"Lieben und Geliebt zu werden ist die Gröst Freud auf Erden” is the Pennsylvania German of "To love and be loved is the greatest joy on earth". This one-of-kind plate was handmade in a mid-1700s stone house.
 
I sign, date and inscribe the day's weather on the back.  April 28, 2024, "cloudy with rain on the way".
7 1/4" diameter, 1" deep. Gift boxed.

This piece is handmade by employing the hand tools and techniques used by the Pennsylvania German potters in the 18th through 19th centuries.  Each plate begins with red earthenware clay rolled flat with a rolling pin and cut to fit the mold.  Then the clay is laid into the mold (slump molded) to shape it.  When it is just dry enough to handle without losing its shape liquid white clay (slip) is applied to the surface with a brush.  The design is scratched into the slip revealing the red clay beneath – the sgraffito technique. The piece is fired in an electric kiln.  The completed piece will have the overall yellowish coloring of antique redware plates on the front; the back is not glazed following the traditions of the early Pennsylvania potters.