Clay Times Magazine Volume 14 • Issue 77 by claytimes

Clay art

trends,

tools,

and

techniques

TIMES

Volume 14 • Number 4 July/August 2008

Defying Gravity:

Jennifer McCurdy’s Carved & Pierced Porcelain Tea Bowls, teabowls An In-Depth Look at the Japanese Tea Bowl Is Your Kiln Really Ready for Natural Gas? Wheel-throwing and Handbuilding Tips from Arrowmont The Long Oval Dish: A Great Step-byStep Project Awesome New Tools for Enhancing Your Claywork $ 7.50 U.S./$9 CAN

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contents

TIMES

Clay

July/August 2008 Volume 14, Number 4

KATHERINE ROSE PHOTO

Stacked Carved Jar by Mary Kay Botkins. Celadon-glazed porcelain. For complete details on her slab-building techniques, turn to page 46.

features 34 Defying Gravity: Jennifer McCurdy’s Carved and Pierced Porcelain Here’s a woman who takes clay carving to the extreme—even firing her works upside-down for shape enhancement!

43 Making a Winter Tea Bowl Yin Yang Egg #1 by Jennifer McCurdy. 7" x 6" x 6".

on exhibit 40 Tea Bowls, teabowls Curator Joe Campbell writes about the Japanese tea bowl aesthetic and offers several images of works displayed during this recent exhibition in Frederick, Maryland.

Kristin Muller photographs and describes the step-by-step process used by Takao Okazaki to make traditional Japanese winter tea bowls.

46 Tossing Slabs & Throwing Pots K.T. Anders shares several handbuilding and wheel-throwing techniques learned at Arrowmont workshops by Mary Kay Botkins and Susan Filley.

contents

TIMES

Clay July/August 2008 • Volume 14, Number 4

departments

columns

9 EDITOR’S DESK

21 AS FAR AS I KNOW “Creative Thinking” by Pete Pinnell

You’re gonna love our new Web site!

25 BENEATH THE SURFACE

11 YOUR WORDS

“Annie Chrietzberg, Part 2” by Lana Wilson

Readers offer their feedback & opinions

13 WHAT'S HOT

29 TEACHING TECHNIQUES

Clay world news, events, and calls for entries

“A Two-step, Altered Pot Project: Making a Long Oval Dish” by Bill van Gilder

27 GREAT GLAZES Annie Chrietzberg shares several cone 6 formulas.

54 KILNS & FIRING “Are You Ready for the Switch to Natural Gas?” by Marc Ward

33 SLURRY BUCKET TIPS Save time and trouble with these studio-tested tips and techniques.

55 TOOL TIMES “What’s New in Tools” by Vince Pitelka

52 THE GALLERY A selection of unique works by CT readers

57 STUDIO HEALTH AND SAFETY “R.T. Vanderbilt Loses Second Mesothelia Lawsuit” by Monona Rossol

59 POTTERY CLASSES Where you can learn claywork in the U.S. & abroad

62 BOOKS & VIDEOS

63 CLASSIFIED MARKETPLACE

“Firing: Philosophies within Contemporary Ceramic Practice” review by Steve Branfman

Goods and services offered especially for active clay artists On the cover: Coral Vessel #1 by Jennifer McCurdy. 13" x 8" x 8". Photo by Katherine Rose.

Tea Bowl by Shane Sellers. One of several works recently displayed at Frederick Community College in Frederick, MD. See story, page 40.

Susan Filley flattens a freshly-thrown form by squeezing it between two bats during a recent workshop at Arrowmont School in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. To learn more, turn to page 46.

65 AROUND THE FIREBOX “One Word: Plastics” by David Hendley

O u r Wo r l d I s F l at …

with 10 [or 12] sides.

Advancer® kiln shelves are made flat to stay flat. At Cone 10, they won't warp, sag or crack, even under heavy loads and after hundreds of firing cycles! Made in the U.S.A., Advancer® brand is the only silicon carbide kiln shelf that is safe for use in top loading electric kilns. Its unique protective oxide surface is also highly resistant to glaze drips and runs.

Spouting Off I Editor's Desk

CT Web Site Now Offers Full Range of Reader Services

TEL : 508-795-5577

•

1 New Bond Street, Worcester, MA 01615-0136

E-MAIL : ceramicsystems@saint-gobain.com

ow often do you find yourself online? Is it weekly, daily, or several times a day? If you’re like most of us, it has become a daily ritual to log on and check e-mail and news, weather, or stocks, and perhaps even do some research or a bit of shopping. Clay Times has operated its Web site since the mid 1990s and we’re pleased to report that tens of thousands of people now visit our site each month. As this online community has grown, we have expanded along with it by including virtual content ranging from online articles, a fully searchable back issue index, and an online reader survey to our virtual store, where you can subscribe or renew your subscription or purchase potters’ favorites including glaze books, tools, T-shirts, and more ... If you haven’t visited claytimes.com lately, I encourage you to take a look! We’ve recently updated the entire site with a brand-new design that incorporates flash animations and video, as well as menus and departments that are more user-friendly than ever! A visit to the site also allows you to submit articles, advertisements, comments, or announcements via our “contact” link at the bottom of each page, with its direct e-mail links to CT staff members and columnists.

For your friends who have never seen the magazine, there’s even a link to request a free sample issue, as well as a link to instantly preview a digital version of the entire magazine before they subscribe. So I hope you’ll check out claytimes.com and e-mail me with your comments and suggestions! I look forward to hearing from you. Please send comments to: claytimes@gmail.com — Polly Beach, Editor [

CLAYTIMES·COM n July/August 2008

Special extras include daily tips and glaze recipes, plus measurement conversion charts and links to our favorite ceramic suppliers, educators, and other ceramics resources. We also publish the current issue’s classified ads and pottery class listings online.

CLAYTIMESÂ·COM n July/August 2008

section of our next issue so that you receive credit for the glaze.

Please inform your readers that the unattributed Cone 6 Clear glaze published on page 51 of your May/June 2008 issue is correctly known as “Glossy Clear Liner Glaze” as published on page 97 in the book, Mastering Cone 6 Glazes.

As you know, when people find a glaze they like, they share it with fellow potters. Somewhere along the line as it’s passed down from individual to individual, the origination of the glaze can get lost.

John Hesselberth coauthor of Mastering Cone 6 Glazes

Response Re: Glaze Credit Where Credit is Due Here, in part, is the response from the reader who supplied the glaze formula referenced above: “That recipe is currently used at our pottery center & was given to me in 2003 by one of the instructors at that time. “She didn’t say where it came from ... only that she had tested & used it. So, in my current glaze recipe book, the glaze is simply listed as ‘Cone 6 Clear.’ However, the glaze field has been open and sharing for a long time; are we now being asked not to share unless the glaze recipe is researched, origination source discovered, & credit given? How does one know when you’re at the absolute point of origin? “I would guess that a large percentage of the glaze recipes published anywhere these days originate somewhere other than with the potter who contributes the recipe for publication. I truly believe that, as a potting community, we’re honest folks & if we misstep in crediting a glaze recipe to whomever, it’s not done vengefully or knowingly.”

Thanks for the alert. If you wish, I’ll be happy to publish your e-mail in the “letters”

Quality Products. Discount Pricing. www.cattlebarnclay.com

magazine

Editor & Art Director: Polly Beach claytimes@gmail.com Circulation Manager: Rachel Brownell ctcirculation@gmail.com

I wish there were a way to identify all glaze formulas prior to publication so that, even if someone doesn’t know it’s one of your glazes, we [publishers] can figure it out up front!

Advertising Manager: Janie Herdman claytimesads@gmail.com

If you have a database you’d like to share with me, solely for that purpose, I’d be happy to use it to check any of the recipes we plan to publish against your database before the issue goes to press.

Office Assistant: Ingrid Phillips

Polly Beach, Editor

Soldner Accolades I just wanted to say ‘thanks’ for putting together Paul Soldner’s essays [in his new book, Nothing to Hide, published by Clay Times in March of this year]. I had the pleasure of assisting Paul in several international workshops and a hot tub building workshop between 1997-2001. I found him to be one of the most brilliant minds I have ever met. I have been to his home in Aspen, and it was staggering to hear him talk about [its building process], and his experimenting, and the work he has done! It seems so many people in the clay community almost have discredited him, due to his “ways of life.” I am glad you are putting out there what he truly has done, and giving him the credit I personally think he deserves. I can’t wait to read the essays! Brian Nettles, via e-mail [

Accounts Manager: Nanette Greene clayaccounts@gmail.com Proofreader: Jenna McCracken

Regular Columnists: Steve Branfman, Books & Videos David Hendley, Around the Firebox Pete Pinnell, As Far as I Know Vince Pitelka, Tool Times Monona Rossol, Health & Safety Kelly Savino, Around the Firebox Bill van Gilder, Teaching Techniques Marc Ward, Kilns & Firing Lana Wilson, Beneath the Surface Contributing Writers: K.T. Anders Joe Campbell Kristin Muller Published by: CLAY TIMES INC. 15481 Second St. • PO Box 365 Waterford, Virginia 20197-0365 540.882.3576 • FAX 540.882.4196 Toll-free subscription line: 800.356.2529 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 © 2008 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.

CLAYTIMES·COM n July/AugusT 2008

After receipt of John’s e-mail, I sent him the following response:

Clay

Glaze Credit Where Credit is Due

TIMES

Readers’ Letters

Spouting Off I Your Words

ceramic art trends, t oo l s & t e c h n i q u e s

CLAYTIMESÂ·COM n July/August 2008

ceramic art world news • events • calls for entries

Conferences ‰ From July 13–17, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle, Maine will present The Language of Craft. The event will feature lectures and panel discussions with artists including Paulus Berensohn, Akiko Busch, Charles Garoian, Janet Koplos, John McQueen, Margo Mensing, Warren Seelig, and Kim Stafford. Registration fee: $310. For complete details, contact Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, PO Box 518, Deer Isle, ME 04627; www.haystack-mtn.org. Ralph Bacerra, 1938-2008

In Memoriam ‰ Ralph Bacerra, renowned ceramic artist and career educator, died June 10 of lung cancer at his home in Eagle Rock, California. He was 70 years old. Bacerra studied ceramics with Vivika Heino at Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles, and later became chairperson of its ceramics department from 19631971. He then moved to Valencia, California to work full-time in his studio.

His ceramic art is held by numerous collectors and museums worldwide. It incorporates geometrically complicated form with use of color and contrast via a multi-staged process of overglazing.

‰ Advance registration is now open for the second annual Cruisin’ for Clay Potters Conference in the Caribbean, to take place Jan. 11-18, 2009. Sign up now to beat next year’s midwinter blues with an incredible week of fun in the sun and clay presentations by Tom & Elaine Coleman, Susan Filley, Bill van Gilder, and Xavier Gonzalez on board Royal Caribbean’s “Freedom of the Seas” cruise ship. Destinations include San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Virgin Islands ports of St. Thomas and St. Maarten, with Miami, FL port of departure. For full details and registration materials, log onto www.claytimes.com, or contact Clay

‰ Form and Function: 2009 North Carolina Potters Conference takes place March 13-15, 2009 in Asheboro, North Carolina. Guest presenters including Alleghany Meadows, Mark Pharis, and Phil Rogers will offer panel discussions and lectures. To request full details, contact the Randolph Arts Guild, Moring Arts Center, 123 Sunset Ave., PO Box 1033, Asheboro NC 27204-1033; tel. 336.629.0399; e-mail arts@asheboro.com; www.randolpharts guild.com.

Calls for Entries ‰ Digital or slide submissions are now being accepted through July 15 by the Art Center of Estes Park, Colorado, for its 12th Annual Lines into Shapes show, to take place Sept. 19–Oct. 4. Fee is $13 per submission. To obtain a prospectus, visit www.artcenterofestes.com, or send an SASE to the Art Center of Estes Park, PO Box 3635, Estes Park, CO 80517; 970.586.5882. ‰ Digital and slide submissions are being accepted through July 16 for the University of Indianapolis 2008–2010 Sculpture Walk, to take place Sept. 25, 2008–Aug. 29, 2009 at the University of Indianapolis, Indiana. To obtain a prospectus, send your SASE to the Dept. of Art and Design, University of Indianapolis, 1400 E. Hanna Ave., Indianapolis, IN 46227; or visit http://art.uindy.edu. ‰ Pottworks Gallery of Hamilton, Michigan, is accepting entries through July 18 for Artful Drinking Vessels, to take place Oct. 3–Nov. 1. Entry fee: $30 for three entries; $40 for five. Obtain further details by contacting Pottworks Gallery,

CLAYTIMES·COM n July/August 2008

Bacerra is credited with important technological innovations in advanced ceramics, especially the development of oven-top range surfaces for the Induction Stove Corporation that featured the use of electromagnetic induction. From 1983-97, he returned to educating as chair of the ceramic art department at Otis Art Institute, focusing on technical proficiency and knowledge of materials.

‰ The International Sculpture Center will present Sculpture in Public: Part 2, Public Art from Oct. 2-4 at the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The conference will offer special exhibitions, panel discussions, and trade fair, along with keynote address by sculptor and installation artist Jaume Plensa. Plensa’s work will also be the subject of a major exhibition at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park. For online registration and complete conference details, log onto www. sculpture.org, or call 202.234.0555.

Times, PO Box 365, Waterford, VA 20197; 800.356.2529; claytimes@gmail.com.

Hot Stuff I News & Events

What’s Hot

Hot Stuff I News & Events

3765 Lincoln Rd., Hamilton, MI 49419; wmcp@verizon.net; www.pottworks.com; 269.751.5839. ‰ Funeria of Graton, California will host the Fourth International Biennial Ashes to Art/ Scattered exhibition from Sept. 26–Nov. 30. Digital and slide entries may be submitted through Aug. 1 and must consist of either non-traditional funerary urns, ritual objects, scattering vessels, or reliquaries. Entry fee: $35 for three entries; $5 for each additional entry. Jurors are: Nadine Jarvis, Sylvia Seventy, and Adela Akers. To obtain a prospectus, send your SASE to Funeria, PO Box 221, Graton, CA 95444; pros@funeria. com; www.funeria.com; 707.829.1966. ‰ The Clay Studio of Missoula, Montana is accepting submissions through Aug. 1 for its Soda National IV exhibition, to take place Nov. 7–28. Jim Koudelka will jury the show from digital and slide submissions. Entry fee: $30 for three entries. To request a prospectus, mail your SASE to Hannah Fisher, The Clay Studio of Missoula, 1106 Hawthorne Unit A, Missoula, MT 59802; info@ theclaystudioofmissoula.org; Web site: www. theclaystudioofmissoula.org.

Crystalline

Glazing

Workshops with

Xavier González

CLAYTIMES·COM n July/August 2008

June 16-20, 2008 Sierra Nevada College Lake Tahoe, NV www.sierranevada.edu/ workshops Hands on Workshop Throwing Techniques and Crystalline Glazes

July 26 & 27, 2008 Boulder, Colorado Potters Guild Crystalline Glazing: Demos and Lecture

To schedule a workshop with Xavier González, call 818.779.0990 or e-mail: xgceramics@sbcglobal.net

‰ Juror Simon Levin is accepting digital submissions through Aug. 1 on behalf of ClaySpace Ceramic Studio of Warrenville, Illinois, for the Clay³: National Juried Ceramics Exhibition. The show takes place Oct. 24–Nov. 21 and is open to functional and sculptural ceramic art that fits within one cubic foot. Entry fee is $25 for three entries. For more information, contact ClaySpace Ceramic Studio, 28 W. 210 Warrenville Rd., Warrenville, IL 60555; info@clayspace.net; www.clayspace.net; 630.393.2529. ‰ Ceramics Biennial 2008 is accepting digital entries through Aug. 1 of works consisting predominantly of clay. Entry fee is $25 for two entries; the show takes place Oct. 8–Nov. 7. To obtain a prospectus, log onto www.nhia.edu/uploadcache/2008_Ceramics Biennial.pdf, or send your SASE to the attention of Alison Williams, Ceramics Biennial, 148 Concord St., Manchester, NH 03104. ‰ Former and current residents of Indiana are eligible to submit their digital entries through Aug. 8 for Clayfest 2008, to take place Sept. 5–Oct. 3 in Indianapolis. Entry fee: $25 for three entries. To learn more, contact Abbey Pintar, c/o Basile Center, Herron School of Art and Design, 735 W. New York St., Indianapolis, IN 46202; apintar@iupui.edu.

‰ The Archie Bray Foundation of Helena, Montana will host its ceramics exhibition, Beyond the Brickyard, in January of 2009. Patti Warashina will jury the show from digital entries of clay works received by the Aug. 15 deadline. Fee: $35 for three entries. For further details, contact the Archie Bray Foundation for Ceramic Arts, 2915 Country Club Ave., Helena, MT 59602; www.archie bray.org; 406.443.3502, ext. 18. ‰ The Wayne Art Center of Wayne, Pennsylvania is accepting digital and slide submissions through Sept. 19 for Craft Forms 2008, to take place Dec. 5, 2008–Jan. 22, 2009. Standard entry fee is $40; just $30 for online submissions. For more information, contact Wayne Art Center, 413 Maplewood Ave., Wayne, PA 19087; www.wayneart.org; www.craftforms.com. ‰ The Feast: About Food, Made from Food, Including Food is accepting digital and slide entries through Oct. 15 for its multimedia show, to take place Feb. 2–March 5, 2009 in Pittsburg, Kansas. Entry fee: $20. To obtain a prospectus, log onto www.pittstate.edu/ art, or contact Pittsburg State University, 1701 S. Broadway, Pittsburg, KS 66762; tel. 620.235.4303; sbowman@pittstate.edu. ‰ Juror Patti Warashina is accepting international digital and slide entries through Nov. 26 for the International Cup show to take place Feb. 6–28, 2009. Fee: $20 for one entry; $25 for two entries. For additional details, contact The Clay Studio of Missoula, 1106 Hawthorne St., Unit A, Missoula, MT 59802; 406.543.0509; info@theclaystudioofmissoula. org; www.theclaystudioofmissoula.org. ‰ Juror Jim Lawton is accepting digital entries through Dec. 5 for The State of Clay 6th Biennial Exhibition to take place March 30–April 25, 2009. Entry fee: $30 for up to three entries. To obtain a prospectus, log onto www.lexingtonma.org/lacs, or contact Lexington Arts and Crafts Society, 130 Waltham St., Lexington, MA 02421; tel. 781.862.9696; lacs.lexington@verizon.net. ‰ The Craft Alliance of St. Louis, Missouri is calling for solo and collaborative installation artist proposals through Dec. 31. For complete details, contact the exhibitions coordinator at the Craft Alliance, 6640 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63130; 314.725.1177 ext. 323; exhibitions@craft alliance.org; www.craftalliance.org. ‰ Solo, two-person, and group exhibition proposals are being accepted through Feb.

