Liz Willoughby on tue 15 jun 04
Hello Antoinette,
I have a cupboard full of handmade mugs, and always find it
interesting when I ask people to choose the mug they want to drink
from. The best thing is to watch potters choose a mug, the cupboard
is almost emptied so they can see them all, from top to bottom.
Personally, I prefer a cylinder that is taller than it is wide. A
rim that is smooth with no sharp edges. I have some that curve out,
and one that curves in, that are my favorites. A handle, pulled on
the pot is my preference, smooth with no sharp edges, for one or two
fingers. For my work, I prefer to trim a foot, and hope to make them
not too heavy and not too light, and not bottom heavy.
When I took a wood-firing course last month, I realized that for wood
and soda fired work, it is really better to not have a foot. The
wadding gives such a beautiful pattern on the bottom.
Balance as with any form with an appendage is important, and the
glaze should be smooth on the rim for the lips. Such a sensuous
thing, a drinking vessel.
When I did shows, I had a blind woman come into my booth every year,
and she would stroke each mug, try the handle, touch it all over,
before she bought one. The tactile quality was very important to her.
That would be a good exercise I think for anyone, to close their eyes
and hold and touch a mug before using it.
Meticky Liz from Grafton, Ontario, Canada
lots of thunderstorms earlier, more grass to cut (I figure it is just
like jogging, it has to be good for me)
>
>I would like to get comments on this subject. What is a good designed
>mug? How does it look, feel in the hand, feel on the lip etc. What is a
>well designed handle?
>Thanks.
>
>Antoinette Badenhorst
Vince Pitelka on tue 15 jun 04
> When I did shows, I had a blind woman come into my booth every year,
> and she would stroke each mug, try the handle, touch it all over,
> before she bought one. The tactile quality was very important to her.
> That would be a good exercise I think for anyone, to close their eyes
> and hold and touch a mug before using it.
Liz -
I think that is always a good exercise. I have experienced pots that were
especially seductive to the sense of touch because of the satin smooth glaze
enhancing subtle undulations of surface, or because of incised lines with
edges softened by glaze, or because of trailed slip creating raised lines or
dots, or because of an incised repeating pattern. I saw a photograph of a
blackware Zulu pot (I believe it was in the book "Smashing Pots") from South
Africa which has a asymmetrically arranged patch of raised dots on the
surface, and a textured woven fiber collar attached at the top. I really
want to handle that pot.
I have seen blind people handle pots in a way that make me more sensitive to
the tactile qualities and the subtleties of form experienced by senses other
than sight. I think we underestimate the sense of touch, or we forget to
consider it altogether. Our tactile senses are incredibly acute, and we can
feel things that we cannot see. Every potter making utilitarian wares
should think carefully about the tactile qualities of their pots.
Best wishes -
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Craft, Tennessee Technological University
Smithville TN 37166, 615/597-6801 x111
vpitelka@dtccom.net, wpitelka@tntech.edu
http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka/
http://www.tntech.edu/craftcenter/
Antoinette Badenhorst on wed 16 jun 04
Vince the pot you've described sounds like one made by Nesta Nala. There
is a beautiful history behind these kinds of pots in Particular Nesta's
work. http://www.africaart.co.za/nalapots.htm#image I agree
wholeheartedly with you about your comment on person tactile senses. I
remember when I was a young potter I had an urge to pick up every piece
of pottery I could lay my hands on. That had me some times in trouble.
There are people that believe that once a customer picks your pot up, it
is almost considered sold.
Antoinette Badenhorst
105 Westwood Circle
Saltillo MS
38866
662 869 1651
-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG] On Behalf Of Vince
Pitelka
Sent: Tuesday, June 15, 2004 9:34 PM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Re: more design discussion, mugs
> When I did shows, I had a blind woman come into my booth every year,
> and she would stroke each mug, try the handle, touch it all over,
> before she bought one. The tactile quality was very important to her.
> That would be a good exercise I think for anyone, to close their eyes
> and hold and touch a mug before using it.
