Florence Ceramics
Florence Ceramics started out with the
ingenuity of a single woman, Florence Ward, and it has today become one
of the trademark styles of ceramic ware that is seen across the world.
The Florence ceramics are today very prominently placed in all ceramic
shops and are indeed their prime attractions. However, how that came to
pass and how Florence ceramics has become so unbeatable today makes for
an interesting story.
The Evolution of Florence Ceramics
Florence Ward lived in Pasadena, California with her husband Clifford,
and two children. When her younger son died, she was heartbroken. But
she combated her loss by joining a hobby class at the Franklin School
for pottery and ceramics. She already had immense talent in sketching
and drawing; now she wanted to put it in three-dimensional form. Once
she had gone to fire her clay models in a studio. Impressed with her models,
the manager of the studio hired her as an assistant. Thus began Florence's
fascination with ceramic art and she became much educated in the various
tricks and trades of the craft. Then Florence became lonely as her son
got a Marine posting, and Clifford went for government service to Utah.
This is when Florence spent all her time on her craft, and gave birth
to Florence Ceramics in 1942.
Since then, Florence's rich legacy has been kept alive. Her trademark
style has been retained from the forties until today, duplicated by countless
artisans, who do not dare to fiddle with the waiflike beauty she so very
easily creates in her art.
Image courtesy of The
GPSA Gazette
Unique Aspects of Florence Ceramics
Even someone without a deep knowledge of ceramic art will be able to easily
identify a Florence ceramics from a lot, if shown just a few samples beforehand.
The designing of Florence ceramics is quite unique and even a bit peculiar,
and that is why it has existed until today. Today Florence Ceramics makes
a range of products – most of them decorative – such as bowls,
cosmetic boxes, candy dishes, candlesticks, decorative curios, paperweights,
bird and animal figurines, etc.
The human figurines of Florence Ceramics are well known for two things
– the beauty in their perfectly proportionate figures and their
very expressive look. No wonder then that ceramic producers manufacture
a wide range of crib figurines around Christmas each year. Apart from
that, Florence ceramics are very well-noted for their figurines of real
people, such as Mark Anthony and Cleopatra, Louis XV and Madame Pompadour,
among several others. Then there is also a large number of fairy tale
figurines which have become immensely famous.
There is also heavy accessorizing on the figurines, which is again a trademark
of Florence ceramics. The artist always creates the impression of long
flowing dresses, which blend perfectly well with the biological shape
of the figure. Lace and other accessories are used profusely. These ceramic
figurines are also known for their small accessories and jewelries such
as dainty little shoes on the feet, and sometimes ornaments like bracelets
and necklaces.
Most Florence Ceramics art is made from high grade kaolin and is carefully
fired and dried, and then painted manually. A lot of time is spent on
each figurine, and there is a conscious effort to convert each into a
piece of art.
Florence ceramics are among the most widely recognized ceramic forms
in the world today. Seeing one figurine is enough to identify the others.
If you are looking to buy a Florence figurine, you would do well to check
the base for its genuineness. All Florence figurines will have some mark
on their bottom. Generally, this mark could read Florence of Pasadena,
but it can also read Florence Figurines of Florence Ceramics.
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