Clay Times Magazine Volume 12 • Issue 65

ceramic

art

trends,

tools,

an d

Vol. 12 No. 4 July/August 2006

®

TIMES

Clay

techniques

An Extravagance of Salt & Pepper Buying A New Slab Roller High-Tech Kiln Shelves: The Pros & Cons Brian Somerville’s Animal Confrontations Fluting Pots for Terrific Texture Building Your Own Adjustable-height Banding Wheel

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contents

TIMES

Clay July/August 2006 • Volume 12, Number 4 Detail of bowl by Tim Wedel; more on page 41.

features 34 Portrayals of Comfort: Works of Jennifer Allen Learn how the artist uses slips, glazes, and commercial decals to achieve a multi-layered surface.

38 One Plus One Equals Three Bryan Yancey and Tom Collins share the methods behind their 20-year collaboration.

42 Animal Confrontations Brian Somerville captures the human condition in his animated, bestial forms.

46 Buying a Slab Roller Here’s everything you need to know before you decide which slab roller is right for you.

51 Earth, Surrealism, and Marketing

Tulip Vase by Jennifer Allen. See story, page 34.

exhibits

New Hampshire potter Jeff Brown shares his history and the importance of marketing via a Web site.

14 “Get Fired”

56 Art Centers: The Other Education Arena

ACGA clay artists show off their wares

Why these studios should not be overlooked as springboards for a career in the ceramic arts ...

58 Building an Adjustable Banding Wheel This inexpensive project could help save your back—and your neck!

20 “Salt and Pepper” Shaking up the “salt & pepper” theme in clay Wind Breeds Chaos by Brian Somerville. Additional animal action appears on page 42.

41 “Contemporary Clay” at The Art Center in Grand Junction, Colorado

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contents

July/August 2006 • Volume 12, Number 4

®

TIMES

Clay

Seizures in Paradise

by Peter Lenzo.

Story on page 20.

columns

departments 60 THE GALLERY

11 EDITOR’S DESK We got nailed ... but we still made pots!

A selection of new works by CT readers

73 POTTERY CLASSES

13 YOUR WORDS Letters from our readers

16 WHAT’S HOT Clay world news, events, and calls for entries

Where to learn claywork in the United States and Canada

23 AS FAR AS I KNOW “Earthworms and Glazes”

by Pete Pinnell

27 BENEATH THE SURFACE “Mud Mamas II”

by Lana Wilson

31 TEACHING TECHNIQUES “Fluting Methods”

by Bill van Gilder

55 GREAT GLAZES Formulas you can use

65 TOOL TIMES “Handbuilding Again”

by Vince Pitelka

67 KILNS & FIRING

.

Wheel-thrown and assembled work by Tom Collins, with surface decoration

by Bryan Yancey.

“On the Shelf”

by Marc Ward

68 STUDIO HEALTH & SAFETY

New Hampshire clay artist Jeff Brown now enjoys the benefits of online marketing.

“OSHA Violations Most Frequently Cited in 2005”

by Monona Rossol

71 BOOKS & VIDEOS On the cover: Persephone’s Year Salt & Pepper by Farraday Newsome.

Glazed terra cotta.

79 SLURRY BUCKET TIPS Save time and trouble with these studio-tested tips & techniques

80 CLASSIFIED MARKETPLACE

“Handmade Culture” review by Steven Branfman

82 AROUND THE FIREBOX “Do it, and the Money Will Come”

by David Hendley

Goods and services especially for clay artists

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Shimpo sells many other fine products and accessories such as Japanese style pottery tools, soft cushion adjustable stools, Giffin Grip®, and various different models of our pug mills, kilns and wheels. For more details on these or our discontinued and reconditioned products, visit Shimpo Ceramics Online Sales at https://securestore.shimpoceramics.com.

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PUG MILLS

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ceramic art trends, tools & techniques

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magazine

TIMES

Clay

Editor & Art Director: Polly Beach editorial@claytimes.com Circulation Manager: Rachel Brownell circulation@claytimes.com Advertising Manager: Karen Freeman advertising@claytimes.com Accounts Manager: Nanette Greene accounting@claytimes.com Production Assistant: Jenna McCracken claytimes@aol.com Proofreader: Jon Singer Office Assistant: Ingrid Phillips Editorial Interns: Jamie Bussey & Mac Ward Regular Columnists: Steve Branfman, Books & Videos Pete Pinnell, As Far as I Know Monona Rossol, Health & Safety Lana Wilson, Beneath the Surface Marc Ward, Kilns & Firing David Hendley, Around the Firebox Kelly Savino, Around the Firebox Vince Pitelka, Tool Times Bill van Gilder, Teaching Techniques Contributing Writers: K.T. Anders • John Britt • Karen Freeman Mike Harrison • John Johnsen Jenna McCracken • Mac Ward Published by: CLAY TIMES INC. 15481 Second St. • PO Box 365 Waterford, Virginia 20197-0365 (540) 882-3576 • FAX (540) 882-4196

CLAyTIMES·COM n July/August 2006

Clay Times® (ISSN 1087-7614) is published bimonthly, six issues per year. Periodicals Postage Paid at Waterford, VA, and at additional mailing offices.

Annual subscriptions are available for $30 in the U.S.; $36 in Canada; $55 elsewhere (must be payable in US$). To subscribe, call toll-free 1-800-356-2529, or visit www.claytimes.com.

Freelance editorial and photographic submissions are welcome: Please contact Clay Times or visit our Web site for writer’s and photographer’s guidelines.

POSTMASTER: Address service requested. Send address changes to: Clay Times, PO Box 365, Waterford, VA 20197-0365. Copyright © 2006 Clay Times, Inc. All rights reserved. The material contained herein is derived from various sources and does not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. All technical material is offered as general information only and should not be acted upon without expert supervision.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the publisher.

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by sheri leigh & polly beach

W

hile attending CCACA (the California Conference for the Advancement of Ceramic Art: see story on page 62) with Polly [Beach, CT editor], we decided to pamper ourselves. The only available service we could book together in short notice was a pedicure. While relaxing and chatting in the chairs, Polly suggested we also get our nails done. My response was, “No freakin’ way!” Of course, as a ceramics professor, I cannot have long fake nails.

But she talked me into it as “research.”

I must admit, I felt feminine and sexy with those things. However, I was really embarrassed to be around all these clay people with my fake nails. I felt selfconscious that they were staring at them.

I explained that Polly put me up to it, that I was going to experiment as a ceramic artist with them, and that they were a joke! It was fun, but certain normal behaviors became quite challenging, like picking food out of my teeth—the nails are too thick!

After returning to work, there were many more things that became a lot more frustrating, such as typing on my laptop. I kept hitting the wrong keys, and had to slow down my typing pace a lot.

Considering Acrylic Nails?

A few pointers: • It is possible to throw pots with them, but the opening process leaves ridges in the floor of the pot. Keep a rib handy to smooth it out after opening.

• Opt for the “French” manicure—the one where the nail tips are artificially bright white and opaque. It costs about $5 extra, but nicely conceals any clay left under the nails.

• If you don’t polish them and you ask to have them rounded, the nails will last longer. Touch-ups are needed at least every 4 weeks to fill in areas of new growth.

Fingers and toes — After taking a break for a relaxing pedicure during CCACA, the recent California clay conference, CT editor Polly Beach and ceramics professor Sheri Leigh agreed to “experiment” with acrylic nails.

Throwing pots was really funny, and the feeling of clay under those nails was icky!

After stirring up black glaze, I had to scrub with a nail brush so my french manicure would look pretty and white again.

When about two-and-a-half weeks of “research” time had passed, I decided to have the nails removed, and looked forward to returning to my normal clay life.

My fiancé, Kelly, was kind of bummed, since he thought my hands looked like a girl’s instead of a construction worker’s. Following removal (it hurt!), my real nails were thin and brittle, and kept breaking down past the quick!

They’re still not normal, weeks later. I think I’ll stick with workin’ hands, but look forward to a vacation time when I can get them again, and feel like a girly girl.

Sheri Leigh is Summer Workshops Director and Professor of Ceramics at Sierra Nevada College, Incline Village, Nevada. [

Sheri figured out how to throw with gloved hands and via the two-sponge method (middle right), while Polly mastered the art of trimming a foot with her “handy” new set of custom tools (bottom).

CLAyTIMES·COM n July/August 2006

• A surprise benefit: with good acrylic nails applied at a quality salon, you can go as long as a month without having to do any sort of maintenance or deal with breakage (a far cry from the daily care of natural nails).

Spouting Off I Editor’s Desk

We Got Nailed (but we still made pots!)

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CT Kemp, Platter & Kiln 6-06

5/5/06

1:57 PM

Page 1

"Amaco/Excel kilns allow me to move through ideas quickly, and experiment more."

Jim Kemp Recipient of "Creative Renewal Grant" Indiana Arts Commission

"It's a lot easier to fire the EX-399 electric kiln than a gas kiln. I had to attend to my gas kiln for 12 hours. Now firing is usually 6 hours and the kiln shuts off automatically. The Creative Renewal Fellowship Arts Grant paid for the electrical wiring and an equipment purchase of two Amaco/Excel EX-399 models".

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"All the materials I use in my studio are Amaco®: Velvet Underglazes, 67-M Indian Red Clay, ware carts, Brent® wheels and now EX-399 kilns."

To buy a "Play With It" T-shirt like Jim's from the Amaco Retro Collection, visit www.amaco.com.

American Art Clay Co., Inc. • (800) 374-1600 • www.amaco.com • Email: TalkToUs@amaco.com

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Southeast ACC I enjoyed the excellent article on Fong Choo and Alice Munn in the May/June issue. I attended the ACCSE conference but was unable to go to either of their workshops.

I spoke to them and saw their work and slides, but it was nice to have even more exposure to their crafts.

For your readers’ information, the southeast region of the American Craft Council is the only region still active. We hold an annual conference and a juried show.

We have workshops, speakers, and panel discussions, as well as the opening of the show. The next conference will be held at Arrowmont in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, in 2007. The conference is open to anyone.

Watch for information as the date approaches.

Christie Rogers, ACCSE secretary

Mud Mamas Feedback • I just want to thank you for your most recent article, “Mud Mamas” [May/June ’06 Clay Times]. As someone who finally has the chance to be a full-time studio potter after waiting for eight years for the right time, and for someone who has entered into my 30s, having children is a subject that weighs heavily on my mind. Being an elementary teacher for eight years, I know how much energy, dedication, and time it takes to be a good adult role model, and I got to say goodbye to the kids come 3 pm!

Anyway, I’ve been struggling with the decision of whether my husband and I should have kids or not and knowing that if we did, I’d have to put my budding career on the back burner. That’s not something that I’m sure I want to do. Yet at the same time, I don’t want to live with such a huge regret as not having kids later on in my life.

Grace Sheese • Eugene, Oregon • Hi Lana. I took a workshop with you a couple of years ago in Charleston, South Carolina, and I always make a point to

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Well, I really wanted to thank you for the article on such a touching subject. It really hit home for me and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Hopefully, my husband and I will make our decision soon. But in the meantime, I’ll be looking for your next article on the subject.

Kelly Thiel • Folly Beach, SC

turning his drive for precision to making fine custom windows. Out of the limelight, a reputation evaporates quickly. But what Ron accomplished as a potter ought not to slip into obscurity.

Ron was one of the important figures in the regeneration of traditional pottery-making around California in the 1960s and 70s.

He received an M.F.A. from Mills College, Oakland, in 1963 and taught ceramics at Mills in place of Tony Prieto for one year, then stayed on another two years teaching craft-oriented courses and assisting in the art gallery. In 1966, he moved to rural Occidental, where he and wife Bev looked after a friend’s country estate, which had a small pottery studio. In this idyllic setting, Ron produced a wide range of domestic stoneware and porcelain, showing and touring the circuit of California art fairs, and was an active member of the San Francisco Potters Association. But, by 1987, it seemed time to do something else: make a better living and get a new view of life.

Some of Ron’s pots are conserved in the Oakland Museum, the Crocker in Sacramento, and the Prieto Collection at Mills.

He was also featured in Charlotte Speight’s Hands in Clay (1979 ed.), demonstrating, and through a number of photos of his work.

Ron was of small stature but he could make really big pots with nice control and he had a flair for unusual design. One of his most interesting ideas was a cover with a hole in the middle, a kind of negative knob—you put your fingers in there to pick it up. He used it on lidded jars and stacked-up storage dishes, which were signature pieces.

Pots that remain in Bev Judd’s collection are marvelous: strong, confident, experimental, and always meticulously crafted.

In fact, for Ron Judd, craftsmanship above all was the main focus of his life. And for this devotion especially, he deserves to be remembered.

John Chambers • Sebastopol, California [

Ron Judd Remembered Notice has not gotten out to the ceramic community about Ron Judd, who passed away last July from leukemia. Part of it was, after pursuing a living for over 20 years as a studio potter, Ron gave up making pots and launched a new career as a woodworker,

Correction Peggy Albers deserved photo credit for the how-to images published with the article on Jerry Maschinot (Clay Times, May/June 2006).

We regret the error.

—Editor

CLAyTIMES·COM n July/August 2006

So, your article really touched me and I want to thank you for your candor and above all else, for writing about a subject that I’m sure most women artists struggle with, but is so rarely discussed. I suddenly feel like I’m no longer alone.

read your articles. All of your articles are fabulous, but the one in the May/June issue really got to me. I’m 33 years old, and my husband and I are trying to decide if we should have children. We need to decide soon, as I don’t want to get much older before subjecting my body to the strains of pregnancy. We have a core group of friends, four couples, here where we live, and three of those four have small babies. We are the only couple without a baby. These friends are not artists, but they are very good people, only they make me feel so left out.

They don’t understand my need to work in clay and my concerns about having children. All this talk about playgroups they’ve attended, and who is eating rice cereal and who isn’t, drives me insane. I don’t want to lose myself into this world of “momminess.” Is it possible to be a good mother without going overboard like a couple of these girls have? I do want children, but I am terrified that I will lose myself. My mother gave up her art for raising my brother and me, and I don’t want to have to make that choice. Even now, if I don’t get in enough clay time throughout the week, I get cranky and irritable. I certainly don’t want to focus that negativity towards my children. I completely agree with the one artist in your article who stated that her “greatest fear is that she will stop, and never get back to, making art.” I think of it as momentum. If I lose momentum in my studio, it is very hard for me to get started again. It’s a bit like another artist in your article who stated that she needed to “get centered” to work in clay. I feel that, as well.

Spouting Off I Letters

Your Words

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Hot Stuff I On Exhibit

Get Fired Hot ceramics presented by ACGA

T

aking place at two venues, ACGA’s Pence Gallery and the Davis Art Center, the “Get Fired” show ran simultaneously as the backdrop to the California Conference for the Advancement of Ceramic Art in Davis, California.

CLAyTIMES·COM n July/August 2006

The conference’s theme was ceramic sculpture. “This topic was particularly apt, since in the ceramic community, the town of Davis is associated with the artist Robert Arneson,” said show juror Suzanne Baizerman, former curator of Crafts and Decorative Arts at the Oakland Museum of California. Arneson’s students played a major role in the development of ceramic sculpture, and therefore it was not surprising to find that many submitted pieces were sculptures.

The group exhibition at the Pence Gallery demonstrated a full range of sculptural forms. Figurative work dominated the exhibit, including pieces of realistic depictions, abstract figures, and narrative expression. For example, Jane Burton’s abstract figure bears from “Her Story” were covered in bands

of text. Carol Wedemeyer’s “Lollygagging” also created narrative expression in an enigmatic figure which emerges from a rocking teapot. Nuala Crede’s “Babes in Arms” provided a social commentary as well, through its poignant, doll-like figures of tots geared up for terrorism.

Others whose work evoked social messages included Robert Finn, with “On My Mind;” “Woman,” created by cubist-inspired Janet Bajorek; and Jean Pfann with “Head: Man with Dreadlocks.”

Even seemingly functional works on closer inspection dealt with conceptual issues, such as Tom Collins’ teapot and Linda Mau’s “Victorian Teapot.” Despite the broad messages conveyed by the various pieces and their subsequent creators, the exhibit also featured concrete, functional works.

Baizerman concluded by saying, “The call to ‘Get Fired’ brought forth a spirited response, testifying to the vitality of this venerable association.” [

Top and Bottom: Steeples by Christie Beniston. 84" x ½". Ceramic and aluminum. Center: Leaflines by Sara Post. 18" x 15". Stoneware with sgraffito. Cone 3, oxidation firing.

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Hot Stuff I On Exhibit

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CLAyTIMES·COM n July/August 2006

Clockwise from top left: Non-Fiction by Carol Wedemeyer; 14" x 12" x 9"; cone 6. Smokestacks by Patricia Yenawine; 9½" x 11½" x 4½"; anagama-fired stoneware. Sentry by Virginia Rigney; 19" x 7" x 4"; salt-fired and fumed stoneware; cone 10. Woven Plate II by Jan Schachter; 2" x 14½" x 6½"; wood-fired porcelain. I’ve Got It by Fred Yokel; 18" x 10" x 8"; raku-fired with carved design; porcelain ball.

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k

What’s Hot

ceramic art world news • events • calls for entries

Awards ‰ The 2006 annual Windgate Fellowship awards will be going to Joshua Copus from the University of North Carolina, Asheville, for ceramics; Joel Queen from Western Carolina University for clay; and Mark Reigelman II from Cleveland Institute of Arts for design/sculpture.

With his grant money, Copus plans to set up a professional ceramics studio in western North Carolina. Building on research started as an undergraduate research scholar, he will examine local and non-industrially processed materials in contemporary ceramics. He is expected to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in the fall of 2006.

Queen, a ninth-generation potter whose roots can be traced back to before the Cherokee Removal of 1838, will use the fellowship award to expand on traditional Cherokee stamped pottery. He will also create new work, both functional and non-functional pieces.

CLAYTIMES·COM ■ JULY/AUGUST 2006

Reigelman’s award, for design and sculpture, will be used for his “Stair Square” project, which addresses the potential for a synergistic relationship between social interaction and “public furniture.”

The fellowship program administered by the University of North Carolina Center for Craft, Creativity and Design in Hendersonville, NC, offers ten $15,000 fellowships to graduating university seniors or fifth year students. The awards are determined by a panel of three nationally recognized art professionals who review applications and determine the winners on the basis of academic merit, the future promise of the individual’s work, and the potential for the applicant to contribute to the advancement in their field.

Fellowships are open to students with a focus in book arts, ceramics, design, drawing, fiber, glass, metals, mixed media, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, textiles, or wood.

For more information on the Windgate Fellowship Award or the other winners, visit http://www.craftcreativitydesign.org /research/wingate.php, e-mail dmagie@ craftcreativity.org, or telephone (828) 8902050.

‰ The Kentucky Arts Council recently received the National Endowment for the Arts award, thereby receiving $657,400 for the Partnership Agreement grant. The grant is the art council’s largest source of federal funding.

Auction ‰ The 21st annual Penland School of Crafts Benefit Auction will take place August 11-12 at the Penland campus in North Carolina.

The auction will feature more than 150 pieces of work in ceramics, glass, metals, jewelry, textiles, wood, handmade books, photography, printmaking, drawing and painting.

Pieces have been donated by Penland faculty and resident artists.

The benefit will also include an exhibition and a lecture by Bebe Johnson, co-proprieter of the Pritam and Eames Gallery in East Hampton, New York. Proceeds will benefit the programs and studios of Penland School of Crafts.

Admission for the auction varies. The cost is $50 for the Friday afternoon lecture and wood auction; $100 for the Friday evening reception, dinner, live and silent auctions; and $200 for Saturday’s events, which include coffee at the Penland resident artist studios, live and silent auctions, a luncheon, a reception, and a raffle

at the Penland gallery. Absentee bidding is available.

To request an invitation or make reservations, e-mail auction@penland.org or phone (828) 765-2359, ext. 45. For more information, visit www.penland.org. Penland School of Crafts is located 52 miles north of Asheville, NC.

Relief for Artists ‰ The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, which took place May 5-7, featured artists who received assistance from the Craft Emergency Relief Fund.

Since last August CERF has distributed over $200,000 in direct aid to 68 professional craft artists. Most of CERF’s efforts have been concentrated in the Gulf Coast region. The funds assist artists in covering basic needs, as well as with the recovery costs of rebuilding and retooling homes and studios. The Heritage Festival for many artists signaled a step forward after the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. For more information on CERF, visit www.craftemergency.org.

Clay Festival ‰ The 2006 American Pottery Festival takes place September 8-10 at the Northern Clay Center, 2424 Franklin Avenue East in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The annual fundraising benefit brings together collectors and artists to share their work, while also providing the center with needed resources. APF will host workshops and panel discussions featuring artists Sequoia Miller, Bernadette Curran, Andy Brayman, Christa Assad and Steve Godfrey. The festival will feature the work of regional and national potters, including Ron Meyers, Josh DeWeese,

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The center is offering a special Collectors’ Weekend Package, which includes tours of area artists’ studios, museums and private collections, as well as tickets to the festival’s events. The package is priced at $300 per person.

For more information, e-mail anniegemmell@northernclaycenter.org or telephone (612) 339-8007, ext. 305.

On July 6, a kick-off event for visiting and local journalists will be held at the Santa Fe Art Institute from 6-8 p.m. The reception will preview exhibition stores and afterwards a preview of Santa Fe’s 6th International Biennial.

For more information, e-mail artseditor@ santafean.com or artbeatassociates@hotmail.com, or phone (505) 983-1444 or (505) 424-6868.

Museum Reopens Press Preview ‰ Santa Fe’s contemporary art organizations have worked together to present, “Biennial Santa Fe,� which features programming at venues throughout Santa Fe. Santa Fean has published the Official Guide to Contemporary Art in the City Different, which includes information on exhibitions, a calendar of events, city map and other information. The guide is available at select galleries and venues around town.

‰ On June 23, Toronto’s Gardiner Museum reopens after undergoing renovations. The reopening includes a new gallery with Canadian and international contemporary ceramics, new Japanese and European galleries, expanded clay studios for artists and students, the new Gail Brooker Ceramic Research Library, among other items. To visit or for more information, visit www.gardinermuseum.com, or call (416) 586-8080.

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Hot Stuff I News & Events

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Hot Stuff I News & Events

Ceramics Exhibitions

‰ “Undisciplined,” part of the 3rd Bien-

‰

nale of Ceramics in Contemporary Art will run from July 8 through September 10 in the Ligurian Riviera of Italy.