Ceramics Exhibitions ‰ Recent Ceramics: Bede Clarke, Jil Franke, J. Daniel Murphy is on exhibit through July 18 at AKAR, 257 East Iowa Ave., Iowa City, Iowa.

‰ Elaine and Tom Coleman takes place through July 30 at Blue Dome Gallery, 307 N. Texas St., Silver City, New Mexico. ‰ Tea × 40, works by San Diego Potters’ Guild; takes place July 1-31 at the San Diego Potters’ Guild, Spanish Village, Studio 29, Balboa Park, San Diego, California. ‰ Art Exchange: Arlington–Cwmbran takes place through July 31 at Lee Arts Center, 5722 Lee Hwy., Arlington, Virginia. ‰ Cheers! A MAD Collection of Goblets is on view through Aug. 2 at Museum of

Art and Design, 40 W. 53rd St., Wayne, Pennsylvania. ‰ Susan Beiner: Synthetic Reality takes place through Aug. 2 at Arizona State University Art Museum, 10th St. and Mill Ave., Tempe, Arizona. ‰ Go Green takes place July 6–Aug. 9 at Dowstudio Gallery, 19 Dow Rd., Deer Isle, Maine. ‰ Beth Cavener Stichter solo exhibition takes place July 11–Aug. 9 at The Art Spirit Gallery, 415 Sherman Ave., Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

Hot Stuff I News & Events

1, 2009 by Pittsburg State University. Either digital or slide entries are welcome; no fee required. For complete details, log onto www.pittstate.edu/art/exopp.html, or contact Pittsburg State University, 1701 S. Broadway, Pittsburg, KS 66762; 620.235.4303; sbowman@pittstate.edu.

‰ Mata Ortiz—Generations, featuring works by second-generation ceramic artists from Mata Ortiz, takes place through July 19 at Armstrong’s Gallery, 150 East 3rd St., Pomona, California. ‰ Beauty and Power: New Work by Misty Gamble takes place through July 20 at Cricket Engine Gallery, 499 Embarcadero Ave., Bldg. #3, Oakland, California. ‰ The Cosmic Collection by Josh Blanc takes place through July 20 at Clay Squared to Infinity/Infinity Gallery, 34 Thirteenth Ave., Minneapolis, Minnesota. ‰ Generations: Ken Shores takes place through July 23 at Museum of Contemporary Craft, 724 Northwest Davis St., Portland, Oregon. ‰ POTR3: Potters of the Roan in Triplicate takes place through July 24 at Crimson Laurel Gallery, 23 Crimson Laurel Way, Bakersville, North Carolina. ‰ Turned and Thrown: English Pottery, 1660–1820 takes place through July 27 at Philadelphia Museum of Art, 26th St. and the Benjamin Franklin Pkwy., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

‰ The Fifth Annual Marge Brown Kalodner Graduate Student Exhibition takes place through July 27 at The Clay Studio, 139 N. 2nd St., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ‰ Bethany Krull, Signal takes place through July 27 at Genesee Pottery, 713 Monroe Ave., Rochester, New York.

CLAYTIMES·COM n July/August 2008

‰ Political Craft takes place through July 27 at the Society of Arts and Crafts, 175 Newbury St., Boston, Massachusetts.

Hot Stuff I News & Events

‰ Victoria Christen solo exhibition takes place through Aug. 9 at Margo’s Pottery and Fine Craft, 1 Main St., Buffalo, Wyoming. ‰ Charles Lakofsky: Ohio Modernist Master takes place through Aug. 10 at Zanesville Art Center, 620 Military Rd., Zanesville, Ohio. ‰ Fourth Annual Teapot Exhibition takes place through Aug. 13 at Red Sky

Gallery, 1244 East Blvd., Charlotte, North Carolina. ‰ Pueblo Clay: America’s First Pottery takes place July 26–Aug. 16 at American Museum of Ceramic Art, 340 S. Garey Ave., Pomona, California. ‰ Michael Kline and Jenny Mendes takes place July 25–Aug. 22 at AKAR, 257 East Iowa Ave., Iowa City, Iowa.

‰ Clay Continuum III takes place July 29–Aug. 23 at Gallery in the Park (Spanish Peaks Art Council), 132 W. Ryus, La Veta, Colorado. ‰ Made at The Clay Studio takes place Aug. 1–24 at The Clay Studio, 139 N. 2nd St., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ‰ Six McKnight Artists, to feature works by Lisa Marie Barber, Joseph Kress, John Lambert, Mike Norman, Hide Sadohara, and John Utgaard, takes place July 11– Aug. 24 at Northern Clay Center, 2424 Franklin Ave. E., Minneapolis, Minnesota. ‰ 32nd Annual Pewabic Staff, Student, and Faculty Exhibition takes place July 11–Aug. 29 at Pewabic Pottery, 10125 E. Jefferson Ave., Detroit, Michigan. ‰ Z Jacobson solo exhibition takes place through Aug. 30 at Del Mano Gallery, 11981 San Vicente Blvd., Los Angeles, California. ‰ The Body in Pots takes place Aug. 1-30 at Red Star Studios, 821 W. 17th St., Kansas City, Missouri. ‰ Contemporary Pottery from North Carolina’s American Indian Communities takes place through Aug. 30 at North Carolina Pottery Center, 250 E. Ave., Seagrove, North Carolina. ‰ Masters of the Art, to feature works by Sam Taylor and Toni Ross, takes place Aug. 1–Sept. 1 at Celadon Gallery, 41 Old Mill Rd., Water Mill, New York.

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‰ Duets takes place Aug. 10–Sept. 6 at Dowstudio Gallery, 19 Dow Rd., Deer Isle, Maine. ‰ National Teapot Show VII takes place through Sept. 7 at Cedar Creek Gallery, 1150 Fleming Rd., Creedmoor, North Carolina. ‰ Aysha Peltz: Stolen Moments takes place Aug. 8–Sept. 14 at The Artisan Gallery, 162 Main St., Northampton, Massachusetts. ‰ Sixth Annual Perspectives 2008: Georgia Pottery Invitational takes place Aug. 30–Sept. 17 at Oconee Cultural Arts Foundation, 34 School St., Watkinsville, Georgia.

‰ Symbiosis, to feature works by Welsh ceramic artists including Duncan Ayscough, Sam Bakewell, Melanie Brown, Lowri Davis, Morgen Hall, Catrin Howell, Walter Keeler, and Claudia Lis, takes place Aug. 9-Sept. 18 at Baltimore Clayworks, 5707 Smith Ave., Baltimore, Maryland. ‰ Sequoia Miller and Sam Taylor takes place Aug. 29–Sept. 19 at AKAR, 257 East Iowa Ave., Iowa City, Iowa. ‰ Chris Miller solo exhibition takes place through Sept. 26 at The Schein-Joseph International Museum of Ceramic Art, Alfred University, Alfred, New York. ‰ Sergei Isupov, Androgyny takes place Aug. 23–Oct. 4 at Ferrin Gallery, 437 North St., Pittsfield, Massachusetts. ‰ 5 Objects, to feature works by Stephen Heywood, Brian Jensen, and Lai Montesca, takes place Sept. 5-Oct. 5 at Celadon Gallery, 41 Old Mill Rd., Water Mill, New York.

Tell Us What You're Up To! Clay Times welcomes your participation & feedback via letters & comments, articles, event listings, studio tips, glaze recipes, photos of your work ... even your videos! Log onto the "Contribute" department at www.claytimes.com for full details!

Hot Stuff I News & Events

‰ Trompe L’oeil: The Artist’s Studio, to feature works by David Furman, Victor Spinski, Lilianne Milgrom, Sylvia Hyman, John Brickel, and Linda van der Linde takes place through Sept. 17 at Cross MacKenzie Ceramic Arts, 1054 31st St., Washington, DC.

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‰ Soaring Voices: Contemporary Japanese Women Ceramic Artists takes place Aug. 7–Oct. 18 at Crocker Art Museum, 216 O St., Sacramento, California. ‰ SAC Artist Awards Exhibition takes place Aug. 9–Oct. 19 at Society of Arts and Crafts, 175 Newbury St., Boston, Massachusetts. ‰ Warren MacKenzie: Legacy of An American Potter takes place Aug. 29–Nov. 30 at Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, 4848 Main St., Houston, Texas.

To list your clay conferences, calls for entries, exhibitions, and ceramic news items in Clay Times, please e-mail announcement details to: claytimes@gmail.com, with “What’s Hot” in the subject line.

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‰ 2009 Midstream: New Ceramics from the Heartland takes place Aug. 23–Feb. 28 at Arizona State University Art Museum’s Ceramic Research Center, 10th St. and Mill Ave., Tempe, Arizona. [

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CLAYTIMES·COM n July/August 2008

susan fil ey

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elaine coleman

bil van gilder

xavier gonzalez

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09 guest artists

CLAYTIMESÂ·COM n July/August 2008

The truly creative mind in any field is no more than this: a human creature born abnormally, inhumanly sensitive. To him, a touch is a blow, a sound is a noise, a misfortune is a tragedy, a joy is an ecstasy, a friend is a lover, a lover is a god, and failure is death. Add to this cruelly delicate organism the overpowering necessity to create, create, create—so that without the creating of music or poetry or books or buildings or something of meaning, his very breath is cut off from him. He must create, must pour out creation. By some strange, unknown, inward urgency he is not really alive unless he is creating.

by PETE PINNELL

— Pearl S. Buck

ith all due respect to Ms. Buck, who was a fine writer and an admirable person, this may be the biggest bunch of hooey I’ve ever read. This romantic ideal of the tortured artist—who usually goes unrecognized by his pedantic contemporaries—is a staple of 20th Century popular literature. This idea seems to have its roots in ideas of genius and originality that were expressed in the writings of Immanuel Kant, and were enthusiastically adopted by romantics of the 19th Century. However this notion came about, clear-eyed reflection shows us that creativity—in art, as well as in other fields—is not dependent on mental illness or emotional instability, and many highly creative people have been otherwise entirely normal.

A completely different take on the nature of art (and artists) can be found in a wonderful series of books written by Ellen Dissanayake, who looks at art from the standpoint of anthropology and ethology. In particular, I highly recommend her book Homo Aestheticus: Where Art Comes from and Why1. In it,

At first glance, the fact that the arts and related aesthetic attitudes vary so widely from one society to another would seem to suggest that they are wholly learned or “cultural” in origin rather than, as I will show, also biological or “natural.” One can make an analogy with language: learning to speak is a universal, innate predisposition for all children even though individual children learn the particular language of the people among whom they are nurtured. Similarly, art can be regarded as a natural, general proclivity that manifests itself in culturally learned specifics such as dances, songs, performances, visual display, and poetic speech. I first read this book more than 10 years ago, and its insights have colored my view of art (and art-making) ever since. Dissanayake polished her ideas by observing people in Sri Lanka, Nigeria, India, Madagascar, and Papua, New Guinea. After reading her books and observing people right here at home, I’ve observed the same innate needs and interests in contemporary Americans. I’m going to ignore the vast public interest in music, theater, dance, and religious ceremony, and focus on the making of objects, since that’s what I do and it is the primary focus of my teaching. In watching people, what I’ve

noticed is an almost universal interest in making objects that involve aesthetic decision making. Many of these objects are not of the kind that would ever find their way into art books or magazines, but I’m convinced that the impulse that creates these objects is the same basic human impulse, simply channeled into other forms. As one example of this impulse, I think of my former neighbor, Harry, an elderly man who lived up the street from me for several years after I moved into my current home. I happen to live in a 1970s-era suburb, and it is an expectation here that you have a green lawn that you try to keep “nice” (e.g. watered, weeded, and regularly mowed). Some people go beyond these basic expectations, and some, like Harry, go way beyond. Harry cut his lawn twice every time he mowed. Each time, he cut it on the diagonal, and he did so in two different directions in order to produce a diagonal, checkerboard pattern in the grass. After cutting the grass, he would painstakingly trim the edges of the lawn to impose a rigid line between grass and pavement. He would then trim the bushes, which were shaped in such a compelling way as to incite jealousy in a dog-show poodle. His involvement didn’t end with his cutting rituals. He watered and fertilized religiously, removed blades of grass that stood out, zealously patrolled for invading plants, and made sure that the grass displayed a flawless homogeneity.

CLAYTIMES·COM n July/August JULY/AUGUST 2008

Who cares, anyway? Why does it matter if there is this popular misconception? It matters because it colors the way we look at the arts in general, and artists in particular, and this affects things as diverse as funding for arts programs, as well the willingness of many people to take part in activities that they fear might label them as “weirdos.”

Dissanayake argues that art-making (the act of making special) is as intrinsic to human nature as eating or sleeping. In the preface to this book she writes:

Perspectives I As Far As I Know

Creative Thinking

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continued from page 21

This lawn was obviously Harry’s creative outlet: he lavished all his energy on it and tried his best to make it beautiful. As art forms go, I wouldn’t place Harry’s lawn on a par with, say, a Beethoven symphony or a Rembrandt painting, but this was Harry’s art. It was personal and heartfelt, and it garnered him much praise and attention from his neighbors and passing pedestrians. Beautiful lawns are certainly not the only way that people channel their creative urges. Some people customize their cars; chopping, sculpting, painting, and souping them up into something that little resembles the original hardware. Others learn woodworking, and turn logs into bowls, or construct beautiful pieces of furniture. Still others design and sew clothing, quilts, and dolls. Some even draw, sculpt, paint, or make pottery. I’ve had the honor of teaching ceramics workshops at more than 100 locations across the U.S., and found the amateur art scene to be booming everywhere I go. Community art centers and junior colleges are thriving, filling classes and struggling to offer enough seats.

Sometimes I think that these walls are erected not to keep quality high, but out of a kind of laziness—it’s a lot easier to simply dismiss an entire class of objects (and their makers) than to confront, categorize, and evaluate objects that fall outside of our conventional art-school expectations. Most of us do not fall into that rarefied category of highly creative people that Ms. Buck refers to, and frankly, I’m not the least bit concerned by this. Creative expression is a universal human characteristic and one that

we should promote, develop, and reward. This expression can take a stunningly broad range of forms, and as artists we should celebrate and encourage this diversity. Footnote: 1. Publisher: University of Washington Press (September 1995) ISBN-10: 0295974796 ISBN-13: 978-0295974798 [

Peter Pinnell is Hixson-Lied Professor of Art at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. You can reach him at ppinnell1@unl.edu.

Perspectives I As Far As I Know

Creative Thinking

So why do I care if some people want to characterize artists as a bunch of aberrant oddballs? I’m bothered by this because I think it’s destructive to the arts, not just because it encourages the rest of society to think of us as “outsiders,” but because even artists and arts organizations sometimes seem to believe it, and to act accordingly. A couple of years ago, the art critic in the Lincoln newspaper wrote an article in which he considered whether the custom cars in a local auto show were art or not. He decided they were not, and cited a number of current theories of art to bolster his view. The fact that creative expression played a major role in the making of these cars, and that many of them were downright beautiful (as he readily admitted), got lost in a sea of wordy, exclusionary theory.

CLAYTIMES·COM n July/August 2008

Instead of using our theories to build a wall of exclusivity, I’d rather see us (the art world) wrestle with new means of evaluation that would allow us to decide which of the cars had the best designs, and honor those as outstanding examples of that art form. It would be great if art museums would recognize a broader range of contemporary objects, and would work to define why some of these objects are superior (as objects of art) to others. Notice that I’m not calling for a lowering of standards: just the opposite.

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This is the second of two articles about Annie Chrietzberg. The first discussed her inspirations (patterns, ducks, and living on a boat), how she deals with rejection (not caring too much and having more than a few things out there she is waiting to hear about), and not keeping everything she makes. In this column she discusses how she supports herself and develops new work, along with some of her glaze formulas.

Wilson: You mentioned you are working in a restaurant two days a week. Can you talk about the finances and realities you have experienced working in clay and making a living? Chrietzberg: I call my involvement with clay “My Ceramic Lifestyle.” There are many components to My Ceramic Lifestyle, and many ways to make a living in clay. Recently, when I changed my life, my financial circumstances altered considerably. I faced the common challenge of needing more money. Moving is expensive, and setting up a new studio is expensive. I was faced with the quite ordinary thing of making my way in the world again after years of not having to worry about it. I had income from sales and articles I’ve been writing, and future prospects of impending shows and workshops, but it wasn’t enough to support myself. I made some inquires to teach, but I’m still fairly new to Denver and there are already fabulous ceramists teaching at well-established programs in town. It will be a while before I make it to the top of the waiting list.

I am a very stubborn artist who wants to make the pots I want to make when I want to make them. I am lucky to be in a gallery, Hibberd McGrath Gallery (www.hibberdmcgrath.com), that doesn’t send me orders for ‘twelve more cups.’ They always want to see what I am making next.

