Lily Krakowski on sun 4 may 03
Dear Janet, you certainly are one diplomatic lady.
What I still fail to grasp is WHY? What is it with porcelain? Porcelain is
a very pure white clay or clay body, that is fired very hot/high and becomes
translucent. There is relevance in calling something PORCELAIN if it IS,
because it is a way of saying this costs more to produce. It is like
labeling a fish "halibut." Delicious. Costly. If, however, a clay or clay
body is white and not fired that high, and not really that hard nor that
translucent why not just say WHITE CLAY. Why call haddock (which is
delicious as well) "demi-halibut" ?????
There is some kind of whatever going the rounds, particularly in the US I
think, that bestows on potters working in porcelain some sort of special
dispensation. (No, I am not envious. I dislike the feel of porcelain clay
and therefore avoid it....) I laughed myself into cramps in my sides when
someone half-whispered to me at a gathering: "That is XXXX . SHE works in
PORCELAIN" as though genuflexion was expected...
I think all us cool mid-range stoneware potters should unite. Stand around
at vernissages and the like and say soto voce to whoever: That is YYYY. SHE
works in mid-range stoneware....
Lili Krakowski
P.O. Box #1
Constableville, N.Y.
(315) 942-5916/ 397-2389
Be of good courage....
Lily Krakowski on mon 5 may 03
Dear Janet, what is this about a fish screaming? Is that what made people
realize fish feel pain? If people do, why shouldn't fish...but that is not
the point...I still need to know...what is this about screaming fish?
Back to La Belle Porcelaine.
You write:
>Porcelain does not tolerate
> sloppiness, impatience, unskilled or careless handling. It is totally
> unforgiving of poor technique and lazy workmanship even before it gets as
> far as the kiln. Whether hand-building or throwing, the high skill levels
> necessary for successful and constant porcelain production are awesome."
To which I can only say: OY! I submit ALL clay DEMANDS those good things
you list, and hates the bad stuff. To return to our fish: if porcelain
"screams" , good for it! But to assume that non-screaming clays like being
turned into bad pots, speaks badly, very very badly for contemporary
standards of workmanship. If indeed people work in other than porcelain
clays because they think they can get away with being sloppy, careless
"craftsmen" I will join that fish in screaming....
It is pitiful if porcelain is used as a criterion for craftsmanship.
Except, perhaps, at the level of manufacturing and studio cleanliness.
This awe and admiration for the Big P. lessens the appreciation of other
skills. Mary Wondrausch's slip decorated platters paralyze my brain with
their exhibition of skill. Right there in UK before your very eyes there
are MASTER throwers of magnificent stoneware....my hand is still not well
enough to do a list...but you know who they are...
This reminds me of something else. Haute Cuisine. There actually was life
on earth before Balsamic Vinegar, and Sun Dried Tomatoes were "discovered"
Maybe some mothers in Modena sent their emigrant children a bottle of BV for
Christmas...but that was that. Ditto with SDT. Today of course people cut
you in the street if you do not use these products. To serve a salad with a
lemon vinaigrette is too declassé! Not to have some SDT hanging from a
string in a noticeable spot in your kitchen costs you all your friends!
I fear, yes, I honestly do, that the aura of Porcelain has reached a point
where people who do not know "from tooting and blowing " (I cannot spell
German, hence translate) feel SAFE admiring The Big P, and do not trust
themselves to fall on their knees in front of a plain eartheware pot that is
too glorious for words.
I now will stop carping ....
Janet Kaiser on mon 5 may 03
Oh, Lili! You just made my day! Diplomatic? Me? The one with the two big
feet who constantly treads on toes? Not to say the big mouth who voices
uncomfortable thoughts, theories and beliefs? The intercontinental Ceramic
St=F6renfried? HA! Let me see if I can regain my evil reputation....
In answer to your question why is real porcelain and makers of true
porcelain so highly regarded, I would say because they simply deserve the
respect of us lesser makers beyond the production cost factor.
Not only did I personally not like the feel of porcelain, I was simply not
a good enough potter. Period. I would have died rather than admit it at the
time (young adult know-it-all), but in all honestly, it needs far more
patience and skill than I ever possessed. Porcelain does not tolerate
sloppiness, impatience, unskilled or careless handling. It is totally
unforgiving of poor technique and lazy workmanship even before it gets as
far as the kiln. Whether hand-building or throwing, the high skill levels
necessary for successful and constant porcelain production are awesome.
Porcelain sings more than any other clay in the hands of a skilled master.
It has no rivals. Porcelain is king, kaiser and an all-conquering hero of
other lesser common clays! What beauty, what joyous work has been made of
porcelain and porcelain alone? What is being made and will be made in the
future? Ahhh... The heart throbs at the very thought!
