mel jacobson on fri 29 mar 02
in my opinion, throwing fresh, or loose, or tight is a choice.
there seems to be an idea out there, that if you train your hands
and mind in discipline, that you cannot be fresh.
that is silly. at least to me.
there is an old saw in japan.
it goes like this.
the most loppy tea bowl can only be made by a master potter.
all of the customers, the admirers of chawan, would say,
`he meant to make it loppy`. he throws with perfection and
discipline. when he wants to be loppy and loose he just changes
his rhythm. he changes the clay. it no longer is slow, light pressure,
control up the pot. no rings showing. it becomes faster, harder pressure
and everything speeds up. but, it is planned. it is understood.
experience guides the hands and mind.
when a student makes a loppy tea bowl, the admirers say,
`he cannot make disciplined pots, his loppy bowl is only an
accident. he does not know what he is doing.`
far too often we look at student work and call it `fresh`. when in
reality, that is all they can do. it is like doing abstract painting
before you
learn to draw and paint. nothing to fall back on. it is just happy accident.
it is like my memory of peter voulkus. the first pots i saw of his were
powerfully thrown pieces. (1955) casseroles, teapots...and very well crafted.
it was work done by a young master potter. he grew and took his
art to new places. yet, those big platters were not made by an un-
educated beginner. even when his work was at its `freshest`, it was
the work of a master potter. he knew what he was doing. he had vision.
how could you copy that work? but, so many tried. they were unskilled
often, and wanted to make their work `fresh`. it did not hit the mark.
they became sorry replications of someone else's work.
we, as potters, live in a back and forth world of skill, technology, art,
and design. we become slaves of our tools. in so many ways the
tools dictate what we make. the society at large dictates via `art news`,
`ceramics monthly` what we are suppose to make to be successful.
we want that recipe, that claybody, that kiln. what is lost is the
procession of pots made by the person, in order, as the skill grows.
that procession should belong to the self. it should bring pride to the
student and learning potter. `i am making progress.` one pot
at a time.
it was like going to a `wood conference` and seeing the slides
come rolling out. if you did not have the `wood look`, well, tsk.
it was a recipe. what would be wrong with placing pots in a wood
kiln that had glaze on them? well, it is just not done. `golly, i like
glazed pots, what can i do?` sorry, that is not the look. well what
did the ancients do with wood kilns....? oh, they made ming celedons,
in saggers. hmmm, what did i miss? i think those are great pots.
i have a wood fired kiln. i glaze the pots that go in there. i am
learning to use that kiln, it will take time. i will still glaze the pots.
they do not look like gas fired pots. that is what i want to do.
that belongs to me. one pot at a time.
so, loose, goose, tight, control.
make it your choice. learn to throw, learn to hand
build. get some measure of control of your clay and tools.
you will become a happy, content, in control potter.
then....do whatever you want.
but, with thought.
mel
From:
Minnetonka, Minnesota, U.S.A.
web site: http://www.pclink.com/melpots
Martin Rice on fri 29 mar 02
Mel:
You said:
"what is lost is the procession of pots made by the person, in order, as the
skill grows. that procession should belong to the self. it should bring
pride to the student and learning potter. `i am making progress.` one pot
at a time. so, loose, goose, tight, control. make it your choice. learn to
throw, learn to hand build. get some measure of control of your clay and
tools. you will become a happy, content, in control potter. then....do
whatever you want. but, with thought."
What great advice for us beginners. Thanks so much.
Martin
Lagunas de Barú, Costa Rica
www.rice-family.org
----- Original Message -----
From: "mel jacobson"
To:
Sent: Friday, March 29, 2002 7:25 AM
Subject: [CLAYART] throwing loose (long)
> in my opinion, throwing fresh, or loose, or tight is a choice.
>
> there seems to be an idea out there, that if you train your hands
> and mind in discipline, that you cannot be fresh.
> that is silly. at least to me.
>
> there is an old saw in japan.
>
> it goes like this.
>
> the most loppy tea bowl can only be made by a master potter.
> all of the customers, the admirers of chawan, would say,
> `he meant to make it loppy`. he throws with perfection and
> discipline. when he wants to be loppy and loose he just changes
> his rhythm. he changes the clay. it no longer is slow, light pressure,
> control up the pot. no rings showing. it becomes faster, harder
pressure
> and everything speeds up. but, it is planned. it is understood.
> experience guides the hands and mind.
>
> when a student makes a loppy tea bowl, the admirers say,
> `he cannot make disciplined pots, his loppy bowl is only an
> accident. he does not know what he is doing.`
>
> far too often we look at student work and call it `fresh`. when in
> reality, that is all they can do. it is like doing abstract painting
> before you
> learn to draw and paint. nothing to fall back on. it is just happy
accident.
>
> it is like my memory of peter voulkus. the first pots i saw of his were
> powerfully thrown pieces. (1955) casseroles, teapots...and very well
crafted.
> it was work done by a young master potter. he grew and took his
> art to new places. yet, those big platters were not made by an un-
> educated beginner. even when his work was at its `freshest`, it was
> the work of a master potter. he knew what he was doing. he had vision.
> how could you copy that work? but, so many tried. they were unskilled
> often, and wanted to make their work `fresh`. it did not hit the mark.
> they became sorry replications of someone else's work.
>
> we, as potters, live in a back and forth world of skill, technology, art,
> and design. we become slaves of our tools. in so many ways the
> tools dictate what we make. the society at large dictates via `art news`,
> `ceramics monthly` what we are suppose to make to be successful.
> we want that recipe, that claybody, that kiln. what is lost is the
> procession of pots made by the person, in order, as the skill grows.
> that procession should belong to the self. it should bring pride to the
> student and learning potter. `i am making progress.` one pot
> at a time.
>
> it was like going to a `wood conference` and seeing the slides
> come rolling out. if you did not have the `wood look`, well, tsk.
> it was a recipe. what would be wrong with placing pots in a wood
> kiln that had glaze on them? well, it is just not done. `golly, i like
> glazed pots, what can i do?` sorry, that is not the look. well what
> did the ancients do with wood kilns....? oh, they made ming celedons,
> in saggers. hmmm, what did i miss? i think those are great pots.
> i have a wood fired kiln. i glaze the pots that go in there. i am
> learning to use that kiln, it will take time. i will still glaze the
pots.
> they do not look like gas fired pots. that is what i want to do.
> that belongs to me. one pot at a time.
>
> so, loose, goose, tight, control.
> make it your choice. learn to throw, learn to hand
> build. get some measure of control of your clay and tools.
> you will become a happy, content, in control potter.
> then....do whatever you want.
> but, with thought.
> mel
>
>
>
>
>
>
> From:
> Minnetonka, Minnesota, U.S.A.
> web site: http://www.pclink.com/melpots
>
>
____________________________________________________________________________
__
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
>
>
| |
|
