Lili Krakowski on thu 12 jan 06
Lee Love writes:
"I think it was MacKenzie who explained, that back in the '50s, when =
studio ceramics was just getting started in America, most work came out =
of industrial production and was cone 6. When folks made new =
discoveries, they kept it secret. But Hamada came with a different =
perspective and was willing to share his glazes, explaining that =
'Secrets hinder progress.' "
Studio pottery was doing very well in the US before the 1950s. Henry =
Varnum Poor, Charles Binns being just two examples; there were many =
others. Not a one of us who learned clay in the early 1950s would have =
had teachers had it not been for the existing studio pottery tradition. =
Yes, there was a tie to industry for some potters,as there now is a tie =
to academia. (Let's flip a coin to see which is better) And with all =
deference to Hamada, he did not invent generosity. People like =
Hobart Cowles and Frans Wildenhain and many many others shared their =
glazes.....
I can understand people not wanting to share one particular glaze they =
are using right now this minute as a milch cow. They are buying time. =
But never to share is to show of one's own ignorance of glaze. Every =
glaze in the world is KNOWN. The problem with some ancient glazes is =
that unexpected impurities were in them and lab tests may not show the =
exact way that glaze came about. ( I have for instance, accidentally =
gotten a drop of blood on a glazed pot, (call me Schlemiel) and found it =
fires like an iron spot. I also have read that blood was used, I guess =
the way we use glycerin, in making glazes more applicable. Still =
waiting for someone to try for celadons that way..No don't injure =
yourself--save a bit of blood next time you make chopped chicken liver! =
The point is that, with glaze calculation, one can see that glaze =
recipes are part of some huge chain--so all a recipe gives you is a =
point in that chain--and then the variants come in: how fired, on what =
body, what is IN body, firing and cooling speed. =20
Which brings me to recycling clay. There are a bunch of ways of doing =
it--and the best, for the studio potter, as well as for the schools--is =
to do it in small volumes. Yes, if you build up a dumpster full it is a =
big headache. But if you go day by day, as part of your clean-up =
program, it becomes a small routine. I have a pugmill...so the days =
scraps go in there, or, if too dry, go into a basin, and get pugged the =
next day. But BP (before pugmill) I followed the same process but =
wedged...
In all these years I have yet to find a moment when the "purity" of the =
clay body makes a difference. Yes, mild color changes if red clay gets =
in with buff. And of course white clay needs its own recycling system =
if it shares a studio with red. But otherwise....
And once more with feeling. Someone suggested doing something to =
plastic with a soldering iron. Don't nobody read nutting? Every time =
there is a serious fire the press reports how many were overcome by =
fumes--from insulation, from foam rubber, from plastic this and that. =
When some article came out years ago --yes, I know by whom, ain't =
talking--potter I admire, not on this list--where a soldering iron was =
used to cut foam rubber stamps I called our Poison Control people. The =
gas produced is cyanide....If you want to attach wire mesh to a PVC pipe =
use epoxy. If you want to cut some plastic do it with a saw or =
something....do not use a soldering iron. (Tomorrow I am driving down =
with a friend who wants to visit--probably for last time-- a youngish =
friend with lung cancer. Makes one kinda tetchy.)=20
.
Lili Krakowski
Be of good courage
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