Eleanora Eden on wed 1 nov 06
Hi John and all,
Well, I feel like I've barked up this particular tree til it is boring the list,
but I do have to lend my support to your plea. I recall being rather surprised
but not amazed upon discovering that the clayart calendar wouldn't even
consider cast work.
I make my molds from wet clay positives. I find it a very responsive, easy
technique that allows my work to go in any conceivable direction. Oh, by the
way, I throw a great portion of my work and have as much pride and joy in
my throwing as any potter does.
I still think it is a valuable contribution to find ways to adapt castings so
that they have all the attributes and none of the failings of thrown ware. I find
this falls for the most part on deaf ears.
I would mention that the warping and cracking in thrown ware is totally
absent in cast ware. It is the clays that add plasticity that result in the
most troublesome characteristics that potters have to deal with.
Eleanora
>Sometimes I feel like the Lone Ranger of the clay world because I do a
>lot of slip casting with molds that I make from art which I have sculpted.
>
>Repeatedly I encounter resistance to mold made items by "the powers that
>be" when I express interest in shows, displays, calendars, etc, etc. It
>is the right ,of course, for "the powers that be" to set their own
>qualifying requirements, but I see it as a prejudice based in ignorance
>of the process. In my own experience I have found that many wonderful
>pieces of ceramic work cannot be created in any other way, so a part of
>the ceramic world is being short circuited by the prejudicial attitudes.
>
>Granted, reproduction with molds is a production process, but it is
>certainly adaptable and useful to the studio clay artist. And I make
>good use of it. But I still chafe under the prejudicial attitudes toward
>slip cast work.
>
>I would love to hear from any clay artist who is into using molds - not
>the hump, slump, and press molds of the potter, - but the molds made
>from their own sculpted models which they recreate with casting slip in
>the molds.
>
>Thanks,
>
>Regards,
>
>John Rodgers
>Chelsea, AL
>Slip casting like crazy for the upcoming holiday season.
>
>______________________________________________________________________________
>Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
>You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
>settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
>Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots@pclink.com.
--
Bellows Falls Vermont
www.eleanoraeden.com
A Kettner on wed 1 nov 06
Eleanor
First, I have to ask what items are you casting that people don't
accept as art? If people do not accept your work purely because it is
cast and is unique (not simply utilitarian) to the ceramic world then
poo poo on them.
I am a mold maker and use the casting process to make art and have no
problems with the acceptance of my work. However, I do not make tea
pots, or any other kind of generic utilitarian ware using the casting
method. And, correct me if I am wrong, I believe the reason people
frown upon cast ware is that it 'mostly' exists in the realm of
utilitarian ware. If I want something special or an attachment to the
art world I will buy a coffee mug that is hand thrown. If I want a
cast mug for everyday abuse I will go to pottery barn, walmart, or to
a myriad other places that sell cast ware for far less than what the
average home potter can produce.
I think a lot of people view cast mugs and the like to a way of
cheating. For example I have seen cast mugs that mimic hand thrown
ware and I 'personally' find that objectionable. I don't know if that
is right or wrong it is just the way some people think.
Arthur
On 11/1/06, Eleanora Eden wrote:
> Hi John and all,
>
> Well, I feel like I've barked up this particular tree til it is boring the list,
> but I do have to lend my support to your plea. I recall being rather surprised
> but not amazed upon discovering that the clayart calendar wouldn't even
> consider cast work.
>
> I make my molds from wet clay positives. I find it a very responsive, easy
> technique that allows my work to go in any conceivable direction. Oh, by the
> way, I throw a great portion of my work and have as much pride and joy in
> my throwing as any potter does.
>
> I still think it is a valuable contribution to find ways to adapt castings so
> that they have all the attributes and none of the failings of thrown ware. I find
> this falls for the most part on deaf ears.
>
> I would mention that the warping and cracking in thrown ware is totally
> absent in cast ware. It is the clays that add plasticity that result in the
> most troublesome characteristics that potters have to deal with.
>
> Eleanora
>
>
>
> >Sometimes I feel like the Lone Ranger of the clay world because I do a
> >lot of slip casting with molds that I make from art which I have sculpted.
> >
> >Repeatedly I encounter resistance to mold made items by "the powers that
> >be" when I express interest in shows, displays, calendars, etc, etc. It
> >is the right ,of course, for "the powers that be" to set their own
> >qualifying requirements, but I see it as a prejudice based in ignorance
> >of the process. In my own experience I have found that many wonderful
> >pieces of ceramic work cannot be created in any other way, so a part of
> >the ceramic world is being short circuited by the prejudicial attitudes.
> >
> >Granted, reproduction with molds is a production process, but it is
> >certainly adaptable and useful to the studio clay artist. And I make
> >good use of it. But I still chafe under the prejudicial attitudes toward
> >slip cast work.
> >
> >I would love to hear from any clay artist who is into using molds - not
> >the hump, slump, and press molds of the potter, - but the molds made
> >from their own sculpted models which they recreate with casting slip in
> >the molds.