I love contributing to [magazines], so I kept that going by sending more inquiries to them about articles. I also ran a classified ad in an issue that included my article about making cups, offering another studio workshop to make cups. But those were future prospects, the revenue for which was coming in the spring. I was still mired in autumn and needed money to move my kiln. I decided to work in a little English tea shop where I had been a regular customer two days a week instead of making more stuff to sell. This allowed me to keep my commitments for the shows I was in through the holidays, pursue my writing, and frankly get me out of my studio so I didn’t completely burn myself out by trying to do too much. I was glad to be able to keep eating well, and the two days a week out of the studio probably kept me from imploding. I think if I had been trying to make work for shows as

well as things that were more saleable, I would have gotten grumpy and cynical about ceramics. Working out in the real world does have its drawbacks. For instance, it’s not easy for me to go from my home/studio world where I’m registering a student from San Francisco who’s flying into Denver for my studio workshop, to a restaurant where I get hassled by the bossy pip-squeak who’s in college but still living at home and who has seniority over me. There’s a lesson in humility! Another hard kick in the pants came when the owner let me put some potters’ work in her shop. She already sold tea sets and accessories, of the factory production variety. She wanted to try selling some local artists’ work. We set up a nice display of my work and two other potters’ work. In a month, not one piece sold. Here I am, publishing articles about techniques in a national magazine, have my work at Hibberd McGrath—which I think is the best gallery in the state— and have a full schedule of shows, yet I couldn’t sell a cup in the tea shop where I worked. This solidified my commitment to My Ceramic Lifestyle, let me tell you! I appreciate it and think of ways to nurture it like never before. Wilson: How do you develop a new piece? Chrietzberg: When I am first learning something—say a particular type of handle or spout—I’ll just spend a few hours one day making them over and over until I get past that initial awkwardness and whatever technical challenges present themselves. I often use a heat

CLAYTIMES·COM n July/August 2008

I offered a studio workshop, which filled, but I didn’t want to run through all of my resources. And I like to eat well. I never bought into that starving artist paradigm. So I had to evaluate My Ceramic Lifestyle.

I could have sought out some stores in town that wanted ‘handmade’ items, or taken up any number of offers to sell in someone’s shop on consignment. But I have heard potters lamenting, “If only I could make the pots I want to make, but I have all these orders to fill.” I have no illusions that I am a production potter. I am not. If I make three cups in one day, along with starting a couple of teapots, that’s great. I’ll happily spend three or four days working on a three-chambered gurgling watering can. But trying to make even a dozen of something makes me miserable, unless I spread it out over days and do it like I’m ordering donuts: three of these, three of those. I’ve got to keep changing the patterns to keep myself interested.

by LANA Wilson

Perspectives I Beneath the Surface

Annie Chrietzberg

Perspectives I Beneath the Surface

gun to get parts to a self-supporting stage. My lids evolve and change faster than anything else. I like to make lids that are interesting objects on their own, and for the Maude teapots, I really do think of them as hats and think of all the fabulous millinery I’ve seen all over the world. I never officially studied with Peter Beasecker, but I did used to schedule critiques with him. The way he talked about my work would open so many doors in my mind. I remember what he told me about my lids. “It’s as if you have built-in parameters for the pot, but for some reason you don’t have those restrictions for the lid. Your lids are really interesting. I’d like to see your pots become as interesting as your lids.” I heard James Watral joke once, regarding lids, “If it doesn’t fall in the pot, it fits.” The spirit of that statement stuck with me, too. I don’t know if I’m there yet, but regardless, I’m still having a blast with the lids! Sometimes I have to make multiple lids to get an idea to work, but recently an image from a Dr. Suess book popped up in my mind, and I created the right hat on the first go. I don’t know if I will make this kind of hat again; I’ll have to see how it works once it is glazed. Now that I think about it, this kind of lid experimentation is risky ... so what! Wilson: Tell us about the glaze formulas you used for “Cheeseball Bra” and “Auntie Myrtle” (pictured on this page, with glaze formulas on opposite page).

CLAYTIMES·COM n JULY/AUGUST 2008

Chrietzberg: I used Mastering Cone 6 Glazes, by Ron Roy and John Hesselberth. I changed the EPK in the original highcalcium semi-matte recipe to Old Hickory #1, a ball clay. Slow cooling helps keep it matte.

John Hesselberth comments, “Changing the EPK to Old Hickory #1 makes it still a very good glaze; but with that relatively high copper level, I would personally test it before using it on food surfaces. Copper is so hard to keep in a glaze. I had a lot of experimentation to do before I found those two high-calcium semi-mattes that were as good as they are at holding copper. It may have significantly different performance because of the switch to ball clay.” Wilson: What else do you want to tell us about?

Pictured above: Auntie Myrtle (top) and Cheeseball Bra by Annie Chrietzberg. Regarding her process for mixing the glazes used (recipes on opposite page): “I also measure out 5% veegum cer and mix it with lots of hot water, first in a blender. Then it goes into the bucket with more water before I sift in my dry glaze mix. This acts as both a suspending agent and gives the glaze some burly green strength, which is important if you are handling a piece a lot when you are glazing it like I do. I pour and dip every bit I can, then brush on the areas where that just can’t be done.”

Chrietzberg: I think it is of great importance to find the right place to work if you are serious about your career. If people are constantly interrupting you, get rid of them. If you are in a relationship with a person who is undermining you, get out. If your work is getting broken, or your kilns are being interfered with, find a new studio. The great thing about ceramics is there are so many ways to participate. You can make, teach, be a hobbyist, be a serious artist, show, curate, sell, collect, write, photograph, document, fire in

groups, fire solo, work in group studios, turn your living room into a studio, give presentations, attend lectures, drink beer at conferences, take notes at conferences, make tools, sell tools, collect tools, use tools. You get the point. Sample it all, mix it up, find what fits today, change it tomorrow. Make the best work you can, keep your word, make your deadlines, and attempt the impossible. [

Visit Chrietzberg’s Web page at http:// earthtoannie.com to view images of her work and templates for some of her cups.

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.

furnished by ANNIE CHRIETZBERG (SEE PRECEDING STORY)

Mushy Peas • Cone 6 Ox.

Turquoise Variation • Cone 6 Ox.

A green-grey matte glaze that breaks to a different color on texture where thick; used for turquoise area on Chrietzberg’s “Auntie Myrtle” (pictured at top of opposite page; glaze recipe is a modified version of a glaze formula from Mastering Cone 6 Glazes by John Hesselberth and Ron Roy).

Made with the same base as Mushy Peas at left; used for turquoise area on Chrietzberg’s “Cheesball Bra” (pictured on opposite page).

Frit 3195 Wollastonite Nepheline Syenite Old Hickory #1 Glaze Clay Silica TOTAL

20% 29 4 30 17 100%

add Copper Carbonate add Rutile

4% 6%

Frit 3195 Wollastonite Nepheline Syenite Old Hickory #1 Glaze Clay Silica TOTAL add Mason 6410 Canary add Mason 6315 Blue

20% 29 4 30 17 100% 2% 8%

Bright Color Base • Cone 6 Ox. This base is from Jonathan Kaplan's notes; used for crimson area on Chrietzberg’s “Cheesball Bra” (pictured on opposite page).

Corrosion • Cone 6 Ox. A green-grey matte glaze used on the vertical part of Chrietzberg’s “Cheeseball Bra” (pictured on opposite page).

Frit 3195 Wollastonite Nepheline Syenite Old Hickory #1 Glaze Clay Silica TOTAL

1% 0.75% 3% 6%

32% 26 13 10 19 100%

add Mason 6003 for Crimson 10% OR add Mason 6407 for Yellow

10%

F-38 is a Fusion® frit containing boron and strontium (among other, more regular stuff). It is a decent way to source those two oxides, but is not commonly available at all pottery supply dealers. John Hesselberth comments that adding 10% stain is always a flag in his way of thinking, indicating maybe they should be tested, depending on what is in the stains, if they are to be used on food surfaces. [

All recipes are given in percentages (by weight). Results vary with clay bodies and firing conditions; always test first to be sure you’re happy with the results. To mix a glaze batch to store in a 5-gallon bucket, multiply each percentage ingredient by 50 grams (for a half-bucket with room for dipping) or 100 grams (for a very full bucket). It is the responsibility of the user to have glazes tested for stability.

CLAYTIMES·COM n July/August 2008

add Cobalt Carbonate add Copper Carbonate add Red Iron Oxide add Rutile

20% 29 4 30 17 100%

Frit F-38 Kona F-4 Feldspar Whiting Pioneer Kaolin (or EPK) Silica TOTAL

Tell a story. A job as the pottery studio manager for a community of disabled adults helped shape Jason

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Bill van Gilder 2008-2009 Workshops & Presentations 2008 July 28-Aug 1 August 15-17 August 27-30

Sierra Nevada College, Incline Village at Lake Tahoe, NV Ph: (775) 881-7588 • www.sierranevada.edu/workshops Pottery West, Las Vegas, NV potterywest@cox.net • www.potterywest.com Rehoboth Art League, Rehoboth Beach, DE Ph: (302) 227-8408 • www.rehobothartleague.org

Jan. 5-9 Jan. 11-18 April 8-11 May 31-June 12 Sept. 11-13 Sept. 27-Oct. 3

The Armory Art Center, West Palm Beach, FL www.ArmoryArt.org CLAYTIMES “Cruisin’(the Caribbean) for Clay Ph: (540) 882-3576 • www.claytimes.com NCECA (VANGILDER TOOLS), Phoenix, AZ Ph: toll free (866) 266-2322 • www.nceca.net Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Deer lsle, ME www.haystack-mtn.org Greater Lansing Potters’ Guild, Haslett, MI Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN

Ph: (865) 436-5860 • www.arrowmont.org

2009

Ceramics Studios, Guilds, Universities, Colleges: To schedule a van Gilder workshop call 301.416.2970 or e-mail: vangilderpottery@earthlink.net

Making a Long Oval Dish by BILL van GILDER

In Form I Teaching Techniques

A Two-step, Altered Pot Project

Necessary Supplies • a 3- or 4-lb. weight of clay for slabs • a 12" or 14" bat • a rib tool • a stiff scraper • a fettling knife • a short 1"-diameter dowel • texturing materials • a wiggled or straight cut-off wire • a towel or foam pad • some water and a small sponge • a sheet of newspaper

Day One: Throwing the Dish Wall It starts by preparing the throwing clay listed in the Necessary Supplies list.

Attach a wide bat to the wheelhead and center the clay. Open the centered lump and as you firmly pressure the clay downward onto the bat, pull the clay outward, low and fat—but without the typical ¼"-thick floor that would normally be inside the pot. And how is that done? Using ample water, pull the clay upward into a 2½" to 3" tall wall. Make the rim thick and sturdy, rather than thin—at least ¼" wide. Sponge up the water from the inside and outside areas of the thrown wall and use your sponge to smooth the rim. Speed up the wheel and use your rib to shape and remove the slip from the outside surface of your dish wall and smooth the rim of the form once more. Next, adjust the wheel speed to slow, and using a very stiff rib or a stiff metal scraper, scrape away and totally remove the thin clay floor from the inside area of your dish (Fig. 2). But beware: do not scrape away the flaring clay at the inside or outside base of the wall. You’ll need this wide area of clay

CLAYTIMES·COM n July/August 2008

ur students often hear and occasionally read about altered pots—and the word ‘altered’ is certainly part of our contemporary clay vocabulary. This project is all about making an extremely altered pot—a long, oval, deep dish (Fig. 1). It’s partly thrown and partly handbuilt, which typically makes it a two-part project: make the dish’s wall section on day one, then make the floor, feet, and handles, and assemble the project during day two.

In Form I Teaching Techniques

Altering the Form With the wheel now moving slowly and a water-loaded sponge in hand, drip and puddle a lot of water onto the bat, covering the areas inside the dish and all around the outside of the form (Fig. 3, previous page). How much water? The excess water you drip onto the bat around the outside of the form will flow from the edge of the bat—and that’s fine. Create a pond of water inside the dish about 1/8" deep. That’s enough to accomplish the next step … sliding the wall over the water and into its altered shape. But first, stop the wheel and pull a straight cut-off wire below the wall, completely separating it from the wet bat.

After shaping and altering the wall, mop up the puddles of water from the bat at the inside and outside areas of the dish and pull your cut-off wire below the wall one more time. For a very controlled and easy cut, pull your wire from one end of the dish to the other, lengthwise. CLAYTIMES·COM n July/August 2008

to create a strong wall-to-base attachment later.

Immediately dry your hands and with one or two fingers positioned against the inside wall, stretch the wall into the altered shape you’ve chosen—oval, square, or even a triangle (Figs. 4 and 5). This move may take some multiple manipulations, but know that the less you push and pull at the wall now, the more definition the form will have when it’s finished.

Remove your altered form and bat from the wheelhead and allow it to dry until it’s soft leather-hard.

Day Two: Assembling the Project Form the second Necessary Supplies piece of clay into a solid, long-shaped loaf. Make your ‘loaf’ of clay an inch or two larger than

the outside dimensions/shape, or footprint, of your thrown and now leather-hard wall form. Using two ¼"-thick sticks and a cut-off wire, cut two slabs from the loaf of clay (Fig. 6). Place one of the slabs onto a sheet of newspaper. This slab will become the floor of your dish. The other will be used to create the handles. In Fig. 7 I’ve used a corrugated wiggle wire to create a decorative pattern on both sides of the slabs. Remove your leather-hard, bottomless dish from its bat, flip it over, and gently place it onto a soft surface. A folded towel or foam pad works well to protect the rim from bumps and dents. Use a wet sponge to dampen the flat, wire-cut base surface of the wall form. Then dampen the area of the cut slab—the one on the newspaper—where the wall will be attached. An estimation of where the wall will meet the slab is fine. The goal here is to get both surfaces—the top face of the slab and the wall base—damp and ‘tacky’ and ready for the next step, the attachment. Upright your leather-hard wall form and, holding it at each end and aiming correctly,

slam it firmly onto the damp, tacky area of the slab (Fig. 8). Bang! Now, use a fettling knife to trim away the excess slab clay at the outside of the form. Trim the slab to within ¼" of the wall’s base and then, with a damp sponge in hand, lightly wet the trimmed slab edge and foot area of the wall completely around the dish. Next, use a stiff, straight-edged rib tool to pressure the excess slab edge upward and tightly to the wall. Or, as I’m doing in Fig. 9, use a profiled foot rib to create a rounded foot edge. Work the tool around the foot area of the form repeatedly until you achieve a uniform and evenly-profiled finished surface. Lastly, secure the wall to the slab floor inside your dish. With your small, damp sponge wrapped around one fingertip, repeatedly stroke and pressure the flared base of the wall tightly to the slab.

Adding Feet On a clean, slightly dampened surface, roll out two coils of clay, each about 6" in length

In Form I Teaching Techniques

Dan Finch Pottery 2008 Fall Workshop

Family Affair! Featuring Dan, Justin, & Kathryn Finch. Enjoy a weekend of multiple points of view with Finch Family Potters. The threesome will share their techniques and talents and a southern-style barbeque. Enjoy!

12 and a bit less than ½" in diameter. You can texture the coils at this point, which will visually tie your textured slab, feet, and handles together: your choice.

balance the foot coils at the pot’s base. You can attach a pair of short, textured, round coils as handles to each end of your dish, or try this:

Now, go back to your dish form, carefully pick it up, flip it over, and again lay it onto a soft surface, rim down. Peel the newspaper from the base and using a slightly dampened sponge, soften and round the sharp base edge completely around the form. Dampen each end of the base of your dish and position the coils onto the dampened areas (as in Fig. 10). [Tip: position the foot coils slightly outward of the base edge. Hiding them completely under the dish causes the finished form to look top-heavy and somewhat awkward.] Use a small ware board or a clean, dry bat and immediately press the coils firmly to the base of your dish.

With a fettling knife, cut two wide rectangles from your second slab. Separate them from the big slab and lay them flat on the table. Soften and round off the sharp, cut edges of both pieces with a slightly dampened sponge. Then, use the sponge to dampen each end of your dish at the rim.

CLAYTIMES·COM n July/August 2008

The square-cut ends of the foot coils now have to be dealt with. One solution: use a 1" diameter, short length of wooden dowel to press each coil-end to the base (Fig. 10). The long sloping curve created by the rounded dowel is an effective way to visually transition the rounded foot coils to the straight wall of the dish.

Registration: $150 Saturday and Sunday, November 1 and 2, 2008.

Upright your dish and place it on a clean bat or ware board and consider the final making step—handles.

Adding Handles To register, please call (252) 235-4664 or e-mail dan.finch@earthlink.net

Attaching a pair of handles to the rim of your long dish makes a lot of sense. They will, of course, add an element of function to the piece, but they will also visually

Pick up one of the handle slabs and using your 1" round dowel, press one end of the slab to one end of the dish (Fig. 11). Carefully fold the slab outward and down the side of the dish and press that slab end tightly to the wall with your dowel (Fig. 12). Repeat the handle attachment steps at the other end of your dish and use your fingertips to adjust the rolled-over curve of each handle, if necessary. Done! I use a long, rectangular dish made like this as a cactus ‘garden’ container on a windowsill at home. But your dish doesn’t have to be long and narrow. Squares, and even triangles, work, too. (Squares? Triangles? Made on a round wheel? Go figure!) [ Bill van Gilder has been a full-time potter and ceramics teacher since the 1960s. He is creator/ host of the Throwing Clay DIY Network TV series and teaches functional pottery-making workshops. He may be reached by e-mail at vangilderpottery@earthlink.net. His potters’ tool line, van Gilder Tools, is available via the Clay Times online store at www. claytimes.com, or by calling toll-free 1.800. 356.2529.

