Clay Times Magazine Volume 14 • Issue 75

Clay art

trends,

tools,

and

techniques

®

TIMES

Volume 14 • Number 2 March/April 2008

Sam Chung’s

Architectural Pots

Meredith College Builds A New Multi-purpose Kiln Trompe L’Oeil Exhibit Highlights Ian Gregory Shares Paperclay Secrets What to Consider When Designing Your Claywork Wacky Wall Vases

by Diana Crain

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contents

TIMES

Clay

March/April 2008 Volume 14, Number 2

Teapot by Sam Chung. 8" x 5" x 5".

on exhibit

features

19 Trompe L’Oeil

35 The Potter As Designer: Sam Chung’s Architectural Pots

Is it real ... or is it clay? Peek at a few of the true-to-life objects recently on exhibit at John Natsoulas Gallery, starting with Sylvia Hyman’s work, pictured below.

Function and form both play key roles in works by this Minnesota-schooled potter.

40 Sculpture and Paperclay: A Workshop with Ian Gregory The beloved British paperclay master shares structural secrets during a hands-on workshop at Hood College in Frederick, Maryland.

43 Hanging it Up: The Wacky Wall Vases of Diana Crain This California clay artist combines whimsy, bright colors, and creativity to elevate the vase form to new heights—from table to wall!

48 That’s Hot Meredith College students in Raleigh, NC build a multi-purpose kiln for their art department.

Buzzards Bay

by Sylvia Hyman.

21" x 24" x 19".

Stoneware and porcelain.

5

contents

®

TIMES

Clay

On the cover: Ewer by Sam Chung.

9" x 7" x 3.5". Soda-glazed porcelain.

Photo by the artist.

March/April 2008 • Volume 14, Number 2

departments

columns

9 EDITOR’S DESK

21 AS FAR AS I KNOW “Thinking About Zinc”

by Pete Pinnell

Cruisin’ for Clay ’08 was a great success — come join us in 2009 for our next potters’ conference in the Caribbean!

25 BENEATH THE SURFACE “Art by Design”

by Lana Wilson

11 YOUR WORDS Thanks for the memories

29 TEACHING TECHNIQUES “A One-Piece Project: Making A Pedestal Bowl”

by Bill van Gilder

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

54 KILNS & FIRING

18 SLURRY BUCKET TIPS

“More On Rising Fuel Costs”

by Marc Ward

Save time and trouble with these studio-tested tips and techniques.

51 GREAT GLAZES Warner Hyde shares several formulas for firing to cones 9/10 in reduction.

Cheryl Yawata carves one of her lanterns for the holiday sale at Diana Crain’s Tortuga school in Petaluma, California. To learn more about Crain and her work, turn to page 43.

“What’s That Tool Made Of?”

by Vince Pitelka

57 STUDIO HEALTH AND SAFETY “Fresh Air in the Pottery”

by Monona Rossol

52 THE GALLERY A selection of unique works by CT readers

62 AROUND THE FIREBOX “Feel the Burn”

by David Hendley

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

65 BOOKS & VIDEOS “Three Icons of American Ceramics” review by Steve Branfman

63 CLASSIFIED MARKETPLACE Goods and services offered especially for active clay artists One of Ian Gregory’s paperclay dogs in progress. Story begins on page 40.

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55 TOOL TIMES

“Pots seem to throw themselves on these wheels” —Robin Hopper

Ask a potter who owns one.

Photo by Judi Dyelle

800-848-9565 ThomasStuart.com

7

First Annual CT “Cruisin’ for Clay” Conference a Roaring Success!

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n late January, more than 90 people including guest presenters Pete Pinnell, Lisa Orr, Bill van Gilder, and Sheri Leigh; clay conference registrants and several of their friends and relatives; and members of the Clay Times staff all boarded Royal Caribbean’s Navigator cruise ship in Fort Lauderdale, Florida for a 5-night adventure to Cozumel, Mexico and Belize City, Belize. It was an experience we’ll never forget.

Spouting Off I Editor's Desk

Who Says You Can’t Mix Business & Pleasure?

From the fabulous and informative clay presentations offered during our time at sea to the outstanding sunny Caribbean weather, ship facilities, and service provided by the Royal Caribbean staff, we could not have been happier with the outcome.

— Polly Beach, Editor [

Guest presenter Lisa Orr provided this photo of Cozumel, Mexico, where she and her son, Roy, swam with the dolphins.

As Barbara Calhoon can probably tell you, part of the cruise fun was the great food — and a choice of several mouthPhoto by Devany Vickery-Davidson. watering desserts each evening!

SCHOOL OF ART AND ARTISTS’ RESIDENCY

Pictured here and on page 11 are a few images from the conference. We wish to extend our heartfelt thanks to all who attended, for helping to make our first conference such a wonderful success.

As a result, plans are now in the works for next year’s Clay Times cruise. Details will soon be announced at CT’s NCECA conference booth #112, on our Web site at www.claytimes.com, and in our May/ June issue of CT, so stay tuned ... we hope you’ll join us!

CHANGING HOW ARTISTS SEE THE WORLD FOR 98 YEARS. two-week intensives for experienced and aspiring artists, from June through August.

www.ox-bow.org 800.318.3019 Conference goers were treated to live large-screen video of each presentation. A DVD loaded with great information from the event will be available in April ... watch CT online for details!

CLAYTIMES·COM n MARCH/APRIL 2008

2008 Faculty: Sadashi Inuzuka Rob McClurg Israel Davis Francesc Burgos, Visiting Artist

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REVIEW

KATE SCHURICHT COLOURFUL RAKU RICK HIRSCH DELYTH JONES JOHN EVANS VICTOR GREENAWAY CAROLINDA TOLSTOY

CLAYTIMES·COM n MARCH/APRIL 2008

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The Magazine of Ceramic Art and Craft Issue 230 March/April 2008 £6.30 www.ceramicreview.com

Smoke-fired and Raku

CERAMIC REVIEW WILL BE SHOWING AT NCECA 2008 PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, MARCH 19-22

SUBSCRIBE NOW GET ONE COPY FREE

7 ISSUES FOR THE PRICE OF 6. New subscribers only. Offer ends 31.12.2008

TAKE OUT AN ANNUAL DIRECT DEBIT GET A FREE BINDER WORTH £7.95 One year subscription 6 issues UK – £36, World – £42 or US$69 Two year subscription 12 issues UK – £67, World – £76 or US$125

SUMMER WORKSHOPS 2008 Doug Casebeer, John Neely, Gail Kendall, Alleghany Meadows, Sam Harvey, David Pinto, Joe Bova, Stan Welsh, Mark Pharis, Jill Oberman, Richard Notkin, Tip Toland, Posey Bacopoulos, John Gill, Andrea Gill, Christa Assad, Andy Brayman, Charity Davis-Woodard, Val Cushing, Brad Schwieger, Michael Wisner, Juan Quezada, Mary Barringer, Sam Clarkson, Lorna Meaden SUMMER 2008 VISITING ARTIST Takashi Nakazato

FIELD INTENSIVE JAMAICA

April 25 - May 3, 2008 / John Neely with guest artists: Alleghany Meadows, Doug Casebeer & David Pinto

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Stan Welsh, Dunce (detail)

Juan Quezada, Vase (detail)

TEL +44 (0)20 7439 3377 EMAIL subscriptions@ceramicreview.com WRITE Ceramic Review, 25 Foubert’s Place, London W1F 7QF, UK WEB www.ceramicreview.com CHECKS payable to Ceramic Review

Richard Notkin, Teapot (detail)

CERAMICREVIEW

CERAMIC

A Family Affair Devany Vickery-Davidson (l) and Kay Clark during the pre-cruise lifeboat drill.

So Many Treasures from the Trip Thanks again for hosting this wonderful event. I cannot tell you how many times my clay buddies and I talk about the cruise and how it was such an all-around perfect vacation, as well as learning experience!

I am still reliving the zip line and cave tubing day over and over in my mind. It was an absolute blast in every way. I have so many treasures from the trip, from the pottery exchange to things I bought at the Clay Times store, each one presents another reason to smile inspired by delightful memories ...

I just wanted to thank you again for putting the cruise together and for inviting me to take part. I thought it was a great success, and I’m honored to be involved with the first one. As I mentioned in my last e-mail, my kids had a fabulous time, and it’s certainly an experience they’ll remember for the rest of their lives.

Peter Pinnell , via e-mail

M.C., Sam, and Joe Pinnell (l to r) soak up some fun in the Cozumel sun.

Expectations Exceeded Thank you so much for all you did to make the Clay Times cruise happen. It exceeded my expectations. A special thanks for the champagne, and for the unexpected blessing of covering our gratuities. Please extend my appreciation to all the participants as well. I hope that even with all your hard work, you came home somewhat rested, if not refreshed — I sure did!

Jean Grinnell, via e-mail [

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 © 2007 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 MARCH/APRIL 2008

It was a great idea and I know your hard work was appreciated!

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

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

Devany Vickery-Davidson, via e-mail

Thanks for the wonderful time on the “Cruisin’ for Clay” cruise! Three of us left snowy Rochester, New York and had the time of our lives in the sunny Caribbean. We can’t stop talking about what we learned and the fun time we had. We’ve tried to incorporate some new ideas into our work and we are sharing with our fellow potters. I think we may have more recruits from our area studios next year!

Editor & Art Director: Polly Beach editorial@claytimes.com Circulation Manager: Rachel Brownell circulation@claytimes.com Advertising Manager: Karen Freeman advertising@claytimes.com Accounts Manager: Nanette Greene accounting@claytimes.com Graphic Designer: Jennifer Zeigler jzeigler@claytimes.com Administrative Assistant: Julie Light jlight@claytimes.com Proofreader: Jon Singer Office Assistant: Ingrid Phillips

Contributing Writers: K.T. Anders Victoria Coulter Warner F. Hyde

We can’t wait till next year’s event is scheduled. My husband even wants to come along this time.

From Snow to Sunshine

magazine

Spouting Off I Your Words

Cathy Barry, Deborah Benedetto, & Lisa Santilli, via e-mail

Clay

®

Already looking forward to next year.

TIMES

Clay Conference Kudos

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

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CLAYTIMES·COM n MARCH/APRIL 2008

Hot Stuff I News & Events

What’s Hot ceramic art world news • events • calls for entries Pictured: Nageire by Beth Herod, one of several works in the Ikebana show at the Clay Art Center in Port Chester, New York.

Conferences ‰ The 21st Annual North Carolina Potters Conference takes place March 7-9 in Asheboro, NC. “Three Women, Three Countries, Three Ways of Working with Clay” will feature presentations by Mary Law, Jane Hamlyn, and Robin Best. For complete details, log onto the Web site at: www.randolphartsguild.com. ‰ Jackson’s Three Days of Clay will feature an invitational exhibition and presentations by guest artist Bill van Gilder entitled, “The Functional Pot: Tips, Tools, and Techniques.” Events take place March 12-14 at the Ella Sharp Museum of Art & History, 3225 Fourth St., Jackson, Michigan. To find out more, visit the Web site at: www.ellasharp.org, or call 517.787.2320.

Calls for Entries March entry deadlines

‰ The 19th Annual California Conference for the Advancement of Ceramic Art (CCACA) takes place in Davis, California from April 25-27 and will feature lectures and hands-on demonstrations by guest artists including Jack Earl, Wesley Anderegg, Rosette Gault, Richard Notkin, Kevin Nierman, Judith Schwartz, Carmen Lang, Shigeru Miyamoto, Cybele Rowe, and Lisa Reinertson. During the conference, works by ceramic students from more than 40 colleges will be on exhibit throughout downtown Davis, with exhibits of local artists’ claywork at ten more locations. Full registration fee is $164 ($146/students) through March 31; $194 ($176/students) afterward. For complete conference details, contact Nancy Resler, John Natsoulas Gallery, 521 First Street, Davis, CA 95616, tel. 530.756.3938, or visit the Web site at: http://www. natsoulas.com/html/ccaca/index.html. ‰ Community of Fire takes place in Sweet Briar, Virginia from May 30–June 1, 2008 and will feature presentations and discussions by guest artists including Svend Bayer, Robert Compton, Kevin Crowe, Stephen Driver, Victoria Hansen, Mark Hewitt, Micki Schloesingk, and Jack Troy.

Registration fee is $425. To find out more, visit www.kevincrowepottery.com; contact Kevin Crowe at tyeriverpottery@aol.com; or call 434.263.4065.