The Institute for American Indian Arts (IAIA) Museum, 108 Cathedral Place, Santa Fe on July 7 from 11 am-1 pm will host a press preview for the first Indigenous Biennial exhibition, “Relations: Indigenous Dialogue.”

For more information, e-mail sspengler@ sfai.org or jvillani@iaia.edu, or call (505) 424-2351 or (505) 424-5050.

The 3rd Biennale is a network aimed at developing the social and cultural assets of the Ceramic District in the Ligurian Riviera. All the works in the exhibit have been created over the last two years.

“I had always used my own glaze recipes, but Spectrum’s Raku Glazes gave my work some exciting new dimensions and they are so convenient.”

- Ian Chung

The exhibit will include sites, outdoor installations, project presentations, as well as scientific research presentations.

For more information, e-mail info@ attese.it.

‰ “Transformation and Use: New Works

by Ken Matsuzaki,” takes place June 17 through July 12 at the Pucker Gallery in Boston, Massachusetts.

The exhibit will feature the work of Japanese artist Ken Matsuzaki, including bottles, tea bowls, mizusashi (a lidded fresh water container used in the tea ceremony), vases, sake bottles and cups, and yunomi (tea cups).

Matsuzaki’s pieces are known for rich, sculptural glazes and strong, energetic forms, making his work both beautiful and personal.

Matsuzaki trained at Tamagawa University and apprenticed with Japanese Living National Treasure Tatsuzo Shimaoka in Mashiko, Japan. His work is distinct in Japanese tradition, but also modern and unique. Additionally Matsuzaki works have also been featured in the Metropolitan Museum of Art 2003 exhibition “Turning Point: Oribe and the Arts of Sixteenth Century Japan” and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts’ 2005 exhibition “Contemporary Clay: Japanese Ceramics for the New Century.”

Pucker Gallery is located on 171 Newbury Street, Boston, MA 02116. To see works

by Matsuzaki and for more information, visit www.puckergallery.com, or e-mail jessica@puckergallery.com, or phone (617) 267-9473.

CLAyTIMES·COM n July/August 2006

‰ Toronto’s Gardiner Museum is hosting “Jean-Pierre Larocque: Clay, Sculpture and Drawings,” currently until October 9.

For Details on how Ian made the pots, go to our website: http://www.spectrumglazes.com Our New Address: 94 Fenmar Dr. Toronto, ON Canada M9L 1M5

Phone: (800) 970-1970 (416) 747-8310 Fax: (416) 747-8320 Email: info@spectrumglazes.com

Jean-Pierre Larocque’s work is the result of three tons of clay and over 100 firings, providing a display of large multifaceted heads and textured figures. Larocque’s open-ended approach to clay exposes and uncovers an emotional intensity with each radical transformation.

To view a video and fully illustrated catalogue, and for more information, visit www.gardinermuseum.com.

‰ The Grimson Laurel Gallery in Bakersville, North Carolina will host the exhibit

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For more information, telephone (828) 688-3599.

‰ “Contain yourself! An Exploration of Containment in the Literal, the Abstract and the Applied” takes place August 12-27 at Hood College’s Hodson Gallery in the Tatem Art Center in Frederick, Maryland.

The exhibit will feature work by Keith Parsley, a ceramic artist based in Monkton, Maryland. The exhibit employs stoneware and functional ware to address the issue of containment. The work in the exhibit, through the vehicle of form, texture and surface, invites viewers to reflect on aesthetic values and influences.

and production of craftwork supplied to galleries and craft stores. Submitted work must have been produced or introduced after August 31, 2005, to be eligible. Work previously submitted to the NICHE Awards may not be resubmitted. The entry fee is $35 and $15 for buyers market exhibitors (images are not returnable); the entry deadline is September 5. For more information, visit www.americancraft.com.

‰ Applications are now being accepted for participation in the Society of Arts and Crafts of Boston’s CRAFTBOSTON exhibition and sale. CRAFTBOSTON will take place March 30 through April 1, 2007, at the Seaport World Trade Center in Boston, Massachusetts. Applications will be accepted through September 8, 2006 for the following areas: baskets, ceramics, fiber decorative, fiber wearable, furniture, glass, jewelry, leather, metal, mixed media, paper, and wood. [

hot stuff I News & Events

“New Work,” featuring the work of Mark Hewitt, on August 12 and 13.

Parsley’s high fire functional and sculptural work recognizes the constant struggle of individuals in society to maintain their individuality, and celebrates the victory that each individual achieves by preserving their eccentricity.

A reception with Parsley will be held in the gallery on August 12 at 6:30 pm. Both the exhibit and the reception are free and open to the public. For more information, call (301) 663-3131.

Calls for Entries July submission deadline

‰“ClayFest 2006” is open to current and former residents of Indiana. Entry fee is $20 for three slides; entry deadline is July 14. The event takes place Sept.

5-29. To request a prospectus or further information, contact the University of Indianapolis, Dept. of Art and Design, 1400 E. Hanna Ave., Indianapolis, IN 46227, e-mail pduval@uindy.edu, or telephone (317) 788-3253.

‰ NICHE magazine, a trade publication for retailers of American craft, is sponsoring the 2007 NICHE Awards competition, which celebrates excellence and innovation in American and Canadian craft. The competition is open to any professional craft artist over the age of 21 who is actively involved in the design

CLAyTIMES·COM n July/August 2006

September submission deadlines

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Brancusi Pepper and Salt by Neil Patterson.

Stoneware, cone 06 oxidation.

Salt/Pepper Set by James Klueg. Slip-cast earthenware with overglaze decoration.

Salt and Pepper by Ellen Shankin.

Thrown and altered stoneware.

The Wizard’s Evil

by Marilyn Andrews.

Handbuilt stoneware with slips and glaze.

Salt and Pepper Pots by Emily Schroeder. Pinched porcelain.

Chef Dan Among His Elements by Stephanie Osser.

Salt and Pepper Set by Paul Dresang.

Residual salt-fired porcelain, masked and sandblasted.

CLAyTIMES¡COM n July/August 2006

Sensation by Ben Eberle.

44" x 22" x 20". Handbuilt stoneware, acrylic finish.

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Saggar-Fired Bull Dog by Ronnie Gould. 8" x 6" x 12½". Stoneware.

Sprinkle by Heather Mae Erickson.

Reduction-fired porcelain.

Hot Stuff I On Exhibit

Untitled by Bonnie Seeman. Porcelain and glass.

an extravagance of

Salt & Pepper BB Salt and Pepper Brick by Bruce Cochrane. Salt-fired to cone 03.

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The national invitational was curated by guest The numerous possibilities in which the subPhiladelphia curator, Gail M. Brown. ject of salt and pepper could be explored allowed the artists great freedom when creating.

“Certain objects and forms are commonly Some made functional wares, some focused thought of in pairs,” Brown remarked, noting that on sculptural forms and vessels, while others the salt/pepper couple “evoke a complementary depicted narrative points of view. [ yin and yang, a point/counterpoint. ” [

CLAyTIMES·COM n July/August 2006

Swell Jar by Simon Levin. 11" x 8" x 8".

Anagama-fired porcelain, wheel-thrown and stretched.

altimore Clayworks recently hosted “An altimore Clayworks recently hosted Extravagance of Salt & Pepper: Contain“An Extravagance of ‘Salt & Pepper’: ers, Shakers, Concepts,” which included Containers, Shakers, Concepts,” which pieces from more than 100 emerging, midshowcased ceramic works by more than 100 career, and established artists. Gail M. Brown emerging, mid-career, and established artists. from Philadelphia was the curator for the national invitational exhibition.

The numerous possibilities in which the salt and pepper theme could be explored allowed “Certain objects and forms are commonly participating artists great freedom of expresthought of in pairs,” Brown said. The couple, sion. Some made functional wares, some salt and pepper, “evoke a complementary yin focused on sculptural forms and vessels, and yang, a point/counterpoint,” she comand others depicted narrative points of view. mented.

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CLAyTIMES·COM n July/August 2006

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C

harles Darwin is known (and still much in the news, even 124 years after his death) for his theory of evolution. What many people don’t realize is that evolution was not the part of science he found most interesting.

Darwin’s real love was the earthworm.

He spent decades raising and studying them, and at the very end of his life, published a book about them.¹ In his book, he reports the results of his observations and many experiments. In particular, I enjoyed this short passage in the first chapter: “Worms do not possess any sense of hearing. They took not the least notice of the shrill notes from a metal whistle, which was repeatedly sounded near them; nor did they of the deepest and loudest tones of a bassoon. They were indifferent to shouts, if care was taken that the breath did not strike them.

When placed on a table close to the keys of a piano, which was played as loudly as possible, they remained perfectly quiet.”² What’s wonderful about Darwin’s investigation is how open he was to trying just about anything to find out if worms could hear. He didn’t just “look it up” in a book, he devised experiments and ran the tests himself. I love imagining the bearded, 72-year-old Darwin sitting in his billiards room (which he had converted into an office), serenading earthworms on the bassoon. The wag in me would comment that perhaps Darwin’s worms had a different taste in music, or perhaps he didn’t shout the right things (“Look out! It’s a bird!”).

I’d also like to think that when he shouted at his worms, his wife came out of the kitchen and said, “Who are you talking to, dear?” Charles Darwin’s direct, almost child-like approach to investigation made him a great scientist.

Dear Professor Pinnell,

I have this favorite glaze that I use all the time. What would happen if I put some copper in it?

Best wishes, Curious

JA06CTFinal.6-16.indd 23

Dear Curious,

Why don’t you try it and let me know what happens?

Best wishes, Pete

To put all of this into an academic model, Charles Darwin was doing primary research, while Curious is engaging in secondary research. Primary research is original, and seeks to find knowledge through experimentation and observation. Secondary research involves finding out what others have done, and learning from that.

other hand, if Curious hates green (and shiny, transparent greens most of all), she might declare that same test a disaster. It’s worth noting that “crazing” (a fine cracking of a glaze) has two names: crazing and crackle. We call it crazing when we don’t want it (and consider it a fault), and crackle when we do want it (and consider it a source of beauty).

Whether it’s a good result or a disaster sometimes depends on the situation, and at other times is simply a matter of personal preference.

I like to compare glaze mixing with cooking. You don’t really become a good cook until you know what everything in the kitchen tastes like. You can’t learn this from a cookbook; you can only learn it from primary research—making a big mess and serving it to guests (just kidding; I only serve my big messes to my kids). In the same way, we can only become facile with glazes when we know what everything in the glaze room “tastes like,” or what particular qualities each material brings to a glaze. You can read all day (or write countless e-mails

If you think I’m writing this to belittle Curious, you’re mistaken.

There’s nothing wrong with secondary research—why should we constantly re-invent the wheel? We should begin research with a search through the pertinent literature to find out what others have previously estabWhy should we constantly re-invent the wheel? lished on a topic. Once we know the state of We should begin research with a search through the percurrent knowledge, tinent literature to find out what others have previously we will be in a better position to extend that established on a topic. Once we know the state of current knowledge by doing knowledge, we will be in a better position to extend that our own primary research. knowledge by doing our own primary research.

Beginning with secondary research can also prevent us from investigating obvious dead ends. If Curious had written, “What would happen if I put some tomatoes in my glaze?” I could have saved her a lot of time by pointing out the futility of using tomatoes as a glaze colorant (and pointing out that they’re great on BLTs).

Beyond research in the abstract sense, there is a reason why potters tend to lean toward primary research over secondary. When we’re talking about something like glazes, the difference between a successful and an unsuccessful test is often just a matter of personal preference. I might try putting some copper into that base glaze sent to me by Curious and declare it a complete success, since I happen to like transparent green glazes (a probable outcome). On the

to me), but none of that will ever replace the learning that occurs from getting out a gram scale and mixing up some tests.

I wrote a column on basic glaze mixing once before, and if you’ve never mixed a glaze, you might find it helpful.³ I’ve also written on how to find new colors from an existing glaze, and if you’ve never tried this before, you might also find these helpful.4 As a teacher, I always find it interesting that some students will dive into experimentation, while others who are equally interested in glazes will hesitate to go into the glaze room. I think a big part of it (for many people) is simple fear: they’re afraid that they might do something wrong and look stupid. All I

CLAyTIMES·COM n July/August 2006

I think of this whenever I get an e-mail along the lines of this:

I get this kind of e-mail fairly often, and my answer is usually something like this:

by PETE PINNELL

Perspectives I As Far As I Know

Earthworms & Glazes

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Perspectives I As Far As I Know

can do to alleviate your fears is quote the great movie, “This is Spinal Tap,” in which a bone-headed English rocker says, “There’s a fine line between clever and stupid.” I would add that we never find the “fine line” until we cross over into “stupid” many, many times. This is why we always put our glaze tests on a sacrificial slab of clay or on an old, beat up kiln shelf: so our stupidity isn’t fatal to our good kiln shelves.

To return to my cooking analogy, I once had a college roommate who decided to impress his girlfriend’s parents by making homemade lasagna when they came to visit. He used his sister’s recipe, followed it to the letter, and proudly served the fabulous-smelling dish. The problem was, no one could eat it: it was so hot (in the spicy sense) that it was completely inedible. It turned out that he had misread “1/8 teaspoon black pepper” as “8 teaspoons black pepper.” Because he was not experienced in the kitchen, it was easy for him to make a mistake that an even minimally more experienced cook would have spotted immediately. So how would a novice in the glaze room know if a hand-scrawled glaze recipe read “1/8% cobalt oxide” or “8% cobalt oxide?” Only by experience.

of doing something stupid, how do you start?

There’s a dizzying number of white powders in a glaze room. Where do we even begin? As it happens, I’m going to give you some simple ways to learn about materials and find some wonderful new glazes—next issue. [ Footnotes ¹ The Formation of Vegetable Mould Through the Action of Worms, with Observations on Their Habits, by Charles Darwin. This entire book is now in the public domain, and can be read online or downloaded. You can find a full 1896 text facsimile at http://books.google.com.

² Chapter 1, Habits of Worms. 1892 Edition, p. 26. (I found this in the University of Nebraska library.

I love libraries.) ³ “Home Brew: How to Mix Your Own Glazes,” Clay Times, Sept/Oct 1999, p. 18, 20; Clay Times, Nov/Dec 1999, p. 18, 20.

4

“Coloring Outside the Lines,” Clay Times, July/ August 2003, p. 21, 55; “Coloring Further Outside the Lines,” Clay Times, July/Aug 2003, p. 21, 29.

Pete Pinnell teaches at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He has been a potter for many years and has numerous exhibitions and workshops to his credit. You can reach him with comments or questions at ppinnell1@unl.edu.

CLAyTIMES·COM n July/August 2006

It’s also interesting to note that “too much” is sometimes pretty nice, so the “fine line” we were speaking of is often finer than we like to think. Some people might love lasagna made with 8 teaspoons of black pepper, while others might love a glaze with 8% cobalt oxide (even if experts like me tell you that’s way too much).

Which leads us back to Charles Darwin.

There were probably other naturalists in the 19th century who had written on earthworms, and he could (and perhaps did) look up what they had written. Yet, he still did his own tests because he wanted to see for himself.

Darwin knew all tests contain variables and assumptions, and he knew if he did his own tests, he could control those variables. His tests weren’t perfect either, if you think about it. They assumed that if an earthworm could hear, its hearing would be within the same range as humans. But what if a worm tends to hear sounds in a range much higher or lower than us? His tests wouldn’t have shown that. When you ask an expert “what would happen if … ” he might assume a different clay body, application method, or way of firing. Or, he might give you the wrong answer. If you really want to know, you need to test it yourself.

So, now that you’ve done your secondary research and you’re over your fear

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The new hands are ready!

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CLAyTIMES·COM n July/August 2006

Contact your nearest clay and equipment supplier $29.95 per set - Part # R15W15 Works with all current Giffin Grips® giffingrip.com

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1/2 page

5/17/06

1:33 PM

Page 1

Ceramics:Art and Perception

Ceramics:Technical

A magazine for everyone interested

A magazine for every ceramic artist to

in ceramic art

discover new techniques

CArteramics and Perception

2005 ISSUE

62

INTERNATIONAL AU$14 US$15 £9 NZ$18 CAN$19 Euro14

CeramicsTECHNICAL AU$17.50 US$16 £10 NZ$25 CAN$23 Euro 17.50

Workshops • Fire Sculptures • Woodfiring Bone China Techniques • Residencies • Slips Kilns and Firing Processes • Ceramic Education Books • Collaboration with china painters

A high quality quarterly publication with excellent colour photographs and well written articles on ceramic art. Enjoy international and multicultural perspectives on a broad range of ceramic subjects from the avant garde and contemporary to the traditional, philosophical and historical.

20

SUBSCRIBE ONLINE: www.ceramicart.com.au Ceramics: Art and Perception Published quarterly - Mar, June, Sept, Dec AU$64 US$64 £36 Euro 60 CAN$80 NZ$80 Ceramics: Technical Published biannually - May, November AU$40 US$40 £24 Euro 40 CAN$50 NZ$50

A biannual magazine devoted to research in the ceramic arts.

Articles cover innovative and traditional uses of materials and processes including clay and glazes, kilns and firing, forms, techniques and decorative methods. Photographs, diagrams and glaze recipes throughout plus workshops, book reviews and more.

120 Glenmore Road Paddington NSW 2021 Australia Tel +61 (0)2 9361 5286 Fax +61 (0)2 9361 5402 Email: ceramics@ceramicart.com.au

Beginners & Professionals

CLAyTIMES·COM n July/August 2006

Olympic commercial electric and gas kilns are heavily insulated (6” of insulation and air space) for energy efficiency and built to last with heavy angle iron frames, stainless steel skins. The electric kilns have options for kiln sitter and limit timer, electronic controller, 480 volts, 3-phase, and 3- zone control. Olympic DownDrafts are designed to fire on propane or natural gas. Stainless steel or galvanized vent hoods can be added as option in addition to kiln sitter and timer, electronic control wall unit, pyrometer and blower burners. Olympic commercial electric kilns range in sizes from 5.5 – 53 cubic feet and the gas kilns range from 9-40 (useable space) cubic feet.

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by LANA WILSON

“I have always felt the pressure to be a decent artist and a decent mother. — clay artist and mother of two children

T

his is the second of three columns on being a parent and working in clay. The first column dealt with the balancing act of having very young children while trying to work in clay. In this column, three mothers discuss life with clay and school age children, and two grandmothers look back. The last column will be on Janis Wunderlich, a mother of five children who is fiercely dedicated to her claywork in her limited studio time.

I want to repeat the caveat of the first column: There are myriad difficulties and joys in trying to be an artist and a parent at the same time. People come to both parenting and making art with distinctly different capabilities, energy, money, health, and support. Some of the solutions to the challenges that parents share here may sound desirable, or sadly and/or humorously impossible for you.

We each find our own way.

Mother of two boys, ages 6 and 10:

JA06CTFinal.6-16.indd 27

After the children arrived, for the first time in my life, I began to forget to finish work I had started or would knowingly leave it untended too long. This had never been a problem before. Everything before had revolved around the production schedule. Additionally, I would forget to turn up a kiln, or run out of a glaze and not have a backup ready or materials on hand, etc. I began to accidentally miss some deadlines for show applications.

I was lucky that my retired mother was about an hour away and was delighted to babysit for a day or so if I needed to get ready for a show or if I took a trip. I also worked at night after the baby was put to bed, from about 8:30 to midnight.

My work now, while raising kids, is definitely smaller, has a more hurried quality, and probably is less considered and reveals less investigation than before we had kids. I make what has been made before and don’t try new ideas as often.

I obviously don’t have as much down time to think of new ideas. Much more now goes into sketchbooks and is never attempted in clay.

I have always felt the pressure to be a decent artist and a decent mother. Though I could have somehow done more to be better at both, I think both were compromised. Plenty of time was given over to enjoying holding a sleeping baby. Toddlers took fewer trips to the park; they played at home while I worked. I tried to create a rich and interesting home environment for them.

I think that as a society we are sort of mixed up regarding parenting. Some parents think one needs to give their child every opportunity to succeed, and will respond to so many of the child’s requests and/or presumed needs. Their whole life will revolve around the child’s schedule. To me, this is overdoing it.

I think there are times when it is reasonable to drop everything and spend time with a child on a project. And it is also healthy if the child can learn to enjoy a little autonomy and learn how to handle boredom. I often still work on weekends, so I let them know I have to work and for how long. It is healthy for them to be alone with their ideas so they can invent and play, the same as the parent is modeling for them. At least that is my justification. Also, they have almost always been welcome in my studio to play with clay, and have made all sorts of interesting things. Even when we are working side by side, we break often and work on their time schedule, so I am still probably at less than half of the production of seven years ago before my first child was born.

As an artist parent I am surprised that our two little boys, like me, love certain bowls in our house, and will not use others. They are startled that their friends have place settings that all match. It is amazing they are determined not only to use certain things (like a canoe), but they want to try to find a way to build one themselves and they love to use tools to make things.

Susan Filley, teenagers:

mother

of

two

Not having family nearby made my years as a mother of young children complicated and difficult. I was the athome parent, so I always had to juggle the needs of my kids with my claywork. I learned to work in short bursts; a child’s

CLAyTIMES·COM n July/August 2006

Having a studio at home has made making art while raising kids—though I made far less than I did before and with far less concentration—possible!

I was able to go out and do work while the baby slept (though often I needed to sleep myself) or tend to laundry or something urgent during precious moments off. Studio assistants became part-time babysitters while I rushed through things the assistant and I would have done together. When they were about one year of age, both little ones went to a morning preschool program from 9am-1pm, giving me a little time to work. For a mother to be the only caretaker for her own children all the time is unreasonable, I think—so I chose a “tribal group” to help me raise my children. I found experts at the preschool who were far more knowledgeable than myself about babies. I confidently left

our children there for four hours so I could “hunt and gather.” I dashed to the studio at home and multi-tasked: washing sheets, cleaning the dining table, and throwing pots. My chosen “tribe” helped my children and me enormously. They knew what toys and activities would foster their learning and knew if something was developmentally amiss.

Perspectives I Beneath the Surface

Mud Mamas II

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Perspectives I Beneath the Surface CLAyTIMES·COM n July/August 2006

If not for the incredible technical staff at Laguna Clay Company, I would never have gotten this 35 foot mural depicting indigenous sea life of the California coast off the ground!

