Clay Times Magazine Volume 16 • Issue 88

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Volume 16 • Issue 88 AUTUMN 2010

C E L E B R AT I N G 1 5 Y E A R S • 1 9 9 5 - 2 0 1 0

PAUL MORRIS: “A New Decade of Clay 2010” Grand Prize Winner Step-by-step Project: Pitchers Gone Sideways ‘Glazes Galore’ for Layering and Cone 6 Electric Firing Dozens of New Clay Tools to Enhance Your Creativity

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contents

TIMES

Clay

AUTUMN 2010 Volume 16 • Issue 88 Cover photo: Haptic Array Ewer (Orange).

27" x 9" x 14½". 2009 Stoneware. Art and photo by Paul Morris, Grand Prize winner of “A New Decade of Clay: 2010” ceramic art competition. See page 26 for details.

Cover inset: Chicken Wings by Mark Cole. 16" x 16" x 14". Stoneware fired to cone 10 in reduction. One of several fine works in this year’s “Strictly Functional Pottery National.” See story, page 42.

exhibits 30 A New Decade of Clay: 2010

features 26 Paul Morris: A “Grand” Feat This Colorado potter often fires his work more than a dozen times to achieve the unique surfaces that earned him Grand Prize in the 2010 “A New Decade of Clay” competition.

14 Mentoring A Future Generation of Potters Members of the Floyd, Virginia-based 16 Hands artist group give back to the ceramics community with apprenticeships for talented young clay artists.

Juror Richard Shaw selected 38 outstanding works from more than 600 entries for this national show, co-sponsored by Clay Times with Sierra Nevada College and Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort.

42 Strictly Functional Pottery National Once again, this annual clay competition draws amazing works from across the U.S., proving that function and form really can successfully co-exist!

Pictured at top left: Paul Morris in his Fort Collins, Colorado studio. See story, page 26. Top right: Vase Form by John Benn.

11" x 10" x 10". Wood-fired stoneware; one of several outstanding works selected by juror Bill van Gilder for inclusion in this year’s “Strictly Functional Pottery National.” See story, page 42.

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Volume 16 • Issue 88

®

contents

TIMES

Clay

AUTUMN 2010

departments

columns

9 EDITOR’S DESK

17 AS FAR AS I KNOW

Share your clay photos & videos to win great prizes!

“From Chawan to Skyphos: Thinking About Drinking” Part 2 by Pete Pinnell

11 WHAT’S HOT Clay world news, events, and calls for entries

20 BENEATH THE SURFACE “Bernadette Curran’s Glazes Galore” by Lana Wilson

22 GREAT GLAZES “Water Blue Base,” a cone 04-6 oxidation glaze, is provided with several color variations

23 TEACHING TECHNIQUES “Pitchers Gone Sideways”

by Bill van Gilder

31 AROUND THE FIREBOX

36 THE GALLERY A selection of unique works by CT readers

“Dare to Fail”

by Kelly Savino

44 SLURRY BUCKET

33 STUDIO HEALTH & SAFETY

Studio-tested tips to save you time and money

“A Possible Lead Poisoning Mystery”

by Monona Rossol

45 POTTERY CLASSES Where you can learn claywork in your community

35 KILNS & FIRING “Message Boards: Truth or Fiction?”

by Marc Ward

48 CLASSIFIED MARKETPLACE Goods and services offered especially for clay artists

39 TOOL TIMES

50 ADVERTISER INDEX

6

A quick reference to find your favorite ceramics suppliers in this issue (be sure to tell them you found them in Clay Times!)

Top: Rustic Bottle by Ryan Strobel. 11" x 6" x 4". Wood-fired stoneware. Bottom: Cheerio Halo Bowl by Simon Levin. 2" x 7" x 7".

Anagama-fired porcelain. Both from Strictly Functional Pottery National—see story, p. 42.

“New Tools, New Ideas”

by Vince Pitelka

49 BOOKS & VIDEOS “Two American Classics” reviews by Steven Branfman

Cruise the Caribbean in style right after NCECA next April while you learn from master clay artists Tom & Elaine Coleman, Randy Brodnax, and Don Ellis!

Complete cruise conference package, including ship cabin, food and drink, and all conference activities, can be yours for as little as $999!

The Third Spectacular Clay Times Potters Conference at Sea April 2-7, 2011 (post-NCECA) • Cruise to Cozumel and Costa Maya, Mexico During two of three full ‘at sea’ days, world-renowned presenters Tom and Elaine Coleman, Randy Brodnax, and Don Ellis will share their expertise in wheel-throwing & handbuilding, decorating and glaze application, firing tips, and more—plus they’ll offer slide shows and sales of their pots!

It’s the opportunity of a lifetime! Set sail right after the Tampa NCECA Conference from sunny Tampa, Flor-

ida on a 5-night cruise to beautiful Cozumel, Mexico, and Costa Maya, Mexico—all famous for their crystal clear waters and white-sand beaches, world-class snorkeling, and fabulous culture — while you cruise in style on board Royal Caribbean’s Radiance of the Seas vessel! It’s one of the world’s loveliest cruise ships, boasting several pools and hot tubs, nightly shows and live music, a

movie theatre, several bars & lounges, full-service gym and health spa, game rooms, jogging track, shopping mall, mini-golf, roller blading, kids’ activity areas, outstanding food, and super-friendly staff.

Note: Due to limited conference facilities on this ship, space is in high demand and subject to first-come, first-served registration. Don’t delay — register today!

ADVANCE REGISTRATION NOw OpEN!

online at the Clay Times magazine web site at www.claytimes.com/cruise.html You can find full details & FAQs, too!

Editorial & Advertising: Polly Beach claytimes@gmail.com Circulation Manager: Rachel Brownell ctcirculation@gmail.com Accounts Manager: Nanette Greene clayaccounts@gmail.com Proofreader: Jon Singer Regular Columnists: Steve Branfman, Books & Videos David Hendley, Around the Firebox Pete Pinnell, As Far as I Know Vince Pitelka, Tool Times Monona Rossol, Health & Safety Kelly Savino, Around the Firebox Bill van Gilder, Teaching Techniques Marc Ward, Kilns & Firing Lana Wilson, Beneath the Surface Contributing Writers: Paul Morris Colleen Redman ✦ Printed on 100% FSC-certified and 75% post-consumer recycled paper ✦ Published by: CLAY TIMES INC. 15481 Second St. • PO Box 365 Waterford, Virginia 20197-0365 540.882.3576 • FAX 540.882.4196

Toll-free subscription line: 800.356.2529 Clay Times® (ISSN 1087-7614) is published quarterly, four issues per year. Periodicals Postage Paid at Waterford, VA, and at additional mailing offices.

Annual subscriptions are available for $33 in the U.S.; $40 in Canada; $60 elsewhere (must be payable in US$). To subscribe, call toll-free 1-800.356.2529, or visit www.claytimes.com.

Freelance editorial and photographic submissions are welcome: Please contact Clay Times or visit our Web site for writer’s and photographer’s guidelines.

All rights reserved. The material contained herein is derived from various sources and does not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. All technical material is offered as general information only and should not be acted upon without expert supervision. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the publisher.

G

ot a beautiful pot or how-to project for the studio that you’d like to share with the rest of the clay world? Clay Times is pleased to announce the debut of our new annual pottery photo and video contest. From now through December 31, CT readers will have the opportunity to submit digital images of your claywork, as well as how-to videos of your ceramic art projects, to be considered for publication in the magazine as well as on our Website at www.claytimes.com.

Individual still photos will be considered for publication in “The Gallery” section of the magazine, and will also be reviewed for possible inclusion on one of our future studio posters. Each image should be a minimum of 300 dpi at 4" x 5" print size (larger is always desired), and should be supplied with the name of the work, its dimensions, type of clay/glaze/ decoration, firing method and temperature, plus the name, address, e-mail address, and Web address of the artist. If the photo is produced by someone other than the artist, please also include the name of the photographer for a photo credit.

All how-to ceramic art videos will be considered for publication and promotion at claytimes.com, and for potential inclusion in a future how-to DVD to be offered by the magazine. Each video should be self-contained as a Quicktime movie or formatted in accordance with YouTube standards. Videos with and without sound will be considered and can run any length of time up to a maximum of 15 minutes.

Winners of both competitions will be announced in an upcoming issue of the magazine and will receive lifetime subscriptions to Clay Times, along with special CT prize packages including pottery tools, glaze books, back issue DVDs, pottery-themed T-shirts, and more. Entries are open to students, professionals, teachers, classrooms, and clay artists everywhere! (Please note: Due to the volume of entries to be considered, all submissions will become property of Clay Times and will not be returned.) CT reserves the right to use all entries in any of its publications and digital media in exchange for published credit to both artist and photographer.

E-mail your entries to: claytimes@gmail.com, or mail your CD or DVD with your image and/or video file submissions to: Photo/Video Contest, Clay Times, PO Box 365, Waterford, VA 20197.

Don’t be shy—you’ve got nothing to lose, and your entries could help make you a star!

— Polly Beach, Editor [

CLAYTIMES·COM n AUTUMN 2010

POSTMASTER: Address service requested. Send address changes to: Clay Times, PO Box 365, Waterford, VA 20197-0365. Copyright © 2010 Clay Times, Inc.

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Your Clay Photos & Videos Could Earn You Prizes and Recognition!

Spouting Off I Editor’s Desk

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CERAMIC ART TRENDS, TOOLS & TECHNIQUES

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• ceramic art world news • events • • calls for entries •

Conferences ‰ “Cruisin’ for Clay,” the acclaimed Clay Times Potters’ Cruise Conference to the Caribbean, will take place again next year— immediately following the 2011 NCECA Conference in Tampa, Florida. Back by popular demand, this 5-night event will be held on board Royal Caribbean’s ‘Radiance of the Seas’ cruise liner and will feature informative demos and presentations by some of the nation’s most highly acclaimed clay artists including Tom and Elaine Coleman, Randy Brodnax, and Don Ellis. The ship will depart the port of Tampa at 5 p.m.

Saturday, April 2, setting sail for Cozumel and Costa Maya, Mexico, and will return on the morning of Thursday, April 7.

‰ NCECA’s Critical Santa Fe, featuring Glen Brown, Garth Clark, Gabi Dewald, Tanya Harrod, Dave Hickey, Janet Koplos, Donald Kuspit, Paul Mathieu, and Raphael Rubenstein, will take place Oct. 27-30 at

‰ Figurative Association: The Human Form in Clay takes place Oct. 27-30 at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

Guest artists will include Tom Bartel, Robert Brady, Lisa Clague, Debra Fritts, Arthur Gonzalez, Anne Drew Potter, Beth Cavener Stichter, Tip Toland, and Janis Mars Wunderlich.

To learn more, call 865.436.5860 ext.

26; log onto www.arrowmont.org; or e-mail info@arrowmont.org.

Calls for Entries ‰ The ACGA Clay & Glass National Juried Competition is accepting entries through Oct. 30 from artists working in clay or glass for its annual show to take place Jan. 22–Mar. 4, 2011 in Brea, California. For complete details, call 323.422.9174; e-mail: 2011ACGA national@gmail.com; or log onto www.acga.net. ‰ Pittsburg State University of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania is accepting entries of all media through Oct. 30 for solo or group exhibitions to take place Aug. 25, 2011–May 10, 2013. For complete details, call 620.235.4305; e-mail: sbowman@pittstate.edu; or log onto: www.pittstate.edu/ department/art. ‰ The Baron and Ellin Gordon Art Galleries at Old Dominion Univer-

sity in Norfolk, Virginia is accepting entries through Nov. 10 for its national juried exhibition entitled, “Magic Dirt” to take place Jan. 15– Feb. 20, 2011. To find out more, call 757.683.6271; e-mail: raustin@odu. edu; or log onto: http://al.odu.edu/art/ gallery/call.shtml. ‰ The Red Lodge Clay Enter of Red Lodge, Montana is accepting entries through Jan. 28, 2011 for its show entitled, “Innovation: Red Lodge Clay Center Inaugural Juried National” to take place May 6–29, 2011. The show is open to work under 50 lbs., made within the past two years. For complete details, call 406.446.3993; e-mail: gallery@redlodgeclaycenter. com; or log onto: www.redlodgeclay center.com. ‰ The University of Dallas is accepting entries through Nov. 15 for its 2011 Regional Juried Ceramic Competition, to take place in Irving, Texas, January 21–March 4, 2011. The show is open to artists from the states of AR, CO, KS, LA, MO, NM, OK, and TX. For further details, call 972.721.5319, e-mail: hammett@udallas.edu, or visit the Website at www.udallas.edu/art/ regional. ‰ Kellogg Art Gallery of the California State Polytechnic University is accepting entries through December 1 for its Ink & Clay 37 exhibition, to take place in Pomona, CA from March 17–April 29, 2011. The show is open to ceramic work, drawing, and printmaking by artists in AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI , ID, MT, ND, NM, NV, OK, OR, SD, TX, UT, WA, WY. To learn

CLAYTIMES·COM n AUTUMN 2010

All conference activities will take place while the ship is at sea, so you’ll have plenty of time to relax and explore when the boat is docked. Better yet, your travel expenses to and from Tampa, our departure port, will already be covered by your NCECA conference budget. Registration is still open online at www.claytimes.com, but hurry—limited space remains open on a first-come, first-served basis!

La Fonda on the Plaza in Santa Fe, New Mexico. For further details, call 866.266.2322; log onto www.nceca. net; or e-mail office@NCECA.net.

Hot Stuff I News & Events

What’s Hot 3

11

Hot Stuff I News & Events

more, call 909.869.4302, e-mail: sgwasson@csupomona.edu, or visit the Website at www. csupomona.edu/~kellogg_gallery. ‰ Feats of Clay XXIV is accepting entries through Feb. 4, 2011 from artists producing works comprised of at least 70% clay for its annual show, to take place April 23–May 29, 2011 in Lincoln, California. For complete details, call 916.645.9713; e-mail: info@lincolnarts.org; or visit: www.lincolnarts.org. ‰ The La Grange Art League is accepting entries through Jan. 4, 2011 from artists of all media who reside in IA, IL, IN, MI, and WI for Facades, a regional exhibition to take place April 5-28, 2011 in La Grange, Illinois. For further details, call 708.352.3101; e-mail: info@ lagrangeartleague.org; or log onto: www.lagrangeartleague.org.

The Celebration is San Francisco’s biggest holiday fine crafts retail fair, featuring more than 200 artists over two weekends, and is the largest event exclusively celebrating the craft of women in America. The show benefits programs of The Women’s Building, a community center serving women and girls in San Francisco. This year’s event will spotlight artists using recycled materials to create their works. For more information, visit www.celebrationofcraftswomen.org. [

To view additional “What’s Hot” listings, please visit www.claytimes.com.

To list your clay conferences, calls for entries, exhibitions, and ceramic news items in Clay Times, please e-mail the complete details to: claytimes@gmail. com, with “What’s Hot” in the subject line, or visit www.claytimes.com and click on the “What’s Hot” link to fill out an online submission form.

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‰ The University of Indianapolis is accepting entries from all Indiana artists through Feb. 14, 2011 for Clayfest 2011, to open with a reception from 6-8 pm on April 1. For complete details, call 317.788.3253; e-mail: frieskj@uindy.edu; or log onto: www.art.uindy.edu.

CLAYTIMES·COM n AUTUMN 2010

Exhibitions

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‰ The Roberta Griffith Solo Show will be on display Oct. 28-Dec. 31 at the Mezzanine Gallery of the Kaua’i Museum in Lihu’e, Hawaii. For further details, visit www.robertagriffith.com, or email: griffithr138@yahoo.com. ‰ The Women’s Building 32nd Annual Celebration of Craftswomen takes place 10 am to 5 pm Nov. 27-28 and Dec. 4-5 at Herbst Pavilion at Fort Mason Center in San Francisco, California.