Looking for helpful studio tips? Got some to share? This is the place... Easy on the Back ... As an older potter, I am always trying to find ways to avoid injury to my back. To avoid lifting 5-gallon glaze buckets as much as possible, I have bought three-wheeled wire coasters, made for moving potted plants around. The buckets fit on top of them perfectly and I can push the buckets along the floor to move them wherever I want them.

Readers Share I Tips & Techniques

The Slurry Bucket

Hopefully other potters can benefit from this, too. The cost is minimal ($10-$12) and well worth it! Betsy Gardiner, Canton, CT

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle I’ve been doing everything I can in my studio, as well as my home, to reduce, reuse, and recycle. Here are a few of the things I do in the studio to keep waste at a minimum:

Keeping Track of That Chamois Once in a while, a chamois is apt to find its way from the wheel to the pug mill. Discovering a well-chewed chunk of leather embedded in your clay while throwing or trimming usually results in disaster accompanied by a few well-chosen expletives! By attaching a string and a small fishing bobber to the chamois, the problem is immediately solved. The bobber floats in the slurry bucket, allowing the chamois to be easily located.

• I reuse my grocery bags as much as possible. I use the paper ones as starters for pit firings, and reuse the plastic bags by covering clayworks in progress to ensure slow drying. • When my glazes get to the bottom of the bucket, I scrape what’s left into my “Pot Luck” glaze bucket (using glazes of the same temperature) and reconstitute with water to make a new surprise glaze. I always test the glaze before regular use.

Philip Kobbe, Nordland, WA

Jennie Phillips, Wheeling, WV

FREE 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 COM n n July/August JULY/AUGUST 2008 2008 CLAYTIMES ·

Once you get the hang of it, the bobber and string actually provide a better grip and more control. Since employing the idea, our studio/school has not lost one single chamois, our clay is chamois-free, and I’ve developed a serious interest in fishing!

• I don’t throw any fired pots away. After each firing, I instead separate them into three piles: “keepers,” “seconds,” and “rejects.” I hold an annual “seconds" sale to clear the “seconds” from my studio at drastically reduced prices (which many of my customers absolutely love)! To reuse the rejected pots, I load them into a potato sack or canvas bag, and—wearing protective goggles and gloves—take a sledge hammer to them, reducing them to a pile of shards. I then sift through the shards and cull out those I’d like to keep for eventual mosaic work, using the rest as backfill for drainage projects around my yard. I also use them to line the floor of large planters.

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Defying

Gravity

CLAYTIMES·COM n JULY/AUGUST 2008

Jennifer McCurdy’s Carved and Pierced Porcelain

Jungle Leaf Vessel #2. 12" x 12" x 12".

STORY by K.T. Anders PHOTOS BY KATHERINE ROSE

ne of the first thoughts that come to mind when you encounter the work of Jennifer McCurdy is, how does she do that? How does she swirl and whip porcelain into delicately rising, wafer-thin flames that seem to defy gravity? How can she create such intricately pierced designs and yet maintain graceful and flowing forms? This is porcelain, for heaven’s sake, famous for slumping and cracking.

As with all work, McCurdy’s techniques have evolved over time. She has been a potter since the age of 16, selling at art fairs and in galleries. “Clay is all I’ve ever been competent at,” she says. “My dad said I couldn’t make a living at it, but as soon as I got my B.F.A. from Michigan State University, I got a job with clay.” It was at a restaurant that had once been a historic pottery along the route of the Underground Railway in Pennsylvania. “I was the entertainment. People would come in dressed to the nines and I’d be there at the wheel in my overalls, covered with clay. They sold my work in the gift shop.” A move to Boca Raton brought graduate classes with John McCoy at Florida Atlantic University, and an introduction to porcelain. Mugs, mixing bowls, and art shows filled her life. “Things got less functional gradually,” notes McCurdy. “I began to look for ways to incorporate motion into the form. I was interested in using the line on a surface to describe the volume of the piece and to move around the work. At that point I wasn’t cutting the pieces or altering them, I was using line to create movement on traditional spherical forms. Movement has been my impetus in developing pattern. I worked for a long time nailing the forms before I ever contemplated cutting them up.”

McCurdy uses Miller 550 clay by Laguna. “I throw my porcelain very stiff,” she says. “I let

it dry a lot out of the bag. After I’ve thrown the cylinder up, I don’t use any more water at all, just two metal ribs, one inside and one out, to kind of coax out the shape.” Bottles, of course, require a little moisture to collar in. To get the wide rims of her fluted shapes, McCurdy speeds the wheel a little faster to let centrifugal force move the piece outward.

Adding Strength through Altering McCurdy says that in her early work she can see the germination of her altering ideas, but she didn’t know how to do it. “I had to have higher-level throwing skills before I could even begin to alter well,” she confesses. “And I had to be able to alter well before I could carve as intricately as I’m doing now. I’m relying on

the extra strength that the alteration gives to the form to be able to carve away that much.” An hour or two after taking a sphere off the wheel, McCurdy uses her index finger to sketch the lines of alteration she wants in the piece, then uses her thumb to deepen the lines into creases, pushing from the outside only. “You have to kind of ease the piece into those creases,” she notes. “I’m pushing pretty hard at the end to move the clay. The piece is still a little wobbly, so I have to support it with my other hand at all times.” The ridges McCurdy creates during this process give strength to the form, much in the way the ridges in a pumpkin make that form stronger than a basketball shape. “It’s sort of like how arches in a church add strength

CLAYTIMES·COM n July/August 2008

Carving was a natural outgrowth of working with porcelain and celadon glazes, influenced by Japanese tradition. “I wanted integration of the form with the surface,” she explains. But as she began altering and carving more, McCurdy found she liked the work better before glazing it. “I felt that if the glazes were weighing down the piece and ruining what I was trying to create, then I should let go of them. It sounds simple now, but at the time it felt like a huge decision.”

Butterfly Wall Sconce. 11" x 9" x 6". Oxidation-fired porcelain.

CLAYTIMESÂ·COM n July/August 2008

Wheat Bottle. 8" x 6" x 6". Wheel-thrown and carved porcelain.

Although she once-fires most pieces, forms that are deeply cut away need support while drying, and then are bisqued.

Movement in the pierced pieces comes from the interplay between exterior and interior. “Your eye focuses on the outside of the piece, but if you even think about the inside, your eye shifts focus to see the interior. That to me is a type of movement,” says McCurdy. “That’s why on all of my closed pieces I’m so interested in accessing the interior of the piece. It’s not so much seeing through the piece, but being able to have a sense of the movement and simultaneously accessing the convex and the concave surfaces.”

Playing with Light and Shadow

Working with the Molecular Stages of the Clay

McCurdy’s pieces have a dynamic sense of energy, at once projecting movement and volume. Light and shadow play an important part. “I don’t think of the porcelain as white, I consider it to be light and shadow,” she says. “Different types of light and shadow give movement. For example, the shadow running across the curve of the alteration is a smooth shadow from light to dark. Where I’ve cut is a sharper shadow, and where I’ve carved away completely, it’s a whole other shadow. I want my eye to move around like a vortex, swirling around the piece.”

Process is what fascinates McCurdy. “I’m interested in how far I can push the clay in all of its molecular stages,” she explains. “The first stages are a continuum as water evaporates and changes the properties of the clay. I interact with the piece at various stages. When the clay is plastic and the particles slip along the water, I can bend it. When it’s leather-hard and I can’t bend it any more, I begin to cut it, making sharper edges. I come back again when the piece is completely dry greenware, and I sand all my sharp edges. I almost have to burnish the piece because, with no glaze, nothing

to the structure,” she notes. “With my alterations, I’m adding more arches into the piece and thus more strength. I’d never be able to carve away so much of the form if I didn’t have my arches in place.” Once the piece is creased and on the soft side of leather-hard, she carves using a Kemper® #R3 tool, or pierces with a #11 X-Acto® blade.

CLAYTIMES·COM n July/August 2008

Cut Wheat Vessel. 10" x 12" x 12".

Pitcher. 10" x 7" x 5". Soda-glazed porcelain.

CLAYTIMES·COM n JULY/AUGUST 2008

Cut Wheat Vessel #2. 12" x 12" x 12". Unglazed porcelain fired to cone 10.

“My biggest challenge is how to get the piece from greenware to vitrification. If I cut away too much of the strong arch support, the piece will collapse when it becomes almost plastic again at cone 10.” — Jennifer McCurdy

can be hidden. Then the piece has to be fired into another molecular stage—the molten stage. My biggest challenge is how to get the piece from greenware to vitrification. If I cut away too much of the strong arch support, the piece will collapse when it becomes almost plastic again at cone 10.” Most potters give up control of the clay once it is in the kiln. Not McCurdy. “One of the things I’ve been doing recently is experimenting with directional firing,” she says. “I sometimes fire pieces upside down on stilts. I know I’m going to get a lot of movement in the clay as it melts.” This simple inversion changes the shape of the spheres that McCurdy has carved. “During the upside-down firing and melting process, the whole shape of the piece changes: the clay slumps downward, and the cut sphere uncoils like a Rene Magritte painting.” And of course, because she doesn’t use glaze, it’s not a problem to position a piece over a kiln post cushioned with a little Kaowool™.

“I’d never be able to get these forms if I weren’t working with that melting state during the firing,” says McCurdy. “It’s so exciting. In every kiln load, I want to push it further. It’s a constant state of discovery of form. “When clay is in a plastic stage, whether from water or fire, it can still move. It fascinates me.” [

Jennifer McCurdy’s Web site is: www.jennifermccurdy.com. She can be reached at jen@jennifermccurdy.com. K.T. Anders is a potter and professional writer who resides in Upperville, Virginia. She is a regular contributor to Clay Times.

Wave Candle Vase #2. 6" x 6" x 6".

recent

exhibition

Tea Bowls, teabowls

“Clay and fire are the first elements that humans used to create a chemical and physical change in nature. We now have electricity and modern science, but everything that we consume comes from the earth. Nature holds power and truth. The earth is my image.”

CLAYTIMES·COM n July/August 2008

— Takao Okazaki

Tea bowl by Takao Okazaki of Yamagata, Japan. One of several works by makers of traditional-style Japanese tea bowls recently exhibited at Frederick Community College in Frederick, Maryland.

by JOE CAMPBELL

he tea bowl is perhaps one of the best known, and simultaneously, most esoteric of all ceramic art objects. This in part seems due to the very aesthetic that has given the tea bowl its birth. The whole of Japanese art appears to possess a great tolerance for qualities that may seem paradoxical or contradictory, and nowhere does this become more evident than in the aesthetics surrounding tea.

Tea bowl by Peter Callas, Belvidere, New Jersey.

The traditional Japanese tea bowl is in one sense a highly ‘regulated’ object, with a strict vocabulary. Dependent upon the ‘taste’ of the owner, and the season during which it will be used, it must be of a prescribed size to fit the hands, and of a specific shape to allow for its intended functions. There are concepts of how the lip or rim must be sculpted to represent the landscape, and how deep, broad, and distinct the bottom should be for the recessed tea pool. What section of the bowl represents the front, or in tea terms, the ‘face?’ Is the

“Tea bowls offer to both the user and the maker an opportunity to experience natural happenings, marking universal events. Wood-fired tea bowls in particular have a timeless beauty; arrangements encouraged by the kiln and the maker.” — PETER CALLAS

“What I find fascinating about the aesthetics of tea is the tacit reflection of forces of nature in a handful of clay. The making requires technical dexterity to work freely within the volumetric parameters, and honor the life in the clay. I strive to tap into a deep sense of the ‘collective soul’ and what it means to be earthbound.” — KRISTIN MULLER Tea bowl by Kristin Muller, Naugatuck, Connecticut.

Tea Bowls

continued from page 41

corresponding low spot used for drinking the tea directly across the bowl from this sweet spot? These ‘rules’ vary in subtle ways, but I believe a list of necessary attributes for a tea bowl could be made that would satisfy most people of tea. In truth, these rules are often interpreted by one’s personal taste and desired flavor. On the other side of the coin is the heart and soul of tea—the ‘wabi, sabi’ aesthetic and the influence of Zen Buddhism. Here we find few, if any, rules, and an aesthetic based on ‘thusness,’ with true beauty often found in the rough and irregular—yet natural. Soetsu Yanagi in his classic The Unknown Craftsman best describes this ‘shibui’ concept as follows: “It is not a beauty displayed before the viewer by its creator—creation here means, rather, making a piece that will lead the viewer to draw beauty out of it for himself.”

Tea bowl by Joe Campbell, Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, who comments: “The making of tea bowls has taught me many things—things about clay, about self, and about others. It has also magnified how little I really know—about tea, clay, or anything else of merit. Only in the ‘making’ do I sense clarity and importance.”

So what of the tea bowl, if anything, is important to us as artists and viewers in the 21st Century, and what relevance does such an ancient, dated, and quiet object have on the contemporary ceramics scene? The answer would seem to lie once again in the concept of “shibui.” You, the viewer, must draw out from these pieces what you will, and find their beauty—and ultimately their relevance—for yourself. The exhibition of bowls presented here represents five “makers” from very different backgrounds, but with a common thread of friendship that ties us together. [

CLAYTIMES·COM n July/August 2008

Joe Campbell, curator of the “Tea Bowls, Teabowls” exhibition and author of this article, is a wood-fire potter presently on sabbatical leave from his position as professor of ceramics at Frederick Community College in Frederick, Maryland.

Tea bowl by Shane Sellers of Boonsboro, Maryland. “Speaking without words, the tea bowl has provided the field of ceramics an iconic image that goes beyond cultures and history. I have found the tea bowl an inspirational and connecting object upon which to reflect, build ideas, and understand the material of clay.”

“It is not a beauty displayed before the viewer by its creator—creation here means, rather, making a piece that will lead the viewer to draw beauty out of it for himself.”

— Soetsu Yanagi

a Winter Tea Bowl Takao OkaZaki's carving process STORY AND PHOTOS by Kristin Muller

apanese potter Okazaki Takao, who is a dear friend and mentor, let me photograph him in the process of making a winter tea bowl. Humble and masterful, he works with simple tools in a seemingly casual way. Okazaki began his career as a potter in 1973 after completing a ten-year apprenticeship with Tokuro Kato of Nagoya, Japan. Okazaki built a studio in his birthplace: Yamagata Prefecture. In 1980, he constructed an anagama kiln and thus added wood firing to his work. He visited the United States in 1989, where he met Peter Callas. It was in Callas’ studio where the friendship began that continues to this day. I met him there in the fall of 1994, when I was privileged to watch Okazaki and Callas glazing tea bowls with traditional Japanese Shino glaze. It was unlike anything I had ever seen, and I was immediately taken by the process and the aesthetic. Since that day, I have studied tea bowls and how they are made with both Callas and Okazaki.

Winter tea bowls for the Japanese Tea Ceremony are made in many different ways. Some are thrown on the wheel, some are pinched into shape from a circle of clay, some are coiled or assembled from textured slabs, and others are carved from a thick cylinder.

Once the clay is ready, he weighs out 4- to 5-lb. lumps of clay. He then throws them on the wheel into thick cylinders 14 cm wide and 11 cm tall. This measurement is a rough proportion for tea bowls that have strict size and weight restrictions. Okazaki is planning to remove much of the weight; in doing so, he will make the piece smaller. It is also important to compensate for shrinkage during the drying and firing process. By the time the bowl is completed, it should weigh about one pound, or approximately 500 grams. We begin the photo shoot with ‘tea bowl blanks’ that have set up overnight to a very soft leather-hard consistency. He picks his favorite tool, a rough piece of wood from the wood pile, to make textures. He starts cutting away at the outer surface with a smoother wooden tool, altering the exterior of the form with rough lines and textures that will soften up in the handling process and be further softened by the covering of thick glaze. Okazaki works in a slow, steady pace, rotating the bowl gently to maintain control of every mark he makes.

Takao Okazaki

After the exterior composition is finished, Okazaki moves on to the foot of the tea bowl—a very important part of each piece. He turns the blank over and begins by marking a circle to define the size of the foot. Use of a banding wheel is really necessary for this process, as an electric wheel spins too quickly to achieve the desired surface. Next, he starts cutting around the foot, making sure to get good surface texture that relates to the rest of the piece. Consistency of the clay is key. If it’s too hard, he can’t get a soft-textured mark. Now the work begins on the foot. It should be very spontaneous and capture the essence of energy—the universe. The Japanese are very philosophical about the foot of a tea bowl. Okazaki’s cutting is purposeful and confident, and his years of experience

CLAYTIMES·COM n July/August 2008

Okazaki’s work ranges widely in style from functional to sculptural and encompasses Shino, Oribe, and Karatsu-type wares. However, he is always looking for new raw materials and ways to forge his own sensibility in clay.

Okazaki begins by preparing the clay. He will make a bowl to be wood-fired for either a Shino or Setoguro glaze. The traditional clays used for this type of tea bowl are very sandy; they contain about 25-30% sand and grog. With the addition of so much aggregate, the clay takes on a texture and quality entirely different from that with which most American potters are used to working. It is like mortar, and is very responsive to mark making.

The bowl is centered on the chuck. Okazaki begins work on the exterior of the bowl.

Okazaki creates texture that will later be softened by his hands. He is making design decisions about the front of the bowl and the back, the area used to drink from.

The centered bowl is now ready to be trimmed. Notice the lightly-drawn outline of the foot ring that will guide the cutting.

For a fresh-looking foot, the cut is made with one swift move. As casual as it may seem, this takes a lot of practice to learn how to place and move the tool to remove the right amount of clay.

Once the foot is trimmed, a coil of fresh clay is formed and used to support it.

Sculpting is done freely to allow for an expressive surface.

The exterior of the bowl is completed and then left to stiffen so the foot can be carved next. By placing the tea bowl on the coil of clay, the open texture and fresh cut marks of the foot will be preserved during the next step.

