Don Jones on tue 26 may 98
Dear Group,
It's memorial day and I am thinking about my work as a professional clay
artist and the issues on this list. One of the things that has struck me
over the course of the 3 years on the list is the interaction between the
academic viewpoint and the hobbyist / part-time viewpoint.
Those of us who got our degree in clay went through all the glaze and clay
formulation stuff and have come out the other side seeking a more focused
place to put our knowledge. Others love to experiment with all this
chemistry and atmospherics of firing and wallow in all the terminology. It
seems that clay encompasses so much engineering, chemistry, and physics
that we can all benefit from a smattering of it. It is the same for
sculpture. Technical knowledge does not make one person a better artist
than another, IMHO. It merely makes them less dependent on others to
accomplish goals.
The painters have a slightly different problem. My guess is that little or
no discussion takes place on how to formulate the best tube of cerulean
blue. Technical issues are somewhat limited. Many of my freinds are
painters. Their discussions revolve around markets, honesty of style and
painting technique, and the best restaurants in town.
Printmakers love to expound on technique much like potters and sculptors.
These are the artists most like us as potters. Same issues of technique
and equipment, same problems of production etc.
The general buying public seldom cares as much about such issues. I
remember clearly my early days in wholesaling. I was across from a woman
who was very proud of the fact that she formulated her own clay and glazes
and was trying to put that across to her buyers. They did not care and
they did not want to pay her prices for all that labor. She came away
feeling frustrated.
Speaking as a person who makes a living at selling this stuff. I take more
the view of the painters in that I appreciate the fact that I can get my
clay in a bag and my glaze in a bottle. I have no time to formulate, mix,
pug, screen, etc. All my time is spent in production and design where I
can best use my creativity and training as an artist. I'm sorry to say
that clay is just another medium to me. I happen to be addicted to
throwing, so I'm stuck here. (Gladly, I might add)
Sooooooo. back to the list and how it helps us all. I use it as a
connection to the thoughts of other artists who work in clay and have
similar problems. I love the tech discussions because sooner or later,
something comes up that applies to my life, either in booth construction or
firing problems or suppliers. Lifestyle discussions are useful too because
others touch me with their daily activities and make me feel less alone
with my problems.
I am sorry to say that the aesthetic discussions are the least useful to
me because they seem to come across as a means to further one's own ego
and arsenal of 4 syllable words. Little is resolved , many feathers are
ruffled , much misunderstandings are fumed over, noone's mind is changed.
You might as well be discussing religion or politics.
Please carry on. All this variety makes this the best list in town. Clay
artists are good people and any chips on our shoulders might accidently
drop into the mix so we're careful there.
Don Jones
claysky@highfiber.com
:-) implied in all messages and replies
http://highfiber.com/~claysky
Beth and Matt Stichter on wed 27 may 98
I wasn't under the impression that the aesthetic discussions here were
intended to 'resolve' anything....merely an exchange of ideas, thoughts,
and ramblings about the content of our work.
I have paid a keen interest to these discussions, and have collected the
ideas shared as part of my own thought library.
Beth Stichter
Christopher J. Anton on thu 28 may 98
>Speaking as a person who makes a living at selling this stuff. I take more
>the view of the painters in that I appreciate the fact that I can get my
>clay in a bag and my glaze in a bottle. I have no time to formulate, mix,
>pug, screen, etc. All my time is spent in production and design where I
>can best use my creativity and training as an artist. I'm sorry to say
>that clay is just another medium to me.
One advantage that painters have is that they can mix their tubed paints and
reliably come up with "just the right" tone or color. This is where
technical knowledge comes into play for ceramic artists. If we are trying
to obtain "the right look" it helps to know enough to be able to modify or
formulate to obtain the correct clay body, glaze, stain, or what-have-you.
Agreed that the customer usually doesn't care about the hours of technical
work. But instead one may be able to sell "uniqueness." Exclusivity is a
concern to some buyers.
- Chris
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