> >
> >Thanks,
> >
> >Regards,
> >
> >John Rodgers
> >Chelsea, AL
> >Slip casting like crazy for the upcoming holiday season.
> >
> >______________________________________________________________________________
> >Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
> >
> >You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> >settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
> >
> >Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots@pclink.com.
>
>
> --
> Bellows Falls Vermont
> www.eleanoraeden.com
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots@pclink.com.
>
Bunny Lemak on wed 1 nov 06
I too have never understood why slip-casted pieces are not considered in
the art world. I have seen many that are perfect and beautifully
handpainted that took many painstaking hours to do.
As a matter of fact I started out with casted pieces and within the last 5
years I have started working with a slab roller. Both have many good
things to offer.
I'm sure everyone has their opinions about hand building Vs. cast-ware and
in most circles cast ware is not accepted - without even looking at the
piece!
I have gotten into a few shows with cast ware when I wasn't allowed, once
they see my pieces, they don't realize that it came from a mold that I
poured and cleaned. Isn't this all about art???
Ok, off my soap box now.....
Bunny
Donald Burroughs on thu 2 nov 06
Hello John
I believe that those who feel slip casting is an unacceptable practice
have been tainted by the perception that this process belongs to the
hobbyist and industrial areas of ceramics. The former has long been
disparged because of the chintz, eg.: images of Gnomes, dragons, and the
like,basically whatever was in vogue and/or cute.
What the critics don't understand is that slip casting is a creative and
very percise demanding tool which the clay artist can use to create unique
and exciting work, even reproductions on a limited scale(numbered and
signed). How the process is used not simply what efficencies gained is the
key to dispelling the critics ignorance. I have slip casted with enough
success that I was able to obtain a grant from my local arts council. I
even admitted to using the process, but I did so because it was a tool in
my repetoire. I cast objects then manipulate and re-assemble those items
to create unique sculpture/ware. Even so there are others who create
worthy multiples like teapots, etc. that are as equally accompolished to
their "handbuilt" or thrown counterparts. With the right mindset, slip
casting is another tool that is available to clay artist.
Donald Burroughs
Snail Scott on thu 2 nov 06
At 12:49 PM 11/1/2006 -0500, you wrote:
>I'm sure everyone has their opinions about hand building Vs. cast-ware and
>in most circles cast ware is not accepted - without even looking at the
>piece!
In fact, they're more likely to refuse it
if they haven't seen it, because they think
they know what they're gonna see.
To be fair, I think that most shows which
specifically exclude slip-cast ware are not
dissing the legitimate art process. It's
just a rather rare one, compared with the
huge numbers of people working with commercial
molds or even purchased pre-made greenware
or bisque, and they never even thought about
it.
(Just like shows that exclude 'prints'. They
don't have it in for hand-made serigraphs or
monoprints; they're just thinking 'no posters,
please'.)
They're not so much saying "take your marbles
and go home", as defining their show as a
fine-art or handcrafted event by excluding
partially-handmade hobbycrafts. Since maybe
95% of slip-casting is mass-produced ware,
it probably seems a safe way to define the
distinction and keep that stuff out. Most
'mold-made work' is not made by the person
who also made the mold, so I wouldn't take
it personally. They're not talking about you.
If the sponsors aren't terribly knowledgeable
themselves, they might not even realize that
original mold-made work is possible. ("A
person can actually make their own mold from
scratch? Really?") In such cases, I'd go ahead
and enter it as original work. It is, after
all, and it's what they're really trying to
attract. You can get specific about technique
later if they ask, but I doubt they will; it
won't look like mass-produced work. If you
don't want to risk such an entry, but you
think the show is suitable for your work,
talk to the sponsor about re-wording the call
for entries for next year.
If you do use your original molds to produce
multiple identical production objects, I'd not
enter them in such shows. Even if 'handmade',
they're probably not looking to show an item
that's just one of hundreds of identical items
which can be purchased from you elsewhere. If
the intent of the show seems to be 'original
work', send them just your one-offs or at
least _very_ limited editions labelled as
such. If the show seems appropriate for hand-
made production ware, though, I wouldn't worry.
There are shows which are aimed at truly
amateur work, and which might accept multiple
versions of the same molded piece from
'artists' who each bought the same greenware
design at their local shop, and if such shows
are prevalent in the area, shows aimed at
original work may need to specify their
different intent. Don't hold it against them
if they worded it badly - 'handmade' and
'original' are also terms that are subject
to misinterpretation.
In fact, the higher-end the show, the less
they feel the need to state specific exclusions,
because the chance of accidentally attracting
the wrong sort of entrant is reduced, and the
chance of buyer confusion is almost nil. It's
in shows at the most prestigious galleries
that artists can really reclaim the legitimate
uses of processes 'tainted' by hobbyist use.
Knitting, collage, cut paper, found objects,
and even thoughtfully and creatively utilized
commercial ceramic molds are all being used
to make legitimate original art which is
recognized as such by sophisticated buyers.
It's the low-end and mid-range venues where
the sponsors have to fight to define their
territory, and to clarify such distinctions
to less knowledgeable patrons.
-Snail
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