A professional potter, Rogier earned a degree in Fine Arts from Indiana University, Bloomington. In the late sixties and seventies Rogier and his wife Ellen, an accomplished jewelry designer and goldsmith, operated the Donker Art School, first in Bloomington IN, then in Indianapolis. They exhibited at the very first Broadripple and Penrod Art Fairs and attended both fairs for over ten years, winning their share of first prizes and purchase awards. As the workshop consultant and ceramic artist for the American Art Clay Company, Rogier traveled throughout the United States and Canada instructing teachers in the use of ceramic equipment and materials. He also demonstrated extensively in the schools ”entertaining young and old with his mad antics on the potter’s wheel”. When their son Elias came into this world Ellen and Rogier closed their store and gallery in Indianapolis and moved to the country to raise their son. Working in stoneware Rogier has created many, many commissions, including the trophies for the US Olympic Swim team that was meeting the Russian Olympic Swim Team in Milwaukee in 1980 as well as all the “favors”, prizes and awards for the American Dairy Goat Association’s National Convention in Indianapolis in 2006. The pottery is now part of the total Donker Studio ”endeavor”. That “endeavor” is spread throughout these pages and offers but a hint of what life can be if given over to Our Creator, God Himself!
An independent consultant, artist, potter and kiln repairman, Rogier did school demonstrations for over forty years until, a few years ago, he was diagnosed with silicosis. A form of emphysema, silicosis is an occupational hazard reserved just for potters, shortness of breath and an inability to take in enough oxygen to function “normally” silicosis definitely put a crimp in Rogier’s style and caused him, much to his chagrin, to stop school demonstrations. On doctor’s orders Rogier now sleeps with oxygen and carries an oxygen tank wherever he goes. Just prior to the silicosis diagnosis, the Wabash River took possession of their home of 28 years and Rogier and Ellen found themselves having to build a new dwelling. Now, six and a half years later, the house is practically finished and Rogier is once again working in the studio.
Hit the links below to view an assortment of Rogier’s pottery:
Batch 1 Pictures
Batch 2 Pictures
Batch 3 Pictures
Batch 4 Pictures
Thanks to the Internet, distances and separations between nations and individuals have become ever smaller and friendships are developed throughout cyberspace. One such friendship has developed between Muazzez Unal and myself. Following age-old Turkish tradition Macik's forte is decorating, with paints and India ink, pots thrown by her potter friend Sinan. The pots range in size from a few inches in height to 30 inches tall. Sinan's pots are glazed with locally processed Terra Sigillata that renders a smooth, slick and semi-shiny surface. Macik's free hand decorating techniques boggles the mind as she re-creates ancient designs in a manner that might be rather foreign to American eyes but is none-the-less worthy of a closer look. A visit to her photo albums online will be an inspiration to those wanting to be enthused by ancient decorating motifs on classic pottery shapes. The creations of Muazzez and Sinan are a in a class all by themselves! Since 1983 Muazzez has been decorating pottery as a hobby while working as a supervisor at the Turkish Ministry of Education. Having raised two sons and having retired from her government position Muazzez now devotes all her time to her artistic endeavors, which include jewelry design, decoupage and textiles. Her hobby has become her livelihood and patrons are encouraged to contact her. The pieces shown here are but a small example of her talents! Muazzez can be contacted here.
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Silicosis notwithstanding, as long as he has his trusted oxygen tank close by, things are happening in the studio again. Rogier recently finished a series of large gnomes, “Disciples” if you will, that will be perfectly suited for garden ornaments or indoor decoration and enjoyment. Creating these beings was like revisiting “the Family of Man.” While none of the characters are representative of any particular person, collectively they do remind their creator of individuals who have crossed his path. The expression, the character, the impression of the “Disciples” is only limited to one’s imagination and after making a few of these it was un-adulterated fun to see the characters evolve. Each finished Disciple stands over twenty-four inches tall and would make a fun outdoors garden sculpture or it can be mounted on a base for indoor use. Cipriano Picolpasso, the 16th Century potter who wrote one of the first treatises on pottery, started off his book chapters with some nice philosophical sayings. The following is Rogier’s favorite and is definitely applicable to this collection.
