Ken Nowicki on thu 18 sep 97
I've been hymming and hawwing lately everytime I see a post regarding "The
Whitelist" recommended by Mel (I think) awhile back... knowing that I should
contribute my two cents worth... but never seeming to have enough time to sit
down and write out note to you all. Well... Bonnie's last post was the final
straw... I could no longer make excuses why I don't have the time to share my
experiences with you.
My first experience with a ceramic class was in my senior year in High
School. The teacher was kinda weird and had sort of an attitude. However, by
the semester's end, I had managed to learn how to center and pull small
cylinders on the wheel... and although they were crude... it was enough to
plant the seed in my head that clay was a verry intriguing material to work
with.
For a few years after H.S., I took some general ed at college, worked in the
restaurant business, and tried verry hard to launch a career as a musician by
playing in various bands in clubs all over town... I became very discouraged
of "the band" scene after watching our very sucessful 6 piece group disband
in disbelief. The music biz was looking more and more like it was not the
career path for me. Too many egos, too many other people effecting your
career... and not enough control. It was then that I decided to persue the
one thing I knew I was good at, and didn't need anybody else to participate
in. My art. I had drawn and painted since I was a little boy, taking as many
art classes as I could all along the way through school. I thought maybe I
could hone my skills enough to make a living at it somehow. So... I enrolled
back in college... thrusting myself back into various courses... and one of
which was a ceramics class.
The first day I walked into John W. Conrad's classroom at San Diego Mesa
College... I had no idea what effect his profound influence was going to have
on me the rest of my life. I soon realized, as the weeks followed... that
this was no ordinary teacher. My first impressions, as I got to know "Doc"
(which is what we all called him)... were that he seemed a bit quiet... laid
back... and unassuming... but it was clear from the start, when talking about
clay... he was passionate! His eyes would light right up! It was only many
months, pehaps years later did I fully realize that he was not really
quiet... but perhaps contemplative... and it was not the easiest thing to
move on to the next plateau of learing the craft at times... you had to
really show sincere interest and passion for the material yourself... in
order for Doc to really "open up" to you... and direct you in a manner so
that you may find the answers to the mysteries of clay yourself. But once Doc
knew how "jacked" you were about clay... the information on how to find the
answers was always available... you just had to work for it a bit. And it
seemed... this man knew ALL the answers. It was clear after watching him the
first few times throwing at the wheel... that I was being taught by a "master
potter"... a man who had complete control of his skills and knew just how far
he could push clay to it's limits... Doc seemed to throw effortlessly...
tall, beautifully shaped, graceful forms... many of which were narrow-necked
porcelain bottles which he later masterfully fired with crystaline glazes...
I remember the very first time I picked up one of his bottles that came out
of the bisque kiln... so tall, so graceful... I very cautiously picked it up
and was instantly astonished!! It was soooo light, my eyes decieved me...
but my hands were sure of what it felt. It felt soooo good! "This is what it
means to be a good potter!" ...I thought It was only later, after I grew as
a potter myself that I realized just how intellegent Doc was about his
medium... how he's rightfully earned his Phd. in ceramics... and was
extremely knowledgable about clay and glaze technology. John is the author of
some very excellent books, and quite respected in our industry. I found it
amazing to find him accessable to me at a community college level. The
ceramics program that Doc has built over the years at SDMC is one of the best
facilities (if not "the" best) for a California community college... and
quite possibly better than many 4 year universities. I felt extemely blessed
to be under his tutelage and a part of his program. I'm sure that much of my
throwing style and my eye for form was a direct result of watching and
learning from John for hours on end. This is a man that at the end of the
day, (even though he wasn't supposed to) would lock the door to the
classroom, and simply tell a handful of us dedicated students... "Just make
sure you close the door and turn out the lights on your way out"... allowing
us to remain and work for many more hours into the night. I am truly proud
and honored to be able to look back and say "I studied under John Conrad"
....he will always be my mentor ...and my friend.
It was about 3 years into my ceramics studies when John had gotten approval
to hire another teacher for his growing ceramics department... it was around
that time when I met Lana Wilson. I enrolled in one of Lana's classes, and
after I left that first day, I knew Lana and I were going to "hit it off"
right from the start... I could just tell. She was an exuberant ex-hippie
who'd graduated from Berkeley during California's "60's era"... and she had
studied with some of the greats in our field. Lana is so full of life, such
an hilarious person, so personable, loves to tell wonderful stories... and
she is sooo in love with her clay. She helped me really look at clay
differently. Lana has an uncanny sense of taking an ordinary vessel, be it
handbuilt or thrown... and turn it into a complete object of wonderment...
something you would've never thought of before... she manipulates and
contorts this wonderful stuff into objects you'd never dream of... of
course... she makes it look so natural the entire time she's working... Lana
is a complete joy to watch at work, and she's an awful lot of fun to be with.
She is responsible for my awareness of that tactile quality clay has... the
surface... the possiblities of making an ordinary pot into a textural
dreamscape... You almost have to see her work to understand what I mean...
it's truly incredible. I call Lana a "creative genius"... and I truly believe
she is. Her approch to clay has pushed the boundries of endless possiblities
of what you can do with this wonderful stuff. Her glaze methods and
contributions to our field are astounding as well. I would advise anybody who
gets a chance to spend time with Lana either through a workshop or classroom
to do so... you will not regret it! Lana is also an author and has
contributed quite a few articles to CM in recent years. She is also a staff
writer for ClayTimes. She was a nice balance with John's teaching style and
their approaches to the medium complimented each other wonderfully. How
fortunate I have been to have these two wonderful people as my mentors and
friends! I can only hope that there are many more teachers in our field like
these two...
Below is a list of books & video by John and Lana. Highly recommended!
John W. Conrad, Phd
Advanced Ceramic Manual
Ceramic Formulas; The Complete Compendium
Studio Ceramic Dictionary
Ceramic Windchimes
Lana Wilson
Ceramics: Shape and Surface
Soft Slab Techniques (Video)
Check your back issues of CM for articles as well.
I'm pretty sure these books & video are still available through:
The Potter's
Shop
31 Thorpe
Road
Needham
Heights, MA 02194
(617)
449-7687
In a nutshell Bonnie... IMHO... $75 is well worth it to spend the day
learning from Lana. Go for it! :-)
regards,
Ken Nowicki
RakuArtist@aol.com
"It's like a direct shot in the arm!..."
John Conrad, talking about working in ceramics
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In a message dated 09-17-97, Bonnie wrote:
A friend mentioned that Hood College in Frederick, Maryland is presenting
Lana Wilson giving a one day (9-5) workshop on slab building entitled
something along the lines of "Innovative Construction using Soft Slabs"
(my paraphrase) Saturday, Septebmer 25th. She is going and I'm tempted to
go. The cost is $75.
I would appreciate any feedback about Lana Wilson as a one-day presenter
or about her work with slabs. I've enjoyed her book.
Bonnie Hellman in Pittsburgh, PA (about a 4 hour drive from Frederick, MD)
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