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The Floyd, Virginia-based group of artists known as 16 Hands, pictured left to right: Brad Warstler, Ellen Shankin, Silvie Granatelli, David Crane, Rick Hensley, Donna Polseno, Josh Copus, and Stacy Snyder.

Mentoring A New Generation of Potters

BY COLLEEN REDMAN

T

CLAYTIMES·COM n AUTUMN 2010

he dogwoods and azaleas were in bloom for Josh Copus’s first spring studio tour as the newest member of 16 Hands, a collective of established artists in the Blue Ridge Mountain countryside of Virginia.

Consisting mainly of potters, the group’s founding members have been supporting and inspiring each other since the late 1970s. Their twiceyearly weekend studio tours have been drawing collectors and lovers of handmade art since 1998.

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For Copus, a 31-year-old Asheville, North Carolina, potter who grew up on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia, the tour was a homecoming.

His family home—a log cabin surrounded by open space, gardens, and woods—was transformed into a studio that extended onto the porch, into the yard, and accommodated a guest artist, also from Asheville.

Large wood-fired pots made with clay dug by Copus were scattered on the grass where he played neighborhood soccer

as a teenager. Inside the home, his childhood photos hung on the walls amidst pottery displays. “My work is a product of my experiences and to have it shown in this context means a lot,” said Copus, founder of Asheville’s Clayspace Coop.

Raised in the rural farming community of Floyd County as a peer to some of the 16 Hands artists’ children, Copus grew up knowing the acclaimed reputation of the close-knit group. When he was invited to be a member, he recognized the opportunities inherent in it. “It’s huge, not only from the standpoint of validation and exposure, but also from the learning standpoint of being around a group with so much experience,” Copus said, referring to the artists’ wellestablished careers and their collective achievements.

Like Copus, most of the 16 Hands founding members are from Floyd. They include studio potters Donna Polseno, Rick Hensley, Silvie Granatelli, and Ellen Shankin, along with woodworker Brad Warstler.

Another founding member,

David Crane, is head of the Ceramics Department at Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg and also has a home studio in Blacksburg (about 26 miles north of Floyd).

Stacy Snyder, who joined the group as its first younger potter in 2001, maintains a pottery studio near Crane.

In the interest of keeping their studio tours fresh, the group enlists the yearly participation of regional, national, or international visiting artists, some from as far away as Mexico and Italy. It was during his stint as a guest artist at Polseno and Hensley’s home studio (also off the Blue Ridge Parkway) for the November 2008 studio tour when Copus’ host artists first got the idea of inviting him to be a member.

“We’ve all been doing this for 35 or 40 years,” said Hensley, who at one time was Copus’s little league baseball coach. “I felt we needed to broaden our way of looking at it and bring in some younger people.”

Polseno, known for her shapely, figurative sculpture, further

explained their reasoning: “Josh has a great attitude and is very enthusiastic. He’s at the beginning of a really great career. We saw that he was building a reputation on his own and making a name for himself ... and we love his work.”

Both Polseno and Hensley teach ceramics at Hollins University in Roanoke, which has provided a setting for the generational exchange on which the invitation to Copus expanded. But adding Copus to the 16 Hands membership isn’t the only way the artisans are mentoring young potters. Polseno, Hensley, and Granatelli all work closely with up-and-coming potters through two-year-long apprenticeships in which young potters trade work for studio time, instruction, and support to develop their own work. “It’s an old concept that’s gaining new ground in the craft community,” Polseno said.

On the blacktop walkway between Polseno and Hensley’s home and studio, the young son of their current apprentice

played with legos. His mother was mixing clay in the nearby barn as Hensley explained that he and Polseno have had a total of five apprentices, most of whom have gone on to graduate school and all of whom they stay in touch with.

The couple has received more apprenticeship applications than they have space to accommodate, and are actively sought after by young potters on the reputation of their work.

“Here they have studio space, access to the kiln, and an extensive library of books on ceramics,” said Hensley, whose stylistically designed porcelain pieces are an art within an art.

“They learn by watching and being involved in the rhythm of their teachers.”

Along with instruction and critique, Polseno and Hensley’s apprentices are given time to practice their skills and gain confidence in their work. They all have had parttime paying jobs to support themselves, and rent living spaces nearby. As apprentices, they typically work for Polseno and Hensley 5-6 hours a week (much more during studio tours) reprocessing clay, testing glazes, packaging pots, working on the computer, “and sometimes they pick up some milk from town,” Hensley quipped.

Besides compatibility and maturity, Polseno and Hensley look for good evidence of a prior focus on ceramics when accepting an apprentice. “We want someone who brings a sense of experimentation and lively engagement to their work. Even if their skills are limited, there should be some sort of personality invested in their work,” Hensley said.

Josh Copus, the newest member of 16 Hands, pictured in the yard of his family home during the May studio tour. Another tour takes place Nov. 27-28.

Granatelli and Crane taught at Virginia Tech), and their child.

“They have all become a family of people that I care about” she said, referring to her 13 various apprentices.

Granatelli, whose porcelain tableware makes for artful presentations, was introduced to the apprentice model first-hand in 1982 when she helped direct the Ceramics Apprenticeship Program at Berea College in Kentucky while serving as potter in residence there. Her approach to mentoring apprentices is a practical one. She looks for responsible applicants who want to be professional potters and who can maintain a dedication to that goal by agreeing to a baseline of 12 hours a week work trade, while also allowing time to develop their own work.

“I want them to fill kilns with their own work and to learn what it feels like to be a potter through the rhythms of daily practice. I also want them to earn a good bit of their income from their work while they’re here, so that they can see what it feels like to earn money through their hands,” Granatelli said.

Granatelli has designed her apprentice program based on what she wishes she had as young potter. As a teacher, she digs deep, giving her apprentices writing assignments with probing questions, such as, ‘Why do

you think people keep wanting to be potters in today’s world?

What is the impetus behind your desire to be a potter?

Why would people want to buy your work? And who is your audience?’

Knowing that work blossoms at different rates and that talent must be coupled with disciplined practice, Granatelli has learned not to pre-judge the abilities of her new apprentices, who have all held undergraduate degrees in ceramics and have come to her by way of recommendations from her professional peers working in universities.

“As students, they may not have enough of a portfolio to be very competitive for graduate school. This is a good interim step.”

David Crane has also made a contribution to the artistic development of young potters.

As a ceramics teacher, he has mentored more than eight student potters through what he refers to as ‘assistantships.’

“I identify those needing and wanting more, and hire them to work with me in the studio.

Sometimes they assist me with teaching,” he said. “It’s been fun to watch them come along and then go on to have real careers.”

Crane, who makes salt-fired stoneware with geometrical themes, appreciates the new perspectives that both Stacy and Josh, as younger potters, bring to the 16 Hands

“I’m desperate to have an apprentice,” said Ellen Shankin. “I see the value in it for me and for them.” Shankin, whose earth-toned stoneware conjures scenes of warm hearths and filled cupboards, sometimes hires Polseno and Hensley’s apprentices to process her clay. She’s currently planning an addition onto her small studio space to accommodate an apprentice of her own.

All of the 16 Hands potters agree that having an influence in the careers of young potters is a fulfilling endeavor that fosters a vital exchange of learning—one that has energized their own careers.

Polseno summed it up this way: “We benefit so much from having young people in our lives. It’s been a huge gift, and we get so much back.”

“Pottery is a long apprenticeship.

You can be talented but you have to grow into it.” ~ Rick Hensley Note: The next 16 Hands Studio Tour is November 27th and 28th. Visit the group’s Website at www.16hands.com for more information.

Colleen Redman is a freelance writer from Floyd, Virginia, who writes for the local newspaper and other publications. As a blogger at looseleafnotes.com, Redman documents her son Josh Copus’s career as potter.

CLAYTIMES·COM n AUTUMN 2010

At Granatelli’s home and studio overlooking the Little River, a cat whisked by a workman who was tearing up flooring in the house entrance in preparation for laying tile.

Granatelli’s current apprentice was busy working in the studio, and Granatelli had just said goodbye to overnight guests: a former apprentice, her potter partner (who both

collective. He points to the relationship to technology that younger potters have, and their ability to have a finger on the pulse of things that his generation is more removed from. Speaking on the legacy of the studio potter, he said, “If we can open some doors for them, it keeps the continuum going. If we don’t do it, I don’t know who will.”

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PART TWO OF A SERIES

BY PETE PINNELL

I

n the first part of this series, we discussed all the many, many descriptors that can be combined with the word cup to find interesting images of drinking vessels on the web. As in my previous column, any Internet search terms that I include in this article will be shown in italics, in order to make them easier to spot.

As I mentioned last time, there probably isn’t a single search term on Earth that won’t bring up some sort of sexual image on the Internet.

If you want to avoid these images, please make sure you keep the “SafeSearch” function enabled on your browser.

As you certainly know, there are many drinking vessels that would not necessarily fall under that broad, umbrella term cup—like mug, for instance. In England, cup can specifically refer to a drinking vessel that is wider than it is tall, and that has a smaller handle that is pinched, while a mug is a taller vessel, less formal, and will tend to have a handle that is more robust and usually grasped by more fingers. These distinctions seem less delineated in the U.S., with cup often being used more generically.

Redoing all the searches that were described in the first part of this series—but with mug substituted for cup—will produce a largely different group of objects.

The world of glass presents a lot of interesting possibilities for searches, and many wonderful forms. Drinking glass, with over six million hits, might be a bit general, but you can always add other descriptors to narrow the search. Specific glasses are produced for

A search on beaker will bring up images of ordinary glass laboratory ware, but add antique or ancient to the search and you’ll find some really interesting drinking vessels. Besides its contemporary laboratory use, beaker is also a term for certain historic, cylindrical drinking vessels held in the hand. It’s also used for the vessel used to drink schnapps, as in schnapps beaker (or schnapps becher). And, for many of us, Beaker was the name of a favorite Muppets character.

Speaking of cylindrical drinking vessels, English china manufacturers have made a kind of cup and saucer called a coffee can.

Search on coffee can alone and all you’ll find is the contemporary sales packaging, but add a manufacturer’s name like Limoge, Spode or Haviland and you’ll find some really beautiful pieces. The Spode coffee cans, in particular, are a nice reminder that a simple form can be beautiful when it’s artfully proportioned and detailed.

Tea has its own set of special vessels. The teacup, of course, and teabowl (also tea bowl) each have a long and wonderful history. In Japan, the taller, less formal tea bowl is the yunomi (or unomi): I’m told it translates to “cup for hot water.” There is also the wider, more formal tea bowl associated with the Japanese Tea Ceremony called the chawan. Out of all the objects that are classified as National Treasures of Japan, only fourteen are ceramic, and eight out of those fourteen are chawan.

This should tell us something about the importance of the chawan to Japanese culture.

There are other Japanese tea bowls that can be turned up by internet searches, including Senchawan, a small vessel used for a green tea like sencha (a wonderful grass-green tea that I often drink) and the banchawan, a smaller chawan for coarse tea (the chawan itself is most closely associated with matcha, the ground, powdered green tea used in the tea ceremony). Another vessel that looks like a tea bowl is the Guinomi, a tiny little bowl that’s generally used for sake, not tea. Chinese tea bowls are sometimes characterized as summer or winter, to describe bowls that would either hold in the heat of the tea (for cold weather), or quickly release it (for hot weather).

The Scottish have a traditional drinking vessel known as the quaich, a low, flat, metal cup with one or two flat handles. It is almost identical to an early American vessel intended for porridge that’s known as a porringer. Both of these are very similar to the sommelier’s cup, a shallow, open, flat-bottom bowl with one handle that can be used in wine tastings. The single handle on the sommelier’s cup features a hole, so it can be worn on a string or chain around the neck. (That sort of thing might be useful for bar hopping, now that I think about it, and it would certainly make it more difficult to hit your neighbor over the head with your beer mug if it were chained to your own neck!)

The people of the ancient world around the Mediterranean made some of the most beautiful drinking vessels you can find continued on page 19

CLAYTIMES·COM n AUTUMN 2010

There are other, more specific terms used to describe a drinking vessel with a handle.

Tankard and stein are great examples of beerdrinking vessels, as is flagon (which can be either a large stein or a type of pitcher or jug). A noggin is a vessel traditionally used for grog (watered down rum), but it’s hard to find images of them because there is a British cartoon series of the same name and it tends to overwhelm search engines.

different drinks in the beer family, such as a pilsner glass, a pint glass and a wheat beer glass. A yard of ale (or beer) is a long, blownglass vessel that is both a vehicle for glass blowers to show off their skills and an excuse for drinking too much. In Australia, certain geographic areas recognize specific terms for sizes of beer glasses, including (among others) jug, schooner, middy, and butcher. Wine has its own specific set of glasses, of course, and these are usually named after the specific wine that is meant to be drunk from them, such as a Bordeaux glass, Burgundy glass, or sherry glass, just to name a few. Hard liquor is the same, with specific glasses for a highball, an old fashioned, or a martini. Sometimes we use terms other than glass to describe the vessel, such as a brandy snifter, Champagne flute, or Champagne coupe. Other glass drinking vessels include the generalized terms tulip glass, wine glass, and stemware. Potters have recently taken up the use of the formerly glass-only term tumbler, and there are some vessels, like goblet and chalice, that are made from a variety of materials, including glass.

Perspectives I As Far As I Know

From Chawan to Skyphos: Thinking About Drinking

17

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anywhere. The Greeks had a cup called the kylix (or kylikes), which was primarily used in a drunken gathering known as a symposium.

One glance at the Greek illustrations of symposia will tell you that the modern, academic gatherings by that name are a big come-down from the originals. Following the symposium, revelers would often engage in the Komos, a wild, drunken procession or bacchanalia. Given this information, it’s interesting that the kylix is the linguistic and stylistic precursor to the chalice, which now plays such an important role in many religious gatherings. Another wonderful Greek vessel was the skyphos (or scyphus).

These were originally Greek ceramic vessels, but in the Roman era a great many were made in silver, glass, and other materials. The Roman versions featured a very distinctive one-fingered handle (usually paired, with one on either side). They must have been very popular, because they are found everywhere the Romans lived, and were exported as far away as China. Silver copies of Roman skyphos have been found in China, and were made during the Tang Dynasty, and even into the Sung Dynasty.

The kyathos is a cup-like ladle with a high, exaggerated handle that either was, or was not used as a drinking vessel (depending upon who you listen to). Regardless of how the Greeks might have used it, it’s a terrific form that would make a very fun cup. The Greek god Dionysius (whom the Romans called Bacchus) is always pictured holding a kantheros, a footed ceramic vessel with two large vertical handles.

This is because Dionysius is the god of wine, theater, grapes, agriculture, ritual madness, and ecstasy—a pretty good job description in any era. It was said that the kantheros carried

by Dionysius would automatically refill itself with good wine (a capability that modern science is still struggling to duplicate).

Drinking can be a source of sustenance, an important social ritual, an act of pure pleasure, and an aesthetic activity. It’s one of the first things we teach babies to do (how to

Drinking is at the heart of many religious ceremonies, and the accoutrements of religious drinking can be highly stylized, with every aspect of the act taking on symbolic importance. Drinking can also be an aesthetic act in a secular setting. Wine lovers will tell you that it is the beauty of wine, with its complex interweaving of flavors, that attracts them to it, and not its ability to stupefy. The contemporary Chinese (Gungfu) and Korean (Darye) tea ceremonies are both concerned with producing the best quality tea, and both engage in a beautiful, skillful series of steps to ensure that end. If you aren’t in love with tea when you start one of these, you probably will be by the time you finish. The English Tea (either high or low) with all of its pomp and ritual is more of a social activity, but a pleasurable one nonetheless. And, of course, the Japanese tea ceremony is an art form of the highest order, and the objects associated with this ceremony are among the most beautiful and venerated of any art objects.

