David Hendley on mon 4 feb 08
Did anyone go on the Clay Times cruise? How 'bout
a report of the highlights?
David Hendley
Maydelle, Texas
david(at)farmpots(dot)com
http://www.farmpots.com
Jean Lehman on tue 5 feb 08
>Did anyone go on the Clay Times cruise? How 'bout
>a report of the highlights?
I went on the Clay Times Cruise and it was fabulous!
The contrast in demonstrations between Bill Van Gilder and Lisa Orr
worked beautifully. He plans well ahead; she is spontaneous. He keeps
it simple; her work is complex.
Lisa's ideas for making press molds for plates was new to me. She
makes them out of clay, and cuts them apart into 3 or 4 inch
segments. She can then vary the size of piece she wants to make. It
can be larger simply by adding segments; smaller by removing them.
When she drapes the clay on, she leaves space between the segments to
add to the look of the piece. Pieces can be oval, round, or whatever.
She bisques these mold pieces. I teach handbuilding (although I am a
wheel person,) and I'll encourage my students to make their own molds
using her method. I gained a lot of respect for her work and
appreciate it much, much more. She spends a lot of time adding sprigs
and pieces to her work. It isn't something I would ever have the
patience to do, but I certainly respected her ability.
Bill (of course) is a fountain of information. I took a workshop from
him some thirty years ago, and was easily one of the best i have ever
had. And now he has so much experience sharing his techniques that it
seems effortless for him. He made a variety of pieces the first day,
and finished them the second, all while sharing tons of information
and shortcuts.
Pete Pinnell packed a lot into a short amount of time with his two
afternoons! It is hard to condense a semester into two lectures!! But
he started with the basics (the chemistry of what goes into a glaze),
and then went on to give suggestions on how to alter glazes. He
finished with sharing many methods of decorating wet, dry, and
bisqued ware.
The presentations were a lot like NCECA, with cameras and screens so
everyone could see. There were 60 participants, and I heard very few
negative comments about anything! Some people were fairly new to
clay, and others have been doing it forever, and there was something
for all of us!
Polly and the Clay Times Staff worked very hard to make this Cruisin'
4 Clay a big success. We all ate together in the dining room, which
gave us a chance to know each other better. Clay Times plans on doing
it again, and I certainly recommend it and might even go again! They
will be putting a video together on the experience, and that will be
available if anyone is interested!
Jean Lehman, in Lancaster PA
--
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ->
NOTE:
jlehman73@earthlink is the best way to reach me.
[jlehman733 is for ClayArt only.]
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The 16th Annual Strictly Functional Pottery National will be
juried by Linda Arbuckle. Applications were due Jan 10, 2008.
The exhibit is in Lancaster, PA April 18-May 18, and then
in Wayne, PA.the following month.
The 2004 through 2007 SFPN exhibitions may be seen at
http://www.strictlyfunctionalpotterynational.net
Alisha Clarke on tue 5 feb 08
Yep! I went on it, and had a fantastic time. Here's a write-up I sent
to the PotteryBasics group:
I've had some inquires for more information about the cruise, so I'm
going to try and share some of the highlights. I still haven't
organized all the pictures, but will post some on my flickr site soon
and will give the link at that time.
This was the first pottery cruise sponsored by Clay Times magazine. It
was a five-night cruise to Cozumel and Belize on Royal Carribbean's
"Navigator of the Seas," a huge ship holding over 3,000 passengers and
over 1,000 staff. Over sixty potters attended, and some brought
non-potter friends who enjoyed the ship while we were in sessions.
During the two days at sea, and the two evenings following the shore
excursions, there were demos and presentations by Pete Pinnell, Lisa
Orr and Bill Van Gilder. It was packed with fantastic information, and
my only suggestion for the future was that they extend the cruise
another day or two so the participants can have some time to relax on
deck and take advantage of more of the ship amenities.
Prior to the cruise, I had high expectations that it would be a fun
experience, but honestly didn't expect to get so many new ideas and
tips from it. I've seen all of Bill Van Gilder's DIY videos, and
thought it might just be a repeat, but he offered a lot of new ideas,
which seemed to go along with the wood-fired work he's doing now. Lisa
Orr's work didn't resonate with me prior to the cruise (having only
seen it on-line), but after seeing it up close and watching her in
action, I fell in love with it. I have to say -- photographs really
don't do justice to her work. You have to see the amazing colors and
glaze depth up close. Talking to other participants, many indicated
that they did not get as much out of Pete's presentations because he
spent a fair amount of time talking about glazes and glaze chemistry,
but frankly, it was my favorite part. I'm currently making a
transition from ^6 oxidation to ^6 reduction, so I've been trying to
learn a lot more about glaze calculation. I also can't imagine anyone
not benefiting from his discussions of how to "see and think as an
artist", and discussions of form and surface decoration.