‰ Digital and slide entries are being accepted through March 7 for the 25th Juried Open Exhibition, to be held by the Visual Arts Alliance of Houston, Texas from May 1-June 5. Entry fee is $25/members; $30/non-members. For further details, visit the Web site at www. visualartsalliance.org; e-mail annmcbride1@ sbcglobal.net; write Ann McBride at 2807 Triway Lane, Houston, TX 77043; or call her at 713.939.1444. ‰ Transforming the Elements: Earth, Water, Fire, and Air takes place May 15-June 25 in Waynesboro, Virginia, and is open to fine craft media creatively articulating a connection to the elements.

Entry deadline: March 7; fee is $25. For prospectus and further details, call 540.946.3294, or visit the Web site at www. artisanscenterofvirginia.org. ‰ Digital, slide, and print photo entries are being accepted through March 20 for the Cedar Creek Gallery National Teapot Show VII to take place June 7-September 7 in Creedmoor, North Carolina. $2000 in awards are offered. For prospectus and further details, call Jennifer Dolan at 919.528.1041; e-mail: info@ cedarcreekgallery.com; or visit the Web site at http://cedarcreekgallery.com/events.html.

CLAYTIMES·COM n MARCH/APRIL 2008

‰ The National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) will be holding its 42nd Annual Conference, “Innovation, Community, Environment,” at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, March 19-22, 2008.

Featured guest demonstrators include Ed Eberle, Sandy Brown, Lorna Meadon, and James Tisdale. Additional presenters include several lecturers and panelists on a wide variety of topics affecting the clay community. Trade shows, gallery exhibitions, slide and documentary showings, fund-raiser sales, and more will also take place throughout the event. Register online at www.nceca.net. For additional

information, e-mail office@nceca.net or telephone the toll-free number at 1.866.266.2322.

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Hot Stuff I News & Events

‰ Independence and Ingenuity: Freelance Porcelain Decorators in 18th Century Europe is on exhibit from March 14 through August 17 at the Gardiner Museum, 111 Queens Park, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ‰ Juror Dan Hammett is accepting digital and slide submissions of sculpture and pottery through March 28 for the Jersey Shore Clay National 2008 to take place May 24–June 23 at the M.T. Burton Gallery in Surf City, New Jersey. For prospectus, e-mail: matt@mtburtongallery.com; log onto www.mtburtongallery.com.; or send your SASE to JSCN 2008, M. T. Burton Gallery, 1819 N. Long Beach Blvd., Surf City, NJ 08008. ‰ Jurors James Crable, William Bennett, and Jerry Coulter are accepting printed photo entries through March 28 for the 2008 Multimedia Art Exhibition to take place June 1-29 at the Park Gables Gallery, Harrisonburg, Virginia. Entry fee is $30. For a prospectus, e-mail: artexhibit@vmrc.org; log onto www. vmrc.org/artexhibition; call 540.564.3400; or send your SASE to Anne Finlayson, VMRC Art Exhibition Director, 1491 Virginia Ave., Harrisonburg, VA 22802.

April entry deadlines ‰ The 25th Carbondale Clay National IV: National Juried Exhibition, to be held June 2-30 in Carbondale, Colorado, is accepting slide submissions through April 1. Entry fee is $30/ three entries to be juried by Jeff Oestreich.

For further details, visit the Web site at www.carbondaleclay.org, call 970.963-2529, or write Carbondale Clay Center, 135 Main St., Carbondale, CO 81623.

CLAYTIMES·COM n MARCH/APRIL 2008

‰ The 26th Annual Juried Exhibition, to be held July 10-August 2 by the Pleiades Gallery in New York, New York, is accepting slide submissions through April 5. Entry fee is $40/three entries; $5/additional entries.

Juror is Joan Young, Associate Curator of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. For

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further details, visit the Web site at www. pleiadesgallery.com, call 646.230-0056, or write Pleiades Gallery, 530 W. 25th St., New York, NY 10001. ‰ Juror Ted Vogel is accepting entries for The 8th Annual Cup Show, to take place May 13-June 7 in Kent, Ohio, through April 15.

Entry fee: $20. For complete details, contact Anderson Turner, Director of Galleries, Kent State University, School of Art, PO Box 5190, Kent, OH 44242; e-mail jhaturner@kent.edu; Web site: http://dept.kent.edu/art/galleries; tel.

330.672.1379. ‰ The Clay Studio of Missoula, Montana will host The Soda National IV from November 7-28 and is now accepting digital or slide entries through August 1. Entry fee: $30 for three entries. To request a prospectus, contact Hannah Fisher at The Clay Studio of Missoula, 1106 Hawthorne Unit A, Missoula, MT 59802; e-mail info@theclaystudioofmissoula.org; Web site: www.theclaystudioofmissoula.org; tel.

406.543.0509.

Ceramics Exhibitions March Exhibitions ‰ Mat Hatter’s Tea Party Exhibition will be on view March 6 through April 5 at Armory Art Center, 1700 Parker Ave., West Palm Beach, Florida. ‰ Jun Kaneko will exhibit 20 years of sculpture, drawings, and paintings from March 7-May 10 at The Arts Center, 719 Central Ave., St. Petersburg, Florida. ‰ Cheers! A MAD Collection of Goblets will be on view March 15-August 2 at Museum of Art and Design, 40 W. 53rd St., Wayne, Pennsylvania. ‰ Synthetic Reality: Susan Beiner will be on view through March 9 at Arizona State University Art Museum, 10th St. and Mill Ave., Tempe, Arizona. ‰ Jeffrey Mongrain will be exhibiting work through March 21 at Schein-Joseph International Museum of Ceramic Art, NYSCC, 2 Pine St., Alfred, New York. ‰ Christina Bothwell: Invisible Realities is on exhibit through March 30 at the Ohio Craft Museum, 1665 W. 5th Ave., Columbus, Ohio. ‰ David Hendley, Pots and Process is on exhibit through May 30 at the Museum of East Texas, 503 N. 2nd St., Lufkin, Texas.

Nothing to Hide

Exposures, Disclosures, and Reflections

by Paul Soldner

Join us at Clay Times booth #112 at NCECA in Pittsburgh for exclusive daily book signings of “Nothing to Hide”

by Paul Soldner!

The man who revolutionized modern ceramic art with American Raku, hot tubbing, clay conference tattoos, and streaking has now published a limited edition book — the first in a series of fascinating reflections on the extraordinary life of Paul Soldner.

CLAYTIMES·COM n MARCH/APRIL 2008

15

Hot Stuff I News & Events

March Exhibitions, continued ‰ Eden Revisited: The Ceramic Art of Kurt Weiser may be viewed through April 19 at the Bellevue Arts Museum, 510 Bellevue Way NE, Bellevue, Washington. ‰ Innovation and Change: Great Ceramics from the Permanent Collection of the Ceramics Research Center, Arizona State University Art Museum is on exhibit through March 30 at the Arkansas Art Center, 501 E. Ninth St., Little Rock, Arkansas.

‰ Friends in Clay, featuring the work of Kirk Mangus, Eva Kwong, James Simon and Clay Place Gallery owner Elvira Peake, will open Friday, March 14 in conjunction with the National Conference of Education in the Ceramic Arts (NCECA). The event continues through April 26th, 2008. A reception with the artists will be held on Tuesday, March 18 from 6 to 9. The Clay Place is located at 1 Walnut Street in Carnegie, PA, just 10 minutes from downtown Pittsburgh.

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‰ The Ceramic Annual 2008: 64th Scripps Ceramic Annual will be on exhibit through April 6 at the Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery, Scripps College, 11th and Columbia Streets, Claremont, California. ‰ Summer Workshop Artist Preview is a show of master ceramic artists who will conduct summer workshops at the Santa Fe Clay Studios in 2008. The show takes place March 14-April 21 and features artists including Ian Anderson, Tom Bartel, Susan Beiner, Bernadette Curran, Josh DeWeese, Beth Lo, Roxanne Swentzell, Adelaide Paul, and Peter Pinnell. Santa Fe Clay is located at 1615 Paseo de Peralta, Santa Fe, New Mexico. ‰ Voices: 2008 NCECA Invitational Exhibition opens March 14 and continues through June 7 at the Society for Contemporary Craft, 2100 Smallman Street, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. ‰ Out of Madness – Seven Potters Follow Ohr; Pots by the River: Treasures from the Waynesburg University Collection; and Women with Wood – Three Generations all open March 19 and continue through May 18 at the McGuinn Gallery, Heinz History Center, 1212 Smallman Street, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. ‰ Made in Clay, the annual benefit sale of Greenwich House Pottery, takes place March 27-April 30 at 16 Jones St., New York, New York. ‰ Clay? II is on view through March 29 at the Kirkland Arts Center, 620 Market St., Kirkland, Washington.

CLAYTIMES·COM n MARCH/APRIL 2008

‰ Synergy: Ikebana and Clay Collaboration will feature the works of five artists who will share their one-of-a-kind containers and flower arrangements during a one-week display from March 30 through April 5 at the Clay Art Center, 40 Beech Street, Port Chester, New York.

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‰ Flower Power showcases work meant to be finished with the addition of fresh cut flowers by 11 current Clay Art Center artists from March 30 through April 26 in the upstairs Henry’s Project space of the Clay Art Center, 40 Beech Street, Port Chester, New York.

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‰ Taste of Power: 18th Century German Porcelain for the Table opens March 31 and may be viewed through June 30 at Harvard University Art Museums, Busch-Reisinger Museum, 32 Quincy St., Cambridge, Massachusetts.

April Exhibitions ‰ 16th Annual Strictly Functional Pottery National will be on exhibit April 19-May 18 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and then travels to the Wayne Art Center in Wayne, Pennsylvania for exhibition from May 27-June 27. For driving directions, log onto: http://www.strictly functionalpotterynational.net/directions.html. ‰ Made in China: Export Porcelain from the Leo and Doris Hodroff Collection is on view through April 20 at the Mint Museum of Art, 2730 Randolph Rd., Charlotte, North Carolina. ‰ The Figurative Impulse: The Diane and Sandy Besser Collection will be on exhibit through April 26 at Arizona State University Art Museum, Tenth St. and Mill Ave., Tempe, Arizona. ‰ Maren Kloppmann: New Work may be seen April 4-27 at The Clay Studio’s newly renovated home at 137-139 N. 2nd Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ‰ The Industrial Hand: Tableware Design by Heather Mae Erickson will be on exhibit April 25-June 1 at The Clay Studio, 137-139 N. 2nd Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

550 Sutter Street in San Francisco, California.

This show features more than 70 ceramic objects, including works by Laura Andreson, Peter Voulkos, Ruth Duckworth, Hans Coper, Philip Cornelius, Shoji Hamada, Jun Kaneko, Kanjiro Kawai, Bernard Leach, Kenneth Price, Billy Al Bengston, James Lovera, James Melchert, Mineo Mizuno, Gertrud and Otto Natzler, Lucie Rie, Paul Soldner, Beatrice Wood, and Betty Woodman—most of which is culled from the Marer Collection of Contemporary Ceramics at Scripps College. [

To list clay conferences, calls for entries, exhibitions, and ceramic news items in Clay Times, please e-mail details to: editorial@claytimes.com.

SEND YOUR FAVORITE POTTERY TEACHER TO THE CARIBBEAN! Nominations are being accepted through April 30 for the Clay Times “Excellence in Teaching” Award. To enter, visit Clay Times NCECA booths #112-114 or log onto www. claytimes.com.

Odyssey 2008 Workshop Center For Ceramic Arts

Series

Jill Allen Akira Satake Janis Mars Wunderlich Holly Walker Conner Burns Meredith Brickell Gertrude Graham Smith Tip Toland Lana Wilson Susan O’Brien McKenzie Smith

Because it feels so good.

With weekend workshops by Liz Summerfield Allison McGowan

May Exhibitions

Image: Akira Satake

highwaterclays.com

236 Clingman Ave. I Asheville, NC 28801 I 828.285.0210

CLAYTIMES·COM n MARCH/APRIL 2008

‰ Feats of Clay XXI, an exhibition of 70 contemporary ceramic works displayed in the historical (still operating) Gladding, McBean terra cotta factory, takes place with docentled tours on Wednesdays through Sundays from April 30 through May 25, 9 am-noon.

A donation of $10 per person is requested.

Reservations are required and early bookings are encouraged as desirable dates fill quickly. Tours begin at the gallery and are handicapped accessible. Closed-toe shoes are required for insurance purposes. School and club groups can be accommodated with prior arrangements. For further information or to make reservations, call Lincoln Arts and Culture Foundation at 916.645.9713.

