The Timeshare Beat: Terracotta Passion

The Front Terrace

TERRACOTTA PASSION

fired in earth
hhhhhhh
-by Simone
Terracotta with its secretful flair- its beauty coming from ages ago - it's a "Must" for me. Even if I only have a balcony. These warm walls around an old Patio, lined up with Terracotta pots, sharing the shade with you, (lucky-bean if some planted citrus have fruits) or in the sunkissed backyard of a family-house, an ancient stone-stair going down to nowhere ~ middle summertime ~ easy living at high noon in a hundred-year-old garden - not without Terracotta!

http://www.bettini.com/manetti2.htm
http://www.ceramicatoscana.it/terre/e/impst/efornimp4.htm

These old pots are the essence of the whole summertime garden~ and in winter: the fired-in-earth pots are tucked in glasshouses ~ pass thru the hall with Palms, Oleander, rose-trees - already with buds, .... feel the sleep of the glasting summerglow - the promise of new golden hot days and all the brown burned beauties with their exotic plants and herbs are dreaming of summer too.

The glass-roof with its snowcover sends crystal lights inside ~ warm & moist & tropical air in the hall. http://www.jdhodges.com/posters/indoor-gardens-and-greenhouses-posters-2185.html

Where does Terracotta have its origin? Italy, Asia, Mexico etc. In Europe basically there are two areas of Tuscany/Italy famous for the production of terracotta products - the region around Sienna and the village of Impruneta, near Florence in the hills of Chianti. Both of these areas have been famous for their clay work since Etruscan times and it is still true that the highest quality, handmade terracotta products are made here.

Impruneta is the Mecca for today's Terracotta. http://www.impruneta.com/.

The clay. The Impruneta quarries yield special clays, schists and marls which, when exposed to atmospheric agents for a certain time, become a paste that is so duefile it can be used to male even the largest and most ornate terra-cotta items. The blending. The blending process consists of vigorously mixing the wet clay until it becomes a compact amalgamate without any air bubbles that could cause the piece to break while it is being fired. Quadro or square work - Tondo or round work. Differently sized and shaped frames are used to prepare the materials for walls and flooring. The frame is placed on a flat surface and the blended clay is poured onto it with force, and then it is pressed down and smoothed by hand.

For decorative items the process is somewhat different. Clay "lucignoli" are made in various lengths, but they are always as thick as the sides of the vase.

Drying. Art is also history. The pieces are left to dry naturally, just like the Etruscans used to do, under outdoor sheds, or indoors at constant, hot, even temperatures. The items shrink 4-6% during drying.

The firing. The alchemy of cotto springs from the earth, air, water and fire. The unmistakable colors of cotto are developed through firing in kilns at over 980° C. During firing the items shrink yet another 8 -10%. Therefore, the rough and uneven surfaces bear the marks of the artisans' hands, totally rejecting the perfect anonymity of industrial products.

The Agresti Furnace History of Impruneta Terracotta: http://www.millemiglia.it/v_eng/9_21.htm:
Visit: http://www.impruneta.com/terracotta/terracotta-factories-eng.htm
http://www.ceramicatoscana.it/terre/e/impst/efornimp5.htm
http://www.ceramicatoscana.it/terre/e/impmu/eagresti1.htm

Among the many terracotta furnaces still active in Impruneta, one is a living example of the

Lavorazione del cotto

ancient techniques. This is the Agresti Furnace, a development at the foot of the town centre, which has been purchased by the City Council with the aim of turning it into an Information centre on Impruneta terracotta. The furnace is important not only for its historical value as a building complex, but also as a shrine for the tools, casts and models used up to a few decades ago, when it was still active. The Impruneta furnaces started to make large quantities of conche - citrus vases - that were often quite large, together with vase stands, flower pots and a range of architectural elements, not to mention the decorative terracotta statues.

Here in Europe you have the possibility to rent places in extra built glasshouses - your plants are hosted till you call for them in Springtime. (after 8th May: the 3 iceholy's then are over).

In deep wintertime, around X-mas, I usually make a stroll thru such glasshouses- looking at the different pots and their inhabitants. Feelings like the end of the 19th century - the time of the pioneers, who brought back from long voyages overseas these exotic trees and flowers to a cold winter country. It was a status symbol to have a glasshouse with plant guests of the Tropics or Asia. http://www.palm-shop.ch/default.asp?action=select&newsNO=17941&id=1535

Plants for Terracotta: Terracotta was mostly not frost resistant. You can make it resistant with some products, The Leisuregrow St Tropez Terrazzo Set or you fill them with plants that also have to go inside in wintertime - or to the glasshouse. Vote for winterhardy plants, or exotic plants, which you have to take in if you live in a country with snowfall. As Palms, Oleander, etc. look so extraordinary in a garden - a sunny cellar window or a little glasshouse may help to get them over cold wintertime. If you only have an apartment - so make your balcony become your Mediterranean oasis. With some stepped stones you can enlarge the planting places and improvise with some candle-lamps or other romantic glitz to make a very lush garden.

Balconies are the common people's gardens today - Terracotta gives them that special allure.



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