mel jacobson on sun 4 mar 12
it is amazing how many differences there are in
ceramics.
for example: potter A makes stoneware, he/she
fires their kiln with gobs of smoke and reduction and
uses an iron bearing clay and melts cone 11.
potter B sees this and thinks
`oh, is that what i should be doing? so they try to
get the same look...then potter C thinks, oh, i better
try that too. but they really don't have a clue what
potter A is doing. they want the recipe.
potter A says, `i fire reduction cone 10`. now what
does that mean?
think of the thousands of potters in japan. and, they
have tea experts, historical experts, art experts, all
making judgments on `what the right thing to do is`.
or, this is why, or how they did it 800 years ago. you
better do it that or this way too. and, you think you have
pressure.
rules to live by. and, if you want to make a living
in japan making and selling pots, you had better know
what is going on. there are 500 potters in your town.
it just amazes me how many clay bodies and glazes there
are available in 2012. how many styles and ideas are there
to be ingested. how does one know what to do?
and, if you are even thinking of making tea ceremony
items for sale...good luck. it does not mean you cannot
do it....but the obstacles are many. just imagine the
differences in clay, glaze and firing technique. is raku
raku, raku?...explain it.
we have potter friends that are considering a big wood fired
kiln...they say...`what should i do mel?` i sure don't know.
my guess is....it will be damn hard to sell wood fired pots
in the next 5 years. folks are turning away from it....buying
pink and purple pots with flowers. but, i sure can't tell or advise anyone
on what to make. trends change overnight. (i know another
friend told me that northern clay is not thrilled with more
wood fired pots to put in their show room..(rumor)
if i put out twenty lovely unglazed wood fired pots at my sales they
would all be still on the table after i put things away.
the same with salt only pots. no one would buy one.
`hey mel, something is wrong with these pots, funny looking.`
i am sure that the salt/soda hysteria is over. many will carry on,
but, it will fade too. those that have good reputations and
experience will succeed. i advised anne kenworthy to not,
not...salt her new soft brick kiln....and, she now agrees.
stick with her great stoneware ideas, she has gobs of work
to do with that new kiln. she loves the work of ruth ann
tudbull...(sp) and we all do...but, anne cannot duplicate
ruth ann, and it will push her away from what her own
aesthetic is.
how does one sort out 500 glaze recipes? we have forty
porcelain bodies for sale around the country...bmix, amix,
gmix, whitemix. and folks want their favorite glaze recipe to work
on all of them. they may even blame laguna for making a
bad clay. i don't think so. their controls are amazing. but,
what people do with their clays are `oh, my god.`
does anyone think that joesred iron red glaze is going
to look the same fired in another kiln, with another clay
body and the timing that i have with the glaze absent? i don't
think so. i am certain that the glaze is going to be different...
and that does not mean bad, or wrong. but, how many potters
will think `oh, this is terrible, this does not look anything like
what mel is getting. what am i doing wrong? the answer is
nothing. you may have a lovely iron glazed pot.
in fact, it may be better than mine. you just have to look
and make a judgement based on what that glaze does on
your clay, in your kiln at the temp you are firing.
if you are using ron and john's book, or britt's.....who knows what
those glazes are going to look like? but, anyone that
does glaze research, john, ron or john britt will tell you,
`your pots may vary`. there are no sure fire guarantees.
recipes are only a starting point. we thank them for their
research, for their writing it all down, but it is still up to you,
with your aesthetic, your timing, your kiln to make the
glaze, clay and form become something you can live with,
and then learn to love, and those that admire your work will
lay their money down to own it.
we live in an age of `way too much information`. for those
in the early stages....`overload`. it is a great deal to sort
out.
the conversation on raku and tea just reminded me of how
much there is. think of the work that vince's son has done
in research into tea. a lifetime. and, so much of academic
ceramics is always rife with contradiction and room for
mis/interpretation. i would hate for some historian 200 years
from now to decide why i did this, or that. my god, all my
work arrives from stupidity...not genius. who the hell really
knows anything when you lite your kiln? it is good guesses
made with courage and conviction. if you do not have the
courage to fail, take up gardening.
just think of tony on his new adventure...`hey, why does
texas talc turn green?` and that is the just the first six
months. he has a lot of courage to test however, and he and shiela
will work their way to a good product.
i am more and more thinking that we should keep it simple.
let the forms and ideas come out of your hands and brain and
make things your own. it amazes me how we all came to
art/clay to be `our own voice`, and then how many people
run to the new thing, the next thing the minute it arrives.