I was brought up on cone 10, gas reduction firings at schools and studios. However, now that I have a home studio I rely on cone 5 oxidation firings. At

one-hour nap meant an hour in the studio. When people say they need long hours to concentrate, mothering taught me that such expectations are a luxury.

That is why they invented plastic, so that we mothers can immediately cover everything in minutes. I became more efficient in the studio, a work strategy that I continue to appreciate. I never did anything but clay when I had time alone as that time was sacred, so errands and phone calls were put on hold. This timing issue also changed my work, as I couldn’t take on many really complicated pieces.

For ten years, I seldom had long, uninterrupted hours unless I stayed up all night while everyone else slept. I am now very appreciative to have more freedom and longer dedicated hours, and my work has changed quite dramatically. There are years of great ideas stored up in me.

Over time I have traveled a great deal for workshops and meetings, so my husband and I did a lot of tag-team parenting. I’ve had to buy a plane ticket for my mother to come visit so I could go to teach a workshop. However, it was juggling the daily schedule that was

first, using an electric kiln was discouraging because I wasn’t able to achieve the excitement and interest I was used to.

Now, Juan Aguilera, Laguna’s chemist, has developed fabulous new glaze lines and majolica paintables which mimic both reduction environment and low-fire hues. The Crackle glazes look fabulous on top of a base white glaze..try it out!

hardest. I’m grateful to have flexibility in my work as a studio artist because as my kids grow, I can be available when they get home from school, when they are sick, and I am able to be there for special occasions. But I often have to balance that flexibility by working at night, on weekends, or through Thanksgiving.

When the parenting was hardest, I liked to make stable work. I didn’t have energy for experimenting much with risky pieces. I was always so appreciative to have my studio as my place and my work as a focus outside of children.

Making pots can be such a great satisfaction. They don’t complain or need to be fed; the studio can be quiet, or the music can be whatever I want, dancing, singing, or dreaming. So it was a wonderful balance to the ‘joy’ of parenting, which is always giving to others and being surrounded by their needs.

Perhaps I expect too much of myself, but it was always hard to know how to balance the time. I always want more studio time. I’ve never had time to make all the pots I want to make, test the glazes, or

read all the books. Likewise, I wish I could have worked less and done more for my kids. Many parents feel the same these days: we all expect to be able to do so much, but ‘art is a jealous mistress,’ and children are priceless, so trying to do both well can feel like quite a bind.

Nan Coffin, mother of two grown children: My career as a self-taught, functional potter began seven years before my first child was born. In those first years, my husband and I resurrected an old, leaning, dirt-floor garage into studio space.

We built kickwheels and two kilns. Then we bought land and decided to build a studio, a 50-cu.-ft. propane kiln, and a house from scratch. We lived in half of the studio—the other half was my studio space—and then we started building our house. We never had health insurance, as we just couldn’t afford it. My husband was self-employed.

I became pregnant with our first child when the studio we built was livable but we still had to build our house. Running water and wood heat was a plus, but we had no septic system early on. We had

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And the Mystic line has great movement and depth by itself or under other colors.

This work also incorporated the work of several budding teenage artists who had never worked with ceramics. Thankfully, Laguna clay bodies and glazes are stable and reliable which meant there were no

an outhouse and no washing machine.

Our second child arrived two years after our first. Although I tried to continue working in clay, the reality soon became clear: I could either raise children or resume being a potter. I couldn’t do both when they were young. For instance, the kids were interested in making small objects of clay, but by the time I had gotten them involved enough that I could start making things, their interest had waned and it was time to clean up and move on to their next project. As a consequence, my wheel went virtually unused for the next several years. I put being a potter on hold until my youngest was in school. I stopped, but I didn’t quit.

was truly a gift. Additionally, I’ve been extremely fortunate to be able to resume full-time potting.

My job as a potter resumed when our youngest child was in school full-time.

Full-time potting was a balancing act, running between children’s school activities and the studio, but it slowly evolved. I schlepped pots to regional craft fairs, deciding only to travel within 50 miles of my studio. I needed to get the work in the public’s eye and figured people might not travel a great distance for handmade ware. After a couple of years, that 50-mile radius was whittled down to doing only the local town fair once a year. That local community was a great support and bought a lot of pots.

My studio had a retail/gallery space and folks came to me instead of me to them. I was relieved not to have to move hundreds of pounds of pots back and forth between my studio and fairs.

Both of our children are creative individuals and I’d like to think that is a result of having artists as both parents. We have encouraged them to take on careers in fields of work they could love and be happy in, instead of ones where they

—Ellen Rundle

®

800 4-LAGUNA www.lagunaclay.com

could make impressive sums of money.

Catharine Hiersoux, grandmother: I was 21 when I had my first child. I knew so little about child-raising and life in general; I was feeling my way through the dark. The pressure became intense, leading ultimately to some kind of undiagnosed breakdown. At this point our son was three and I was pregnant with my daughter. For me, building a small studio and rediscovering clay assuaged this difficult time. I had taken classes in ceramics during high school and at UCLA, but without much seriousness.

Now clay helped me get through until the light reappeared in my life. Later, when the kids were two and six, I took a bold step in hiring a sitter so I could go to Cal Berkeley twice a week to work with Peter Voulkos. One day when I was driving home from class, worrying as usual that something might have happened to the kids while I was in class, I realized I was punishing myself for doing something that gave me such satisfaction. Amazingly, few women were continued on page 72

CLAyTIMES·COM n July/August 2006

My self-employed artist husband was very supportive of me and a fabulous help with the children. After a full day of being a stay-at-home mom and fulfilling the requirements of that job, I had another job at night. When my husband got home from his job, we worked at night on constructing our new home.

There wasn’t time or energy for clay.

I’ve never regretted my decision to put clay on hold to raise children. Being at home with children in their early years

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Fluting Methods

by BILL van GILDER

Necessary Supplies • (1) 3-lb. ball of throwing clay • a bat • water and a small sponge • a rib tool • a cut-off wire • a fluting tool • a soft sanding pad Optional: • a trimming tool • an under-cutting stick

1

T

eaching students about decoration can be a major part of any lesson plan. Where and when possible, I like to incorporate the decorating step at the making stage, as in the case of my previous Clay Times article on faceting. The following technique-loaded fluting project is similar.

Like faceting, fluting is about changing the structure of a thrown form; thick & thin walls, creating texture and pattern [Fig. 1]. Note that this project will cause students to be ultra-aware of and sensitive to the condition of their pots through the making process, which will help improve their skills.

During the throwing step, pots will need to be made with thick, ½" cross-sectioned walls. (Half that wall thickness will be cut, or fluted away later.) The fluting must be done while the pots are firm but still soft and pliable—a small window of time.

Making the Form

3 JA06CTFinal.6-16.indd 31

Clean up the form as you would any other pot, and wire it from the bat. Remove the bat from the wheelhead with your form attached, and allow it to dry until the tackiness has disappeared.

Fluting A question often asked by students as the project gets underway is, “Why is it called fluting?”

A good answer would be “The scalloped, vertical lines you might see on a column or pillar which supports the porch roof or portico at the entrance of a bank or museum, are called ‘flutes.’ The decorating technique I’m going to demo is an adaptation, copied to clay, of that Grecian-named architectural element. But the origin of the fluted pot comes from Asia.”

The contemporary version of the technique, as I understand it, comes to us via Bernard Leach, who recognized the beauty of the flute-surfaced Chinese Sung Dynasty and Korean bowls and vases he encountered during his travels to the Far East (see A Potter’s Book, page 4; plates 1 & 2).

Leach wisely noted and illustrated the tools used to flute these wares and his illustrations (see A Potter’s Book, page 109) have led to a modern adaptation of the bamboo tools he has shown us, such as the claytools.com fluting tool pictured at left. [Fig. 3]

CLAyTIMES·COM n July/August 2006

2

Prepare a 3-lb. ball of smooth clay for throwing. Attach a bat to the wheelhead and make a modest, uniformlywalled and somewhat straight-sided bowl or vase form. As mentioned prior, the wall of the form will need to be about ½" thick. Rib the outside of the pot flat and smooth, removing all your fingertip throwing-ridges. Why? Because the fluting tool will follow the contour of the wall as it’s pulled from the rim to the foot during each fluted cut. If the surface is ridged or bumpy, each concave-shaped cut will be bumpy and rolling, distracting the eye from the vertical movement you’re creating.

If you’ve chosen to demo a bowl form, make the ½" thick rim squared and sharp at its outside edge, and softly rounded at the inner edge. If you’ve made a bottle or vase form, the shoulder edge will need to be welldefined [Fig. 2].

In Form I Teaching Techniques

Fine Tuning

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In Form I Teaching Techniques

Our classroom communal tool box contains a couple of fluting tools which students share. (The tools can be purchased from your local clay supply house or through the Clay Times online store at www. claytimes.com.)

Remove your somewhat stiff bowl or vase from its bat, and place it onto an elevated (at eye or shoulder-level), clean, dry, work surface.

Or, to make the fluting step even easier, place the pot on an elevated banding wheel (see how-to article on page 78). Overhang 1/3 of the form beyond the edge of the banding wheel’s flat surface, which will allow you to pull the tool down the wall in one complete movement.

4

CLAyTIMES·COM n July/August 2006

5

6

Position the rounded, convexshaped cutting blade of the tool on top of the sharp-edged outer rim of your bowl, press it firmly against the wall, and slowly pull it to the bottom of the wall. This is the first flute-cutting step [also see Fig. 4]. If the pressured tool dents the wall of your pot during this first cut, stop the demo and allow the form to dry evenly a bit more.

Remove the clay that has gathered on the tool and again place the tool’s blade onto the outside edge of the rim, directly next to your first cut. Overlap the first cut by 1/16" and pull the tool slowly downward.

Slow is important, for two reasons: a misplaced, uneven cut is very difficult, if not impossible, to repair, as is re-cutting. Overlapping the flutes is important, too. The goal is to create a totally scalloped wall surface with no flat exterior wall showing between the flutes. Working carefully will get you there.

Flute completely around the form, joining the last flute to the first.

[Fig. 5].

Finishing After fluting, the form will have a noticeably rough exterior wall surface, or what some potters call “a bit of dog ear” [Fig. 6]. Leave it as is and continue to dry the form until it’s stiff enough to trim or to finish the foot.

When the pot has been trimmed and is bone dry—wearing a dust mask in a properly ventilated area—lightly buff the scalloped surfaces with a hand-held piece of “scrubby pad.” Use a soft-bristled brush or compressed air to remove the dust, then bisque-fire your project.

Glazing offers lots of possibilities. A glaze that “breaks” and flows from the high points of the flutes looks great [see cone 6 recipe for Cream Rust below].

Often, a second glaze dipped over the first adds depth and a lot of visual interest to the busy, but sophisticated-looking, fluted surface. A single-color interior glaze will balance the visually busy exterior. Or dip your leather-hard form into thin slip and, after the slip sets up about 30 minutes later, wipe away the slip from the high flute points. Then bisque-fire and glaze.

Fluting of freshly thrown, wet pots using the same tool is another possibility—and another animal altogether. For details, tune into my next column. [

3!

3!

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O O

.% .%

6% 13%

Bill van Gilder has been a full-time potter and teacher of clay work since the 1960s. He is creator/host of the Throwing Pots DIY Network television series and teaches functional pottery making workshops. He may be reached by email at vangilderpottery@earthlink. net. His new professional potters’ tool line, van Gilder Tools, is now available via the Clay Times online store at www. claytimes.com, or by calling toll-free 1-800-356-2529.

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Clockwise from top left: Covered Jar, 12" x 6" x 6". Gravy boat, 7" x 7" x 6".

Sugar Jar, 8" x 5" x 5". Pitcher, 12" x 7" x 5½". All pieces are

by Jennifer Allen, and are salt-fired porcelain with decals.

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6/16/06 2:09:35 PM

Portrayals of Comfort: The Works of Jennifer Allen

by Mac Ward

Tumblers. 7" x 3½" x 3½". Salt-fired porcelain with decals.

I

f you look closely at the tiniest details of Jennifer Allen’s salt-fired work, you’ll see fine brush strokes in soft nuances of orange, veiled by detailed white floral designs.

Pull back a bit and the subtlety is overtaken by fireworks—boldly colored patterns reminiscent of Japanese textiles depicted by thick, trailed glazes. Still further removed, you can see that the soft orange background is itself a flower. Beyond its border, all two-dimensional frenzy disappears and the viewer’s gaze relaxes to appreciate a single color of smooth glaze enveloping gentle undulations of form.

Even Allen’s forms themselves have floral elements, such as the petal-like rims of her pitchers and plates.

Of course, the daily ritual Allen celebrates with her work requires a home, which is ironic considering her background. The artist’s life is marked by several moves across time zones. Early in her life, Allen’s family moved from Maryland to Alaska. At the University of Alaska, Anchorage, she began coursework for a degree in elementary education, but in her junior year she switched to fine arts after taking her first ceramics class, the year before. In Anchorage, Allen studied under Lisa Conway and Steve Godfrey, and assisted in the studio of Kris Bliss. She was first exposed to salt firing at Peter Bondz’s studio in Bird Creek, AK. “We weren’t allowed to have a salt kiln at the university,” says Allen, “so the students would drive 30 minutes south of Anchorage to fire Peter’s. He was extremely generous with his atmospheric kilns; we (the students) learned a lot from him.”

Allen’s blossoming passion for clay prompted several more long moves. First she went to New York to attend the Rochester Institute of Technology’s School for American Crafts as a studio resident, working with Rick Hirsch and Julia Galloway. One can see similarities in the works of Allen and Galloway, except Allen’s work replaces Galloway’s interest in Persia and the Middle East with an interest in China, Japan, and the Far East. (This may come from her travels in Japan and her relationship with the Japanese artist/professor Shoji Satake, with whom she has worked for several years in America.) A British descendant, Allen also feels her forms relate to medieval English wares. Allen remarks, “I have always had an affinity for Japanese culture. This being said, it makes sense that my work involves a fusion of European and Asian aesthetics.”

Next she went to the Archie Bray Foundation in Montana after being awarded the Eric Myhre Scholarship and summer resident position. There, she studied with resident director Josh DeWeese and fellow residents Rosalie Wynkoop, Tara Wilson, Sandra Trujillo, Jason Walker, and Beth Cavener-Stichter, among others.

Allen then moved to Indiana to earn her MFA at Indiana University in Bloomington,

CLAyTIMES·COM n July/August 2006

Obviously, flowers have a special significance to Allen, as does utility. All the work she makes is functional and intended to enrich meals or hold flowers—things that distinguish home and comfort from the stress and toil of our work lives. Bringing flowers into the house is a way to celebrate the beauty of life and nature, while mealtime offers the chance to set work aside and replenish the body. In the artist’s words, “My work stems from my fascination with physical, emotional, and spiritual nourishment. I am attracted to vases that celebrate flowers and objects that enrich daily ritual.”

“Handmade utilitarian forms are like most relationships: each one allows for an intimate dialogue,” says Allen. “They are personal, demanding, rewarding, and invigorating. They resonate with history, intent, memory, and craft. As romantic a person as I am, I am unable to ‘settle’ for industrially manufactured dishes. There is no ‘gristle’ left in them.”

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ceases to captivate and inspire. An assortment of clay and glaze materials allows me to translate these memories into my work. From deep, glacial-blue glazes and rich, earthy-orange slips to vibrant floral hues and warm winter whites, I am able to celebrate nature’s phenomena in each piece.”

Process Allen makes her pots using a cone 10 porcelain clay body. All the pieces are wheel-thrown and then altered. From sewing she has learned to create her asymmetrical forms with darting (cutting-out or adding pieces of clay to the body of the pot and then ‘stitching’ it all back together, resulting in a new contour). The spouts and pillowed knobs are built from slabs. In the case of the knobs, she seals two slabs together along all edges, except at the place where the knob will meet the lid. She then blows into this unsealed end to inflate the knob before attaching it to the lid.

At the leather-hard stage, Allen paints an orange flashing slip onto the clay and then carves a floral contour line around the applied slip.

After the bisque firing, she creates the boldly colored floral patterns by applying accent glazes with a combination of brushes and slip-trailing bottles. She then waxes over the entire orange region and dips each piece into a desired glaze. The pieces are all fired to cone 10 in an oxidized atmosphere. At cone 10, she introduces a few pounds of salt into the kiln to achieve flashing results.

CLAyTIMES·COM n July/August 2006

Soy Cruet. 6" x 5" x 4½". Salt-fired porcelain with decals.

After each piece has been salt-fired, Allen applies commercial floral decals to the pots, which will create the white floral patterns. Allen says the floral decals are applied much like a window decal for a car. “You soak the decal in water and wait until the image layer releases from its paper backing. Then, it is ready to apply to your piece. Once affixed, you must remove all air bubbles before you can stick it into the kiln and fire it on.”¹ After the decals are applied, Jennifer re-fires her pots to cone 018.

under the instruction of Tim Mather and John Goodheart. This summer she will leave Bloomington to return to the Bray on the Taunt Fellowship. “Displacement is a tough thing to deal with psychologically,” says Allen.

How fitting that an artist who is away from her “Since my personal relationships and physical physical home can recreate that sense of home in settings have changed many times, I have acher work, and express such comfort in soft, pillowy cumulated many cherished memories.” Allen forms and joyous decorations. “My psychological expresses these memories in her work. When sense of home is within myself,” says Allen. “As my asked which of her teachers most directly domestic settings change, I always look inside to influenced her, she responded with an anecDetail of floral decals in white over find comfort.This comfort (or nourishment) is what I dote about the Japanese potter Hamada Shoji: slip and floral patterns brushed in intend to portray through my work ... These portray“Hamada once explained to a collector that it purple glaze. als of ‘comfort’ also act as tools for accessibility. Alwould not give justice to his tea bowl if he did though my work is laden with psychological and emotional experiences, not credit the masters, friends, family, and other things that inspired it is my hope that all viewers can access my pots in a visual and tactile him to make each one. That being said, each school I have attended manner.” [ and every potter I have assisted has directly influenced my work. I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with each individual as 1 they all have had a significant impact on my artistic development.”

Allen buys her decals from INSTAR Enterprises International Inc., tel.

(732) 238-4100; www.instardecals.com (see the “Glass/Low-Fire Decals” So how does such a transient lifestyle result in a body of work with heading). Ceramic decals are also available from Wise Screenprint, tel. such a strong sense of comfort and home? “As far as a physical sense (888) 660-WISE; www.wisescreenprint.com. of home, I consider Alaska to be it. As soon as my family moved to Alaska, I felt at home for the first time in my life,” Allen says. “I gather a lot of inspiration from Alaska’s landscapes. From the awe-inspiring Mac Ward is an aspiring potter from Tacoma, WA. He recently completed a aurora borealis and mid-winter alpenglow to the intensity of glacial BA in Liberal Arts at St. John’s College, Annapolis, MD, and will continue his recession and drama of summer flora, the Alaskan landscape never studies at Penn State University in the fall.

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6/16/06 2:09:59 PM

Coffee Cups. 4½" x 4½" x 3½". Salt-fired porcelain with decals.

CLAyTIMES·COM n July/August 2006

Place Setting. 9" x 11" x 11". Salt-fired porcelain with decals.

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One Plus One Equals…

Three STORY AND PHOTOS by karen freeman

L

RICK BOLEN PHOTO

CLAyTIMES·COM n July/August 2006

Two Bathers. 52" x 21" x 21".

Collaborative work by Tom Collins and Bryan Yancey.

Stoneware wood-fired to cone 10/11.

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Woman’s Torso. 26" x 20" x 2½". Slabbuilt with Yancey’s “Surf Slab” technique.

ike the sculptures and vessels they create, the way in which Bryan Yancey and Tom Collins make art is a testament to their personalities and artistic styles. The collaborative efforts of the two ceramic artists produce outstanding pieces, which illustrate their individual techniques coupled with their unique talent and flair. The artists began collaborating more than 20 years ago when Collins came for a visit and worked in Yancey’s studio. At the time, Collins was mastering traditional table and kitchen pottery and Yancey was throwing and creating large slab work enhanced by surface imagery and relief. Somewhere along the way, Yancey began to enhance Collins’ vessels and the collaboration began.

Collins and Yancey recently juried “Contemporary Clay 2006,” the first biennial juried invitational ceramic exhibition for the Western Colorado Center for the Arts (a.k.a., The Art Center) in Grand Junction, Colorado [sample works from the show appear on page 41]. Open to artists residing in states west of the Continental Divide, the exhibition highlighted the ceramic work of nationally and internationally recognized clay artists, illustrating a variety of ceramic processes, techniques, and approaches.

While at The Art Center for the opening of the exhibition, Collins and Yancey led a workshop entitled, “One Plus One Equals Three.”

The workshop was a demon-

stration of the many ways clay can be approached and manipulated both on and off the wheel, and the infinite possibilities offered by working collaboratively.

Held in one of three galleries of The Art Center, the workshop was well-attended by local members of the center as well as ceramic artists who came from far away.

Collins, a ceramic artist for 40 years, has perfected the skill of centering large amounts of clay, and can quickly create grand sized platters and vessels. He has devised a technique to make larger, multi-sectional pieces that he refers to as 2-up, 3-up, and 4-up pieces. He begins his demonstration by throwing sections weighing 25-35 pounds for vessels that will become 3-4 feet tall.

Since primarily the silhouette of each smaller section determines the ultimate shape of the vessel, careful attention is paid to the measurements and form of each thrown piece. When he is ready to connect the sections, Collins’ specialized method, dubbed the T-groove, comes into play [see photos at bottom of opposite page].

“On the lower receiving lip, I split the lip as close to half as possible,” said Collins. “This yields an uplifted T-groove lip as the finger or finger with sponge splits this fat lip. The lip on the next section is rounded because it wants to nestle tightly in the uplifted T-groove lip. When the connection is made, both the receiving T-groove lip and the entering lip

6/16/06 2:56:21 PM

are soft and sticky, so they can connect instantly as one.

“This connection is thicker than the sections above and below, and can be turned and compressed and thinned as it becomes stiffer, either with time or by torch if time is an issue,” Collins explained. “Usually there is a telltale thickness to the join that I keep to the inside of the piece. I want the form on the outside to flow and not interrupt the eye as it reads the form. I am glad for the curious to understand the method by looking inside the form.”

As he increases the height of the vessel, Collins very methodically smooths and coaches the outside and inside of the vessel until it appears as if it has always been one piece.

While most sides of the vessel are ¾"-1" thick, the rim of the piece, conscientiously made to look bold and sturdy, is 2"3" thick with an unevenness that is demanded by the large scale. This specially devised technique to ensure a close fit between sections exemplifies Collins’ style in the studio.

