pdp1@EARTHLINK.NET on wed 20 oct 04
Hi Vera,
You ask...
> Only mumbling .Rubens was grinding his pigment, mixing it
with egg yolks
> or some oily thing does it means that since 18 hundreds
and on their are no
> great painter? Vera
No...
It means there have been no, or not-quite-so, great
Paintings...
Phil
el ve
----- Original Message -----
From: "Vera Romoda"
> Hi
>
> Only mumbling .Rubens was grinding his pigment, mixing it
with egg yolks
> or some oily thing does it means that since 18 hundreds
and on their are no
> great painter? Vera
mel jacobson on wed 20 oct 04
one more point.
and, it is important.
when do you finally make your own work?
what day does that start?
if you work in a school, community center, art center.
the glaze is made for you.
the kiln is fired for you.
the clay is provided for you.
(sometimes you can modify things, but not often.)
what can you claim as your own?
just the manufacturing.
a clay artist/potter has:
a clay body that is yours.
a set of standards that are yours.
a group of glazes that match that standard and
clay body.
a space that is yours.
equipment that is yours.
a kiln that is yours.
ideas that are unique to you. (and others will add about ten more things.)
it is interesting to note that mr. uchida not only
wanted pictures of my pots, he wanted a nice
clear photo of my kiln...yes, my kiln.
he would never have had a potter in his studio
that did not have his/her own kiln and studio.
i had to prove that everything i did was mine.
and, he wanted me to ship him four pots.
he had to hold them in his hands.
anyway, on a personal note. i have been very stern
with a friend of ours/this list. marta. she does not
have her own kiln. she is getting in the best shows,
has great pots, but she uses other peoples kilns.
not a good idea. she is moving past the student stage,
amateur stage. she is standing with some very important
potters. it is time for her. and, she knows it. when her personal
life gets in order, a new kiln is going into her back yard.
or, else. gd it.
a kiln, a studio is a scary path. it means you are for real.
it is the big step. folks look at you in a new way.
expectations change. you cannot hide. and, that is fearful.
but, life is hard, and the prizes are great, if you take the steps
necessary to get rid of your `training wheels`.
marta is getting a new bike. a good one.
and, she will learn to ride with `no hands`.
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 Jensen on wed 20 oct 04
I make no claims to being any kind of kiln expert. I did build my own =
gas
kiln, a 15 cu. Ft. catenary arch kiln. I spent a year reading kiln =
design
books and another year actually building the kiln. From locating the =
kiln,
preparing the ground and the substrate and figuring out what kind of =
base to
build right through the way to close the door, I had to make a lot of =
small
decision and give the project a lot to thought. In the end I had a very
conventional kiln which has been built by thousands of others before; =
but it
was as though I had to reinvent the kiln as I struggled to find the
information that was relevant to my needs. And the experts do so often
disagree: I had to weigh the options according to my own growing
understanding.
I've been firing that kiln for ten years now and never have had any =
reason
to regret the design, though I can see merits of many others.
Anyway...this project was very important to me. I understand that a =
kiln
is the heart of a pottery. And going through the design process gave me
knowledge and understanding which will always be with me. And it was =
fun!
And you can come see it at NCECA 2005 as the Mudbug Pottery is on the
Annapolis tour map...just five minutes from the Maryland Hall for the
Creative Arts.
John Jensen, Mudbug Pottery
John Jensen@mudbugpottery.com
http://www.toadhouse.com www://www.mudbugpottery.com
katetiler on wed 20 oct 04
Yes that is a big step, taking ownership of your kiln and
responsibility for the output!
My first glaze/biscuit (rawglazed) firing in my electric kiln I ended
up hoovering out the bottom of the kiln and lost about 75% of the work
- taught me something about how dry the tiles actually were & how dry
I thought they were!
A good thing to have at the 'getting your own kiln' stage, is someone
you can wibble to, who understands just how scary it is to sit with a
kiln controller in hand & figure out ramp times. I confessed to a
fellow potter that I was really going to have to get on with firing
the blessed thing because I'd had it a month and hadn't switched it
on, I was feeling really bad about it. I felt better straight away
when she said that she had had her kiln a year before getting the
courage to use it! Put my panic into perspective :)
Karen
http://www.katetiler.co.uk
Vera Romoda on wed 20 oct 04
Hi
Only mumbling .Rubens was grinding his pigment, mixing it with egg yolks
or some oily thing does it means that since 18 hundreds and on their are no
great painter? Vera
----- Original Message -----
From: "mel jacobson"
To:
Sent: Wednesday, October 20, 2004 9:50 AM
Subject: home studio/part 2
> one more point.
> and, it is important.