‰ Within Two Hands: The Eye of The Collector is on view May 9 through June 29, 2008 at the San Francisco Museum of Craft+Design,

Hot Stuff I News & Events

‰ Eating Wonderland: Recent Works by Sue Johnson will be on exhibit through June 15 at Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature, University of Richmond Museums, 28 Westhampton Way, Richmond, Virginia.

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Readers Share I Tips & Techniques

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

Something Extra in the Drying Cabinet Need to dry out a finished project more evenly?

To help my students’ projects dry at a more even rate, I put Sport Court tiles on top of the shelves in my dry-out cabinet.

Their perforated pattern and design let air circulate underneath the projects to encourage the bottoms to dry out at a rate closer to the rest of the project, helping to solve some of the cracking problems of pot bottoms. It lets the whole pot dry more evenly.

Steve Nelson • Blaine, MN

Mending After Bisque Firing This is for anyone who has had the misfortune of having a piece of a sculpture break off before or after the bisque firing. If various methods of reattaching have not worked for you (clay menders, paperclay mender, and so on), I can offer a helpful way to mend your work after the bisque firing.

CLAYTIMES·COM n MARCH/APRIL 2008

In my case, it was an ear that broke off a pig. I drilled a hole in the ear and the stub on the body. I then took a bisqued piece of the same clay (I keep bisqued clay on hand for mending) and ground it down to a rod the right length and diameter to fit into the drilled holes. I coated the insides of both holes and the surface of the rod with paperclay slip and inserted the rod into the holes, making sure the ear was firmly attached. After another bisque firing, I was able to glaze and fire the piece successfully. The rod gave the attachment the strength required to stay firmly attached to the body. After the glaze firing, there was no sign of the earlier break.

18

On a Different Note ...

A musician friend just made me the best cut-off wire I have ever had!

It looks like what we’re all used to, but the wire he used is a guitar string. He used a standard acoustic steel string, medium gauge E (or first) string. He drilled a hole in 2 dowel rods for handles, and threaded the string through on one side.

Guitar strings come with a small ball on the end that works perfectly for a stopping point on one of the dowels. On the other dowel, he threaded the string around a washer to utilize as an anchor for the string.

It may sound silly to get excited about a cut-off wire, but it is so smooth and strong! I plan to use his next broken string to create a cut-off wire on my wedging table.

Janet Capetty • Grants Pass, OR

Sponges on Sticks My students have found another use for those handy painter’s sponges on sticks (you know—the chisel-shaped foam brushes that come in 1", 2", and 3" widths you can get from your local hardware or home supply store): They use them as simple sponges-on-a-stick at the wheel for removing excess water from the interior of small pots while throwing.

One clever student of mine has even attached a narrow piece of PVC pipe to the handle of the larger 3" brush for use on large pots.

Bill van Gilder • Gapland, MD [

Veena Raghavan • Falls Church, VA

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.

Is it Real ... ... or is it Clay?

T

he John Natsoulas Center for the Arts in Davis, California recently hosted its first annual Trompe L’Oeil Ceramic Artists Exhibition featuring a wide variety of works by some of the nation’s foremost clay artists including Richard Shaw, Victor Spinski, and Sylvia Hyman.

The French term Trompe L’Oeil literally means “deception of the eye.” It is painting that utilizes the knowledge of perspective and games of light and dark to create, if only for a moment, the illusion of something that in reality does not exist. These illusions, whether serious or playful, allow the viewer to perceive art and nature through a different perspective. In the 1960s, distinguished ceramic artists such as Marilyn Levine, Richard Shaw, and Victor Spinski began further experimenting with Trompe L’Oeil in ceramics by transforming clay into leather, metal, wood, plastic, glass, or steel and creating found objects, banal if by themselves but gaining significance and intrigue when combined with other clay-created found objects.

The Trompe L’Oeil movement has recently been escalating in popularity throughout the country as new breeds of artists mentored by Richard Shaw and Victor Spinski are gaining recognition through their artwork.

For more information about this or future exhibitions, contact Nancy Resler at 530.756.3938. The John Natsoulas Gallery is located at 521 1st Street, Davis, CA 95616. [

Above: Paint Tray by Victor Spinski. 11" x 14½" x 9". Ceramic.

At left: 100% Pure by Richard Shaw. 37" x 14" x 18". Porcelain.

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Z

inc is a soft, bluish-gray metal. It has a very low melting point— about 420° C (787° F), which, in ceramic terms, is long before a kiln even reaches incandescence (“red heat”). Its boiling point is also quite low—just 907° C (1665° F), which is about the point in a reduction firing where most of us begin reducing. Zinc has some really interesting properties, both in and out of glazes, and a fascinating history.

Zinc and copper are the two major ingredients in brass, which has been around long enough that it is even mentioned in the Old Testament. TubalCain, who was the seventh generation after Adam, (and the son of Lamech and Zillah, for those of you who follow these things), was “an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron” (Gen. 4:22). The archaeological record seems to indicate that brass was produced as far back as 1000 BCE in India and throughout the Middle East, and was widely used by the Romans during their empire.

This might lead a person to think that zinc was in common use, but it turns out that this isn’t so. As I mentioned, zinc boils at a pretty low temperature, so it has a tendency to vaporize during smelting.

Because of this, brass was made by combining the raw, zinc-containing ore in a crucible with copper, so that when the zinc vaporized out, the metal was “captured” by the copper before it could dissipate. This explains that while zinc was in use a long time ago, for many years it existed only as an alloy.

by PETE PINNELL

The first European to recognize zinc as a distinct metal (as opposed to considering it a mixture of other metals) was the physician Paracelsus (1493-1541), who also gave zinc its modern name. He called it “zincum” from the German “zinke,” meaning “pointed,” since this was the form that zinc crystals took when smelted. Paracelsus is a name that should be otherwise known to all modern potters (with our never-ending concerns about toxic materials and health): he is widely considered the father of toxicology. He famously wrote “Alle Ding sind Gift, und nichts ohn Gift; allein die Dosis macht, daß ein Ding kein Gift ist.” (All things are poison and nothing is without poison, only the dose permits something not to be poisonous.) In modern English, this is usually expressed as “the dose makes the poison,” or “the quantity alone makes the poison.”

Another familiar name that plays its small part in this history is James Smithson (1765-1829). It was Smithson who established (in 1803) that calamine wasn’t really one mineral, but two: zinc carbonate (Smithsonite) and zinc silicate (Hemimorphite). Smithson’s bequest, you’ll remember, led to the formation of the Smithsonian Institute.

Wilhelm Homberg (1652-1715) was the first European to correlate zinc with the mineral calamine. Andreas Marggraf (1709-1782) was the first European to produce metallic zinc from that raw mineral, and published “On the method of extracting zinc from its true mineral, calamine” (1746). That name, calamine, should ring a bell for anyone who experienced poison ivy as a kid. Calamine lotion is made from a combination of zinc oxide (99.5%) and iron oxide (.5%)—which gives it that amazing pink color—and gets its name from this archaic mineral name for zinc ore.

Metallic zinc (in slab form) was imported into England from India beginning about 1700, and the technology for producing it came from China in about 1740. There was still some misunderstanding about zinc’s true nature, and it was referred to by a number of names, including spelter, Indian tin, and calamine. It was Antoine Lavoisier (1743-1794) who first declared it an element.

In 1739, the Champion family began producing zinc in Bristol, England. It was there, in the late 18th or early 19th century, that zinc was first introduced into glazes.

We’re not sure if the use of zinc in glaze was begun by William Champion, whose family also produced Bristol Porcelain, or by another Bristol potter named William Powell, of Temple Gate Pottery. Powell sold prepared zinc glazes to other potters beginning in about 1835. They quickly became very popular. In either event, the use of zinc in ceramic glazes definitely began in Bristol, and we still refer to zinc glazes as Bristol glazes.

Metallic zinc isn’t used in glazes, of course.

As with our other glaze ingredients, we use it in the form of an oxide. Unlike metallic zinc, the oxide melts at a pretty high temperature—about 1975° C (3585° F), which is equivalent to about cone 41.

This high melting point doesn’t keep it from being an active flux. Many of our fluxes have remarkably high melting points, but will still enter into a eutectic reaction.

As a flux, zinc oxide is most active at cone 1 and above, and is used most commonly in mid-range oxidation glazes. It can have an odd effect on color, but that can be both a positive and negative quality. It can be used in glossy glazes, but it’s in matte glazes that you often see appreciable amounts of zinc. Zinc glazes tend to have a pleasant, smooth, soft-feeling quality that is sometimes described as being like vellum paper, which explains why these glazes are sometimes called vellum mattes.

CLAYTIMES·COM n MARCH/APRIL 2008

Marco Polo (1254–1324) described the production of metallic zinc in Persia, and also how a compound of zinc was used as a salve. We know that zinc was in production in India by about 1300, and also existed in China, as zinc coins were made during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644, by the Western calendar). In all these places, they were able to produce the metal because they discovered ways to condense it from the vapor, rather than smelting it directly as

a liquid, as they would with other metals like iron, tin, and copper.

Perspectives I As Far As I Know

Thinking About Zinc

21

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continued from page 21

Zinc has a low thermal expansion, so it tends to prevent crazing in glazes. It also increases durability, so it is often used in glazes that need to have a strong resistance to acids or alkalis. What also interests modern potters is that zinc has a tendency to produce crystal growth in glazes. These crystals can be microscopic, like those in a matte glaze, or they can be grown to an enormous size, such as those in high-fire crystal glazes. However, you won’t see zinc called for very often in reduction glazes, and then just as a minor, auxiliary flux. Why? Well, that’s a source of some discussion (and minor controversy).

As I mentioned at the beginning of this column, zinc melts and boils at pretty low temperatures (at least by ceramic standards).

It also reduces from the oxide form to the metal fairly easily. This is why early metallurgists had difficulty making zinc—the darn stuff boiled away so easily. As it turns out, Europeans had been making it for a long time before they discovered what it was: it would vaporize out when they were smelting other metals, and end up condensing in the chimney. It was referred to as “false silver,” and simply thrown away. This is what many potters believe happens with zinc oxide: during reduction the metal simply boils away, leaving no sign that it was ever in the glaze.

Or at least that’s the theory.

She mixed 500 grams of each glaze in a blender, and then dipped a test tile into it (the “before” tile). Additions of zinc oxide were then made, with tiles dipped between

What we found was pretty definitive: in reduction glazes, the zinc causes … (drum roll please) … absolutely nothing. That’s, right, even 10% zinc caused no real visual change. There was one very minor change: because zinc tends to absorb a lot of water in the bucket, the zinc-containing tests tended to go on thicker, but (after vaporizing away) actually resulted in a slightly thinner application of glaze, the same as we would see with an addition of organic gum. Other than that, the zinc caused no change in the color, texture, viscosity or glaze fit with any of the three test glazes fired in reduction.

By contrast, the three glazes fired in oxidation were all changed by the addition of the zinc.

The Charlie D. White was altered the most, and in the most positive way, developing small white crystals on the surface that were pretty interesting. I didn’t have a chance to try it at lower temperatures, but this might now be a pretty interesting mid-range glaze. The other two glazes saw obvious (but less interesting) changes in both color and texture.

So, does this prove conclusively that there’s no reason to put zinc oxide in a reduction glaze? No, I don’t think so. Obviously, this is just one test, and the outcome might be altered by reducing either earlier or later (our reduction was at about 1600°, or cone 012). Besides, this was just three glazes out of many we use in high-fire reduction. That said, I see little reason to use such a fugitive material, and I’ll certainly not use zinc again in a reduction glaze without some serious testing.

Insert your own comment here about old dogs and new tricks!

You can reach me at ppinnell1@unl.edu. [ Pete Pinnell teaches at the University of NebraskaLincoln. He has been a potter for many years and has numerous exhibitions and workshops to his credit.

CLAYTIMES·COM n MARCH/APRIL 2008

I’ve always been a bit skeptical of this theory.

Not of the facts in the paragraph above—those are pretty indisputable, in my opinion. It has always seemed to me that we tend to simplify things a bit too much with our theories. It strikes me as unlikely that a material melting to a liquid, then boiling vigorously, would leave no trace—either chemical or physical—on the remaining glaze. I’ve never done any real tests, but I’ve occasionally added a bit of zinc to a reduction glaze, and if it seemed to add a nice quality, I’ve left it in. This hardly qualifies as research, of course. When this topic came up in my glaze class last fall, we decided to do some methodical testing. I choose three different glazes to act as our test bases: an early melting copper red (Pete’s Orange-red), a mid-range melting temmoku (Leach Clear with 9% iron), and a late-melting matte glaze (Charlie D. White). One of my students, Kyla Strid (Thanks, Kyla!) kindly volunteered to mix and fire the tests.

each addition, so we could see the glaze with 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10% zinc oxide. My assumption was this: if zinc was causing some visual effect, then we would see this effect develop and increase across the range of additions.

