tony clennell on sat 9 oct 10
I'm back at school and the students are keeping me pretty busy. One of
the great rewards of teaching at Sheridan is that I learn as much as I
teach. One of my second year students sent me this delightful clip of
94 year old Eva Zeisel's 75 year long search for beauty
http://www.ted.com/talks/eva_zeisel_on_the_playful_search_for_beauty.html
For those of us north of 49 it's Thanksgiving and #2 daughter is in
the kitchen cooking the bird and fixin's. One of my students Jordan
MacDonald that is finishing up his MFA at Alfred came for a visit and
I had lots of time to talk pots. He came with a friend Mike from the
NCC in Minnesota that knows Lee. We had a very nice potterly visit.
I have so much to be thankful for. The students continue to make me
proud of their work and accomplishments.
Happy Canuck Thanksgiving everyone.
Tony
Victoria E. Hamilton on sat 9 oct 10
Hi Tony -
I took a look at the Eva Zeisel talk yesterday, I think, spurred on my your
blog post. I'd seen it a year or so ago and it made me cry (with joy and
love to be sure) listening to her as she collected her thoughts and allowed
us all into her life. Cried again. But then I'm a known "leaker" being
moved as I nearly always am by all of us and our humanity.
Vicki Hamilton
-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:Clayart@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG] On Behalf Of tony clennell
Sent: Saturday, October 09, 2010 11:24 AM
To: Clayart@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Eva Zeisel- Playful Search for Beauty
I'm back at school and the students are keeping me pretty busy. One of the
great rewards of teaching at Sheridan is that I learn as much as I teach.
One of my second year students sent me this delightful clip of
94 year old Eva Zeisel's 75 year long search for beauty
http://www.ted.com/talks/eva_zeisel_on_the_playful_search_for_beauty.html
For those of us north of 49 it's Thanksgiving and #2 daughter is in the
kitchen cooking the bird and fixin's. One of my students Jordan MacDonald
that is finishing up his MFA at Alfred came for a visit and I had lots of
time to talk pots. He came with a friend Mike from the NCC in Minnesota tha=
t
knows Lee. We had a very nice potterly visit.
I have so much to be thankful for. The students continue to make me proud o=
f
their work and accomplishments.
Happy Canuck Thanksgiving everyone.
Tony
Eleanor on sun 10 oct 10
From Tony Clennell:
http://www.ted.com/talks/eva_zeisel_on_the_playful_search_for_beauty.html
I saw this clip a while back---it almost made me cry and I don't cry
easily.
I was married in 1955. In those days and in my social circle, you
lived at home until marriage. Bridal registries didn't exist; you used
savings and cash wedding gifts to buy furniture for your new home and
of course you needed dishes.
I was working and taking a clay class at the Brooklyn Museum, getting
good at it and slowly getting hooked on something that was to become
lifelong. But the thought of making a set of dishes for my own use was
beyond me.
So I went to A&S (Abraham and Straus, big department store, downtown
Brooklyn, long gone) looking for dishes. I didn't, and still don't,
believe in having multiple sets of dishes, one for everyday, one for
company, etc. I wanted something nice for all purposes. I couldn't put
it into words but I knew what I liked.
Among the ordinary stuff in this huge dish department, something
caught my eye: pure white, with a squiggle in one corner, like a
diagram of an atom with its orbiting electrons, important but not
obtrusive (artcriticspeak?). Plates not quite round, serving pieces
shaped with subtle curves....My fiance approved and we bought our
first set of dishes, made by Hallcraft, designed by Eva Zeisel.
It's 55 plus years later and most of those dishes are gone, replaced
by Melmac (ugh! and even they're gone) and now by Arabia. But I still
have some pieces of Hallcraft, which I cherish and still use. A bowl,
low and wide, chipped and with a crack, is perfect for mixing up a
batch of muffins.
I now know who Eva Zeisel is. The design, Fantasy, is now considered
"collectable". Be that as it may, I loved having, looking at and using
her work. She evidently found Beauty.
Eleanor Kohler
Centerport, NY
".... philosophers lay down many precepts fair in argument but not
applicable in use"
--Sir Francis Bacon
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