Drinking provides the potter with a splendid panoply of possibilities for expression. It’s unfortunate that we sometimes get hung up on the minor details (“is it dishwasher safe?”) and forget to take advantage of all the artistic opportunities that drinking provides for us.

By looking back (as well as looking around), we can enrich and enliven our own times, bringing the special into the mundane, and finding art in the ordinary. [

Peter Pinnell is Hixson-Lied Professor of Art at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. You can reach him at ppinnell1@unl.edu or through his Facebook page at www.facebook.com.

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CLAYTIMES·COM n AUTUMN 2010

One final vessel (and a favorite of mine) is the rhyton, a cup that combines a portion of an animal (or occasionally a human) with a handle and lip. They often take on the curve of a horn, and can be quite beautiful and imaginative. This idea spread from Greece and you can find Persian rhyta made from silver (and other metals) and even Chinese rhyta made from earthenware, finished with that beautiful sancai (three-color) glaze that we so strongly associate with the Tang Dynasty.

drink from a cup) and it’s one of the ways that we measure our autonomy as humans: when a person can’t drink for himself, we generally assume he’s on his way out of this world. It’s an act of friendship, and inviting someone to have a drink is a way that we reinforce existing relationships and build now ones. It can even be fraught with sexual tension, as we all know that, “Would you like to go out for a drink?” can easily lead to, “Would you like to come in for a drink?”

Perspectives I As Far As I Know

Thinking About Drinking (from p. 17)

19

Perspectives I Beneath the Surface

Glazes Galore:

How Bernadette Curran Does It

BY LANA WILSON

Bernadette Curran creates flashes of orange in electric cone 6 firings. This final column on her work reveals her favorite glaze formulas and how she achieves her stunning glaze effects. that the best flashing occurred when the glazes were in multiple areas of the piece. It wasn’t enough to just glaze a small area; I needed to spread out the lines and dots of glaze to create a toasty flashing all over the piece. On my first tests, I didn’t have the dots and lines thick enough. Test first!” Another student, Janet Harper, slip-trailed her lines and dots, and that worked well.

Curran: That is good, and I would like to emphasize: All my glazes are brushed on or hand-painted, except for the liner glaze, which is poured. Therefore, I need to keep the brushing glazes a little thicker in consistency to paint by hand. The most interesting surfaces happen when I layer the glazes and juxtapose them with the terra sig. The drawing slip is exactly that—a black drawing line, which is a wash or line that ties all the other colors together.

The terra sig is wonderful to scratch into, revealing the white clay body underneath.

Then, when a glaze is layered on top, two different shades of the glaze appear, enhancing depth and texture.

CLAYTIMES·COM n AUTUMN 2010

Platter by Bernadette Curran. Wheel-thrown porcelain; drawn images with multiple glazes, electric-fired to cone 6.

20

Lana Wilson: Let’s start with clay. What is your clay of choice?

Wilson: Why is it important to always put the terra sigillata on first?

Bernadette Curran: I have worked with these glazes on porcelain, earthenware, and a few stoneware clay bodies in the past, but I mostly work only in Helios porcelain now.

Curran: I always apply the terra sigillata first because it will chip if the application is too thick or if it gets on top of the edge of a glaze. So after a thin application of terra sig, I brush the glazes on the outside of the piece and pour the glaze on the inside, then pour it out.

Wilson: You said some of the glazes can craze?

Curran: Yes, the glazes do craze some. If glaze application is too thick they will really get bad crazing, so I keep it thin—especially if I am using it in the interior where it will run and pool.

Wilson: One of the students at Arrowmont, Vanessa Lang, noticed a different rule for dots of glaze. She said dots of glaze have to be thicker if you want to produce the orange flashing where the terra sig is. Vanessa explained, “I noticed on my test tiles and cups

Brushing a glossy glaze over a matte glaze and vice versa can also create texture. It is as though they reject one another and thus create both a tactile and visual texture. A good example of this is to place dots of the Water Blue Base [recipe on p. 22] over the Carmine’s Matte [p. 21]. It becomes almost reptilian.

The black drawing slip has been fantastic for brushed lines, but recently, I have embraced the black slip as a wash: a kind of underpainting behind the imagery and under the transparent glazes. The brush strokes really pop!

My glaze philosophy is to have a balance of glossy, matte, and burnished surfaces that provide moments for both the eye and hand to rest and moments for the eye and hands to be busy. When glazing the imagery, I

ALEC KARROS SODA BASE (cone 6)

CARMINE’S TURQUOISE (cone 6-10)

SOME BRIGHT GLAZE BASE (cone 6)

May apply to bisque or greenware, or paint over or under glazes as a very brushable/fluid drawing line. May also be applied a wash that ties all other colors together.

A glossy semi-opaque base that encourages the terra sig to flash when adjacent to it.

NOT food safe, this is a matte glaze with wonderful textured effects when glazes are layered on top. Also good as dots or lines on top of terra sig to encourage orange flashes.

This is a satin matte white base that achieves amazing color effects with glazes layered on top or with oxides drawn over it.

Brush on at the soft leather-hard stage or later.

Grolleg Kaolin Gerstley Borate Black Mason (#6600)

64.2 13.4 22.3

NOTE: All glaze formulas in this chart are listed by percentage.

approach it like a painting: with a foreground, middle ground, and background.

TERRA SIGILLATA cone 04-6 always applied to piece first, with a thin application EPK

Ball Clay Soda Ash

750 grams 1500 grams 45 grams

Add 14 cups of water. Do not siphon—just mix well and use the whole batch.

To make the different terra sig colors, I use the following stains and do it in a somewhat unusual way: Praseodymium (yellow, flashes orange) #6450 Chartreuse (flashes dull orange, muted green) #6236

Blackberry Wine (flashes a deeper hue of blackberry) #6381 Crocus martis (flashes a burgundy orange) a version of iron

For color variations, add: Pink/Sea Green Hue — 8% Deep Crimson Mason Stain Pale Lemon Yellow — 4% Vanadium Yellow Mason Stain

I measure by yogurt containers.

To a 32-oz. container of terra sig, I add 1 to 2 tablespoons of stain, give or take. For a small 8-oz. container, I add about 1 to 2 teaspoons. Please take note: I am adding dry stain to the wet terra sig mixture, and I mix it well.

The terra sig is very forgiving; that is why I do not fuss with weighing in grams or figuring out the percentages. This isn’t very specific, but it just doesn’t need to be for my purposes.

There was only one time when I was heavy-handed on the stain by accident, and my crocus martis came out almost metallic—what a wild, happy accident! Everything was still fine.

If I don’t add colorants, the terra sig is a white base color. Apply in thin coats to greenware or bisque. Layer with glazes on top for interesting effects and for flashing of the orange color next to the glaze that has soda in it. Soda is in frit #3110 and nepheline syenite, so Carmine’s Turquoise, Julia Galloway’s Water Blue Base, and Alec Karros Soda Base foster orange flashing.

Wilson: Please tell us the details, now that we have the

Strontium Carb Nepheline Syenite EPK Silica

27.3 59.0 6.4 7.3

add Bentonite add Copper Carb

2.0 5.0

glaze formulas, of how you glazed the platter pictured on the opposite page.

Curran: I painted terra sig in the background with .5% manganese/crocus martis stain in it. On top of the terra sig, I put dots of Alec Karros Pink with 8% Deep Crimson Mason stain added. I used the George’s Black Drawing Slip in recessed areas to define the rat bodies and stripes on the big rat’s tail.

The big tail has the purple version of Julia Galloway’s Water Blue Base over it.

Around the rim of the platter, I brushed on the cobalt color of Julia Galloway’s Water Blue Base. For the rat bodies: first Some Bright Glaze Base, then the chartreuse-colored Julia Galloway’s Water Blue Base dots on top, accented with a little Julia Galloway’s Water Blue Base cobalt color, which bleeds into the Some Bright Glaze Base and the chartreuse Julia Galloway’s Water Blue Base.

Wilson: You had one warning about using these glazes in an electric kiln.

Curran: Yes, you have to replace your kiln elements a little more often because of what

Custer Feldspar Whiting Ball Clay Strontium

45 7 13 35

add Zinc Oxide

10

[ Turn to “Great Glazes” on next page for WATER BLUE BASE glaze formula ]

the soda flashing does to your kiln elements.

Wilson: So, do you have some final hints on how you use the glazes?

Curran: The most interesting surfaces happen when I layer the glazes and juxtapose certain glazes to the terra sig.

The soda ash in Frit #3110 and Nepheline Syenite causes the orange flashing when they are very near the terra sig. So thick lines, dots, and areas of Carmine, Alec Karros Soda Base, and Julia Galloway’s Water Blue Base right next to terra sig create the orange flashing.

We talk about the potter’s mark: Now since I hold my son in a carrier while I work, he has been known to leave his mark on my cups. While I am working on them, he will thrash about to touch my tool, the cup, the clay—and to my delight, the mark is usually wonderful, better than I could do. So I keep the so-called mishaps. [ Lana Wilson is happy to respond to your e-mails. You may reach her at: lana@lanawilson.com. To view her new work and workshop schedule, visit her new Web page at: www.lanawilson.com.

CLAYTIMES·COM n AUTUMN 2010

Cerulean (light blue, flashes brownish orange) #6378

Frit 3110 43.4 Strontium Carb 6.5 Lithium 4.4 EPK 13.0 Silica 29.7 Bentonite 3.0

Perspectives I Beneath the Surface

GEORGE’S BLACK DRAWING SLIP (cone 04-6)

21

Readers Share I Glaze Recipes

Great Glazes Julia Galloway’s Water Blue Base Cone 04-6 Oxidation

This is a glossy transparent base that is brushable and watercolor-like.

(Pete Pinnell says this glaze is not food safe because it crazes too much and thus is not good in a dishwasher or microwave.)

Gerstley Borate EPK Frit 3110 Silica

TOTAL

6% 7 77 10

100%

add Bentonite

3%

For the following color variations, add: Turquoise — Copper Carbonate 3% Cobalt — Copper Carbonate 2% Chartreuse — Chrome Oxide 0.25 to 0.5%

CLAYTIMES·COM n AUTUMN 2010

Purple — Manganese Dioxide 1% plus Cobalt Carbonate 0.5%

22

The earTh’s BesT Clays

Each formula is provided in percentage (by weight). Results vary with clay bodies and firing conditions; always test first to be sure you’re happy with the results. To mix a glaze batch to store in a 5-gallon bucket, multiply each percentage ingredient by 50 grams (for a half-bucket with room for dipping) or 100 grams (for a very full bucket). It is the responsibility of the user to have glazes tested for stability. [

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Pitchers Gone Sideways TEXT & PHOTOS

BY BILL VAN GILDER

In Form I Teaching Techniques

Cut it ... Fold it

Necessary Supplies • (1) 2-lb. ball of clay • (1) 1-lb. ball of clay • a small sponge • some water • a rib tool • an undercut tool • a cut-off wire

Fig. 1

Optional: • a texture board • a 1½" diameter dowel • a potato peeler • a small bat

“It's fairly easy to figure out how to turn this simple pot into a pitcher ...”

This project starts by making a rather simple pot. It’s fairly easy to figure out how to turn this simple pot into a pitcher when one views the finished piece. But it’s the steps involved and the timing of those steps that make this an interesting classroom project.

As our students learn the basics of throwing pots, they’ll often stop working on a project as soon as it resembles anything close to their goal, like a vase. Yet the vase form is where this pitcher-project begins.

If students can make this simple rounded form, the immediate altering from vase to pitcher is an easy step to take. They’ve then added another form and some ‘altering’ skills to their toolbox of techniques. And, as the project involves a simple handlemaking lesson, we’ll show them how to make a couple of handles that look great on this rounded pitcher form … one handbuilt and one pulled. So, prepare the 2-lb. piece

of clay listed in the ‘Necessary Supplies’ list above, and gather your tools and students at your wheel.

Throwing the Form Attach the clay to your clean, dry wheelhead and center it into a low, 6" wide hump.

Then, spread the clay open to create a 5" wide interior floor that’s about ¼" thick.

Cover the thick, fat wall with water and pull it upward. Use more pressure from your outside hand as you make this and the next few pulls to keep the form conelike in shape … wide at its base and narrow at its rim (Fig. 2, next page). When the wall of your tapered cylinder is a bit more than ¼" in thickness and about 7" tall, use your inside hand to slowly expand or ‘belly-out’ the bottom two-thirds of the form. Use your outside fingertips to gently guide the wall outward. Then, carefully undercut the form to remove the excess clay at the outside base area.

CLAYTIMES·COM n AUTUMN 2010

A

s I’ve said in a previous Clay Times column, I’ve always liked manipulating pots as soon as they’re made … wet, soft, and pliable, and still on the wheelhead. The instant alterations that are possible at this stage are among the features that initially attracted me to the process of throwing pots. I’ve never been happy to ‘leave it alone.’ Altering wet pots is one of the main features of this column project: making a folded-spout pitcher (Fig. 1).

The Project

23

In Form I Teaching Techniques CLAYTIMES·COM n AUTUMN 2010

24

Fig. 2

Fig. 3

Fig. 4

Fig. 5

Fig. 6

Fig. 7

Fig. 8

Fig. 9

Fig. 10

Next, drip a little water down the inside wall and, with your wheel moving at a medium speed, use a rib-tool to smooth and finalize the shape of the outside wall (Fig. 3).

Use your inside hand to force the clay of the inside wall gently against the outside rib during this step. Now use your small sponge to remove the water from the inside floor of your vase form, and move on to finishing the neck area of your pot.

Now use your rib again to smooth and shape both the inside and outside surfaces of the flaring neck. Use your small sponge to smooth the thin-edged rim and stop the wheel. Then, with two clean, dry fingertips placed at opposite sides of the rim, gently move the two edge rims inward until they nearly touch (Fig. 6).

Use your sponge again to dampen the outside wall area of the neck, being careful not to drip any water into the form.

With your fingers positioned as in (Fig. 4), and your wheel rotating fairly rapidly, surround the neck area of your vase with both hands and slowly compress the neck inward until the vase opening is about 2" in diameter (Fig. 5). The rim of the form will need to remain wide and thin-edged, flaring outward.

Cut and Fold Now it’s time to cut away half of the flared neck, which ‘sets-up’ the spout of the pitcher. I tend to make this cut as soon as I’ve finished throwing and shaping the vase form, but I’ve also found it easier and a bit more manageable to let the form dry a bit before cutting. It’s your choice.

With your cut-off wire stretched tightly between your hands, use the wire to care-

fully—and slowly—cut away half of the neck. Start your cut at the squashed, narrow point of the rim and slowly pull the wire toward you and through the flared neck in a downward, curved direction (Fig. 7). [Note: Be careful not to cut too quickly, or you could cut away too much of the pot and your cut will be uneven and lopsided.]

Finally, when the wire has reached the narrow neck area of the form, pull it through the wall. Remove the piece of cut-away clay and discard it (Fig. 8). Then, using your small sponge, very gently smooth the cut edges of the neck.

Next comes the quick and easy folding part of the project. Use one dry fingertip to push one top corner of the cut rim inward (Fig. 9). Then dampen both corners and push the other corner inward to overlap the first corner by at least ½". Carefully slide a finger into the spout opening and, applying light

You can make the spout as long as you like; that’s determined by how tall and flaring you make the original neck of your vase, so plan ahead. A wide, tall neck makes for a long spout.

Before moving on to the next step of the project, you’ll want to first use your thumb to gently round and smooth the base edge of your leather-hard pitcher. It’s too uneven to invert and trim as you would

most pots, so by hand, off potato peeler to round and edged rim.

this ‘trimming’ is only done the wheel. Second, use a and a slightly damp sponge smooth the pitcher’s rough-

Making Handles I tend to place the handle of the pitcher near the rim and above the belly, or at the widest point of the form. This makes the top area of the pitcher visually ‘busy’ and is a good balance against the plain, smooth belly area of the form. Check out the very small teapots made by Louisville potter Fong Choo: simple

forms with eye-catching top areas, like a visually challenging piece of sculpture sitting on a simple pedestal (strong stuff, no matter what the scale).