The conference room was set up for a simultaneous demo between Bill
Van Gilder and Lisa Orr. Three projection screens showed the video
from the three cameras as Bill and Lisa went back and forth between
describing their process and working quietly as the other spoke. I
thought it might be confusing, but it was amazing to see the
interaction between these two artists as they took their very
different approaches to working with the clay. There was a lot of
great dialog, highlighting both the similarities and the differences.
I like to come away from an experience like this with at least one big
lesson that I work on incorporating into my work and life. I think the
central message for me, was the value of closely examining and being
critical of my own work, both while making it and later. I was
fascinated by watching Lisa as she took pieces formed by hand and with
her bisque mold techniques, and spent considerable time examining the
pot and the pieces, eying many different possibilities before
attaching each piece. This message was echoed the day following my
late-night return to my home in western Massachusetts. Even though I
was exhausted, I attended the second (and last) day of a workshop by
Val Cushing, because I couldn't pass up on the opportunity. I saw the
same critical eye in Val as he examined the possibilities for each
pot, often stopping to ask us what we thought about it. While I'm sure
he had a good sense of where he was going, he did a great job of
thinking out loud and involving us in the process. I have put some
pictures of Val's presentation up on Flickr at
http://www.flickr.com/gp/65564173@N00/2DD9h7 .
Each of the potters had some of their work for sale, and I grabbed up
mugs by Pete Pinnell and Bill Van Gilder, along with a small
platter/tray by Lisa. Clay Times also had t-shirts and a number of
pottery tools and supplies available for sale. Along with the
souvenirs from Cozumel and Belize, my suitcase was stuffed on the way
back, but my wallet was much lighter.
We were all free to wander on our own in Cozumel and Belize, or book
excursions (through Royal Caribbean or separately). Fellow
PotteryBasics member Devany organized a snorkeling tour in Cozumel
with an excellent guide who showed us some incredible underwater
sights, including tons of starfish, reefs, eels, barracudas and conch.
In Belize, I took a bus and speedboat (along the "New River") to the
Mayan ruins of Lamanai. A number of the conference attendees,
including Pete Pinnell and his family were on that excursion.
From the discussions, it appears that Clay Times plans to do this
annually. They talked about possibly doing an eastern Caribbean cruise
next year. As soon as I pay off my credit cards for this one, I'll
start saving for next year.
Leesh
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Alisha Clarke
Pottery by Leesh: www.alishaclarke.com
Pottery Basics: www.potterybasics.com
On Feb 4, 2008 11:30 AM, David Hendley wrote:
> Did anyone go on the Clay Times cruise? How 'bout
> a report of the highlights?
>
> David Hendley
> Maydelle, Texas
> david(at)farmpots(dot)com
> http://www.farmpots.com
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Clayart members may send postings to: clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list, post messages, change your
> subscription settings or unsubscribe/leave the list here: http://www.acers.org/cic/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots2@visi.com
>
--
James and Sherron Bowen on tue 5 feb 08
What does a trip like that cost?
JB
----- Original Message -----
From: "Alisha Clarke"
To:
Sent: Tuesday, February 05, 2008 9:51 AM
Subject: Re: Clay Times cruise
Alisha Clarke on tue 5 feb 08
James,
I don't have the exact figure in front of me, but it was about $1,200
per person for the cruise and the workshop for a standard interior
room. That includes all the standard amenities on the ship, like all
the food you can eat (and get fat from). Gratuities were also covered
in the group deal. Of course, it doesn't include any tours or
souvenirs you purchase at the destinations, and also doesn't include
airfare to and from the departure port (Ft. Lauderdale for this one).
All in all, it seemed quite reasonable to me, compared to a similar
workshop on land and cost of hotel, etc. -- especially when you figure
in the exotic destinations and the chance to get away from cold winter
weather (at least for those of us in the northern states).
