Axner Co. on mon 18 feb 02
Dear Clay Art participants,
It is a real treat to be able to participate in this forum. Since Axner
has been the subject both directly and indirectly in some recent threads,
I thought I would put forth my thinking a second time in just a few days.
This time it is in regards to the proposed Clay Art Clay Body, which has
been discussed.
As Mel has indicated, he asked me if I would participate in a project of
this nature and I said yes. I was completely unaware of this concept,
which had apparently been floated around, prior to that moment (I do not
read EVERY clay art posting). Mel did not suggest that I be the only
producer of this clay body. He actually made it very clear that he hoped
many producers would also participate. I understood this from the
beginning and support it. I do not now, nor have I ever sought
exclusivity. Mel did not ask me to make all of our clay formulas public.
He may have mentioned that as a point of discussion. It is NOT an idea
that is very exciting to me at the moment but it is interesting. I have
since read a number of notes addressing the topic and I have had some
private conversations as well. In one private discussion, a prominent
clay person was concerned that even if a Clay Art formula were made
public it still would not be a panacea and may in fact lead to
disappointments. Good formulation certainly is an important first step.
Other steps are also important. Screening raw materials, testing raw
materials, careful preparation, mixing and pugging procedures and proper
testing procedures are also all important additional factors. One clay
art participant indicated that they lived near the Custer Feldspar mines
while I am close to the G-200 mines. She is very right and any national
Clay Art body should be adjusted to different regions of the country in
order to be ecological and cost effective (it takes a lot of resource and
creates a lot of pollution to move truckloads of clay materials across
the country). Clay is very subjective. Some potters like more tooth or
color in their clay than others do. It goes on and on. If the clay art
group moves ahead on this idea, I still volunteer to participate. I look
forward to observing more discussion, which I am sure will be needed
prior to any consensus or organized call to action takes place.
Cindi Anderson on mon 18 feb 02
How do you feel about posting (to a website) the testing results of your
clays? This seems to be the best way to address many of the issues.
Cindi
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