Here’s a quick and easy way to make a great-looking, textured, handbuilt handle for your pitcher: Roll out a 6" long coil of soft clay, tapering it as you roll and lengthen it. You’ll need a small, flat board to press your tapered coil into a somewhat flat, triangular-shaped cross-section. Then, add a textured surface to the handle. You can use a wooden, corrugated texture-board to accomplish this step or find a hard-surfaced texturing tool in your classroom toolbox.

Place your slightly flattened, tapered coil at the edge of a clean, dry ware board or worktable. Press your textured tool against the coil, pressing one half of it at a time, from one end to the other. Pick up your coil, reposition it with the blank side against the table edge, and texture that half (Fig. 11).

Dampen the attachment areas on the pitcher, pick up you handle, and shape it around a wooden dowel or a cardboard tube to give it some curved grace. Then immediately use the dowel to firmly press your handle into place (Fig. 12).

Fig. 11

Fig. 12

In Form I Teaching Techniques

pressure with another fingertip, press the two corners firmly together (Fig. 10). Gently sponge the edges of the folded corners smooth and, voilá—a teapot-like spout on a pitcher form!

Pulled handles? You can attach and pull a handle from the rim of the pitcher and attach the handle-end at the pitcher’s belly.

Or, do it in reverse: start the attachment at the belly and connect the end of the handle to the rim. Use the tip of your thumb as you pull and lengthen your handle (Fig. 13) to create some surface decoration. Your handle can be broad and somewhat flat, or round and snake-like in cross-section (Fig. 14).

“The spout-making part of this pitcher project is pretty straight forward. You can shape the container part of your pitcher any way you’d like, and there are lots of ways to create interesting handles. I’m eager to see how you interpret this pitcher form.

So, prep your clay, gather your tools at your wheel, and let’s go to work!” [

Fig. 14

CLAYTIMES·COM n AUTUMN 2010

Fig. 13

Bill van Gilder has been a full-time potter since the 1960s and teaches pottery-making workshops.

He may be reached by e-mail at vangilderpottery@earthlink.net. His potters’ tool line, van Gilder Tools, is available via the online store at www.claytimes.com, or by calling toll-free 1.800.

356.2529.

25

An Interview With

PAUL MORRIS ...

Grand Prize Winner of “A New Decade of Clay: 2010” TEXT, ART, & PHOTOS

BY PAUL MORRIS IN RESPONSE TO CLAY TIMES QUESTIONS

Paul Morris in his Fort Collins, Colorado studio, assembling a vessel to later be multiple-glazed and fired—up to a dozen times or more!

Discover more about Paul and his work online at http://paulfmorris.com.

How did you make the winning piece [large image, opposite page]?

Surform® shaver, and joints were smoothed with modeling tools. The pot was then bisque-fired to cone 1.

T

Next, the underside of the foot was painted with an iron-saturated clay slip, wiped back, then signed and dated with a black commercial underglaze using a sable brush.

One layer of cone 7 glaze was applied to the interior of the ewer by pouring in its funnel opening, swishing around, and then pouring out. After sponging away the residue in the funnel and spout, another cone 7 glaze was brushed into the inside of the cone-shaped filling funnel and inside of the spout, leaving the lip glaze-free. Finally, another cone 7 glaze was brushed over the exterior of the ewer, leaving a dry foot covered only with the slip. The piece was then fired to cone 7 an electric kiln.

his work is made of multiple parts of a grogged stoneware clay, shaped by a variety of methods. Some parts were press-molded into hemispherical plaster molds of varying sizes, while others are slabs of clay draped and seamed over traffic cones.

One of the clay cones was then curved by darting, luting, and paddling into shape.

The spout and handle are slabs of clay wrapped and seamed over newspapercovered dowel rods, then curved and dried to cheese-hard before adding to the pot. This sculptural pot was assembled starting at the foot and working upward from the table top, luting parts together. The hemisphere that forms the belly of this pot was bent to elongate it, then wrapped around the conical shape beneath. As volumes were joined and shapes overlapped shapes, unnecessary interior pieces were cut away to make the whole piece hollow.

Ben Day Ewer. 24" x 6" x 14½".

Stoneware, 2010.

26

A clay cartouche in every ewer I make is attached to an interior wall somewhere (stamped with the phrase “It all breaks in time!” unseen until the pot does eventually break) before the final closing pieces are attached. After the clay parts of this piece were fully assembled, the surfaces were carved smoothed with loop tools and a

Once cool, the work was covered with horror vacui of mason stain-colored linear beads of a thixotropic glaze (like moriage as seen on Dragonware), squeezed from a veterinary syringe and needle placed in a caulking gun.

That second layer was fired onto the ewer at cone 04. After cooling, another layer of the same base, but different color, was applied in the same way, then fired to cone 05. The next layer was applied and fired to cone 06.

This slow build-up of curvilinear glaze beads was repeated, firing at cone 06 each time until the surface was deemed satisfactory and I felt the piece was finished. It isn’t my practice to do so, and I didn’t know I would

Corpo Nodoso Ewer. Stoneware, 2008.

28½" x 7" x 15".

Brocca di Fuoco (Rosso é Giallo). 24" x 6" x 14½".

Stoneware, 2010.

Grand prize winner, “A New Decade of Clay: 2010.”

“Once cool, the work was covered with horror vacui of mason stain-colored linear beads of a thixotropic glaze (like moriage as seen on Dragonware), squeezed from a veterinary syringe and needle placed in a caulking gun.”

Haptic Array Ewer. 25" x 6" x 13".

Stoneware, 2009.

27

Between semesters I have even longer blocks of time to be in the studio, and I do my best to take full advantage. Those intervals allow for extended travel, and Paula and I have enjoyed some amazing international art adventures three out of the past four years.

How did you get involved in claywork?

The earliest memory I have of art was making a pinch pot at a nearby recreation center in the midwest when I was about four years old.

As I grew up, I knew I would make art a most significant part of my life. I learned how to throw pots in high school. After high school, I started a University BFA program, and felt that painting would be my calling. After a few semesters I left college thinking that I could make it without a degree, but my paintings weren’t all that good. I ended up working in specialty retailing and later commercial printing to make ends meet, painting on evenings and weekends. Moving west with my then girlfriend Paula, and settling down in Fort Collins, Colorado, I soon found myself married, with a son and mortgage, and a renewed desire to be the artist I had always wanted to be. I shifted my artistic output to sculpture by way of collage and then assemblage, and I began to get into some shows and have a few sales. Flush with success, I got very serious about sculpture, so I, a late bloomer, decided to return to school and finish that BFA. After a pottery class epiphany, I added a Pottery concentration to the Sculpture concentration, and finished my BFA. That BFA was not enough, however, and before I knew it, I’d completed a graduate program in ceramics, which then allowed me to teach college art and to have enough time to seriously focus on my ceramics.

Caballero Ewer.

29" x 10" x 16".

Stoneware, 2008.

need to account for everything so I didn’t keep track of how long it took me to do or how many times the piece got fired, but it took a while to execute and was fired probably around 12 times or so.

Could you please describe your weekly schedule of activities ... teaching, clay work, firing, etc.?

Not all weeks are alike over the course of a year. When college is in session, I teach on Mondays and Wednesdays. This schedule leaves four-day blocks of time that can be used for travel, such as attending show openings in which I have work (for example, my journey to the opening reception of A New Decade of Clay), plus transporting work to or from exhibition venues, or perhaps pilgrimages to simply go see some art elsewhere. Ordinarily, those four contiguous days are spent on focused work time in my studio. I have a number of works in process at any given time, in various stages of completion. This means that I am either alternately shaping clay, or decorating or firing pieces, or attending to all three tasks simultaneously. I try to get school prep work (writing lectures, research, planning demos, or grading papers) accomplished on Tuesdays. Otherwise, Tuesdays are spent in the studio or perhaps photographing new work. As needed, I do paperwork or I work on promotion. On days when I am not at school or out of town, I take an hour and a half in the early afternoon to go for a long bicycle ride or run on the treadmill if the weather is raw. After supper, it’s back to the studio to wind up the day’s work. My wife Paula and I also tend our vegetable garden in season. I try to remain very flexible juggling all of these tasks, doing what needs to be done when it makes the most sense.

After all, timing is everything when working clay!

28

What / who are your greatest influences?

There is no substitute for experiencing great art. Each opportunity I have had to take in a cream-of-the-crop collection is as inspiring as it is useful to sharpen my aspiration to make work that can hold its own in such company. Ceramic collections that have had a profound effect on me include: the vast Pre-Columbian ceramics collection in the Denver Art Museum; ancient Greek and Etruscan pots in the Vatican Museums; contemporary pots from the University of Iowa museum; ancient Greek and Middle-Eastern ceramics of the Louvre; Chinese, Korean, and Japanese ceramics in the British Museum; the many works within the National Anthropology Museum in Mexico City; Renaissance majolica in the Bargello; and the many ceramics housed at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Other art forms also inspire me. When very young, I saw Max Ernst’s “Europe After the Rain”, and I knew I had to be an artist when I grew up. I later saw Alberto Giacometti’s “Woman With Her Throat Cut”, which is when my passion for three-dimensional art took root.

My first University experience put me in a class with art historian, Susi Ettinger, who piqued the curiosity that later became a love of art history. My first mentor in pottery, the late Richard DeVore— despite his very difficult personality—possessed the most formidable intellect of any artist I have ever met. His exquisite sensitivity to the human feeling and aesthetic merits present in great works of art was infectious. I learned as much about the power of art as a human practice from him as I did the expressive potential in pottery as an art vernacular. While his critiques of my work were often a “scorched earth” experience, he was always absolutely correct in his remarks and he opened my eyes to how and why the things I made had to be better. He was an artist holding his own in Los Angeles, New York, and Santa Fe, and sold nearly everything he made for considerable sums. He was, therefore, a more than credible, useful source for how to navigate in the art world. One last influence I must mention is my wife of 28 years, fibers artist, Paula Giovanini-Morris, who remains my muse and partner in our journey through life. Her influence is pervasive in all that I do.

What is your favorite thing about working with ceramics?

That is not any easy question to answer because there are so many aspects of clay that I find so rewarding. I would have to say that the ongoing desire to keep making “the next one,” the expressive anticipation, is probably the most satisfying aspect of ceramics. This feeling is made even more compelling in that at least some of the work I make in the time I have left of my life will survive me, and by thousands of years in a best case scenario.

Career-wise, what do you hope to accomplish in the coming year?

The decades old, long, hard climb out of obscurity isn’t over for me, but my work is getting better known in clay circles and opportunities to show my art increase a little bit each year. In the coming year, I’d love to develop mutually beneficial relationships with gallerists in some of the bigger art markets: Santa Fe, San Francisco, L.A., New York, London, Tokyo, Paris ... hey, why not dream big? But if that isn’t in the cards just yet, I definitely want to improve my Italian, visit Japan if possible, make better work and lots of it, and have a few more sales as the economy hopefully improves.

Where, how, and to whom do you sell your work?

I have to say first that even if no one ever purchased my pieces I would still do what I do because I simply can’t see myself doing otherwise. I have an insatiable drive to create—that is, I am possessed with the will to form. Indeed, I don’t rely on sales all that much at present, because they tend to be so sporadic. I am lucky enough to have a few patrons who have been buying my work since the mid-1980s, and they still follow what I am doing to this day. I am represented by Perlow-Stevens Gallery in Columbia, Missouri, and Teal Art Gallery in Breckenridge, Colorado. On occasion, sales come from juried or invitational exhibitions. I get inquiries through mutual friends, and sometimes they result in sales. And, of course, there is UPS (that sometimes manages to break insured work)!

Shaw, found the work to be compelling enough to rise above the exceptionally stiff competition. This recognition further validates what I believe to be true, that I am headed the right direction with my work. It was a wonderful experience to be able to attend the opening, be the recipient of such warm hospitality, hear so many kind words, and to meet and strike up friendships with so many other talented ceramic artists just as worthy of the grand prize. [

Moriage/Piping Glaze [a.k.a. “Smooth Icing”] cone 04 to cone 06 oxidation Kona F-4 Feldspar 40% Whiting 10 Frit 3124 50 Add your choice of mason stains for color, 1-10%. (For bright red, Paul adds 10% inclusion stain #1351) Mix with just enough water to make a thick paste, then add CMC gel to make it just fluid enough to push through a veterinary hypodermic needle without clogging while retaining enough surface tension to remain raised from the surface you apply it to. For best results, push the mixture through a 100-mesh sieve before filling the syringe. You may want to file off the sharp angle of the needle for more precision in application. Use a caulking gun to hold the syringe and save your grip. At cone 04 the glaze will flatten out somewhat and be glassier. At cone 06 the glaze maintains its raised dimensionality and is duller in appearance.

Dull pots photograph easier than shiny ones.

What is your greatest advice for aspiring clay artists?

Stop smoking. Get the best liberal arts education you can. Grades do matter. Learn as much art history as you can. Read the classics.

Develop very thick skin and subject yourself to ruthlessly truthful and effective criticism from mentors worthy of respect. Visit foreign countries. Exercise regularly and learn to garden. Surround yourself with other people’s art you value: collect it and add to it regularly.

Pave your driveway with the shards of your bad pots. Understand and respect the limits of pottery’s expressive potential. Get beyond mere technique and learn to use it to say something culturally relevant.

When you are ready, create fearlessly. Oppose mediocrity whenever and wherever you find it. If you live or make art without passion, you are wasting your time.

How does it feel to be the grand prize winner of the “New Decade of Clay” show?

It certainly was an unexpected surprise and honor to have been notified that my work had won the top honor in this show. It makes me very happy that other people, and more specifically the iconic juror, Richard

Boomerang Ewer (Blue and Orange).

21½" x 7" x 15".

Stoneware, 2010.

29

A New Decade of Clay: 2010

Clay Times/Sierra Nevada College National Ceramic Exhibition Hosted

by Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort

V

isitors from across the U.S. were recently treated to a first-class exhibition of North American clay work at “A New Decade of Clay: 2010,” a national ceramic competition and art show produced by Sierra Nevada College (SNC) and held at Northstarat-Tahoe Resort at Lake Tahoe, California. Clay Times was pleased to co-sponsor the event, designed to showcase and reward the talents of ceramic art students and professional clay artists nationwide.

Sheri Leigh O’Connor, chair of SNC’s Fine Arts Department, said, “We were thrilled to have the prestigious ceramist Richard Shaw agree to jury this show.” Shaw commented afterward, “It was a lot harder than I thought it would be. There were so many excellent pieces to select from.” In all, there were more than 600 pieces submitted for jurying, and Shaw chose 38. “The work that is in the exhibit is diverse and amazing,” O’Connor said. “We’re very excited to co-host such an impressive collection

Select student entries, pictured top to bottom:

CLAYTIMES·COM n AUTUMN 2010

Indulgence by Jeffrey Sincich. 9"x 9"x 10½".

Terra cotta, cone 3 glazes and patinas, electric-fired.

30

Clutch II by Heidi Lubin, 11" x 9" x 4".

Stoneware (‘Grogzilla’), unglazed and soda-fired.

Still Life with Toothpaste by Mariana Baquero.

9" x 7" x 5". Handbuilt stoneware fired to cone 6 in oxidation. Acrylic paint and water-slide laser decals.

To view more images from the show, please see the poster included with this issue of Clay Times.

of ceramic art with Clay Times magazine and Northstar-at-Tahoe.”

