mstudios on mon 18 feb 02
Dear Clayarters:
My father taught high school art in Colorado Springs for 30 years and his
specialty was ceramics. When I heard of Peter Voulkos passing on, I emailed
him right away. This is his remembrance of Peter Voulkos' influence:
--------------------------
I can remember how inspired my student, Sid Peckman, was after I did a
lecture and slide show about Voulkos, and Soldner. I had made the comment
that Pete Voulkos was known for being able to throw 50 pots in one day, and
then dance all night. Sid came up to me afterward and said, " Mr. Shernick,
If you can get me out of all my classes for one day, I bet I could make 50
pots in one day!" I agreed, and we set it up. I stipulated that they all
had to be worthy of firing, and could not be heavy, poor designs. He could
use bats, and trim feet later, but if he did not come up with 50 by
5'o'clock in the afternoon....we would give him the old rasberry.
Sid did indeed throw the magic number, plus he made 5 extra...."just in case
something breaks in the kiln" Sid went on later to scratch build his own
design automobile in metal shop, and he graduated with about a 4 point
average. He went on to Alfred school of Ceramics, and worked as a
gandy-dancer in the summers in Kansas to help defray his tuition. He got
his Ceramic engineering degree, and was up in Climax Colorado, doing some
research in the molybdenum mine that next summer when they had an explosion
of some gas in one of the adjoining shafts, and it sealed 14 men, including
Sid into their shaft. Six men were rescued, and I was later told by four of
them that they were physically forced into the rescue boatswain chair by the
guy who was the visitor. Hearing of that tragedy made me weep for days, and
I am sitting here typing this with tears in my eyes. Pete Voulkos never
knew that he had been a guiding force in a very talented and dedicated
ceramic student's life.....but then again, if they have clay in heaven,
maybe they'll finally get together now.
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Rest in peace, Peter Voulkos.
Michael Shernick
Berthoud, CO
m markey on fri 22 feb 02
My memory of Voulkos was the exhibit in Oakland, CA, a retrospective of
Volkos' work from the early 1960's to 1996.
Volkos' art at that time consisted of "Stacks," "Platters," and "Cubes." In
the museum, the rows of Stacks looked like soldiers ready for battle. The
Platters, hung on two walls of the exhibit space, looked like oversized
morphed ceramic shields, and the Cubes looked like old fireplace bricks,
enlarged twenty times.
I was dazzled. Here was a guy who spoke my language--rough, big, and
cumbersome. I adopted the Voulkos rough look, but still am working for big
and overwhelming!
According to those who assisted Volkos in his Oakland studio, Volkos often
preferred to barter his art for other things, than to accept money. He once
took a couple of platters to a truck dealer, and came home in a new pickup.
The art and ceramic art world are indeed grieving the loss of this Greek
hero. Like his contemporary, Bob Arneson, Voulkos brought West Coast
(USA)ceramic art into the world spotlight. He indeed deserves honor and
rememberance.
Mohabee NakedClay@hotmail.com
Wow--did we miss spring? 80 degrees and rising, in February!
Best wishes!
Mohabee NakedClay@hotmail.com
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