marianne kuiper milks on thu 19 jan 06
Thank you Mel, that was beautiful. Poetic. And correct.
On the one hand I try to learn as much and as fast as possible before departing for Haiti, on the other hand I admonish myself about what I am trying to accomplish. Learning the Brahms concerto? Miss a bunch of notes, not quite getting the intellect and emotions of the piece, too impatient to let each phrase find its way through my soul? Not perfecting the sound of instrument and bow but just jammin as fast as I can get away with.?
Do I? Would I let my students? NEVER.
So why do I think I can take power, knowledge, success for this venture to Haiti? Shame on me? Maybe. Just trying to give a little. Problem is that I know too little, have too little time to do it right. But I am learning to see the fire, smell the wood, watch the glow of its fire-devils in the night, follow the dance of the flames and wait patiently(well..) for the results.
So a little to the island this time, hopefully more next time. And I thank ALL for your time to teach me.
Marianne
mel jacobson wrote: think of the millions of firings done years back with no
cones, pyrometers, oxyprobes.
my god, how did they do it? get it right?
go back in time. think like an old potter..the ancient one.
he had to do everything by experience.
his wife was looking over his shoulder...`not yet, not yet..one
more hour`. `*#$$%#( hush` `remember last time, you turned
it off too soon`... %&*(^%
yes, experience.
after a few years of firing a fuel kiln...you see color,
kiln atmosphere far more importantly than cones.
your sense of what is going on is very important, it is
your key to success.
that is what apprentices learned. the ancient ones experience.
the stories, the firing, the wind and rain....
now folks get in a panic if the kiln's program is off a quarter cone.
call in...`my kiln is off a degree, what do i do?`
i am sitting here with two books on my lap from japan...our `newyears` box
just arrived.
i got the most wonderful book of the work of kawai.
1924-1948.
i wonder when he turned off the kiln? what did he do in 1924?
who did he confer with?
the other book is arakawa. about 150 images. drop dead wonderful.
shino. my god this is shino. no question about it. you don't have
to add a name like american, malcolm. this is shino. arakawa shino.
i wish you could all see the husband and wife team, japan, firing a wood
fired kiln. just the two of them. the wood is all stacked, split
and ready. they just take turns, one sleeps on a matt, the other
loads wood.
their heads together, looking in the kiln....discussing the final
stokes. the master potter all nervous....waiting. then he enters
the discussion...but i bet the little old man with the sticks in his
hand makes all the final decisions. experience.
anyway.
fire with color. look in your kiln, see what is going on.
learn to know. memorize. think what happens when the
wind starts to howl, the temp drops...what would you do?
nice thoughts.
mel
from mel/minnetonka.mn.usa
website: http://my.pclink.com/~melpots3
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