These same tests were done with each of the three glazes. Just to be thorough, the tests were done on both stoneware and porcelain, and on sets of tiles that were fired to cone 9 (reduction), as well as sets fired to cone 9 (oxidation), for comparison.

Perspectives I As Far As I Know

Thinking About Zinc

23

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24

by LANA Wilson

Running the traditional and online galleries at the Red Lodge Clay Center in Montana has honed Anthony Schaller’s eye. He is a potter, as is his wife. I called to ask a two-minute question and we talked for an hour on techniques he uses to help artists develop their work. He graduated with a degree in business first, and worked in that field before going back to college for a degree in art education. He taught at Indiana University, was an artist in residence at Krasl Art Center in St. Joseph, and taught ceramics classes while he was there.

He has also curated and juried shows and recently served on an NCECA panel on curating.

Lana Wilson: Is this a progressive list for how to improve your work (i.e., you’d better do them all), or a pick-and-choose list?

Anthony Schaller: Pick and choose.

You certainly don’t have to do them all. Here is the first one. A valuable way to develop your art is to draw more.

Instead of photos, draw (use the word sketch if it is less daunting) pieces from reality, from books, from museums, from anywhere and anything that inspires you. When you make the drawing, some things happen. The first thing is that the visual perception, or the image of the pieces, enters through your eyes into your brain. Only you see the way you do.

The second thing that happens is how the memory of the piece is transformed in your brain; you remember what you liked, what connected and appealed to you. Then when you draw, it’s creating with your senses, your hand, your talent.

There is another gift that comes through drawing; it removes color, texture, clay type and the firing method. It breaks the pieces down to line and form. Later you have to add those things back, but you have first clarified the form, proportions,

size relationships, and perhaps texture.

If you want to push the drawing further, make drawings of your drawings: it makes them more and more your own.

You can also make drawings from memory. See what works best for you.

Wilson: That sounds more than sensible, but when I draw I capture so little of the piece I want to make. I can’t draw the puffiness in a piece or the bas-relief subtle texture.

Schaller: Yes, that is true, but you can work on those huge issues of proportion, size relationship of parts, how many parts, etc. By drawing, you can solve if you want to add, and make it more complicated; or simplify if you want to. Artists can get a head start on paper so they won’t make as many mediocre pieces in the studio that don’t quite work.

Wilson: You are right. It reminds me of a painting class I took. The teacher wanted us to make 20 division of space sketches to plan the composition before we worried about color, texture, line quality, etc. Next idea?

Schaller: I think it is of enormous importance to look outside of the clay realm. There are lots of places to go, (take your sketchbook) outside in nature, the grocery store, the mall, a furniture store, a machine shop, a tool store or hardware store, etc. Be astutely aware of what catches your attention, draw it, and make it your own. Everything is just a combination of form, volume, texture, proportion, and color. Look for shapes and curves, for volumes, and for textures. Draw them and figure out how to incorporate these found ideas into your work.

Perspectives I Beneath the Surface

Art By Design

I want to expand that to include inspiration from historical or contemporary pots, or nature or typefaces. Try drawing something instead of photographing it.

Your own drawings will be used as the starting point.

Wilson: Do you have a way of working with words to help artists?

Schaller: Take a sheet of descriptive words and circle the ones that describe how you want people to describe your work. continued on next page

Which terms would you like for people to use when they describe your art? asymmetrical balanced beckoning beautiful biomorphic bright British broken bulbous campy celestial childlike cliché collegiate complicated

connotation continuity contour country crude curious curvilinear cut cutting edge Dada dead delicious democratic derivative descriptive

designed dichotomy didactic dignified disheveled distempered distorted disturbed dominant dry dull dumpy dynamic earthy edgy

elegant emotive entreating erotic ethereal euro expressive feminine fine art fine craftsmanship flashy flat folk fragile

frenetic fresh functional futuristic fuzzy geometric gestalt gestural ghetto glossy grandiose grotesque guttural hard-edged harmonious

CLAYTIMES·COM n MARCH/APRIL 2008

2-dimensional 3-dimensional abstract academic alive ambiguous amorphous analogous ancient androgynous angular anthropomorphic antiquated appealing Asian

25

Perspectives I Beneath the Surface

Wilson: That is a marvelous list. It was clarifying to choose my words. Do you include negative words?

Schaller: Yes, go back and circle, with a different color, all the words you would not want people to use to describe your work. Don’t read any further until you have done this. When you are done with all the positive words, narrow your list to five or ten words. You may want to post your list of the crucial five or ten circled words in your studio.

Wilson: I finished, and it sounds as if I want my work to be like the local Farmer’s Market: fresh, delicious work with complicated texture.

Schaller: Just for fun and to expand all this, go to Target or TJ Maxx and find things that are attractive. Yep, there it is—height, width, color, and texture.

Keep looking. Look and look and look and look. Think of your list and how what you are seeing resonates to your crucial list of positive words.

Here is the next suggestion. We all are all inspired by other artists from whom we copy, borrow, and steal. But, as with real stealing, the perfect crime is where you don’t get caught. So, if you’re going to steal an idea or a form, be careful, make it your own. Play with it, change sizes of parts, texture, appendages, edges, combination of parts, etc. You can also cover your tracks by stealing from lots of different people. A texture from one, a foot from another, a glaze from a friend, a pattern or decorating idea from an enemy, and on it goes. Take many ideas and fuse them into one that is yours. Of course it’s not an all-together bad thing to reference the past; copying is a different story and it can be an inspiring tale.

Wilson: Stealing can be hilarious to do as a group-timed clay game. None of us want to look like the Derivative Queen or King. I also think this stealing works best if you do it for the first piece, and then do a series of five or ten pieces with small changes as you move through the series. So many of us learn from copying as a first step. With copying we can learn and understand pieces with our hands.

After that we can develop and push the ideas. Another idea?

Schaller: Remove photos and real pieces from your studio.

Wilson: Oh my, this might be the suggestion I have to skip. I love the images in my studio of African art, outsider art, and many images of other peoples’ work.

Schaller: Good, you don’t want to use all these ideas. Be picky and choose.

CLAYTIMES·COM n MARCH/APRIL 2008

Wilson: Do you have suggestions for choosing glazes?

26

Schaller: I think it’s best to start out with as limited a palette as possible, and then add as needed. It’s also essential that there is harmony between the glazes at first. Bring in juxtaposition later, for excitement. Of course, some people work the other way around, and if it works for them, well then ... it works.

One good way to start is to take a survey of your home. What colors do you see?

The furniture, walls, decorations, blinds, floors, on and on it goes. Which of these do you really connect with? Look in your

Which terms would you like for people to use when they describe your art? heavy historic historical huge indecent indecisive individualistic informed innocent interesting intriguing intuitive inviting ivory tower kitschy light linear

lyrical mannered masculine matte mended messed up metro modern modified monochromatic muted mottled naive narrative narrow neo-conceptual neutral

closet. Again, what colors do you see? You should also be noticing patterns and textures the whole time while doing this.

Wilson: Thanks, Anthony. Working on describing my work with a short list of words was very satisfying. I recommend it.

Do it.

noble non-committal non-functional non-objective non-offensive objective offensive old-fashioned organic outsider art overworked patterned perverted phat pimped plagiaristic plastic

popular culture pornographic pregnant pretentious redneck regal repulsive retro rough rural rustic Scandinavian sculptural sensual sewn sheltered shiny

See www.redlodgeclaycenter.com for online exhibitions Schaller has organized.

Be sure to look at www.claylink.com on April 5 to April 30, for “Ahead of the Need,” an impressive, not-too-expensive online exhibition to raise money for CERF, the Craft Emergency Relief Fund. (To learn more, visit www.craftemergency.org.) [

simple small smooth soft solid sophisticated sour specific squatty stolen structured subdued subtle superfluous symmetrical tactile tall

textured timeless transitional transparent ugly uninformed unpretentious urban useful vibrant vivacious vivid voiceless voluptuous vulgar whimsical woodsy

Lana Wilson is a passionate handbuilder.

See her Web site (in progress but some info) at www.lanawilson.com or e-mail her at: lana@lanawilson.com. If you are a parent and a clay person, see the bulletin board and articles at The ClayParent Web site: www.mudmamasand papas.com.

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Making a Pedestal Bowl column by BILL van GILDER • photos by don ohlsson

In Form I Teaching Techniques

Throwing Twice ... One More One-piece Project

Necessary Supplies • (1) 1-lb. 8-oz. piece of clay • (1) 1-lb. piece of clay

• a small rib • an undercut stick

• some water and a small sponge • a cut-off wire • a hole cutter Optional • a square-edged block of wood • a faceting tool

T

his one-piece pedestal bowl is a great project for the majority of students. Those are the students who get into the classroom/studio only once a week and, hence, have only the basic throwing skills mastered. But even students who have developed their skills beyond the basics love this project.

1

Throwing: Part One Center your 1½ lb. ball of clay and cone it upward into a solid, slightly tapered 5" tall cylinder (Fig. 1). With the palms of both hands pressing at the sides of the tall cone, use both thumbs to slowly open and spread the top half of the cylinder. Smooth the opened form into a shallow, thick-rimmed bowl (Fig. 2).

Now, using plenty of water, draw the bowl wall outward and slightly upward (Fig.3).

“End your first step by creating an attractive, smooth curve at the inside of your bowl.

This surface, together with the pedestal wall below, will be the most visible parts of the piece when it’s complete.”

2

3

CLAYTIMES·COM n MARCH/APRIL 2008

Throughout this two-step demo, try to get your students thinking about other uses for the techniques that are used to make this tall-footed bowl. Point out that the double-throwing technique that you’re about to show them can be used when making tea bowls, small goblets, or larger serving bowls. It’s all about rethrowing a tall foot, or pedestal, below your bowl. “It’s not unlike the cake plate we made last session (see Clay Times, Jan./Feb. 2008, Vol. 14, No. 1). But this time we’ll throw the project upright, rather than upside-down. And it’s all made with one piece of clay.”

As your class gathers around your wheel, keep in mind their average throwing skill levels. You can throw the project piece on a bat, or teach the group the alternative method of lifting their stemmed bowls directly from the wheelhead. This lifting technique is less laborious and far more efficient—and one that can be used for lots of other pots.

29

In Form I Teaching Techniques

4 Before going further, describe some rim treatment options (Fig. 4). “If you’d like to add some interest to your stemmed bowl, consider changing or altering the shape of the rim. This is the time to make those changes. You can straighten up and then groove the thick rim, and immediately use a sharp-edged block of wood to press some dimples into and around the rim.

Once your rim is complete, use your small rib to lightly smooth and finish the inside surface of the bowl (Fig. 5). Rib away the watery slip from the stem wall and use your undercut-stick to trim a shallow bevel at the foot of the stem. Wire-cut the form from the wheelhead.

CLAYTIMES·COM n MARCH/APRIL 2008

6

7

8

9

10

The Rim

“You can flatten the rim and lightly score the widened surface in a decorative way. Another idea—again, using the block of wood, press a cornered edge into the rim three times and press it again, from the inside outward, three times. Or just press it inward at four points.

One last, simple idea—use the edge of your small rib to force the rim straight upward to create a very short wall at the edge of your bowl.”

30

5

“If you make your pedestal bowl on a bat, removing it from the wheelhead is easy. If there’s no bat involved, try this: set a small ware board on top of your water bucket within easy reach. Then dry your hands completely. Grasp the stem of the bowl with all of your fingertips and peel it from the wheelhead, then gently set it on your ware board.”

The goal is to get the rim of the bowl really stiff—stiff enough to invert it onto a claytrimming pad without excessively sticking it to the pad. At the same time, the stem section of the form will need to remain very soft and damp.

If your students aren’t scheduled to be back in your classroom/studio for another week, advise them to use some thin sheets of plastic to double-wrap their pedestal bowls.

This allows them to control the drying speed, which is essential.

This lift-from-the-wheelhead technique is a valuable lesson for all students. As the stem of this project is solid, the potential for squash-and-collapse is minimal. This is a great project to introduce the “lifting” skill.

As an instructor, you may want to speed up the drying process and complete the project during a single class. In that case, place your pedestal bowl in front of a gentle fan or under a heat lamp to force-dry the rim of the bowl.

Twenty minutes later, proceed as described below. Or, as you’ve just directed your class, double-wrap your demo piece and complete it during the next class. (Our classroom works at keeping a communal bin stocked full of dry-cleaning type plastic for all to use).

