David Hendley on fri 11 dec 09
In case anyone is interested in reading 920 more words on
this 'handmade' subject, here is my take on it, from an article
I wrote for Ceramics Monthly ten years ago. Believe it not, I
enjoy reading the e-mails debating the subject every time it
comes around on Clayart.
I had not previously read the quotes and rubric from Pye
that James sent in, and found them perceptive and valuable.
David Hendley
david@farmpots.com
http://www.farmpots.com
What exactly does it mean, in 1999, to call a piece of pottery
handmade? At first glance, it might seem obvious; it's either
handmade or it isn't. Well, in taking a look around craft shows
and talking to potters, I've found that the definition of "handmade"
mostly depends on who is doing the talking. Of course any
potter you talk to at a craft show considers their work
handmade; what they consider not handmade is any work that
uses more advanced or automated technologies than they use.
This has probably gone on for millennia. The potters in ancient
Egypt were probably pretty hacked off when some guy built
the first potter's wheel and started turning out pots ten times
faster than the handbuilders. They probably considered these
pots "machine made" and less valuable than their truly handmade
pots. Thousands of years later, the wheel-throwing potters
were probably none too happy when some mechanical wizard
figured out a way to make a motor turn his wheel, and was
able to increase production while doing less work. "Not
really handmade," they probably argued, because a machine
was taking over what the potter used to do. Of course, it
wasn't long before someone else added an arm and a mold
head to the motor-driven wheel, and the jiggering wheel came
into being. The throwers argued, I'm sure, that their work was
far superior because it took more skill to make each piece
without a jigger mold and it was thus "authentically handmade".
Recently a potter friend came by to visit and showed me one
of his mugs. It had been slip-cast in a mold. The mold was
made from a wheel-thrown cup with a pulled handle, and,
I'll tell you, that mug sure looked hand-thrown with a pulled
handle, right down to the finger wipes that attached the lower
end of the handle. Since I had this "What is handmade?"
question on my mind, I asked him if he considers his mugs
handmade. Well, he does, and he started telling me about
all the time and effort required to cast the mug, clean up the
mold lines, glaze and decorate it, and fire and finish it.
So, are there any absolutes? Is there a line that can't be
crossed if a piece is still to be called "handmade"? Does
process matter? I say "yes" to all these questions. First, let
me make it perfectly clear that "handmade" does not mean
"good" and "not handmade" does not mean "bad". We've
all seen examples of horrendous handmade pottery, like those
lop-sided boat anchors that somehow made it past the
critique in Ceramics 101. Likewise, there are many examples
of elegantly designed and beautifully crafted factory-made
pottery. In fact, many artistic and talented people working
in ceramics are not even concerned with the process of
pottery making. To them, the ceramic form is just a "canvas"
for painting.
Unlike most art and craft media, the potter's hands are the
primary tools used to make pottery. The wood-worker needs
a saw and a drill, the stone sculptor needs a hammer and a
chisel, and the metalworker needs a torch and a file to shape
his work. The potter does his shaping with his hands, and the
clay records everything the hands do. This suggests a logical
standard for judging whether or not a pot is "handmade";
namely, did a hand shape it? Once any kind of mold or
template determines the final shape of the piece, it's not
"hand" made, or "handmade" in the literal sense.
There are other criteria that are useful for judging a piece of
pottery as handmade or not. One is to question how much
skill, or training, was required to make the piece. Workers
in ceramics factories can be trained in a few days to pour
molds or press pottery. On the other hand, learning to
skillfully manipulate plastic clay into desired shapes takes
years of practice. Yes, I know that great skill and experience
was required to make that mold. Well, the mold itself is
handmade. Another useful question is, "What would be
involved if the design of the piece were changed slightly,
say made a half inch wider?" For mass produced pottery
this would require a complete retooling, while for a potter
shaping plastic clay by hand it would simply mean that she
would start with a little more clay and remember to make
the form a little wider. It is this quick and easy evolution
of form that allows an accomplished potter to grow and
to breathe life into her continuously refined work.
Like so many terms used in business and government, and
indicative of the times, the word "handmade", as applied
to pottery, has been ever more broadly and inclusively
used. This makes the word meaningless at best, and
downright misleading at worst. I say it's time buck the
trend and narrowly define the word. "Handmade" means
shaped with the hands, period. Jiggered work is not
handmade, pressed work is not handmade, and slip
cast work is not handmade, no matter how well designed
and well made. The exception would be in the case
where pressed or cast pieces are twisted, cut apart,
or re-assembled, in which case they are really being
used as building components.
So, what about that slip-cast platter that has been so
elegantly and meticulously decorated with hours of hand
labor? It's certainly not mass produced or the product of
a factory assembly line. Well, it can most definitely be
labeled as "limited production", "individually hand-finished",
or "hand painted", but, sorry, it's still not "handmade".
Lee Love on sat 12 dec 09
On Fri, Dec 11, 2009 at 10:08 PM, David Hendley wrote:
> So, what about that slip-cast platter that has been so
> elegantly and meticulously decorated with hours of hand
> labor?
