=3D?iso-8859-1?B?VGlnIER1cHLp?=3D on sat 8 oct 11
For me=3D2C the form of perfection is the bowl. Everything in pottery star=
ts=3D
off as a cylinder. Mugs are=3D2C of course cylinders. Plates are simply =
wi=3D
de shallow cylinders. Bowls are what novice potters learn to throw first. =
=3D
It's a simple form=3D2C relatively easy to make on the wheel=3D2C and rela=
tive=3D
ly rewarding for the first-time potter.
In a Robert Heinlein story=3D2C "--We also Walk Dogs=3D2C" he describes a M=
ing =3D
china bowl called "The Flower of Forgetfulness:"
"It was not that it was beautiful--it was beauty. Its subtle simple curve =
=3D
had no ornamentation=3D2C decoration would have sullied it. One spoke soft=
ly=3D
in its presence=3D2C for fear a sudden noise would shatter it.
" Clare reached out to touch=3D2C then thought better of it and drew his ha=
nd=3D
back. But he bent his head over it and stared down into it. It was stran=
=3D
gely hard to focus--to allocate--the bottom of the bowl. It seemed as if h=
=3D
is sight sank deeper and ever deeper into it=3D2C as if he were drowning in=
a=3D
pool of light.
"He jerked up his head and blinked. "God=3D2C" he whispered=3D2C "God--I d=
idn'=3D
t know such things existed."
I know the bowl Heinlein describes is a fictional narrative=3D2C made up fo=
r =3D
the purposes of story-telling. There are however=3D2C similar things in re=
al=3D
life=3D2C pieces of incredible beauty=3D2C simple in execution=3D2C incred=
ibly c=3D
omplex in interpretation.
And one of these days=3D2C I hope to be the author of one such piece. If I=
c=3D
an make a bowl that brings tears of joy to the viewer=3D2C I shall have suc=
ce=3D
eded as a potter. Just one=3D2C simple little bowl. That's all I ask.
Tig Dupre
in foggy Port Orchard=3D2C WA
=3D
Deborah Thuman on sun 9 oct 11
Hmmmm.......... I hand build and coil build so I've played with a lot
of forms. At the moment, my favorite is the lidded jar - which
sometimes turns into the lidded casserole (this one's for me and I
made it because I wanted to cook in it). I started out seeing photos
of the Qumran Jars in which the Dead Sea Scrolls were stored. I love
the shape.
Deb Thuman
http://debthumansblog.blogspot.com/
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=3D5888059
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Deb-Thumans-Art-Page/167529715986
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