>
> when do you finally make your own work?
> what day does that start?
>
> if you work in a school, community center, art center.
>
> the glaze is made for you.
> the kiln is fired for you.
> the clay is provided for you.
> (sometimes you can modify things, but not often.)
>
> what can you claim as your own?
> just the manufacturing.
>
> a clay artist/potter has:
>
> a clay body that is yours.
> a set of standards that are yours.
> a group of glazes that match that standard and
> clay body.
> a space that is yours.
> equipment that is yours.
> a kiln that is yours.
> ideas that are unique to you. (and others will add about ten more
> things.)
>
> it is interesting to note that mr. uchida not only
> wanted pictures of my pots, he wanted a nice
> clear photo of my kiln...yes, my kiln.
> he would never have had a potter in his studio
> that did not have his/her own kiln and studio.
> i had to prove that everything i did was mine.
> and, he wanted me to ship him four pots.
> he had to hold them in his hands.
>
> anyway, on a personal note. i have been very stern
> with a friend of ours/this list. marta. she does not
> have her own kiln. she is getting in the best shows,
> has great pots, but she uses other peoples kilns.
> not a good idea. she is moving past the student stage,
> amateur stage. she is standing with some very important
> potters. it is time for her. and, she knows it. when her personal
> life gets in order, a new kiln is going into her back yard.
> or, else. gd it.
>
> a kiln, a studio is a scary path. it means you are for real.
> it is the big step. folks look at you in a new way.
> expectations change. you cannot hide. and, that is fearful.
> but, life is hard, and the prizes are great, if you take the steps
> necessary to get rid of your `training wheels`.
> marta is getting a new bike. a good one.
> and, she will learn to ride with `no hands`.
> 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
>
> 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.
>
Carole Fox on thu 21 oct 04
The topic of how much of the work a professional (such as a potter) has to
do to get "full credit" for his output is similarly debated in many other
fields. When I worked in the computer industry, I regularly heard
marketing types take full credit for software products for which they had
done only the market development, none of the product development; systems
analysts take full credit for the same product, for which they had done
only analysis and conceptual design; software engineers likewise, for which
they had done only construction and testing; etc. In truth, all had
contributed to the end product, and none had done it (or even could have
done it) on their own, because the process of bringing a new software
product to market is too complex.
In any complex process there will be many contributors to the final
result. Pottery making is a complex process with many technical components
as well as creative and artistic components. Even those who build their
own kilns, mix their own glazes, dig clay and blend their own glazes rely
on the work inputs of others to complete the job. After all, someone else
mined and milled the glaze chemicals (I won't even go into the chain of R&D
that supports that process!), made the bricks, processed the water supply,
produced the gas / electricity, and so on for the entire supply chain.
Then there is the marketing & sales part of the process, which has its own
effect on what sort of pots get produced, exhibited, sold, etc.
In pottery making and all other endeavors, the issue is not whether one
person did every task associated with the end result. It is, rather, that
each individual define the bounds and extent of his or her contribution.
If a competition requires that a potter design, build, glaze, and fire the
work, then a potter whose work has been fired in a communal setting should
not participate. But there is no reason why that same potter cannot sell
or exhibit the work in another venue.
Some of us have more breadth of skill than others; some more depth in
selected areas; we all have a contribution to make.
Ivor and Olive Lewis on thu 21 oct 04
Dear Vera Romoda,
You Ask <some oily thing does it means that since 18 hundreds and on their are
no great painter? >>
In terms of lasting quality of the medium used, maybe so. Some modern
Americans were noted for their use of ephemeral materials, including
poor supports, fading colours and degrading vehicles.
Who would wish to purchase something that might fall apart, be it an
investment or for sheer pleasure.
Communal facilities serve a purpose. Where they are available they
give anyone who wishes the first start with the minimum of expense.
When I first attempted to enrol in a college extramural (evening)
class I was told it would not be possible because all the people from
the previous year had work to finish. Such a situation raises a lot of
issues that we might debate. But I did what Mel suggests, tried to get
knowledge and make a start. Built my first wheel in 1957 without plans
from anyone and made my first thrown pots on it without classroom
instruction or even sight of a demonstration. Fired electric in a
small lab kiln. Made a glaze form Red Lead and Cobalt oxide which I
made by dissolving Cobalt powder in Nitric acid and calcining the
evaporated residue.
Not exhibition class products but they were my beginning. I learned to
persist and learned from that and subsequent experiences.
Ten years later I was asked to establish the Pottery studio in a new
college. I refused the offer. Still living, still learning, still
excited about clay and fire.
Best regards,
Ivor Lewis.
Redhill,
S. Australia.
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