Liz -
I think that is always a good exercise. I have experienced pots that
were
especially seductive to the sense of touch because of the satin smooth
glaze
enhancing subtle undulations of surface, or because of incised lines
with
edges softened by glaze, or because of trailed slip creating raised
lines or
dots, or because of an incised repeating pattern. I saw a photograph of
a
blackware Zulu pot (I believe it was in the book "Smashing Pots") from
South
Africa which has a asymmetrically arranged patch of raised dots on the
surface, and a textured woven fiber collar attached at the top. I
really
want to handle that pot.
I have seen blind people handle pots in a way that make me more
sensitive to
the tactile qualities and the subtleties of form experienced by senses
other
than sight. I think we underestimate the sense of touch, or we forget
to
consider it altogether. Our tactile senses are incredibly acute, and we
can
feel things that we cannot see. Every potter making utilitarian wares
should think carefully about the tactile qualities of their pots.
Best wishes -
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Craft, Tennessee Technological University
Smithville TN 37166, 615/597-6801 x111
vpitelka@dtccom.net, wpitelka@tntech.edu
http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka/
http://www.tntech.edu/craftcenter/
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Ron Roy on thu 17 jun 04
This reminds me of how certain glazes feel better than others - and how
this can make some pots more pleasurable in the hand than others.
There are some glazes that don't feel as cold as others for instance.
If I were trying to illustrate this to anyone I would have them shut their
eyes and feel different glazes - to "see" which felt better.
Imagine - knowing which glazes felt the best to most people - calculating
those glazes and comparing the molecular formulas - and appling that
knowledge to make glazes that feel even better.
It does not make any difference in pots that are just to looked at - but
for ware that is to handled it can make a diffence - even though the user
is not even aware.
So many ways to make things better!
RR
>I have seen blind people handle pots in a way that make me more sensitive to
>the tactile qualities and the subtleties of form experienced by senses other
>than sight. I think we underestimate the sense of touch, or we forget to
>consider it altogether. Our tactile senses are incredibly acute, and we can
>feel things that we cannot see. Every potter making utilitarian wares
>should think carefully about the tactile qualities of their pots.
>Best wishes -
>- Vince
Ron Roy
RR#4
15084 Little Lake Road
Brighton, Ontario
Canada
K0K 1H0
Phone: 613-475-9544
Fax: 613-475-3513
Lee Love on thu 17 jun 04
Vince Pitelka wrote:
>than sight. I think we underestimate the sense of touch, or we forget to
>consider it altogether. Our tactile senses are incredibly acute, and we can
>feel things that we cannot see. Every potter making utilitarian wares
>should think carefully about the tactile qualities of their pots.
>
Sometimes woodfired, unglazed pots, are not pleasant to touch.
Ocassionally, they are just plain dangerous to hold in the hand, because
of jagged edges where glaze runs or where it puddles on wads and shells.
I learned about polishing unglazed work at my teacher's workshop. All
the Yohen work, where charcoal is introduced at the end of the firing,
comes out matt and looking dark and dingy. But it is sanded, rubbed with
a 3M pad (use to use rice straw) and then rubbed with a soft cotton
cloth. This brings out the color, taking some of the oxidized matter off
the surface and leaves a wonderful satin finish. Sometimes, a large
tsubo would take a day or two to finish. I use power tools, I can do it
much quicker to my work.
I ran across this MacKenzie quote in A Potter's Companion last night,
about the importance of touch, that relates.
"As a result, we are deprived of one of the basic senses with which
potters must concern themselves, since the forms and surfaces they
create are made by the pressure and grip of their hands on the clay. In
some standardized and repetitive ceramics, these gestures become
stereotyped and meaningless, but in a sensitively made pot this contact
between maker and material can become a direct and moving experience
that may be shared by users of the pot. Not only the forms which reveal
themselves, but also the weight of the pot, the texture of the
materials, and surface gesture provide an open door to understanding."
--Warren MacKenzie
You can read the full quote here:
http://journals.fotki.com/togeika/Mashiko/
--
Lee in Mashiko, Japan http://mashiko.org
http://journals.fotki.com/togeika/Mashiko/ Commentary On Pottery
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