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was richard aerni's digitals now: better more professional potter

updated tue 20 dec 05

 

Tom at Hutchtel.net on mon 19 dec 05


Joyce (et al)
Subject: Richard Aerni's Digitals


> I never see Richard Aerni's pots that I'm
> not inspired to try for that Aerni look; the pots > trying to create
> an Aerni pot is not a worthy goal (gulp, can't believe I'm saying that =
> but
> I DO now believe it to be true.). My goal is to become a better, more
> professional potter with good craftsman skills. Using The Best as a =
> model

I can remember maybe 5, 6, 7 years ago when you were first starting out.
You were asking how to get going...what direction, what to try. since then,
watching you posts over the years, you've tried a lot of things. Many
different techniques. And gotten pretty damn good at some of them.

But re: your most recent challenge, I'm going to repost (paraphrased) what I
said before. You've got to focus to beat Richard. He took, I suspect
(Richard jump in here), one "look" and spent years developing it. It did
not happen quickly. He forsake messing with shinos, dabbling in raku,
diddling with floating blue and went after "that look".
As long as you're wandering around in a bunch of different techniques,
you'll never perfect one.
We develop glaze after testing. Look at the tests. Find that one square
centimeter that is fantastic. Then figure out how to replicate it. Betsy
figures that between seeing that one square centimeter, and a usable glaze
is 6 months to a year of at least weekly and generally 2x per week testing.
You've got to peg your firings. Peg you glaze technique. Peg your glaze
density. Make really great kiln goddesses. And have phenomenal luck,
especially at the beginning.
Richard is not a hobby potter (and I'm not implying you are). He spends
immense amount of time perfecting every bit of what he does. I've never met
RA....hope to someday, but I can read the pots...he can do another one like
the other one.
When I first really started potting (only 12 years ago) I naively asked
potters when my "style would develop". Almost everyone of them said throw
everyday for 6 or 7 years, critique yourself severely and then maybe, just
maybe, you'll be good enough to BEGIN to think about developing a "style".
Same goes for glazing, It is just as hard or harder (more variables) than
making pots. Find that one square centimeter and figure out how to do it
again, and again, and again, over the whole pot.
And Donovan Palmquist, in a class I took(he doesn't just build kilns), made
us focus on WHY we liked what we liked. Had to keep answering that question
"WHY" until there was no more deeper. Whew, that was a tough few weeks.
There is no Suzuki method here. Take one note, make it perfect. then two,
then three. The memorization is in your muscles, your eyes, and a lot of
science.

Richard, if you care to, give us a recount of the development of your
current "look". How long, what steps, where did it come from. It might
enlighten us as to what's behind your magnificent work.

Thanks for posting it.

Tom Wirt
Hutchinson, MN
twirt@hutchtel.net
www.claycoyote.com