As in his persona, his work is that of precise, fluid motion, with close attention to detail and resulting in thorough manipulation of the clay. Like the gentle giant he is, Collins’ vessels portray stature and openness. In fashioning ceramic pieces of such large dimension and thickness, Collins’ artistry has created a palette on which Yancey, using his own unique talents as an artist, can now perform his magic.

JA06CTPressFinal.6-28.indd 39

pick as a tool, Yancey outlines the image and then returns to create more definite lines and design. Yancey’s focus has long been the female form, stylistically capturing dance, expressionistic gestures, and movement in his art.

Said Yancey, “I find it intriguing that total strangers come together on the dance floor, conveying intimacy, sometimes never to be shared again.

Throughout history, the dance has conveyed everything from ritual to seduction. My work is about documentation of both historic and primal movements.”

- works, Yancey’s energy As he level intensifies, and he seems to dance his way around the piece on which he’s working.

He exhibits cheerful thoughtfulness and joviality as he creates, and his movements and attitude are personified in what he is doing. Before you know it, his ladies appear to be dancing their way across the vessel. Often entwined and revealing an intimate-yetnon-sexual relationship, these figures portray the motivation of the artist. Once the figures have been “released” from the vessel, Yancey might choose to underglaze portions of his creations, thus adding additional vibrancy to the piece.

Collins smooths his T-groove with a sponge (left), then scores it to prepare for the join.

Collins keeps the upper section attached to its bat until after joining the parts.

CLAyTIMES·COM n July/August 2006

Each piece is made very thickly to provide Yancey plenty of clay in which to draw and carve. Yancey is a sculptor, and as most sculptors do, he studies the piece before beginning his design until he can envision a form in the clay. Once he has established the image he plans to release, he begins to sketch and shape. Working swiftly, usually using an ice

The Blonde. 23" x 4". Wheel-thrown stoneware by Tom Collins; drawing and surface imagery by Bryan Yancey.

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An accurate account of the workshop cannot be made without mention of Yancey’s unique ceramic slab technique.

He begins by placing about 100 pounds of clay on a covered board on the floor.

After placing a sheet over the clay, he compresses it by stepping on it. Once the clay is somewhat compressed, the fun begins. Standing on a wooden board placed on top of the compressed clay, Yancey “surfs” from side to side.

Collins’ large forms are made by stacking and joining various parts together.

Collins compresses the T-groove join.

As he moves the board forward and backward with his feet, the aptly named “walking board” compresses the clay even more, quickly creating a slab. The board should be at least 1" thick so it doesn’t bend or break during the process. Once the slab has reached the desired thickness of 2½"-4", texture is added to the surface by stepping items of common and uncommon design into the slab.

Yancey does not get emotionally attached to a piece until later in the creative process. “When working this thick, you will lose pieces,” he notes. “There is no way around it.” Through construction and subtraction, these slabs are then altered, creating whimsical, stylized depictions of the female form in movement and dance.

CLAyTIMES·COM n July/August 2006

Once the pieces are leather-hard, he carves clay from the back to create slabs that aren’t so heavy and don’t require a long drying time. Just like the personality of the artist, Yancey’s creations express a positive flow of energy coupled with a colorful depiction of life. [

A workshop participant helps Yancey stomp texture into the slab.

Yancey uses an ice pick to draw his designs into Collins’ form.

Yancey compresses the clay with his “walking” board.

Tom Collins lives in Napa, California with his wife and son, and has been a production potter, teacher, and studio artist for nearly 40 years. Brian Yancey, a ceramic sculptor and potter, is a professor and division head at New Mexico State University-Alamogordo.

Author Karen Freeman resides in Lovettsville, VA. In addition to working for Clay Times, she teaches pottery classes to children and works in her own studio (when she has the chance).

After drawing and underglazing decorations, sgraffito carving enhances the design.

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Contemporary Cl ay Workshop leaders Bryan Yancey and Tom Collins (see preceding story) recently juried “Contemporary Clay 2006,” the first biennial juried invitational ceramic exhibition held at The Western Colorado Center for the Arts in Grand Junction, Colorado. The exhibition featured works by 63 selected ceramic artists from across the United States, with approximately 120 works of art on display throughout three galleries at The Art Center. A sampling of works from the show appears on this page. [

Clockwise, from top: Altered Bowl by Peg Malloy.

4" x 9" x 8½". Wood-fired white stoneware. Best in Utilitarian Award.

Indiscriminate Conglomeration

by Tim Wedel. 5½" x 22" diameter. Textural shino on stoneware.

Dah Girls by Sandie Gardner.

3½" x 9" x 7". Porcelain tray with two glasses, salt-fired.

Saint Catherine by Jean Jennings. 11" x 7" x 4".

Porcelain.

Horizon by Steve Schaeffer.

19" x 36" x 6". Wood-fired black stoneware.

Vase by Scott Roberts. 9" x 5".

Stoneware.

CLAyTIMES·COM n July/August 2006

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Predator by Brian Somerville.

33" x 32" x 65". Earthenware, low-fire glaze, resin.

Out of the Pot, Into the Shit. 30" x 18" x 27".

Earthenware and porcelain.

Animal

Confrontations

CLAyTIMES·COM n July/August 2006

By K.T. Anders

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B

rian Somerville has a lot to say.

Don’t be fooled because his clay creatures look like familiar animals—albeit a little ferocious; every detail of these beastly sculptures, from the type of animal to the surface color and treatment, is a carefully thought-out statement.

“I draw from personal experiences both in the present and the past to create beasts that speak about the human condition: specifically, behaviors that seem to cross the line of polite society,” says Somerville. “My work examines

the circumstances that force us to lose control or condone that loss in others. My animal world intertwines my observations and opinions with the complex issues that plague human beings in our modern society.”

Got the message? Just take a look at his pigs. Somerville says his inspiration was the reaction of people to the hurricanes of last year. “You have two weeks to plan for a hurricane,” he says. “But the closer you get to the storm hitting, the worse people treat each other. There are lines for gas and people fight over flashlights

and water. They hoard food and supplies.

The pigs were initially about this feeling—pigs root about for food and really push each other around.”

Or take his lions. “Lions with manes are male and seen as powerful. But these lions are pregnant,” says Somerville.

“I’m comparing them to the feminist movement becoming more powerful in our society. I want to confuse people about gender.”

Somerville may be intent upon sending a message, but he also wants people to

6/16/06 2:11:04 PM

Wind Breeds Chaos. Various sizes; multi-fired earthenware.

You Get What You Vote For. 21" x 19" x 30".

Multi-fired earthenware.

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During the three years of his justcompleted graduate school work at Florida Atlantic University, Somerville made a variety of statements in clay, but eventually used animals as his mouthpiece.

Looking back, it’s no surprise that animals eventually bled through into his artistic process. He grew

up in small, rural Clinton, Indiana, where his father is a practicing veterinarian. “Animals and their behavior, and the dangers in predicting it, are familiar ground to me,” he says. “I learned more about the world by going on house calls with my father than any class or lecture could have provided.”

The catalyst that sent him into the clay animal world was a pair of eagles, minor figures that he created in a “failed” piece about DNA enhancement and sports.

“In my first two years of graduate school, my work consisted of an endless list of social and political issues, and some of my ideas were too abstract,” he confesses. “The decorative birds in this piece were full of personality and spunk. They represented the beginning of two major changes in my work—working solid and using animal forms to portray a deeper meaning. I’m inspired by events and try to make an animal that fits that initial idea.”

CLAyTIMES·COM n July/August 2006

see his pieces as clay sculpture. He always knew he would be an artist, but it wasn’t until he studied with Les Miley and later Mark Schoenbaum and Nel Bannier at the University of Evansville in southern Indiana that he knew clay would be his medium of choice. “The main reason I work in clay is for the moment of excitement—that moment when it turns from a lump of material into something more and I can start to see a form emerge,” he says. “Clay is limitless; I can manipulate it to do anything I want, and it allows me to add and subtract mass with seamless results.

It gives my work a raw quality.”

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Building Solid

Monkey Biz. 64" x 32" x 35".

Earthenware, wood, metal.

In case you missed it in the previous paragraph, Somerville works solid, using 300 to 500 lbs. of clay to start each sculpture. Inspiration came from Beth Cavener-Stichter, whom he saw work at the Baltimore NCECA Conference in March of 2005.

“After seeing her work, I realized it was possible to build a solid piece and hollow it out,” he says.

“Her method of working with animal forms has influenced my work technically and conceptually more than that of any other artist.”

Building solid allows Somerville to change the piece as he goes. “If I want to change the head, I can cut it off and stick on another piece of clay,” he says. “If I used coil or slab [construction], a change like that might compromise the integrity of my sculpture. This way I can focus on the figure—and I can build things a lot faster. I think the pieces have a lot more life to them.”

Using a peanut shape for the body, Somerville usually begins with the base and the spine, perhaps using pugged coils for legs, then adds the head. Armatures and wooden rods give strength as he works. “I try to get most of the animal in relative scale so I can see what the gesture is going to look like,” explains Somerville. “Then I go in and aggressively tear away and add clay until I get the right width. I’d probably compare it more to digging clay out of a pug mill than sculpting a piece.”

You Get What You Vote For. Various sizes; multi-fired earthenware.

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Power Shift. 42" x 19" x 30" and 40" x 22" x 29". Earthenware, low-fire glaze.

goal is to produce unrealistic beasts clothed in unrealistic colors that give a very realistic feeling of confrontation.”

abrasive,” he says. “My work is obnoxious, in your face, and wears its emotions on its sleeve.

It’s all about the potential to lose control.”

Surface treatment is another part of his message. For example, the pigs are blue to give them a cold feeling. “They don’t care about anyone around them and they’re supposed to look like they’re starving, even though they are fat,” he notes. He fires to cone 02, but to layer colors he refires up to three times to temperatures between cones 04 and 08. Sometimes he dry-brushes oil paint on top.

Rubber balls act as place savers in the eye sockets. When the piece is finished, he casts eyes out of a polymer resin, then sands, paints, and re-coats them with another layer of resin. “The contrast of the rough animal forms with smooth, glossy eyes encourages eye contact,” says Somerville. “It produces an exchange of attention and respect between the viewer and the animals, and raises questions of predator and prey. The ultimate

“I have developed all my glazes by changing the colorants in a few different base glazes,” he explains. “I don’t glaze that often because it takes me so long to finish a piece, so I typically mix small amounts of the glazes for each individual piece.”

Whew! These sculptures really make you think. But actually, Somerville says he doesn’t care if people get his specific message. He wants them to bring their own experience and interpretation to the work. “I want to show that humans and animals are closer than we would like to think, especially in terms of our behavior,” he says. “We react to situations with raw animal instinct every day. If my work can persuade just one person who is in some situation to sit back and think about the repercussions of his or her aggression, then I have succeeded as an artist.” [

JA06CTFinal.6-16.indd 45

Although Somerville’s work is aggressive, he says his personality is actually the opposite.

“I’m quiet, reserved, and shy, and I’m not very

Brian Somerville can empire2go@aol.com.

be

reached

at

K.T. Anders, a regular contributor to Clay Times, is a professional writer and potter who resides in Upperville, Virginia.

CLAyTIMES·COM n July/August 2006

The focus is on the intensity of each figure, and Somerville calls it a “very chaotic time, usually accompanied with loud, energetic music that keeps me working in feverish spontaneity.” Once the sculpting is complete, he cuts the piece—sometimes in as many as 30 parts—and hollows them out, reattaching by scoring with slip. “This part of the process is very important because it is a calming time in my studio,” he notes. “In contrast to sculpting, the hollowing process is slower, reserved for contemplation of surface treatments, presentation, and my next piece.” It can take him a week to hollow out an animal.

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Buying a Slab Roller

by JENNA McCRACKEN

There are some underlying mechanical principles to consider before committing to a particular model of slab roller, to find just the right fit for your studio.

CLAyTIMES·COM n July/August 2006

The North Star 24" (wide) Standard Slab Roller Package, pictured with optional accessories: bottom shelf can support up to 600 pounds of clay or glaze materials; left end, “Bucket Wing”—an extension with a removable circle in the center which, when removed, exposes a cavity that exactly holds a 5-gallon bucket; right end, “Blank Wing”—adds to available workspace. Both wings fold down against the legs when not in use.

In a fraction of the time it takes to roll a mass of clay into a slab with a rolling pin, a slab roller can produce a consistent, well-compressed sheet of clay while requiring far less effort on the part of the user. A variety of these useful machines are now available—from small, portable models to large-scale table units.

1. Slab Size

Three Considerations

First, determine a width of slab that will accommodate the requirements of your work. Then add an extra 2" to that width.

When you allow an extra inch on either side of a slab, you’ll avoid a potential mess in the machine if the clay widens when rolled. Common roller widths range from 14"-18" for the smallest models and portable slab rollers, to between 14" and 40" for full-size machines. Some companies even manufacture models outside of this range upon special request.

When the goal is to produce a slab of superior integrity, compression is key. The ability to achieve that goal by sending a mass of clay through a slab roller in a single pass is a critical consideration and will help to minimize warping and cracking. With this in mind, consider your particular needs.

Next, consider the length of the finished slab. Theoretically, a slab roller can roll a slab of infinite length. However, to meet practical working needs, determine whether the size of the table at the output end of the machine is large enough, factoring in several extra inches for maneuvering. Many machines

Before You Buy:

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may be purchased without tables, while others are offered with table options of various lengths. Where studio space is limited, there are alternatives. Some machines on the market are mounted on short tables that can butt up against longer tables of the same height when in use, and easily be moved out of the way if needed. Others have wings that may be raised for use and lowered for storage. Small tabletop models are also available, and some of the relatively newer, portable slab rollers are easily disassembled and packaged for frequent transportation. They are especially ideal for moving between classrooms or studios, for demos or workshops, or where space is very limited.

You’ll also need to consider slab thickness. Some machines do not have adjustable rollers, but rather use a shim system. Adding or removing Masonite® boards varies the thickness of the slab. On other models, vertical movement of the upper roller on a dual roller system (by means of a crank or knob) varies the distance between rollers, and likewise the slab thickness.

2. Workload Ask yourself whether you will need occasional slabs or require a certain quantity on a daily basis. The mechanics of machines vary, and while lighter-duty models may be more appropriate for some budgets, professional machines offer more features and a higher grade of mechanical parts. Several slab roller manufacturers go to great lengths to tailor equipment to meet different rigors of application, and pricing is affected accordingly.

3. Physical Effort Required to Operate the Machine

The Bailey DRDII series (model DRDII-30 shown here, mounted on the short table) can be butted up against other tables of the same height when in use, and is easily moved out of the way otherwise. This series uses a dual roller drive system equipped with mechanical reduction at the drive shaft.

According to Jim Bailey, president and chief designer of Bailey Pottery Equipment Corporation, there are six main factors that influence how much effort will be required for a given slab roller to roll a given amount of clay.

Many combinations of these six variables are possible.

1) Leverage from round operating handles, spokes, or cranks: Some machines use a simple crank with a handle to turn the rollers. Others use a 4-spoke handle or a round wheel. In each case, it is this turning device that supplies leverage to the machine.

2) Reduction ratio: Mechanical reduction ratios make rolling a slab much easier. By using a small drive gear meshed into a larger gear (or sprockets doing the same) within the drive train (between the operating crank and roller shaft), more turning of the crank is required to complete a single revolution of the roller. More turns of the crank per single roller revolution makes slabbing easier.

The single roller cable drive system, exclusive to AMACO/Brent, is illustrated here in the SR series (this is the model SR-14). The cable (not visible) wraps around the drive shaft (mounted under the table) and propels the carriage from left to right.

The cable drive system provides mechanical reduction, making slabbing easier—as does the fact that the roller itself is mounted in top-quality bearings.

CLAyTIMES·COM n July/August 2006

Leverage is created by the distance from where the user holds the operating crank to where it is attached to the center shaft.

The greater that distance, the easier the operation. Most operating cranks have at least 12" of leverage from shaft to handle, while others have as much as 17" of leverage. The leverage at the handle becomes more crucial as the width of the roller increases.

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3) Diameter of the working roller: Diameter of the rollers typically ranges from 1"-4". A single revolution of a 11/8" diameter roller produces a 3½" projection of slab; a 2½" diameter roller produces a 79/10" slab; and a 4" diameter roller produces a 123/5" slab. Consider that the greater the diameter of the roller, the more the need for mechanical reduction ratios.

4) Width of the rollers: The width of the roller plays an important role in the effort required to operate the machine. When the slab is wider, more load is placed on the roller, and more effort is required to turn the crank.

The tabletop AMACO/Brent Mini SRC features the single roller cable drive system, visible in the smaller models as the figure-8 configuration wrapped around the roller and the shaft under the table. The cable serves both to pinch the roller and shaft together, providing compressive force to both sides of the slab, and to propel the roller left to right across the table. Shims are added to or removed from the table bed to vary slab thickness.

5) Height of the mass of feed clay vs. the finished slab: Not all machines are mechanically capable of rolling large, thick amounts of clay. Obviously it is more difficult to roll a 3/8" slab from a 2" thick mass of clay than to roll a 3/8" slab from a 1" mass. Only the most professional machines can handle the job in a single pass. These are equipped with large operating cranks and mechanical reduction, in proper balance with the roller diameter.

With a hobby machine, the user may have to roll the clay multiple times through the machine to achieve the desired slab thickness, or alternatively, ensure that the feed clay is not much thicker than the finished slab.

6) Density of the clay: We know that soft clay is easier to roll than stiff clay. The density of the feed clay has enormous bearing on how high the user may pile it. Whatever the consistency, pounding the feed clay together can be essential to prevent cracks and weak joints.

From the Bailey DRDII series, this dual roller drive system has mechanical reduction at the drive shaft, making the operating handle easier to turn when under a load. It features 30" wide rollers mounted on a 6' dual level table. The feed counter is lower than the slab counter, facilitating easy grasp of clay and canvas by the rollers.

Direct drive vs. mechanical reduction: Here is an important fact to remember about effort as it relates to operating crank and roller diameter: Some machines are “direct drive,” which means the operating crank is attached directly to the shaft of the bottom roller (no gearing or sprockets). Every turn of the operating crank equals a turn of the roller. If the roller is 11/8" in diameter, a full revolution of the crank will equal 3½" of finished linear slab. If the diameter of the roller is 2½", the finished slab will be 7 9/10" long.

The 2½" roller produces twice as much slab with a single revolution, but requires twice as much force to roll. However, if instead of direct drive, the same 2½" roller had mechanical reduction that changed the ratio—making it so that a 4" slab would be projected by a single turn of the crank—the load would be cut in half.

Different Styles Single Roller with Cable Drive

CLAYTIMES·COM ■ JULY/AUGUST 2006

How will you use your slab roller?

“A few small, thin slabs for doll parts once every few weekends and large, heavy, architectural work 10 hours a day, six days a week, are two very different things. A few shortcomings in the former slab roller can probably be tolerated. The latter machine had better work smoothly, work right, and be easy to use—every single time.”

—Bob Creighton, North Star Equipment

The single roller cable drive system is exclusive to Brent. It differs from the dual roller systems in that one roller moves down the length of the table to form a slab. The user walks the length of the table while turning the operating crank. The drive mechanism consists of two steel cables, which incorporate a reduction system to make rotation easier. The cables are secured to either end of the table and wrap around a drive shaft, which is attached to the operating crank and is located under the table. Slab thickness is varied by adding or removing Masonite® shims to increase or decrease the gap through which the clay rolls, between the roller and the tabletop.

On the smaller Brent models, the cable squeezes the upper roller and lower shaft together, providing the compression necessary to make a slab of sound integrity, as well as propelling the two from left to right. The larger Brent rollers are mounted in bearings on a moving carriage that rides on steel tracks to keep the roller aligned. continued on page 50

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A Sampling of Slab Rollers Manufacturer & Web address

Model(s)

Table Dimensions W x L x H (inches)

Roller width/ thickness

Standard Accessories

AMACO/Brent

MSRP (for

Mini SRC (portable)

31" x 26" x 14"

14" / ¾"

Crank handle, shims, canvas

$400

SR-14

27" x 52" x 40"

14" / 1¾"

Round handle, shims, canvas; leg set additional

$1460

(dim. to top of round handle)

36" / 7/8"

Round handle, shims, canvas

$2500

Blue Heron (portable)

23" x 27" x 8"

16" / ¾"

Crank handle, shims, canvas

$289

Rolling Thunder

30" x 52" x 40"

30" / 2¾"

Round handle and table (also available without table), canvas

$599

standard package)

(American Art Clay Company, Inc.)

www.amaco.com

(dim. to top of round handle)

SR-36

Axner Pottery Supply www.axner.com

49" x 76" x 40"

(dim. to top of round handle)

Bailey Pottery Equipment Corporation www.baileypottery.com

Ceramic Supply www.7ceramic.com

Mini Might (portable)

20" x 24" x 6"

16" / ¾"

Crank handle, shims, canvas

$299

Basic 30 outfit

30" x 52" x 34"

30" / 1½"

Round handle and table (also available without table), canvas

$650 (package)

DRDII-30 (with 6' table)

30" x 70" x 34"

30" / 1½"

4-spoke handle and 6' table (also available with round handle, shorter tables, and without table), canvas

$1311

Crank handle, shims, leg set, $595 canvas

(dim. to top of round handle)

30" / 2¾"

Round and crank handles, table, canvas

$750

SR-30

30" x 51" x 36"

30" / 3"

Round and crank handles, table, canvas

$650

North Star Equipment, Inc. www.northstarequipment.com

Porta-Roller

18" x 48" x 12"

18" / 2¼"

Crank handle, tabletops, canvas

$499.95

30" Standard Package

30" x 48" x 36"

30" / 2¼"

Round handle, 4' table (also available without table), canvas

$949.75

30" Super Package

30" x 72" x 36"

30" / 2¼"

Round handle, 6' table (also available with longer table and without table), canvas

$1575

22" x 50" x 40" (dim. to top of round handle)

30" x 30" x 42"

(portable)

Preparing to Buy: The table above offers a sampling of currently available slab rollers. Several of the companies listed offer not only a wider range of models, but also some options for customizing them. The MSRP column lists retail prices suggested by the manufacturer. These prices change over time due to competitive pressures and fluctuating materials costs. Check manufacturer Web sites and local distributors for size, special sales, and in-depth product information.