Once the foot is defined, Okazaki begins to remove the excess clay from the base.

Drawing begins on the surface of a fresh tea bowl blank.

Detail of the drawing process.

The bowl is placed on a trimming chuck, which is centered on a banding wheel. The chuck is usually made when the bowl blanks are thrown, providing a soft consistency. The chuck in this picture is bone-dry clay. It works, but is not ideal, because of the hardness of the dry clay against the soft bowl interior.

Excess clay is removed from the base at a slightly beveled angle to reflect the slight dip of the bowl interior.

While one hand gently supports the exterior clay wall, the other hand holds a metal trimming tool to rhythmically scrape away excess clay upward from the base toward the lip.The cut is carefully finished so as not to damage the composition of the lip. Notice the position of the exterior thumb pad: it cradles the edge of the bowl.

Winter tea bowl process

It is crucial that the bowl is rotated as one cuts, in the same way that you would rotate a pinch pot, to ensure even wall thickness. The base of the bowl is also carved and thinned. Once the bowl is the desired weight, it is assessed to define the front, or face, of the bowl. At this point, the drinking edge needs to be softened for ease of use.

When the carving is complete, Okazaki focuses on the lip, determining the front of the bowl to be presented during the tea ceremony and smoothing the lip at the drinking point. A bowl

might have a rough lip all the way around up to the drinking point, but this part of the lip is subtle and very important. Once all the elements are complete, the bowl is signed and left to dry. After bisque firing, the tea bowl is glazed and fired in an anagama wood kiln. The aesthetic principles of this type of winter tea bowl are deeply rooted in the ‘tea aesthetics’ that embrace the concepts of Wabi Sabi: the beauty of impermanence, as well as the beauty of imperfection, of thusness, of things in their natural state. To learn more on winter tea bowls and the meaning of Wabi Sabi, you may want to look at some of these books: • Wabi Sabi by Andrew Juniper; • The Japanese Pottery Handbook; • The Tea Ceremony by Sen’o Tanaka and Sendo Tanaka; • Classic Stoneware of Japan Shino and Oribe by Ryoji Juroda and Takeshi Murayama. [

CLAYTIMES·COM n JULY/AUGUST 2008

Winter tea bowl by Takao Okazaki.

show as he composes a fabulous foot. Note the fresh marks, which are very different from Western trimming techniques. Satisfied with the results, he rolls a clay coil to support the foot so it does not touch the surface of the table and remains intact until firing, thus preserving the fresh cut marks. At this point, the bowl needs to set up—usually overnight, depending on the weather. When leather-hard, the interior carving begins by scoring a little cut where the wall and the base meet, and then carving away in an upward motion. It is important to remove some clay, and then allow the clay to set up before removing more; otherwise, the bowl will lose its shape. This stage is incremental and usually takes several days to complete, which is why potters make several bowls at a time.

continued from page 43

Tossing Slabs Throwing Pots

Mary Kay Botkins and Susan Filley Offer Insightful Techniques at Two Recent Arrowmont Workshops by K.T. Anders

Fleet Cup (above) and Teapot by Susan Filley.

Butter Dish by Mary Kay Botkins.

hat could be more fun than taking a clay workshop in the summer? The answer might be taking a workshop in the spring. At Arrowmont, the arts and crafts school in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, the campus is a little less full when the daffodils are in their full glory, but the mountain breezes are fresh and the classes are no less exciting. In a fit of self-indulgence, I chose to attend two classes at the end of March and the beginning of April. They spanned the potter’s art: handbuilding and throwing. Wow, what a stimulating two weeks!

Working with Soft Slabs Handbuilding was the province of Mary Kay Botkins, known for her thin porcelain stacked boxes and soft-edged containers. Botkins says she’s still a little surprised to find herself a potter; when she made her first pinch pot at six years old, she hated the feeling of clay. But now she’s infatuated with tossing out soft slabs. “It’s not that I found clay, more like clay found me,” she says. “I feel out of sync when I’m not in my studio.”

Both techniques begin with attention to the clay particles in the slabs. Cutting a slice of clay lengthwise from the pugged loaf, Botkins showed us how to throw the clay onto our work surface to create an even slab of about 3/8". Stretching the clay, whether by throwing it out, using a slab roller, or hand rolling, pulls the particles apart. Botkins gets everything nicely realigned by dragging a pastry scraper horizontally and vertically over both sides of the slab, using the tool to pressure and compress the clay. The process further thins the slab and gives the clay an almost cloth-like strength so it can

What struck me most about Botkins’ workshop was her meticulous construction. Whether making architectural or organic pots, she carefully measures each section and uses templates for components. [Hot tip: A needle tool makes a more precise cut into the clay than a fettling knife, and you are less apt to undercut or to slip off your intended line.] As she cuts, she saves every scrap of clay. “When I was in grad school we had to make our own clay, and I didn’t want to have to do that too often,” she confesses. “The habit of conserving clay has hung on.” While the cut slab components are still flat, she smooths what will be the finished edges with her fingers so she doesn’t have to go back and “fix” the pot once it’s constructed. We began with organic forms, making cylinders and then folding the clay inward on the cylinder’s four points to create a “burrito” folded foot. To cover the remaining center opening, we dropped in an interior slab. Botkins credits Virginia Cartwright for the concept of folding and darting. “When I first began handbuilding, slab construction meant leather-hard slabs. It was almost like constructing with wood,” she explains. “I was tremendously excited by Virginia’s technique of working with the clay almost like a seamstress with cloth.” We slumped slabs into our containers. When they stiffened a bit, we inverted them to form slightly domed lids. Then we explored various galleries and flanges. Small tubes of clay, loosely folded, formed “tortellini” handles. By using paper patterns, Botkins made the process of fitting so much easier. Botkins’ banded boxes have an architectural precision. The bands create a foot and also a flange for a lid or another box stacked on top. Stacked boxes intrigue her, and in fact have become one of Botkins’ trademarks. It’s part of how she views functional forms. “I like to think about how items sit on a shelf, how they fit together,” she says.

CLAYTIMES·COM n July/August 2008

Botkins’ personality is split when it comes to handbuilding; her work is sometimes precise and architectural, and sometimes softly folded and organic. But she says it’s not a character quirk—it’s all based on the consistency of the clay and her limited time in the studio. “My work is dictated by how the clay behaves,” she explains. “Handbuilding is about taking advantage of the clay at particular stages of wetness. If a slab is soft and floppy, I can fold and drape it. If it’s stiffer, I can build it architecturally.”

be lifted easily by its edges without falling apart. I was amazed at the difference it made. Compressed clay also warps less in the kiln, which is good news for frustrated handbuilders.

“It’s function beyond use—a sort of memory tied to function. I like to look at pots stacked in open cupboards.” Botkins was full of tips for the handbuilder. For example, when draping clay into a slump mold, don’t press the clay tightly onto the mold—it causes it to warp during the firing. I particularly liked one foot she demonstrated for a slumped, four-sided shallow dish. She added four pads of clay, cut into squares, on the base of the dish, extending over the sloped sides. When leather-hard, she used a Surform® to shape the pads so they conformed to the outer slope of the pot and became part of the exterior line. Very spiffy! Firing handbuilt pots calls for care. “By 850° F, chemical water is driven out,” says Botkins. “However, ware that is built with flat slabs on flat slabs [such as the foot previously described], will blow up or separate between 550° and 750°.” Her solution is to hold the kiln at 500° for half an hour to an hour. “If you are handbuilding with porcelain and compressing pieces to help them stick together, this will help a lot.”

Switching to the Wheel After a week of handbuilding, I was ready to spin some clay on the wheel. The second class was called “The Beauty of Functional Pots” with Susan Filley, whose graceful, swooping teapots and vases have fascinated me for years. “I have a passion for beautiful form, strong lines, rich color, and gestural drama,” says Filley. “I love to teach and discuss how to think about form.” Susan Filley says she tries to “give answers that give the reasons” as she teaches her porcelain techniques.

Until she fell in love with clay, Filley thought she was going to be a biologist. “I studied ecology, botany, and ornithology,” she says. “If it ended in an “-ology” and I got to walk outdoors to study and learn, I was happy.” The “ology” influence is obvious in her work. It’s full of movement and the animate attitude of birds and animals.

CLAYTIMES·COM n JULY/AUGUST 2008

“When I started making pots, it was not obvious to me that I would be able to integrate the gestural and attitudinal quality of the human form and of animals that I love to draw,” she notes. “I look at the human body and see the gesture—slouching, leaning, etc. By learning altering techniques, I found that you can build-in attitude with pots —the head cocked back, the shoulder thrust just so. Handles, rims, and lids all have attitude. Motion points you somewhere; the eye follows the motion and it’s stimulating. You begin with the balance of the pot, you make good lines, and then you can add more gesture.”

Filley’s class was fast-paced as she poured out technique tips, such as how to pick up wet pots off the bat and how to alter bowls by flattening them with bats. She considers herself a synthesizer of knowledge from various sources, and she shared her extensive experience and reading on everything from clay molecules to flocculants (some of her favorite bedtime reading is Hamer’s The Potter’s Dictionary of Materials and Techniques). “I try to make these logical progressions of understanding what works,” she says. “So for example, when someone tells me you have to slip and score, I tell them when and why you score with water—and how sometimes another technique might work. Too often, people don’t question what they’ve learned. I try to give answers that give the reasons.”

White Teapot by Susan Filley.

When Filley announced that we would be using Coleman Porcelain, the class gave a collective gasp. Porcelain’s finicky reputation had led most of us to avoid it. However, we soon discovered that Coleman is a different breed of porcelain—strong and forgiving—and it didn’t

Stacked Covered Jar and Casserole by Mary Kay Botkins.

crack. Two things of note: it is helpful to drop the bag of clay a few times to soften it before wedging. (“Porcelain is thixotropic,” notes Filley. “It moves when agitated.”) And with this porcelain, it was not smart to recycle slurry because the silica settles out and forms a hardpan in the bottom of our water bowls. During the class Filley demonstrated cups, various bowls, tall cylinders, tea pots, and tulip-shaped vases and how to alter them. Here are some of the things we learned:

Although this last tip will depend upon an individual’s clay and throwing technique, Susan counteracts the dreaded teapot spout twist during firing by attaching her delicately-thrown spouts pointing toward ‘about 4 o’clock.’ They hit the 6 o’clock mark during the firing.

Even though this wasn’t a glaze class, Filley talked about glazing because she considers it integral to her work. In a major shift from her earlier surface decoration, she now uses an air compressor to spray much of her current work. “Getting a compressor changed my life because spraying glazes opened up opportunities to put subtle gradations across a form,” she explains. “I could put the gesture into the body of the pot and let the glaze enhance that by being soft and fluid.” It was a great two weeks in the Smoky Mountains. I love the spacious, well-equipped studio at Arrowmont, and although I hated to leave, I came home fired up, ready to put my newly acquired knowledge to work. And the long days of summer were still ahead! Gee, maybe I could still take in a summer workshop ... [ Mary Kay Botkins may be reached at marykay@staticide.com. Susan Filley will be one of the featured artists during the Clay Times 2009 “Cruisin’ for Clay” Mid-

My personal session highlight: After ten years, I finally learned to tap on center. You know, it’s as easy as everyone says!

Winter Potters Conference in the Caribbean. She may be reached at sfilley@nc.rr. com; cruise details may be found online at www.claytimes.com.

CLAYTIMES·COM n JULY/AUGUST 2008

♦ To strengthen the pot while throwing, use a rib on the inside and on the outside to align the clay particles. ♦ When porcelain gets too dry, you can quickly dunk it in water to make it re-hydrate a bit. ♦ Use a plaster bat when making a plate. The clay will release without requiring a wire cut. ♦ To trim, create a seal by dampening the wheelhead before tapping the pot to center. ♦ Before attaching the components of a pot, wrap them together in plastic and let them sit for a day so they dry at the same rate.

Filley also gave us a very visual lesson about form and gesture. She threw a duplicate of an elegant bisqued ewer that the studio had on display from one of her previous workshops. (At least we thought it was a duplicate.) To our casual eye, it looked almost the same, although something seemed to be missing. But then she began to talk about attitude. She gently angled the neck of the ewer back and adjusted the handle. Our newly trained eyes now saw that the “duplicate” had lacked the life of the bisqued pot until Filley gave it a little attitude adjustment.

Shop Talk I Firing

From Liquid Propane to Natural Gas Will the switch really save you money in the long run? BY marc ward

he calls are starting to come in: frustrated, angry, resigned, and determined — lots of different reactions to the same thing. It’s like the weather, something we all share. It’s something we’re all talking about: energy prices. It wasn’t but a few issues ago that I was marveling and freaked out at $98 per barrel for oil. As of press time, per-barrel oil prices have risen to the $134 range! I’m not going to go on again about peak oil, possible Saudi production limits, or the latest Nigerian rebel insurgency in the oil fields. What the calls have been about lately is the rush to move from propane to natural gas as the fuel source for gas-fired kilns. Natural gas is cheaper, but it may not be the easy switch you think it is.

CLAYTIMES·COM n July/August 2008

First, let’s look at price. Propane (also referred to as LP) is priced by the gallon. A recent informal survey that I read while lurking about on the Clayart ceramic discussion board showed prices per gallon ranging from a low of less than $3 to more than $5. Geographic location and competition play a large part in this disparity. Natural gas is somewhat more uniform in pricing around the country. I’m currently paying $1.30 a therm in eastern Tennessee.

Okay, so what is a therm? A therm is the natural gas apple to the propane orange; a therm is 100 cubic feet of natural gas. How do we compare them? It’s actually pretty simple. A gallon of propane has about 92,000 Btu’s. A therm of natural gas has about 100,000 Btu’s. So we can see that these values are pretty close. Propane is priced by the gallon and natural gas is priced by the therm. So, you’re paying $4 for propane, you call the natural gas supplier and they quote you $2 a therm. You’re getting a tiny bit more energy per unit for half the price. Hello. This seems

like a no-lose thing to go after! But not so fast, grasshopper ... Moving from LP to natural gas is like moving to a different world. Most of the calls I’ve received in the last couple of weeks have been about this move and how it pertains to burners. The first question I ask is what kind of pressure is presently being used with propane. If you’re using low pressure, the conversion can be fairly simple by changing orifices in the burner. But there’s a big difference in piping requirements between the two gases. Here’s where the gravity of the situation comes into play. The gravity I’m talking about is specific gravity—the specific gravity of gases. It’s like I get to be the nerdy science teacher in high school, except there’s no way I get hit with spit-balls when my back is turned. LP is “thicker” than natural gas—about three times thicker. Propane is heavier than air, while natural gas is lighter than air. This “wispiness” (I don’t know if that is a word, but I like it) of natural gas causes the molecules to get hung up, bounced around, and generally confused by its movement down pipes. This is a real big deal! Let me give you an example of what kind of big deal this is: You’ve been firing a kiln that needs 500,000 Btu’s per hour on lowpressure propane. Your tank was 200 feet away and you have a ½" line. No problem. If you try to use the same piping for natural gas ... well, you’re screwed! Halfinch pipe at that distance on household pressure natural gas will deliver less than 40,000 Btu’s. This is the different world I alluded to, and that’s with a straight run of pipe. Elbows in the pipe add considerable friction loss to the equation. If you’re a hobbyist, this may not be worth the

transition. Plumbers and pipe can cost thousands of dollars. If you’re a pro, wake up and spend some money to make your business more secure. You’ll go from that giant LP fill-up bill to that planned-on, monthly natural gas bill. Now all of that was the easy conversion. If you’ve been firing on high-pressure propane (greater than household pressure), your choices are even tougher. The world of Btu output that is available to those using high-pressure propane is not the same as those with low-pressure gases. The burner that put out 250,000 Btu’s on high-pressure LP may only deliver 75,000 Btu’s on low-pressure gas, be it LP or natural gas. If you’ve been using high-pressure LP, the change over to natural gas will most likely involve a burner change and most likely an increase in the number of burners. (You would then have to consult some bonehead like me to see what that entails!) Potters are on the front line of energy choices. Firing kilns or driving to shows in big ’ole V-8 vans, clay artists use lots of energy. Natural gas is a great way to become more efficient, save money, and be a bit friendlier to the planet, but the jump can be a steeper one than you think. I can’t believe I get to end with a tired ’ole cliché: A properly trained writer that wore lots of black clothes as an English major in college wouldn’t say this, but in this case, it’s advisable to “look before you leap.” [

Marc Ward is owner and operator of Ward Burner Systems, PO Box 1086, Dandridge, Tennessee 37725. He invites you to sign up for his free newsletter, and 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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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.

Readers Share I Art Works

The Gallery

CLAYTIMES·COM n JULY/AUGUST 2008

Samurai. 11" x 6". Wheel-thrown porcelain, burnished and “naked raku” fired using peel-away slip and glaze. Dyed cane, bead, and silver wire additions. Allyson May, 1 E. Duxbury Dr., Bloomington, IN 47408. Web site: www.localclay.net; E-mail: AMay4@msn.com.

Corrasion. 31½" x 17" x 12". Wheel-thrown and altered stoneware with flashing slip; salt fired. Jason Doblin, 500 Snows Mill Ave. Apt. 910, Tuscaloosa, AL 35406. E-mail: jasondoblin@yahoo.com.

Off in Thought. 12" x 4" x 4". Slab-built stoneware with iron oxide finish. Fired to cone 10 in a gas kiln. Nicole Uzzell, 175 Chelsea Lane, Pinnacle, NC 27043. E-mail: urgetoconserve@hushmail.com.

Ooh! La La! 10" x 4" x 11". Handbuilt porcelain with underglaze and glaze, fired to cone 06 in oxidation. Danuta Tydor, 7861 Hwy. 86, Wallenstein, Ontario, Canada N0B-2S0. E-mail: tydor@golden.net.

