Description
Franz Kriwanek (American, 1920-1994) 1965 Mid Century Modern Texas Studio<br>Pottery Framed Plaque 9.25" x 16" total 13.25" x 7" plaque, absolutely no damage<br>or wear.<br><br>Franz Kriwanek (American, 1920-1994) artist, potter, professor and author renown<br>for blending clays and glazes from soils and minerals of the San Juan Mountains<br>near Silverton Colorado. Pottery made from these mixtures is very durable with a<br>distinctive allure. When Germany conquered Czechoslovakia, Kriwanek was forcibly<br>drafted into the German Army. He was then sent to North Africa desert, but one<br>morning when he and the other forced draftees awoke, they were alone. Kriwanek<br>was sent to the Prisoner of War Camp in Clarinda, where he, an artist by trade,<br>began painting again, specifically illustrations of the camp. Once the war was<br>over, he was released and returned to Europe, where he lived in the Netherlands<br>for four years. In fact, Winegardner said a family in Shenandoah sent Kriwanek<br>to the University of Iowa where he could obtain his teaching degree. He then<br>taught in Shenandoah for one year, followed by Mount Pleasant, Iowa.<br><br>In 1948, Franz Kriwanek settled in Sweden to study Sino-Swedish stoneware under<br>the masters Wilhelm Koge and Stig Lindberg. While in Sweden he had 7 one man<br>exhibits.In 1963, He arrived in Texas, taking a position on the art faculty at<br>Texas Tech University. For months after he arrived in West Texas, he sought a<br>clay suitable to stand 2,400 degrees. He found it in a quarry in Snyder, Texas.<br>He believed in using local materials and developed a series of glazes which have<br>cotton gin ashes as they main component. These glazes follow the same traditions<br>of Chinese ash glazes.<br><br>“Franz Kriwanek was born on May 1, 1920 in Worschach, Austria.<br>Winegardner said when Germany conquered Czechoslovakia, Kriwanek was forcibly<br>drafted into the German Army. He was then sent to North Africa desert, but one<br>morning when he and the other forced draftees awoke, they were alone.<br>“The Germans were gone. They had left them in the desert,” said Winegardner.<br>“The first thing they did was surrender.”<br>Kriwanek was sent to the Prisoner of War Camp in Clarinda, where he, an artist<br>by trade, began painting again, specifically illustrations of the camp. Once the<br>war was over, he was released and returned to Europe, where he lived in the<br>Netherlands for four years.<br>“Someone he knew in Clarinda sponsored him and his family to move back to<br>Clarinda,” Winegardner said. “He then moved to Shenandoah and started Kriwanek<br>Pottery and Art School. He was really promoted and supported by people in<br>Shenandoah.”<br>In fact, Winegardner said a family in Shenandoah sent Kriwanek to the University<br>of Iowa where he could obtain his teaching degree. He then taught in Shenandoah<br>for one year, followed by Mount Pleasant, Iowa.<br>“He ended his teaching career as chair of ceramics at the University of Texas at<br>Lubbock,” said Winegardner. “He ended up in Silverton, Colorado with Silverton<br>Mountain Pottery. He passed away in 1994, but his pieces have recently become<br>overly popular.”