The top honor of Grand Prize in the open competition was awarded to Paul Morris of Fort Collins, Colorado (see pages 26-29 for story on Paul and his work). Morris received a cash award of $1,000 along with a complimentary stay at Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort for the show’s opening reception, which took place September 18. Also in attendance at the reception were second prize winner Kelly Berning, who received a $500 cash award. Third prize went to Shane Keena. Student awards of first, second, and third place respectively went to Mariana Baquero, Alma Vidrics, and Heidi Lubin. Several prize winners also received complimentary subscriptions to Clay Times as well as complimentary workshop classes and scholarships from SNC. Congratulations to them, and our heartfelt thanks to all who participated in this very successful event. [

O

ne night long ago, while attending a ceramics workshop at Appalachian Center for Craft, I wandered down to the glass lab to watch workshop participants make glass beads. The instructor was a nice guy, and he offered to let me try, sitting me down at a torch with the necessary gear and a quick tutorial.

Like most forms of fine craft, it turned out to be harder than it looked. After considerable struggle and several false starts, I finally made something that resembled a bead. In my excitement, I waved it in the air to show my new friends, and learned a quick lesson about thermal shock: it exploded dramatically, sending shards of hot glass sizzling into my hair. Wow. Really? Pots can die a thousand deaths, but none involve blowing up in your hands while you are still making them!

Eventually, I did leave the lab with a glass bead made by my own hands. In retrospect, it was not such a glorious work of art. It actually looked like a Lifesaver candy that had spent too much time in the bottom of somebody’s purse. Still, it was a symbol of the great summer adventure that was ACC, making art in the steamy green of the Tennessee woods.

I braided it into my hair, as a talisman to carry back with me to the world of home schooling kids, grocery lists, and a thousand demands that would keep me out of the studio. My husband called it my “little affectation,” but it served to remind me that life was long, and that there would be a day when kids were grown and I could immerse myself again in full-time creative exploration.

As the kids grew, though, our little house became more crowded. It soon became clear that we would need to add on. An estimate from builders left us gobsmacked by sticker shock, so we decided to do it ourselves.

drywall had to be shaved here and there, where the room was not exactly square, but a potter is a good ‘mudder’ so we disguised our seams and hid mistakes admirably. We made jokes about using ¼" putty, of hanging pictures over the wonky spots. Our rallying cry when faced with our own errors became, “It won’t show from the road!” At night as we lay in bed reading, I would find descriptions in the library books of how we should have done the projects we’d struggled with all afternoon.

We laid the cinder block foundation next.

We learned as we went, doing our best with terms like “level” and “square.” If we spent too much time reading the how-to literature, we found we could be paralyzed by our sheer ignorance of building details, so we opted to plow ahead, hoping momentum would carry us. We learned by trial and error about mortar, learned on the fly from the cement truck driver how to wheelbarrow and work cement, and managed to lay the floor joists without screwing up more than twice. The kids pounded a few token nails, but were too little to be very helpful. It was the two of us against the world, and we went to bed every night laughing at our errors and proud that we’d forged ahead in spite of them.

By the time the snows came and the coffee can rattled up only a handful of change, we had the room enclosed and mostly finished.

The new addition has been a joy, full of windows facing the back garden. We eat family meals there, watching the chickens scratch at the margins of the yard or steal cherry tomatoes through the garden fence.

The kids do their homework there, gazing as the white pigeons return to their dovecote in acrobatic loops. It’s the favorite room for watching storms, with lightning flashing and rain pounding the metal roof. But the real reason we are so proud of our addition is kind of odd: We’re proud because we had no idea what we were doing, and we did it anyway.

One happy side effect of our imprecise skills was that they offered lots of opportunity for problem solving, my favorite part of any project. The old house we were adding to was neither square nor plumb. Many times, while framing walls, we found ourselves scratching our heads over odd angles and unintended detours. There was some comfort in the discovery that the builders of the original house had not been experts, either. It was clearly built before zoning and inspectors, and as we disassembled walls we found some creative “cobbling,” along with bewildered pencil sketches on the lumber. A few sections of wall we removed were insulated with yellow, wadded newspapers from decades ago.

“We’re proud because we had no idea what we were doing, and we did it anyway.”

We used metal roofing, because it was all we could afford with the dwindling contents of the coffee can, and because the two of us could manage it alone. With one on the ladder and the other on the ground, we fed the long strips onto the roof and screwed them into place, reading directions along the way. The

I have started to see that kind of courage as the key to creative success. I am as proud of the crooked seams of our drywall as I was of the lumpy glass bead I made years ago.

There were certainly frustrations, and cases where experience (the best teacher, we’re told) presented the test before teaching the lesson. Jeff learned and then relearned wiring, and the inspector visited more than once, giving us the opportunity to “try, try again.” But in the end, we got it done. In the process, we chipped away at one of the biggest obstacles to exploration: a wall in our minds, covered with graffiti that says, “I don’t know how!” and “What if I screw it up?”

That wall keeps beginning potters from taking the next step, and established potters

CLAYTIMES·COM n AUTUMN 2010

Like the glass bead project, it would prove to be easier said than done. In retrospect, I am proud of our courage in taking on a project for which we were neither prepared nor qualified. It was very much like parenting, in that way—a leap of faith, and an irreversible commitment made before we had any idea what we were getting ourselves into. We took a small bank loan for the project and put it in a coffee can, in cash: limits were limits, and we needed to make every dollar count.

We checked out a stack of how-to library books, and somehow luck smiled upon the project at every turn. When we got out shovels to dig the footer, a neighbor came over with his little tractor and backhoe, and got it done in half a day. We were grateful not to be shoveling when we saw the thick layer of Ohio blue clay near the bottom of the trench!

(I filled a bucket with that clay, sure I could find a use for it later.) The neighbor refused reimbursement, so we sent him home with homemade jam, fresh eggs, and zucchini.

Opinion I Around the Firebox

Dare to Fail

BY KELLY SAVINO

31

Opinion I Around the Firebox

Dare to Fail (continued from previous page) from trying something new. It encourages us to stay in our safe zone, repeat our successes ad nauseam, and avoid breaking new ground.

I have recently discovered the burgeoning “maker movement,” a group of people determined to forge ahead and try things, undaunted by the fear of failure (the big red “F” that many of us learned to dread from kindergarten onward.) In the book, Made by Hand: Searching for Meaning in a Throwaway World, Mark Frauenfelder describes how many of us have lost the ability and courage to participate in the making, inventing, and reinventing of the things we use, becoming passive consumers instead. He blames, in part,

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the disappearance of shop class, fear of liability lawsuits, and the growing attitude (profitable to marketers) that unless we are experts, we’re not qualified to try. He points to a steady stream of pre-prepared foods, along with gadgets and appliances designed so they cannot be fixed (or even opened) by consumers.

The word “hack” among “makers” has apparently left the realm of computers and now encompasses—with help from the Internet—a wide world of projects, from “tweaking” electronics to making your own cameras, robots, or homemade bacon. The online site of “Make” magazine wryly advises: “Void your warranty, violate a user agreement, fry a circuit, blow a fuse, poke an eye out.” One enterprising maker sells a set of tools designed specifically to take apart machines and toys not intended to be taken apart by consumers.

I have been recharged by the whole concept.

During the past week I have modified my toohot food dehydrator, invented a replacement part for an ancient pugmill, and am looking for other small appliances to disassemble. It’s that problem solving that keeps potters inventing tools and gadgets and finding new ways to do routine tasks. I’ve become obsessed by ideas for projects just beyond my realm of ability, both in the studio and out in the wider world.

It’s a state of mind, embracing the ability to 11:47 AM fail and persist—that same ability that fueled America’s inventors and artists in the past.

CLAYTIMES·COM n AUTUMN 2010

It makes me nostalgic for a time when every garage had a work bench and kids built kites, tree houses, and go carts. As a kid, I spent long afternoons at my grandpa’s farm, thumbing through old Popular Mechanics magazines. I loved the ingenuity of hands-on projects. My grandpa built me a rock tumbler powered by the garden windmill. My great grandpa nailed an old wind-up alarm clock to a board in the chicken house, so the unwinding alarm key at 6 am would pull the string on a light bulb and get his “girls” up and laying on dark winter mornings.

32

Forty years later, I again have a stack of vintage Popular Mechanics publications at hand for browsing. I suddenly want to chip a stone arrowhead, make an ice fishing line linked to a doorbell, build an ice boat and a fruit press for wine making. If I fail once or twice in the process—and I will—what have I lost?

When I built a little catenary soda kiln, based on watching someone else’s projects and

looking at a couple of books, I was thrilled to be in a remote location in the Michigan woods where nobody else was watching.

When I fired it for the first time, my family helped and cheered me on, but I was blessed by having no other potters for miles. There were no well-meaning fellow grad students suggesting a damper tweak here or a burner adjustment there. There was no professor leaning over my shoulder to assess the success or failure of the final results. While all of those things have been essential to my growth as a potter, I found the relative isolation involved with making and firing this kiln had completely eliminated my concerns about failure. In my first-ever firing I tried absurd experiments, tested a million clay bodies, and made little sample pots with some of the “wrong” glazes just to see what would happen.

There is an inspiring line that I have seen as a bumper sticker: “What would you do if you knew you could not fail?” I’ve revised it slightly, since failure is inevitable: “What would I do if I wasn’t afraid to fail? What if I ignored the censure of others, potential rolled eyes and smirks, and just tried it anyway, without regard to my ‘qualifications’?” So far, that approach has yielded a soda kiln, some nice pots, and the room in which I write this column. I am coming to regard failure as a badge of honor. If I’m not losing a pot on the wheel once in a while, then I am not testing my limitations. If I don’t have a spectacular kiln disaster every few months, then I am living in my safe zone and should be taking more risks.

It’s easy to slip backward and forget my resolve, dismissing those uncharted edges of the map, assuming I don’t know how and leaving the efforts to “experts.” So I have made myself a new talisman to protect me from doubt and help maintain my courage. From that bucket of clay I saved from digging the foundation for our new room, I made a little brick-red bead to string on a braid in my hair. It’s a new talisman, and reminder of my new E-mail Kelly Savino battle cry: “Dare to at: primalpotter@ fail!” [ yahoo.com.

A Possible Lead Poisoning Mystery TEXT BY MONONA ROSSOL • ART BY CAROL JANEWAY

A

s an industrial hygiene consultant, I regularly get requests for technical advice from writers. Recently I was asked for my opinion on the possible influence of exposure to lead on the career of a now obscure New York ceramicist: Carol Janeway. Victoria Jenssen, art historian and once art conservator, is writing a book about this amazing potter.

But she needs more help than I can give her.

She also needs your help. I’ve relied on parts of her manuscript to give you the story and how we can help.

Janeway’s History Janeway burst into the ceramic world on August 25, 1942 when the NY World Telegraph ran an article and a captioned photograph showing Carol working on a wrought-iron table inset with decorated ceramic tiles depicting a cow and calves. It was at this time that Janeway’s ceramic work was transforming itself from a hobby to a highly lucrative business. By February, 1942, Georg Jensen Inc., the prestigious Fifth Avenue gift store, had placed its first order for her hand-painted tiles. For the next eight years, Georg Jensen sold her colorfully decorated white tiles and ceramic wares in their showrooms, through their catalogs, and, in 1945, from a permanent showroom called the “Janeway Corner.”

Between 1943 and 1949, Janeway’s ceramic work was exhibited in museums and galleries including the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Musuem, the Cooper Union Museum, America House, the American Museum of Natural History, the Brooklyn Museum, and the

She was an incredibly photogenic ex-model who received copious press coverage in the 1940s. Stories can be found in The New York Times, New York Herald Tribune, New York Sun, New Yorker magazine, Life, Newsweek, McCall’s, House Beautiful, and many other publications.

In interviews, Janeway claimed to be selftaught. But a little research has shown this was not exactly the case.

Her life story, especially her seven-year sojourn in Europe in the 1930s, is fascinating reading.

Suffice it to say that she returned to New York in 1939 on the eve of WWII in hopes of starting up a lithography studio.

Although Janeway had missed the beginnings of the Depression art programs such as WPA, she joined an arts community in New York which had been energized and focused by them. A Cornell classmate of hers had married a sculptor named Harold Ambellan who had established a tile decorating factory using silkscreen in Chelsea. Jenssen thinks that it was through them that Janeway gained proficiency in underglaze ceramic decoration and technology. At this time, during the war, Janeway was also living with Russian sculptor Ossip Zadkine, who mentored her ceramic business.

So while Janeway was not taught her ceramic craft in a university setting, she actually knew, lived with, learned from, and absorbed knowledge from many important artists and craftspeople of her time.

Things Fall Apart By 1949, Janeway’s business was not doing well financially. She had moved to a larger studio and there seemed to be problems with the kilns. Her lover, Zadkine, had left her in 1945

and she was unable to deliver the $50,000 worth of commissions she had received that year. She was also drinking heavily and exhibiting erratic behavior, including talk of suicide, which she blamed on the departure of Zadkine.

Five years later, on February 6, 1950, New York Post columnist Leonard Lyons reported on her retirement and cited lead-poisoning from her work as the cause. Janeway’s dentist had noted changes in her teeth. Actually, he probably saw the well-known blue line on the gums that is typically seen in people with chronic lead exposure.

Lead poisoning or lead intoxication is almost certainly part of this story because Janeway worked, lived, and ate in her studios from 1941 to late 1945. She was pictured spraying glaze on tiles with a Flit (insecticide) sprayer without a booth or mask. And she was probably using her own lead-glazed ware for eating and drinking. Lead intoxication is consistent with erratic behavior, irritability, and emotional instability, short-term memory loss, and inability to concentrate, which may have at least exacerbated her financial difficulties.

Janeway also claimed that she had Tuberculosis, which was never confirmed, but is a common complication of silicosis.

In 1950, Janeway published a book called Ceramics and Potterymaking for Everyone, which essentially gave away all of her methods and reads almost like a farewell to her profession.

There were a few ceramic commissions after 1950, and presents she made for friends. She began painting. She continued to be an activist, championing local Greenwich Village causes.

In 1989, Janeway was diagnosed with mouth cancer. Soon after, she was hospitalized for pneumonia, and died just before Thanksgiving. Janeway had had several severe cases of pneumonia—a common complication of lung damage from silica exposure.

CLAYTIMES·COM n AUTUMN 2010

Soon other firms including Altman’s, Gimbel’s, Macy’s in New York, Gump’s in California, and several more major outlets were carrying her line. The Janeway items included tiles, tables, trays, plaques, bookends, chessboards, chess sets, buttons, jewelry, jam jars, mugs, doorknobs, paperweights, and more.

Julien Levy Gallery. One of the highlights of her career was a commission through Wedgwood’s New York office to decorate 12 prototype plates for Josiah Wedgwood.

Studio I Health & Safety

Carol Janeway [1913-1989]

33

Studio I Health & Safety

Carol Janeway (continued (continued from from page page 33) 33)

There’s a pot in every bag of clay.

In keeping with her final requests, the proceeds of the sale of Janeway’s possessions were given to an AIDS charity. The ceramics, Wedgwood plates, paintings, and jewelry are now privately owned. Only one museum owns a Janeway ceramic: the Smithsonian Institution’s Cooper-Hewitt Museum. Greenwich House Pottery was presented with one Janeway tile after her death that is now in its study collection. There are three original Janeway fireplace tile surrounds in a historic Williamstown, Massachusetts property.

However, Janeway sold thousands of unaccounted-for items to purchasers all over the United States. Collectors will want to be aware.

To help you identify her folk-like style, Victoria Jenssen has allowed me to include a picture of one of the tiles she owns.

Can You Help Solve the Mystery?

There are some missing parts in Carol Janeway’s life history that Victoria Jenssen would like to fill in. Here are some of her questions: 1. Does anyone know what “Alfred 101,” a cone 04 to cone 2 glaze, is composed of? Janeway’s book has a drawing of a glaze jar with this label and a test tile attached to it, but there are no records of its formula.

2. Does anyone have any personal stories about Carol Janeway? She was still an activist and the life of many parties until 1989.

Trinity Ceramic Supply, Inc.