You could very possible make your blank from a slip-casting, and
then handwork it. It would then be handmade. It is like this
kokubin:
http://mingeisota.blogspot.com/2009/12/kokubin-and-thrown-and-altered-squar=
=3D
ed.html
Do you think this bottle is not handmade? I watched the
process and know it was handmade. More handmade than any thrown
bottle, taking maybe 5 times longer of contact with the hand than a
thrown bottle.
--
Lee, a Mashiko potter in Minneapolis
http://mashikopots.blogspot.com/
"Ta tIr na n-=3DF3g ar chul an tI=3D97tIr dlainn trina ch=3DE9ile"=3D97tha=
t is, "T=3D
he
land of eternal youth is behind the house, a beautiful land fluent
within itself." -- John O'Donohue
John Rodgers on sat 12 dec 09
David,
By your definition, the only pot I have ever seen that is truly handmade
is a pinch pot. No tools used whatsoever. Hands and fingers only. No
ribs, no sticks no sponges, no nothing. Coil pots - the next logical
step - don't count - they are invariably tooled with a rib to smooth
them - and from there we go down the slippery slope with more and more
tools, be they pottery wheels, throwing sticks ribs, jiggers, molds,
presses. Any tool applied in creating the form disqualifies the object
from being "handmade". I can live with that. While it's grand to swim
around in the esoteric, it doesn't mean a whit to my accountant for my
bottom line - nor my customers. If they like it, they buy it.
I do go along with the principle of telling it like it is - "This is
handmade - I pinched out the form with my hands and fingers! No other
tools used whatsoever" or "This is not handmade, but was created instead
on a machine - a potter's wheel. While I shaped the clay with my hands,
I could not have done so without the aid of a machine"
Sorta takes the edge off the debate, I think.
John Rodgers
Clayartist and Moldmaker
88'GL VW Bus Driver
Chelsea, AL
Http://www.moldhaus.com
David Hendley wrote:
> In case anyone is interested in reading 920 more words on
> this 'handmade' subject, here is my take on it, from an article
> I wrote for Ceramics Monthly ten years ago. Believe it not, I
> enjoy reading the e-mails debating the subject every time it
> comes around on Clayart.
> I had not previously read the quotes and rubric from Pye
> that James sent in, and found them perceptive and valuable.
> David Hendley
> david@farmpots.com
> http://www.farmpots.com
>
> What exactly does it mean, in 1999, to call a piece of pottery
> handmade? At first glance, it might seem obvious; it's either
> handmade or it isn't. Well, in taking a look around craft shows
> and talking to potters, I've found that the definition of "handmade"
> mostly depends on who is doing the talking. Of course any
> potter you talk to at a craft show considers their work
> handmade; what they consider not handmade is any work that
> uses more advanced or automated technologies than they use.
>
> This has probably gone on for millennia. The potters in ancient
> Egypt were probably pretty hacked off when some guy built
> the first potter's wheel and started turning out pots ten times
> faster than the handbuilders. They probably considered these
> pots "machine made" and less valuable than their truly handmade
> pots. Thousands of years later, the wheel-throwing potters
> were probably none too happy when some mechanical wizard
> figured out a way to make a motor turn his wheel, and was
> able to increase production while doing less work. "Not
> really handmade," they probably argued, because a machine
> was taking over what the potter used to do. Of course, it
> wasn't long before someone else added an arm and a mold
> head to the motor-driven wheel, and the jiggering wheel came
> into being. The throwers argued, I'm sure, that their work was
> far superior because it took more skill to make each piece
> without a jigger mold and it was thus "authentically handmade".
>
> Recently a potter friend came by to visit and showed me one
> of his mugs. It had been slip-cast in a mold. The mold was
> made from a wheel-thrown cup with a pulled handle, and,
> I'll tell you, that mug sure looked hand-thrown with a pulled
> handle, right down to the finger wipes that attached the lower
> end of the handle. Since I had this "What is handmade?"
> question on my mind, I asked him if he considers his mugs
> handmade. Well, he does, and he started telling me about
> all the time and effort required to cast the mug, clean up the
> mold lines, glaze and decorate it, and fire and finish it.
>
> So, are there any absolutes? Is there a line that can't be
> crossed if a piece is still to be called "handmade"? Does
> process matter? I say "yes" to all these questions. First, let
> me make it perfectly clear that "handmade" does not mean
> "good" and "not handmade" does not mean "bad". We've
> all seen examples of horrendous handmade pottery, like those
> lop-sided boat anchors that somehow made it past the
> critique in Ceramics 101. Likewise, there are many examples
> of elegantly designed and beautifully crafted factory-made
> pottery. In fact, many artistic and talented people working
> in ceramics are not even concerned with the process of
> pottery making. To them, the ceramic form is just a "canvas"
> for painting.
