Mel Jacobson on wed 8 oct 97
when glazing:
the thickness of the glaze must be constant....(well to a point)
the length of stay in the bucket increases the thickness of the glaze.
watery glazes, thick soupie glazes will alter the thickness.
the cone that you fire your bisque changes all of this.
soft bisque sucks up a great deal of glaze. hard bisque does not.
take a tall thin pot....dunk the pot all the way in....2 seconds, then dunk
again leaving the first dip to show about 2 inches...then dip again for two
seconds...leaving second dip show 2 inches...continue this
to the top of the pot.
fire to normal cone.
you will discover that you do not have one glaze....you have six
glazes.
mr. uchida had one glaze.....pure white. like ivory.
it was not allowed, to screw around with the glaze....10 seconds in the
bucket.....glaze was as thick as medium cream. well stirred.
we did it the same every time...automatic.
all pots looked the same when they came from the kiln.
that theory is called standardization: when you can standardize,
and do it all the time. then screw around.
back to tea bowls...why is it that only the finest of master potters,
with total control of the material, take liberties with loppy pots.?
philosophical point:
learn your materials and tools...study, get some control. even
learn some science.
then it is time to experiment, stretch the medium. we often
have it backwards...`drive a race car 190 miles an hour the
first day you get your license`.
and remember, if you don't
know`jack shit` as a teacher.....let your kids play around
and experiment with the material...they may discover something.
of course that is how monkeys learn to paint. accidental learning.
teachers are paid to teach, direct, lead.....and give as much
knowledge to their students as is possible. but of course you
have to have knowledge, to give knowledge. and that is called
wisdom. and that part never comes with the the m.f.a.
that sixty minutes thing got under my skin...
glorification again, of most nothing.
p.s. hate chamois'...always get lost in pug mill. never use them.
esp. in a class room. 50 pieces of that stuff going round and round
in the pug mill. ick, mel
http://www.pclink.com/melpots
Rick Hintze on thu 9 oct 97
I missed whatever inspired your comments but have to take issue with your
points as they are stated:
"and remember, if you don't
know`jack shit` as a teacher.....let your kids play around
and experiment with the material...they may discover something.
of course that is how monkeys learn to paint. accidental learning.
teachers are paid to teach, direct, lead....."
I tend to agree that teachers are supposed to teach something but would
include that they should also teach that experimentation and discovery are an
important part of making art. Many of my students want to be told what to do
and are timid about trying out their own hunches. I think that teaching
ideally should incorporate a balance between disciplined learning and
experimentation. Without the pull of discovery, where will the motivation
come from? A teacher maybe quite knowledgeable about the discipline and be
able to convey knowlege to students but could still be an unskilled teacher.
Knowing "jack shit" about teaching is more than knowledge of technique and
aesthetics.
"teachers are paid to teach, direct, lead.....and give as much
knowledge to their students as is possible. but of course you
have to have knowledge, to give knowledge. and that is called
wisdom. and that part never comes with the the m.f.a."
You seem to be saying that knowledge and wisdom are the same and that
transfering knowledge to someone else is wisdom. Wisdom perhaps has to be
based on knowledge, but surely the two are different. Simple giving of
knowledge doesn't necessarliy involve any wisdom at all.
Rick Hintze
Cedar Rapids, IA
Dannon Rhudy on fri 10 oct 97
.......that sixty minutes thing got under my skin...
glorification again, of most nothing........
I missed the 60 minutes thing, was in studio. Who did the
segment, and what was attitude? I saw one a few years ago,
they absolutely (and rightly, in my opinion) excoriated the
museums/galleries/collectors/artists for making/buying junk.
Pointed out that museums were paying huge sums to buy piles
of dirt and sticks and wads of newspaper, etc. Then, storing
it in barrels in the basement...no one to sell it to...using
artspeak to explain/excuse.
So, I'd like to know what the approach was this time. d.
| |
|