Drying

Throwing … again

The drying steps of your project piece are very important parts of the making process.

When the rim of your bowl is stiff, demo the second part of the project:

Use the 1-lb. ball of clay to create a wide, ½"- thick trimming pad on the wheelhead. Be sure to skim away any excess water from the top surface of the pad, which also levels it.

Invert and center your pedestal bowl onto the pad. Secure it in place with three large balls of clay pressed to the rim and pad (as in Fig. 6).

With the wheel moving at a medium speed, use a pointed hole-cutter or other narrowtipped tool to slowly bore a center hole down into the solid foot (Fig. 6). Lean the tool outward as you cut downward, widening the hole to fingertip size. Be aware: don’t press the tip of the tool through the floor of your bowl!

Dampen the foot of the stem and use some fingertip pressure to compress and clean up the thick foot rim (Fig. 7).

Now, with a small sponge in hand, lightly dampen and pull the wall of the stem upward (Fig.8). Trim and level the foot rim if necessary and use your small rib to finalize the shape and surface of the stem (Fig. 9).

“I’ve created a stem wall thickness of about ½". You can pull it thinner and then decorate the stem by stamping it or cutting

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In Form I Teaching Techniques

11 some patterned holes completely through the wall. I’m going to facet my thick-walled stem (Fig. 10).”

If you decide to facet the stem wall, you’ll have to level the foot rim again and lightly sponge it smooth. Carefully detach your finished project from the pad and place it upright for all to see (Fig. 11).

CLAYTIMES·COM n MARCH/APRIL 2008

As you close out the demo, talk a bit about using the pedestal bowl: “Your tall, stemmed bowl will make a great candle holder for one of those fat, cylinder-shaped candles. Just be sure to make the base of the pedestal

32

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34

CLAYTIMES·COM n MARCH/APRIL 2008

Sam Chung’s Architectural Pots story by K.T. Anders • photos by SAM CHUNG

C

lay is a humble medium.

Raw earth, fashioned and fired into vessels, has long been part of ordinary life. The dehumanization of the Industrial Revolution, with its cheap, mass-produced goods, created a surge of popularity for handmade, common functional objects. In 1926, in his book The Unknown Craftsman, Yanagi Soetsu coined the word Mingei for the unassuming, practical crafts meant as “the people’s art.” The Mingei tradition of folk art was exemplified in the elegantly plain works of Hamada Shoji and Bernard Leach, among others.

Sometimes, however, clay transcends its humble serviceable essence to become an exploration of the visual as well as the functional. In the hands of Sam Chung, clay is a statement in architectural design, line, and form; it is a statement that reinterprets, yet serves functionality. “Today, a lot of ceramics are more inclusive of art and design, which is really interesting to me,” notes Chung. “I’ve begun wondering whether I’m a potter or a designer.”

on another planet,” he recalls.

“Not only because it was 115 degrees and I thought I was going to melt, but because the Mingei aesthetic did not have much of a presence at all.”

Instead, Chung discovered architecture. He’d taken a course as an undergraduate, but it drove him crazy to sit and draw straight lines all day.

“I was taking a ceramics course at the same time, and clay gave me so much more freedom,” he says. It wasn’t until a secondyear grad-school grant sent him to India for the summer that the ideas of clay and architecture melded. “What appealed to me in India was the early Islamic architecture. That trip was the beginning of my working with slabs. I wanted to make forms that related to those buildings.”

For his graduate work, he chose an environment as opposite from Minnesota as possible: Arizona State University. “It was like landing

Building from patterns, Chung begins with drawings—but even as he draws, he is contemplating how to build the piece, how to extract

CLAYTIMES·COM n MARCH/APRIL 2008

Two years earlier, Chung had studied with Mark Pharis.

“Suddenly, after all that time, I remembered a demonstration Mark did at his studio where he built a form with slab work and pattern making” he says.

Although his work moved away from the Islamic forms, Chung had found his style—work that is elegant and that combines the elements of architecture Chung was schooled in and geometric shape with more Minnesota, which is richly Vase. 14" x 8" x 5½". Oxidation-fired porcelain. organic, volumetric qualities steeped in the Mingei philoinherent in wheel-thrown sophy. “I love the pots that pottery. “It’s how I can blend those elements together that interests stemmed from that tradition,” he says, “but I realized that I was me,” he declares. “Once I discovered slab construction and drawing too comfortable staying in Minnesota. I wanted a totally different patterns, it was as if a whole new world had opened up. I thought, environment that would force my work to change. I was making bad ‘How could I have limited myself to one process?’” copies of ‘Mingei-sota’ pots.”

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CLAYTIMES·COM n MARCH/APRIL 2008

36

Ewer. 9" x 7" x 3½".

Soda-glazed porcelain.

patterns based on the geometry of the pot. “For example, I sketch a form and it will turn into five or six drawings of a ewer,” he explains.

“Finally when I draw one I like, I start making patterns based on the sketch.”

“The complexity of the form is a product of me tinkering and trying to put things together in different ways.”

— Sam Chung The patterns are similar to dressmaking. Slits in the pattern allow the clay to be folded and curved. Once the patterns are made, Chung cuts the porcelain slabs with beveled edges that he will slip and score for construction. “I prefer working with softer slabs because I have a better ability to expand the form than with very firm slabs,” he notes. “I roll them out and let them sit an hour or two before I begin building. They are soft but strong enough to stand upright. In some cases, I build them on their side.”

His porcelain of choice at the moment is Babu from Laguna.

Smooth, clean seams are an important element in his designs. “Line is something that I want to be evident in the form—the clean edge defines a distinct line. A lot of that relates back to the drawing.” Once the piece is made, he works with volume. “I often go back into the form with a soft rib tool and stretch surfaces so they aren’t completely flat,” he says. “That creates a more volumetric quality in the pot.

You start to see the form develop.”

Handles are cut from a pattern and folded, so they are hollow. Often Chung will create an additional plane on the handle by attaching a second, smaller slab.

Yixing Lids

Although many potters use soda to create a glaze during the firing, Chung is not seeking the traditional soda-glazed surface. “I’m more interested in how sodium will alter the consistency of the glazes I use,” he says. “Sodium is a flux, so it can change the color and qualities of the glaze. It bleaches the surface a little, particularly making the edges go white.” While firing in a neutral atmosphere to cone 10, he sprays a solution of 1 lb. soda ash to ½ gallon of hot water.

Chung uses a clear glaze to line the interiors of his pots, but for the exteriors, he often sprays the glaze. “I like to spray because the glaze doesn’t coat the surface too thickly,” he says. When using multiple glazes, he defines certain areas with latex, which can then be removed for the application of another glaze. “The latex allows you to apply multiple glazes in very specific shapes and places.”

Cups. 3" x 3½" x 3½". Soda-glazed porcelain.

A New Design Direction?

While Chung’s focus is on design, he never forgets functionality.

“When I’m making the pieces, I’m thinking about how the human body engages with all those parts that make this a functional form,” he says. “The irony is, because they take me so long to make and are so complex, I wonder if these pieces are actually used.”

That irony may be leading him in a new direction. “In my older work, the process of working with the wheel had its limitations,” he confesses. “Now I’m thinking again that maybe the way I’m working with slab construction has its own limitations, and maybe there are other ways to design forms. I’m wondering about the potential for ceramic artists to delve into what, for many years, was considered a more commercial venture. Maybe there is a possibility of designing work that reaches a larger audience.” continued on page 39

CLAYTIMES·COM n MARCH/APRIL 2008

To make his lids, Chung adapts the stacking method used in making Chinese Yixing teapot lids. The process is done before attaching a bottom, so that he can reach inside the form. “On the top slab of the teapot, I draw where I want the lid to be, then cut it out carefully. That will be my lid,” he explains. To form a gallery for the opening, he uses a slab a little larger than the opening and attaches it underneath the cut-out area. “I then cut a slightly smaller hole in this second slab, following the form of the first hole. This technique gives me a lot of freedom to design the lid in whatever shape I want.” Onto the first cut-out piece, Chung attaches a flange to weigh the lid down, being careful not to bend the lid, so it won’t warp in the kiln.

Soda Glazing

37

Description of Methods Glazing: Some of my work is glazed with two different glazes in specific areas of the form. For these pieces, I usually use latex resist to block off or expose certain shapes, dunk the piece in a glaze, wax the glazed area, then peel off the latex so the shape is revealed. I then cut away the edge of the glazed shape with an X-acto knife to clean up any jagged edges. The second glaze is either dunked or sprayed onto the remaining exposed areas. Other pieces have one glaze sprayed over the entire piece and then a green celadon is applied with a brush in a regular dot pattern across the form.

Firing:

CLAYTIMES¡COM n MARCH/APRIL 2008

Much of my work is soda-glazed, but I also fire in cone 10 oxidation and reduction atmospheres. For the soda-glazed work, I fire in a neutral atmosphere to cone 10, at which time I spray in the soda/ water solution with a traditional pump-style sprayer. I alternate spraying on each side of the kiln until the solution is gone. The updraft kiln is about 20 cubic feet and has small spraying ports on opposite sides of the firebox. I should also add that I prefer the soda-ash solution to not be sprayed directly onto the work, so I make sure to aim the nozzle accordingly.

38

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

Teapot. 7" x 9½" x 5".

Soda-glazed porcelain.

continued from page 37 Chung has been exploring 3-D computer modeling design using Rhino Software, in which the dimensional design on the screen can actually be used to create molds. “The fun part of this design direction is to find some way to design for the masses,” he says.

“That may mean identifying it as a completely separate body of work. I’ve thought it might be fun to design under a pen name.”

Echoes of the unknown craftsman? It may be that Chung is bringing a whole new aesthetic to the Mingei tradition of pots for the common people. [ K.T. Anders is a potter and professional writer who resides in Upperville, Virginia. She is a regular contributor to Clay Times.

High-fire Glazes / Cone 10 Matte Black Cornwall Stone Dolomite Whiting EPK (Edgar Plastic Kaolin) Silica

TOTAL add Yellow Ochre add Cobalt Carbonate add Chrome Oxide

42% 15 10 23 10 100% 6% 2% 1%

Satin Mint Green Barium Whiting Kona F-4 Feldspar Nepheline Syenite EPK (Edgar Plastic Kaolin) Zinc Oxide

TOTAL add Copper Carbonate OR Titanium for Satin Yellow

7.1% 14.3 35.8 21.4 14.3 7.1 100.0% 0.5% 4.0%

Hensley Clear Kona F-4 Feldspar Gerstley Borate Barium Carbonate Whiting Silica Grolleg Kaolin Tin Oxide Ferro Frit 3110

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45.4% 14.8 5.7 9.6 9.8 11.3 1.1 2.3 100.0%

Big Sky (Steve Roberts) Nepheline Syenite Whiting Gerstley Borate Petalite OM-4 Ball Clay Bone Ash

TOTAL add Copper Carbonate

66.7% 4.8 1.9 14.3 7.6 4.7 100.0% 1.5%

Pictured at left: Vase. 15" x 7.5" x 5". Reduction-fired porcelain.

39

Sculpture and Paperclay A Hands-on Workshop with Ian Gregory

AMY CORBIN PHOTO

by victoria coulter

“If it doesn’t look alive, it isn’t interesting. If you’ve introduced life into your pieces, you’ve achieved what you set out to do.”

Ian Gregory uses a form of paperclay “superglue” (see recipe, p. 41) for use in joining and repairing green ware or bisque ware. “Be careful where you put it,” Gregory cautions, “because once it is on, it’s there to stay.”

CLAYTIMES·COM n MARCH/APRIL 2008

S

40

culptor Ian Gregory’s expression was uncharacteristically serious as he explained what he hoped students would learn during his three-day workshop.

Students participated in Hood College’s “Sculpture and Paperclay” workshop in Frederick, Maryland, ready to wield their cameras and notebooks as sponges to soak up the veritable waterfall of information and new ideas. Amid laughter and lectures, few expected to absorb philosophy along with techniques for sculpture and the properties and use of paperclay. By the end of the class everyone’s skill at infusing life into sculpture had increased exponentially. Creating good karma in sculpture involves a blend of suspending internal and external rules, fearlessness in trying new things, and taking the time to notice details.

