AMOCAFest is here!
Skill Building Workshop: Steins, Beer, & Salt Firing with T and Jon Pacini
Saturday, October 22, 2022 • 10 AM–3 PM (PST) & Sunday, October 23, 2022 • 10 AM–5 PM • In Person
Join AMOCA and southern California artists T and Jon Pacini for a Beer Stein-themed weekend! This 2-day workshop will include slide presentations on stein and ale bottle styles and a behind-the-scenes tour of AMOCA’s Mettlach Collection as well as demonstrations and throwing time in the studio. On Saturday, participants will learn about bottle types and functions, tour the museum collections, and then return to the studio to create beer stein and ale bottle shapes on the wheel. On Sunday, we’ll learn lid decoration and handle-making to finish our vessels and get them ready for firing in the salt kiln. Your weekend ends with a slide presentation on Kannofenbrand, a historic salt kiln site in Höhr-Grenzhausen, Germany, and beer gardens. The presentation will be followed by a beer tasting experience with our friends from Last Name Brewing (Upland, CA).
Circles of Commitment members will receive complimentary admission to portions of the weekend workshop. Please check your inboxes or reach out to Director of Advancement Jenifer Fleming for more information.
Event RSVP
Hands-On Workshop: The cost of this two-day workshop is $225 and includes tools, clay, and slip; Sunday presentation and beer tasting are included in workshop price. Some prior clay experience is helpful. Space is limited to 10 students. RSVP using the form below (it may take a moment to load). If you prefer, you may also RSVP by emailing communications@amoca.org or by calling (909) 865-3146.
Steins, Beer, & Salt Firing: Presentation and Beer Tasting
Sunday, October 23, 2022 • 2 PM–5 PM • In Person
Presentation & Beer Tasting: For $25 ($20 for AMOCA Members), join us on Sunday afternoon at 2pm for a slide presentation on Kannofenbrand, a historic salt kiln site in Höhr-Grenzhausen, Germany, and beer gardens, followed by beer tasting. RSVP using the form below (it may take a moment to load). If you prefer, you may also RSVP by emailing communications@amoca.org or by calling (909) 865-3146.
Event RSVP
Meet Your Instructor: T Robert Pacini
After a successful career in the NYC corporate world, T. Pacini came to realize she was climbing the wrong ladder. Stepping away from this chaotic world, T. began an extensive focus in ceramics, studying at the University of Central Florida (UCF), Arrowmont School of Craft, IWCAT, Tokoname, Japan, Alfred University and Fu Ping China. T. spent a decade as a Ceramic Tech for Axner in Florida and later, at Laguna Clay Company in Los Angeles. After years of assisting others with their endeavors in clay, she has taken her accumulated knowledge and headed to her own studio.
Geology and the Asian aesthetic is woven through her work: simple in form and color, monumental and rough-edged recalling the natural world. Working masterfully, respect for the process is ever present, T. produces works that manage to exude both subtlety and strength.
Meet Your Instructor: Jon Pacini
Jon Pacini is a ceramic artist from Southern California and had a career as the clay manager for Westwood Ceramics (now Laguna Clay Co.). Pacini has taught workshops around the world and fired many styles of kilns, most notably Fred Olson’s wood kiln and the Kannofenbrand, historic salt kiln site in Höhr-Grenzhausen, Germany.
In his own work, Pacini uses a variety of clay bodies and glazes that honor and respect an earlier generation of clay artists. He has paired his passion and dedication to making vessels for over 40 years. Pacini’s works are notable for their classic silhouettes and tactile nature. They are based on formal associations which open his unique touch.
Related Resources
The Beer Stein Library
AMOCA houses The Beer Stein Library (BSL), which was designed to provide basic and advanced info on all categories of German beer steins. A photo of almost any beer stein can be found from the mold number usually on the base of the stein and/or the manufacturer’s identification mark. One or more photos of the stein with a description and a translation of the German verse if there is one on the stein.
The Beer Stein Library provides an informative article that serves as a useful introduction to Mettlach Beer steins.
The Mettlach Collection
In 1836, a pottery company founded by François Boch and located in Mettlach, Germany, merged with another founded by Nicolas Villeroy to form the famous ceramic company called Villeroy & Boch (V&B). By the late 19th century V&B had seven factories, but the one at Mettlach, most famous and celebrated for its production of Chromolith (etched, incised) wares, became known by the name of the village: Mettlach. The Mettlach factory also produced wares using adapted techniques of high and low relief, PUG (printed under glaze), Phanolith, Cameo and hand-painted wares in the form of steins, plaques, vases, jardinières, table wares, and more.
Mettlach wares were exported to the U.S. by the late 19th century, including items made specifically for the American market. Displayed at the World Fair exhibitions in Philadelphia (1876) and Chicago (1893), Mettlach ware became even more widely known. Many steins, including those made by Mettlach, found their way to the United States with soldiers returning from WWI and WWII.
Explore the Mettlach Collection
German Beer Steins, Verses, & History
This slide presentation on German Beer Steins, Verses, and History by Dr. Roy DeSelms, SCI Master Steinologist, offers history and insight into numerous historic steins, including many in AMOCA’s Mettlach Collection.
Articles
Dr. Roy De Selms has published a series of articles on the steins and other works in AMOCA’s Mettlach collection, published in Prosit: The Beer Stein Magazine. Selected articles are reprinted here with the author’s permission:
- Part 1 – A Brief History of 19th Century Germany (September, 2019)
- Part 2 – German Culture Through the 19th Century (June, 2020)
- Part 3a – European Myths and Legends (December, 2020) – the page headings of “September 2020,” reprinted accurately here, are erroneous.
- Part 3b – Folklore, Fairy Tales and Fantasy (March, 2021)
- Part 4a – The Evolution of Relief, Cameo and Phanolith Wares (June, 2021)
- Part 4b – The Evolution of Chromolith, Etched/ Incised, Print Under Glaze (PUG), Rookwood/Faience/Delft Styles and Combination Wares (September, 2021)
- Part 5a – Mettlach at the AMOCA Museum: Mettlach Artists, Motifs, and Styles (March, 2022)
- Part 5b – Mettlach at the AMOCA Museum: Mettlach Artists, Motifs, and Styles (June, 2022)
- Part 5c – Mettlach at the AMOCA Museum: Mettlach Artists, Motifs, and Styles (September, 2022)