mel jacobson on mon 4 jul 11
this may just be a generational topic, but i see so
very much "art" being put in front of us that is really
technical "paint by numbers".
the same thing is happening in ceramics, weaving, textiles.
the computer program makes the grid, the layout, the color, then
the maker just fills in the blanks. and often, then sends the piece
to china to have it finished.
we see many examples in super realism. just the other day
a textile magazine came to the house...as i breezed through it
i noticed this very clear trend...`super realism` you know, a cat
on a table done with sewing...thousands of stitches, many thousands
of hand stitches. it was photo realism. but, it sure was not art in
any form. it looked to me like `wow, see what i did in ten thousand
hours of stitching.` in fact it was very boring. but, everyone does
the whoowhoo thing...`look what they did`. no, look at what
a digital program did on a blank piece of cloth. fill in the spaces.
i think this is a far more interesting topic than `what is art?`
actually...who cares any longer? it is a topic that bores the
crap out of most crafts people. `to put together, to make, to create
with skill, to learn the technology of clay and glaze and fire is still
the key. art has been so polluted in academia that it has become
totally irrelevant. and then we mix politics with art, most want
to pull out our hair.
i have beaten the horse to death with my take on `being a hand
crafts person`. living the life, knowing your kiln, glaze and clay as
a real thing...not as a digital program.
automation in many ways takes us farther and farther from our
hands in the clay craft.
we let others do all the hard work. ready made..a grid, fill in the
blanks and be famous. it just does not work.
and, with that concept comes fear...fear of trying, fear of making
your own. the fear of adding a gram too much, or a gram too little.
the recipe might be wrong. and of course `what if it does not turn
out just like john and ron's book?` of course, ron and john know it
will not be the exact same...far too many factors.....far too many.
but them knowing, and translating that to the reader is a big stretch.
i just made a clay body from four other scrap clay bodies.
tim frederich gave us some commercial porcelain to test at hay creek.
nice stuff. so, i mixed that with my red grog body, a dry body from
ohio, and continental clay northern light. it will be a fine gray stonewar=
e.
does it balance? who cares? it will be an interesting body.
i will make pots with it til it is gone. they will be fine pots, made of
a fine clay body. in fact i love the theory that `the more different clays
you add to a body, the better it will be.` some would pass out doing
this. ohhhh, outer edge...really? i have been doing this sort of thing
for 50 years. i take charge of my craft. i don't depend on a computer
program to make my clay or glaze. ( i respect what experts are doing
in this computer directed construct...but, for my daily needs it is
far from needed.) i love the adventure of new things, that come from
what i have on hand. think of what the ming potters did with clay and
a wood fired kiln. i want to move in that direction, not a slave to'
what others tell me to do, or have others make for me what i need.
it would remind me of a wood turner that gets a computer guided lathe,
then adds the wood, turns it on...and goes in the house and takes a nap,
to return to a finished piece. then sprays some varnish from a can as
the lathe turns. `see what i just made?` hmmm, is it art? we have many
people doing just that in clay. instant success. but, you buy that succes=
s,
you do not make it.
(and please do not write me with `oh mel, you just don't understand, i do
not have a pug mill, a studio or a gas kiln. you just don't understand`...w=
ell
i do understand. far too well i understand. ready made is ready made...wh=
at
do you bring to the party?)
anne kenworthy called last night. she just finished her first `home
made` kiln.
a wonderful flat top kiln from our kiln book. it is firing right now
as i write this
note...yes, she had help, but she was the general contractor,
followed the plan,
made all the decisions and now has total control of her pottery. she
is thrilled.
was it easy? not on your life. her husband has serious cancer, she is goi=
ng
on 65. but, she was determined to have her own kiln, built by her,
in her lifetime.
good for her.
i love to paint, always have. is it art? i suppose so, never give it much
thought...i just like to paint. folks buy them from time to time. they ge=
t
joy from what i do...makes me smile. i make a great many pots, i love maki=
ng
pots...is it art? i do not care. will they last for thousands of
years?...you bet.
