Ceramics

I do enjoy showcasing pieces that we may take for granted in our daily lives.  For example:  a jug.  A plain old brown ceramic jug that seems pretty stereotypical for the time.  We have one of these on display from the Virgil and Thelma Linam Collection.  Now, the jug itself we may take for granted but I would rather focus on the material it is made of:  ceramic.

What are ceramics?  Ceramics are inorganic and nonmetallic materials.  Mixtures of clay, earthen elements, powders, and water are generally used to make ceramics (http://depts.washington.edu).  Once shaped, ceramics are then fired at a high temperature and become a hard, wear-resistant, brittle material.  Humans figured out the usefulness of ceramics long ago.  According to www.depauw.edu, ceramic materials were used to make pots and pot-making was one of humankind’s first inventions.  Because of this, it remains one of the best records of early cultures including Chinese, Roman, Egyptian, African, and Native American.  Styles, shapes, and adornments have changed over the years and vary from place to place depending on what level of technology that civilization was in at the time.  The jug that we have in the Virgil and Thelma Linam collection follows a folk tradition that became “ubiquitous to the American scene:” a small mouthed, single handled jug (www.depauw.edu).  Obviously, this style jug is very utilitarian, but ceramics, depending on what they are, can be utilitarian and/or aesthetic.  Just a few things that contain ceramics include tiles, bricks, toilets, watches, snow skies, space shuttles, electrical insulators, figurines, and plates (http://depts.washington.edu).

As you can see, humans have known about ceramics for a long time and have molded them into many different uses.  For more information on ceramics come check out the ceramic jug from the Virgil and Thelma Linam Collection in the South Gallery or look into one of the ceramics classes at New Mexico Junior College and you won’t take ceramics for granted again.