clay is dug up it is purified by levigation with large amounts of water and left to settle. At this time stones and other heavy materials will settle at the bottom.
Once the clay is purified and aged the potter throws the pot. In this process the potter shapes the clay as an assistant turns the potter’s wheel. Once the shape is formed the piece is trimmed and uneven clay is removed. At this point the potter added the handle and left the vase to dry. When the vase became leather-hard it would be burnished. This process involved rubbing a hard, smooth piece of leather or wood vigorously across the surface. This would compact and smooth the surface, making it shiny and more durable.
After burnishing the Painter would have sketched the design onto the clay. Then a slip was added to create the black and white gloss that acts as the background on the vase. The clay was left bare where the images were intended to go, the white areas would have been the exception to this, as the whole area would need to be covered to create the white band. The slip was then burnished. The potter painted over his sketch to outline the red-figures with the same material used to create the gloss. In areas where the Painter would have wanted a brown or lighter shade the gloss applied would have been watered down. Once the design was complete the vase was placed in a kiln. The vase then underwent a three-part firing process. In phase one the kiln reaches approximately 800°C in a highly oxidized atmosphere. Phase two, or the reducing phase, involves closing the air vent and raising the temperature to approximately 950°C. In the final phase the kiln is cooled to 900°C and oxygen is allowed in for oxidizing. The vase is then removed from the kiln, ready for use.
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