Leesh
On Feb 5, 2008 3:50 PM, James and Sherron Bowen
wrote:
> What does a trip like that cost?
> JB
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Alisha Clarke"
> To:
> Sent: Tuesday, February 05, 2008 9:51 AM
> Subject: Re: Clay Times cruise
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Clayart members may send postings to: clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list, post messages, change your
> subscription settings or unsubscribe/leave the list here: http://www.acers.org/cic/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots2@visi.com
>
--
Jean Lehman on tue 5 feb 08
>What does a trip like that cost?
It was $1095 but my roommate and I upgraded so we could have a balcony.
Jean
--
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ->
Jean Lehman,
NOTE:
jlehman73@earthlink is the best way to reach me.
[jlehman733 is for ClayArt only.]
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ->
The 16th Annual Strictly Functional Pottery National will be
juried by Linda Arbuckle. Applications were due Jan 10, 2008.
The exhibit is in Lancaster, PA April 18-May 18, and then
in Wayne, PA.the following month.
The 2004 through 2007 SFPN exhibitions may be seen at
http://www.strictlyfunctionalpotterynational.net
Cheryl Fisher on tue 5 feb 08
I just got from the cruise too. Alisha and Jean said it all. It was a great
combination of clay and fun. The differences in the contrast of working
styles was amazing.
They (Clay Times) are/will be brainstorming about next year's trip.
Prices - Since I sent mine in on the early deadline it was $995 for the
cruise (cabin, meals, cocktail party). If you sent after the early deadline
it was $100 more. Also I had an inside cabin. If you wanted an outside cabin
I think someone said it was $200 more. I paid extra for the
Explorations/Shore Excursions in Cozumel and Belize ($128 for what I did).
Anything else you wanted to buy was extra (drinks, shopping). I also
purchased one of Bill's and 1 of Pete's pots.
All in all the others said it better. Polly and Karen and the other Clay
Times staffers did an excellent job.
Cheryl
potterytalk@verizon.net
Sarasota, FL USA
Alisha Clarke on wed 6 feb 08
I just put up some pictures from the cruise on my Flickr site, in case
anyone is interested in them. It's at
http://www.flickr.com/gp/65564173@N00/28ft29 .
Leesh
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Alisha Clarke
Pottery by Leesh: www.alishaclarke.com
Pottery Basics: www.potterybasics.com
On Feb 5, 2008 9:05 PM, Jean Lehman wrote:
> >What does a trip like that cost?
>
> It was $1095 but my roommate and I upgraded so we could have a balcony.
>
> Jean
>
>
> --
Ilene Mahler on thu 7 feb 08
thanxs for a great show...Ilene in Conn
----- Original Message -----
From: "Alisha Clarke"
To:
Sent: Wednesday, February 06, 2008 11:32 AM
Subject: Re: Clay Times cruise
> ---------------------- Information from the mail
> header -----------------------
> Sender: Clayart
> Poster: Alisha Clarke
> Subject: Re: Clay Times cruise
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> I just put up some pictures from the cruise on my Flickr site, in case
> anyone is interested in them. It's at
> http://www.flickr.com/gp/65564173@N00/28ft29 .
> Leesh
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Alisha Clarke
> Pottery by Leesh: www.alishaclarke.com
> Pottery Basics: www.potterybasics.com
>
> On Feb 5, 2008 9:05 PM, Jean Lehman wrote:
>> >What does a trip like that cost?
>>
>> It was $1095 but my roommate and I upgraded so we could have a balcony.
>>
>> Jean
>>
>>
>> --
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Clayart members may send postings to: clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list, post messages, change your
> subscription settings or unsubscribe/leave the list here:
> http://www.acers.org/cic/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
> melpots2@visi.com
Lee on wed 13 feb 08
On Feb 6, 2008 11:05 AM, Jean Lehman wrote:
> >What does a trip like that cost?
>
> It was $1095 but my roommate and I upgraded so we could have a balcony.
Furuki's Minshuku (tradtional inn, an old fashioned farm house),
studio use and basic instruction if you need it, costs $935.30 for a
month. I have seen round trip fare for about $800.00
--
Lee in Mashiko, Tochigi Japan
http://mashikopots.blogspot.com/
"Tea is nought but this: first you heat the water, then you make the
tea. Then you drink it properly. That is all you need to know."
--Sen No Rikyu
"Let the beauty we love be what we do." - Rumi
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