Myrton Purkiss

Myrton Purkiss is best known for plates, platters, and low open bowls although he did produce some deep bowls. He is known to have worked with stoneware and earthenware clays. Crackle glazes often form the base for the surfaces of Purkiss?pieces. The imagery on his pieces falls into two distinct categories. One consists of still lives of fruits and flowers accompanied by the geometric lines common in his work and often presented as medallions in the center of the piece. The other is intricately designed quilt like patterns that cover the surface that are created using the stanniferous painting technique. ?Stanniferous painting requires extreme care,as the artist paints with underglaze colors directly onto raw glaze. By painting onto raw glaze, it is possible to fire the glaze and painted design simultaneously, which allowed Purkiss to create uniquely textured work.? [1]

This technique is also known as Majolica. Purkiss began working with clay while at Fullerton, California High School as a student of Glen Lukens. He studied with Lukens again at the University of Southern California. In the mid-1950s he left ceramics and began a career in landscape architecture.

1.https://www.everson.org/blog/object-week-large-plate-myrton-purkiss-cited,October 18, 2018, 2:45PM.