Paul Lewing on mon 2 aug 04
on 8/2/04 3:39 PM, Richard Aerni at raerni@ROCHESTER.RR.COM wrote:
> So, is this going to be another round of blue bashing? Is the flip side
> going to be the extolling of temmoku, shino, celadon, etc? I hope not...
>
> Blue is a fine color.
> Sorry folks, but you've no sympathy from me.
I'm with you, Richard. Back when I was making pots, I never did understand
this prejudice against blue that so many potters have. It often seemed to
me that the main reason they disliked it was that it sold, which never made
any sense to me. I always operated on the Dave Shaner principle that you
could never have too many different glazes around the studio at once, and
whichever ones sold were the ones you kept using. I know that I've made at
least 10,000 mugs in my career, and I know I made 800 in one year once. It
never particularly mattered to me which bucket I dunked them in.
But then I LIKE blue. One of my all-time favorite glazes was Blatant Blue,
a celadon base with 2% cobalt carbonate instead of the iron.
Actually, I just like color- lots of it! My favorite Chinese pots are the
Ming Dynasty famille verte enameled wares (although I am partial to the Sung
Dynasty slip-decorated stoneware. And my favorite Japanese pots are not
Bizen or Shigaraki or Tamba, but Kutani and Nabeshima. I guess I don't care
what other potters think any more than I care what critics think.
Paul Lewing, Seattle
PS. One of my favorite jokes:
Q. What do you get when you cross an art critic with a Mafiosi?
A. Someone who will make you an offer you cannot understand.
Hank Murrow on mon 2 aug 04
On Aug 2, 2004, at 4:39 PM, Richard Aerni wrote:
> So, is this going to be another round of blue bashing?.......
> snip.......
> Blue is a fine color. If you don't like the so-called mother-in-law
> blue,
> then experiment and come up with one of the other 2,875 shades of
> blue....... snip.... My practice is to develop a palette of glaze
> colors that compliment each other........snip.....
> OK, off the soapbox
Hey Richard, I would get up there and say pretty much what you said, if
it didn't bust my rep as a Shinoiste. In fact, if one goes to my
website, there are plenty of blues, greens, and even some yummy copper
yellows to be found there. I too like a complete palette. I have been
thinking of writing an article about my cone 10+ Oxidation fires, open
a few eyes I imagine.
Cheers, Hank in Eugene
murrow.biz/hank
mel jacobson on mon 2 aug 04
i more than agree with david h. blue sells, and
temmoku and celedons are potters glazes..not customer
glazes.
most potters make those chinese/ japanese glazes
to keep sanity. we still admire the old masters and
how they did it. we still want to be a part of the old
and the new. if you are making a living with pots, stick
to what sells. i will keep at the old stuff. i can afford it.
and, i want tony to send a blue pot to baltimore. good,
that way we won't have to say..`damn, he and shiela made
another great shino...damn.`
i have without question, made a tiny fortune on
my blue/green/tan glaze...rhodes 32. and, i have
published that idea/recipe for anyone to copy.
it works. what makes me the happiest is..cobalt
mixed with a small amount of chrome. it turns that
mother in law crap to teal blue. then i can live with it.
and, it sells.
we as potters have to give up the paranoia of snobbery.
so called big time critics, art historians, museum people do
not take us seriously anyway...so..to hell with them. if you
worry about what they think of your work...well, you have trouble
anyway. they just don't care...period. we are crafters to most
of them...and we do not count. we can puff and snort all we want
and it will not change a thing. their minds are collectedly made up.
the best we can do is keep working, making quality stuff, sell it
and make a living. it is the best way.
i only worry about my customers...never what the director
of the walker art center thinks of my pots....in fact, i don't
care much for her art center...or what she picks to show us.
so, we are even. they show a bunch of crap/couched as art,
and i make pots, couched as pots. folks seem to like
what i make for them...and pay for it.
that says a great deal.
mel
From:
Minnetonka, Minnesota, U.S.A.
web site: my.pclink.com/~melpots
or try: http://www.pclink.com/melpots
new/ http://www.rid-a-tick.com
John Rodgers on mon 2 aug 04
Mel,
You and David H. are right!! Blue sells.
