Richard Aerni on mon 8 apr 02
Snail,
I've included a full quote of your words below. I wasn't going to reply, as
this is really a subjective area, and I feel I've said plenty...AND...I hate
to be guilty of last-wordism, but...
If someone spends a lot of time developing glazes, and has created some
effects that he/she feels are unusual, perhaps unique, and certainly
integral to what they consider "their work", what would you call that, if
not "craftsmanship?" I'm really curious...this is not to get a rise out of
you. If someone puts in a detail shot of a handle, or of carving, or of a
tight joint, then why not of glaze? OK, a layperson may not appreciate
it...another craftsperson may not appreciate it, but if it is where a
significant portion of your energy lies, and you've created some unique
effects, why not highlight them? (and I understand the jurying process for
shows...I've juried before) A person would put in a detail shot if there is
something about their work which they feel important, which might not come
across nearly as strongly when considered from a greater distance (ie, the
whole pot shot).
Snail wrote:
The best glaze job in the world - say, a perfectly-
breaking tenmoku, or a knockout hares'-fur - isn't
going to impress most folks as skill, even if they
do like the effect.
I wonder about this in regard to the work of:
Otto Natzler, Jacques Sicard, Malcolm Davis, John Chalke, Steven Hill, Alan
Caiger Smith, Angela Fina, Craig Martell, Harvey Sadow, Attic black/red
glaze potters, the majority of Islamic tin glazed ware, to name but a few.
OK, I'll stop. But I think you get my point.
Respectfully,
Richard Aerni
Bloomfield, NY
Snail wrote:
I don't think a detail slide should only show a
close-up of the glaze. If the slide was requested
(as previously stated,) to show 'craftsmanship',
well, glaze doesn't really demonstrate that. Any
doofus can come up with a few square inches on nice
glaze, even if they can't make a habit of it. And,
to most observers, the subtle variegations of a
well-designed and fired glaze may just look like
'irregularities'. They certainly won't be what the
layperson would take as evidence of craftsmanship.
The best glaze job in the world - say, a perfectly-
breaking tenmoku, or a knockout hares'-fur - isn't
going to impress most folks as skill, even if they
do like the effect. For a specialized ceramics-only
show, maybe such slides would work, but not for a
craft fair where the jurors are reviewing every
imaginable medium, and may not be as well-versed in
ceramics as you might wish.
I suspect that showing details of construction and
fabrication (smooth joints and handles, fitted lids,
clean feet) would be better received by most jurors.
-Snail
Richard Aerni
Bloomfield, NY
----- Original Message -----
From: "Longtin, Jeff"
To:
Sent: Thursday, April 04, 2002 2:40 PM
Subject: Re: mold making books/videos?
> Hey Nancy,
> For the money I'd have to say the catalog put out by Polytek would be a
good
> start. It's cheap, it was free for me, and it does a nice job of descibing
> various rubber products and their "best use" molding procedures. I don't
> have a number but do a search on google and you'll find it. Cementex is
> another company producing rubber products that has a really great catalog,
> full of instructions and advice. For plaster molds the Donald Firth book
is
> pretty good. It is expensive last time I checked however. Most clay stores
> carry it.
> An earlier posting mentioned PinkHouse Studios. I know a few theater/prop
> people who like their products. Years ago they sent me sheets of
> instructions on how to use their products as well. You could check with
them
> as well.
> By the way, no book can really prepare you for your first rubber mold. If
> you have a dispoable piece available I'd suggest you use it to do your
> first. Rubber should be simple but its not. You forget to do that one
thing
> that you really should have done and suddenly its a whole new ballgame, so
> be prepared.
> FYI, you have two ways you can make a rubber mold: you can either use a
> brushable rubber and apply several coats (and then build a mother mold, of
> course), or you can creat a mother mold first and then pour liguid rubber
> into the resulting cavity. The fragility of the pieces would determine
> which technique would work best. The brush technique is nice because you
can
> gradually build up the mold thickness, however, brushing several rubber
> coats is very time consuming. The pour technique is nice because its
simple,
> pour your solid rubber mold and walk away but its a pain because you have
to
> cut out your original model. Also realize the pieces will most likely be
> lost in the process.
> Just go slow and be thorough and you should be fine. Thats all I do.
Rubber
> never ceases to surprise me though.
> Jeff Longtin
> Complex Molds Made Easy
> a probable ADD candidate, don't have the patience to be tested, who failed
> 9th grade English (I stared out the window way to much) only to score
> "exceedingly" high in English/Grammer on his SAT's and excused from
college
> English as a result. go figure.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Nancy Silver [mailto:nsilver@CINCI.RR.COM]
> Sent: Thursday, April 04, 2002 10:21 AM
> To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
> Subject: mold making books/videos?
>
>
> A question for the mold experts (that's molds as in forms, not fungal
> growth) among us, ie: Jeff Longtin, Snail Scott et al. Do you have any
> suggestions on books or videos to help newbies thru the steps of mold
> making. I am especially interested in reusable, ie rubber mold making.
> I've had some introduction, but I'd like develop my skills with more
> specific guidance than my current trial and error, (lots errors) . I have
a
> lot of figure models done in a setting where I had to use plastic clay
> (building owner's rule) and I'd like to make molds of the completed
figures
> (some of them anyway).
>
> Thanks
> Nancy S in cinci
>
>
____________________________________________________________________________
> __
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
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>
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> melpots@pclink.com.
>
>
____________________________________________________________________________
__
> 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.
>
Snail Scott on mon 8 apr 02
At 08:10 AM 4/8/02 -0400, Richard Aerni wrote:
>Snail,
>If someone spends a lot of time developing glazes, and has created some
>effects that he/she feels are unusual, perhaps unique, and certainly
>integral to what they consider "their work", what would you call that, if
>not "craftsmanship?"
Of course it's craftsmanship! I was merely suggesting
that it takes a person knowledgeable in the craft to
properly appreciate it, and while every show entry is
a roll of the dice, it behooves a sensible artisan
to include work that may appeal to more than just the
cognoscenti.
If you know who the jurors will be, and suspect that
they will understand what you are showing them, then
by all means show those hard-earned subtleties to that
potentially-appreciative audience. I generally feel
that tailoring an entry to the supposed tastes of any
juror is a mistake, but tailoring the entry to their
presumed knowledge level is a different thing.
All too few shows have jurors of your caliber to
evaluate each craft and medium which is entered. If
this weren't true, I wouldn't have said what I did.
I will believe that the sponsors of the 'big-league'
craft shows do have such knowledgeable folks
governing the selection process, but for many other
shows, it's far too rare. One juror may be asked to
evaluate ceramics, glass, woodwork, textiles, and
more. Could you judge the skill of a fabric artist...
see the difference between hand-dyed shibori and
purchased printed cloth? Could that textile artist
judge your own skills from your entry? They may be
asked to.
By all means, show the glaze in a detail shot. It
probably coats most of the object anyway, right? But
seize the opportunity to show some other aspect of
the work at the same time, to convey more of your
skill to the non-specialist juror as well.
-Snail
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