CLAyTIMES·COM n July/August 2006

22" / ¾"

CSR22

CSR30

Euclid’s Choice www.euclids.com

(check online for sale prices)

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Dual Roller Systems Clay is compressed as it moves through two fixed rollers, mounted one above the other and rotating in opposed directions, effecting a pinching action. This pinching draws the mass into the rollers and pushes out the finished slab. The machine is always stationary; only the slab moves down the table. North Star and Bailey build various versions of this style. Some machines are direct drive, while others have mechanical reduction—which may be accomplished by use of gears or sprockets. Gears are made of various materials (nylon, aluminum, or steel).

The two rollers are interconnected: The bottom roller is turned directly by the operating handle, while the top roller (the “driven” roller) turns through a linkage to the bottom roller. There are two ways designers have linked the rollers together. In the first, a simple gear train transfers lower roller rotation to the top roller. In the second method, toothed gears, called sprockets, intermesh with the links of a chain—not unlike those used in bicycles.

(Note that this gear train is not the same as what may be used to produce reduction.)

Setting slab thickness on a Bailey slab roller involves turning one knob that raises and lowers the entire upper roller. The height adjustment scale makes measurements easy to read, allowing precise adjustment.

The rollers are set at a user-specified distance apart, determining the thickness of the slab exiting the output end. Adjustment is made by turning a knob or crank located on the top of the machine.

Roller surfaces are textured in order to grip the canvas and to help pull it through. (Clay should always be sandwiched in canvas and should not make actual contact with the roller surface.) Some rollers have a knurled surface—a coarse diamond pattern cut directly into the metal—while others have a fine-textured, non-skid, epoxy coated surface.

There is an inexpensive dual roller machine on the market, designed by Bailey, that uses Masonite® shims to vary slab thickness. Shims are added and removed, varying the gap between the two rollers, and actually travel through the rollers with clay and canvas.

Systems for Heavy Work

CLAyTIMES·COM n July/August 2006

The drive board process, designed and patented by Jim Bailey, involves a machine very similar to the other dual roller system. In this case, a ¾" thick drive board is added to the process. The board is the width of the roller and 48" long. It has a canvas attached to the lead end and urethane rubber adhered to the underside for contact with the textured bottom roller. The drive board goes through the machine with the clay and canvas. (Note: The board is not a shim added for height: its purpose is to project the slab. The height is still adjusted by the upper roller.) The drive board process was designed for architectural constructions that require extremely thick slabs. Without the drive board, thick slabs will stall shortly after exiting the rollers, due to their extreme weight. The drive board solves this problem by keeping the heavy slabs moving as they exit the rollers.

Another model also suited to extremely heavy applications is a slab roller outfitted with electric drive. A real asset for the high-production studio, these can produce large numbers of slabs with little effort thanks to a remote control “pusher bar” that advances the clay into the rollers. [ The gear train of North Star’s Standard Series, illustrating roller interconnectedness on a dual roller system: The first and last gears in the chain are attached to the shafts of the rollers, with intermediary gears completing the chain. Note that this gearing is not the same as is used for mechanical reduction.

Special thanks to Jim Bailey (Bailey Pottery Equipment Corporation) for contributing to this article; and to Bob Creighton (North Star Equipment) and John Niehaus (AMACO/Brent) for consultation on the mechanics of slab rollers in general.

Jenna McCracken is a Clay Times staff writer and potter who lives in Alexandria, Virginia.

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Earth, Surrealism, & Marketing by h. john johnsen

After more than a decade of traditional marketing, Jeff Brown now enjoys the advantages of bringing his gallery sales to the Internet.

J

eff Brown has been designing and making pottery for more than 20 years and has created some fascinating designs of functional ware. It all started before high school with his sister’s terra-cotta figure sculptures. “I admired what she created with the clay and how it looked. I also liked the earthy smell and the smooth texture in my hands.”

However, in high school Brown decided he was going to be an artist and not a potter. He was fascinated with the work of Dali and Escher, and wanted to create totally original works. Yet he decided that he would benefit from getting his skill honed on the wheel, even if he didn’t plan on becoming a potter.

Of course, this changed when he went on a field trip to Jug Town Pottery in Seagrove, North Carolina. “I watched how masterfully Vernon Owens made a simple pot in a matter of seconds during a demonstration for our class. That demonstration changed my thoughts about potters, my life with clay, and throwing clay on a wheel.”

“I have a deep respect for Sung Dynasty pottery,” said Brown. “The forms are powerful in their design, and the

Brown worked in several shops and learned different techniques before accepting a job in New Hampshire making traditional New England slip-trailed, salt-glazed pottery. He then began learning every part of making pottery and the business of selling pottery.

New Hampshire potter Jeff Brown creates his work in the “Lanney Pelletier taught me how 19th-century horse barn he has transformed into a studio. to fire a gas kiln and let me use his resources,” said Brown. “He the best possible designs for his own also gave me invaluable advice on work. Of course, a dark cellar was not business and design which has helped necessarily a place that enhanced me to this day in my own business.” creativity, so when a retail studio and shop became available, he jumped at For ten years, Brown threw productionthe opportunity. With the help of some designed items and helped new potters friends he opened Jeff Brown Pottery. learn shapes for this line of turn-ofthe-century reproduction stoneware.

Slowly, he became interested in doing Brown’s first studio was a stone-floored craft shows. He started making bowls, 18th-century barn in New England. The vases, and mugs in his basement studio, shop used to be the Northwood Garage for repairing Model Ts. His current studio while still keeping his job at the New is located on Route 202 in Northwood, Hampshire salt-glazed pottery factory.

NH, a rural community with antique After growing more confident with his and craft shops. Originally a horse barn built in the 1800s, it was converted into a work, Brown decided to enter some pottery studio by Brown. “There is much juried art exhibitions. This led to the more room in this studio than in my realization that he should be creating

CLAyTIMES·COM n July/August 2006

Another inspiration of Brown’s was George Guine. Guine, an American potter from Japan, taught Brown the honor and beauty of useful functional pots from the Japanese perspective, and also introduced him to ash glazes.

decorations fit the form in a very thoughtful way. The carved porcelain shows me that the right glaze can bring out the most subtle impressions in the clay. The beauty of simple serving pieces is what I prefer to create.”

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first one, and I live a close 30 or so seconds away—more time to spend with my clay and creativity.” He throws on a Brent C, an old Creative Industries, and four Shimpo wheels, both old and new. He also has a pug mill which processes the clay by homogenizing and compressing it into bars ready for throwing. His work as a production potter gave him the chance to develop his own special way of distorting wheel-thrown pots by paddling, squeezing, rolling, and otherwise reforming them into the desired shapes. This transforms the wheel-thrown pot into a more freeform shape.

“Texture is a very important part of my work,” said Brown, “and using nature to decorate my work [produces forms] that people will want to touch and feel. I use a variety

Top left: Hexagonal Bottle. 6" x 4" x 4". Thrown, altered, and textured stoneware with shino-glazed accents, wood-fired to cone 11 in an anagama.

Bottom left: Chalice. 8" x 4" x 4". Thrown, altered, and faceted stoneware, wood-fired to cone 11 in an anagama. Seashell-impressed textured design.

Bottom right: Urn for the Sea. 12" x 11" x 10". Thrown and altered stoneware textured with seashell impressions, wood-fired to cone 11 in an anagama. Natural ash glazing deposits result from the firing process.

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Charlie Frieberg

Ripple. 14" x 13" x 13". Slab-built stoneware, wood-fired to cone 10.

Brown made this wall sculputure at Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts in Maine.

of tools and found objects to create the textural impressions in my pottery.” His glazes and firing methods highlight these textures, and Brown has come to prefer wood firing over gas reduction. “The wood firing gives my pieces highlights and textures I couldn’t achieve using gas reduction. I like the way the flame wraps around and caresses my pieces.”

Much of his design influence comes from the sea. “I lived near the ocean and spent a lot of time on the beach. The surfaces of scallop shells have had influence in my design textures. I have always had a lot of passion for water and what’s below the surface.”

Benefits of a Web Presence Brown’s marketing philosophy is to make his work the star attraction of his Web site. He likes to think of his Web site as a fine art/craft show

Recent technological advances now make building Web sites easier and quicker than when Brown first designed his site. For instance, digital photography makes it easier to get pictures onto your computer.

This is an important way for viewers to see your work, so be sure your photographs are of high quality and are focused and well lit. Although paper photos can still be scanned onto the computer, digital images provide better quality in terms of viewing photos online.

“I like to think of my Web site as an online billboard that hundreds of people pass each day on their surfing excursions. [It is] a marketing tool that promotes my work in places that I would never be able to show my work, to the thousands of people online looking for pottery or even pottery classes,” Brown said. “Actually, the most effective use of my Web site has been for promoting my classes, workshops, and retail gallery. Of course, I do have links to other craftsmen and Web

CLAyTIMES·COM n July/August 2006

The kiln he uses is a 60-cu.-ft. combination propane-fired downdraft gas kiln/crossdraft wood kiln convertible. Brown’s favorite glaze is shino because of its buttery smoothness and iridescence. “I like the way the colors change from whites to beige, orange, reds and grays.” It also complements his second favorite, which is ash glaze. Of course the ash glaze is a little trickier and Brown likes to measure his ash glaze by volume and not by weight. “I am not fond of the idea of weighing out the chemicals to the precise milligrams. I don’t think it works well for me.” [See “Great Glazes” on page 51 for Brown’s basic glaze formula.]

that is open 24 hours a day. “The artist’s statement is also an important tool to let the Web site visitor learn more about who you are and how you develop your designs.” The main thing is to first get the site up and running, then work out the bugs. The longer the site is visible for people to see, the sooner it will produce results. “It took a year and a lot of time on the computer [to develop the] Web site, [including] listing with search engines and establishing link exchanges. Of course, I also handed out business cards to anyone who would take one,” he explained. Brown’s Web site has generated online and in-shop sales while promoting his workshops and demonstrations, too.

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Charlie Frieberg

Stoneware Amphora. 10" x 7" x 7".

Wheel-thrown and textured stoneware with shino and green matte glazes. Gasfired to cone 10 in reduction.

Handled Bowl. 4" x 13" x 13". Thrown, textured, soda-glazed, and wood-fired to cone 11.

CLAyTIMES·COM n July/August 2006

rings, which is a way to showcase others on your site while they showcase you on theirs. Another way to reach people is through cooperative advertising. I receive more visitors to my studio as a result of my Web presence.”

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Search engines and links to other craftsmen are important to your Web site, so be sure they reciprocate for your site. Brown’s site also contains another great marketing tool—gift certificates.

These can generate a lot of sales by making it easier for visitors not to have to choose a gift that a friend might not like. A gift certificate is a quick way of making an easy sale for your business.

Brown also uses local organizations to promote his work. “I belong to a group

of League of New Hampshire Craftsmen members that publishes a map of the state for its annual studio tour. This helps visitors find our shops easily and promotes our businesses.”

He teaches pottery classes in Fundamentals of Wheel Working, Intermediate Wheel Working, and Raku and Pit Firing at the New Hampshire Institute of Art. He is a juried member of the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen and the American Crafts Council, and is a past president of the New Hampshire Potters Guild. He has displayed his work in the Currier Museum of Art, which highlighted the potters and ceramic artists of New England, and at an invitational and juried show in the Cedar Creek Pottery and Gallery. [

Tokkuri and Guinomi (sake bottle & cups). 6" x 4" x 4" and 2" x 2½" x 2½".

Wheel-thrown and faceted stoneware, shino-glazed & wood-fired to cone 11.

Jeff Brown can be reached via e-mail at jeff@jeffbrownpottery.com or visit his Web site at jeffbrownpottery.com to see his clay creations.

6/16/06 2:12:02 PM

Rob’s Transparent Base

Shocking Pink-Purple ê

Cone 10 salt/oxidation

é

furnished by Jennifer Allen

Custer Feldspar Silica Borax Grolleg Porcelain Whiting Dolomite Bentonite TOTAL

34% 23 14 11 11 5 2 100%

add stains for desired colors, 5-20%.

Custer Feldspar Barium Carbonate Zinc Oxide EPK Silica TOTAL “I use this [Shocking Pink glaze] as a trailing glaze on the exterior only. The Coffee Carafe (pictured above) has this glaze used as a trailed pattern over the orange flashing slip.”

— Jennifer Allen

American Shino

Ash Glaze ê

Cone 10-12 reduction

furnished by Jeff Brown (measured in parts by volume)

Unwashed Hardwood Ash Clay or Kaolin Whiting Feldspar

5 parts

é

Cone 10-11 reduction

furnished by Jeff Brown

Nepheline Syenite F-4 Soda Feldspar Spodumene Ball Clay Soda Ash Local Red Clay TOTAL

For green, add 3% to 4% Copper Carbonate

46.3% 13.9 15.7 13.9 5.6 4.6 100.0%

Jeff adds up to 8% more Local Red Clay as needed.

35% 40 15 5 5 100%

add Nickel carbonate

3%

Orange Flashing Slip Cone 10 salt/oxidation furnished by Jennifer Allen Helmar Porcelain Grolleg Porcelain Nepheline Syenite

70% 10 20

TOTAL 100%

éé Should be suitable for functional and decorative/sculptural pottery. è Questionable for use on functional pottery.

Test thoroughly before using. ê Limit to use on decorative/sculptural work.

CLAyTIMES·COM n July/August 2006

TOTAL

1 part 1 part 1 part 2 parts

Cone 10 salt/oxidation

furnished by Jennifer Allen

Readers Share I Glaze & Slip Recipes

Great Glazes

Share your glaze with us!

If it’s published, you’ll earn a FREE Clay Times T-shirt!

Send glaze recipes, photo of glaze (if you have one), and your T-shirt size to: Great Glazes, c/o Clay Times, PO Box 365, Waterford, VA 20197.

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Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts and Sciences

Art Centers: The other education arena

by JOHN BRITT

C

CLAyTIMES¡COM n July/August 2006

eramics has a long history of oral education that has evolved throughout the years. It began with potters passing down the trade within a tribe or family, then evolved into the apprenticeship system that included people outside the family who were chosen because of interest, talent, or ability to pay. Ceramics training later expanded to trade schools specifically for crafts, as well as into the university system. Alongside the formal systems, the instructional workshop emerged as a short-term, inexpensive way to pass on craft knowledge. But today, perhaps some of the most unsung yet ubiquitous venues for ceramic education are the hundreds of local art centers across the country.

Three Roots by Mark Walnock. 18" x 17" x 36". Stoneware with bronze engobe, textured glaze, and kiln wash with green Mason stain, fired to cone 6 in oxidation.

Wheel-thrown bowl

by Lynne Berman.

Local art centers have often been dismissed as second-rate centers where blue-hairs make slipcast Santas fired with commercial glazes and accented with gold luster.

But that is far from the case these days.

Local art centers are coming into their own with the retirement of the baby boomers.

More and more people are flocking to these art centers to take a wide variety of classes ranging from dance to ceramics. Ceramics classes such as throwing, handbuilding, and sculpture are often the most popular and the first to fill. Such demand has allowed the centers to hire first-rate instructors and to buy excellent equipment including a variety of kilns, used for everything from raku to wood firing. In turn, the programming is becoming more interesting to satisfy the increasingly sophisticated clientele. To augment programming at art centers, specialized presenters are often brought in for weekend or week-long workshops. These centers are quickly becoming the bedrock of ceramics education in the United States.

People of all ages and from all walks of life come together in a stimulating and supportive community, making these local art centers diverse and dynamic places to learn ceramics. Some folks are looking to relieve stress from their hectic lives, while others are seeking a career change. Still others are retired and have always wanted to try ceramics, but because of their busy careers and families were unableto do so.

All enjoy a safe and fun atmosphere of dis-

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covery without the commitment of a degree program, pressure of deadlines, or unwanted assignments. These students may then stay at the center and develop at their own pace for many years, move on to a community college or university, or even set up shop for themselves.

As a self-taught potter, I have a fondness for local community art centers because that is where I was able to work and teach as I honed my craft. When I lacked the means to furnish my own studio, the centers provided me with the equipment, expertise, and time I needed to go out on my own. Without them and the tremendous support they provided, I would have had a much tougher time developing the necessary skills and acquiring the knowledge I needed to move on to making my living with clay.

Last summer, I taught a workshop at one such art center called the Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts and Sciences, located in Loveladies, New Jersey—a busy haven for both summer and winter visitors. I was impressed by the strength and diversity of their curriculum; in particular, their ceramics program. Established in 1948 as a non-profit institution by artist Boris Blai to provide arts and educational opportunities for the island community, the center is set on a peaceful section of the beautiful southern NJ coast. The foundation demonstrates its deep commitment to providing access to the arts and arts education for both young and old alike with an after-school arts education program for nine area schools, as well as an artist residency and retreat program for NJ artists. The program also includes visiting ceramic artists during the summer season, as well as special ceramic scholarships.

Rather than being what some call dabblers, these clay artists are excelling in their craft. Many are selling work at area galleries and craft fairs. Others are entering and being selected for local and national juried shows, and are even winning prizes for their work.

One potter at the Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts and Sciences, Lynne Berman, has been in several national juried shows, including “Endless Variation–Shino Review 2005” at Baltimore Clayworks and “The New Jersey Shore National” at the M.T. Burton Gallery. Other artists have won awards, including Zee Jay Greenspan, Pat Voss, Diane Miller, Maria Siskin, and Lynne Berman.

Vessel with Grape Vine by Lauren Bellero. 18” x 10” x 7”.

Thrown, altered, and textured white stoneware. Pit-fired.

The Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts and Sciences is representative of Perugia by Maria Siskin. 2" x 2" x 11".Thrown, combined, altered, a trend in local and carved porcelain, with cone 6 clear glaze and underglazes. art centers, which are no longer a last resort for those seeking a quality ceramics experience. They provide excellent facilities and programming that are continually evolving to serve the needs of their clientele, both old and young. The ladies (and Mark) of Loveladies are proving that the traditional route of the university system is not the only way to a fulfilling ceramics education and a second career. The Long Beach group of potters is quietly, or not so quietly, forcing us to rethink what a local art center can be.

Pictured on these pages are sample works by students at the Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts and Sciences. To locate a community pottery class near you, see the listings on pages 73-76. [

John Britt is a studio potter who resides in Bakersville, NC, and is author of The Complete Guide to High-Fire Glazes.

Jar II by Diane Miller. 5" x 5" x 8".

Wheel-thrown earthenware with iron glaze.

CLAyTIMES·COM n July/August 2006

Here, I discovered a wonderful group of talented and dedicated potters whose creativity and quest for knowledge is insatiable. Primarily a group of retirees, these former teachers, housewives, doctors, and other professionals are now dedicated potters. Younger potters also take classes during the day and work jobs like waiting tables in the evening. Other young potters may take night and Saturday

classes, which are much cheaper than the ones at local colleges. All the students are constantly refining their skills and learning new techniques.

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Resources I Do it Yourself

Creating an Adjustable Banding Wheel Tower

BY MIKE HARRISON

D

uring a workshop I attended at the Cub Creek Foundation for Ceramic Arts in Appomattox, Virginia, Silvie Granatelli and Donna Polseno demonstrated their skills with thrown and slab-built pieces. Silvie explained she threw standing up to minimize back pain, but she wished there was a way to adjust the banding wheel to any height desired for trimming, altering, and carving.

As a fellow potter with nine fused vertebrae, I empathized as I watched her balance a banding wheel on top of a box of clay. I knew there must be a way to raise and lower the wheel to any height and position anywhere in the studio, whether the banding wheel is used for altering, brushing glaze, or spraying.

CLAyTIMES·COM n July/August 2006

Over the years, I have built quite a few nifty gadgets for my studio and learned you can build almost anything out of PolyVinyl-Chloride (PVC) pipe. For this project, numerous parts and schedule 40 PVC drain-waste-vent pipes were used. PVC is easy to cut and drill, and is joined with a special PVC cement that is extremely strong. This project goes together quickly with minimal skill. For just over two hours of work and $28 in materials, you will never have to bend over the banding wheel again!

Supplies Needed 2 PVC toilet flanges 2 PVC 3" x 2" reducers (1) 1¼" x 2" PVC bushing (4) 1¼" PVC couplings 1 PVC 2" schedule 40 Drain-Waste-Vent (DWV) pipe 1 PVC 1¼" schedule 40 DWV pipe 1 small bottle of PVC cement (4) ¼" x 1" lag bolts (1) 24" square piece of ¾" plywood

Step 1 – Layout Assemble all your materials and start by cutting an 18" circular base out of the ¾" plywood. This base is sturdy enough to prevent tipping and provides support for the PVC tower.

Step 2 – Cement the Base The tower base is composed of the toilet flange followed by the reducer and a section of 2" PVC pipe. The length of the pipe depends on how you will use the tower. I cut mine at 30" so that when it is fully assembled and the 1¼" extender piece is fully lowered, it will be the same height as my worktable. PVC pipe can be cut using an electric cut-off saw or a hacksaw.

This adjustable banding wheel is easy and inexpensive to make, offering back-saving benefits to potters.

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The extender is adjusted up and down by using holes drilled through the pipe and held in place with a cotterless hitch pin. This 3" pin is found in the small drawers in the hardware section of most home improvement stores (where you usually find bat pins). The pin passes through the 1¼" pipe and rests on the top of the 2" pipe.

You can drill holes every one or two inches, but not close to the ends where the coupling will go.

Step 3 – Attach Toilet Flange Using four ¼" x 1" lag bolts, attach the flange centered on the plywood base. This photo shows the flange in place without the reducer and 30" pipe.

Now arrange all the pieces in order for cementing, and remember to line up all the holes. The cementing order from top to bottom will be the second toilet flange, the 3" x 2" reducer, the 1¼" x 2" bushing, the first 1¼" pipe section with holes in it, followed by a coupling, the second piece of pipe, another coupling, then the next piece of pipe. End with a coupling to add stability as the extender slides up and down the pipe.

Resources I Do it Yourself

As a 5'4" potter, I wanted a maximum extension of 5'. I used three 10" sections of 1¼" pipe.

Step 5 – Final Assembly Step 4 – Prepare the Extender The extender is made up of 1¼" pipe and at least three couplings.

The couplings will slide inside the 2" PVC pipe with enough clearance to hold the pipe vertical and allow it to slide up and down. You can cut the pipe at any length that is right for you.

Let all cement dry at least one hour before sliding the top extender piece into the 2" base piece, preventing any excess cement from binding the two sections together. Insert the extender and set the height using the hitch pin as shown above.

