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Platten-Burkhardt Four Seasons

The ceramicists couple from the Allgaeu developed tableware which boasts the perfect interplay of steadfastness inspiring confidence and lightness of touch. Rather solid shapes of stoneware are covered in a magnitude of decoration - in a 'permanently sunny' combination of colours or more rough layers of stonecolours highlighted with white glaze structures. Bright summer colours come velvety soft, the winter colours more craggy.

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Simplicity in form and décor is the striking attribute of the creation of the ceramicists couple, Andrea Platten and Peter Burkhard. Their shapes are clear, precise and solid. For the decoration - hand-drawn circles and dot variations or leaf- and flower patterns applied with the help of templates - they prefer colours in soft pastels. Pasty, almost superior textures, soft and stimulating they convey easily between the weight of shape and a permanently present effortlessness. The ceramics of Platten and Burkhard are inspired by the twilight we know from the play of sun-beams in the summer tree-tops or meadows. Fantasy and nature are getting very close.

Many of their cups and plates come out of a joint effort. Andrea Platten likes to sit at the wheel whereas Peter Burkhard prefers to build his creations. The glazing which is the result of constant experimentation is mostly done by Andrea Platten. The exact way this is done is the colouring with oxides and coloured bodies of a basic alkali-bor-glazing. Then the stoneware of the Westerwaelder terracotta is fired in an electric oven at 1250 degrees Celius.

Andrea Platten finished her training as a ceramicist in 1986 at the Technical College of Ceramic Design in Hoehr-Grenzhausen with the master. Peter Burkardt had already completed his training as building ceramicist when he joined the Technical College for Ceramic Technique in Hoehr-Grenzhausen. He worked as ceramic technician for various companies when in 1988 he moved to the Allgaeu with Andrea Platten and set up the workshop with her. They both love making ceramic bowls and dishes for use - even though from time to time they allow themselves to venture very successfully into the area of plastic ceramics.