In ceramics, as in any aspect of life, we tend to acquire a lot of rules. Rules tell us how a kiln should be fired; how thick a slab should be rolled; or how slowly a sculpture should be dried. Most of these rules are meant to help us accelerate the learning curve and avoid pitfalls. However, these rules can hem you in, not only blocking out other avenues of experimentation and problem solving, but also making you afraid to try new things without a guide. The very first hour of class, English ceramist Ian Gregory told students to ignore all the rules they have learned because rules are only meant as a guideline and there are always exceptions. Gregory answered questions about thicknesses or lengths with his own question: “How long is a piece of string?” Gregory wants students to understand that the solution depends on the project, and

that everyone is capable of making decisions based on their knowledge and observation.

Paperclay Ian Gregory constantly searches for new ways to solve old problems. His contribution to the use of paperclay defied conventional wisdom and opened up new areas of exploration.

Paperclay, made by combining regular clay with paper pulp, has a unique structure.

The paper fibers create a structure within the clay that constantly wicks water from wet areas to dry areas. Improbable actions become possible: a dry sculpture can be rewetted and worked on; a broken handle can be reattached to a bone-dry or bisqued mug; and even a thick paperclay piece can be dried uniformly without cracks. (More

AMY WEAVER PHOTO

Ian Gregory’s Steps for Creating Paperclay This easy method results in a 20% paperclay mixture. To decrease the percentage, simply wedge regular clay with the resulting paperclay.

1) Gather four buckets of clay slurry.

2) Fill one more bucket with paper pulp and add enough water to wet the pulp thoroughly. The water breaks down some of the fibers so that the paper can blend more uniformly with the clay.

The easily-moved supporting rods in Gregory’s sculptures allow free experimentation with body posture, but they can be difficult to remove before firing. He circumvents this problem by regularly twisting the rods as he works, preventing the clay from sticking too firmly. When using metal skewers, he slips a plastic straw over the skewers before wrapping clay around them.

Once the sculpture can stand without much support, the skewers are slipped out of the straws, which burn away in the kiln.

3) Add the wet paper pulp to the buckets of slurry, squeezing the pulp to drain away excess water.

4) Mix using a drill and a paint mixer attachment.

5) Dry the paperclay slurry on plaster until it is a workable consistency.

detailed information on paperclay can be found in the September/October 1999 Clay Times article, “Paperclay Sculpture with Ian Gregory” by Joyce Michaud.)

• One to two cups of paperclay slip • About a half teaspoon of sodium silicate

Forming To break workshop participants out of old habits, Gregory introduced short creative exercises. First, he had each participant create a small sculpture in five minutes.

Second, the participants were instructed to close their eyes and create the sculpture again. They could feel the original but not look at it. The exercise was intended to encourage people to focus on surfaces and textures. The students were forced to notice what they touched, not what they saw. Informing the senses is a necessary requirement to infusing life into sculpture; unnoticed features cannot be incorporated to bring life to the form.

Workshop participants were split into two groups of about 14 people for the third

As Gregory models his sleeping dog, the folds of clay formed when the body was twisted resemble folds of flesh. Close attention is paid to posture and expressive features, such as the ears.

CLAYTIMES·COM n MARCH/APRIL 2008

Gregory began the workshop by asking students to suspend all the rules they’ve ever learned for a reason: he says we must approach our work—or truly, life in general—

Paperclay “Superglue”

JOYCE MICHAUD PHOTOS

Ian Gregory’s own introduction to clay was unsupervised by any experienced mind, with spectacularly catastrophic—and educational—results. He shared how he built his first kiln out of house bricks, packed the very large space full of store-bought terra cotta flowerpots, and fired it up. Two days later he had used up his pile of firewood and was uprooting and throwing in his fence to keep the fire going, but the kiln only emanated dull red heat. After a few pieces of house furniture were sacrificed to the cause, he finally admitted defeat. Needless to say, the pots were ruined. Undaunted, Gregory continued researching and experimenting and attained the experience necessary to build a kiln to suit any sculptural or logistical purpose, such as firing a large sculpture onsite or being able to pack up and transport a kiln easily. He has even shown that it is possible to fire a kiln to cone 10 in a matter of minutes, rather than hours.

with an open mind and observant eyes. Rules and preconceived expectations put filters on the information our senses supply, which in turn inhibits the karma in our creative work. Conventional rules surely would have prevented Gregory’s initial kiln mishap, but would also have limited the unrestricted problem-solving that led to his invention of the myriad alternative kilns that are detailed in two of his four books—and robbed him of a great story!

41

C.C. BOOKOUT PHOTO

Ian Gregory’s Steps for Creating a Standing Animal Figure

1) Place a slab of clay on a piece of Styrofoam and cover it with one sheet of newspaper. This slab, called a “setter,” will dry and be fired with the sculpture to prevent warping or cracking due to friction between the shrinking sculpture and the shelf.

2) Sheathe a wooden or metal skewer in a plastic straw and wrap it in clay.

Repeat four times, one for each leg.

3) Insert the bottom of the skewers through the newspaper and setter slab into the foam, adjusting the positions until they are in likely position for the animal’s stance.

CLAYTIMES·COM n MARCH/APRIL 2008

4) Create a body by wrapping either a dowel rod or bubble-wrap in clay and attaching the shape to the legs.

Bubble wrap can be pierced with a skewer to decrease its volume during sculpting.

42

5) Continue to model the figure, adding and removing clay. If a leg needs to be adjusted, pull the skewer supporting it out of the foam, adjust its angle or position, and reinsert into the foam.

Repair any cracks or tears that occur.

6) When the figure can support itself, remove the skewers from the straws.

“The trick in infusing a sculpture with life is to understand the stance and expression that indicates what the sculpture will emote: tension, fear, playfulness, ambivalence.” exercise in the series. Each group took their assorted sculptures and created a tableau. The scene was to have a theme or idea behind it and the group was to name it. Collaborative conversation and laughter filled the room as the animal and human sculptures were arranged and rearranged.

Each person offered a different perspective.

The relationships in the arrangement of sculptures were seen in a variety of new ways as each piece was repositioned. Finally each team settled on a scene and a name, kept secret from the other team. Then the teams went to the other team’s tableau and guessed its topic, giving it a name of their own. The correlation between the two names for each tableau illuminated how people read the stance and arrangement of figures. One scene featured a lone human figure sitting with his head down and knees drawn up, with a towering wall of animal figures curling around him, each animal staring at the human. The positioning and relationships between the animal and human sculptures led both teams to use the word “nightmare” in their title. Gregory noted that humans and animals communicate largely through body posture. As Gregory points out, “you know when a man in a pub is about to knock your lights out!”

Experimenting A crucial element to these exercises, as well as Ian Gregory’s own work, is experimentation, which many artists avoid because they are afraid of ruining work already completed.

“That’s why I work in multiples,” he said.

“You can twist and move things around, and suddenly you’ve found that you’ve made something that’s empowered.”

To demonstrate the benefit of experimenting, Gregory created a standing dog supported by metal rods through each leg and a dowel rod through the body. To alter the dog’s posture, he simply repositioned the rods and the clay was repositioned with it. A hostile standing dog transformed into a crouching, playful dog with the repositioning of two rods and a twist of the body. Gregory moved the rods frequently and the class watched, mesmerized, as the dog’s stance and entire demeanor transformed. Gregory’s sculptures often feature dogs, and he spends hours

watching his own two dogs observing how body posture creates various gestures. He notices which cock of the head denotes confusion rather than interest and how a dog’s muscles bunch when it is upset. He suspends what his mind knows about dogs—four legs, head, body, tail—and allows his eyes to soak up the nuances of body language.

When workshop participants tried their own hand at animal sculpture, Gregory instructed students to work out the body proportions before focusing on details. If you correctly proportion the basic anatomy, Gregory maintains, the final sculpture will work and the artist can manipulate the body to play with gesture. Many participants struggled to achieve the sense of life that Gregory captures in his sculptures. When asked for help, Gregory studied the sculpture for a moment and then twisted the body somewhat, or moved a rod-supported leg, or tilted the head around, and the piece effortlessly sprang to life. The posture of the body was the source of the animation and energy of the sculpture.

Figure Study During a figure study exercise, Gregory again instructed students to create the basic figure first before looking at the model. After the figures were roughed out, the model came in and the figures were twisted, folded, and pinned into position. Gregory encouraged students to use the model to see how the body worked, how parts are put together, and how the body consists of curves and negative spaces. Several times he insisted that students step back from their sculptures and simply look at them and the model before focusing on the details. “We unconsciously communicate with and read body posture every day,” Gregory observed. The trick in infusing a sculpture with life is to understand the stance and expression that indicates what the sculpture will emote: tension, fear, playfulness, ambivalence. Noticing and including these components helped students achieve what Ian hoped for: better karma! [ Victoria Coulter graduated in 2006 from the University of Maryland with a BS in Mechanical Engineering. She is completing the Graduate Certificate in Ceramic Arts at Hood College in September 2008.

STORY BY K.T. Anders • PHOTOS BY Diana crain PHOTO BY GEORGE POST

The Four Seasons Set. Large vases: 13½" x 2¼". Small vases: 11" x 2¼". Earthenware wall vases, slipcast in molds and painted with underglazes.

S

ome people are naturally adventurous. Diana Crain definitely fits into that category. Just look at her vases—two feet high, in mixed media of colored clay, decals, and acrylic. If that weren’t enough, they’re not meant for a tabletop. They hang on the wall.

Crain ended up wandering around the galleries in Mendocino in Northern California. “I loved the work of a local ceramic artist, Mayer Shacter, so I knocked on his door and asked to be his apprentice,” she says. “I could just as easily have seen a furniture maker or a

Well, there was that hiatus when she decided she was sick of clay.

“For a year or so I made wedding cakes for a living and taught cake decorating at the junior college,” she confesses. “I was never so happy to get back to my studio in my life.”

For the first ten years in her studio, she made porcelain dinnerware.

“It was a time when everyone was working in stoneware,” she notes.

“So I sold really well because my work was different. I ended up selling at Gumps department store in San Francisco.” That called for a lot of production. Then came the point at which she never wanted to see another mug or bowl.

Colored Clay During her apprenticeship, Crain became enamored with Mason stains and the recipes for colored clay she found in the Jane Pizer section of

CLAYTIMES·COM n MARCH/APRIL 2008

But then, she’s always had a daring streak. Trained to be an art teacher, she was bored with the jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none skills she had learned. So one summer she took a ceramics handbuilding course, and on the side, taught herself how to throw on the wheel. She got her first job as a high school art teacher by volunteering to coach the swim team. When that went stale she bought a motor van from the Indianapolis Speedway that had been used to tour people around the track, converted it into a camper, and headed west. “I didn’t know where I was going,” she says. “I was just leaving Indiana and getting out on my own.”

photographer and become anything at that point.” But potter’s apprentice it was. “I’ve consistently made a living with clay since 1973,” she says.

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CLAYTIMES·COM n MARCH/APRIL 2008

Penland Pottery. “I experimented,” she explains. “I’ve probably tested over 200 possibilities of oxides and Mason stains. I combine them to create my own colors. If you fire work with stains in oxidation to cone 10, your colors are much purer and brighter than a reduction atmosphere.”

Technology has improved since those old days when yellows and reds fired out above cone 04. “Now a lot of stains are encapsulated in zirconium,” says Crain. “You can take a lowfire Duncan CC underglaze up to cone 10 and it’s still the same red that it is at cone 04. Some of the stains work with a glaze, and some without.”

Once out of the dinnerware business, Crain began making 25-lb. platters using colored porcelains as inlays. “I would extrude little threads and ribbons and dots from Kemper clay

Pictured on this page, top right: Large earthenware slipcast wall vase. 13" x 2¼". Painted with underglazes and clear glaze; fired to cone 04. Below, left: Colored porcelain monoprint wall vase.

24" x 1¾". Fired to cone 10, then altered with monoprint decals and acrylic paints. Below, right: Small earthenware slipcast wall vase. 11" x 2¼". Painted with underglazes and clear glaze; fired to cone 04 in an electric kiln. Opposite page: Large earthenware slipcast wall vase. 13" x 2¼". Painted with underglazes and clear glaze; fired to cone 04.

CLAYTIMES·COM n MARCH/APRIL 2008

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guns and put them on a thin piece of porcelain, then roll them into the platter to undulate like a napkin.” She also had a line of extruded wall pockets.

One day, while attaching flat cutouts of Greek urn-style vases around the rim of a platter, she had an idea. “I suddenly thought I could glue them to the front of my wall pockets to make them more contemporary,” she says. And wall vases are all she’s made ever since. “I took them to a show and they became a hot item. It was during the recession of 1990 when a lot of galleries went out of business. I called the wall vases my recession line.”

To make the wall vase, she begins with a ¼" thick slab of porcelain.

“First, I put a coat of black porcelain on,” she says. “Then when I carve through the layers, I get a black line. Then I apply layers of colored slip. I have big tubs of colored porcelain that I’ve made.”