You can use the toilet flange slots to screw a work board on top and the extender will rotate in the pipe. You can place a banding wheel on top and attach it with screws, or use C-clamps to hold it while working. The tower can also be used to hold a light, can serve as a cup holder while throwing, or even works as a chuck for trimming. Draped with fabric it becomes an instant pedestal at a craft show.

This banding wheel adjustable tower will provide you with options to save your back and neck, and adds versatility to any potter’s studio. [

Mike Harrison operates River Run Pottery in Palmyra, Virginia.

He may be reached by e-mail at: mjharrison@adelphia.net.

CLAyTIMES·COM n July/August 2006

Perhaps the best part is that it is easy to clean. If you varnish the base, you can clean the whole assembly with a hose.

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Readers Share I Art Works

The Gallery

Pitcher and Cup Set. Height, 10". Wheel-thrown and assembled porcelain, fired in oxidation to cone 9.

Jared Ward, 8870 South State Street #G105, Sandy, UT 84070. E-mail: jared@jaredward.com.

CLAyTIMES·COM n July/August 2006

Bottle. 13½" x 6" x 2½". Handbuilt stoneware with local Peterson feldspar, fired in the anagama at Great Basin Pottery, Doyle, CA. Casey Clark, 8600 West 4th Street, Reno, NV 89523.

E-mail: makebrownpots@hotmail.com.

Syrup Pitcher. 6" x 4½" x 4½". Wheel-thrown and altered porcelain with porcelain slip, fired to cone 6 in oxidation. Kate Fisher, c/o Anderson Ranch, PO Box 5598, Snowmass Village, CO 81615. Web: www.fisherclay.com.

Wood-Fired Rock Jar. 5" x 6" x 6". Wheel-thrown, altered, and wood-fired stoneware.

John Hasegawa, 102 Hillman Street, New Bedford, MA 02740.

E-mail: johnhasegawa@yahoo.com.

To have your work considered for publication in “The Gallery”, please send a high-quality color print, slide, or digital image to: The Gallery, Clay Times, P.O. Box 365, Waterford, VA 20197. Please include your name, address, telephone number, Web or e-mail address, type of clay, glaze, and firing method used, and dimensions of the work. (Enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope for photo/slide return.)

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Readers Share I Art Works

The Gallery

Bowl. 2½" x 5". Wheel-thrown stoneware, wood/salt-fired. Shawn M. Grove, 41718 Browns Farm Lane, Leesburg, VA 20176. E-mail: sgrove@loudoun.gov.

Searching for Serenity—Jar Series. 10" x 5½". Carved, incised, and impressed porcelain with three original glazes airbrushed over a poured glaze, fired in oxidation to 2320° F and soaked for 20 minutes. Larry Clegg, 6430 Haven Drive, Grand Blanc, MI 48439. E-mail: cleggsclay@aol.com.

Brick + Form. 8" x 12" x 4". Stoneware with titanium basic glaze and iron oxide, fired to cone 10 in reduction. Joe Huang, 729 Fotis Drive, Apt. #5, Dekalb, IL 60115. E-mail: bighatkimo@gmail.com.

CLAyTIMES·COM n July/August 2006

Temple Jar. 16" x 5" x 5". Wheel-thrown and carved white stoneware, slip-trailed and fired to cone 6 in an electric kiln. Grace Sheese, 2604 Carbona Street, Eugene, OR 97404. Web: www.gracesheese.com.

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Knowsey by Bill Abright.

Miss Bonnie by Jim Adamson.

Bell Jar by Rudy Autio.

Sixpac of Mustache Oil by Clayton Bailey.

15¼" x 27½" x 10½".

5" x 5" x 4".

24" x 13" x 7".

35" x 28" x 21".

“The art movement I’m thinking about is so exciting, so big, that in three to five years, this place will be the center.”

—John Natsoulas Founder, California Conference for the Advancement of Ceramic Art

CLAyTIMES·COM n July/August 2006

17" x 20" x 26".

62

23" x 8" x 6".

7" x 8" x 4".

4½" x 10" x 9".

The Governator

by Jean Van Keuren.

JA06PollyRev6-28.indd 62

The Clown by Brian Baker.

34" x 11" x 8".

Wrapped by Claudia Tarantino.

White Stack with Socks by Emma Luna.

Oio Tea by Jo Rowley.

6/28/06 4:00:02 PM

Helper Monkey by Monica Van den Dool.

Lez Is Mo by Ron Nagle.

Under My Skin by Dennis Lee Mitchell.

How The West Was Won by Lesley Baker.

38" x 52" x 2".

23/8" x 3” x 21/8".

29" x 14" x 34".

26" x 15" x 6".

Ceramic Art: Alive & Well in Davis, CA

J

udging by the ever-increasing popularity and success of ceramic art events and exhibitions in Davis, California, the state of clay there is not only thriving—it could actually be the epicenter of growth for ceramic art nationwide.

The recent California Conference for the Advancement of Ceramic Art (CCACA) attracted several hundred visitors to Davis for a wide variety of clay exhibitions plus informative lectures and demonstrations by notable clay artists including Patti Warashina, Akio Takamori, Ron Nagle, Emma Luna, Susannah Israel, and Marc Lancet, among others. Now in its 17th year of production, the conference boasted an impressive city-wide group of 33 ceramics exhibitions, more than two dozen of which featured the works of high school and collegelevel ceramics students. (Works from these student shows will appear in our upcoming September/October “back-to-school” issue of CT.) Although most of the participating schools were native to California, exhibiting students from neighboring states also trekked to Davis to share their works.

Susannah Israel joined several other presenters and demonstrating artists in Davis, California (near Sacramento), for the 17th annual California Conference for the Advancement of Ceramic Art.

In conjunction with the conference, the John Natsoulas Gallery held its annual gallery-wide “30 Ceramics Sculptors” exhibition. First conceived in 1986, this collaboration between Robert Arneson and CCACA founder John Natsoulas continues the ceramic traditions made famous by instructors and students of the University of California, Davis Art Department and the University of California at Berkeley. Works by several participating artists appear on these pages.

Green Beehive

by Susannah Israel.

64" x 23" x 14".

The 18th CCACA is slated for April 27-29, 2007. For full details and information, watch the Web site at www.natsoulas.com, or call (530) 756-3938. [

35" x 16" x 16".

27" x 14" x 15".

52" x 33½" x 7".

7½" x 6" x 6".

32" x 47" x 3".

Bird by Robert Charland.

JA06PollyRev6-28.indd 63

Winter by Stan Welsh.

Prima Pera by Patti Warashina.

Untitled by Lucian Pompili.

Condoleezza Dreaming

by Miriam Morris.

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Marcia Bugg

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CLAyTIMES·COM n July/August 2006

Introducing the Paragon Iguana cone 10 easy-to-load digital kiln The new Iguana is a smaller, less expensive version of our popular Dragon kiln. The Iguana’s 18” wide, 18” deep, 22 ½” high interior fires rapidly to cone 10.

The front-loading Iguana is easy on the back muscles.

With the optional 22” high stand, the interior floor is a comfortable 34 ½” high.

• Saves electricity with 3” firebricks.

• Proportional power elements for more even heating • Heavy-gauge steel completely covers the bottom under the firebricks.

• 1 ½” air gap between the The Paragon Iguana plugs into a standard switch box and kiln.

6-50R outlet, so you can fire it on the outlet Electrical components stay most studio kilns already use. cool and last longer.

• Sentry 2.0 digital controller with controlled cooling 2011 South Town East Blvd., • Available in 200, 208, 220, Mesquite, Texas 75149-1122 240, 480 volts, 800-876-4328 / 972-288-7557 1 and 3 phase Toll Free Fax 888-222-6450 Call or email for a free www.paragonweb.com catalog. See your local Paraparagonind@att.net gon dealer.

Tucker’s Tucker’s New New Silicone Silicone Rolling Rolling Pins Pins

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Tools for handbuilding needn’t be specialized or expensive: Read on to find out how to recycle free tools and locate others at your local hardware store or via a quick search on the Web.

by VINCE PITELKA

Shop Talk I Tool Times

Handbuilding Again Surform® Pocket Plane

A

fter over a year recovering from a nasty broken leg, I am delighted to be back on the road teaching workshops. It has been a long and challenging recovery. While teaching my “Handbuilding: Tricks of the Trade” workshop twice in May, it occurred to me that there are some excellent and readily-available tools and supplies that are still largely unknown or only sporadically used in the clay studio. I have discussed most of them in past columns, but a periodic refresher is appropriate.

Work Surfaces

If you can’t find printer’s blankets, canvas is the next best thing—but stay away from flimsy, thin canvas or other fabrics.

Sellers of art supplies refer to canvas by weight-per-yard, and inexpensive 7-oz. canvas is too flimsy for clay studio applications. Get 10-oz. or 12-oz. weights.

Canvas is also available from fabric, awning, marine, or house-paint suppliers, and while the prices are better than from an art supplier, they do not sell canvas by the weight-per-yard reference: you simply have to seek out heavy canvas that will hold its shape and stand up to studio use. To do that, you pretty much have to see and feel it in person.

Shaping & Finishing Tools Stanley brand Surform® tools, originally designed for woodworking, are among the most useful studio tools for shaping and finishing all sorts of clay work, yet I am amazed how many clay workers are still unaware of them. In my recent workshops I encountered people with years of experience in clay who had never heard of them or owned them, and didn’t know their proper use. Use them only at the medium to hard leather-hard stage. Softer clay will gum them up, and harder clay will dull the cutting edges.

Always cut on the pull stroke with the cutting edges coming toward you, and lift the tool off the surface on the return stroke. These tools tend to chatter and jump if used to shave clay on the push stroke.

The standard “Surform® Shaver” and “Surform® Pocket Plane” are available in almost any hardware store or building materials center. Larger Surform® planes and files are available, but the handles tend to get in the way during clay studio use, and you only need the blade. Online you will have no trouble finding the 10" round and half-round replacement blades, both very useful for working curved surfaces.

Surform® Shaver

Surform® tools have many uses in the clay studio, and with some experimentation you will find new applications.

They are often ideal for final shaping, faceting, and surface resolution. When coil-building large jars, I work the form with ribs and paddles to get the desired shape, but there is still an abundance of minor imperfections. To clean up and resolve the surface, I shave diagonally overall with the Pocket Plane or Shaver for straight surfaces and convex curves, and use the round or half-round blades for concave curves, such as beneath a slightly flaring rim.

In stiff-slab construction, the Pocket Plane does an excellent job of shaving slab joints and flat surfaces. If you like crisp, geometric forms and sharp edges, nothing can beat the Pocket Plane. When worked in one direction, it results in a surface texture much like wood-grain, and can be very pleasing. If you don’t want any visible grain, change direction frequently and do a light final scraping with a metal rib. Keep in mind that any

CLAyTIMES·COM n July/August 2006

In teaching workshops, I never know what kind of work surface I will have. I like handbuilding on canvas, but a loose sheet slides around and wrinkles too easily. In a workshop venue it often isn’t possible to fasten canvas down over a work surface. Also, studio tables usually need to be multi-purpose, and canvas is practical only for a dedicated handbuilding table. One solution is to stretch and staple canvas over a piece of plywood, and place it on the table when needed.

Years ago in a workshop, one participant showed up with a marvelous flexible rubber mat surfaced with canvas on one side, and explained that it was a recycled “printer’s blanket” used to level the type in offset printing processes. We were all envious, because it seemed an ideal work surface for rolling coils or assembling slab work. This student commuted each day from her home, and the next day showed up at the workshop with a stack of the same mats and gave one to each participant. I treasure mine, and always bring it when I teach workshops. In offset printing these mats are used only a certain number of times, and may be available from a print shop in your area

that still does things the old-fashioned way. Use an appropriate solvent (with good ventilation, of course) to remove any residual printer’s ink. Keep the mat rolled up with the canvas side out and it will always lie flat in use.

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sharp-edged cutting tool will drag grog or sand to the surface and usually works best on a grit-free clay body or one containing very fine grog or sand (50-mesh or finer).

Ribs for Strength In coil construction traditions worldwide, potters rarely use slurry to join coils because introducing unnecessary moisture is counterproductive. Instead, they aggressively smear and blend the coils to get a strong, unified wall. In graduate school at U Mass-Amherst, fellow student Sherinatu Fafunwa taught me Nigerian coil construction, where the coils are forcefully smeared downward on the inside of the pot with the thumb as each coil is lowered into place, and then are aggressively blended on the outside with a rigid curved rib or modeling tool. The result is a wall as strong as can be achieved by any other construction method.

A rubber rib will not work, no matter how good the resulting surface looks. Even the relatively stiff, black rubber ribs are too flexible. There’s a world of difference between blending the coils cosmetically and aggressively smearing them together to create a strong wall internally, and the latter requires a rib that is ab#LAY!RT#ENTER AD PDF !solutely rigid. My old standby is the Kemper RB4, a pear-shaped wooden rib with no sharp corners to dig into the walls when working inside a coil form. The slightly larger Kemper RB6 rib is also good for this application. Both ribs have tightly curved ends for smearing coils together, and smoothly curved sides for

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Rolling, Rolling, Rolling While teaching the handbuilding workshop in Linda Blossom’s studio in Ithaca, New York, we were fortunate to have use of her Bailey 40" DRD electric slab roller, which effortlessly produced very fine, uniform slabs. However, all slab rollers develop unidirectional grain structure that can cause serious problems in drying and firing if you don’t crank the slab roller down a bit and run the slab through once more at an angle positioned 90 degrees from the original direction. That’s a bit awkward, especially on narrow slab rollers, and I prefer to remove the grain structure by cross-rolling with a rolling pin. My handbuilding workshop participants are all asked to bring a rolling pin to the classroom, and usually show up with a motley assortment, including old wood-axle rolling pins that hardly work at all, or the solid, one-piece units that are next to worthless in the studio. A good rolling pin with bearing-mounted handles can be used to make uniform slabs without a slab roller and, even if you have access to a slab roller, it is invaluable for thinning slabs beyond the capacity of the slab roller, for removing the grain structure in machine-rolled slabs, or for rolling textured materials into the clay. Also, when you need small portions of slab, it makes no sense to use the slab roller when it is so easy to simply use several wooden dowels as gauge strips under either end of the rolling pin barrel.

These are just a few examples of important but underused studio tools and accessories that came to mind during my last two handbuilding workshops. Periodically I’ll write a column like this to remind you of tools that I’ve discussed before but perhaps need to be reintroduced. Each time I teach a college class or a workshop and observe how the students use their tools, I am reminded that learning any craft is so dependent on a focused awareness of availability and proper use of the specialized tools of the trade. [

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At www.chineseclayart.com and similar sites, you will find rounded ribs made from wood, coconut shell, or water buffalo horn. At the NCECA conference several years ago I purchased a selection of rounded horn ribs, and some of my workshop students have enjoyed the smooth, substantial feel. I still prefer plain old wood.

For a superior rolling pin, do a Web search on “Vic Firth maple rolling pin� (pictured above). The model with the 2.75" by 15" barrel is the best all-purpose studio rolling pin I have found. They also make a 12" model with the same diameter. I don’t like to use a rolling pin with a smaller diameter, because your knuckles tend to drag on the slab. I find that the largest model with the 3" by 18" barrel is a little unwieldy, but might be appropriate if you are using a rolling pin in place of a slab roller.

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by marc ward

Are the new high-tech, lightweight kiln shelves worth your investment?

That depends on how you plan to use them ...

OK,

you’re a little freaked out about fuel prices.

Maybe more than a little. For the last couple of years, I’ve been telling you about this coming problem (now here) and ways to deal with it. I’ve talked about fuels, brick vs. fiber, and burner efficiency. Now many of you are eyeing something that can cut your fuel bills, but it’s a big pill to swallow. It’s those fancy new kiln shelves—you know, the ones that are thin as my hair and strong as steel. The big pill is, of course, the price. What’s up with them? Are they worth the investment? Here’s my take:

First of all, there are three types of new low-mass refractory shelves on the market. They are characterized by how they are made and their content. One type is made of Reaction-Sintered, Silicon-Infiltrated Silicon Carbide. Re-crystallized Silicon Carbide is another. But the most popular of this new breed is advanced Nitride-Bonded Silicon Carbide (NSiC).

Advancer™ is the brand name most of us know them by. A NSiC shelf is almost one-third the weight of a traditional Silicon Carbide shelf because it’s many times stronger. It stays extremely flat and uses about 50-75% less energy to heat. There’s also a great thing about these shelves and a not-so-great thing about these shelves: porosity.

These shelves are fragile. If you a have a large, thick plate on a shelf, it can cause the shelf to crack and fail. Not from the weight—remember these are very, very strong. What can cause this type of failure is uneven heating and cooling.

Our traditional shelf (raku tea bowl) can tolerate quite a bit of thermal shock, while our advanced NSiC shelf (fine bone china) can’t deal with these temperature variances. As a matter of fact, you shouldn’t use whole bricks as posts with these shelves for this very reason.

The post’s mass retains too much heat on cool-down and the same mass prevents them from heating as fast on the way up.

Because of the way these shelves are made, they have more fine-grained silica particles in them. This can present more glass-dripping in salt and wood kilns.

Wood kilns also present the same problems as previously mentioned. Those long, slow, rolling flames can hit shelves in ways that cause uneven heating: again, a busted shelf. A soda kiln that relies on a water/soda spray can also cause shelf shattering. Remember, these shelves are very fragile.

So far it sounds like I’m down on these miracle wafers. Not necessarily so …

Before the universe led me down the esoteric path of being a burner guy, I was filling and firing a 105-cubic-foot fiber car kiln loaded with re-crystallized silicon

carbide shelves. These are just as thin as advanced NSiC and about as strong, but more porous. These offered the same use of advanced silicon carbide, and I loved ’em. I used ¼" thick, 16" x 16" shelves.

My ole’ back appreciated the difference between a 16" x 16" that weighed about 6 pounds, compared with a 12" x 24" traditional silicon carbide shelf that weighed more than 20 pounds. My wallet liked it, too. Firings were cheaper, cool-down was quicker, and throughput was faster—I never thought I’d use the term ‘throughput’ in my articles (sorry, it just happened, but I am not taking it out because that was the kind of potter I was). Anyhow, I think advanced shelves have a real place in the life of some potters. But which potters?

These new shelves use between 50% and 75% less energy to heat. They also cost a whole bunch more. Remember, the fuel savings is just for the shelf. Think about what percentage of area to be heated your kiln shelves comprise ,compared with the kiln’s walls and ware.

You’ll save some money, but not tons.

A fiber kiln with massive shelves will be cheaper to fire than some ole’ hardbrick kiln with state-of-the-art shelves.

If you are a production potter firing pots with fairly standard wall thicknesses, you fire often, and want to see a difference in your fuel bill at the end of the year, you may want to investigate the cost/benefit aspects. If you are a potter fighting a bad back, factor in the real cost of a slipped disc. The cost of being flat on your back for 6 to 8 weeks can be huge.

Wood-firing? I’d probably pass on these kinds of shelves. Hobbyist? You won’t see payback anytime soon unless the bad back thing is also an issue. Electric kiln? You can see some real savings here in less mass and in the fact you can fit more ware into the kiln. Just be aware that all forms of silicon carbide are electrically conductive. Don’t be continued on page 72

CLAyTIMES·COM n July/August 2006

You may be wondering what porosity has to do with kiln shelves. A cordierite shelf may have as much as 30% porosity, while a traditional silicon carbide shelf has about 15% porosity. The advanced NSiC shelf has less than 1% porosity. So, let’s think of traditional shelves as similar to a raku tea bowl, while our NSiC shelf is more like thin, bone china. The upside to this thin, non-porous shelf is that stuff doesn’t absorb into it—stuff like glaze.

Many times, glaze drips can simply be popped off or easily ground off without damaging the shelf, with no need for kiln wash or extensive maintenance. So

far, it sounds pretty good, right? Yet the lack of porosity has a down side. If these shelves get wet, they don’t absorb much water, but they also can’t get rid of the water they do absorb. If you start to heat a wet advanced NSiC shelf rapidly, the shelf will explode. A top shelf exploding can be a real mess. A bottom shelf exploding could be disastrous. These types of shelves must be kept dry. Let’s take the bone china metaphor a little further.

Shop Talk I Firing

On the Shelf

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studio I Health & Safety

OSHA Violations Most Frequently Cited in 2005 by moNoNA roSSol

T

he figures have been tabulated.

Now we know which regulations Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) gave the most citations for in 2005. Are these regulations being met in your pottery business (if you have employees), your school (if you teach), or your workplace?

1. Hazard Communication (HAZCOM) — Written Program (1910.1200(e)(1)): 2,395 violations. If your pottery business or school has a total of 10 employees or more, it must have a written HAZCOM program. The written program describes how the employer will collect all the material safety data sheets (MSDSs), make sure chemicals are properly labeled, create a list of all the chemicals on the premises, and train their workers. It’s the first thing OSHA is likely to ask to see.

CLAyTIMES·COM n July/August 2006

If your pottery business or school has fewer than 10 employees you do not need a written program, but all of the other provisions for labeling, MSDSs, and training apply.

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2. Machine Guarding — Types of Guarding (1910.212(a)(1)): 1,587 violations. These regulations require guards that will keep people from getting into positions where they can be hurt by machinery.

Examples are putting up barriers around dangerous locations or having a lid on your pug mill or clay mixer that will turn off the motor when it is open.

3. HAZCOM — Hazard Information & Training (1910.1200(h)(1)): 1,124 violations. The employer must have an effective training program designed to inform their workers about the hazards of clay and glaze chemicals and how to work safely with them.

4. Machine Guarding — Point of Operation (1910.212(a)(3)(ii)): 811 violations.

These violations are specifically for point of operation guarding for all kinds of machines, whether or not there are specific standards for guarding the machine. In general, if you can get any part of you cut, caught, or pinched at the point of operation, there must be a guard.

5. First Aid — Eye Wash/Emergency Shower Not Near Employees (1910.151(c)): 784 violations. Only a few products used by potters are serious eye and skin hazards.

Examples of items that would require an eyewash include silver nitrate in any form (e.g., for silver luster raku), using lustre glazes that are suspended in solvents, or using aerosol spray products.

If one is needed, follow the American National Standards Institute rules for locating the eyewashes and showers near enough to be accessed within 10 seconds. Workers also should not have to step up or down to another floor level or have to open a door to get to them.