This is NOT to say that other work in other clay types, made and fired in
whatever way one wants, with or without decoration, functional or
decorative in whatever colour and glaze are not as genuine, as accomplished
or to be considered any lesser per se... Each has its OWN qualities, which
also sing and dance in their own respective way/s. It is just completely
different and each & every maker/artist has their own personal choice of
medium for making what they want to make. All sorts of influences are at
play, but cost and necessary skill levels have dissuaded many a would-be
maker from becoming a regular porcelain king or queen and most potters I
know are gracious enough to admit it!
Genuflect? Yes, indeed! I would every time. But they still have to make
work which meets certain other basic criteria as well... Good forms,
design, decoration, no warping, etc. As with any material or chosen medium,
what is the use of being able to work in what is recognised as the Gold
Standard, if the finished product would be better suited to "decorating"
the lavatory or the inside of a dustbin?
White clay? Yes, I would agree with you. Indeed, it is nothing more than
white earthenware. HOWEVER "white clay" is not a solution to my dilemma as
a gallerist... I simply could not label a piece:
Blue teapot
Pippi Langstrumpf
White clay
2003
=A3100
What sort of impression would that make in a specialist ceramic gallery?
Only those who rarely exhibit ceramics would be able to get away with it
and even then, it would highlight their ignorance and indifference. Not
something to be proud of and not helpful in the drive towards making
ceramic art "upwardly mobile" in the eyes of the public!
I pass on the haddock and halibut... Since that fish being prepared for
gef=FChltefisch in NY a couple of months ago screaming, it may be tempting
providence! Provoking potters is dangerous enough!
Sincerely
Janet Kaiser - BTW English kaolins lack plasticity which I believe is why
porcelain has been little developed or used by studio potters in the UK.
The times are changing as imported clays become more affordable and
accessible, but the reverence remains.
*** IN REPLY TO THE FOLLOWING MAIL:
>Dear Janet, you certainly are one diplomatic lady.
>
>What I still fail to grasp is WHY? What is it with porcelain? Porcelain
>is
>a very pure white clay or clay body, that is fired very hot/high and
>becomes
>translucent. There is relevance in calling something PORCELAIN if it IS,
>because it is a way of saying this costs more to produce. It is like
>labeling a fish "halibut." Delicious. Costly. If, however, a clay or
>clay
>body is white and not fired that high, and not really that hard nor that
>translucent why not just say WHITE CLAY. Why call haddock (which is
>delicious as well) "demi-halibut" ?????
>
>There is some kind of whatever going the rounds, particularly in the US I
>think, that bestows on potters working in porcelain some sort of special
>dispensation. (No, I am not envious. I dislike the feel of porcelain
clay
>and therefore avoid it....) I laughed myself into cramps in my sides when
>someone half-whispered to me at a gathering: "That is XXXX . SHE works
>in
>PORCELAIN" as though genuflexion was expected...
>
>I think all us cool mid-range stoneware potters should unite. Stand
around
>at vernissages and the like and say soto voce to whoever: That is
YYYY.SHE
>works in mid-range stoneware....
>
*** THE MAIL FROM Lily Krakowski ENDS HERE ***
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TRUTH is too precious to tell every fool who asks for it...
****** This post was sent to you today by Janet Kaiser *******
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Lily Krakowski on wed 7 may 03
I like the idea of a totally new name.
May I suggest : LABANITE? Pronouncable in most languages, of solid origine:
laban, lavan meaning "white", serious sounding?
"Is this porcelain?" "Oh no, my dear, this is Labanite!" "Why does it cost
so much?" "Well, my dear, it's Labanite!" This makes the customer feel
ignorant and timid, and the bills will just fall out the pocketbook...
Lili Krakowski
P.O. Box #1
Constableville, N.Y.
(315) 942-5916/ 397-2389
Be of good courage....
Jon Pacini on thu 8 may 03
Lily-wrote----------May I suggest : LABANITE? Pronounceable in most
languages, of solid origine:
laban, lavan meaning "white", serious sounding?
"Is this porcelain?" "Oh no, my dear, this is Labanite!" "Why does it cost
so much?" "Well, my dear, it's Labanite!" This makes the customer feel
ignorant and timid, and the bills will just fall out the pocketbook...
Greetings all----- I was going to vote for Vince's nomination in this
category, 'Unadulterated Bullshit'. I could develop a body, name it after
myself and have "Jon's Unadulterated Bullshit" stamped on all those clay
boxes, but then I think no, Lily's concept may have more commercial
potential over the long haul. :)
Best regards
Jon Pacini
Clay Manager
Laguna Clay Co
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