“Earth we are, it is quite true. Disdain us not for so are you!”
“We
two form a multitude.”
Three of the original twelve Disciples found a home on
Mounted on a slab of locust tree. a revolving base, each
of the three is imprinted with part
of Cipriano’s quote. The whole unit is about thirty
inches tall and the rotation (by hand) is very smooth and
very solid to the touch. The base is 16 inches in diameter.
Priced to sell the very limited edition of these Disciples is selling fast. Should you covet one of these, please call or visit the studio!
1 800 394 2289
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Moving around schools the way I do, I sometimes run into some used equipment. Other times I take old kilns in trade when I sell the school a new one. It all amounts to an ever changing inventory of kiln parts, kilns and wheels. Should you find yourself in need of some of the preceding, please check with me as I just might have what you need. Presently I have an assortment of hobby kiln parts including a brand new lid lifter assembly for an EX 399 or an EX 1099. It retails for $ 395.00, yours for $ 150.00! I also have box kiln parts (Amaco HF, FA, EC and AH series) and a next to new Lockerbie kick wheel that is priced right! Come and check things out!
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“Chartres Revisited”
Since last fall’s creation of the large “Disciples” I’ve been thinking about creating a mural of sorts that would consist of three large tiles that would be covered with “peoples”. Making large tiles is just a matter of rolling some large slabs. Since the tiles will have to dry very slowly the backside will be scored with a loop tool to retard drying and therefore help prevent warping. Once scored the tile is covered with a few layers of newspaper then flipped over and transferred to a 15’x17” piece of half inch thick plywood.
The topside of the slab is now ready for the imprint roller that will imprint a fossil motif onto most of the slab save for a “ribbon” area which will later receive the letter imprinting.
The slabs were rolled out “free-hand” on purpose so as to render the surface somewhat undulating and decidedly NOT perfectly flat. Technically this will make the execution of the whole project a bit harder as the different thicknesses will add to the drying difficulty. Once the three slabs were surface imprinted, the ribbon area was cleaned up a bit and the rather difficult letter spacing was figured out.
When the imprinting was done the slabs were covered up with plastic to retard drying. “Tomorrow” will be another day! “Tomorrow” will be fun as that’s when the creating of the populace will take place…
For the first time in forty some years of creating these characters lower extremities, i.e. legs & feet, will be added to the figures. At Amaco’s Brickyard I found some small “foot” molds and since “hand” molds were no longer available, I made some. Long “bony fingers” were made out of plasticene and then a mold was made. The simple “sprig” or “press” molds are filled with clay before construction of the body slab or the head is done and by the time the extremities are ready to be attached to the body they will be just right – moisture content-wise. Filling molds, rolling out the slab and forming the head takes about an hour per figure. Once the figure is made it is attached to the base tile with lots of slip and re-enforcing coils on either side of the body. Kept under plastic as work progresses the secret to success is SLOW drying, so every once in a while the whole thing is sprayed with a fine mist of water and covered with plastic while the next figure is being made. Using a texture roller the body slab is imprinted. The slab is then turned over and the head and other extremities are attached. When the body is attached to the base tile all sorts of other things, like sleeves, buttons, beards, hair or ears can be added to the figure. While work progresses things are kept “under wraps” and when all the figures (eighteen of ‘em!) are attached the whole project will be left covered for a day so the moisture content can equalize.
The project was covered with several layers of plastic so what little drying could take place would be very slow. The first stage of the project was completed on Thursday evening – it is now Sunday morning and time to “fine-tune” the creation.
Fine-tuning involves careful cleaning up of joints, smoothing out irregular surfaces and doing some additional sculpting on the feet and legs. It is all a very time consuming and meticulous detail oriented activity, not exactly my forte…
The final result, however, is definitely worth it! When the all detailing was done the creation was covered up with plastic to allow for slow drying. Twenty-two hours and almost sixty pounds of clay have been invested in this latest project so far… Gotta be nuts!