CLAYTIMES·COM n AUTUMN 2010

9016 Diplomacy Row Dallas, TX 75247 214 631-0540 www.trinityceramic.com

34

AMAZING PRE-HOLIDAY SALE SPECIAL DISCOUNT PRICING

3. Victoria knows there are many, many of Janeway’s works in private collections that she does not have pictures of. Please check your collections and watch Internet and garage sales—these works could turn up anywhere. To see more pictures of Janeway’s work in the 1945 Life magazine photo essay on Janeway, you can go to “Google Books” and search for the terms: “Carol Janeway Life.” Or you can log directly onto: http://books.google.ca/books?id=30kEAAAA MBAJ&lpg=PA12&ots=fHUQPzymi-&dq=carol%20 janeway%20life&pg=PA12#v=onepage&q&f=false

SITE-WIDE DEALS THRU DEC. 1!

If this is too long to type in, please e-mail me at actsnyc@cs.com and I’ll send you a direct link.

Thanks in advance to all who might be able to help us fill in the gaps of this very interesting potter’s life story. [

Your one-stop shop for CT subscriptions & renewals, humorous potter’s T-shirts & totes, ceramic how-to books & videos, and more!

Monona Rossol is an industrial hygienist/ chemist with an M.F.A. in ceramics/glass. She may be reached at ACTS, 181 Thompson St., #23, New York, NY 10012-2586; telephone 212.777.0062; e-mail ACTSNYC@cs.com.

www.claytimes.com

Shop Talk I Firing

Message Boards: Truth or Fiction?

BY MARC WARD

T

he pottery world is a captivating world.

It’s a world where I’ve spent my adult life, in one capacity or another. I was a studio potter for a couple of decades and have been a burner designer and manufacturer for another couple of decades. I participated in ACC shows in the ’70s when I had to explain what raku was to gallery owners. I was part of that Boomer contingent that got into the craft world in the late ’60s and early ’70s. We weren’t seeking a profession as much as we were making a social statement. We were rejecting the cookie-cutter life that we had grown up with. We were going to make a new society based on peace, love, rock ’n roll, and our wonderful handmade crafts.

Instead, we’re Boomers still making stuff.

Our personal lives may be filled with the hope and practice of peace and love, but we didn’t make society into the Woodstock culture we envisioned. (For the youngsters out there, this could get maudlin—Hint: Google the word maudlin).

Let’s tie all this together. Our featured customer of the day had her information straight and coherent. She knew what she had, what it was, and what she needed to do to move forward. Her problem arose when she went online and encountered some of my Woodstock generation. They just want to help, but that help can be problematic. Her gas requirements were for 2 PSI. Not very common in a residential setting, but it is surprisingly becoming more acceptable. She went to a Web forum to ask a question—and here lies the point of this article: Message boards are often places where opinions go to masquerade as facts.

Our daily contestant didn’t need my help until she went to the message boards to double-check her thinking. Many well-meaning folks extrapolate their personal experiences into universal truths. Then they help our contestant by producing wildly differing ‘truths.’ People are sincerely trying to help, but mistake their misinformation as altruistic nuggets of wisdom. She understandably became a bit bumfuzzled. She also became more confused by another aspect of the thick and deep cauldron of information we have all started swimming in: The amount of information we are all dealing with has increased exponentially. Because of this, there has been a tendency for people to escape the noise of conflicting opinion and seek out only forms of information that conform to their views. But that very flight into opinion based ‘facts’ has made many of us unable to cut through the chatter and find the real truths we need. To further illustrate our daily contestant’s plight, she now has to move from our ‘let us help you’ message board to the guy who has a patch on his shirt that simply says, ‘Vernon.’ Vernon lives in a

far different world than our daily contestant.

Same planet—different world. He shows up as “The Gas Guy.’ There’s no cape he’s wearing (against OSHA regulations as there is a strangling risk) and you probably don’t want to see him in a tight lycra outfit. But he has forms, a uniform of sorts, and a truck with signs. He is the master of his domain.

Yet our daily contestant is a woman who probably has never risen to the level of having her name sewn on her shirt. This lack of tagging has made her unprepared for the world of the ‘service professionals’ and they, in return, are dismissive of her. She tells Vernon that she needs 2 PSI to the burners.

Fine! Great! He hears, “I need a 2 PSI service.”

That’s what he has always done—run 2 PSI in the line to increase volume, then regulate down at the “appliance” to the standard 7"wc (or ¼ PSI). He hears what he wants to hear, and our contestant is still confused by the “help” she has received. Vernon leaves “knowing” he has helped the damsel in distress. But the damsel is never so sure, and calls me, Joe Friday.

I tell our damsel to remove the regulators that Vernon put on the system and use the 2 PSI running to the burners. Case closed. But please don’t assume that this case applies to your particular situation. That’s the point here—you should question things. If you post a question on the Internet and receive an answer, beware! The responses you receive should be several questions to clarify the situation—not a simple answer. Beware the easy answer that is nothing more than opinion. Continue to ask questions until you feel you’ve gotten all the answers you need. If you still feel unsure, keep digging. [

Marc Ward is owner and operator of Ward Burner Systems, PO Box 1086, Dandridge, Tennessee 37725.

He invites you to sign up for his free newsletter, and can be reached by phone at 865.397.2914 or through the online catalog and Web site at: www.ward burner.com.

CLAYTIMES·COM n AUTUMN 2010

OK, so where am I going with this? I spoke today with a nice woman who was trying to get information about her kiln. She had bought this kiln and sort of knew what she needed. She was running a small downdraft (25 cubic feet) with a pair of Venturi burners.

She had been told she needed 2 psi of natural gas to fire the kiln. She knew the size of the orifice in the burners, she knew what type of burners she had, and she had an understanding of what kind of BTU/Hr requirements she needed. Cool. She was way ahead of most of my customers, but not much of a challenge.

(That’s the fun I have everyday: playing verbal charades on the phone. The customer says they need a new thingamajig and I get to play a word game to determine what that thingamajig really is. It keeps me interested and always on my toes. Sometimes I feel like a detective, following the clues and listening for the subtle nuances that mean someone is sure of what they’re saying, unsure, or just repeating something they heard somewhere ... or worse, just making it up as they go along. Either way, I’m having fun although

I can sound like Joe Friday on the phone.)

Again, our younger readers need to Google: Joe Friday.) At this point you’re probably wondering, “What’s with the Boomers, BTUs, and Joe Friday?”

35

Readers Share I Art Works

The Gallery

Sea-themed Chess Set. Handbuilt Coleman porcelain with celadon and raku glazes, reduction and raku-fired, board encased with wood.

Shay Woodhouse, 5041 Bel Air St., Boise, ID, 83705. E-mail: shayliegump@yahoo.com.

CLAYTIMES¡COM n AUTUMN 2010

Submit images of your claywork for publication in The Gallery!

36

Droplet Teapot. 8" x 6" x 6". Wheel-thrown cone 10 reduction sandblasted stoneware.

Eric Rempe, 1655 Taft Street, Lemon Grove, CA 91945. E-mail: remp@cox.net.

Web: www.ericrempe.com.

Send your high-quality color print, slide, or 1050-x-1500-pixel (minimum) digital image to: The Gallery, Clay Times, P.O. Box 365, Waterford, VA 20197. Be sure to include your name, address, telephone number, Website and/or e-mail address, type of clay, glaze, firing method, and dimensions of the work. (Enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope for photo/slide return.)

Have Goats, Will Travel. 10" x 8" x 4". Handbuilt porcelain paperclay. Byron Williamson, 3618 N. Woodbine, St. Joseph, MO 64505. E-mail: byronw@stjoelive.com.

The Question. 22" x 10" x 6". Slab-built cone-10 paperclay with stains and oxides, fired to cone 5 in oxidation. Post-fired with oil-base solvent with minimal pigments. Michele Collier, 1408 E 15th St., Oakland, CA 94606. E-mail: michele@burningclay.com. Website: www.burningclay.com.

Shino Siren. 22" x 12" x 8". Stoneware decorated with oxides, glazes, and underglazes, fired to cone 04 in oxidation. Annie Evans,1679 Westwood Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30310. E-mail: annie2evans@yahoo.com.

CLAYTIMES¡COM n AUTUMN 2010

Bottle. 6" x 6" x 6". Laguna B-mix clay with matte crystalline glaze, electric-fired to cone 10. Brian Geier, 635 White Oak Way, Yorkville, IL 60560. E-mail: briangeier@gmail.com.

Readers Share I Art Works

The Gallery

37

Trimming

can be just

CLAYTIMES·COM n AUTUMN 2010

as much fun

38

as throwing.

Brian Giffin president www.giffingrip.com

©

Giffin Tec inc. / Giffin Earthworks inc.

All rights reserved.

Made in the USA.

Shop Talk I Tool Times

New Tools, New Ideas Are you ready to expand your options?

BY VINCE PITELKA

E

very year at this time I write a column about new tools and equipment. I was unable to be at NCECA this year, but I have communicated with domestic toolmakers and tool-importers about new offerings.

Great White Roller

Last year I wrote about some new items from Kentucky Mudworks “Dirty Girls” line of pottery tools, but failed to mention their “Great White Roller.” Similar to their faceting tool, this one is larger and has an easily-adjustable roller to eliminate the friction with the stationary surface. Like the faceting tool, it is available in both a straight-wire and wiggle-wire version, but with its roller and larger size, it can be used not only for faceting, but also for cutting small slabs for handbuilding, and for a variety of other chores where carefully-controlled slicing action is needed.

Foot Fetish Rib

A brand new item from Dirty Girls is their “Foot Fetish Rib,” a version of a profile rib with a smooth edge, and a notch on the adjacent side to be pressed up against the base of a thrown pot to create a protruding bead or foot.

Bisque Carving Tools

An exciting new offering from Phil Poburka at Bison Studios is a selection of bisque-carving tools. They feature Bison’s finely-crafted turned hardwood handles, polished brass ferrules, and solid tungsten-carbide cutting tips, and are specifically intended for carving on bisqueware. Perhaps their best use is fine-detail carving on soft-bisqued work, where the carver can achieve much greater control with less chance of damage than when doing similar work on leather-hard or bone-dry ware.

Michael Sherrill’s line of Mudtools is offering several new items. Their “Small Bowl Rib” is an addition to the very popular line of colored plastic ribs available in different degrees of flexibility. This one is specifically designed with a curvature ideal for throwing small bowls.

Some of you may be using the Mudtools “Bump” tool, a unique “potter’s finger” or throwing stick with a bendable (not flexible) aluminum shaft that can be tweaked to whatever curvature you desire, and a dense, ball-shaped tip that absorbs water to lubricate itself against the clay. It is specifically designed for pulling up and shaping forms where you cannot fit your hand. A new offering this year is the “Baby Bump” with an identical design, but about half the size, intended for smaller forms.

Last year I mentioned Mudtools’ nifty plastic potter’s knife/modeling tool with a retractable needle tool that snaps shut when you don’t need it.

I referred to it as the “Land Shark,” having been irreversibly corrupted (entirely for the better) by the early years of Saturday Night Live. Its correct name is the “Mudshark.”

Small Bowl Rib Bob Carver Tools

continued on page 41

CLAYTIMES·COM n AUTUMN 2010

Bob Carver makes a variety of finelyformed wood and metal pottery tools, available at www.potterytools. com. Among my favorites is the “Clay Pick,” a nice combination rib and modeling tool that is a favorite of Cynthia Bringle, and offers a variety of useful angles. The “Clay Scalpel” is

39

40

CLAYTIMES·COM n AUTUMN 2010

Chinese Clayart’s plastic tile cutters, item # CT-01, are not the kind of tool I normally write about here in my column, but a bargain is a bargain.

In past columns I have reported on some very fine commercial tile cutters available for the serious tile-maker, but this set of 24 plastic tile cutters in six shapes with four sizes per shape, available for only $6, is great for kids to work with and great for any clayworkers experimenting with repetitive flat shapes and tile-making.

Bob Carver Tools, cont.

probably the finest potter’s wooden knife available. Also it is important to give Bob credit for the original design of the bevel-cutter tool, which he created after working with Lana Wilson. Bob offers the standard 45° version for joining slabs at right angles, but also offers the pictured version that includes 30° and 60° cutters.

Go to Bob’s website and check out his other tools. He’s got some beauties, and I like the honesty and commitment in his whole presentation.

MKM Pottery Stamps

Just as a general reminder, Dolan Pottery Tools is back in production with their full line of fine trimming tools, and you can purchase them from many suppliers, including Bailey at www.baileypottery.com/potterytools/ dolantools.htm. If you want the bestquality carbon-steel trimming tools, I encourage you to buy Dolan. As you may know, during the several years when Dolan was out of production, another ubiquitous big-name toolmaker stepped in and co-opted the whole Dolan line, without license or permission. They broke no laws, but at this point, with Dolan back in business, buying the real thing is just the right thing to do.

Tube Shaped Carving Set

I don’t normally get into big studio equipment in this column, but it bears mention that new developments in Bailey’s wheels promise to render them as quiet as a well-known competitor. Bailey is now also offering a new all-stainless-steel de-airing pugmill that eliminates the pitting and contamination problems some people have experienced when processing porcelain in aluminum-barrel mills.

Chinese Clayart has added some new items to their line of imported clay tools available at www.chineseclayart.com. I find the “Tube Shaped Carving Set,” part #CH17, to be especially useful. These stainless steel carving tools are different from any clay carving set I have seen. The set includes 17 double-ended tools, giving 34 different carving ends, representing a level of versatility and possibility I have not encountered before. So often, when carving soft or leather-hard clay, we adapt tools designed for other media, but this set was designed specifically for clay.

The “Round Edger,” part #CW-11, is a nifty tool. It is composed of a small metal handle with two “wings” that ride along the adjacent edges of a square clay form, while a thin, stiff, curved wire cuts a perfect curved edge along the corner.

You can see a nice picture of this tool in action at the Chinese Clayart website.

I am particularly interested in keeping track of the smaller domestic companies and studios making tools in North America, and I would appreciate hearing from you if there are any I have unwittingly omitted. [ Vince Pitelka is professor of clay at Tennessee Technological University’s Appalachian Center for Craft, an active participant on the Clayart Internet discussion group, and author of Clay: A Studio Handbook. You can contact Vince through his Web site at http://iweb.tntech. edu/wpitelka.

CLAYTIMES·COM n AUTUMN 2010

Rick McKinney’s MKM Pottery Tools is still expanding their extensive line of ribs, throwing sticks, and stamps.

As is the case with most of these toolmakers, the best clay tools are generally designed by serious clayworkers, and Rick McKinney is recognized as a fine potter. He is continually adding to his selection of wood stamps, and I am especially intrigued by the care taken in creating a very large variety of stamps of different sizes that can be combined together in unlimited ways to create complex patterns and images. There is no end to the variations possible with

these stamps. I have included a photo of a small selection of the stamps (lower left) that shows how they can be combined, plus an image of one of Rick’s pots (above) decorated using his stamps.

Shop Talk I Tool Times

New Tools, New Ideas (continued from page 39)

41

18th Annual

STRICTLY FUNCTIONAL POTTERY NATIONAL Four Tufted Cups by Amy Chase, Anna, IL. 4" x 4" x 4" each. Porcelain fired to cone 10 in reduction.

T

he 18th Annual Strictly Functional Pottery National takes place October 1 through November 14, 2010 at Kevin Lehman’s Pottery, 540 South Prince St. in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. A highly juried exhibition of some of the finest examples of functional pottery in the United States, the competition features entries from prominent and established potters as well as from emerging artists.

The pieces that appear in this year’s exhibition were selected by juror Bill van Gilder, a regular Clay Times columnist and a professional potter for more than 30 years. His challenge as juror was to select just about 100 pieces from the more than 1400 entries received.

Teapot Tank by Jeremy Randall, Tully, NY. 5" x 6" x 18".