Prosperity. 18" x 12". Handbuilt and glazed porcelain tiles with original decals, fired to cone 6 in an electric kiln. Laura Reese, 358 East Sondley Dr., Asheville, NC 28805. E-mail: lar@reson8.com.

Bandana, Biggie-Sized. 23" x 16" x 8". Stoneware with stains, underglazes, and glazes; intaglio-style texture used to create raised relief; fired to cone 5 in oxidation. Lotus, 402 W. Clay St., Houston, TX 77019. E-mail: claygirl_bermudez@yahoo.com.

Solaris. 14" x 14" x 14". Handbuilt porcelain glazed and fired to cone 4 in oxidation. Vlodek Tydor, 7861 Hwy. 86, Wallenstein, Ontario, Canada N0B-2S0. E-mail: tydor@golden.net.

To have your work considered for publication in The Gallery, please send a high-quality color print, slide, or 1050-x-1500-pixel digital image to: The Gallery, Clay Times, P.O. Box 365, Waterford, VA 20197. Please include your name, address, telephone number, Web and/or e-mail address, type of clay, glaze, firing method, and dimensions of the work. (Enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope for photo/slide return.)

CLAYTIMESÂˇCOM n JULY/AUGUST 2008

Sassy Birch. 18" in height. Wheel-thrown, altered, and hand-carved stoneware; accented with stains and washes, then fired to cone 5 in oxidation. Eric E. Serritella, 528 Sebring Rd., Newfield, NY 14867. Web site: www.ericserritella.com. E-mail: eric@ericserritella.com.

Readers Share I Art Works

The Gallery

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Resist and Surface Finishes July 25-27 ADAM SPECTOR JOYCE MICHAUD Ceramic Decoration July 19-31 Master’s Throwing August 7-10 East Asian Wedged Coil August 30-31 Glaze Application September 6-7 Modeling the Figure August 28-December 11 ANTONIO TOBIAS MENDEZ PHIL BERNEBURG Understanding Pottery Glazes September 20-21 Properties of Clay September 27-28 Arts Management September 27-December 7 REBECCA BAFFORD Korean Techniques October 3-5 SUKJIN CHOI Hood College Graduate School Art Department (301) 696-3456 � Fax (301) 696-3531 www.hood.edu/ceramics Hood College subscribes to a policy of equal educational and employment opportunities.

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A visit to the exhibitors’ trade show at the annual NCECA conference offers a great opportunity for hands-on tool testing. by VINCE PITELKA

Shop Talk I Tool Times

What’s New in Tools?

The siphon blower offered by van Gilder Tools can be used to spray glazes either manually or as a nozzle attached to an air compressor.

van Gilder Clay Tools The Fulwood Measure pictured here is a helpful tool to have at the potter’s wheel for making multiple forms of the same approximate height and diameter.

attended the NCECA conference and trade show in Pittsburgh this year and saw several interesting new and notable tools. As always, I caution clayworkers about the dangers of T.A.D. (tool-acquisition disease), but if there is a genuine need, or if you can see potential in a new tool, you won’t really know how useful it is until you try it. Hopefully this column will provide a little guidance to help you make informed choices.

MKM Tool Line I’ve mentioned Rick McKinney’s MKM tools before, but at NCECA I was impressed by the extensive range of MKM tools, including wood and metal ribs, throwing sticks, texture paddles, and a wide assortment of wood stamps that can be used in combination to create elaborate impressed patterns. The MKM line includes far too many interesting tools to do them justice here, so I’ll devote an upcoming column to Rick and his tools.

Sherrill MudTools Michael Sherrill has added several notable new tools to his Mudtool® line. There are concerns about environmental damage caused by off-gassing harmful substances

CLAYTIMES·COM n July/August 2008

In the 1970s and early ’80s I was a full-time potter, operating Railroad Stoneware in Blue Lake, California. I made kitchenware and tableware, and that often required fairly exact reproduction of stacking pieces like bowls and plates. I fashioned a simple adjustable throwing gauge that wasn’t particularly attractive but worked very well. The best pottery tools are generally designed by potters, and John Fulwood of Kissimmee River Pottery (www. kissimmeeriverpottery.com) has created a

fine throwing gauge called the “Fulwood Measure” (pictured above). Placed on the flat surface next to the wheelhead, the arm can be adjusted to correspond to the desired thrown height and diameter. This unit is nicely constructed of hardwood and brass with quality fittings, and the small swing-away pointer ensures that your pot will not be damaged if you initially go a little oversize.

Bill van Gilder continues to add to his tool line, available from www.claytimes.com. His tapered hole-cutter is among the most practical devices I have seen for creating holes in clay. It is about as simple as it can be, and cannot clog with clay. His mouthoperated siphon glaze-sprayer is the best one available. Unlike some of the cheap East-Asian models, Bill’s is stainless steel, and features a partially open top to simplify filling, emptying, and cleaning. With such a sprayer, a closed top with a small filler opening is a distinct disadvantage, and Bill’s design is far more practical. At the CT Web site you will also find a variety of other new tools in the van Gilder line, including a set of texture blocks for rolling textured handles and other parts, a nice fluting tool, and a clever tool for rounding the edges of clay slabs.

Shop Talk I Tool Times

The

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

in the manufacture of some synthetic sponges, and Mudtools is now offering a very nice, smooth, fine-textured, kidneyshaped throwing sponge made from polyvinyl alcohol, which in manufacturing offgasses only water vapor. The new Mudtools “Bump” tool is a throwing stick or potter’s finger with a comfortable ergonomic handle, a rigid 12" aluminum shaft that can easily be bent to the desired curvature, and a hard ball tip with a soft, absorbent surface. When soaked in the water bucket, the tip becomes self-lubricating against the clay. This tool can be used as a traditional potter’s finger to form the shape and shoulder on smallnecked thrown bottles and vases, or to create interesting “bumped” variations in the surface of any thrown form. After a conversation with Michael, I can see that the Mudtools “HAX” tool is more versatile than I originally imagined. Inspired by hacksaw blades (which rust), this stainless steel rib is described by Michael as “the ultimate in feathering and manicuring tools.” Unlike most serrated ribs, the “HAX” tool features very fine teeth and is suitable for scoring fine-grained clay bodies like porcelain. I have been experimenting with this tool, and I find that its long, slender shape and fine teeth make it ideal for a variety of scoring, shaping, and finishing tasks on both thrown and handbuilt forms.

Kemper Pro Line of Trim Tools Many people bemoan the disappearance of Dolan trimming tools from the studio clay scene, but Kemper has just started making a very similar line and markets them as the Kemper “Pro-Line” of trimming tools. They are being manufactured domestically and, like the Dolan tools, feature “knife-quality,” hardened, high-carbon steel cutters, turned wood handles, and brass ferrules. You can see the full range of “Pro-Line” trimmers and knives at www.kempertools.com/index. php?link=new. Also new on the market are “Groovy-Tool®” carbon-steel trimming tools being made by Lawrenceburg, Kentucky potter Susan Berge and her engineer husband Dave. “Groovy Tool” trimmers are available from Sheffield Pottery Supply (www.sheffield-pottery.com) and other suppliers. They are beautifully made, with heat-treated, tempered toolsteel blades and comfortable, bright green, cushion-grip handles.

Georgies Tile Cutters Georgies Ceramic and Clay Company (www.georgies.com) recently contracted with a retired machinist to make a line of stainless steel tile cutters that are the finest of this type that I have seen. I examined them closely at NCECA and was impressed with the quality and operation. They are offered in almost thirty different sizes and shapes, and custom designs are available as well. Sizes are matched so that different shapes can be used to create complex interlocking patterns.

Lebenzon Brushes I first saw Keith Lebenzon’s brushes at an ACC show at least 20 years ago, so Keith has been making handmade brushes for a long time. At NCECA I had the opportunity to try out a number of his brushes, and for anyone who likes the feel and performance of a fine handmade brush, these are proven. You can see some of his brushes at www.brushman. net/Artists_brushes.html, but if you want to try before you buy, check out his booth at NCECA next year in Phoenix, Arizona. This is just a sampling of new products found in the exhibition hall at NCECA 2008. That’s always one of my favorite parts of NCECA. You can buy tools from supply stores, catalogs, and on-line sites, and you will never know for sure how well they work until you try them in your own studio, but NCECA offers the opportunity to examine and compare so many tools—to handle them, feel the weight and the quality, and talk to the manufacturer or vendor about use and performance. NCECA is important for so many reasons, but there’s no other circumstance where you can see so many different brands and types of potters’ tools and equipment in one place. [

Vince Pitelka is professor of clay at Tennessee Technological University’s Appalachian Center for Craft, an active participant on the Clayart Internet discussion group, and author of Clay: A Studio Handbook. You can contact Vince through his Web site at http://iweb.tntech. edu/wpitelka.

by MONONA ROSSOL

Asbestos in Clay Body Talc Ruled as Major Cause of Cancer Death

n my column in the November/ December 2007 issue of Clay Times, I covered the two sides of the debate about whether or not talc mined by R.T. Vanderbilt and used extensively in ceramics contains asbestos. And, since I was an expert witness in the first successful lawsuit against R.T. Vanderbilt, it was clear to readers which side of the argument I was on.

At the time I wrote that column, I was aware that there was a second successful trial against Vanderbilt. I couldn’t discuss it because the details were not available to me. Now I have all the information I need to accurately tell you about this case as well.*

The Case

Documents Not Produced The Trial Court sanctioned R.T. Vanderbilt for repeatedly failing to turn over court-ordered documents and produce individuals for depositions. Specifically, the court ordered the Chief Financial Officer

Surprise Witness The owner of the talc mines, Hugh Vanderbilt, Sr., sent his son, Paul Vanderbilt, to oversee their defense team’s jury-selection process. In a surprise move, Plaintiff’s Attorney, Joe Satterley, subpoenaed him while he was there. Paul Vanderbilt is Vice President, Secretary, and Director of Environmental Affairs for R.T. Vanderbilt. Yet at trial, he testified that he had no knowledge of the number of his workers who developed asbestosrelated diseases, nor did he seem to have an interest in environmental safety. Joe Satterley’s final question to Paul Vanderbilt and his answers were: Q. Final question: You’ll agree that if it is determined that your product kills people and causes mesothelioma, the product should be banned from sale in the United States, correct? A. If it causes mesothelioma, yes. Q. It should be banned, right? A. Yes.

Proof Positive Lawyer Satterley was able to demonstrate to the jury using posters showing enlarged pictures of the fibers taken under the microscope by his experts, that the same kinds of fibers known to be in R.T. Vanderbilt talc were also present in Mrs. Franklin’s lungs. In addition, evidence at trial demonstrated that Johns-Manville, a large asbestos manufacturer, specifically tested R.T. Vanderbilt’s product in the 1970s and determined the talc was asbestoscontaining. And a 1980 NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health) study also found the talc contained tremolite and anthophyllite asbestos.

Dramatic Testimony Stunning evidence was presented by Thomas Rogers, a 72-year-old former employee of R.T. Vanderbilt with a 10th grade education. He had worked 27 years for R.T. Vanderbilt as a miner, a mechanic, and in many other jobs. Rogers was asked about an incident that happened sometime in the late ’70s or early ’80s after a NIOSH study found that the ore contained asbestos, a fact which could have put them out of business. The jury heard testimony from Rogers that Hugh Vanderbilt, Sr., stated he would spend millions to fight the classification of the fibers in the talc as asbestos and if that was not successful, he had a Senator in his hip pocket. In Rogers’ own words in deposition: A. Well, they was having quite a spell on whether that [the talc] was going to be called asbestos or not and, of course, they

CLAYTIMES·COM n July/August 2008

Johnny Franklin, husband of Flora Franklin, sued R.T. Vanderbilt under product liability negligence. In 2005, Flora Franklin died from malignant mesothelioma at age 68, after suffering from this disease for a year and a half. She worked as a tile sorter at Florida Tile in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. Florida Tile used millions of pounds of R.T. Vanderbilt talc over the years and the dust was everywhere in the plant, according to testimony from the Plant Manager and other workers. A Kentucky OSHA inspector also testified that when he measured the dust in the air, he identified tremolite asbestos in the talc.

to be deposed regarding the possibility of misconduct, but R.T. Vanderbilt refused to produce this witness for a deposition in direct and blatant violation of the Trial Court’s order. R.T. Vanderbilt also ignored the Court’s order to turn over internal documents regarding its own employees suffering from asbestos-related diseases, including malignant mesothelioma, and they failed to comply with the court order to reveal the amount of money R.T. Vanderbilt has spent to try to have other laboratories and researchers classify its talc as a non-asbestos containing product.

Studio I Health & Safety

R.T. Vanderbilt Loses Second Mesothelia Lawsuit

Studio I Health & Safety CLAYTIMES·COM n July/August 2008

had their own labs I guess and they was testing against NYAS [sic. NIOSH] and he [Hugh Vanderbilt] said that in the end if all else failed, he padded [patted] his back pocket he says, I got a Senator right here. Rogers also said that the researchers from the labs that R.T. Vanderbilt used to defend their talc were supposed to come to the mines without notifying people in advance and take samples at any locations they thought appropriate. But Rogers says it was management that told the workers where to take the samples and to give them to the researchers. This is consistent with the information I have from the first successful lawsuit, in which researchers for the 1980 NIOSH study and other researchers observed that the asbestos occurs in pockets scattered throughout the ore. By carefully selecting samples, it would be possible to get ones that were asbestos-free.

included $5,000,000 in pain and suffering, $20,000 in medical expenses incurred, awarded punitive damages, and found in clear and convincing evidence of fraudulent concealment and gross negligence in the amount of $450,000. The awards to the Franklin estate were reduced by 30% to reflect the jury’s allocation of fault. They found R.T. Vanderbilt 70% at fault and a few other defendants (Ford Motors for brake linings, Georgia Pacific for joint compound used in the house, etc.) were found jointly responsible for the other 30%. After the apportioning fault, the court entered judgment against R.T. Vanderbilt totaling $4,090,000. The date of the verdict was September 10, 2007. R.T. Vanderbilt moved for a new trial and a judgment notwithstanding the verdict. The trial court, after extensive arguments and a hearing on the matter, denied R.T. Vanderbilt’s post-trial motions.

The Decision

The First Successful Lawsuit

The jury awarded $5,659,000 in total damages to Franklin. Those damages

The Flora Franklin lawsuit was the second successful suit against R.T. Vanderbilt.

Visit the newly redesigned Web site at www. claytimes.com for everything ELSE you need to know about clay! It's a GREAT resource!

Earlier, on November 16, 2006, the estate of a New Jersey pottery shop operator who had used R.T. Vanderbilt talc and who died of mesothelioma in 2004, was awarded $3.35 million in compensatory damages by a Superior Court jury in New Brunswick. The jury awarded $1.4 million for pain and suffering, $1.45 million for loss of earnings and $500,000 for his widow’s loss of companionship. On December 7, the punitive damage phase of the trial ended in a settlement of an additional confidential sum.

Summary Many studies of this talc have determined that it contains asbestos, and now two juries have decided it causes mesothelioma. According to Paul Vanderbilt’s own testimony, it should be banned. And R.T. Vanderbilt has announced they will close their mines at the end of this year. We should all rest easier now that this talc will no longer be in our products. Footnote * My thanks to Joe Satterley, the lawyer for Johnny Franklin, who kindly provided me with many of the exhibits and the depositions of Johnny Franklin, Paul Vanderbilt, and Thomas Rogers. The case can be looked up by referring to Johnny Franklin v. R.T. Vanderbilt Docket No. 04-CI-00274 in Kentucky. [

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 10012-2586; telephone 212.777.0062; e-mail ACTSNYC@cs.com.

5707 smith avenue Baltimore Maryland 21209 Krista Grecco & Bernadette curran AnimAls And HumAns: On & Off tHe WHeel

Aug. 9 – 10, 10:00 Am – 4:00 pm Ws3 – $200 members, $220 non-members

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Oct. 4 – 5, 10:00 Am – 4:00 pm

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call 410 578 1919 or visit www.baltimoreclayworks.org

Check out these listings to find local programs for wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculptural techniques, & more … U.S. classes are listed first, alphabetically, followed by classes outside the United States.

ARKANSAS

202.544.6669; cbrome@earthlink.net; stoneware, wheelthrowing, glazing, decorating.

LOUISIANA

Flat Rock Clay Supplies — 2002 South School Ave. (Hwy. 71), Fayetteville, AR 72701; 479.521.3181; www.flatrockclay.com; info@flatrock clay. com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, tile, special topic classes and workshops.

Hinckley Pottery — 1707 Kalorama Road, NW, Washington, DC 20009; 202.745.7055; www.hinckleypottery.com; info@hinckleypottery.com; wheel-throwing.

CALIFORNIA

FLORIDA

MAINE

Carla’s Clay — 1733 Northgate Blvd, Sarasota, FL 34234; 941.359.2773; www.Carlasclay.com; cobrien@ carlasclay.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture, gallery, tools, and supplies.

Portland Pottery — 118 Washington Ave. Portland, ME 04010; 207.772.4334; www.portlandpottery. com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture, firing, glaze/ decoration.

Craft Gallery – 5911 South Dixie Hwy, West Palm Beach, FL 33405; (561) 585-7744; www.thecraftgallery.net; bettywilson@thecraftgallery. net; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, architectural sculpture, glass fusion, workshops, gallery, supplies, and kiln rental.

MARYLAND

The Community Center of La Cañada Flintridge – 4469 Chevy Chase Drive, La Cañada Flintridge, CA 91011; (818) 790-4353; www.cclcf. org; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, glazing, firing, raku, classes for children and adults. Echo Ceramics – 2856 S. Robertson Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90034; 310.815.1525; www.echoceramics. com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, firing,glazing/decoration, adult and teen classes, supplies.