I have made a lot of stuff with different glazes. I tried to keep a
certain level of stock on hand based on forms, but over time I realized
my blue colored forms - which were selling, were being replaced by my
other colored forms, which were not selling -- at least anywhere near
the same rate. So my non-selling stock of non-blue things was beginning
to displace my blue stuff. So I began to watch for the 80/20 rule - and
sure enough - 80% of sales was blue, 20% other colors. So, back to a
blue emphasis. Over time, I eventually quit making anything that wasn't
blue, at least for selling purposes. I still make something of other
colors, but that's just for me, or as a gift or something.
Floating Blue - ^5 Ox - has become my specialty - and I use three
different clays just for variety, but that's about it. Mostly I use ^5
B-mix from Laguna. I mix 20 gallons of Floating Blue at a time, and just
stir it up good every other day for exercise - mine and the glaze.
Before I use it I adjust the density to 1.0-1.3. Sometimes I dip,
sometimes I spray. But it always turns out good mostly, from a color
standpoint. Like everyone, I get the occasional flaw - pitting, or a
spot, or a run or whatever, but there are few pieces I can't sell. I
glaze fire really slow with Floating Blue. Works for me.
I learned early on to ignore the experts, jurors, and art critics. Many
years ago in Alaska when I was fairly new in clay, I entered a piece in
a local show that was jurored by one of Alaska's more renown art
painters - an expert in his field. He practically threw my entry out of
the building it offended his "Artistic Sensibilities" so badly. Well, I
learned he didn't know didley about clay or my method of work, so how
could he possibly judge what I had done. I thought about that lesson a
long time. I realized I was selling everything I made, and since for me
that for me was most important, the whole business of "art" became a
moot issue. Never worried about it again.
I have often thought of and follow closely the Mel Jacobson Admonition:
"Make good pots!"
I might add, "and they will sell!!"
Best Regards,
John Rodgers
Chelsea, AL
mel jacobson wrote:
> i more than agree with david h. blue sells, and
> temmoku and celedons are potters glazes..not customer
> glazes.
>
> most potters make those chinese/ japanese glazes
> to keep sanity. we still admire the old masters and
> how they did it. we still want to be a part of the old
> and the new. if you are making a living with pots, stick
> to what sells. i will keep at the old stuff. i can afford it.
> and, i want tony to send a blue pot to baltimore. good,
> that way we won't have to say..`damn, he and shiela made
> another great shino...damn.`
>
> i have without question, made a tiny fortune on
> my blue/green/tan glaze...rhodes 32. and, i have
> published that idea/recipe for anyone to copy.
> it works. what makes me the happiest is..cobalt
> mixed with a small amount of chrome. it turns that
> mother in law crap to teal blue. then i can live with it.
> and, it sells.
>
> we as potters have to give up the paranoia of snobbery.
> so called big time critics, art historians, museum people do
> not take us seriously anyway...so..to hell with them. if you
> worry about what they think of your work...well, you have trouble
> anyway. they just don't care...period. we are crafters to most
> of them...and we do not count. we can puff and snort all we want
> and it will not change a thing. their minds are collectedly made up.
> the best we can do is keep working, making quality stuff, sell it
> and make a living. it is the best way.
> i only worry about my customers...never what the director
> of the walker art center thinks of my pots....in fact, i don't
> care much for her art center...or what she picks to show us.
> so, we are even. they show a bunch of crap/couched as art,
> and i make pots, couched as pots. folks seem to like
> what i make for them...and pay for it.
> that says a great deal.
> mel
>
>
>
>
>
>
> From:
> Minnetonka, Minnesota, U.S.A.
