Snail Scott on fri 17 nov 00
It seems to me that the term 'manufactured' in Ms. Bringle's
statement was not referring to the supposed level of hand
craftsmanship, but to the separation of their production from
that of the teapot they are attached to.
She did not say that she rejected all such usages (just 'almost')
which indicates that some of them were, in fact, accepted.
Thus it may not have been the handles themselves which were
found wanting, but the teapot to which they were fitted.
More precisely, I suspect, it was the combination of the
two which may have lacked a sense of integrated unity of design.
The rejects, she said, "did not fit". I did not see the entries
to this show, but when the design of the handle is a 'given', the
pot must be made to suit it, rather that the other way around. The
pots with pre-made handles must have done this very well.
A handmade handle may not be functionally or esthetically preferable
in every case. Neither do I grant it moral superiority. It does,
however, allow a wider range of exploration, since the handle may be
formed as needed, to suit the whole design in a unified way.
But a handmade handle, if poorly conceived and executed, will do no
more justice to its pot than a poorly considered premade one.
Surely it was not the handles that were condemned, but their
inappropriate use!
-Snail
At 04:59 PM 11/17/00 -0600, you wrote:
>The Nettleship's cane handles are not manufactured.
>They are made by human hands, formed inside
>jigs, one at a time.
>
>If an judge wants to arbitrarily reject them, and call them
>'manufactured', well, that's the judge's prerogative.
>I would, however, like to see the judge try to actually
>use some of those 'gutsy' handles.
>--
>David Hendley
>Maydelle, Texas
>hendley@tyler.net
>http://www.farmpots.com/
>
>
>
>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: mel jacobson
>To:
>Sent: Friday, November 17, 2000 4:57 AM
>Subject: home made handles
>
>
>| i was running through clay times this a.m. and came across the
>| handle article by lana wilson. as usual, well written and informative.
>|
>| these handles are very beautiful, and the work of sheila clennell is
>| remarkable.
>|
>| a quote by cynthia bringle did however, give me pause.
>| (after being the judge of a show.)
>| `i rejected almost every teapot with a manufactured handle, they
>| did not fit.`....man, oh man, i am out of luck with
>| cynthia. (i do have tremendous respect for cynthia bringle.)
>|
>
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>
clennell on sat 18 nov 00
>The Nettleship's cane handles are not manufactured.
>They are made by human hands, formed inside
>jigs, one at a time.
>
>If an judge wants to arbitrarily reject them, and call them
>'manufactured', well, that's the judge's prerogative.
>I would, however, like to see the judge try to actually
>use some of those 'gutsy' handles.
>--
>David Hendley
David- You surprise me. I thought you tried to make all you could from the
ground up. I think Bringles point is this- you didn't make the handle on
that teapot! If indeed Fred Nettleship made the handle and I assure he
didn't (one of many factory workers did) then one should say t-pot by t.
Clennell handle by Fred Nettleship. If I hired a jeweller to put a copper
handle on my t-pot I would give the jeweller credit.
As for the use of a gutsy handle. River cane handles have been made for
centuries to work on teapots. They can be made to last longer than the
teapot and probably function better than most teapots. Sheila can make a
handle that that would be almost indestructible. She can also make one
that perhaps serves more of a visual function than an intended use
function. Her choice.
..
God is in the details. It is those details that make good pots excellent
and I see the handmade handle (handmade by the maker) as one of those
details.
Cane Craft handles are well made but PEDESTRIAN.
In the Niargara peninsula where a nettle is a burr.
Cheers,
Tony
sour cherry pottery
tony and sheila clennell
4545 king street
beamsville, on.L0R 1B1
http://www.sourcherrypottery.com
clennell@vaxxine.com
Knox Steinbrecher on wed 22 nov 00
Ok, I can't stand it any longer. I use purchased handles on my teapots. I
chose to do this because they don't break and render the teapot useless. I
also make lugs large enough so that the handle can be placed to the side for
easy storage in short places. I hope my teapots will be used daily and
therfore make them to be as user friendly as I can. I also cut holes for
built in strainer, have a steam hole in the top, and when appropriate, put
another blop (technical term) of clay near the lid so it won't fall off when
pouring. Form follows function. This is how I use teapots so this is why I
use manufactured, cane handles. One day I may change, but not today.
knox.....freezing in Atlanta
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