COLORADO Northern Colorado Potters’ Guild — 209 Christman Drive, Fort Collins, CO 80524; 970.416.5979; www.coloradopottery.org; ncpg@comcast.net; wheelthrowing, 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

GEORGIA Callanwolde Fine Arts Center — 980 Briarcliff Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30306; 404.872.5338; www.callanwolde.org; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, reduction, salt, soda, raku, and oxidation firing. The Ocee Arts Center — 6290 Abbotts Bridge Road, Building #700, Duluth, GA 30097; 770.623.8448; www.oceearts.org; dcocee@bellsouth.net; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture, tile, mosaic, firing, glazing/ decoration. Apprentice programs and workshops.

ILLINOIS DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Eastern Market Pottery — New location on Capitol Hill. 320 3rd Street NE, Washington, DC 22002;

Clay Space — 28 W. 210 Warrenville Road, Warrenville, IL 60556; 630.393.2529; www.clayspace.net; clay.space@yahoo.com; adult & children’s classes, wheelthrowing, handbuilding, sculpture, firing, glazing/decoration.

Louisiana Pottery — 6470 Highway 22, Cajun Village, Sorrento, LA 70778; 225.675.5572; www.louisianapottery.com; lapottery@eatel.net; handbuilding. Special focus classes.

Baltimore Clayworks — 5707 Smith Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21209; 410.578.1919; www. baltimoreclayworks.org; matt.hyleck@baltimoreclayworks. org; workshop contact: forrest.snyder@baltimoreclayworks. org; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture, tile, mosaic, decorating, printmaking, slipcasting, wood firing, salt firing. Columbia Art Center – 6100 Foreland Garth, Columbia, MD 21045; (410) 730-0075; www. columbiaartcenter.org; art.staff@columbiaassociation. com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, alternative firing methods, summer teen wheel camp, workshops, youth and adults. Shiloh Pottery, Inc. — 1027 Brodbeck Road, Hampstead, MD 21074; 410.239.8888; www.shilohpottery.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding. The Frederick Pottery School, Inc.— 5305 Jefferson Pike, Suite C-2, Frederick, MD 21703; 301.473.8833; www.frederickpotteryschool.com; wheelthrowing, handbuilding, wood firing, cone 6 oxidation. Montpelier Arts Center — 9652 Muirkirk Road, Laurel, MD 20708; 301.953.1993; www.pgparks.com/places/artsfac/mac.html; montpelier. arts@pgparks.com; classes for children and adults include handbuilding, wheel-throwing, raku; special parent/child workshops offered.

CLAYTIMES·COM n July/August 2008

Creative Arts Workshops – 80 Audubon Street, New Haven, CT 06510; (203) 562-4927; www.creativeartsworkshop.org; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture, firing.

The Lake Eustis Arts Accord — 205 & 211 North Grove Street, PO Box 1619, Eustis, FL 32727; 352.589.4ART (4278); info@lakeeustisartsaccord.org; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, raku, firing, sculpture. Workshops and classes.

Resources I Classes

Community Pottery Classes

Resources I Classes

942 Pitner Ave • Evanston, IL 60202 TEL 847.425.1900 • FAX 847.332.2575 www.ceramicsupplychicago.com

CHARLOTTE NC Setting up a studio? Your full-service pottery supplier featuring clays by Standard, Highwater and Laguna; kilns, glazes, chemicals and equipment. School orders welcome!

CAROLINA CLAY CONNECTION

704/376-7221

e-mail: carolinaclay@aol.com www.carolinaclay.com

The Smooooooooth Alternative to Canvas! SlabRolling mats HandBuilding mats 30”x50” $33 16”x22” $9 22”x50” $20 14”x16” $6 14”x50” $16 NEW! Ideal for small slabrollers

Larger Custom Available – Inquire New Prices: OrderYardage before 4/1/05 to SAVE ≈ 10% Order from retail distributors, or contact us Herring Designs, LLC www.HerringDesigns.com PO Box 3009 888-391-1615 970-547-4835 Breckenridge CO 80424 pjh.mae@aya.yale.edu

MARYLAND, cont.

NEW JERSEY

Glen Echo Pottery — 7300 MacArthur Blvd., Glen Echo, MD 20812; 301.229.5585; www.glenechopottery.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, raku and soda firing.

The Art School at Old Church — 561 Piermont Road, Demarest, NJ 07627; 201.767.7160; www.tasoc.org; info@tasoc.org; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture, tile, glazing, raku.

Jayne Shatz Pottery — 452 Laurel Valley Court, Arnold, MD 21012; 410.757.6351; www.jayneshatzpottery.com; jesclay@aol.com; wheelthrowing, handbuilding, sculpture, glazing, firing, wall relief and tile, workshops, critiques, marketing strategy, group and private sessions.

Kissimmee River Pottery — One 8th Street #11, Frenchtown, NJ 08825; 908.996.3555; www.kissimmeeriverpottery.com; riverpots@earthlink. net; beginner to advanced classes, wheel-throwing, handbuilding, workshops, cone 10 reduction firing, single firing, raku, adult day and evening classes.

MASSACHUSETTS Mudflat Pottery School, Inc. — 149 Broadway, Somerville, MA 02145; 617.628.0589; www.mudflat.org; info@mudflat.org; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, tile. 2 Rivers Ceramic Studio — 77 Elm Street, Amesbury, MA 01913-2503; 978.388.2212; www.2riversceramic.com; hamovit@gmail.com; wheelthrowing, handbuilding, classes and workshops for adults and children, 24/7 studio access for independent artists.

CLAYTIMES·COM n July/August 2008

For all Ceramic & Glass Applications

Toll Free 888-660-9473

Screenprint

Fax 937 223-1115 wisescreenprint@yahoo.com

1011 Valley St. Dayton, OH 45404

NEW YORK Clay Art Center — 40 Beech Street, Port Chester, NY 10573; 914.937.2047; www.clayartcenter.org; mail@clayartcenter.org; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture, special topics, programs for kids and adults.

MINNESOTA

The Painted Pot — 339 Smith Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231; 718.222.0334; www.paintedpot.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture.

Edina Art Center — 4710 West 64th Street, Edina, MN 55435; 612.915.6604; www.edinaartcenter.com; artcenter@ci.edina.mn.us; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture, tile.

The Potter’s Wheel—120-33 83rd Avenue, Kew Gardens, NY 11415; 718.441.6614; www. potterswheelny.com; potterswheelny@earthlink.net; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, raku, saggar firing, kids and adult classes.

Northern Clay Center — 2424 Franklin Avenue East, Minneapolis, MN 55406; 612.339.8007; www.northernclaycenter.org; nccinfo@ northernclaycenter.org; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture, tile.

92nd Street Y Art Center — 1395 Lexington Ave, New York, NY 10128; 212.415.5562; www.92Y.org/artclasses; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture; intensives in plaster, glazing, and complex serving pieces; open studio available.

MISSISSIPPI

NORTH CAROLINA

Bodine Pottery & Art Studio — Rebuilding: New location: 432 West Frontage Dr., Wiggins, MS 39577; tel. 601.928.4718; www.bodinepottery. com; hukmut@bodinepottery.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, PMC (precious metal clay).

Blue Gill Pottery — 4522 W. Wilkinson Blvd., Gastonia, NC 28056; 704.824.9928; www.bluegillpottery.com; bluegillpottery@bellsouth.net; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, glazing, and throwing.

MISSOURI

Custom CustomDECALS DECALS

Visual Art Center of New Jersey — 68 Elm Street, Summit, NJ 07901; 908.273.9121; www.artcenternj.org; Deemick@artcenternj.org. All things clay.

Red Star Studios — 821 West 17th Street, Kansas City, MO 64106; 816.474.7316; www. redstarstudios.org; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, workshops, gallery, studio space.

NEVADA Pottery West — 5026 North Pioneer Way, Las Vegas, NV 89149; 702.987.3023; potterywest@ cox.net; www.potterywest.com; wheel-throwing.

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. Sawtooth School for Visual Arts — 226 N. Marshall Street, Winston Salem, NC 27101; 336.723.7395; www.sawtooth.org; ceramics@sawtooth. org; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture, tile, classes and workshops in other fine arts and media. Finch Pottery — 5526 Finch Nursery Lane, Bailey, NC 27807-9492; 252.235.4664; www.danfinch.com; dan.finch@earthlink.net; wheel-throwing.

Yost Pottery Studio — 1643 Massillon Road, Akron, OH 44312; 330.734.0763; www.yostpottery.com. Wheel-throwing, handbuilding, tile, firing.

PENNSYLVANIA Allen Stoneware Gallery & Pottery Studio Classroom — Colony Plaza, 2602 West 8th Street, Erie, PA 16505; 814.836.0345; www. allenstoneware.com; pottery@allenstoneware.com; wheelthrowing, handbuilding, sculpture. The Clay Studio — 139 North Second Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106; 215.925.3453; www.theclaystudio.org; info@theclaystudio.org; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture.

SOUTH CAROLINA Adele’s Pottery Studio & Gallery — 1659 Middle Street, Sullivan’s Island, SC 29482; 843.883.9545; wheel-throwing, handbuilding for children and teens.

TENNESSEE 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 Dry Creek Pottery & Supply — 8400 Cleburne Highway, Granbury, TX 76049; 817.326.4210; www.drycreekpottery.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding for adults, reduction, low-fire, and raku firing.

VIRGINIA

865.397-2914 info@wardburner.com

www.wardburner.com

Jacksonville Center for the Arts — 220 Parkway Lane, Floyd, VA 24091; 866.787.8806; 540.745.2784; www.jacksonvillecenter.org; info@ jacksonvillecenter.org; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture, mosaic, raku and pit firing, glazing and decoration. LibertyTown Arts Center — 916 Liberty Street, Fredericksburg, VA 22401; 540.371.7255; www.libertytownarts.com; liberty townarts@verizon.net; wheel-throwing, hand-building, glazing, decorating, tile, raku. Nan Rothwell Studio Pottery — 221 Pottery Lane, Faber, VA 22938 (near Wintergreen); 434.263.4023; www.nanrothwellpottery.com; wheelthrowing, handbuilding, glazing, firing. Manassas Clay & Tin Barn Pottery Supply — 9122 Center Street, Manassas, VA 20110; 703.330.1040; www.manassasclay.com; manassasclay@ aol.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture, glazing, and raku. Potter’s Wheel Studio – 25050 Riding Plaza, Suite 145, Chantilly, VA 20152; (703) 542-8956; www.potterswheelstudio.com; info@potterswheelstudio.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, firing, glazing/decoration, kids and adults. White House Ceramic Studio – 16 E. Pennsylvania Avenue, Lovettsville, VA 20180; (540) 822-4803; www.whitehouseceramicstudio.blogspot. com; kristen-koch@hotmail.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture, tile, mosaic, firing, glazing/ decoration, workshops, kids and adults.

Seward Park Clay Studio — 5900 Lake Washington Blvd. South, Seattle, WA 98118; 206.722.6342; www.sewardparkart.org; info@sewardparkart.org; wheelthrowing, handbuilding, sculpture, kids and adults.

WISCONSIN ADAMAH — 4651 County Road ZZ, Dodgeville, WI 53533; 608.257.3577; www.art-ventures.org; bhorizon@ bethel-madison.org; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture, tile, glazing/decoration, raku, woodfiring, kids 16+ and adults. Family workshops.

ITALY — South of Rome Maiolica Ceramica — South of Rome, Via Pellico 15 - Medieval Fondi, Italy. Italy: (+39) 338.139.4244 USA; 714.600.9535; www.GotuzzoWorkshops.com; GotuzzoWorkshops@gmail.com. Italian Maiolica and decorative art. [

clay place 1/6 National page ad Juried

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• Show Dates: Oct. 24-Nov. 21 • Entry Deadline: Aug. 1, 2008 • Juried by Simon Levin Download Clay3 prospectus at: www.clayspace.net

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, hand-building, sculpture.

Gas & Electric Kilns, Glaze Room, Classes, Workshops, Resident Artists Program, Clay People Ceramics Club, Gallery 107 28W210 Warrenville Rd., Warrenville, IL 60565 (630) 393-CLAY

info@clayspace.net

CLAYTIMES·COM n July/August 2008

Creative Clay Studios — 5704 E General Washington Drive, Alexandria, VA 22312; 703.750.9480; www.creativeclaypottery.com; daisy_gail@msn.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture, classes, workshops, studios, retail supplies, tools, clay.

The Art League School — Located near the Torpedo Factory at 105 North Union Street, Alexandria, VA 22314; 703.683.2323; www.theartleague.org/school; school@theartleague.org; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture, tile, mosaic.

Resources I Classes

OHIO

Resources I Books & Videos

Firing: Philosophies within Contemporary Ceramic Practice review by steven branfman

casual way, I discovered that they are not what drives the significance of this book. I immediately turned to the introduction and bit in.

Firing: Philosophies within Contemporary Ceramic Practice by David Jones The Crowood Press Hardcover • $60

CLAYTIMES·COM n JULY/AUGUST 2008

t has been a while since I’ve done a review of a technical book, though it isn’t because there aren’t enough of them. But as those of you who read this column regularly know, my interests and biases in the arts, and especially ceramics, go toward more academic, cultural, biographical, historical, and philosophical subjects. So why the shift to the “dark side?” As a fellow raku potter, I’ve known and admired David Jones’ work in raku for many years. Also, as a raku potter, the dynamics, intricacies, and variations inherent in the firing process are central to my work, while the historical and cultural origins of raku connect my contemporary practice to the traditions of the past. So when I read the subtitle, “Philosophies within Contemporary Ceramic Practice,” I could only be curious about how the author would treat a subject so technical under the umbrella of philosophy.

A quick scan of the contents proved to be revealing. Among the chapters are “The Chemistry of the Bonfire,” “Eating, Drinking, Cooking, Firing,” “Distanced from Fire: The Electric Kiln,” “Firing as Metaphor,” “The Denial of Fire.” You can easily see that we are not dealing with a common approach to a mainstream subject. Of course there are also the obligatory chapters on kiln theory, glaze and firing, experimental kilns, temperature and heat measurement, and additional methodology and technical details. While I don’t mean to treat these areas in a

Jones generously exposes his personal interest and spiritual connection to firing. His introduction is a collection of the things that comprise the subject of firing. He discusses history and culture. He presents the evolution of firing practices and innovations. Jones talks about the sharing and transmission of knowledge. He touches on theory, types of kilns and firing, and the significance of the fired clay object. In fact, there is so much important information conveyed in the introduction that the title “Introduction” is simultaneously wellsuited and accurately described while being simplistic and almost disrespectful. I can’t remember reading an introduction so informative and captivating. Jones’ knowledge and expertise in the many elements of firing is extensive. He has and conveys to the reader a thorough understanding of combustion theory, refractory science, atmospheric effects, firing control, and the effects that all of these factors have on the clay object. He presents many different types of kilns, firing temperatures, and clays. The reader will be well-educated and will be confident in their own understanding and knowledge after reading this book. Jones’ writing style is careful, and though not colloquial or overly friendly, it is easy to follow as the text flows well and is not burdened by an unnecessary degree of jargon or academia. He does communicate in a professorial manner, but no more so than many other writers dealing with factual information. He is careful not to be condescending. A convention that he utilizes very effectively is the use of the “sidebar” to highlight or bring to our attention important technical definitions,

concepts, or details. For example, there are sidebars used to illustrate “latent heat,” “silica phases,” “the element,” “heat work,” and other terms. One hundred eighty highquality color illustrations of kilns and clay work fill the book, and there is hardly a page without an image. Throughout the book, Jones calls upon a combination of his own experience and knowledge as well as that of a carefully chosen group of contributors and collaborators. Among the more than 50 included artists are Clive Bowen, Fritz Rossmann, Janet Mansfield, Dale Huffmann, Eva Kwong, Ian Gregory, Wali Hawes, Daphne Corregan, and Jane Perryman. Each of these well-known clay artists brings personal and particular experience, practice, bias, aesthetics, and method to the fold. Their contributions are generous, telling, and substantial in content—far from the ego-driven illustrations we often see in survey books. Firing: Philosophies Within Contemporary Ceramic Practice is a book that breaks new ground. Although it takes a subject that has been written about over and over again, it reworks the content, mixes up the conventional wisdom, and presents it in a new light. David Jones has successfully chronicled the history and culture of ceramics in the context of the firing process. He has presented his personal overture to the firing of clay objects along with that of others giving the reader a fresh way to observe, examine, approach, understand, analyze, and practice an aspect of clay working that is vital, elemental, and for most of us absolutely necessary. Firing: Philosophies Within Contemporary Ceramic Practice will intrigue, captivate and educate. Well done, David. [ 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.

Classes • Celebrate CERAMICS in SPAIN with SETH CARDEW at the wheel. Weekly residential courses or daily private tuition. Four-bedroom cottage for weekly rental at the pottery. www. cardew-spain.com.

Events • Fourth Annual Vasefinder Nationals. Please see vasefinder.com for details.

For Sale • For Sale: Pottery Store consisting of retail, classroom, and studio. Established 1986 in a shopping complex consisting of 20 shops and 2 restaurants. Enjoy yearround tourism and local business. www.Sunrisepottery.com. Doug Oian: 210.494.8633, San Antonio, Texas. • KILN FOR SALE — 64-cubic-foot soft brick downdraft. Includes shelves, stilts, plumbing, burners, etc. Located in Maryland. $3,850.00. Contact Steve Wright at 800.990.4263, e-mail: steve@ wrighthanddrums.com. • Two Kansas Houses for Sale. Kiln, 2 fireplaces, concrete lofts, raku kiln, hoist, solar panels, Brent potter’s wheel, ample storage. Photos — http:// www.eggshellmosaics.com/keeney. html. Information — TessMichaelis@ aol.com.