`owww, oowww gotta be cool, do the next new thing.`
no, let your work evolve with your name stamped on the bottom.
be you. that other way is a sure path to mental illness. `what
do i do now?` and, as they say in `art and fear`...`it is quitting
time.`
when you open your kiln...think...`what pot do i want to
hold on my lap for the rest of the week?` move in that
direction. find inspiration in what you are doing, not someone
else. what makes your button flutter?
it is the same in textiles, silver and gold, wood. i think we
have to get back to `your own aesthetic`. i truly do not care
what others are doing...i have not the time to judge or worry.
i have to go to my studio, face my pug mill full of clay, fill my
kiln with pots i can sell, but most of all, pots i can live with
and trust will still have value 500 years from now.
you know, the pots that vince's sons, great great great grand daughter
will say...`hey, that mel made a decent pot.`
that is all we can ask. and, if you make 20,000 pots in your
lifetime, the chances of a few being still in use are really good.
that is how you live into eternity. and really, only potters can do
that. the ten garbage cans sitting in the exhibit hall at the
walker art center will not even be a bad memory.
mel
http://www.visi.com/~melpots/
clayart page below:
http://www.visi.com/~melpots/clayart.html
Vince Pitelka on sun 4 mar 12
mel jacobson wrote:
"we have potter friends that are considering a big wood fired kiln...they
say...`what should i do mel?` i sure don't know.
my guess is....it will be damn hard to sell wood fired pots in the next 5
years. folks are turning away from it....buying pink and purple pots with
flowers."
Mel -
I have heard the same thing, and I think you are correct that the "hysteria=
"
over woodfiring is declining among mainstream potters. But the market for
salt, soda, and wood remains healthy and will remain so for a very long
time. Buyers and galleries have become far more attune to the subtleties o=
f
wood-fired wares and less likely to be enthused just because the work is
wood-fired. They are more discerning, looking for the exceptional
wood-fired work where glazes and underglazes are used in interesting ways
along with the effects of the wood-firing. That is of course a natural
winnowing process that happens when any technique becomes popular. At first
it is novel, and anything made by the technique seems special. People have
discovered how difficult it is to get really exceptional results from a woo=
d
firing, and only those willing to really learn their kiln and use glazes
creatively and tastefully will find continued success. I expect that wood
firing will be around and will find popular appeal for a very long time, bu=
t
the woodfire potters will have to be on the ball to make their wares stand
out in gallery and marketplace. People shouldn't be too quick to sound the
death knell on woodfiring. Same for salt and soda. There are plenty of
wonderful potters out there doing amazing things with wood, salt and soda.
I am delighted to see some of our leading potters like Clary Illian and Ton=
y
Clennell doing innovative work in low-fired terracotta, but anyone who
thinks that low-fire terracotta is going to be a groundswell sweeping
through the studio clay world is deluded. It's just another of the many
wonderful options, as you point out in your post.
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Craft
Tennessee Tech University
vpitelka@dtccom.net
http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka/
Joseph Bennion on sun 4 mar 12
I always thought that the reason to work in wood fire, salt, majolica or an=
=3D
y other genre is because that is what ignites you and you can't leave it al=
=3D
one. I realize that you do have to have a market for the work you do but ch=
=3D
oosing a way of working because that is what the markets want is a formula =
=3D
for boredom and a real killjoy. I was given some sound advice by Mary Roehm=
=3D
twenty three years ago. It was on the occasion of the first workshop I tau=
=3D
ght. She said that if I made work that excited me and stuck with it rather =
=3D
than making work for the market I would find my market and that it would pr=
=3D
ovide me an adequate living. She was right. I was seduced by wood and salt =
=3D
firing at an early age (21) while working in Northern CA with Mike Selfridg=
=3D
e and Harley Munger. I still have not been able to extract myself from its =
=3D
tentacles.Joe the Potter
Joseph Bennion=3D20
=3D0AHorseshoe Mountain Pottery
=3D0AMom's Stuff Salve=3D20
=3D0APO Box 186 =3D20
=3D0ASpring City, Utah 84662 =
=3D
=3D20
=3D0A435-462-2708=3D20
=3D0Awww.joethepotter.com
=3D0Ahttps://www.facebook.com/HorseshoeMountainPottery
--- On Sun, 3/4/12, Vince Pitelka wrote:
From: Vince Pitelka
Subject: Re: regional differences/raku etc/ long
To: Clayart@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Date: Sunday, March 4, 2012, 2:21 PM
mel jacobson wrote:
"we have potter friends that are considering a big wood fired kiln...they
say...`what should i do mel?`=3DA0 i sure don't know.
my guess is....it will be damn hard to sell wood fired pots in the next 5
years.=3DA0 folks are turning away from it....buying pink and purple pots w=
it=3D
h
flowers."
Mel -
I have heard the same thing, and I think you are correct that the "hysteria=
=3D
"
over woodfiring is declining among mainstream potters.=3DA0 But the market =
fo=3D
r
salt, soda, and wood remains healthy and will remain so for a very long
time.=3DA0 Buyers and galleries have become far more attune to the subtleti=
es=3D
of
wood-fired wares and less likely to be enthused just because the work is
wood-fired.=3DA0 They are more discerning, looking for the exceptional
wood-fired work where glazes and underglazes are used in interesting ways
along with the effects of the wood-firing.=3DA0 That is of course a natural
winnowing process that happens when any technique becomes popular. At first
it is novel, and anything made by the technique seems special.=3DA0 People =
ha=3D
ve
discovered how difficult it is to get really exceptional results from a woo=
=3D
d
firing, and only those willing to really learn their kiln and use glazes
creatively and tastefully will find continued success.=3DA0 I expect that w=
oo=3D
d
firing will be around and will find popular appeal for a very long time, bu=
=3D
t
the woodfire potters will have to be on the ball to make their wares stand
out in gallery and marketplace.=3DA0 People shouldn't be too quick to sound=
t=3D
he
death knell on woodfiring.=3DA0 Same for salt and soda.=3DA0 There are plen=
ty o=3D
f
wonderful potters out there doing amazing things with wood, salt and soda.