6. Guarding Floor Openings, Platforms, & Runways (1910.23(c)(1)): 744 violations.

These are violations we see when old buildings or barns are used as potteries or when potters build ramps or storage platforms themselves without checking the OSHA requirements for these structures.

7. Lock Out/Tag Out — Establish Energy Control Program (1910.147(c)(1)): 732 violations. A “Lock out/Tag out” program protects workers from machines accidentally being started up when they are being repaired or maintained. Repair of pug mills and clay mixers could come under this rule.

8.

Abrasive Wheel Machinery— Exposure Adjustment/Safety Guards (1910.259(b)(9)): 729 violations. This rule is specifically to ensure that the grinding wheel’s safety guard can be adjusted easily to the right position to protect the worker and the adjustable tongue is never more than ¼" from the wheel. I commonly see potteries with old grinding wheels that have either unadjusted or missing face guards, breakout plates, or tool rests. These are serious violations because the bullet-like pieces of a shattered abrasive wheel can, and do, blind and kill workers.

9. HAZCOM — MSDS for Each Chemical (1910.1200(g)(1)): 718 violations. Shops must have MSDSs on every clay and glaze chemical, not just a token few.

The book must be up-to-date and provide easy access to the MSDS. 10. Lock out/Tag out — Written Energy Control Procedures (1910.147(c)(4)(i): 700 violations. These are the procedures employers shall have developed, documented, and utilized to protect workers in written form.

11. Respiratory Protection — Medical Evaluation for Fit Testing (1910.134(e)(1)): 694 violations. Certification that a worker has no health problems that would be exacerbated by wearing a respirator must be provided by specially trained health professionals or by occupational medical clinics and hospitals. This is one of the more common violations I see in potteries and schools.

12. Respiratory Protection — Written Program (1910.134(c)(1)): 691 violations.

6/16/06 2:16:47 PM

13. Electric — Wiring, Component, Equipment-Cabinets, Boxes/Conductors (1910.305.(b)(1): 662 violations.

These regulations apply to electrical service panels and switch and junction boxes. It is a violation for conductors entering these boxes not to be protected, openings through which the conductors enter the box not to be closed, and all unused openings in the box not to be closed.

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studio I Health & Safety

Employers must have a written program which explains in detail how they will ďŹ t-test and train their medically certiďŹ ed employees.

Throwing Large Forms: July 10-14 Woodfiring Theory: Sept. 28-Oct. 1

XIAOSHENG BI 14. HAZCOM — Employee Info & Training (1910.1200(h)): 604 violations. These are like the 1200(h)(1) violations above but are speciďŹ c failures of the employer’s training program.

15. Powered Industrial Trucks — Operator Training (1910.178(l)(1)(i)): 563 violations. An active training certiďŹ cate from a recognized trainer is needed in order for any employee to use a forklift or any other powered lift truck. Only the largest school potteries will have a forklift and come under this rule.

16. HAZCOM — Labeling Containers (1910.1200(f)(5)(i)): 547 violations. This rule requires that labels properly identify the contents of all products in the shop. Artists may run afoul of this regulation when they transfer chemicals to unlabeled containers and only label them with markers. To meet both EPA and OSHA regulations, artists should keep products in their original labeled containers.

Monona Rossol is an industrial hygienist/chemist with an M.F.A. in ceramics/ glass. She may be reached at ACTS, 181 Thompson St., #23, New York, NY 100122586; telephone (212) 777-0062; e-mail ACTSNYC@cs.com.

Decorative Techniques for Porcelain: Sept. 23-24

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Understanding Pottery Glazes: Sept. 16

PETE PINNELL ďż˝

Firing Theory: Oct. 20-22

TONY CLENNELL ďż˝

Composite Throwing: Nov. 3-5

Hood College Graduate School Art Department (301) 696-3456 ďż˝ Fax (301) 696-3531 www.hood.edu/academic/art Hood College subscribes to a policy of equal educational and employment opportunities.

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Comment: The most frequent citations are for HAZCOM. If we add up all violations given for various parts of the HAZCOM regulation, HAZCOM was cited more than twice as often as other regulation. This is one of the reasons my columns in Clay Times stress compliance with this law and emphasize the need for formal HAZCOM training. [

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by Suzanne Staubach Berkeley Books • Hardcover $23.95

reVieW by SteVeN brANfmAN

H

ere I am, sitting at my wheel, working, throwing, creating. My thoughts focus on the form: volume, surface, mass. The vessel is born, grows, takes shape, and its presence speaks to me. Racing ahead, I am contemplating the glaze and firing. Beyond that is the new space that this pot will occupy—sitting with others in an exhibition, ultimately in the possession of someone who is now a stranger, to be used, admired, and enjoyed. Throughout the process my knowledge of the material is called to question. It is tested.

The shape is not quite right, the form is slumping, drying must be monitored, firing must be controlled, glazing must be deliberate and intentional. Thousands of years of ceramic history lie behind me and I am lucky enough to be able to call upon the work of those potters who came before so I can work freely and in control. How content and confident I am in my knowledge and experience … Ummmm, so I thought.

One of the first things I do when looking at a new book is turn to the bibliography.

You can tell a lot about the writer and the book by what the author has consulted.

In this case, not only is the bibliography extensive, but it is so diverse that I challenge anyone to guess what the subject of the book is by the bibliography alone.

How about this for a collection of titles: Women Who Eat Clay, Korea’s Pottery Heritage, Ceramic Water Closets, The Cob Builder’s Handbook, The Oldest Cuisine In The World, Ancient Roman Gardens, Six Thousand Years of Bread, The Complete Loo: A Lavatory Miscellany, The Origins and Ancient History of Wine. And the list goes on.

Clay: The History and Evolution of Humankind’s Relationship with Earth’s Most Primal Element might be called “The History of Clay.” Mind you, not the history of pottery, or ceramics. No, this is the history of clay. I was skeptical. And in fact, my skepticism was invigorated when I read the liner notes; “… most people give it little thought. Yet the mud beneath our feet is crucial to the computer and space industries, biotechnology, publishing, and a wide range of manufacturing processes.” How predictable. How boring. I read on anyway.

Staubach has undertaken the laborious task of transforming a dry (no pun intended) subject into a witty, creative,

and captivating story. It’s not that she uncovers new facts or brings startling fresh information to the table. Instead, the author has taken a novel approach to the organizing and presentation of these facts and figures. Each of the 12 chapters is a story in and of itself.

Chapter 1, “Cooking Pots and Storage Jars” doesn’t merely give us the obvious. Instead, Staubach weaves together history, culture, society, art, and craft.

She tells us about the advent of cooking, the discovery of fired clay, and the making of the first pots. We learn about the connection between the making of wine and pottery vessels. Fascinating stuff? You bet it is. Subsequent chapters show the connection between clay and writing, moveable type, printing, and the invention of books. Chapter 6: “The Most Popular Building Material.” Chapter 7: “Sanitation.” Chapter 9: “Electricity, Transportation, and Rocket Science.”

Chapter 11: “Art, Toys, Gods, Goddesses, and Fertility.” Inventive? Creative? Duh, … was I surprised!

Staubach writes with limitless energy and there is a tangible bounce in her words and phrases. Her text rings with a passion for the subject, and this is not something one can pretend. She is creative and convincing in the connections that she makes. The more you read, the more you want to read! Paragraphs read quickly and chapters fly by. Just when you think you have heard it all, Staubach comes up with another more provocative jolt to your previously comfortable satisfaction in your knowledge.

Sure, there are a few details to criticize.

In an attempt to appeal to readers other than potters, Staubach sometimes oversimplifies technical information. In explaining the characteristics of clay as it dries, she explains that leather-hard clay “… can be carved but not bent,” and

CLAyTIMES·COM n July/August 2006

How often have we, as potters, thought about the material, clay, that we work with? Sure we think about it. All the time. We must. Pottery is a craft laden with technical demands and potential problems that we must be ready to solve.

But there is more to it than that. One of the things that I have always loved about potters is our seemingly universal dissatisfaction with the simple answer. It’s not enough to know how to do something.

We must know why. We have a need to have a deeper understanding of the origins, the structure, the ramifications, and the influences. History, culture, language, religion, customs, ritual, and more all contribute to the existence of the mug, bowl, plate, vase, platter, or jar that we so carefully and with such dedication turn, form, drape, press, pinch, or roll out of our studio.

OK … not every person who works with clay is as thirsty for knowledge as I describe. But for those of us who are and for those who might be, Suzanne Staubach’s new book, Clay: The History and Evolution of Humankind’s Relationship with Earth’s Most Primal Element, might just stir up one’s preconceptions and fill in those voids of knowledge that you didn’t even realize you had. What a delight.

Resources I Books & Videos

Clay: The History and Evolution of Humankind’s Relationship with Earth’s Most Primal Element

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Resources I Books & Videos

I continued from previous page

Mud Mamas I continued from page 29

that “… bone dry clay … can no longer be carved.” Later in the same chapter, when writing about learning to throw on a wheel, she states that, “Seven years is the norm.”

Umm ... where did she get that? In another chapter, when describing the carbon effects from pit and open firing, she calls the black spots and areas “fire clouds” (assuming this term to be universal and widely used).

I have never heard anyone use it before.

OK, I’m being picky because that’s my job.

Look past these transgressions. None of these or any others dilute the wonderfulness of this book.

at that time taking any time away from their kids or working.

I am frustrated. I would love to share excerpts and more specific examples of the writing in order to share the beauty of Staubach’s book. In fact, in a first draft of this review I attempted to do just that.

However, the book is so unique and the presentation so unusual that I found short excerpts to be totally unconvincing and long pieces were just, well, too long. So instead, here are my impressions. Reading Clay: The History and Evolution of Humankind’s Relationship with Earth’s Most Primal Element was a totally entertaining and educational experience. (That sounds so juvenile!) How about this: I have never read a book about clay and pottery that was so informative and at the same time so entertaining and enjoyable. (That sounds just as lame and uninformative.) One more try: If you are looking for an unusual book about the history of clay, pottery, and potters, you must read Clay: The History and Evolution of Humankind’s Relationship with Earth’s Most Primal Element (just as silly and unprofessional sounding).

Let me put it this way: 1) Get this book.

My husband, Arne, was very supportive of my claywork. He had dropped out of the University where he had been majoring in art. During this time he painted and worked odd jobs to keep us afloat. I started doing street fairs, which was one of the few venues in the ’60s. I also sold to Gumps, a high-end store in San Francisco. In addition, I built five kick-wheels and started teaching two evenings a week.

Art was the center of our life, or at least from Arne’s view. We both had a lot on our plates, so most of the child care landed on me. My husband was a typical ’60s husband: he was enthusiastic about the kids, but didn’t change diapers or help much.

I think the biggest thing about being the mother of a young child is giving one’s self permission to take time away from the baby, without feeling guilty. There is never an end to the needs of young children. It takes a while to relax and accept that they can be in the care of someone else and not be damaged.

Lana Wilson, a freshly minted grandmother: I loved raising kids but always felt when they were young like laughing or crying when I said I was a potter.

There was so little time for clay. I knew I was committed, but I was thoroughly committed to my kids, too. Gorgeous and charming as our two daughters were, they ravenously gobbled up time. I didn’t understand

that those early years would be particularly intense, and more time would appear later. I didn’t have the mental energy and focus to follow through on clay ideas because so much went into family life. One time, it took me two years to try something I knew would be a technique I could develop and relish. My husband was very supportive of my work and thought I was a great mother, but he was not incredibly helpful, as few men were back then. Yet I knew it was a rich mix of family life, teaching children’s art, working in bits and drabs, and time very slowly increasing in the studio. I tried to balance it all but felt I wasn’t progressing with my work much at all. I kept wishing my daughters would sleep about three hours more a day. If I could look back and give advice to my younger self, I would say good grief, relax more, enjoy those gorgeous daughters, this absolutely is not going to last forever, don’t be so restless. But do hire babysitters two days or at least mornings a week. I do get more done now; I can be more focused. I wish I had appreciated and gently settled more into those years of our delicious children.

The next column will cover Janis Wunderlich’s techniques and thoughts on making art while raising five children. [ Lana Wilson is a handbuilder and brand new grandmother from Del Mar, California. She gives frequent workshops and is the author of Ceramics: Shape and Surface. Visit her Web site at www.lanawilson.com; e-mail comments to her at lana@lanawilson.com.

2) Read it.

CLAyTIMES·COM n July/August 2006

3) Try to explain it and why you like it so much to you friends.

4) Get frustrated doing so.

Kiln Shelves I continued from page 67

5) Tell them to get this book. [ grabbing shelves or moving them Steven Branfman is an accomplished potter, author, and teacher of pottery and ceramics at Thayer Academy in Braintree, Massachusetts.

He is the proprietor of The Potters Shop and School and may be reached at (781) 449-7687 or via e-mail at sbranfpots@aol.com.

while the kiln is on. Use these kinds of shelves in an electric kiln only if it is in good shape. If your elements look like some kind of electric dredlocked hairdo, you shouldn’t use any kind of silicon carbide shelves at all.

Saving energy in the long run is never bad. See you next issue … [ Marc Ward is owner and operator of Ward Burner Systems in Dandridge, Tennessee. He can be reached by phone at (865) 397-2914 or through the online catalog and Web site at this address: www.wardburner.com.

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Community Pottery Classes Check out these listings to find local programs for learning wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculptural techniques & more...

Listings are organized alphabetically by all 50 United States, the District of Columbia, and Canada.

ALABAMA Imagine Partners in Art, Inc. — 210 41st street south, Birmingham, Al 35222; (205) 592-3439; www.imaginepartnersinart.com; Fran@ imaginepartnersinart.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding.

ALASKA Spenard Community Recreation Center — 2020 West 48th Avenue, Anchorage, AK 99517; (907) 343-4160; www.muni.org/parks/ spenard.cfm; brossarddl@muni.org; wheel-throwing, handbuilding.

ARIZONA Fire It Up Ceramics — 1732 East Minton Drive, tempe, AZ 85282; (480) 703-7841; www.fireitupceramics.com; rylee@fireitupceramics.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding.

ARKANSAS Flat Rock Clay Supplies — 2002 south school Avenue (Highway 71), Fayetteville, AR 72701; (479) 521-3181; www.flatrockclay.com; info@ flatrockclay.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, tile.

CALIFORNIA

Bear Creek Pottery — 4988 West Ramsey, Banning, CA 92220; www.bearcreekpottery.com; info@ bearcreekpottery.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture.

Black Leopard Clayware — 2213 Radio Avenue, san Jose, CA 95125; (408) 448-4597; www. bleopard.com; info@bleopard.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture, tile, decorating, mold-making.

COLORADO Northern Colorado Potters’ Guild — 209 Christman Drive, Fort Collins, CO 80524; (970) 416-5979; www.coloradopottery.org; info@ coloradopottery.org; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, glazing, fused glass jewelry.

Trails Recreation Center — 16799 East lake Avenue, Centennial, CO 80015; (303) 269-8400; www.aprd.org; arts@the-trails.org; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture, glazing.

CONNECTICUT Developing Artist Institute (DARTi) — 136½ Pine street, Manchester, Ct 06040; (860) 646-9679; www.darti.com; info@darti.com; wheelthrowing, sculpture.

stpeteclay.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding.

Fire and Mud Ceramics — 134 NE 1st Avenue, Hallandale, Fl 33009; (954) 455-3099; www. fireandmudceramics.com; potter@fireandmudceramics. com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding.

GEORGIA Abernathy Arts Center — 254 Johnson Ferry Road NW, sandy springs, gA 30328; (404) 3036172; www.fultonarts.org; abernathyartscenter@yahoo. com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding.

ART Station — 5384 Manor Drive, Historic stone Mountain Village, gA 30083; (770) 469-1105; www. artstation.org; info@artstation.org; wheel-throwing, handbuilding.

HAWAII Clayworks at Kilohana — 32087 Kaumualii Highway, lihue, HI 96766; (808) 245-5608; www. clayworksatkilohana.com; twowahinesandakiln@yahoo. com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, raku firing.

IDAHO DELAWARE Rehoboth Art League — 12 Dodds lane, Henlopen Acres, Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971; (302) 227-8408; www.rehobothartleague.org; wheelthrowing.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Guy Mason Studio Arts — 3600 Calvert street NW, Washington, DC 20007; (202) 2822180; www.guymasonstudioarts.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding.

FLORIDA The St. Petersburg Clay Company — 420 22nd street south, st. Petersburg, Fl 33712; (727) 896-2529; www.stpeteclay.com; stpeteclay@

Boulder Mountain Clayworks — 491 tenth street, B-6, Ketchum, ID 83340; (208) 7264484; www.bouldermtnclay.com; bouldermtnclay@coxinternet.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture, raku firing, tool making.

ILLINOIS Jailhouse Potters, LLC. — 103 North Johnson street, Woodstock, Il 60098; (815) 337-9487; www.jailhousepotters.com; potter@jailhousepotters.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding.

Riverside Arts Center — 32 East Quincy Road, Riverside, Il 60546; (708) 442-6400; www.riversideartscenter.com; rivarts@sbcglobal.net; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, raku firing.

CLAyTIMES·COM n July/August 2006

Blossom Hill Crafts Pottery — 15900 Blossom Hill Road, los gatos, CA 95032; (408) 356-9035; www.blossomhillcrafts.com; joanne@ blossomhillcrafts.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture.

ASUC Art Studio — Public Arts Program of uC Berkeley, 400 Eshleman Hall #4500, Berkeley, CA 94720-4500; (510) 642-3065; www.asucartstudio. org; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture, raku firing.

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Resources I Classes

INDIANA Arts Place — 131 East Walnut Street, Portland, IN 47371; (260) 726-4809; www.artsland.org; artsland@ jayco.net; wheel-throwing, handbuilding.

IOWA Loftus Gallery and Pottery Studio — 202 West Main Street, Lawton, IA 51030; (712) 944-5870; www.loftusgallery.com; info@loftusgallery. com; wheel-throwing.

KANSAS Roeland Park Community Center — 4850 Rosewood, Roeland Park, KS 66205; (913) 831-3359; www.jcprd.com; info@jcprd.com; wheelthrowing, handbuilding.

KENTUCKY The Potter’s Loft/Ann Davis Gallery — 1516 Winchester Avenue, Ashland, KY 41102; (304) 525-1595 or (606) 324-1296; wmmeadows@ netzero.com; wheel-throwing.

LOUISIANA Louisiana Pottery — 6470 Highway 22, Cajun Village, Sorrento, LA 70778; (225) 675-5572; www. louisianapottery.com; lapottery@eatel.net; handbuilding, special focus classes.

MAINE Starflower Farm & Studios — Ceramicsfocused Retreat Center; 941 Jackson Road, Monroe, ME 04951; (207) 525-3593; www.starflowerstudios. com; squidge@starflowerfarmstudios.com; wheelthrowing, handbuilding, sculpture; private lessons and critiques for advanced students.

Glen Echo Pottery — 7300 MacArthur Blvd., Glen Echo, MD 20812; (301) 229-5585; www. glenechopottery.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, raku and soda firing.

MASSACHUSETTS Ancient Echos Arts — 10 Tyngsboro Road, North Chelmsford, MA 01863; (978) 869-2912; www. ancientechosarts.com; ancientechosarts@gmail.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture.

Mudflat Pottery School, Inc. — 149 Broadway, Somerville, MA 02145; (617) 628-0589; www.mudflat.org; info@mudflat.org; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, tile.

MICHIGAN Miskwabik/Ed Gray Studio — 220 6th Street, Calumet, MI 49913; (906) 337-5970; www. edgraystudio.com; ed@edgraystudio.com; wheelthrowing, handbuilding, pit firing.

Village Potters Guild — 340 North Main Street, Plymouth, MI 48170; (734) 207-8807; villagepotters@aol.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, raku firing.

MINNESOTA Edina Art Center — 4710 West 64th Street, Edina, MN 55435; (612) 915-6604; www. edinaartcenter.com; artcenter@ci.edina.mn.us; wheelthrowing, handbuilding, sculpture, tile.

Northern Clay Center — 2424 Franklin Avenue East, Minneapolis, MN 55406; (612) 339-8007; www.northernclaycenter.org; nccinfo@ northernclaycenter.org; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture, tile.

MARYLAND

CLAyTIMES·COM n July/August 2006

Baltimore Clayworks — 5707 Smith Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21209; (410) 5781919; www.baltimoreclayworks.org; matt.hylek@ baltimoreclayworks.org; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture, tile, mosaic, decorating, printmaking, slipcasting, wood firing, salt firing.

Shiloh Pottery, Inc. — 1027 Brodbeck Road, Hampstead, MD 21074; (410) 239-8888; www. shilohpottery.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding.

The Frederick Pottery School — 5305 Jefferson Pike, Suite C-2, Frederick, MD 21703; (301) 473-8833; www.frederickpotteryschool.com; wheelthrowing, handbuilding.

Greenbelt Community Center — 15 Crescent Road, Greenbelt, MD 20770; (301) 3972208; www.greenbeltmd.gov; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, tile.

MISSISSIPPI Bodine Pottery & Art Studio — Rebuilding: New location coming soon in Hattiesburg, MS; (228) 806-3153; www.bodinepottery.com; hukmut@ bodinepottery.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, PMC.

MISSOURI Hot Fresco Pottery — 141 Sunset Drive, Hollister, MO 65672; (877) 337-9227; www. hotfrescopottery.com; marilyny@centurytel.net; wheelthrowing, handbuilding.

MONTANA Clay Arts Guild of Helena — 3025 Bozeman Avenue, Helena, MT 59601; (406) 4496080; www.helenaclayartsguild.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding.

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NORTH DAKOTA

SOUTH CAROLINA

New Earth Clay Pottery & Art Gallery — 515 4th Street, Fairbury, NE 68352; (402) 7293034; www.fairbury.com; wheel-throwing.

Creative Destiny Art Center — 507 Hill Avenue, Grafton, ND 58237; (701) 360-0707; www. destinyartcenter.com; destiny@polarcomm.com; wheelthrowing, handbuilding, mosaic, raku, sawdust firing.

Adele’s Pottery Studio — 1659 Middle Street, Sullivan’s Island, SC 29482; (843) 883-9545; wheel-throwing.

NEVADA Brewery Arts Center — 449 West King Street, Carson City, NV 89703; (775) 883-1976; www. breweryarts.org; jproc@breweryarts.org; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture.

NEW HAMPSHIRE Warm Stone Studio — 99 Factory Street Extension, Nashua, NH 03060; (603) 595-9500; www. warmstonestudio.com; leslie@warmstonestudio.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding.