Opportunities

• CERF — Alabama Clay Conference, Asparagus Valley Potters Guild, Minnesota Potters of the Upper St. Croix River Valley, and Roswell Clay Collective — Thanks for raising funds this year for CERF. To find out how your group can support CERF, call us at 802.229.2306 or visit www.craftemergency.org. • ClayParent — A new Internet forum for potters who are parents, and their issues. After many requests for this type of interaction, the Clayworkers’ Guild of Illinois is donating Web space to open up this forum to members and non-members alike. Registration is free. The forum is located at: www.mudmamasandpapas.com.

• MAKE POTTERY WEST YOUR HOME in Las Vegas, NV. Live in a community that’s devoted to clay! Pottery West is a 10,000-sq.-ft. facility with on-site housing and a full-service kitchen. 21 potters’ wheels, a 27-cu.-ft. Geil gas kiln, a 100-cu.-ft. wood-fire Train kiln, a 50-cu.-ft. wood/soda kiln in the works, and a 16-cu.-ft. electric kiln. We also have a slab roller, wall-mounted extruder, glaze chemical lab, spray booth, bench grinder, sandblaster, and audio/video equipment. It’s a great place to continue building your body of work, and it’s very affordable! Start anytime. Contact Amy Kline at 702.987.3023 or email potterywest@ cox.net. Website: www.potterywest.com. Academic credit is also available through Alfred University. • JOIN AMERICANPOTTERS.COM TODAY! Be a part of a national, searchable database for FREE ... or an “online gallery/portfolio” to sell your work, without commissions. If you have a Web site, join with a “link” page. All information is editable by you, without Web knowledge. Go to the site and click on “FAQ” for more info.

• 6th IOC Ceramics Competition and Exhibition — Bemidji, MN. Juror – Linda Christianson. Purchase awards plus cash $1,600. $30 for 3 entries. Deadline September 5th, 2008. www.bcac.wordpress.com. • K-12 Ceramic Exhibition — The 12th Annual K-12 Ceramic Exhibition opens March 2009 at the NCECA Conference, Phoenix, Arizona. Open to K-12 students by teacher entry. www.k12clay.org. The 13th Annual K-12 Ceramic Exhibition opens March 2010. • Potters for Peace — Assisting developing world potters with appropriate technologies, sustained using local skills and materials, with the goal of improving their livelihoods. We also offer training in the production of highly effective, low-cost, low-tech ceramic water filters. www.pottersforpeace.org.

Kiln Repair • 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. • 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.

Tools for Potters • AWESOME! Bill van Gilder’s Professional Hand Tools. 13 very functional tools for handbuilding and wheel work: classroom and studiotested! Visit the online store at www. claytimes.com to view and order tools. • Manabigama Wood Firing Kiln Plans — Fires and ‘flashes’ 30 cu. ft. of pots beautifully in 8 hrs., or extended firings to c.12 using approx. ½ cord stove wood. Great teaching tool: 6-8 students/firing: 25-30 pots ea. Plans include: Complete materials list, step-by-step kiln building photo disc w/descriptive notes; plus kiln prep, loading and firing, cooling/unloading

CLAYTIMES·COM n JULY/AUGUST 2008

• Canton Clay Works (Connecticut) has internships and residency positions available immediately. Seeking individuals with extensive experience in throwing, altering, and manufacturing vessels in stoneware, as well as teaching experience. Job includes 15 hours of unpaid studio work duties, but there is a generous hourly rate for teaching. Individuals may enroll in CCW classes and

workshops free of charge as well as exhibit in our shows and gallery. Access and use of our studio kilns (wood/ salt, gas, electric, raku, and saggar) included. Materials and firing fees are complimentary (within reason). Visit www. cantonclayworks.com/intern.pdf for more details and application. Questions may be directed to cantonclayworks@yahoo.com or call 860.693.1000.

Resources I Classified Marketplace

Classified Marketplace

Resources I Classified Marketplace

Classified Marketplace details, glaze & slip recipes, more. Kiln building workshops available at your site. Questions? Contact: John Thies, Bill van Gilder at monocacy pottery.com or ph. 301.898.3128.

Travel • Mata Ortiz Contact — A one-stop connection to the incredible potters of Mata Ortiz, Mexico; workshops, visits, pots for sale: www.mataortiz contact.com. • Potter’s Workshops and Tours in an Undiscovered Mexico. Explore the immense, but little-known, ceramic diversity of deep Mexico. Handson learning and uncommon, smallgroup travel among the ancestral masters. Winter 2008. January: Zapotec Handbuilding; February: Great Masters of Tonala; March: Potters of Michoacan; March: Mata OrtizWorkshop. www.traditionsmexico. com; traditionsmexico@yahoo.com.

Videos & Books, cont.

• 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. $43 each or $105 for the set (more than four hours of video). Call 903.795-3779.

• TOM TURNER’S POTTERY SCHOOL AND HIS TWO-DAY WORKSHOP 4-DISC DVD SET available at: www.tomturnerporcelain. com, or contact by telephone at 828.689.9430.

• Five Teacher Clay Lesson Plan Books (K-12) by Janice Hobbs on CDs or binders. Each book includes objectives to closures, pictures and diagrams. www. drycreekpottery.com or 817.326.4210.

Videos & Books

• Order Great Glazes II for just $15 at the Clay Times online store at www.claytimes.com. This second hands-on studio glaze book features dozens of favorite glaze recipes for a wide variety of firing temperatures and atmospheres.

• DVD: Advanced Pottery Projects with Doug Oian — Enhance your skills to include Large Bowls, Pitchers, Handles, Lids, and Carved Candle-lanterns. $50 fee includes shipping. www.SunrisePottery.com; tel. 210.494.8633.

• PotteryVideos.com — DVDs with Robin Hopper, Gordon Hutchens, and Graham Sheehan. Video workshop for potters at all levels of experience. Choose from 21 titles. E-mail info@potteryvideos.com or call 800.668.8040.

Nothing to Hide

cont. from p. 63

Workshops • Teaching Clay Workshops with Janice Hobbs. Learn new clay projects you can teach in your classroom from elementary through high school. www. drycreekpottery.com or telephone 817.326.4210. • Throwing Large Platters & Saggar Firing with Tom Radca & Brenda McMahon. July 26 & 27, Greenwich, NY (north of Albany). 518.692.7742. Web sites: www.TomRadca.com; www.BlueMoon Clay.com. • JACK TROY DEMO WORKSHOP — Potter, author teacher and wood-firing master Jack Troy will demo and discuss the making and altering of pots within the wood-firing aesthetic. Saturday & Sunday, September 20-21, 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM at the Frederick Pottery School, Inc., 5305 Jefferson Pike, Frederick, MD 21703. Info at www. frederickpotteryschool.com. Telephone 301.473.8833. [

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CLAYTIMES·COM n JULY/AUGUST 2008

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Exposures, Disclosures, and Reﬂections by Paul Soldner

art with American Raku, hot-tubbing, clay conference has now published a limited edition book — ceramic artstreaking with American hot tubtattoos, and has nowRaku, published a limited the first in a series of fascinating reflections edition bookconference — the first intattoos, a seriesand of fascinating bing, clay streaking on the extraordinary life of Paul Soldner. reflections on the extraordinary life of Paul Soldner. has now published a limited edition book — Orderyours yourstoday! today! Order Just $24.95 + s & h the first in of fascinating reflections just $24.95 + sa & hseries • Call 800.356.2529 (800) 356-2529 Call on the extraordinary life of Paul Soldner.

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by david hendley

eaders of a certain age will instantly recognize this quote as probably the most famous movie lines from the 1960s: the party scene in The Graduate, when the just-graduated Benjamin, played by Dustin Hoffman, is offered career advice from a friend of his parents. It’s a funny line, and it turned out to be prophetic, as plastic has indeed invaded every facet of modern life. Like most potters, I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with plastic, with the balance definitely leaning toward the hate side of the equation. Since the ’60s, plastic cups, bowls, and containers have immeasurably cut into the market for similar ceramic items. Two generations ago virtually all flower pots were ceramic; now the vast majority are plastic. But I have to tell you, I have a “plastic trailer” that I use to haul pots around, and I love it. It’s great for the same reasons that more and more plastic is being used on cars and in many other products: it’s inexpensive and lightweight, too.

Anytime there is a gathering of working potters, especially when the conversation has been lubricated with appropriate drinks, the subject of the best “potter’s

In my thirty-plus years of working with clay, I’ve driven cars, with and without

Many years ago I drove a pick-up truck with a removable “topper” on the bed. It seemed like a good choice since the truck without the cover could be used to transport clay, or to haul brush, firewood, and such around the farm, and then the cover could be installed for hauling pots. Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out to be so easy to switch from the covered bed to the open truck. It took two strong people and half an hour of wrangling to install

Although he hates to admit it, David Hendley has been quite pleased with the solution his plastic “Yuppie Wagon” has provided for his pottery-and-supplies loading and hauling dilemmas.

trailers; trucks, with and without covers; and vans. I’ve come to the conclusion that there is no such thing as the perfect vehicle for a potter. There are just too many different ways of working and too many variables. Conveniences, such as more space or ease of loading, always come with costs, such as higher expenses or difficulty navigating traffic and parking. The recent development of the lightweight, plastic trailer, however, when paired with a fuel-efficient car, is my new vehicle of choice. It’s not perfect and I know it’s not right for everyone, but I just can’t justify driving a truck or van when I need heavyduty carrying capacity only occasionally.

the cover, and then it was hard to seal it in place. It was also awkward and hard on the back to load boxes of pots into the truck because of the low height of the cover. And, of course, the truck, an older model, went through a 20-gallon tank of gas in what seemed like no time. When I used to go to ten or more art fairs a year, I invested in a van, and I still think it is the best “art fair” vehicle: spacious yet compact, weather-proof, and easy to load and park. It’s also good for hauling clay and glaze materials home from the ceramic supplier. The downside, again, was poor gas mileage. By the time the van was wearing out and I needed a new vehicle, I was only going to a few fairs

CLAYTIMES·COM n JULY/AUGUST 2008

It has always been hard for potters to decide what kind of vehicle to drive. We do so many different jobs, and many of them require moving heavy things. On the other hand, we also run errands and do things that do not involve large or heavy loads. The problem is that a truck or big car is required for the big jobs, but then we are stuck with dismal gas mileage and high operating costs while driving a truck around town. In the brave new world of $4-a-gallon gasoline, this is now an even bigger dilemma.

vehicle” is often broached. You can count on long-time potters, particularly veterans traveling the art fair circuit, to have strong opinions. There are die-hard “truck potters” and “van potters,” as well as passionate “trailer potters,” each with a valid rationale about why their vehicle is the best.

Opinion I Around the Firebox

One Word: “Plastics”

Opinion I Around the Firebox

a year, so it didn’t make sense to buy another van. I now have a Honda CR-V. It’s called an SUV because it has a cargo area behind the seats and the back seats fold up to proffer more cargo space. But it’s really more like a car, built on the Honda Civic frame, with a 4-cylinder engine that delivers better than 25 miles per gallon. It can hold quite a bit and haul up to 700 pounds, which is good for a car, but not enough if I need to buy clay and materials or carry pots and a display set-up to an art fair. I thought about pairing a trailer with the CR-V. According to the manual, it could pull one, but with a recommended weight limit of only 1,000 pounds. I started shopping for trailers and quickly discovered that even the smallest

enclosed cargo trailers weighed 700 pounds or more when empty, leaving little for the weight of the contents within the thousand-pound limit. It seemed like a dead-end until a friend told me about a “plastic trailer” he saw for sale. I drove to the trailer lot to check it out. My first impression was that it looked like a Port-A-Potty someone had knocked over and set on a trailer, but giving it some thought, I realized this was just what I was looking for. The frame and wheels were steel and the floor was plywood, but the rest of it, even the silver rock guard and wheel wells, was plastic. It was called a “Yuppie Wagon®” and weighed less than 400 pounds, with a cargo area of about seven feet by four feet. It was red, which fatefully matched my car, so I bought it, in spite of the name.

CLAYTIMES·COM n July/August 2008

Index to Advertisers

Aftosa.................................................... 10 AMACO................................................. 67 Bailey Pottery Equipment........................ 20 Baltimore Clayworks............................... 58 BigCeramicStore.com............................. 54 Bracker’s Good Earth Clays.................... 22 Buyers Market of American Craft............. 28 Carolina Clay Connection........................ 60 Cattle Barn Clay Company...................... 11 Ceramic Supply Chicago........................ 60 Clay Planet............................................... 9 Clay Space............................................ 61 Clay Times Products................ 18,19,31,58 Clayworks Supplies................................ 11 Continental Clay Co.................................. 3 The Cookie Cutter Shop......................... 61 Euclid’s Elements...................................... 4 Finch Pottery.......................................... 32 Flat Rock Clay Supplies.......................... 61 Fulwood Measure................................... 56 Georgies Ceramic & Clay Center............. 10 Giffin Tec.................................................. 8 Graber's Pottery, Inc............................... 54 Great Lakes Clay & Supply Co................ 54 Guild Sourcebooks................................... 3 Herring Designs...................................... 60 Highwater Clays..................................... 16 Hood College......................................... 54

Insulating Firebrick.................................. 51 Japan Pottery Tools................................ 54 The Kiln Doctor....................................... 60 L & L Kilns................................................ 2 Larkin Refractory Solutions...................... 28 Lorton Arts Foundation............................ 51 Master Kiln Builders................................ 22 MKM Pottery Tools................................. 56 Muddy Elbow Mfg./Soldner Wheels........ 12 Olympic Kilns ........................................ 24 Paragon Industries.................................. 51 PCF Studios........................................... 22 Peter Pugger.......................................... 10 Saint-Gobain Ceramics............................. 9 Scott Creek/Clay Art Center.................... 24 Sheffield Pottery..................................... 28 Sierra Nevada College............................ 14 Skutt Ceramic Products.......................... 68 Spectrum Glazes.................................... 17 Speedball Art Products........................... 15 Thomas Stuart Wheels.............................. 7 Trinity Ceramic Supply............................ 22 Tucker’s Cone Art Kilns........................... 23 U.S. Pigment Corp................................. 51 van Gilder Workshops............................. 28 Ward Burner Systems............................. 61 Wise Screenprint.................................... 60 Xavier González Workshops.................... 14

I’ve had my Yuppie Wagon for a number of years now, and regularly use it to travel to art fairs and the ceramic supply store. With the car fully loaded, pulling the fully loaded trailer, gas mileage drops from about 27 m.p.g. to 22 m.p.g., a big drop but still significantly better than a truck or van. The trailer has also come in handy for camping trips and for moving my daughter into her college apartment. Mine was manufactured right here in East Texas, but I think several different companies have the rights to the name and the design, so if you are interested just run an Internet search to see what’s available in your neighborhood. Are there drawbacks to my compact car/plastic trailer rig? Of course; as I mentioned, there is no such thing as the perfect potter’s vehicle. All small trailers, and this one is no exception, tend to bounce around, with a rougher ride than a car. So I have to pay attention, when loading boxes into the trailer, to stack them together tightly so they hold each other in place. Also, when packing pots in boxes, I have to be a little more careful to use enough paper packing between the pots. Another drawback with pulling a trailer is that it is harder to find parking spaces. It’s also harder to back up and parallel park, but these are skills that can be learned with a little practice. Remember that the Yuppie Wagon is a light-duty trailer, with a load limit of 1,000 pounds, even if your vehicle can pull more. It is for occasional, not continuous, heavy use. The sun is tough on all plastic, first bleaching out the color, and eventually cracking and disintegrating it, so these trailers need to be stored in a garage or under a heavy, opaque tarp. (Of course we potters know this is why, in spite of plastic being ever more ubiquitous, it is still clay that stands the test of time!) [

David Hendley can be reached by e-mail at: david@farmpots.com.

”perfect slabs every time”

Corey Jefferson Ceramic Instructor Herron School of Art and Design

Amaco® Glazes Brent® Wheels Amaco®/Excel® Kilns

amaco.com American Art Clay Co., Inc. • 800-374-1600

THE arTiSTS:

Photography by hanlonphotographic.com

ProSeries use what the pros use

“Our Skutt kilns are the most predictable part of the whole process.”

The Wizard of Clay, Jim and Jamie Kozlowski

Jim Kozlowski started what is now The Wizard of Clay Pottery over 42 years ago. Together with his son Jamie, they have been working on perfecting Cone 10 crystalline glazes for the past 6 years. As you can see by the pictures they are experts at what they do. The Wizard of Clay supplies over 80 galleries throughout the world. They have eight Skutt kilns and fire every day to keep up with the demand. THE TEcHniquE:

Macro Crystalline Glazing

Crystalline glazes are one of the most difficult glazes to develop. To try to develop them on a production basis is close to impossible. High zinc based glazes are used to “grow” these beautiful fan crystals on the porcelain vases. In the glaze firing the kiln is brought to Cone 10 and then precisely cooled to one or more holding temperatures which allow the crystals to develop. Everything from the glaze formulation and application to the kiln firing needs to be perfect. THE kiln:

KM1227-3 PK with APM Elements

This kiln has the size and power needed to fire a production load of Cone 10 pots on a daily basis. They use Type S thermocouples which are made of platinum for long life and extreme accuracy. “Whether it’s 9 layers of plates or a load of 24” pots, the kilns fire perfectly even top to bottom.” The APM upgraded elements are specifically designed to handle these high temperatures. “We get well over a hundred Cone 10 firings before we even think about changing elements. Some of the Cone 5 kilns still have the original elements from six years ago.” says Jamie.

CERAMIC PRODUCTS

We help you make great things. If you would like more information on The Wizard of Clay Pottery or would like to become a ProSeries Artist, visit our website at www.skutt.com/proseries