John Baymore on tue 29 sep 98
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Wow. Lets see here..........
It is my experience in the thirty or so years that I have been studying
ceramics (I still am), making pots, teaching, and building kilns (for
myself and professionally) that there is no aspect of studio ceramics that
has more myth and misunderstanding attached than that of the building and
operation of kilns. Glaze stuff is right up there too..... but I think
kilns win out in the final analysis =3Cg=3E.
As Mel-san has been saying in other posts on other subjects....... we would
do well to keep abreast of what industry has to offer to us. One of those
things is, I think, a far deeper understanding of the technology of
ceramics than that posessed by even the above-average educated studio
potter/ceramist. The ceramic engineering types study the technology for
far longer and at a far deeper level than those of us studio ceramists do.
As it should be.
I hate to see the apparent bit of contention that Camron's recent post
generated. I teach (and have taught since about 1973) kiln design and
operation courses (and workshops) at the college level and even with
extensive background in the subject when compared to the average potter, I
find Camrons' posts frequently full of information that is either a
confirmation or elaboration on something I already know, or contain a new
little gem of information that sends me scurrying off to my reference
library (of more industrial and scientific texts) to look up the background
of an area under discussion.
I always read posts with his header. He is a engineer specializing in the
design and installation of kilns for industry. He has had a solid technical
education. He certainly appears to know the theory behind how they work.
His posts are (and should be) a catalyst to furthur study and understanding
for everyone here at one level or another.
You do have to keep in mind his strong industrial connection when you are
assesing and applying the information he has provided here on CLAYART to
application in the types of situations more typical of studio craft. But
the laws of physics and chemistry and good engineering practice don't
suddenly disappear simply because we are making =22art=22 not bathtubs or =
spark
plug insulators.
If someone with substantial expertise in a particular area ...... anyone on
the list ...... comes across information on CLAYART that they KNOW is
misleading (as Clinton might say it =3Cg=3E) to many of the readers of the
list, what are they to do? Ignore it and let the misconception stand?
No... I think not. Not if they truly care about the CLAYART community. So
the goal is to help educate.
So maybe it is the choice of words or tone of the writing that becomes the
critical factor in this whole endeavor. The =22social graces=22 as it =
were.
How does one say........ =22no, that is completely incorrect=22 in a manner
that doesn't provoke confrontation, controversy, and/or anger? That skill
is something that is difficult to acheive in life. The best at this are
sucessful as mediators and diplomats. =3Cg=3E And also often........ as
educators.
Those of us here on Clayart are ceramists of one ilk or another.......most
of us are probably not heavily trained in mediation and diplomacy. (Some
are educators, and may have more training in this arena.) But I think we
should ALL strive to improve our abilities to interface with others here
online (and in life in general) in a manner that is as courteous as
possible. And we should ALL too, be willing to cut some slack if someone
is not as skillful at saying something in print as we might have hoped.
This sword cuts both ways.
These are some of the skills of the good educator. If we post some of our
understanding of the world of ceramics to CLAYART to share information,
that is what we are attempting to do: educate. If we are reading CLAYART,
we are here to BE educated, and hence open to new information and ideas.
As educators we need to provide information is such a manner that our
students are able to receive it..... as students we need to be open and
receptive to ideas. That cuts both ways too.
How are you to weight the value of the information presented here and
elsewhere? God....... were that it were easy=21 The ONLY way is to study
the subject and the source of the information in some depth. Weigh the
validity of the information. Weigh the background of the source. To weigh
all this well, you need furthur information from diverse sources. You have
to go out and GET that information. True learning is not a passive
activity.
One of my thoughts I share with my students is that if someone ever tells
you that you can't do something in ceramics........ try it. In other
words.... do not believe everything that you hear or read without
investigating it in some depth. The corrolary to this is that any answer
to a technical question should start with =22It depends.=22. In other =
words,
there are so many variables in any given situation that there are probably
multiple possible totally accurate responses depending on a more tightly
constrained version of the original question.
Often we ask for tight, specific answers to broad questions. It often
can't be done and be totally accurate in all cases.
As to the =22newbie=22 question controversy running sort of paralell to this
..........
The only dumb question is certainly the unasked one. However, if you have
the resources at hand (books, teacher, et al), use them too. The Clayart
list is maybe more like the colloquia at which we all gather after we have
read the assigned book to discuss the content of that book and our thoughts
on the content as it relates to us. As a reference library CLAYART
actually is not as good as the archives, GLAZEBASE, or other off-line
resources.
That is not to say that the book discussed here at the CLAYART colloquia
has to necessarily be something like existentilist philosophy. It could
also be looking at Dick, Jane, and Spot running. There should be room for
all levels of discussion to occur. If a thread of discussion is either
=22under=22 your head or =22over=22 your head, or just not of interest =
........ that
is why God invented the DELETE key.
The interactive, real-time, =22live=22 aspect of CLAYART is probably most
suitable for getting information not easily found elsewhere in books,
magazines, the CLAYART archives, and so on. Or for the elaboration on or
clarification of information found elsewhere. Or to say =22Hey I think the
stuff I have read in the published materials is BS and this is why.......
what do YOU think?=22 Or just to stay socially in touch with the ceramics
community.
So this thread too comes back to the social graces. Everyone should be
welcome..... newbiee questions should never be =22pooh-poohed=22, nor should
extensive in-depth technical or aesthetic discussions be made to feel out
of place. It is ALL the wide world of ceramics=21 The =22old hands=22 out
there should be willing to share and pass on their knowledge of ceramics.
Those new to clay could also make an effort to look for other resources in
ADDITION to the CLAYART listserve.
If you don't know where to look.... that is an ideal use of CLAYART.
I think that the real issue is tolerance and sensitivity, a problem the
whole world strives to address. Why should CLAYART be any different =
=3Cwg=3E.
Peace,
..................................john
John Baymore
River Bend Pottery
22 Riverbend Way
Wilton, NH 03086 USA
603-654-2752
JBaymore=40Compuserve.com
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