OHIO The Arts Castle — 190 West Winter Street, Delaware, OH 43015; (740) 369-2787; www. artscastle.org; Jhartzler@rrohio.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding.

Dimensional Style — 607 Main Street, Groveport, OH 43125; (614) 836-5252; www. dimensionalstyle.com; Sandy@DimensionalStyle.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture.

OKLAHOMA NEW JERSEY The Art School at Old Church — 561 Piermont Road, Demarest, NJ 07627; (201) 7677160; www.tasoc.org; info@tasoc.org; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture, tile, glazing, raku firing.

NEW MEXICO Las Cruces Museum of Art Studio — 490 North Water, Las Cruces, NM 88001; www.las-cruces.org/public-services/; tbillman@lascruces.org; wheel-throwing, handbuilding.

NEW YORK The Painted Pot — 339 Smith Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231; (718) 222-0334; www.paintedpot.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture.

Pottery-on-Hudson — 145 Palisade Street, Studio 2-S, Dobbs Ferry, NY 10522; (914) 478-2762; www.potteryonhudson.com; linda@potteryonhudson. com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding.

171 Cedar Arts Center — 171 Cedar Street, Corning, NY 14830; (607) 936-4647; www.171cedararts.com; info@171cedararts.com; wheel -throwing.

NORTH CAROLINA

Finch Pottery — 5526 Finch Nursery Lane, Bailey, NC 27807-9492; (252) 235-4664; www. danfinch.com; danfinch@bbnp.com; wheel-throwing.

Rising Sun Pottery Studio & Gallery — 209 South Academy Street, Lincolnton, NC 28092; (704) 735-5820; www.risingsunpottery.com; risingsunpottery@aol.com; wheel-throwing.

Third Street Clayworks — 1001 East Third Street, Tulsa, OK 74120; (918) 585-2529; kilnboy@sbcglobal.net; wheel-throwing, handbuilding.

Dahl Arts Center — 713 Seventh Street, Rapid City, SD 57701-3695; (605) 394-4101; www.thedahl. org; contact@thedahl.org; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture, raku and salt firing.

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OREGON Umpqua Valley Arts Association/ The Clay Place — 1624 West Harvard Avenue, Roseburg, OR 97470; (541) 672-2532; www.uvarts.com/the_clay_place/; shawn@uvarts. com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding.

Georgies Ceramic & Clay — 756 NE Lombard, Portland, OR 97211; (800) 999-2529; www.georgies.com; info@georgies.com; wheelthrowing, handbuilding, glaze mixing, tile, raku firing.

PENNSYLVANIA The Clay Studio — 139 North Second Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106; (215) 925-3453; www. theclaystudio.org; info@theclaystudio.org; wheelthrowing, handbuilding, sculpture.

Abington Art Center — 515 Meetinghouse Road, Jenkintown, PA 19046; (215) 887-4882; www.abingtonartcenter.org; studioschool@abingtonartcenter.org; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture, tile, mosaic, raku and pit firing.

RHODE ISLAND Newport Art Museum School — Coleman Center, 76 Bellevue Avenue, Newport, RI 02840; (401) 848-8200; www.newportartmuseum. com; info@newportartmuseum.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding.

TEL 215-427-9665 • FAX 419-735-1063

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CLAyTIMES¡COM n July/August 2006

Odyssey Center for Ceramic Arts — 236 Clingman Avenue, Asheville, NC 28801; (828) 285-0210; www.highwaterclays.com; odyssey@ highwaterclays.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture, tile.

Boston Artists Gallery — 23 East Brady, Tulsa, OK 74103; (918) 585-1166; dragnsly58@ aol.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, pit firing.

SOUTH DAKOTA

Resources I Classes

NEBRASKA

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Castle Hill Summer & Fall Clay 2006

Community Pottery Classes TENNESSEE

Faculty Include: Jim Brunelle Jack Charney Nat Doane Anne Goldberg Ayumi Horie Rebecca Hutchinson Barbara Knutson Washington Ledesma Warren Mather Nancy Selvage Mark Shapiro Gay Smith Bruce Winn Two 22 Fall Clay Intensives: Mikhail Zakin

Barbara Knutson

Resources I Classes

TRURO CENTER FOR THE ARTS

Mary Barringer & Ron Dean

Go to www.castlehill.org or call for a catalogue: (508) 349-7511 PO box 756, Truro, MA 02666 - castlehill@gis.net

Mud Puddle Pottery and Supply — 538 Highway 70, Pegram, tN 37143 (20 minutes outside Nashville); (615) 646-6644; www.mudpuddlepottery. com; mudpuddle@bellsouth.net; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture.

TEXAS Art Center of Corpus Christi — 100 North shoreline, Corpus Christi, tX 78401; (361) 884-6406; www.artcentercc.org; info@artcentercc.org; wheel-throwing.

Clay Turtle Pottery — 799 south Main street, Mansfield, tX 76063; (817) 453-2529; www.iflyfish. com/clayturtle/; janet@iflyfish.com; wheel-throwing.

UTAH Sugar Post Pottery & Metal — 1135 E 2100 south, salt lake City, ut 84106; (801) 8329235; www.sugarpost.com; Fred@sugarpost.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding.

VERMONT Frog Hollow Craft School in Middlebury — 1 Mill street, Middlebury, Vt 05753; (802) 388-3177; www.froghollow. org/middlebury; info@froghollow.org; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, glazing/decoration, glaze calculation.

VIRGINIA

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CLAyTIMES¡COM n July/August 2006

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Metro Parks Tacoma — 4702 south 19th street, tacoma, WA 98405; (253) 305-1022; www. metroparkstacoma.org; onlinereghelp@tacomaparks. com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, raku firing.

WEST VIRGINIA Randolph County Community Arts Center — 2 Park street, Elkins, WV 26241; (304) 637-2355; www.randolpharts.org; randolpharts@meer. net; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture.

WISCONSIN Blueraku Studios — River Center shoppes, 133 state street, Medford, WI 54451; (715) 748-3407; www.bluerakustudios.com; lindsey@ bluerakustudios.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture, mosaic.

WYOMING Shoshone Ceramics — 121 trout Creek Road, Ft. Washakie, Wy 82514; (307) 330-4848; shoshoneceramics@hotmail.com; handbuilding.

CANADA False Creek Community Centre — 1318 Cartwright street, Vancouver, BC, V6H 3R8; (604) 257-8195; falsecreekcc.ca; wheel-throwing, handbuilding.

West End Community Center — 870 Denman street, Vancouver, BC; V6g 2l8; (604) 257-8333; westendcc.ca; westendcc@vancouver.ca; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture.

Creative Clay Studios — 5704 C-E general Washington Drive, Alexandria, VA 22312; (703) 7509480; www.creativeclaypottery.com; daisy_gail@msn. com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture, raku firing.

The Potters’ Studio — 2 thorncliffe Park Drive, East york, ON, M4H 1H2; (416) 423-1827; wheel-throwing, handbuilding.

The Art League School — located in the torpedo Factory, 105 North union street, Alexandria, VA 22314; (703) 683-2323; www.theartleague.org; school@theartleague.org; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture, tile, mosaic.

The Clay Pit/Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art — 111 Queen’s Park, toronto, ON, M5s 2C7; (416) 586-8080; www.gardinermuseum. on.ca; mail@gardinermuseum.on.ca; wheel-throwing, handbuilding. [

WASHINGTON Northwest Ceramic Art Institute (The Clay Zone) — 2727 Westmoor Court, Olympia, WA 98502; (360) 943-7765; www.theclayzone. com; ddurso@theclayzone.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture.

A year-round listing of your community pottery class in CT and on our Web site is available for just $99—a real bargain!

To feature your classes, contact Jenna McCracken at (540) 882-3576 or e-mail: claytimes@aol.com.

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Looking for helpful studio tips? Got some to share? This is the place...

Wax That Crack!

When I handbuild with slabs, I often have problems during the drying stage with pieces cracking at the joins/seams between slabs. Bill van Gilder showed me that a generous application of wax along all seams can prevent this.

Make sure to apply the wax on both sides of the seam. This allows the weakest parts of the vessel—the seams—to remain moist and flexible until the unwaxed portions have dried and settled into position, thus eliminating one cause of cracking.

Michael Douglas Annapolis, MD

Tanked Up My studio was not plumbed for running water, and we all know how essential water is to our business. I figured out a way to get around having to lug buckets of water to my studio.

I found a 100-gallon plastic water storage tank at the local farm supply store. I plumbed it with an outside water faucet fitting, and set it upon a frame made of 3" angle iron. The frame is 5' tall, so there is room for shelving beneath the tank. I have a 4' long piece of garden hose attached to the faucet fitting so I can reach out to fill buckets for washing and mixing glazes.

I pull the water hose from outside into my studio to fill the tank only 2 or 3 times a year. Of course, that depends on how much you produce. Now I have all

Laurie Embry Howard, CO

Pin Trimming To avoid warping in large platters: When the platter is ready to trim, place a few cork board pins—the kind with the plastic knobs—in a line from the center of the platter to the edge where the foot will be. The length of the pins can be adjusted on a grinding wheel.

The next step is very important! Place a bat on top of the platter and flip the platter over. You may need some assistance if the platter is very large. Remove the bat that was on the bottom (now on top), secure the platter to the remaining bat, and begin trimming.

Trim until you feel the tip of each of the pins against your trimming tool as you move from the center to the edge. The bottom will be as thick as the length of the pins, which you’ll now remove. You may leave the pot inverted to dry or flip it over by placing a bat on top and flipping it over. Never pick up the platter with your hands, as clay has a memory and will warp. Leave it on the bat or a board until completely dry.

Linda Stauffer Quakertown, PA

Buck Plucking My buddy, Chris Powell of cpowellpottery.com, solved my long time plucking problem. Plucking is when tiny flakes snap off the pot’s foot because it has adhered to the kiln shelf or tile.

I found it occuring repeatedly with my high-fired porcelain pots, no matter how clean I had the foot before putting the

piece in the kiln. It would occur even when my pots were fired on freshly kilnwashed tiles.

Something in the clay was melting and sticking. Chris suggested sifting a thin layer of alumina into a shallow tray or pan. Give the bottom a final wipe with a wet sponge, then set the pot on the thin layer of sifted alumina. When you pick the pot up, the foot will have that thin layer of alumina just where the pot meets the kiln shelf.

Alumina is a refractory that is apparently unfazed by high temperatures and I have never had the problem since Chris gave me that suggestion. It is nice to totally eliminate a problem. In addition, another recently realized benefit is that I find that I am no longer kiln-washing shelves and tiles to fire pots on.

This little tip has proven itself by giving me better pots technically, more time, and less studio mess. Thank you, Chris!

Tim Eberhardt St. Louis, MO [

Note from Jon Singer, CT proofreader: Larry Bruning, of Bruning Pottery (now in Snohomish, WA) adds Aluminum Hydroxide (loosely called “Alumina Hydrate” by most pottery supply houses) to the water-based emulsion wax that he uses as a resist on the bases of his pieces. A teaspoon or two is about enough for a cup of wax that has been thinned with water to a good working consistency. This mix leaves a powdery deposit of Alumina behind when you fire it, so use it only on the bottoms of pieces, and keep it separate from any wax you use as a regular glaze resist. (Aluminum hydroxide is less dense than Alumina, so it doesn’t settle out quite as quickly, and you don’t have to stir the wax as often while you’re using it.)

EARN A CLAY TIMES T-SHIRT! Send us your useful clay tip or technique to share with our readers. If it’s published, we’ll send you a Clay Times T-shirt. Mail your tips (and T-shirt size) to: The Slurry Bucket, c/o Clay Times, PO Box 365, Waterford, VA 20197.

CLAyTIMES·COM n July/August 2006

The water is gravity-fed and turns on and off with a turn of the handle. You can, of course, get different sizes of tanks. I believe they can be purchased in 50-, 100,- 150-, and 200- gallon sizes or larger.

the water I need at the flick of the wrist, without having to strain my back.

Readers Share I Tips & Techniques

The Slurry Bucket

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Resources I Classified Marketplace

Classified Marketplace Classes & Workshops

Opportunities

• A Summer Workshop with Marko Fields July 22-23 at the KC Clay Guild in Kansas City, MO. Slides, demos, lecture, hands-on: for information contact Susan Speck, llywhite54@yahoo.com; visit KCCG Web site www.kcclayguild.org; or call (816) 363-1373. Cost is $125 (students $75).

• Bluegrass Clay National (November 4December 30, 2006). Deadline for entries: September 1. Fee: $25 for up to 5 slides.

Juror: John Utgaard. $1500 in awards.

For prospectus, send SASE to: BLUECLAY, Yeiser Art Center, 200 Broadway St., Paducah, Kentucky, 4200, or visit www. yeiserartcenter.org.

• Classes, classes, classes! The Frederick Pottery School in Frederick, Maryland. Yearround throwing and handbuilding classes for teens and adults. (301) 473-8833. Visit www.frederickpotteryschool.com.

•

•

A two-day workshop with Lana Wilson will be held October 6 and 7, 2006 at the MCC Conference Center in Crystal Lake, Illinois. Lana works with white stoneware clay fired in oxidation to produce her distinctive hand built pieces. For info visit www.clayworkersguild.com or call Molly Walsh at MCC (815) 455-8697.

• Anagama Wood-firing Workshop with Hiroshi Ogawa and Sam Hoffman in Boulder, Colorado. August 26-31. $250 for Boulder residents, $312 for non-residents.

Weekend workshop with Hiroshi and Sam in the studio September 2-3. $125 for residents and $156 for non-residents. Contact Nancy Utterback at (303) 441-3446 for more information.

Employment & Residencies

•

Residency available — Large studio space. Wood, salt, gas, and electric kilns.

New facility with new equipment on 100acre historic farm. Visit the Web site at www.cubcreek.org or e-mail jessiman@ ceva.net.

CLAyTIMES·COM n July/August 2006

Events

Craft Emergency Relief Fund (CERF) —Visit www.craftemergency.org. The Craft Emergency Relief Fund exists to help you and your fellow artists strengthen and sustain your businesses. Visit our Web site for information on emergency assistance and check out our resources on prevention, protection, recovery and professional development. Click ‘Contact’ to sign up for CERF e-mail updates.

“Craft Forms 2006” 12th Annual National Juried Exhibition of Contemporary Craft. December 1, 2006-January 24, 2007. Juror: Gretchen G. Keyworth, curator of the Fuller Craft Museum. $3,000 + Cash Awards & Group or Solo Exhibitions. All Craft Media. Entry Fee: $25.

Deadline: September 26, 2006. For prospectus, send SASE to Wayne Art Center, 413 Maplewood Avenue, Wayne, PA 19087. www.wayneart.org.

• To All K-12 Ceramic Arts Teachers — The 10th Annual National K-12 Ceramics Exhibition opens March, 2007 in Louisville, KY at the NCECA Conference. Deadline for student entries by their teachers only is December 21, 2006. Visit us at www. k12clay.org.

•

Potter’s retreat. Tucson, Arizona. Furnished cottages for rent on a private estate.

Share a large ceramics studio, kilns, pool, and spa. The Hummingbird House. Call (520) 742-3969, or toll-free (877) HUMMING; www.hummingbirdhouse.com.

• Second Annual Vasefinder Nationals.

For details, please visit www.vasefinder. com.

•

Clayworker’s Guild of Illinois Members Show at the Old Courthouse Arts Center, October 5-November 12, 2006 on the Historic Woodstock Square, Woodstock, Illinois.

Products and Services

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NEW! Bill van Gilder’s Professional Hand Tools. 10 very functional tools for handbuilding and wheel work: Classroom and studio-safe wire knife, corrugated handle-making boards, no-clog hole cutters, profiled foot ribs, textured butter paddles, rope-textured dowels, slip/glaze spray cans, wiggled cut-off wires, beveled undercutting stick. All designed by a potter, for potters! Visit store at www. claytimes.com to view and order tools.

• Kiln Repair. All makes — Washington, DC metro & Northern Virginia. $45/hour (one-hour minimum) plus parts. Larry Safford, The Studio Resource, 703-283-7458; larrysafford@comcast.net.

Kiln and Studio Repair Service — Mike Swauger, The Kiln Doctor, licensed and insured. (877) 545-6362; mike@thekilndoctor. com. Equipment sales, delivery & set-up, installations. Most parts and accessories are in stock on my full service vehicle. Serving VA, MD, WV, DC. Rely on more than 17 years of experience.

Travel

• Workshops and Tours in an Undiscov-

ered Mexico. Hands-on learning and uncommon small-group travel into the potter’s world of deep Mexico. Winter 2007.

January: Pre-Colombian Woodfiring, Zapotec Handbuilding; February: Great Masters of Tonala; March: Potters of Michoacan; April: Mata Ortiz Workshop. www. traditionsmexico.com, traditionsmexico@ yahoo.com.

Books & Videos

• EXTRUDE IT! Getting the Most From Your Clay Extruder, new instructional DVD videos by David Hendley. Volume I—extrusions as handles, feet and additions; Volume II—two-part dies for hollow extrusions; Volume III—the expansion box and extrusions as building components. $40 each or $100 for the set (more than four hours of video). (903) 795-3779; www. farmpots.com.

• Make Money Selling Your Contemporary Crafts! 900 fairs, 1200 galleries, tips, promoters. Send $29.95 to Craftmasters, Box 1655, Dept. CT, Sebastopol, CA 95473. www.craftshowplace.com.

Real Estate House for Sale with Attached Studio: 3,151-sq.-ft, house plus attached fully operational 1,000-sq.-ft. pottery studio!

Excellent opportunity for potter to create or teach in this sun-lit studio. Home is located in the pristine foothills just minutes from downtown Boulder, Colorado. Views abound! To see go to www.woodstockexperience.com or call John Farley at Woodstock Real Estate (303) 554-8300. [

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For complete details, visit the Web site at www.claytimes.com or call ad manager Karen Freeman at 540-882-3576.

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CLAyTIMES¡COM n July/August 2006

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Opinion I Around the Firebox

Do It and the Money Will Come Once you have decided to forget about the money and make your passion your business, you must follow the rules of business, which means you can never ignore your relationship with money ...

M

y wife Karen has decided that she wants to start a school. It’s not like it’s an unreasonable goal.

She was a teacher years ago, when we were first married. She retired to raise and educate our own children, and then, several years ago when our youngest was grown, she went back to work at a public school.

She will soon finish her master’s degree in education.

I’m writing about this in Clay Times because, on the surface, quitting your teaching job (with its security, vacation time, and health and retirement benefits) to start an unfunded school without so much as a classroom building, makes about as much sense as giving up a good job to become a potter. That is to say, economically speaking, it pretty much makes no sense.

CLAyTIMES·COM n July/August 2006

But there’s more to life than economics, so I’m not about to tell her that, just as I wouldn’t want to discourage a skilled and enthusiastic potter. In fact, the conversations we’ve been having about her school have served to remind me of the discussions we had when I decided to try to make a go of it as a potter and I counted on her for support.

To give her some encouragement, I pulled out my well-worn, 30-year-old copy of The Seven Laws of Money, by Michael Phillips.This is not your typical how-to financial book offering advice on budgeting, investing for retirement, or teaching your children about money. It approaches the subject from a spiritual, almost mystical perspective (the third law: “Money is a Dream, a Fantasy as Alluring as the Pied Piper”).

I read her the first law, since it is the one most applicable to a would-be school founder: “Do It! Money Will Come When You are Doing the Right Thing.” In fact, on re-reading the book, I discovered that the author, a former bank vice-president and, at the time, business manager of a foundation, wrote it specifically as a response to

the many requests he received seeking advice about raising money to fund schools.

But the concept is equally applicable to someone considering making the leap to becoming a full-time professional potter.

by David Hendley

same: I’m unhappy and I end up with dozens of unsold things I don’t like, the result of focusing on money, not work.

Of course, the first law is not as easy and simple as it might sound, and people who have strong money-oriented goals are probably not going to accept it. The basic concept is that a person’s focus must be on his or her passion, and the money is secondary to what you are actually doing.

If you are devoted enough and can find enough passion within yourself, you will find an almost infinite number of ways to make a living at the things you want to do.

Years ago, this premise certainly boosted my confidence when I decided to follow my passion and become a potter.

But wait, don’t turn in your two-weeks’ notice and go to your studio with the idea that everything will turn out okay just yet. The second law serves as a counter point to the first law: “Money Has Its Own Rules—Records, Budgets, Saving, and Borrowing.” So the deal is, once you have decided to forget about the money and make your passion your business, you must follow the rules of business, which means you can never ignore your relationship with money. Interesting dichotomy, isn’t it? Forget about money, so you can start a business doing what you love to do, and then you will have to start paying attention to and abiding by the rules of money.

Several times through the years, young pottery students have asked me if it is really possible to make a living as a potter and whether they should try it. My answer, and I’m not trying to be glib, is “No, it’s difficult and it’s probably not for you.” See, the question itself indicates a lack of total commitment, and you probably will not make it as a potter unless you can’t imagine doing anything else. If your question is about making a living, not being a potter, you are focusing on money, not on the work.

So, what it really comes down to is there is no free lunch. If you want to make pottery, you can either work at another job and make pots as a sideline, or you can consider potting your full-time occupation, which means you must spend the required amount of time maintaining the business aspects of the enterprise. Either way, you will be spending time dealing with mundane details, looking forward to those alltoo-short periods when you can practice your passion.

You become what you do and think about.

If your dream is to become a potter and you wait tables or teach art to make money so you can then make pottery—well, you are now a changed person. You are no longer an aspiring potter whose passion makes up the core of your activities; you are now a waiter or a teacher, and money has become your focus.

I’ll try to report back in a couple of years, and let you know how Karen’s school is going. In the meantime, if you are curious about the other four laws, here they are: “Money is a Nightmare” (money leading to crimes); “You Can Never Really Give Money Away,” and its converse, “You Can Never Really Receive Money As a Gift” (there are always strings attached); and “There Are Worlds Without Money” (the dream world).

The Seven Laws of Money is still in print. [

I’ve found this to be a good principle to remember once you have made the commitment to being a potter, as well. A few times I’ve been tempted to make some dorky little ceramic item just because I think it will sell. The result is always the

David Hendley operates Old Farmhouse Pottery in Maydelle, Texas. Please visit his Web site at www.farmpots.com or send an e-mail to: david@farmpots.com.

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