Monoprinting on Clay

Large earthenware slipcast wall vase.

13" x 2¼". Painted with underglazes and clear glaze; fired to cone 04.

Large earthenware slipcast wall vase.

13" x 2¼". Painted with underglazes and clear glaze; fired to cone 04.

What’s really innovative about Crain’s technique is a process to transfer slip from newsprint onto the porcelain slab. It’s an adaptation of monoprinting that she learned at a workshop with Mitch Lyons about six or seven years ago. “I lay down slip on a porcelain slab, then put a different colored slip on newsprint. Once it’s dried to an early leather-hard stage (so it doesn’t come off on my finger, but it’s still soft), I press the newsprint onto the slab. I can draw on the back of the newsprint, and whatever I draw will be transferred. It will have a bit of a deckle edge and there are places where it doesn’t transfer, so it creates a much more interesting surface than I could get from painting or slip trailing. It gives me more options for creating depth on the surface.” After printing, she inlays the design by rolling it into the porcelain.

Crain teaches simplified monoprinting in workshops at her farm in Petaluma, California. She presses a felt-like material onto the decorated slab, pulling a layer of the colored clay out onto the material. “You let it air-dry and seal it with Thompson’s Water Seal,” she says. “After two or three weeks, you frame the felt as a hanging.”

CLAYTIMES·COM n MARCH/APRIL 2008

Lately, Crain has become even more adventurous with monoprinting. “I photograph my felt monoprints and transfer the image into my computer, manipulate them a little with my software program, and print them out on laser decal paper. I apply the decals to the fired slabs and seal them with polyurethane.”

To bring even more color and richness to the surface, she often augments the whole thing with acrylic paint. The pieces are oncefired to cone 10 without glazing.

46

On the back of the finished slabs, Crain attaches three or four 1½" square tubes to hold water for flowers. “I use multiple tubes because they are cast in the same mold,” she explains. “When you do production, you have to think in these terms.”

Production Work The large wall vases are one-of-a-kind, but Crain has to make a living, after all. So she designs smaller vases that can be easily

“... somehow, for me, what speaks from my soul are things that make people smile. When people walk into my booth, they smile and it warms my heart.”

— Diana Crain

Environment paintings for porcelain wall vases. Background: 40" x 18"; Vase: 24" x 1¾". The backgrounds are canvas painted with acrylics; the vases (colored porcelain once-fired to cone 10 in an electric kiln) are hung on the paintings. The ceramic surface is altered with decals and acrylic paints. The vases can still hold water for fresh flowers.

reproduced, and which she sells to galleries around the country.

“It’s not where my heart is, but I could have someone make them for me in the studio,” she explains. She has developed molds in six different shapes, about 2½" deep, which she changes on a yearly basis. Designed as wall pieces, these vases can also be freestanding. “They are hand-painted with Duncan CC and Mayco UG series underglazes or a combination of both, and glazed with a clear glaze,” she says. “My dad, who is 95, does all the casting and fires them to cone 04. He’s worked for me for 25 years.”

Diana Crain runs the Tortuga Ceramic Instruction studio in Petaluma, CA, and teaches workshops, complete with gourmet meals, at Diana’s Art Farm. She can be reached at diana@wallvases.com. Her Web site is www.wallvases.com.

CLAYTIMES·COM n MARCH/APRIL 2008

Crain describes her work as whimsical and a little off-kilter.

“When I go to a show, I’m drawn to simple, wood-fired Japanese pottery,” she confesses. “But somehow, for me, what speaks from my soul are things that make people smile. When people walk into my booth, they smile and it warms my heart.” [

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That’s Hot! Students at Meredith College build their art department a multi-purpose kiln STORY BY warner f. hyde • PHOTOS BY c.j. barefoot

A

major reason for my accepting a ceramics position at Meredith College in Raleigh, North Carolina was an idea resting in the center of a large pile of kiln bricks, a gas line, and a roof that yearned for a chimney. This seemed the perfect situation for building a unique kiln for a unique program.

CLAYTIMES·COM n MARCH/APRIL 2008

Meredith College is an all-women’s college with a very strong art department, supported by the faculty and administration. Its foundation was matched by a generous financial gift from Jane and Ed Teague, specifically for the construction of a highfire gas kiln. I have wanted and dreamed of building my own kiln design for years, and this was the time.

48

The college’s art program did not have a high-fire kiln then, and was focused on cone 6 work, fired electrically. Atmospheric work had previously been taught using the Raku process. As a wood-fire junkie, I wanted to incorporate the concept of wood firing, and the raw atmospheric effects of wood, soda, and salt. A used, soft-brick gas kiln had been purchased with the Teague funds before my arrival, so a large amount of soft bricks was our core material. Soft bricks are great for a gas kiln, but not ideal for the abusive qualities of wood, salt, or soda. Looking around the kiln yard, the students and I collected a fair amount of hard brick that had accumulated over the years, and stacked it with the soft brick to assess our work materials.

We realized that we had insufficient material to build a gas kiln, a salt/soda kiln, and a wood kiln. I wanted our students to experience these work methods and to participate in the full process of kiln construction: creating specific ceramic works, prepping the kiln, loading, firing, stoking, introducing salt and/or soda, unloading, and exhibiting the

Above: Second (wood-fired) interior chamber of the kiln built at Meredith College, Raleigh, North Carolina. Opposite page, top: A student unbricks the kiln door.

Bottom: A view inside the kiln following the first student firing. finished works. So we built a kiln based on my understanding of and experience with the anagama process of firing. The kiln has two “chambers,” although it is not actually divided. The first and larger space provides for a regular reduction gas-fired atmosphere, and is 4' x 4', and 5' high. This area is fueled by four Venturi burners. The heat of the gas is then drawn into a back chamber which is elevated and tapered from the front chamber.

It is 3' x 3', and 4' high, and is lined with hard brick. This is the area of the kiln designed for atmospheric experimentation. Between the two chambers is an area for stoking with wood and for introducting salt and soda.

After taking part in a firing of this all-in-one kiln, the students observe a full range of effects and firing techniques as the kiln is unloaded from front to back. It really is exciting! This was a project designed to be built by the students, used by the students, and ultimately to serve as the most educational part of understanding the enticing process of ceramics. It was my goal to provide this experience and, in doing so, to help the students be more knowledgeable, have more ownership, develop stronger ceramic work and expression, gain a deeper sense of community, and for them to add to a growing ceramics program. So far, it’s working.

Clay & Slip Recipes Meredith College Clay Body Cedar Heights GoldArt #6 Tile Kaolin Fireclay Ball Clay (XX Saggar) RedArt F-4 Feldspar Silica

TOTAL

add Medium Grog

30.0 % 15.0 20.0 15.0 5.0 10.0 5.0 100.0% 10.0 %

Raw Hyde Stoneware #6 Tile Kaolin XX Saggar Clay Cedar Heights Gold Art Hawthorne Fireclay Newman Red Fireclay Kona F-4 Feldspar Silica

TOTAL add Coarse Grog

10.0 % 15.0 20.0 30.0 10.0 7.0 8.0 100.0 % 20.0 %

Jasper Slip cone10 Nepheline Syenite Jasper Kaolin

TOTAL

30.0 % 70.0 100.0 %

Yellow Slip cone 10 27.4% 54.3 4.6 4.6 9.1 100.0%

CLAYTIMES·COM n MARCH/APRIL 2008

Nepheline Syenite Tenn Ball Clay Silica Tin Oxide Titanium Dioxide

TOTAL

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We built a kiln based on my understanding of, and experience with, the anagama process of firing. The kiln has two “chambers,” although they are not actually divided. The first, and larger, space provides for a regular reduction gas-fired atmosphere, and is 4' x 5' x 5'. This area is fueled by four Venturi burners. The heat of the gas is then drawn into the back chamber, which is elevated and tapered from the front chamber.

It is 3' x 3' x 4' high, and lined with hard brick. This is the area of the kiln designed for atmospheric experimentation.

Between the chambers is an area for stoking wood and introducing salt and soda. So, after firing this all-in-one kiln, the students observe a full range of effects and firing techniques as the kiln is unloaded from front to back. It offers a wonderful educational experience.

Materials List Approximate cost: $500 was donated by the Teagues, $300 by school Purchase of used kiln: $800 All other materials were already present, or were free. ✔ approximately 2,000 soft bricks (1/2 of arch bricks were made by forming normal, soft bricks) ✔ approximately 1,000 hard bricks ✔ Kiln shelves: (5) silica carbide 24" x 24" fit at back of “atmospheric section” and (15) silica carbide 12" x 24" for front, normal gas

Students have the chance to try many different approaches and surfaces to firing their work without having to fire three or four kilns. I love and believe in the virtues of a completely wood-fired kiln, which needs cord after cord of dried wood, but this kiln provides the action and activity with much less wood in much less time, which is more appropriate for the program in its current state. For the students, this experience is similar to using a wood-fire

kiln—the sense of involvement in the work and firing, the feeling of community, and the deep satisfaction achieved. Students learn so much more this way, gaining the confidence to face the ceramics world after their undergraduate studies.

With the addition of a clay mixer, students create their own clay bodies and study how different clays react in different positions in the kiln. This knowledge builds a stronger sense of creative expression and communication in the student.

Meredith College and the surrounding community have enthusiastically adopted the kiln, its firings, and resulting works.

That is, after all, one of clay’s most appealing virtues: it brings people together, and provides an experience that remains with us via the pots—which are quickly filling the shelves now at Meredith. Our new kiln is literally firing off as quickly as it can be filled! It’s a terrific feeling to see the billowing smoke in the sky after a good stoke, alerting all that potters are at work. [

Warner Hyde is a 2006 graduate of Clemson University with a Masters of Fine Arts degree, and currently serves as Assistant Professor of Art at Meredith College in Raleigh, NC, where he teaches ceramics and 3-D design.

reduction area. ✔ approximately 60 square feet of 2" kaowool fiber

Kiln Building Tips

✔ approximately 60 ft. of 2" x 2" x ¼" angle iron ✔ 4 Venturi burners (Ward B-4s) (had three, and purchased one new) ✔ approximately 30 ft. of 1" gas piping CLAYTIMES·COM n MARCH/APRIL 2008

✔ 1 bag Portland cement

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✔ 2 bags play sand ✔ 2 bags fireclay

✔ Design kiln with available materials and space in mind. ✔ Make kiln as flexible as possible—create it so that it has many adjustment areas! ✔ BE RESOURCEFUL—use what you can find and salvage.

✔ approximately 45 ft. of extension rods—to tie steel frame

✔ Don’t stress it— have fun! It’s a piece of artwork

together

✔ tin snips—to cut through roof for chimney

✔ Function is priority—looks are second—old, beat-up,

✔ masonry trowel/mixing pan for mortar ✔ 3/8" masonry bit to anchor steel ✔ (2) 4' x 8' sheets of b or c grade plywood for arch forms ✔ rubber mallet ✔ level

you’re creating.

dirty bricks still work!

✔ Work with fire marshals/authorities as friends—not

as obstacles.

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 WARNER HYDE (see preceding article, pages 48-50)

Buck Celadon cone 10 reduction Custer Feldspar Silica

Whiting

Grolleg Kaolin Red Iron Oxide

TOTAL

Woo Yellow cone 10

30% 24 25 21 1 100 %

Moonrocks Shino cone 10

Soda Ash Potash Feldspar Spodumene EPK TOTAL

Kona F-4 Feldspar Barium Carbonate Dolomite EPK Silica Zircopax

TOTAL

10.01 % 45.64 38.04 6.31 100.00 %

Hyde’s Twisted Ole Skool Ash cone 10

add Titanium Dioxide

Nepheline Syenite Whiting Gerstley Borate Petalite Clay

TOTAL

55 % 6 20 15 4 100 %

add Cobalt Carbonate add Rutile

add Copper Carbonate 6.5% add Bentonite 2.0%

Mark’s Temmoku cone 10 70 % 5 2 15 8 100%

G-200 Feldspar 45% Whiting 17 Grolleg Kaolin 11 Silica 27

TOTAL 100%

1% 1%

G-200 Feldspar 29.7 % Nepheline Syenite 23.8 Silica 3.7 Ball Clay 4.5 Barium Carbonate 38.3

TOTAL 100.0 %

add Red Iron Oxide add Bentonite

10% 1%

MGO Satin White cone 10 Kona F-4 Feldspar 38.1 % Whiting 7.6 Talc 15.2 Dolomite 13.3 EPK 21.0 Silica 4.8

TOTAL 100.0 %

3.8 % add Copper Carbonate 3.2 % add Tin Oxide 7.6 % add Bentonite 2.0 % add Zircopax add Bentonite 1.9 % add Tin Oxide 1.0 % All recipes are given in percentages (by weight). Results vary with clay bodies and firing conditions; add Copper Carbonate 0.5you’re % always test first to be sure happy with the results. To mix a glaze batch to store in a 5-gallon add Bentonite 2.0 % 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 MARCH/APRIL 2008

Kona F-4 Feldspar Whiting Silica Ferro Frit 3110 Zinc

TOTAL

Bone Ash 1% Talc 8 Kaolin 13 Silica 25 Whiting 22 Potash Feldspar 31

TOTAL 100 %

3%

Barium Blue Best cone 10

10 %

Harding Oxblood cone 10

34 % 25 12 7 7 15 100 %

Reitz Green Matte cone 9/10

Washed/Sieved Wood Ash 60 %

Redart clay 40

TOTAL 100 %

add Red Iron Oxide

Oribe cone 10

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Readers Share I Art Works

The Gallery

CLAYTIMES¡COM n MARCH/APRIL 2008

Fusion 400. 8" x 34" x 9". Stoneware fired to cone 6 in oxidation, with copper verdigris patina applied after firing, and found wood. Alice Robrish, 412 Dayton Street, Yellow Springs, OH 45387.

