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Sifnos Pottery

Greek ceramics, Greek pottery, Greek island arts, pottery in Greece, ceramics in Greece, traditional arts  It is not known when pottery began on the island though it is mentioned by Theophrastus in the third century B.C.. The oldest pottery found dates back to the eighth century B.C. and Pliny makes mention of Sifnos ceramics in the first century B.C.

By the eighteenth century potters from Sifnos were traveling all over Greece selling and their ceramics and in many cases moved away from the island to become potters in other towns and islands  such as Lesvos.

Today there are still many who practice the art of ceramics, just as their fathers and grandfathers have. The workshops are located in Vathy, Kamares, Platyialos, Cheronissos and Pharos, but there are shops where the ceramics are sold all over the island.
In Kamares I lived in a house owned by an old man named Markos who was a potter. He had a kiln on the roof and a potters wheel in the house that he pumped with a pedal to turn. My sister was an apprentice to him for a couple summers and through him developed a love for ceramics. Markos made pottery until his hands became paralized and a few years later he died. His house is now a restaurant. Sadly this is the case with many of the old potters and there are only a handful now creating, but they still use the traditional tools and except for some embellishments, the art has not changed all that much in the last few thousand years. The clay is still dug from the surrounding hills, the wheels are in most cases powered by foot and the kilns still fueled with wood.
Greek ceramics, Greek pottery, Greek island arts, pottery in Greece, ceramics in Greece, traditional arts A visit to Sifnos would not be complete without some local pottery. Be sure to visit the shop of Andonis Kalogirou in Kamares, or the old potter Podotas behind the church (photo). In Vathy at the far end of the beach is the workshop of one of Sifnos most traditional potters and visitors are welcome. Be sure to visit my photo essay on the works of Kostas Depastas, one of the last of the old timers who still makes pottery the simple traditional way. A visit to his workshop in Heronissos is like going back in time. Also the work of Georgos Atsonios in the shop called H Peristeriona in Kamares should not be missed as it is the other end of the pottery spectrum but no less impressive. He is one of the most rspected potters in Sifnos and thus in Greece too.
For more info get a copy of Siphnos: The Potters Island by George Moussa.

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