do they hold together?, you betcha. does the glaze fall off? never. are t=
hey
well crafted? yes. are they made by hand, by me. yes. is it
art? i don't care.
i love to make things. that is my dna. it is what nature gave me. am i
stubborn about this topic? `oh yes.` and many will throw me out of the
club. `that is old thinking, not up to date`. good, i don't want to
be in their
club anyway. never have been, never will be.
it is like kids that cannot read hand written script, they cannot even
write a note to their grandmother..it must be typed with their thumbs.
i think that is sad. but, they sure don't care...and never will. just ano=
ther
piece of human craft that is gone.
some will spend 20 million dollars fighting a bridge over the st.
croix river in
minnesota/wisconsin...to save a snail, or frog, or beaver.....but we care
not about human skills. human interaction with our own self. it is going
away fast. many human beings that are under 40 cannot do anything with
skill. no household repair can be done without `the repairman`. don't eve=
n
think of opening the hood of a car. the cost for that is huge. when you ha=
ve
to pay someone a hundred dollars an hour to do most things for you...you wi=
ll
be broke forever. think of the number of people in america that have someo=
ne
else providing their entire life for them. staggering. over fifty
percent. and, very sad.
the joy of being a `human individual` is wonderful. when you make, build,
repair, take charge of your life you become total and whole. failure is bu=
ilt
into that equation. you will learn from that failure, you build on
failure...you
will grow and grow. anyway...a thought.
mel
from: minnetonka, mn
website: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/
clayart link: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/clayart.html
new book: http://www.21stcenturykilns.com
alternate: melpots7575@gmail.com
paul gerhold on mon 4 jul 11
Mel.
So when talking about a claybody is it the physical act of mixing the
ingredients you revere or is it the thought and testing that goes into
developing the body.
I ask because I develop my own bodies but then eventually move to having
them made for me. I enjoy the thought and research that goes into
developing and testing and then modifying a body but when it works the way =
I
want I would rather leave the mixing of large quantities to a company with
the equipment to screen and weigh and dewater etc, etc. Yes I could do it
but my preference is to spend a little more money to have it done and
thereby free some of my time to make work.
Paul
On Mon, Jul 4, 2011 at 10:30 AM, mel jacobson wrote:
> this may just be a generational topic, but i see so
> very much "art" being put in front of us that is really
> technical "paint by numbers".
>
> the same thing is happening in ceramics, weaving, textiles.
>
> the computer program makes the grid, the layout, the color, then
> the maker just fills in the blanks. and often, then sends the piece
> to china to have it finished.
>
> we see many examples in super realism. just the other day
> a textile magazine came to the house...as i breezed through it
> i noticed this very clear trend...`super realism` you know, a cat
> on a table done with sewing...thousands of stitches, many thousands
> of hand stitches. it was photo realism. but, it sure was not art in
> any form. it looked to me like `wow, see what i did in ten thousand
> hours of stitching.` in fact it was very boring. but, everyone does
> the whoowhoo thing...`look what they did`. no, look at what
> a digital program did on a blank piece of cloth. fill in the spaces.
>
> i think this is a far more interesting topic than `what is art?`
> actually...who cares any longer? it is a topic that bores the
> crap out of most crafts people. `to put together, to make, to create
> with skill, to learn the technology of clay and glaze and fire is still
> the key. art has been so polluted in academia that it has become
> totally irrelevant. and then we mix politics with art, most want
> to pull out our hair.
>
> i have beaten the horse to death with my take on `being a hand
> crafts person`. living the life, knowing your kiln, glaze and clay as
> a real thing...not as a digital program.
> automation in many ways takes us farther and farther from our
> hands in the clay craft.
>
> we let others do all the hard work. ready made..a grid, fill in the
> blanks and be famous. it just does not work.
