The LithicLair: Neolithic LairShop
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Neolithic Pottery and the Evolution of the LithicLair
For some years now, I have been studying the ceramic art, and other aspects of the culture, of Neolithic Europe. This is the period of approximately 6000 B.C.E. through c. 2500 B.C.E., from the time of the emergence of agriculture in Europe through the first series of invasions by Indo-European pastoralists who originated in the region between Central Asia and the steppelands of what is now eastern Ukraine. Having discovered how to bake clay into usable containers and structures sometime in the late 6th millennium B.C.E., indigenous Europeans went completely nuts with the stuff, and made practically everything, from cups to two-story houses, out of clay. It was not long before they began engraving and painting beautiful decorative designs on many thousands of these creations.
I have been especially drawn to the dynamic ceramic art of Neolithic Eastern Europe, with its motifs and themes of constant movement and cyclical energy. Beginning around 1999, I began making ornaments out of Sculpey polymer clay on which I inscribed Neolithic artistic motifs and symbols. The odd thing is, I would start out intending to create a design or group of motifs a certain way; and the design would seemingly take on a life of its own, turning out very nicely but markedly different than what I had originally intended. Who knows what besides the natural dynamism of this art tradition triggered that effect?
Since I don't mass-produce these ornaments, I decided to scan them and upload them here and there in order to share them with the rest of the world. Each ornament is one of a kind; I scan each one at least once, and then put the image on Photoshop to create a background.
NEW LAIRSHOP UPDATE: The expansion of The LithicLair: Neolithic LairShop into a Premium Cafepress store is now complete!! With new and adapted designs featured on everything from teeshirts to mousepads to iPhone cases, we couldn't be prouder to announce its Grand Re-Opening! So hop on over to the LithicLair today and check out our lovely Neolithic-inspired emporium!
Also, framed versions of the LithicLair images are available for purchase at LithicStock, my Imagekind gallery. On top of that, I've just finished a new Neolithic-inspired digital image, using naturalistic features like the trunk of a tree; and featuring much use of Old European/Classical Cypriot script characters! Look for the new image to appear in LithicStock and The LithicLair shortly!
I have been especially drawn to the dynamic ceramic art of Neolithic Eastern Europe, with its motifs and themes of constant movement and cyclical energy. Beginning around 1999, I began making ornaments out of Sculpey polymer clay on which I inscribed Neolithic artistic motifs and symbols. The odd thing is, I would start out intending to create a design or group of motifs a certain way; and the design would seemingly take on a life of its own, turning out very nicely but markedly different than what I had originally intended. Who knows what besides the natural dynamism of this art tradition triggered that effect?
Since I don't mass-produce these ornaments, I decided to scan them and upload them here and there in order to share them with the rest of the world. Each ornament is one of a kind; I scan each one at least once, and then put the image on Photoshop to create a background.
NEW LAIRSHOP UPDATE: The expansion of The LithicLair: Neolithic LairShop into a Premium Cafepress store is now complete!! With new and adapted designs featured on everything from teeshirts to mousepads to iPhone cases, we couldn't be prouder to announce its Grand Re-Opening! So hop on over to the LithicLair today and check out our lovely Neolithic-inspired emporium!
Also, framed versions of the LithicLair images are available for purchase at LithicStock, my Imagekind gallery. On top of that, I've just finished a new Neolithic-inspired digital image, using naturalistic features like the trunk of a tree; and featuring much use of Old European/Classical Cypriot script characters! Look for the new image to appear in LithicStock and The LithicLair shortly!
The LithicLair's Products
Neolithic-Inspired Digital Artwork: a Cross-Millennial Collaboration
These images sprang from a desire to share one-of-a-kind, non-mass-produced ornaments with the world; and by extension, to share my interest in the dynamic artwork of the Neolithic potters. So I scanned the actual ornaments as color photographs for websites; put them on Photoshop to provide interesting backgrounds; and duly uploaded them for inclusion on Cafepress products. I figure, Neolithic Europeans made loads of ceramic pieces; but they, too, did not mass-produce their artwork, so why would I?
The LithicLair is still in expansion mode, since being upgraded a couple of months ago. Check back often for brand-new and recently-added products!
The LithicLair is still in expansion mode, since being upgraded a couple of months ago. Check back often for brand-new and recently-added products!
New! The LithicLinks Lair
The LairLinks Contingent of this lens.
Here is a link to The LithicLair, and a few other LairShops, as well as some cool information about Neolithic Europe, Neolithic ceramic art, and how I've been studying and working with it. And perhaps a closer look at antiquity and origin myths, while we're at it...
- The LithicLair: Neolithic LairShop
- Neolithic-inspired digital artwork and contemporary variations on ancient designs and ornamentation.
- Kari's Lair: Home of the Virgo Folkie
- The LairMistress's official Home Lair.
- The LairShops Beckon
- Our Cafepress LairShops Blog.
- Genesis: Notes for Research
- The inflammatory deconstruction and symbolic interpretation of the Biblical creation story that will probably get me excommunicated.
- Belili Productions: and the Life and Work of Marija Gimbutas (1921-1994)
- Some of the influences that inspired my study of Neolithic Europe's art and culture.
- Archaeology in Sardinia
- A Mediterrean island with a millennia-long history.
- Island of Malta: Temples and Sacred Sites
- A closer look at some well-known and well-preserved prehistoric sites.
- Skara Brae: Orkney's Finest Neolithic Settlement
- A must-see for anyone with archaeological interest.
- Ukrainian Gift Shop
- A resource for info on Ukrainian eggs, with motifs closely resembling those on Neolithic Eastern European pottery.
- Catal Hoyuk Homepage
- The centerpiece of Neolithic Anatolia (present-day Turkey).
- Neolithic Linear Pottery: Wikipedia Entry
- Discusses Eastern and Western variations on Neolithic European pottery.
- Archaeology Digs in Europe
- About.com resource for those seeking dig opportunities throughout Europe, at sites from various periods.
- History of Crete, Neolithic and Minoan
- Good historic and prehistoric resource on this renowned Aegean island.
The Best of Flickr's Neolithic Images
New feature: archaeological sites in Turkey/Anatolia!
The original stuff--up close and personal!
The Neolithic sites of Turkey (aka Anatolia) is where a lot of the research on Neolithic culture began in the 20th century. A geographically and culturally diverse region, Anatolia has yielded some of the oldest archaeological evidence of people's domestication of plants and livestock, and the western development of metallurgy.
The Neolithic sites of Turkey (aka Anatolia) is where a lot of the research on Neolithic culture began in the 20th century. A geographically and culturally diverse region, Anatolia has yielded some of the oldest archaeological evidence of people's domestication of plants and livestock, and the western development of metallurgy.
Videos on Neolithic Europe
The art and culture of Old (Neolithic) Europe
New collection! Since we made mention of Anatolia in another module above, we decided to show a collection of videos giving audio-visual presentations of the ongoing work at Neolithic Anatolian sites, of which Catal Huyuk is the most famous...
A New Neolithic Newswire
Thought we'd try this one for a while...
...in place of the old News/Blog feeds. Who knows what we'll dredge up...??
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byAmazon.com: Tales of the Neolithic
Prehistoric fiction, European archaeology, and Herstorical research
eBay: The Stuff of Prehistory
The Neolithic will rise again!
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