Welcome back, Roberta!

A NOTE FROM ROBERTA NICCACCI

Dear Friends and Customers,

I am back at my family's workshop full time after about ten years of absence. I am thrilled to start this experience again. I am more enthusiastic than ever.

I would like to share the experience of selling Cama ceramics in your country first hand. I would like to treasure the art of Cama as a family and friends experience.

Love,

Roberta

photo: Roberta & Andrea Niccacci at Cama Deruta.

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Be part of the famous workshop tours history at Cama Deruta

CAMA DERUTA

The Workshop tours

info@camaderuta.com

Contents

Introduction

II. The making of Majolica
II.1. “Creazione”: from greenware to bisqueware
II.2. “Pittura”: from grazing to the finished piece
III. Shopping

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Welcome to Cama Deruta!

Before starting the tour we would like to give you general information about Deruta ceramics and a short history of our workshop.
The ceramics made in Deruta are known as majolica: porous earthenware, glazed, hand-painted and fired twice. The raw clay comes from our region: Umbria. Paints are mineral powders mixed with water and based on secret recipes.
The ceramics techniques we use in Deruta today take inspiration from the Renaissance as well as the classical patterns that Cama Deruta specializes in.
Deruta ceramic makers have their Saint Patron – Saint Catherine of Alexandria celebrated every year on November 25th . On this day all workshops are closed.

At Cama Deruta we have been making ceramics for several generations.

The workshop was established in the last century by the Niccacci family along with partners. In fact Cama was originally the acronym for “Cooperativa Artigiana Maioliche Artistiche”. In 1971 Renato and Elena Niccacci took over the business. They are both talented artists.

Later on in 1988 their children Andrea and Roberta decided to help their parents in the workshop full time.

In 2010 the Cama Deruta workshop counts on the four of the family and 8 assistants.

We specialize in dinnerware and accessories also available online at the address www.camaderuta.com

At Cama Deruta we still make everything in the workshop from start to end, which allows us to have an eye on the quality through the whole process and…enjoy a fascinating tour with you!

The making of Majolica

II.1. “Creazione”: from greenware to bisqueware

The long and meticulous process of making ceramics takes place all in the Cama Deruta building on Via Tiberina, 113.

The visit starts from the so called “Creazione” (=sculpting section) which involves a vast area of the ground floor. The room is well lighted and comfortable.

The source is a raw clay that we find locally in the Umbria region at the border with Tuscany. With the help of tools, plaster moulds and the famous wheel our assistants transform lumps of clay into finished pieces.

Depending on the shape of the finished pieces there are three ways to sculpt the raw clay:
Round pieces (mugs, bowls, pitchers) are made by hand-throwing on the wheel;
Oval and/or flat shapes (oval bowls, scalloped plates, crescents) and made by hand-pressing on a plaster mould;
ornate pieces (crested rooster pitchers, indented candleholders, heart boxes) are made by hand-pouring.

Aside from any of the above sculpting methods, all the formed pieces are known as “greenware” (state where pieces are not dry enough for the first firing).

Only when part of the moisture has evaporated from the clay it is possible to trim the pieces, attach handles and spouts.

As a final touch the piece is carefully refined by the help of a sponge and set aside to dry completely.

From start to end it usually takes from 7 to 10 days for one piece to dry, strictly at room temperature.

The dry pieces are ready for the first firing, whose temperatures relatively high: 1100° Centigrade (about 2000° Fahrenheit).
It is only at this point that the pieces may be referred as “bisqueware”.

The making of Majolica

II.2. “Pittura”: from glazing to the finished piece

On the second floor of the workshop you will meet Elena Niccacci and her assistants painting in separate and tidy tables scattered in a well-lighted area.

Part of the painting section are also a retain room filled with finished samples for duplication purposes and a stock room filled of bisqueware ready to be painted.

The painting process starts with the glazing: each piece of bisqueware is dipped by hand by the help of specific tools into large containers of white glazes.

White glazes have a practical function: preventing the porosity of the clay to absorb the water-based colors used for the painting.

Handpainting is the next step. The selected pattern/design is applied to the white pieces by the help of tracing papers (the same technique originally used by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel) as a major requirement.

Tracing papers are perforated thin sheets of paper: by the use of pouncing bags the artist transfers enough quantities of charcoal to leave an outline trace of the pattern/design.

Skilled artists outline the charcoal traces of the pattern/design with the finest brushes.

For the final part of the handpainting, filling-in colors, the retain room provides finished samples as a reference for the final color results.

The final step of the painting process is the spraying of the clear glaze for the brillance/glossy of the finished piece.

At this point each piece is carefully stack in the kilns for the second and final firing. Fire changes the pastel shades of the water-based paints into the vibrant colors that Deruta is famous for. The finished piece is called “Bello” .

III. Shopping

Visiting a workshop is a treating experience. We hope the tour will give you a greater appreciation of handthrown and handpainted ceramics and the work that goes into our handcrafted finished products. We invite visitors to browse through the workshop store and we hope they will find some pieces that are going to be perfect for their home and for gifts. We can ship purchases by air and that way travellers won’t have to carry extra boxes during the rest of their travel.

Acknowledgments

This brochure is dedicated to all our customers, customers’ friends, friends of friends, students and Cama Deruta fans who have been visiting our workshop from the very beginning. We would like to thank everyone for their enthusiastic encouragement, for appreciating our work and for trusting us. Thank you for keeping alive the word of mouth.

Heartfelt thanks to our assistants and relatives who are currently working at Cama and made this experience possible.

It has been a pleasure to explain the making of ceramics. And we hope we have piqued your interest so that you will want to have some of the Cama Deruta pieces at home. Thank you!


Workshop tours are free and upon appointment. For availability information send an email to: info@camaderuta.com Thank you!

This blog is dedicated to all our friends, Cama Deruta fans and ceramics collectors

This blog is dedicated especially to all our friends and customers who have been keeping in touch with us for many years.

We miss seeing you here in Deruta, therefore our next step is to come to the States and serve you there. You deserve this service and please kindly accept it as a mutual exchange of affection. We feel that at Cama we have a mission to serve our customers directly.

The quality of Cama Deruta is undisputed but it is not the only thing that matters for us. Selling ceramics for us means more than this. We have found many friends on our way and this will be our starting point of rebirth or of Renaissance if we think of our ceramics!

Thank you for your support by selecting CAMA DERUTA as your premium majolica resource for gift-giving, celebrations, dinnerware parties and your joy of entertaining.

(photo credit: the town of Deruta, Italy)

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posted by Roberta Niccacci

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