> web site: my.pclink.com/~melpots
> or try: http://www.pclink.com/melpots
> new/ http://www.rid-a-tick.com
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
>
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
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>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
> melpots@pclink.com.
>
Jeanette Harris on mon 2 aug 04
>i more than agree with david h. blue sells, and
>temmoku and celedons are potters glazes..not customer
>glazes.
>
I agree about the temmoku, but from where I sell, celedons are my
best sellers. Weathered bronzes ain't bad either on decorative stuff.
I sold a wonderful Hershey black teapot right off the bat at my last
show--had to hide it under the counter until the lady could get back
with her purse.
Cheers,
(SO glad to see CLAYART back! I don't say much, but I sure do read.)
--
Jeanette Harris
in Poulsbo WA
Richard Aerni on mon 2 aug 04
So, is this going to be another round of blue bashing? Is the flip side
going to be the extolling of temmoku, shino, celadon, etc? I hope not...
Blue is a fine color. If you don't like the so-called mother-in-law blue,
then experiment and come up with one of the other 2,875 shades of blue that
are more tolerable to you. It's not all or nothing folks, and continuing
to bash blue (as in, "it sells, o god help us!") goes a long way to making
it one of the "potters' rules" that we work so hard to keep from falling
prey to...
Sorry folks, but you've no sympathy from me. If you like brown glazes,
then make them, as long as you understand that they may not sell. Same for
temoku and shino and celadon, and any number of others. My practice, and
advice, is to develop a palette of glaze colors that compliment each other
and show people that you're more than a one trick pony.
OK, off the soapbox,
Richard Aerni
Rochester, NY
Ben Shelton on tue 3 aug 04
On Mon, 2 Aug 2004 14:37:27 -0500, mel jacobson wrote:
>so called big time critics, art historians, museum people do
>not take us seriously anyway...so..to hell with them.
Ahhh, the wisdom, the sage advice, formed so effortlessly and perfectly...
then stab it right in the heart, dead!
Let the truth ring out and it will set you free.
Thank you Mel
Ingeborg Foco on tue 3 aug 04
on 8/2/04 3:39 PM, Richard Aerni at raerni@ROCHESTER.RR.COM wrote:
" So, is this going to be another round of blue bashing? Is the flip side
going to be the extolling of temmoku, shino, celadon, etc? I hope
not...
Blue is a fine color.
Sorry folks, but you've no sympathy from me."
All this discussion about blue, I can't help but chime in. First of all,
blue is the color of the sky which is beautiful. I have blue gray dishes
and yet I don't consider myself a blue person. I don't wear blue; it
doesn't flatter me but blue is a fine color and I have ALWAYS had some kind
of blue in my offerings. One thing to keep in mind - people see color
differently. One person sees blue another sees it as gray.
Having always used a variety of glazes I have been told I don't know what
I am doing. I understand galleries needing each
potter to have a line and certain glaze color. It makes it easier for them
to fill their galleries with variety of works.
Since I don't sell to galleries, I guess I don't much care "if I know what I
am doing or not". I have a retail operation and people with all tastes and
styles walk in. Hopefully, they will find something they can't live
without. That's my objective.
Presently, I use a Tenmoku which I was told would NEVER sell here in SW
Florida. It is my second biggest seller. The blue is my number one
seller. To add more variety I have purple/lavender, off white, shino,
copper
red, teal/green/blue, black, turquoise and sage green glazes. Let's see,
that must add up to 9 or 10 different glazes. I group pieces together by
color and when people enter the gallery, they gravitate to the color that
makes their
heart sing.
My life would be much simpler with only one or two glazes.
However, I believe having such a variety has added to my
success and reputation for offering a rich and varied glaze palate. People
marvel at the variety and comment on how most potters do one
color only. If your sales are lagging it might be something to think about.