>
> Unlike most art and craft media, the potter's hands are the
> primary tools used to make pottery. The wood-worker needs
> a saw and a drill, the stone sculptor needs a hammer and a
> chisel, and the metalworker needs a torch and a file to shape
> his work. The potter does his shaping with his hands, and the
> clay records everything the hands do. This suggests a logical
> standard for judging whether or not a pot is "handmade";
> namely, did a hand shape it? Once any kind of mold or
> template determines the final shape of the piece, it's not
> "hand" made, or "handmade" in the literal sense.
>
> There are other criteria that are useful for judging a piece of
> pottery as handmade or not. One is to question how much
> skill, or training, was required to make the piece. Workers
> in ceramics factories can be trained in a few days to pour
> molds or press pottery. On the other hand, learning to
> skillfully manipulate plastic clay into desired shapes takes
> years of practice. Yes, I know that great skill and experience
> was required to make that mold. Well, the mold itself is
> handmade. Another useful question is, "What would be
> involved if the design of the piece were changed slightly,
> say made a half inch wider?" For mass produced pottery
> this would require a complete retooling, while for a potter
> shaping plastic clay by hand it would simply mean that she
> would start with a little more clay and remember to make
> the form a little wider. It is this quick and easy evolution
> of form that allows an accomplished potter to grow and
> to breathe life into her continuously refined work.
>
> Like so many terms used in business and government, and
> indicative of the times, the word "handmade", as applied
> to pottery, has been ever more broadly and inclusively
> used. This makes the word meaningless at best, and
> downright misleading at worst. I say it's time buck the
> trend and narrowly define the word. "Handmade" means
> shaped with the hands, period. Jiggered work is not
> handmade, pressed work is not handmade, and slip
> cast work is not handmade, no matter how well designed
> and well made. The exception would be in the case
> where pressed or cast pieces are twisted, cut apart,
> or re-assembled, in which case they are really being
> used as building components.
>
> So, what about that slip-cast platter that has been so
> elegantly and meticulously decorated with hours of hand
> labor? It's certainly not mass produced or the product of
> a factory assembly line. Well, it can most definitely be
> labeled as "limited production", "individually hand-finished",
> or "hand painted", but, sorry, it's still not "handmade".
>
>
Lee Love on sat 12 dec 09
On Sat, Dec 12, 2009 at 11:28 AM, John Rodgers wrote:
> on a machine - =3DA0a potter's wheel. While I shaped the clay with my han=
ds=3D
,
> I could not have done so without the aid of a machine"
>
> Sorta takes the edge off the debate, I think.
Ever hear about the potter, whose dog like to eat his clay. The
potter took the dog's stool and fired it in his kiln. Perfect
durable representation of a dog turd. Does "butt" made equal "hand
made." I suppose the purest would say no, the dog turd is extruded.
Z;^> Butt, it was never touched by a machine.
--
Lee, a Mashiko potter in Minneapolis
http://mashikopots.blogspot.com/
"Ta tIr na n-=3DF3g ar chul an tI=3D97tIr dlainn trina ch=3DE9ile"=3D97tha=
t is, "T=3D
he
land of eternal youth is behind the house, a beautiful land fluent
within itself." -- John O'Donohue
jeanne wood on sat 12 dec 09
If you will tolerate some fuzzy thinking....
Bill M.'s posting of Picasso's quote and other thoughtful posts have given =
=3D
reason for consideration.
=3DA0""People don't realize what they have when they own a picture by me. E=
ac=3D
h picture is a phial with my blood.=3DA0 That is what has gone into it".
Picasso"
I like to think of craft as a three way conversation between the maker, the=
=3D
item itself, and the viewer or user. What stories happen between the three=
=3D
. One of the (many) reasons I like Historical pottery is because of the sto=
=3D
ries my mind is flooded with when .viewing or even the few opportunities I'=
=3D
ve had to hold pieces.
Even if WallMart does label their stuff "handmade" or a factory label their=
=3D
bread "artisan" there isn't much of a story there. There may be some light=
=3D
connection between the item and the purchaser, but not between the maker a=
=3D
nd the customer.
A handmade item though, and the mind overflows with conversation. An artist=
=3D
ic handmade item & the conversation increases exponentially.
Just some thoughts,
-Jeanne W.
In Idaho
=3D0A=3D0A=3D0A
Lee Love on sat 12 dec 09
On Sat, Dec 12, 2009 at 1:11 PM, jeanne wood wrote:
> =3DA0""People don't realize what they have when they own a picture by me.=
E=3D
ach picture is a phial with my blood.=3DA0 That is what has gone into it".
> Picasso"
Jeanne,
The studio potter more or less lives in two worlds: the
world of the craftsman and the world of the artist.
So some distinctions in what we do merge a bit.
>A handmade item though, and the mind overflows with conversation.
>An artistic handmade item & the conversation increases exponentially.
The taste is in the puddin'. The final product professes of the
worthiness of the piece.
--
Lee, a Mashiko potter in Minneapolis
http://mashikopots.blogspot.com/
"Ta tIr na n-=3DF3g ar chul an tI=3D97tIr dlainn trina ch=3DE9ile"=3D97tha=
t is, "T=3D
he
land of eternal youth is behind the house, a beautiful land fluent
within itself." -- John O'Donohue
| |
|