>
> and, with that concept comes fear...fear of trying, fear of making
> your own. the fear of adding a gram too much, or a gram too little.
> the recipe might be wrong. and of course `what if it does not turn
> out just like john and ron's book?` of course, ron and john know it
> will not be the exact same...far too many factors.....far too many.
> but them knowing, and translating that to the reader is a big stretch.
>
> i just made a clay body from four other scrap clay bodies.
> tim frederich gave us some commercial porcelain to test at hay creek.
> nice stuff. so, i mixed that with my red grog body, a dry body from
> ohio, and continental clay northern light. it will be a fine gray
> stoneware.
> does it balance? who cares? it will be an interesting body.
> i will make pots with it til it is gone. they will be fine pots, made of
> a fine clay body. in fact i love the theory that `the more different cla=
ys
> you add to a body, the better it will be.` some would pass out doing
> this. ohhhh, outer edge...really? i have been doing this sort of thing
> for 50 years. i take charge of my craft. i don't depend on a computer
> program to make my clay or glaze. ( i respect what experts are doing
> in this computer directed construct...but, for my daily needs it is
> far from needed.) i love the adventure of new things, that come from
> what i have on hand. think of what the ming potters did with clay and
> a wood fired kiln. i want to move in that direction, not a slave to'
> what others tell me to do, or have others make for me what i need.
>
> it would remind me of a wood turner that gets a computer guided lathe,
> then adds the wood, turns it on...and goes in the house and takes a nap,
> to return to a finished piece. then sprays some varnish from a can as
> the lathe turns. `see what i just made?` hmmm, is it art? we have many
> people doing just that in clay. instant success. but, you buy that
> success,
> you do not make it.
>
> (and please do not write me with `oh mel, you just don't understand, i do
> not have a pug mill, a studio or a gas kiln. you just don't
> understand`...well
> i do understand. far too well i understand. ready made is ready
> made...what
> do you bring to the party?)
>
> anne kenworthy called last night. she just finished her first `home
> made` kiln.
> a wonderful flat top kiln from our kiln book. it is firing right now
> as i write this
> note...yes, she had help, but she was the general contractor,
> followed the plan,
> made all the decisions and now has total control of her pottery. she
> is thrilled.
> was it easy? not on your life. her husband has serious cancer, she is
> going
> on 65. but, she was determined to have her own kiln, built by her,
> in her lifetime.
> good for her.
>
> i love to paint, always have. is it art? i suppose so, never give it muc=
h
> thought...i just like to paint. folks buy them from time to time. they
> get
> joy from what i do...makes me smile. i make a great many pots, i love
> making
> pots...is it art? i do not care. will they last for thousands of
> years?...you bet.
> do they hold together?, you betcha. does the glaze fall off? never. are
> they
> well crafted? yes. are they made by hand, by me. yes. is it
> art? i don't care.
>
> i love to make things. that is my dna. it is what nature gave me. am i
> stubborn about this topic? `oh yes.` and many will throw me out of the
> club. `that is old thinking, not up to date`. good, i don't want to
> be in their
> club anyway. never have been, never will be.
>
> it is like kids that cannot read hand written script, they cannot even
> write a note to their grandmother..it must be typed with their thumbs.
> i think that is sad. but, they sure don't care...and never will. just
> another
> piece of human craft that is gone.
>
> some will spend 20 million dollars fighting a bridge over the st.
> croix river in
> minnesota/wisconsin...to save a snail, or frog, or beaver.....but we care
> not about human skills. human interaction with our own self. it is goin=
g
> away fast. many human beings that are under 40 cannot do anything with
> skill. no household repair can be done without `the repairman`. don't
> even
> think of opening the hood of a car. the cost for that is huge. when you
> have
> to pay someone a hundred dollars an hour to do most things for you...you
> will
> be broke forever. think of the number of people in america that have
> someone
> else providing their entire life for them. staggering. over fifty
> percent. and, very sad.
