Ologies with Alie Ward: Ceramology (POTTERY)

Guest Experts: Graham Taylor & Sarah Lord Taylor of Potted History
Release Date: September 10, 2025
Episode Number: 467 (8th Anniversary Special)

Episode Overview

For Ologies’ eighth anniversary, host Alie Ward explores ceramology—the science, art, and history of pottery—with Graham Taylor and Sarah Lord Taylor, the father-daughter team behind Potted History. The duo are renowned for their archeologically accurate ceramic replicas, educational outreach, and infectious enthusiasm for ancient craftsmanship.

In this deep dive, listeners will learn:

• The convergence of science, history, and art in pottery
• What clay actually is (and how it’s found and formed)
• The practical and cultural evolution of ceramics across millennia
• How potters today connect to ancient makers
• Pottery’s impact on culture, from Venus figurines to amphorae, and even phallic lucky charms

The episode’s tone is warm, nerdy, and joyously tangential—with a focus on how ceramics connect us through time.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Meet the Potters & Their Origins

• Graham Taylor describes growing up among ancient monuments in Northumberland, inspired by overlapping interests in art, science, and archeology.

  "I didn't want my science too sciency, I suppose...I ended up doing an arts foundation course...went into a ceramic studio and went, 'hey, this is it.'" (06:30)

• Sarah Lord Taylor shares her journey from textile and costume design at Scottish Opera back to the family pottery, finding a tactile joy and fascination in everyday historical artifacts rather than royal or military history.

  "It's the real people doing real everyday things, not the kings or the queens...that's what I love so much about what we do." (11:05)

• Family-run business: Graham, Sarah, and sister Claire (admin/tech) collaborate; Claire also works in midwifery.

2. Ceramics, Pottery, Porcelain: What’s the Difference?

• Ceramics: Broadest term; inorganic, non-metal, hard materials (includes glass, brick, cement).

• Pottery: Generally refers to functional wares made from clay.

• Porcelain: High-fired, pure kaolin clay (originally from China), allowing translucency and fineness.

  "Clay is an aluminum hydrosilica...it's this wonderful material that you can manipulate..." (13:28)

• The firing process transforms modeled clay into finished ceramic at around 550°C—point of no return for malleability.

  "When you start to heat it up...can turn to super steam and blow the whole thing apart." (14:31)

• Porcelain’s allure: High artistry, technical expertise, and historical demand.

  "They understood things we don't understand anymore." – Graham (17:11)

3. Kinds of Clay & Their Origins

• China clays - “Kaolinite”: Used for porcelain; found in Cornwall, UK and China.

• Boulder clays (Northern Britain): Gritty, iron-rich, fire red, less pure.

• Grittiness and impurities (organic matter, minerals) create unique regional characteristics and utility.

  "The iron oxide is what makes terracotta...depending on the amount of iron oxide...it’ll fire red." (20:32)

• Is there enough clay in the world?

  "We’re definitely not going to run out of clay. The earth is fairly abundant in clay.” – Graham (72:36)

4. Working With Clay: Preferences & Perils

• The Taylors favor different types:

  • Graham: gritty clay for large vessels (amphorae)
  • Sarah: fine clay for figurines, sometimes with paper pulp for strength and sculptability, despite challenging workability.

  “It’s like Blu Tack when it gets hot...stretchy, sticky.” (25:04, Sarah)

• Ancient potters added organic content (including animal dung!) for workability—an echo seen in modern “paper clay.”

  "Some pottery traditions you do add animal dung to the clay..." (26:02)

5. The History: Replication, Museum Pieces, and Ancient Techniques

• Replicating ancient pottery preserves tactile, everyday history.

  "Most times when you’re working on a piece, it ends up giving you this remarkable respect for these craftspeople of the past..." – Graham (17:11)

• Notable commissions: Bronze Age urns, gifts for dignitaries (Prince Charles, the Pope, Chinese and Cuban leaders).

  "The Pope ended up with some of our pottery. Gong Xiaoping...Fidel Castro..." (32:12)

• Earliest known pottery:

  • Venus figurines (e.g., Dolni Věstonice): 28,000 years old—earliest fired clay known, predates containers.

    "One of the facts I love...is on the bottom there is a child’s fingerprint...clay preserves that human touch in a way that I don’t think anything else does." – Sarah (34:44)

  • Vessels: Appear around 19,000 years ago, with gaps in the archaeological record.

• Potter’s wheel: Invented ~3000 BC in Mesopotamia; revolutionized pottery worldwide.

  "The potter's wheel...southern Iraq, probably about 3000 BC." (37:41)

6. Ceramic Shapes & Social History

• Pointed Amphorae:

  • Designed for transporting goods by ship (fits hull shape, prevents tipping).
  • Pointed base also helps avoid cracks in large kilns.

    "They're pointed because their main function is to go into a ship...the ancient Roman or Greek ship is...hull-shaped." (38:39, Graham)

• Lucky Phalli:

  • Roman clay penises (sometimes with wings and chicken legs!) were good-luck charms, not obscene.