I am delighted to see some of our leading potters like Clary Illian and Ton=
=3D
y
Clennell doing innovative work in low-fired terracotta, but anyone who
thinks that low-fire terracotta is going to be a groundswell sweeping
through the studio clay world is deluded.=3DA0 It's just another of the man=
y
wonderful options, as you point out in your post.
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Craft
Tennessee Tech University
vpitelka@dtccom.net
http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka/
Margaret Flaherty on mon 5 mar 12
As a lifetime gardener and a relatively new (compared to you guys) potter,
I assure you if you can't stand failure, don't take up gardening! Just
this morning, I noticed that for the second year in a row, I will have no
hyacinths because the deer who live in the watershed below our house regard
early hyacinth as a delicacy so delectable, they leap tall fences en masse
to get some. On the pottery front, it seems that many of us get hooked on
something, a visual delicacy, and can't sleep nights trying to figure out
how to master it and incorporate it into our work. Mel is right that this
kind of obsession is tougher on folks who have to figure out a way to make
a living from it.....those of us who have familial benefactors at least
don't lose sleep worrying about paying the bills.
On Sun, Mar 4, 2012 at 10:43 PM, Joseph Bennion <
joe.the.potter@rocketmail.com> wrote:
> I always thought that the reason to work in wood fire, salt, majolica or
> any other genre is because that is what ignites you and you can't leave i=
t
> alone. I realize that you do have to have a market for the work you do bu=
t
> choosing a way of working because that is what the markets want is a
> formula for boredom and a real killjoy. I was given some sound advice by
> Mary Roehm twenty three years ago. It was on the occasion of the first
> workshop I taught. She said that if I made work that excited me and stuck
> with it rather than making work for the market I would find my market and
> that it would provide me an adequate living. She was right. I was seduced
> by wood and salt firing at an early age (21) while working in Northern CA
> with Mike Selfridge and Harley Munger. I still have not been able to
> extract myself from its tentacles.Joe the Potter
> Joseph Bennion
>
> Horseshoe Mountain Pottery
>
> Mom's Stuff Salve
>
> PO Box 186
>
> Spring City, Utah 84662
>
> 435-462-2708
>
> www.joethepotter.com
>
> https://www.facebook.com/HorseshoeMountainPottery
>
> --- On Sun, 3/4/12, Vince Pitelka wrote:
>
> From: Vince Pitelka
> Subject: Re: regional differences/raku etc/ long
> To: Clayart@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
> Date: Sunday, March 4, 2012, 2:21 PM
>
> mel jacobson wrote:
> "we have potter friends that are considering a big wood fired kiln...they
> say...`what should i do mel?` i sure don't know.
> my guess is....it will be damn hard to sell wood fired pots in the next 5
> years. folks are turning away from it....buying pink and purple pots wit=
h
> flowers."
>
> Mel -
> I have heard the same thing, and I think you are correct that the
> "hysteria"
> over woodfiring is declining among mainstream potters. But the market fo=
r
> salt, soda, and wood remains healthy and will remain so for a very long
> time. Buyers and galleries have become far more attune to the subtleties
> of
> wood-fired wares and less likely to be enthused just because the work is
> wood-fired. They are more discerning, looking for the exceptional
> wood-fired work where glazes and underglazes are used in interesting ways
> along with the effects of the wood-firing. That is of course a natural
> winnowing process that happens when any technique becomes popular. At fir=
st
> it is novel, and anything made by the technique seems special. People ha=
ve
> discovered how difficult it is to get really exceptional results from a
> wood
> firing, and only those willing to really learn their kiln and use glazes
> creatively and tastefully will find continued success. I expect that woo=
d
> firing will be around and will find popular appeal for a very long time,
> but
> the woodfire potters will have to be on the ball to make their wares stan=
d
> out in gallery and marketplace. People shouldn't be too quick to sound t=
he
> death knell on woodfiring. Same for salt and soda. There are plenty of
> wonderful potters out there doing amazing things with wood, salt and soda=
.
> I am delighted to see some of our leading potters like Clary Illian and
> Tony
> Clennell doing innovative work in low-fired terracotta, but anyone who
> thinks that low-fire terracotta is going to be a groundswell sweeping
> through the studio clay world is deluded. It's just another of the many
> wonderful options, as you point out in your post.
> - Vince
>
> Vince Pitelka
> Appalachian Center for Craft
> Tennessee Tech University
> vpitelka@dtccom.net
> http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka/
>
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