WJ Seidl on fri 4 may 07
Regarding this issue of "what is hand made?" that seems to plague this
list
over and over at various times each year, might I make a tongue in cheek
suggestion?
As I see it (feel free to disagree)
there are words in the English language that can be used to define the
oh-so-generic term
"hand made".
Might anyone ever consider boosting their vocabulary a bit with terms like
"hand built" "hand crafted" "hand decorated".
Surely, we can define terms that are already in common use.
Someone pointed out that they saw lots of hands emptying molds, painting
slip, trimming castings, etc.
Lots of hands "hand construct", "sculpt by hand", "hand process" things
for everyday use.
If it's not a machine making it, then it's a human doing so. Humans
have hands (well, most of us). What we do, therefore, is ALL hand made.
It's a generic term. If you don't like the use of that term, then
define it further.
IMHO, YMMV.
Best,
Wayne Seidl
Lee Love on fri 4 may 07
On 5/4/07, WJ Seidl wrote:
> Regarding this issue of "what is hand made?" t
Just truthfully describe how you make it.
If I took a time machine back 700 years, I could still
make my work the way I work now. My clay is dug from a pit about 15
minutes from my house. I don't have a pugmill. I throw work on a
Korean style kick wheel. I only have a wood kiln and do all my
firing in it. Actually, the only electricity involved is the light
over my wheel and the air conditioner in the summer. (I heat with
wood.)
So, my work is hand made to the extreme. But I
don't give it a second thought about how other folks make their work.
If you have confidence in yourself and your work, you don't get whiny
ass'd about others.
All I care is that people be honest and tell the truth. If
someone has character. I can usually respect their work. However
they make it.
--
Lee in Mashiko, Japan
Minneapolis, Minnesota USA
http://potters.blogspot.com/
"To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts." -
Henry David Thoreau
"Let the beauty we love be what we do." - Rumi
Ron Roy on fri 4 may 07
I think Wayne is onto something.
Now I'm wondering - if you say "hand formed" will there be nothing to
discuss? Certainly not as much wiggle room.
RR
> Regarding this issue of "what is hand made?" that seems to plague this
>list
> over and over at various times each year, might I make a tongue in cheek
> suggestion?
>
> As I see it (feel free to disagree)
> there are words in the English language that can be used to define the
> oh-so-generic term
> "hand made".
>
> Might anyone ever consider boosting their vocabulary a bit with terms like
> "hand built" "hand crafted" "hand decorated".
>
> Surely, we can define terms that are already in common use.
> Someone pointed out that they saw lots of hands emptying molds, painting
> slip, trimming castings, etc.
> Lots of hands "hand construct", "sculpt by hand", "hand process" things
> for everyday use.
>
> If it's not a machine making it, then it's a human doing so. Humans
> have hands (well, most of us). What we do, therefore, is ALL hand made.
> It's a generic term. If you don't like the use of that term, then
> define it further.
> IMHO, YMMV.
>
> Best,
> Wayne Seidl
>
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Ron Roy
RR#4
15084 Little Lake Road
Brighton, Ontario
Canada
K0K 1H0
Vince Pitelka on fri 4 may 07
Wayne Seidl wrote:
> Might anyone ever consider boosting their vocabulary a bit with terms
> like
> "hand built" "hand crafted" "hand decorated".
No, they mean different things. Let's not dilute the meaning any more than
we have to.
> Surely, we can define terms that are already in common use.
> Someone pointed out that they saw lots of hands emptying molds, painting
> slip, trimming castings, etc.
> Lots of hands "hand construct", "sculpt by hand", "hand process" things
> for everyday use.
I don't see a comparison there. The folks emptying molds and trimming
castings have nothing at all to do with the concept of "handmade"
You said:
> If it's not a machine making it, then it's a human doing so. Humans
> have hands (well, most of us). What we do, therefore, is ALL hand made.
> It's a generic term.
There's a world of possibility in "mass-production" that doesn't involve
machines. Handmade is not a generic term, because to use it as such would
deflate it, rendering it meaningless. It's certainly true that "if it's not
a machine making it, then it's a human doing so," but that has nothing to do
with the concept of "handmade," which specifically refers to items that are
made one-at-a-time, by hand, with the individuality and personality that
characterizes such work. Using a mold to create the finished product denies
the entire concept of handmade.
You said
> IMHO, YMMV.
I admire your choice of abbreviations - IMHO - "Inveterate Maker of
Humanistic Objects" and YMMV - "Young Man (compared to me) Meditating on
Variations" - they both represent your intelligent and open-minded approach
to clay and art.
With respect -
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Craft, Tennessee Technological University
Smithville TN 37166, 615/597-6801 x111
vpitelka@dtccom.net, wpitelka@tntech.edu
http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka/
http://www.tntech.edu/craftcenter/
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