    "He’s called Fascinus and he is a good luck god...a phallus around their neck..." (71:05, Sarah)

Listener Questions & Pottery Tech

Firing Techniques

• Raku:
  • Japanese origin; bowls are removed from the kiln while red hot, resulting in unpredictable, unique finishes.

    "Nature is heavily involved in the production...puts its imprint on the pot and...you will never ever get two pieces which are exactly the same." (51:44, Graham)

Glaze & Clay Science

• Why do glazes smell bad?

  • Decomposing organic matter in clay buckets.

    “[Glazes smell] due to decomposition of organic material...They can be really stinky.” (53:13, Sarah)

  • Amusing song: "Granddad's buckets of grime..." (53:29)

• What is glaze/slip?

  • Glaze: melted rock, essentially glass tailored to expand with the clay base.
  • Slip: liquid clay, often colored, sometimes serves as a primitive glaze.

    "Glaze is effectively rock that has melted..." (55:40, Graham)

• Grog:

  • Crushed, fired pottery added to clay for strength and improved firing (less cracks).

    "If you want clay that’s going to fire easily...the gritty clay was actually what was helping you..." (68:18, Graham)

  • Use of “middens” (ancient trash heaps) as recycling centers for old pottery.

• Industrial Ceramics:

  • Techniques like jigger-and-jolly (molded forms) and slip casting for mass production.

    "You make an archetype, you create a mold...you can get any old fool to bash the things out." (57:47, Graham)

Safety Concerns

• Lead in glazes:
  • Modern, reputable ceramics for food use are safe; historic or imported folkware may be unsafe.

    "Nothing you’re buying from a reputable dealer should contain free lead in it in any way." (60:38, Graham)

Cultural Moments & Quotes

• Pottery & Storytelling:

  "Other things, when they’re carved, the fingerprints are not there anymore. But clay preserves that human touch in a way that I don’t think anything else does." – Sarah (34:44)

• On Ancient Craftspersons:

  "They probably couldn’t operate an iPhone, but...they could create these wonderful things..." – Graham (17:11)

• On the Movie “Ghost”:

  • Iconic pottery scene inspires both cringe and hilarity for professional potters.

    "I got a feeling that the pottery wasn’t the main focus of that scene, really." (65:34, Graham)

• On Pottery Fails:

  "When you’ve made something...and the kiln gods are just not kind to you, that can be soul destroying." – Sarah (72:20)

• Sustainability:

  • Constant effort to be energy-efficient and use recyclable/compostable materials.

    "It has become a sort of thing...we are as low impact as we possibly can be." (72:56, Graham)

Noteworthy Timestamps

• 04:55: Guest introductions
• 06:30: Graham’s childhood, artistic journey, meeting pottery
• 10:50: Sarah’s return to pottery, from textiles/costume design
• 12:24: Pottery vs. ceramics vs. porcelain explained
• 13:28: What is clay, on the microscopic level
• 18:30: Types of clay, regional variations
• 25:04: Paper clay & Blu Tack analogy
• 32:12: Museum replicas for dignitaries (the Pope, etc.)
• 33:54: 28,000-year-old Dolni Věstonice Venus figure
• 37:41: The invention of the potter’s wheel
• 38:39: Amphorae: ship-shape for practical reasons
• 51:07: Raku firing technique & Zen philosophy
• 53:13: Why glazes can stink
• 59:21: Industrial ceramics: molds, jigger/jolly, slip-casting
• 60:38: Lead glazes explained
• 65:07: “Ghost” and pottery pop culture
• 71:05: Lucky phalli and their purpose
• 73:49: Favorite piece: Jomon flame pots (Graham); Astarte figurines (Sarah)

Memorable Moments

• Alie’s mega-mug on camera surprises the Taylors:

  "That is one heck of a mug." – Graham, (29:37)

• Ancient fingerprint in a 28,000-year-old ceramic, linking the past to the present.

• Sarah’s description of “paper clay” as “like Blu Tack when it gets hot” (25:04)

• Graham’s casual recounting of their pottery owned by world leaders.

• Cheery tune about stinky glaze buckets: "Granddad’s buckets of grime..." (53:29)

• Discussion of Roman penis figurines as good luck.

• Pottery heartbreak: kiln disasters and the unpredictability of clay arts.

• Practical sustainability tips from a working pottery studio.

Takeaways

• Pottery is a living link to ancient human ingenuity, shaped by geography, chemistry, and daily life.
• The artistry and community around ceramics are as vital in their 28,000th year as ever.
• Every mug or plate you own represents a lineage of shared experimentation—a tangible, often humble miracle.

Further Resources:

• Potted History on YouTube
• Potted History Main Site
• Recommended books/links provided at alieward.com/ologies/ceramology

Most of all:
This episode highlights curiosity, playfulness, and the unbroken human chain back to the very first hand that shaped the mud.
"Clay preserves that human touch in a way that I don’t think anything else does.” – Sarah Lord Taylor (34:44)

Grab a (lead-free) mug and celebrate eight years of Ologies—by raising a toast to every potter, past and present.