Maiolica is an earthenware or a stoneware pottery that is fired in oxidation. (See my notes on oxidation-reduction firing here.)

 

Deruta has been a site of pottery-making and decoration since the Renaissance. The contemporary artisans who make maiolica often continue life-long training to perfect and improve their skills. My training was based on a series of copied, traditional designs. These follow stages of apprenticeship and journeyman's projects, which start with basic techniques and move up in complexity. The geometric designs come first, then the figurative. Portraiture is the last of the steps in the basic program. I was lucky to get to complete the "bella donna" plate after only a few days in the studio, which is usually attempted only by advanced students.

 

The bisque-fired object (here, a plate) is dipped into a white glaze that dries to a powder. Coloured mineral "oxides" are used to create the design. These are painted directly onto the soft surface of the unfired glaze. This must proceed carefully, as mistakes can only very gently be removed in absolute emergencies! Because I was in training, when I made a big mistake, Maestro Ranieri fixed it by gently scraping away the thinnest layer of the unfired glaze and repainting it. When the pieces treated this way are fired, the glaze melts enough to smooth out the uneven sections. But if too much glaze is scraped away, the repair will very noticeable!

 

I was given an example of the painting styles for each step, and then I completed the design elements one at a time. The painting progressed in a fashion similar to watercolours, moving from lightest to darkest. Ceramic colours can blend, but the designs are created to avoid too many of these effects, thus preserving the brightest colours possible on the fired piece. The colour palette is limited to blue, yellow, green, and red on a white ground. The clay body can either be reddish, as was traditional, or it can be white, which gives a brighter ground to the painting.

 

Decorative maiolica painting is frequently specialised, and the artists often do not also make pottery forms. Many artists use the readily available and standardised bisque pottery objects produced in the region. The standardised production processes enable considerable control over the final outcomes. This is a great time-saver, as complicated decorative pieces can take many hours or several days to complete.