Ingeborg
the Potter's Workshop & Gallery
P.O. Box 510
3058 Stringfellow Road
St. James City, Florida 33956
239-283-2775
Wes Rolley on tue 3 aug 04
At 12:00 AM 8/3/04 -0400, you wrote:
>we as potters have to give up the paranoia of snobbery.
>so called big time critics, art historians, museum people do
>not take us seriously anyway...so..to hell with them. if you
>worry about what they think of your work...well, you have trouble
>anyway.
Mel, with all generalized truths there are exceptions. Louise Allison Cort
from the Sackler Freer Galleries at the Smithsonian is surely one. While
her title is "curator" she has produced some very intelligent
criticism. Kevin Hluch is another whose critical writing is worth reading.
Unfortunately, most of what I have read is written for an audience of
potters, not for the wider public. Ms. Cort's contributions to the catalog
for the Noguchi and Modern Japanese Ceramics exhibit is for all. I know
that those not-ceramic art magazines will not touch ceramics as content,
though they will accept the occasional gallery ad.
I don't know of any answer for this snobbery other than to be willing to
write something for any publication that will print it, including art
reviews and criticism for a local newspaper. Most of these need all of the
good writing that they can find. There are many contributors to CLAYART
who write with intelligence and insight. Rather than complaining to the
list, which is rather like preaching to the choir, perhaps we can
contribute something to our local publications and educate our local
customers.
It takes time to build up list of customers who value your work. It also
takes time to build up an audience for your writing. We all wait for
another Tony C. article with the double-entendre title. When I walk into
the local library and have the librarian as when I am going to write
another column, it gives my ego a wake up and I end up back at the keyboard.
Wes Rolley
17211 Quail Court
Morgan Hill, CA 95037
http://www.refpub.com
"When I'm working on a problem, I never think about beauty. I think only
how to solve the problem. But when I have finished, if the solution is not
beautiful, I know it is wrong." -- Richard Buckminster Fuller
Clayslinger on tue 3 aug 04
I like blue.
It's my favourite colour.
Always has been even since I was a kid.
I like other colours too and don't currently have a blue I like in my
inventory of glazes.
But I like blue.
Is that wrong?
I get the impression that I'm in a minority. Perhaps I am more consumer then
creator?
Things that make you say "hmmmm".
Penni
Thinking out loud (kinda) in London Ontario where the sky is a beautiful
clear blue and I'm lovin' it!!!! (Even after seeing the beautiful blue sky
of Vancouver Island just a week ago)
claybair on tue 3 aug 04
Mel is so right as usual.
I find the MLB syndrome an enigma.
For me it encompasses many debates such as:
Mass producing work that sells well but does not
necessarily inspire me.
Selling in volume vs. selling a few passion pieces
(that which ones slaves over and is a labor of love).
Doing grueling shows vs. selling out of galleries.
Selling retail vs. wholesale.
Then there's the whole pricing issue.
Making functional work into works of art
vs. non-functional which gets more respect in the "art" arena.
As I have only been doing pottery for 8 years
I have not resolved these issues yet.
I'm still bumbling along trying different venues
until the right one presents itself.
I'll recognize it when I finally find it.
I look forward to that time.
Meanwhile I make a wide range of pieces/prices/colors.
My evolution and growth as a potter continues.
What really gets me energized is when another
potter enjoys my work and/or gives a critique.
Childlike at first, I'll defend my actions but as I ponder the
critique I find myself agreeing and work toward improvement.
It's an exciting and unending process.
Gayle Bair
Bainbridge Island, WA
http://claybair.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Ben SheltonOn Mon, 2 Aug 2004 14:37:27 -0500, mel jacobson
wrote:
>so called big time critics, art historians, museum people do
>not take us seriously anyway...so..to hell with them.
Ahhh, the wisdom, the sage advice, formed so effortlessly and perfectly...
then stab it right in the heart, dead!
Let the truth ring out and it will set you free.
Thank you Mel
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