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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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TIMES
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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
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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
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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 [
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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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• 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
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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)
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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.
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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