Lili Krakowski on thu 3 jul 08
Vince: you are right; I always err on the side of safety. As crazed dishes
often stain, as we all have seen , I assume that something permeates those
cracks. I have no idea whether what gets into the cracks may not get into
the clay body if it is not well vitrified. I have no idea whether bacteria
do or don't get in there.
I know most people eat out of crazed dishes. I know people all over the
world eat out of tin cans, corn husks, newspaper. When we lived in Brazil
they had a very good Dutch style cheese that came in a round red can--looked
something like a curling stone. The folk used the two halves as
bowls....And sometimes as rain hats.
I know full well that one often eats, many people often eat, off vessels
that aren't very sanitary. And not everyone washes dishes thoroughly.
But there are people with impaired immune systems. My comment was a general
one.
As to NASCO: I am SO glad they still sell clay and clay stuff. But what I
found on the Internet as their catalog did not include clay.
As to the world of clay:
It hurts when people write in and say they are made to feel inferior or
whatever because they did not go to some famous school, or study with Famous
Guru, and like that.
Admittedly some people are so insecure , arrogant, bigoted, or rude they
need to put others down. No doubt many people wrap themselves in a degree,
or the name of some famous person, in the hope of impressing others.
So what? Why should THEIR neuroses make you feel bad about yourself?
Clay, fire, water, air are universal. Right now in some jungle a totally
illiterate person is making a bowl out of clay and that bowl will be put in
a fire pit, tobe used to hold grain. And in California someplace an MFA is
making a pot for Rakuing. In Morocco some men are making huge pots to
store olives , and in some other place-- I missed school entirely the year
geography was taught (that is a true fact) --people are making crocks to
ferment booze in.
In Japan a Master is making exquisite porcelain Sake bottles. The world of
clay truly covers the world.
I think what irritates is that clay--which plays a big role in many of our
lives, and which we take seriously-- is treated negligently by others. This
is a problem in many areas of life. Some of us take marriage seriously,
while others--vide the tabloids--walk in and out of "relationships" with
total casualness. Some people devote themselves to their children, while
others delegate or relegate the raising of their kids to anyone whom they
can hire.
The patience of those who live in clay is tested by questions about the
simplest most basic matters that indeed a book will explain. One feels like
saying: "If you do not have the interest to crack a book, I am wasting my
time explaining this to you..."
If you are an amateur bridge player, tennis player, golfer--you STILL are
expected to learn and follow the rules.
And I think it behooves newbies to learn some basic clay rules. But where
you learn them, from whom, etc. does not matter. Respect for the craft, and
for the work does.
Lili Krakowski
Be of good courage
Ivor and Olive Lewis on fri 4 jul 08
Regard crazing lines as capillary voids as having the same properties
as very fine glass tube. It is not difficult to draw down a piece of
glass tubing so that it will cause water to rise several inches
against the pull of gravity. If coloured water is used it can be
easily seen with an ordinary hand lens. Easy access for bacterial and
viral entities. These would not be resolved with a hand lens.
Best regards,
Ivor Lewis.
Redhill,
South Australia.
Vince Pitelka on sat 5 jul 08
Ivor Lewis wrote:
"Regard crazing lines as capillary voids as having the same properties
as very fine glass tube. It is not difficult to draw down a piece of
glass tubing so that it will cause water to rise several inches
against the pull of gravity. If coloured water is used it can be
easily seen with an ordinary hand lens. Easy access for bacterial and
viral entities. These would not be resolved with a hand lens."
Ivor -
This is pointless conjecture. There is no similarity between craze cracks
and capillary tubes. Let's just accept the fact that there is no danger of
viral or bacterial harboring and subsequent contamination in craze lines.
Let's stop this ridiculous conjecture unless someone comes up with hard
facts supporting some sort of toxic danger in craze cracks. So far, there
is absolutely no indication of danger, and in lieu of that, it is silly to
raise any sort of alarm.
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Craft
Tennessee Tech University
vpitelka@dtccom.net; wpitelka@tntech.edu
http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka
Ivor and Olive Lewis on mon 7 jul 08
Dear Vince Pitelka,
Conjecture, Maybe.
But the proposition that craze lines can act as reservoirs of
infectious organisms can be tested.
Best regards,
Ivor Lewis.
Redhill,
South Australia.
Vince Pitelka on wed 9 jul 08
Ivor Lewis wrote:
"Dear Vince Pitelka,
Conjecture, Maybe.
But the proposition that craze lines can act as reservoirs of
infectious organisms can be tested."
Ivor -
Well of course it can be tested, and there is no doubt that it has been
thoroughly tested. Don't you think that the commercial china industry has
exhaustively tested all possible toxic dangers of glazed wares? Of course
they have, and if there was even the slightest danger of craze cracks
harboring dangerous bacteria we would all know about it. Every conversation
of this type is welcome on Clayart, but to prolong it so unnecessarily
serves no one.
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Craft
Tennessee Tech University
vpitelka@dtccom.net; wpitelka@tntech.edu
http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka
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