Oxidation-fired earthenware.

The 18th annual event is chaired this year by Kevin Lehman and Jean Lehman, both well-known (yet unrelated) Lancaster potters. “Functional pottery was always overlooked in national ceramic exhibitions,” says Ms. Lehman. “The SFPN has filled a need in providing a venue for functional work. Different types of clay, methods of making the work, types of glazes, and firing techniques are represented in the SFPN. This exhibition shows the enormous imagination that is possible in creating functional pottery.”

The SFPN is supported by numerous ceramics-related companies, including AMACO/American Art Clay Co., Bailey Pottery Equipment Corp., Clay Times Magazine, Ceramics Monthly Magazine, HACC Ceramics Club, Kevin Lehman’s Pottery, L&L Kiln Mfg. Inc., Laguna Clay Co., Skutt Ceramic Products, and Standard Ceramic Supply Company. It is also supported by the Lancaster Designer Craftsmen, Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen, the Pocono Chapter of the PA Guild of Craftsmen, and the Central PA Potter’s Group. The Market House Craft Center, affiliated with the PA Guild of Craftsmen, is a non-profit, educational, all-volunteer organization dedicated to quality crafts and craftsmanship.

Further details about the show, including images in the current exhibition and those featured in the past five year’s shows, may be viewed online at the official SFPN Website at: www.strictlyfunctionalpotterynational.net.

To learn more about the SFPN, call Kevin Lehman at 717.509.7547 or Jean Lehman at 717.291.2154. [

42

Pebbles in the Sea by Joy Lappin, Florissant, MO. 7" x 5" x 5".

Porcelain fired to cone 10 in reduction.

Ewer Set by Martha Grover, Helena, MT. 5" x 10" x 4". Porcelain fired to cone 11 in oxidation.

CLAYTIMES·COM n AUTUMN 2010

Candy Jar by Roy Hanscom, Kingwood, TX. 6" x 11" x 7". Stoneware fired to cone 9 in reduction.

43

The Slurry Bucket Fluorescent Craze Test A friend asked me how to tell whether a dark glaze is crazed. Rubbing black ink into a dark glaze is not likely to tell us what we want to know, so I fell back on an old industrial technique. I used a highlighter marker as a source of fluorescent dye, and an inexpensive ultraviolet LED flashlight as a “blacklight”.

(A blue or green LED might work with an orange highlighter.)

I thought I would rub the marker on the plate, wipe it off, and look for bright lines; but it turned out to be simpler than that—I didn’t

even have to wipe off the ink! Pictured is a close-up of the crazed glaze.

— Jon Singer, Laurel, MD

Don’t Fret Over Drips How many times have you waxed the rim of a jar or teapot and dripped a drop of wax down inside? I found that wadding up a tissue or paper towel inside the pot catches all the drips and saves lots of frustration (and re-firing to burn off the unwanted wax).

So simple!

— Ruth Soseman, Nevada, IA [

Share your useful clay tips or techniques with our readers and earn a free T-shirt!

Mail your tip with your shirt size to: The Slurry Bucket, c/o Clay Times, PO Box 365, Waterford, VA 20197.

CLAYTIMES·COM n AUTUMN 2010

CODY GARCIA

44

Check out these listings to find local programs for wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculptural techniques, & more …

Classes are listed alphabetically by state

ALABAMA Studio 101 — 101 East 4th St., Prattville, AL 36067; 334.549.0292; www.studio101pottery.com; Studio101Potter@aol.com. Wheel-throwing, handbuilding, electric & alternative firing, guest artist workshops, classes for adults and children, pot shots (group parties). Supporting beginning to advanced artists by providing knowledge, space, and access to great pottery equipment.

ARIZONA Tucson Clay Co-op — 3326 North Dodge Blvd., Tucson, AZ 85711; 520.792.6263; www. tucsonclayco-op.com; tucsonclaycoop@yahoo.com. Fully equipped studio, studio rental, gallery. Wheel-throwing, handbuilding, electric firing, gas firing, raku firing, sculpture, mosaics, classes for adults and children, clay parties, more.

CALIFORNIA Community Center of La Cañada Flintridge — 4469 Chevy Chase Drive, La Cañada Flintridge, CA 91011; 818.790.4353; www. cclcf.org; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, glazing, firing, raku, classes for children and adults.

Get Centered Clay Studio — 8186 Center Street, Suite D, La Mesa, CA 91942; 619.667.7077, www.getcenteredclay.com; getcenteredclay@cox.net. Fully equipped clay studio with 24/7 access, classes, supplies, private/semi-private spaces available. Wheel-throwing, handbuilding, guest artist workshops, classes for adults.

Lakeside Pottery Ceramic School and Studio — 543 Newfield Avenue, Stamford CT 06905; 203.323.2222; studio@lakesidepottery.com; www.lakesidepottery.com. Lakeside Pottery is a ceramic art school & studio in Stamford, CT offering pottery & sculpting classes and workshops, private lessons, after-

Sawmill Pottery — 112 Main St. #14, Putnam, CT 06260; 860.963.7807; www.sawmillpottery.com; dot@sawmillpottery.com. Wheel-throwing, handbuilding, electric & raku firing, classes for adults and children, guest artist workshops, mosaics, Paint-Your-Own, gallery. A very community-minded pottery, we have classes for all ages and abilities ... join us!

DELAWARE Rehoboth Art League — 12 Dodds Lane, Rehoboth, DE 19971; www.rehobothartleague.org; educator@rehobothartleague.org; 302.227.8408. Wheelthrowing, handbuilding, electric & raku firing, guest artist workshops, classes for adults and children, art classes of all kinds. Teach, Inspire, Preserve. Historic setting at the beach.

New Pottery School!

located in Mid-town Atlanta, and offers basic through advanced wheel and handbuilding classes, as well as electric, gas, raku, salt, and soda firing.

Ocee Community Art Center — 6290 Abbotts Bridge Rd., Building 700, Johns Creek, GA 30097; Tel. 770.623.8448; Fax 770.623.6695; www.johnscreekarts.org; dawnjcac@bellsouth.net. Wheelthrowing, handbuilding, sculpture, and electric firing; classes and workshops for adults, teens, and children. Gallery space for rent.

MAINE The Red Door Pottery Studio — 44 Government St., Kittery, ME 03904; 207.439.5671; exfpottery@yahoo.com; www.reddoorpottery.com.

Year-round classes, all skill levels, monthly workshops, private lessons, retail gallery, shows. Wheel-throwing, handbuilding, electric firing, guest artist workshops, classes for adults and children.

MARYLAND

Carla’s Clay — 1733 Northgate Blvd, Sarasota, FL 34234; 941.359.2773; www.Carlasclay.com; cobrien@ carlasclay.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture, gallery, tools, and supplies.

Baltimore Clayworks — 5707 Smith Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21209; 410.578.1919; www.baltimoreclayworks.org; marycloonan@baltimore clayworks.org; workshop contact: forrest.snyder baltimoreclayworks.org; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture, tile, mosaic, decorating, printmaking, slipcasting, wood firing, salt firing.

Craft Gallery & Dixie Art Loft — 5911 South Dixie Hwy., West Palm Beach, FL 33405; 561.585.7744; www.thecraftgallery.net; potteryme@ comcast.net. Gallery, studio & kiln rental. Glazes, clay, glass, tools, books, equipment, and art. Classes in glass fusion, enameling, silver clay, wheel-throwing, handbuilding, and architectural sculpture. Workshops by guest artists.

Glen Echo Pottery — Glen Echo Park, 7300 MacArthur Blvd., Glen Echo, MD 20812; 301.220.5585; www.glenechopottery.com; info@glenechopottery.com.

Year-round pottery school. Day & evening classes. Generous open studio time for individual exploration. Wheel-throwing, handbuilding, gas firing, guest artist workshops, classes for adults and children; special raku, soda, and wood firings.

FLORIDA

GEORGIA Callanwolde Fine Arts Center — 980 Briarcliff Rd., Atlanta, GA 30306; 404.874.9351; www. callanwolde.org; gdair@callanwolde.org. Callanwolde is

Jayne Shatz Pottery — 452 Laurel Valley Court, Arnold, MD 21012; 410.757.6351; www.jayneshatzpottery.com; jesclay@aol.com; wheelthrowing, handbuilding, sculpture, glazing, firing, wall relief and tile, workshops, critiques, marketing strategy, group and private sessions.

CLAYTIMES·COM n AUTUMN 2010

CONNECTICUT

school programs, and summer camp. Wheel-throwing, handbuilding, electric firing, raku firing, classes for adults and children, guest artist workshops, pottery events, and corporate teambuilding workshops.

Resources I Classes

Community Pottery Classes

45

Resources I Classes

MARYLAND, cont. from p. 45 Renaissance Children’s Arts Center — 12116 Darnestown Rd., Suite L-4; Gaithersburg, MD 20878; 301.987.0377; Fax 301.987.0377; www.rcarts. com; info@rcarts.com. Art classes for all ages. Drawing, pottery, clay, mixed media & digital arts. Wheel-throwing,

Shiloh Pottery, Inc. — 1027 Brodbeck Road, Hampstead, MD 21074; 410.239.8888; www.shilohpottery.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding.

MASSACHUSETTS

NEW YORK

Cynthia Curtis Pottery — 80 Pigeon Hill St., Rockport, MA 01966; 978.546.6186; cynthiacurtispottery@verizon.net; wwwcynthiacurtispottery.com. Year-round classes for all ages and abilities. Also private lessons, independent study program, retail gallery. Wheel-throwing, handbuilding, electric firing, guest artist workshops.

Banner Hill School of Fine Arts & Woodworking — 741 Mill St., P.O. Box 607, Windham, NY 12423; 518.929.7821; bannerhillwindham@mac.com; www.bannerhillLLC.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, electric & raku firing, guest artist workshops, classes for adults & children; 1-day to 2-week courses in ceramics for beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels.

Mudflat Pottery School, Inc. — 149 Broadway, Somerville, MA 02145; 617.628.0589; www.mudflat.org; info@mudflat.org. Wheel-throwing, handbuilding, tile. Non-profit clay community offering three semesters annually for all ages and skill levels.

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MISSISSIPPI

BrickHouse Ceramic Art Center — 10-34 44th Drive 1st Floor, Long Island City, NY 11101; 718.784.4907; ellen.day@brickhouseny.com; http:// www.brickhouseny.com. Spacious, fully-equipped studio, year-round adult classes, ceramic artist rental shelves, pottery for sale. Wheel-throwing, handbuilding, electric firing, guest artist workshops, private parties.

Natchez Clay — 101 Clifton Ave. (overlooking Mississippi River), Natchez, MS 39120; 601.660.2375; natchezclay@gmail.com; www.natchezclay.com. Ongoing classes; great workshop schedule; great facilities. See our Web site for more info. Wheel-throwing, handbuilding, electric firing, gas firing, raku firing, guest artist workshops, classes for adults, classes for children. Private and shared studio rental.

Clay Art Center — 40 Beech Street, Port Chester, NY 10573; 914.937.2047; www.clayartcenter.org; mail@clayartcenter.org. Clay classes for adults & children and monthly workshops in wheel-throwing, sculpture, & special topics. Wheel-throwing, handbuilding, electric firing, gas firing, raku firing, guest artist workshops, summer camps, studio space, gallery.

Bodine Pottery & Art Studio — New location: 432 West Frontage Dr., Wiggins, MS 39577; tel. 601.928.4718; www.bodinepottery.com; hukmut@ bodinepottery.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, PMC (precious metal clay).

CLAYTIMES·COM n AUTUMN 2010

MISSOURI

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The perfect tool for same-size production pottery. Unique hinged pointer measures height and diameter of the pot and moves out of the way when not in use. With the Fulwood Measure, you can get it right every time. Handcrafted in beautiful hardwood and made in the USA.

Kissimmee River Pottery

One 8th Street #11 Frenchtown, New Jersey 08825 908.996.3555 riverpots @ earthlink.net www.kissimmeeriverpottery.com

NEW JERSEY Laplaca Pottery Works — 1200 Ocean Ave., Suite 502, Asbury Park, NJ 07712; 732.861.2276; greglaplaca@aol.com, www.laplacapotteryworks.com.

Oceanfront studio in historic Asbury Park, NJ. Wheel-throwing, electric and raku firing, guest artist workshops, classes for adults and children.

handbuilding, electric firing, summer camps & workshops.

The

Pottery at Phoebes Barn is a warm and comfortable environment to relax and create. Wheel-throwing and handbuilding; electric, gas, and raku firing; guest artist workshops, classes for adults and children.

The Potter’s Obsession, LLC — 13035-B Holmes Road, Kansas City, MO 64145; 816.941.2555; pottersobsession.com; obpotter@ kcnet.com. Wheel-throwing; handbuilding; cone 6 electric firing; raku firing; classes for adults.

NEW HAMPSHIRE Pottery at Phoebes Barn — 16 North Main St., Mont Vernon, NH 03057; 603.673.3410; Pottery@PhoebesBarn.com, www.PhoebesBarn.com.

Clayworks on Columbia Inc. — 195 Columbia St., Brooklyn, NY 11231; 917.428.3128; ddmcdermott@rcn.com; www.clayworksoncolumbia.org.

A not-for-profit clay studio now in its 16th year. Classes for adults & children in wheel-throwing, handbuilding, and sculpture; featuring electric firing plus gallery space for students and members.

The Painted Pot — 339 Smith Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231; 718.222.0334; www.paintedpot.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture.

Tribeca Clay Works — Downtown Community Center, 120 Warren Street, New York, NY 10007; 212.766.1104 ext. 259; www.downtowncommunitycenter.org; susan @ downtowncommunitycenter.org. Ceramic/pottery classes in Tribeca. Fully equipped and spacious studio for all levels. Classes for adults & children in wheel-throwing, handbuilding, electric firing, mommy & me classes, parties.

Clayspace — 831 S. Front St., Columbus, OH 43220; 614.449.8144; tamiknight@ clayspace831.com; www.clayspace831.com. Fully equipped ceramic studio offering clay classes taught by ceramic artists in a casual atmosphere. Wheel-throwing, handbuilding, electric and raku firing, guest artist workshops, classes for adults and children, glass.

Yost Pottery Studio — 1940 Crystal Drive, Akron, OH 44312; 330.734.0763; www.yostpottery.com. Wheelthrowing, handbuilding, tile, firing to cone 6 oxidation and cone 9 reduction.

Resources I Classes

OHIO

collective and highly dynamic environment with the goal of promoting ceramic art through research, education, and outreach. Wheel-throwing, handbuilding, ceramic sculpture, tile, electric firing, gas firing, raku firing, guest artist workshops, classes for adults and children.

Manassas Clay & Tin Barn Pottery Supply — 9122 Center Street, Manassas, VA 20110; 703.330.1040; www.manassasclay.com; manassasclay@ aol.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture, glazing, raku.

Nan Rothwell Studio Pottery — 221 Pottery Lane, Faber, VA 22938 (near Wintergreen); 434.263.4023; www.nanrothwellpottery.com; wheelthrowing, handbuilding, glazing, firing for ages 16 & up.

PENNSYLVANIA The Clay Studio — 139 North Second Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106; 215.925.3453; www.theclaystudio.org; info@theclaystudio.org; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture.

TEXAS Eric Orr Clay — 22 Blackjack Lane, Lewisville, TX 75077; 940.241.1242; ericorrclay. com; ericmuddorr@yahoo.com. A complete teaching studio for lovers of clay and glass. Wheel-throwing, handbuilding, electric firing, gas firing, raku firing, glass fusing and slumping, classes for adults and children.

WISCONSIN Bethel Horizons - Art Ventures — 312 Wisconsin Ave., Madison, WI 53703; 608.767.8767; www.bethelhorizons-artventures.org; huntk@tds.net. Many levels classes/groups for wheel-throwing, handbuilding, wood-firing, at our state-of-the-art studio in the beautiful hills of SE Wisconsin. Wheel-throwing and handbuilding; electric, gas, raku, and wood firing; guest artist workshops; classes for adults and children, school groups, church groups, and assorted community groups.

