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art becomes craft

updated sat 8 oct 05

 

clennell on thu 6 oct 05


Sour Cherry Pottery

> Tony --
>
> The teapot question seems to have brought out some
> strong feelings here ... let me possibly make things a
> little worse.
>
> It's arguable that you don't own a $600 teapot at all.
> You own a work of art of indeterminate worth, which
> is in the form of a teapot. Any vessel is defined by
> its use. A small soup bowl is a tea cup if you use it
> for tea, it's a candle holder if you put a candle in
> it, it's a change-holder if you keep your change
> their, and it's a paint pot if you mix paint in it.
>
> Your Cochrane has never held tea. It may be a work of
> art, but it ain't no teapot. And, as for its value,
> nothing is more arbitrary than the valuation of a work
> of art.

Well Steve- I enjoyed your post, but now what? I just christianed the Bruce
Cochrane teapot. Made t in it tonight. Why not? I'm off to Halifax in the
morning for the wedding of my baby girl age 27. Just to make a real
celebration of it i poured tea in to my Yi dynasty teabowl( estimated worth
$10,000 US). So art just became craft. Is it worth less now?
the teapot poured rather beautifully and the t-bowl slowed me down to really
enjoy the moment. So i figure they're now worth even more to me.
the things I do to prove a point.
Happy Candian Thanksgiving to all of you.
cheers,
Tony
Art you can pee on and craft you can pee in.


Tony and Sheila Clennell
Sour Cherry Pottery
4545 King Street
Beamsville, Ontario
CANADA L0R 1B1
http://www.sourcherrypottery.com
http://www.sourcherrypottery.com/current_news/news_letter.html

Taylor from Rockport on fri 7 oct 05


Hey Tony:

If it takes an estimated 10,600 dollars to slow you down, well then God
bless you. I just take my foot off the gas.

Every piece of handmade pottery in my collection (pittiful as it is) has
been begged, traded, or stolen. The end of this month is the Texas Clay
Festival, my annual pot shopping trip. Marsha and I try and buy a piece a
piece. Hehe. And talk about impecunious! BUT the price of the pot is
always the last thing to be discussed and believe you me if we had to
throw in together and get just one pot we would for a worthy pot.

But, Tony, my rapid friend, all the pots in my "collection" are under 100
bucks. Insignificant?

Taylor, in Rockport TX

On Thu, 6 Oct 2005 19:41:56 -0400, clennell wrote:



>Well Steve- I enjoyed your post, but now what? I just christianed the
Bruce
>Cochrane teapot. Made t in it tonight. Why not? I'm off to Halifax in the
>morning for the wedding of my baby girl age 27. Just to make a real
>celebration of it i poured tea in to my Yi dynasty teabowl( estimated
worth
>$10,000 US). So art just became craft. Is it worth less now?
>the teapot poured rather beautifully and the t-bowl slowed me down to
really
>enjoy the moment. So i figure they're now worth even more to me.
>the things I do to prove a point.
>Happy Candian Thanksgiving to all of you.
>cheers,
>Tony
>Art you can pee on and craft you can pee in.

John Baymore on fri 7 oct 05



............all the pots in my "collection" are under 100 bucks.
Insignificant?


Assuming that selling price IS a potential measure for aesthetic
valuation........ which can get tricky.........

Can not a piece be significant to an individual at one point in time, and
then move to a position of lesser import other than as a marker or
milepost in development?

When one is new to pottery, often a particular piece can have great and
very positive influence........ but then years and thousands of pots
later........ one looks fondly back on that piece and finds that it maybe
has some weaker aspects the weren't noticed in the years gone by.

And when that reflective moment eventually happens, the piece again
briefly takes on high significance in crystalizing that realization.

Then it again nestles back into it's important role of warm, fuzzy, old
friend and keepeer of memories, ........maybe to be awakend again at
another moment of future realizations.

Maybe it is about "time and place".


best,

.............john

John Baymore

River Bend Pottery
22 Riverbend Way
Wilton, NH 03086 USA

JBaymore@compuserve.com
http://www.JohnBaymore.com

"Please use compuserve address for any direct communications."