Steve Irvine on fri 7 oct 05
Whether or not to use an expensive piece of pottery has raised some interesting comments. In my
own case, just about everything in my collection gets used, some things more often than others.
When out kids were toddlers everything was left out, and there was only one small mishap with a
Jane Hamlyn pitcher, visiting adults have done worse.
Appreciating a fine piece of pottery on a shelf is nice, but there is a different, deeper feeling and
understanding of the piece when it is used.
I have a large Don Reitz pitcher that I suppose would easily be in or beyond the $600. teapot
neighbourhood if it went to auction, and I use it all the time. Not really sure what its price value is
since Reitz gave it to me after I spent part of a summer working as a studio technician for him. I
use the pitcher to carry water to my studio and (horrors!) to do partial water changes in my
aquarium. As a result I've used it at least a couple of times a week for the past 33 years. The
weight of the pot and feel of the handle have become second nature, and there are memories and
meaning attached to it that wouldn't be there if it had just been on display.
I know from using my Japanese tea bowls that there is a distracting breaking in period of use
when thoughts about the price interfere with its enjoyment. But these go away after awhile, and
then it just becomes a nice pot to drink tea from.
Steve
http://www.steveirvine.com
p.s. Our ideas of expensive are certainly relative. This piece
http://www.neue-keramik.de/english/start/news12.htm
recently sold for roughly $25,000,000. I wonder what kind of flowers they put in it?
John Baymore on fri 7 oct 05
p.s. Our ideas of expensive are certainly relative. This piece
http://www.neue-keramik.de/english/start/news12.htm
recently sold for roughly $25,000,000. I wonder what kind of flowers they
put in it?
Oh darn... the person who wrote that article totally screwed up...... they
called it a "pot" in one place and "art" in another. Dear oh me.
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."
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