Common Questions Asked of Reannag Teine

Table of Contents

1. What does Reannag Teine mean?
2. Does the triangle knot have a meaning?
3. Could you make a set of... ?
4. Do you take special orders?
5. How long does it take you to make those things?
6. Do you use a stencil?
7. Where can I find your stuff?
8. What care does it need? Will the pattern wear off?

What does Reannag Teine mean?

Liking the Gaelic language—and wanting a unusual, unused company name—we took “Starfire” and did a rough translation using a very useful online Gaelic dictionary at http://www.ceantar.org/Dicts/index.html. Many thanks to the creators of that wonderful resource. The Scottish Gaelic words are from An Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language, written by Alexander MacBain in 1896 and revised in 1911. And, amazingly enough, we by chance picked worked that are pronounced phonetically: "renneg teen."

reannag

a star, Irish reannán, Old Irish rind, constellation

teine

fire, Irish teine, Old Irish tene, g. tened, pl. tenti

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Does the triangle knot have a meaning?

That piece of knotwork, also known as the triquetra knot, has had different meanings put to it over the millennia that it has existed, once being known as Odin's knot among many other names.

Common modern interpretations include it being the "trinity knot" or, more universally, the "love knot." Other trios assigned to its points include truth-knowledge-nature, birth-life-death, and maiden-mother-crone. The number also held significance with many Celtic deities.

It most likely began as an ornamental design among the Picts and has been found as far back as 100 CE, three hundred years before Christianity entered the Celtic lands. The triangular motif dates back even further, found commonly on many kinds of pieces from 400 BCE, which means it probably traces back far beyond that time. The reason that we use it here is very close to that: it is a convenient, simple, and ornamental design that is easy to draw freehand and to elaborate upon in series or in complexity—and we like the way it looks. (BCE stands for "Before the Common Era" and CE for "Common Era," commonly accepted denotations among archaeologists and historians these days.)

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Could you make a set of... ?

Sets of a given item are possible, but remember: all the pieces are individually hand-made and hand-painted so no two pieces will or can be identical. Even pieces made in the same sitting will vary somewhat in height, width, and shape. They are not mass-produced from a mould and the designs, with few exceptions, are not from a stencil. Each piece of the set can be nothing other than unique, though obviously part of the set as a whole. For examples, please look here.

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Do you take special orders?

Yes, we will.

We are limited to the size of pieces as our kiln is only so big. If you would like a piece with your SCA device on it, we will need an image of it emailed to us. We then will be able to give an estimate of cost based on its complexity and the amount of work involved. To see examples of past custom pieces, please look here.

Since every design is hand-drawn, we do not change a special fee for custom work.

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How long does it take you to make those things?

            It depends on the piece, the weather and our current workload, but here is an overview. First the piece has to be formed from wet clay, a process that can take anywhere from a few minutes for  simple thrown forms to hours of construction over the course of days for large, multi-piece forms. After a piece is complete, it is allowed to dry out completely, which can be a day or two in the summer to weeks in the winter, weather permitting. Then the piece goes through a day-long firing in the kiln and another half-day cooling down, and it is ready for either under-glaze decoration or its final glazing. The pieces that are simply glazed must sit for a day to dry fully before entering their final day-long firing, but the pieces receiving under-glaze decoration must have their pattern penciled on before they are painted on then fired again for a day, and another half-day in cooling, to set the under-glaze. Only then will those pieces receive the final glaze and enter the final firing. After the kiln cools, the pieces are taken out, inspected, photographed, weighed, recorded, and ready for sale.

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Do you use a stencil?

We very seldom use a stencil on our pieces, especially on the thrown pieces. Most decorations are individually drawn each time. Few pieces can take a stencil larger than two inches square. Tile projects are the main use of stencils, because they are the only surface flat enough and consistent enough for them a stencil to be of any use. Almost all other pieces have their design drawn on freehand. That is one reason why none of our pieces are exactly alike.

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Where can I find your stuff?

See our Where To Find Us page for a full listing of our events and the shops local to us you can find us in. You can contact us directly if you can't get to one of our events and we will see if we can help you.

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What care does it need? Will the pattern wear off?

See our About the Pottery page for care information. Wash them in your dishwasher, and don't worry. The design will not wear off.

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Contact Us.

S. Schmidt of Reannag Teine.
Copyright © 2008  Reannag Teine. All rights reserved.
Revised: 02/25/08.

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