Elizabeth Priddy on fri 21 jan 05
Just an interesting aside on this demo. The inner spout almost collapsed on me
when I filmed it and I kept going, knowing that I could straighten it back out. It
would have only taken a minute to make a new one, but I left it as evidence that
each pot has it's own quirks and being able to "save" it when it goes awry is just
as important as being able to make it right in the first place.
When you are doing production throwing, which can really help with that bottom line,
you don't make a perfect pot every time. You make a pot with it's own uniqueness
many times quickly. It is a different mindset. I look at a board of pots that all match
and that to an untrained observer look identical, and I can point out the one that almost
collapsed because I got distracted, that one might be a little thin on the foot but will be fine.
They are each unique no matter how similar they appear, kind of like Rockettes in costume.
A special skill in designing is to incorporate some randomness in the form that will allow it
to be different but matching. The best matching sets have things that set each part off while
maintaining the integrity of the design. Perfect copies are like plastic to me, lifeless. I can do it, I use ribs and calipers of tombo for it. But I stopped liking it after a while. If I couldn't do it, I would probably obsess about it still. It is one of those nits you have to pick, I guess.
But anyhow, if you look at the demo to see how to make a juicer, use about a pound of clay to make a lemon juicer. Two pounds makes a honkin juicer. You can also use the demo to see how to save a spout gone awry. Also, it is the same procedure as a double walled bowl up to the point that you turn the spout and pull the lip. Vice versa and you get a closed whiskey ring shape. Also how to position your fingers to make a clean spout and true it up after.
A lot to learn in making a juicer. Big info in a little clip. Then there is painting the lemons. For that, I have to be there to show you. Loading the brush requires an awareness of water that is very contextual. And loading the brush is the hardest part of chinese brush painting.
That is why it is not simply chinese painting, and why it is not china painting. It is chinese brush painting, all words meaningful.
(It is also not Sumi-e, by the way. Sumi-e focuses on simplicity of pattern and design, chinese brush uses lots of color and very complex patterns. Bernard Leach refers to a book in his main book, but never tells you what it is. His paintings were so simplistic that they only skim the decorative surface of chinese brush work. The book he refers to is "The Mustard Seed Garden Book Of Painting", the mustard seed is a reference to the degree of details of design to master necessary to accomplish a truly masterful work. Leach was never very good at it, he was barely able to do Sumi-e. The book lays it out very clearly. I had to read it four times cover to cover before I began to get it, and it is well written and clear-and I have been schooled on how to study dense material. The concepts are just that difficult. For simple strokes and decorative painting on pots, a good sumi-e book makes sense. For a consuming and obsessive search into mastery of something fairly mysterious and
difficult, there is chinese brush. It is not zen, it is something else. It is a lot like kilns and glaze making. Yes, you are making essentially the same thing that someone else has made and done well. But you are doing it yourself. It is mastery and control of yourself and your materials, not just copying a pattern. And it is equally difficult to pursue.)
URL Krueger wrote:
Elizabeth,
I tried the juicer project from your website tonight. That
was fun, although with 2 pounds of clay I think mine may be
best suited for grapefruit rather than oranges. But then I
still have trouble judging the fired size of things when
I'm working on the wheel.
Most of it was straightforward but there were a couple of
things I hadn't done before, like opening not at the center
and putting a spout in.
Thanks for the suggestion. Now if I could only paint like
you do.
For those who are curious about what I'm referring to see:
http://www.elizabethpriddy.com
Earl Krueger
Bothell, Wa, USA
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Elizabeth Priddy
252-504-2622
1273 Hwy 101
Beaufort, NC 28516
http://www.elizabethpriddy.com
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Kate Johnson on fri 21 jan 05
>
> (It is also not Sumi-e, by the way. Sumi-e focuses on simplicity of
> pattern and design, chinese brush uses lots of color and very complex
> patterns. Bernard Leach refers to a book in his main book, but never tells
> you what it is. His paintings were so simplistic that they only skim the
> decorative surface of chinese brush work.
Elizabeth, your Chinese brush painting is marvelous! I just did my latest
column for Watercolor Magic on "drawing" with your brush, wish I'd known
about your website at the time! (I did, however, just send the URL to my
editor. Don't know if she'll squeeze in a mention or not, since the text is
already in place.)
You've got a wonderful grasp of the technique...do you use Mason stains for
your painting?
Best--
Kate
Elizabeth Priddy on fri 21 jan 05
Thank you so much. It's a weird niche of the art world to be in, somewhere halfway between painters and potters.
The paintings on clay are with Amaco Velvet Underglaze. I paint on a soft white glaze surface and then top coat it with clear. All prior to firing, so glaze with white, paint with colors, glaze with clear, fire.
This is why I like the glazes I buy from Minnesota Clay. It receives the velvets without any distortion of color and does not bleed. I fire it all to cone 6 electric oxidation.
The "Jet black" is what I use for ink effects. I only really use the red, deep yellow, and blue.
I mix colors from there. Sometimes if I am doing a lot of foliage, I use Teal Blue and deep yellow to mix my greens. I don't like pure green, it feels dead to me.
Thanks again, I'ld be glad to offer any technical details about what I use if you have questions.
Elizabeth
Kate Johnson wrote:
>
> (It is also not Sumi-e, by the way. Sumi-e focuses on simplicity of
> pattern and design, chinese brush uses lots of color and very complex
> patterns. Bernard Leach refers to a book in his main book, but never tells
> you what it is. His paintings were so simplistic that they only skim the
> decorative surface of chinese brush work.
Elizabeth, your Chinese brush painting is marvelous! I just did my latest
column for Watercolor Magic on "drawing" with your brush, wish I'd known
about your website at the time! (I did, however, just send the URL to my
editor. Don't know if she'll squeeze in a mention or not, since the text is
already in place.)
You've got a wonderful grasp of the technique...do you use Mason stains for
your painting?
Best--
Kate
______________________________________________________________________________
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.
Elizabeth Priddy
252-504-2622
1273 Hwy 101
Beaufort, NC 28516
http://www.elizabethpriddy.com
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