WYOMING

Potter’s Wheel — 5419 FM 1960 W Suite E, Houston, TX 77069; klanier327@sbcglobal.net; www. giftedpotter.com; 281.537.8447. We are a private teaching studio and gift gallery in a busy shopping center.

Wheel-throwing, handbuilding, electric firing, raku firing, guest artist workshops, classes for adults and children, paint-your-own pottery.

Potters’ Depot LLC — 75 East Benteen St., Buffalo, WY 82834; 307.684.4555; pottersdepot@msn. com.Wheel-throwing, handbuilding, electric firing, gas firing, raku firing, guest artist workshops, classes for adults, teens, and children. Fully-equipped pottery studio with gallery and supplies. 2010 Summer Workshop with Tara Dawley.[

SUNIN Clay Studio — 13473 Wetmore Road, San Antonio, TX 78247; 210.494.9100; suninpottery@ sbcglobal.net ; suninclaystudio.net. A full-service working and teaching studio where potters and students express themselves in clay. Wheel-throwing, handbuilding, electric firing, raku firing, guest artist workshops, classes for adults and children.

A year-round listing of your community pottery class in CT and on our Website is available for just $99 — an EXCELLENT VALUE! To feature your classes, visit our online submission page: www.claytimes.com/classes. html or call 540.882.3576.

CHARLOTTE NC Setting up a studio?

Your full-service pottery supplier featuring clays by Standard, Highwater and Laguna; kilns, glazes, chemicals and equipment.

School orders welcome!

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e-mail: carolinaclay@aol.com www.carolinaclay.com

VIRGINIA

Lorton Arts Foundation-Workhouse Arts Center — 9504 Workhouse Way, Bldg. 8, Lorton, VA 22079; (703) 584-2982; www.workhousearts. org or www.lortonarts.org; dalemarhanka@lortonarts.org. A

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Art Pottery Studio — 4810 Tabard Pl., Annandale, VA 22003; 703.978.1480; artpottery@earthlink.net; www. potteryart.biz. Year-round classes for all ages and abilities; group and private lessons, with special programs for Girl Scouts, cancer survivors, & others facing life’s challenges.

Wheel-throwing, handbuilding, electric firing, classes for adults and children, mixed media, sculpture, and specialty workshops.

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Resources I Classified Marketplace

Classified Marketplace Classes • Supermud Pottery Studio, 2744 Broadway, New York City, NY 10026 — We offer daytime and evening classes in handbuilding, wheel-throwing, and glazing to adults and children of all skill levels. Monthly rentals are possible. Call 212.865.9190 or visit us at supermudpotterystudio.com.

For Rent

Videos & Books

• Studio spaces for rent monthly — Private, semi-private and group use space.

Get Centered Clay, Studio, La Mesa, CA 619.667.7077; www.getcenteredclay.com.

• PotteryVideos.com — DVDs with Robin Hopper, Gordon Hutchens, and Graham Sheehan. Video workshops for potters at all levels of experience. Choose from 21 titles. E-mail info@potteryvideos.com or call 800.668.8040.

For Sale

• THE HENRY FORD Full-Time Assistant Potter — BFA ceramics/equivalent production experience required. Weekday, weekend, evening, holiday availability required. Produces items for sale. Assists Potter/manager as necessary. Participates in historical presentations to public.

Demonstrated pottery skill required including molding, decorating, glazing, firing. Strong oral, written communication; organizational, interpersonal, public presentation skills; ability to work on team. Must be gregarious, friendly, upbeat. Good manual dexterity, hand/eye coordination essential. Non-air conditioned. Respirator may be required.

To apply: log onto http://www.thehenryford. org/about/employment.aspx then click “View Current Job Postings.” Click “All Vacancies.”

To view job description, click “Show/Hide.”

Click “Apply” button. Allow minimum 1 hour to complete application.

• Creative community: NC mountains near Penland School of Crafts — Ninety acres includes forest preserve, hiking trails, organic farm site, green homes, cool neighbors. Homesites with utilities (underground electricity, water, broadband Internet) from $45,000. Studios/galleries welcome! Hundreds of studios nearby. High Cove, a community for arts, environment, and lifelong learning: www.highcove.com.

• K-12 Ceramic Exhibition — The 14th Annual K-12 Ceramic Exhibition opens in April 2011 at the NCECA Conference, Tampa, Florida. Open to K-12 students by teacher entry, the annual event is a great

CLAYTIMES·COM n AUTUMN 2010

pottersforpeace.org or e-mail peterpfp@ gmail.com.

Opportunities

• JOIN AMERICANPOTTERS.COM TODAY! — Be a part of a national, searchable database for FREE ... or an “online gallery/portfolio” to sell your work, without commissions. If you have a Website, join with a “link” page. All information is editable by you, without Web knowledge. Go to the site and click on “FAQ” for more information.

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success. Check out past award winners and their works online at www.k12clay.org.

• 5 acres for sale in the Texas hill country, close to San Antonio — Studio with two Kilns: 18-cu.-ft. raku and 60-cu.-ft. salt kiln, plus 900-sq.-ft. garage with workshop, pool, water, septic; fenced. All you have to do is build your home! E-mail: brendabeam@ sbcglobal.net or call 210.273.3106.

• For Sale: Pugmill and Mixer — Bluebird 3000 vacuum de-airing pugmill: $5000 plus shipping. Pro Soldner mixer: $3000 plus shipping, ships from Akron, OH. Both 208 3-phase. Call Bob Yost at 330.734.0763 or e-mail: yostpottery@me.com.

Travel • Visit the potters of Nicaragua with Potters for Peace — Feb. 5-19, 2011. $1400 covers all expenses but airfare. You will visit a variety of artisan communities, a ceramic water filter shop, and see how and with whom PFP works. Visit www.

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• Order Great Glazes I & II for just $15 each at the Clay Times online store at www.claytimes.com — These classic hands-on studio glaze books offer dozens of favorite glaze recipes for all kinds of firing & atmospheres.

Workshops • Winter Workshop at Lake Tahoe! — Josh DeWeese, “Pots as Expression,” January 3-7, 2011, Sierra Nevada College. Come enjoy all the winter activities Lake Tahoe has to offer while studying with a master potter. $550. Includes daily lunches. 775.881.7588; www.sierranevada.edu/workshops.

• Simon Levin Ceramics Lecture and Workshop — 2010 “It’s Only Clay” Juror Simon Levin to host workshop for the 8th Annual IOC, entitled, “Throwing With the End in Sight.” The workshop will be held November 4-5 at Bemidji State University in the Visual Arts Department and Ceramics studio. The workshop is open artists 18 years or older; fee is $25. Class size is limited; registration deadline Oct. 29, 2010.

The IOC Lecture is scheduled for November 3 at 7 pm; it is free and open to the public. For more information on IOC and/ or workshop registration, log onto: http:// bcac.wordpress.com/its-only-clay/its-onlyclay-2010/ [

Place your classified ad in the magazine and on the Clay Times Website for as little as $50—an amazing value!

For details, e-mail: claytimes@gmail.com or log onto: www.claytimes.com/classifieds.html

T

here is no such thing as a self-taught potter. Agree? Disagree? No matter. I’m the one writing this column, so what I say goes!

As potters in the 21st century, we are blessed not only with a world pottery history filled with culture, technique, society, economics, individuals from whom to learn, and more, but also the material work produced over the millennia. Often we Americans are made to feel that our pottery history is in some way less significant and less interesting—that it exists only due to influences that came to us from other parts of the world and other cultures; that our pottery traditions are less important. Granted, a wellrounded education must be gained through international study, but don’t forsake our own backyard. America enjoys a rich pottery history and as much as we have been taught and influenced by others, Americans have made their marks around the world.

Here we have two lovely books written about two icons of 20th-century ceramics.

Though their lives have existed in a parallel period during the 1900s, they come from different traditions, different backgrounds, and different places. They are both American Classics!

You know the life and work of Maria Martinez.

Susan Peterson was instrumental in bringing her story to the world. Susan did the same for Lucy Lewis. We are all familiar with Nampeyo, Blue Corn, and Helen Cordero. But for some reason, Margaret Tafoya is less known. No longer. Charles King has written a wonderful account of the life and pottery of this great American artist. Born of Fire is a beautiful object. Almost 12" x 11", 160 pages, and filled with living color images that jump off the page, it is a book that you will love to hold.

You’ll relish the feel and the turning of the heavy, bright white pages.

Born of Fire is organized into six chapters that follow the chronology of Tafoya’s life. Chapter 1: “Growing Up the Pueblo Way,” covers the period from her birth in 1904 to 1924. King sets the stage, laying the early background of the Tafoya family and their life on the Santa Clara pueblo in northern New Mexico. We are told about Margaret’s parents: who they were, how they lived, and how the outside, Western influences on the Tewa people that began to contemporize them was in conflict with a growing awareness of their own unique culture and desire to maintain their traditional way of life. Margaret’s mother, Sara Fina, was a potter. It was during these early years that her practice of the craft would begin to influence and shape Margaret’s life.

Chapter 2: “Family Life” 1925-1949 is the beginning of the story of Margaret’s married life, the growth of her family, and the beginning of her work and future lifelong pursuit of pottery making and teaching.

Born of Fire: The Life and Pottery of Margaret Tafoya by Charles King University of New Mexico Press Hardcover • $45

The final chapter, Chapter 6: “The Tradition Continues” is devoted to Margaret’s children and grandchildren, their work as potters,

and how they each in their own way are continuing the clay tradition began by their matriarch. Rounding out the content is an appendix that presents Margaret’s signatures and one that shows the complete genealogy of the Tafoya family.

King writes in the style of a storyteller; comfortable, captivating, thematic, narrative, and descriptive. This is not an academic study, but thankfully a personal journey into the lives of others. King uses the convention of the “sidebar” in which various anecdotes or more detailed explanations of things are highlighted and made to stand out. These sidebars are written by members of the Tafoya family and give us further personal insight into the story of Margaret Tafoya.

Harrison McIntosh: A Timeless Legacy Essays

by Christy Johnson, Martha W. LongeneckeRoth, and Marguerite McIntosh, American Museum of Ceramic Art • Hardcover • $40 In the world of books on pottery and potters there is a new player in town. The American Museum of Ceramic Art, founded in 2004

by David Armstrong, is quickly becoming a mecca for clay art in this country. Their mission to “stimulate appreciation for and expand knowledge of ceramics as an art form, an artifact, and a resource for technical innovation” has, in a very short time, become a reality. An important part of their continued on next page

CLAYTIMES·COM n AUTUMN 2010

There is no need for me to summarize every chapter, as my intention is not to write a study guide! The chapters that follow continue in a biographical vein, interweaving aspects of culture, religion, parenting, society, and of course, the growth and development of Margaret’s art and her establishment as one of the most significant and influential potters of the Pueblo tradition (as well as one of the most important clay artists America has ever produced).

REVIEW BY STEVEN BRANFMAN

Resources I Books & Videos

Two American Classics

49

Resources I Books & Videos

Book Reviews (continued from page 49) programming, so to speak, is the publishing of books and the production of films. One look at one of their books and it is clear that they are doing the right thing!

Harrison McIntosh: A Timeless Legacy was written in 2009 to coincide with the exhibition of the same name. At 9" x 11½" and 103 pages, to label this an exhibition catalog would be accurate but unfair, as the content and quality of this book allow it to stand alone, outside the confines of the exhibition.

Sixty years of an artist’s work can be a daunting task to present and write about. In the opening essay, “Vessels with Timeless Identity,” Christy Johnson, Director of AMOCA, introduces us to the artist and presents the foundation upon which McIntosh’s creative life developed.

However, Johnson does not treat her essay as a biography in the strict sense of the word.

There is no detailed discussion of childhood or teenage romance. Instead, the account is about the circumstances and influences that led McIntosh to clay and, ultimately, to a career in ceramics.

CLAYTIMES·COM n AUTUMN 2010

McIntosh showed an early interest in art and craft. He was encouraged by the support of his parents. That support and a series of “fortuitous experiences” in his youth set the groundwork for his later art career. Johnson accurately and descriptively places the artist within the milieu of mid-century aesthetics and the burgeoning interest in crafts.

Heightened interest in architecture spurred by the building of the family house also contributed to McIntosh’s spatial awareness, which later on would manifest itself in his vessel forms. His formal clay education with the likes of Marguerite Wildenhain and others is discussed, as is his encounter with the famous visits to southern California by Bernard Leach, Shoji Hamada, and Soetsu

50

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Yanagi. Johnson continues her piece by sharing with the reader the artist’s experience in commercial design, the establishment of his own studio, and the character of McIntosh’s work.

In her essay “Tribute,” Martha LongeneckerRoth, founding President and Director Emeritus of the Mingei International Museum, offers us her specialized insight into the unique qualities of clay as a material, the significance of the pottery form as a historical object, and the role of the potter. Skillfully and with dedication, she identifies and places McIntosh as an expert practitioner.

The final essay, “The Soul of an Artist,” written by the artist’s wife Marguerite McIntosh, Founding President of the Claremont Museum of Art, is a bit more biographical and a more personal account of McIntosh’s life and growth as an artist.

Ms. McIntosh shares more details about his childhood, his formal education, his relationship with his brother, and other aspects of McIntosh’s life, while at the same time offering observations on and

somewhat critical analysis of his art and inspirations.

The balance of Harrison McIntosh: A Timeless Legacy is a full-color catalog of the 90 pieces in the exhibition, spanning the years 1938 to 1998. Also included is a biography, and a selected exhibition history.

I would be remiss if I didn’t call your attention to the final written contribution to the book: a poem by David Armstrong, written to McIntosh on the occasion of his 95th birthday. Here, I’ll share one verse with you ... no, wait—I’ve changed my mind.

You’ll have to get the book to read the poem.

It will be worth it. [

Steven Branfman is a an accomplished potter and teacher of pottery and ceramics at Thayer Academy in Braintree, Massachusetts, and proprietor of The Potters Shop and School. He may be reached by phone at 781.449.7687 or via e-mail at sbranfpots@ aol.com.

Index to Advertisers AMACO...................................... 12, 51 Bailey Pottery Equipment.................. 8 Banner Hill School of Fine Arts........ 18 BigCeramicStore.com....................... 9 Brent Wheels.................................... 10 Bracker's.......................................... 19 John C. Campbell Folk School.......... 4 Carolina Clay Connection................ 47 Clay Times Products.... 7,10,19, 34, 50 Clayworks Supplies......................... 18 Davens Ceramic Center................... 10 Euclid’s Elements............................. 13 Evenheat Kilns................................. 47 Fulwood Measure............................ 46 Giffin Tec.......................................... 38 Graber’s Pottery, Inc........................ 38 Great Lakes Clay & Supply Co........ 22 Highwater Clays............................... 22 Herring Designs............................... 48 Hood College................................... 18 Japan Pottery Tools......................... 32

Katonah Art Center.......................... 32 Kentucky Mudworks........................ 38 The Kiln Dr........................................ 48 L & L Kilns.......................................... 2 Master Kiln Builders......................... 47 Minnesota Clay USA.......................... 4 MKM Pottery Tools.......................... 46 Muddy Elbow/Soldner Wheels........ 40 North Star Equipment...................... 18 Olympic Kilns .................................. 16 Paragon Industries........................... 18 PCF Studios..................................... 47 Peter Pugger...................................... 3 Potters for Peace............................. 32 Scott Creek/Clay Art Center.............. 4 Sheffield Pottery.............................. 16 Skutt Ceramic Products.................. 52 Trinity Ceramic Supply..................... 34 U.S. Pigment Corp........................... 16 van Gilder Workshops...................... 18 Ward Burner Systems...................... 19

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