>
> the joy of being a `human individual` is wonderful. when you make, build=
,
> repair, take charge of your life you become total and whole. failure is
> built
> into that equation. you will learn from that failure, you build on
> failure...you
> will grow and grow. anyway...a thought.
> mel
> from: minnetonka, mn
> website: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/
> clayart link: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/**clayart.htmlsi.com/%7Emelpots/clayart.html>
> new book: http://www.21stcenturykilns.**comom>
> alternate: melpots7575@gmail.com
>
Mayssan Farra on mon 4 jul 11
Dear Mel:
I beg your pardon, but time and interest limit what=3D
=3D0A=3D0A=3DA0Dear Mel:=3D0A=3D0AI beg your pardon, but time and interest =
limit what=3D
one can do. I do not want to build my kiln or ever will, I immensely respe=
=3D
ct those who do, but for me it is the making of the object that interests m=
=3D
e.=3D0A=3D0AEach of us must find the way to our own happiness, integrity an=
d pr=3D
oductivity, and those ways are as varied as we are. =3D0A=3D0AI do not have=
to =3D
build my stove to be a good cook, or even shell my peas for that matter, Ac=
=3D
tually if I spent my time studying and building my stove, when will I have =
=3D
time to perfect my chosen craft of cooking? plus all the hobbies I have and=
=3D
all the other media I want to try?, the places I want to visit, and the pe=
=3D
ople I want to get to know?=3D0A=3D0AAlso I think the new generation is jus=
t fi=3D
ne, texting not withstanding, my 6 year old granddaughter's hand writing is=
=3D
better than mine, and my 7 year old grandson is reading now what I read wh=
=3D
en I was in 6th grade. (No I am not a braggging grandma LOL)=3D0A=3D0AYes! =
to e=3D
ach their own way of life, not better or worse just different. =3D0ALong li=
ve=3D
our differences and discourse:)=3D0A=3D0A=3DA0=3D0AMayssan,=3D0A=3DA0in=3D=
0AHot, hot, ho=3D
t Indian Land SC. but the herbs and Jasmine love it here, and I do too :)
Hank Murrow on mon 4 jul 11
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charset=3Dus-ascii
On Jul 4, 2011, at 7:30 AM, mel jacobson wrote in part:
>=3D20
> i think this is a far more interesting topic than `what is art?`
> actually...who cares any longer? it is a topic that bores the
> crap out of most crafts people. `to put together, to make, to create
> with skill, to learn the technology of clay and glaze and fire is =3D
still
> the key. art has been so polluted in academia that it has become
> totally irrelevant. and then we mix politics with art, most want
> to pull out our hair.
> anne kenworthy called last night. she just finished her first `home
> made` kiln. a wonderful flat top kiln from our kiln book. it is =3D
firing
> right now as i write this note...yes, she had help, but she was the =3D
general
> contractor, followed the plan, made all the decisions and now has =3D
total
> control of her pottery. she is thrilled.
> was it easy? not on your life. her husband has serious cancer, she =3D
is
> going on 65. but, she was determined to have her own kiln, built by =3D
her, in
> her lifetime. good for her.
Hank(who also helped Ann on site) replies:
.....and good for the community of Souls that surround her. I am =3D
reminded by this art/craft quasi debate of an expression I learned in La =
=3D
Paz, Baja California in 1970..... "Barking dogs do not bite"....... =3D
perhaps a few more quiet souls doing their Work might tip the scales for =
=3D
us all.
Cheers from Lothian MD! & Happy Birthday America!
PS: e.e.cummings declared(an eon ago) "the earth's birthday is the =3D
birthday of individuals"
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Cone 1 after reduction......
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Temporary burner setup.... cone 1.
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Partial Crew..... John McClure, Kay Hughes, Ann Kenworthy, John =3D
Kenworthy, not in this pic are Jon Singer, Renata Mastroti, Hank Murrow, =
=3D
and Ray Bogle.
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Ann after the turnoff of her first firing.
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