E-mail: alice@alicerobrish.com; Web site: alicerobrish.com.

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Moss Agate. 8" x 6" x 6". White stoneware with terra sigillata, raku-fired to 1350Âş F with resist slip/glaze peeled away. Jan Lee, E-mail: raku2day@yahoo.com.

EJB@ "VUPTBWF 'JMF WPN E MBC EFS "HGB1IPUP (NC)

I’m Still the Queen. 11" x 7" x 20". Wheel-thrown and altered white stoneware with underglazes, fired to cone 6. Diane Lublinski, 1081 SW 176 Ave., Pembroke Pines, FL 33029. E-mail: diane@clayforms.com.

Yellow and Tangerine Houses. 12" x 8" x 2" each. Handbuilt porcelain fired to cone 6 in oxidation. Kelly McCullough, 174 Moonshine Trace, Saluda, NC 28773.

E-mail: kelly@kellymcculloughpottery.com; Web site: kellymcculloughpottery.com.

Readers Share I Art Works

The Gallery

The Sage and the Boy. 17" x 14" x 6". Handbuilt cone 04 terra cotta with silk, leather, and wooden beads. Rose Tripoli Mueller, 149 Old Sunshine Road, Bostic, NC 28018.

E-mail: rosetmueller@yahoo.com; Web: http://home.nctv.com/roseclay/index.html.

Basket Form I. 12" x 8" x 8". Porcelain with iron-yellow glaze outside and copper-green glaze inside, reduction-fired to cone 10 in a gas kiln. Debra Oliva, 2430 Maumee Drive, Okemos, MI 48864. E-mail: deboliva@ix.netcom.com.

A is for Armadillo. 14" x 10" x 5". Handbuilt with raku clay, decorated with low-fire glazes, raku-fired. Chris Moses,1 Springhouse Road, Weaverville, NC 28787.

E-mail: cmoses@charter.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.)

CLAYTIMES¡COM n MARCH/APRIL 2008

Prayer House No. 5. 12" x 12" x 10". Slab-built stoneware with colored slips, fired to cone 6. Hong-Ling Wee, 81 Mott St. 5s, New York, NY 10013.

E-mail: HL@ceramicus.com; Web: ceramicus.com.

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Shop Talk I Firing

More on Rising Fuel Costs BY marc ward

The dirty little secret about more efficient burners?

They don’t really exist in the pottery world.

S

CLAYTIMES·COM n MARCH/APRIL 2008

o, last issue I was going on about energy prices. Boy, did I go on—but did I mean it. If you didn’t catch my previous column, I was lamenting about $95 plus oil. Now, two months later (early January) oil is still over $95 and it’s time for my traditional March column. Spring is the time when the seeds of new kilns begin to break ground. Bricks get bought.

Pads get poured, and unexpected problems are encountered. The new kiln you’re planning is facing some new challenges?

Can you say, “Carbon Footprint?” This kiln will use large amounts of fossil fuel and emit equally large amounts of greenhouse gases. Some local and state governments are starting to think about regulating these issues. Do you live in one of these places?

Will we all? Whether we need to regulate these issues is for a different article, and probably a different magazine. But you should check around and make sure the local authorities are going to allow you to proceed anyway. Ask quietly and find the appropriate avenues you’ll need to travel.

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Now back to the $95+ oil. One of the most common calls I’ve been receiving lately is about more efficient burners. (“My fuel bills are really starting to hurt and I want a magic bullet to make the pain stop!”)

There was one thing from my previous column I was trying to give you a headsup about. Current fuel prices may not be an aberration. They may not head back down to ‘normal.’ Make plans about firing costs accordingly. The dirty little secret about more efficient burners? They don’t really exist in the pottery world.

Burners The industrial world has worked hard to improve burner efficiency, and they have.

But that efficiency increase is measured in very low percentages. However, when you spend big bucks on fuel usage, small

percentages mean real money saved. In the pottery world, we don’t spend huge amounts on energy per user. (Confusingly, though, we do spend a lot on energy per fired item). Anyway, what I’m saying is that the small amount of savings realized by more sophisticated burners will not be realized as payback for the vast bulk of potters. For the average potter, the best bet may be ordinary burners. To really start making a difference in fuel use, one needs to look elsewhere.

Insulation If you have a new kiln planned, your best use of your excess budget is insulation (I know—that’s a hoot! Most of us don’t have a line item called ‘excess budget.’)

An inch of ceramic fiber on the inside of your new kiln will save you about 8% of your fuel usage. Two inches equals about 20% savings. If you don’t want to use fiber or can’t (salt kiln), there are still things that can be done to help offset some of your fuel usage.

When building a new kiln, make sure the bricks aren’t on the ground or directly on concrete. The best insulator in the world is dead air space. That’s why ceramic fiber is such a good insulator, as are—to a lesser extent—insulating bricks. It’s because of all those little air spaces. When you set bricks directly on the ground, you have connected the kiln directly to the earth ... and the ’ole earth is an incredible heat sink. Anyone who has spent a poorly equipped night sleeping on the cold ground can attest to the heat sucking properties of Gaia. If your kiln is not going to be in a metal frame with legs, at least put it up on cinderblocks. The large cavities in the cinderblock provide dead air insulation. While we’re down here working on the floor of your new dream kiln, we need to provide some way to stop tertiary

air from entering the kiln through the kiln floor. Tertiary air is the third kind of air— a cooling flow of air that you don’t want entering the kiln. (Primary air is needed to feed the burner. Secondary air is the necessary air pulled in through the port around the flame and burner head.) The easiest way to stop tertiary air is to place heavy industrial aluminum foil down on the cinder blocks before you start laying brick. A cement backer board, like those used under tile floors, will also work. Better yet, use ceramic fiberboard. (Of course, “better yet” means “more money.”) Potters underestimate how much cold air might unintentionally be pulled into the kiln through the floor. That air cools the kiln and negates some of the heat you’re trying to create and retain—and that ultimately wastes energy.

P.S. — A guy calls today and is stumped.

He has taken down his old kiln and built a new one. He hooks up the burners that he has used for years. One burner works fine, but the other is just wheezing along at about 25% output. He wants to know why. I ask: Did you use Teflon tape on your pipe threads? HIs answer: yes. (If you are going to install your own piping, don’t use Teflon tape! Most folks overdo it and/or put it on opposite the tightening direction. They crank down on the fitting, and the tape tears off and starts flopping around inside the pipes. Eventually, it lodges somewhere bothersome. Instead, use some form of brushed-on pipe dope that is available at hardware stores.) Happy and productive kiln building to all! [ 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.

Materials in tools are generally determined by utility & durability, but style and aesthetics are inevitable considerations as well.

C

lay Times covers topics about things made of clay, with the exception of some mixed-media parts added after the firing. But what about the tools we use? What are the materials in those tools, and what are the implications of selecting different materials? I was thinking about this as I watched my students working. In our homes and our lives, personal preferences are clearly visible—wood or metal furniture, cloth or leather upholstery. Materials in tools are generally determined by utility and durability, but style and aesthetics are inevitable considerations as well.

mance depends on absorbency, texture, and pliability. Natural sea sponges tend to be very absorbent and pliable on first moistening, while poly sponges need to be “broken in.” Poly sponges come in a broad range of quality, and fortunately most of the cheap ones sold by ceramic suppliers seem to be of a consistent high quality (for a poly sponge). When purchasing clean-up sponges, avoid the very soft, fine-texture, multi-color foam sponges, as they do not hold up in studio use.

Sponge

Plastic and rubber are both polymers, and most rubber is now synthetic, just a more pliable version of plastic. The soft blue and stiff black Kemper rubber ribs serve the basic purpose for which they are intended, but there is a continuum from the softest rubber to the hardest plastic. Michael Sherrill takes advantage of that in his “Mudtools” ribs, which are “coded” in bright colors according to their density and flexibility. Rigid plastic such as Plexiglas could be suitable for homemade hard ribs and profile ribs, but how would you shape it without subjecting yourself to toxic dust and fumes? Wood and metal work best for making your own rigid ribs.

For any studio application, don’t bother with cellulose sponges. They harbor bacteria and deteriorate rapidly. The real value of any sponge depends on a combination of performance and durability. Perfor-

Wood Wood is one of the great renewable resources, and is easily worked and available in a broad range of types and densities suitable for studio applications. The natural oils present in some hardwoods make them especially resistant to moisture. Lignum vitae is one of the oiliest woods, but weighs near 100 pounds per cubic foot and is extremely hard, thus its common name “ironwood.” It is difficult to work, but once shaped will make very long-lasting tools.

Teak, ipe, olive, ebony, and rosewood are also durable and high in oil content, but much easier to work. Few of us are going to go out and buy rosewood or ebony for making studio tools, but if you know of a fine furniture or musical instrument maker, you might be able to scrounge some scraps. Ipe has almost replaced teak as the wood of choice for deck furniture. It’s almost as durable but far less expensive, and may be purchased online as lumber or flooring. A good hardwood flooring dealer may have cheap leftovers and scraps of ipe, teak, and many other hardwoods.

The more-common hardwoods like oak, maple, mahogany, hickory, chestnut, walnut, cherry, ash, and birch are all very suitable for studio tools. Bamboo is excellent for ribs and linear modeling tools. The softer hardwoods like poplar, willow, cottonwood, and alder are less durable, but some people like their light weight. The greater porosity causes them to release from the clay easily, and thus they are ideal for paddles, stamps, and texturing tools.

Among softwoods, the natural oils in some pines and aromatic cedar are responsible for both their pleasant aroma and resistance to insects, moisture, and rot. Generally, soft woods are not very durable or abrasion resistant, but heartwood from pine, cedar, and juniper grown in arid regions can be very durable and rotresistant. For the same reasons explained above, porous softwoods make good paddles, stamps, and texturing tools. Plywood is never a suitable wood for studio tools, because with repeated wetting and drying the plies will eventually delaminate in even the best hardwood plywood.

continued on next page

CLAYTIMES·COM n MARCH/APRIL 2008

A sponge is a sponge is a sponge, right?

No. In fact, there are many kinds of sponge with different characteristics of performance and durability. As a tool used in forming and finishing clay, the natural “elephant ear” sea sponge is often considered the best, but is also the most costly. The fairly new synthetic foamed-plastic elephant ear sponge is soft and durable and preferred by some throwers, while priced comparably with larger elephant-ear sea sponges. Descending in price are the natural sea wool sponges, silk sea sponges, and synthetic poly sponges. You might expect that a discerning buyer would always choose the elephant ear, but many people prefer the small, round, inexpensive poly sponge. They hold up well in use, and can be cut in half to create sharp edges for reaching into less-accessible areas. However, a natural elephant-ear sponge can do the same, if you prefer a natural product and are willing to pay the price.

Plastic and Rubber

by VINCE PITELKA

Shop Talk I Tool Times

What’s That Tool Made Of?

55

Metal Distributors Welcome

Shop Talk I Tool Times

TM

One Tool - Many Results www.graberspottery.com

How to use it? See Athena throwing sample pots on our website.

CLAYTIMES¡COM n MARCH/APRIL 2008

0ITNER !VE s %VANSTON ), 4%, s &!8 WWW CERAMICSUPPLYCHICAGO COM

56

For obvious reasons, the most common metal used in studio tools is stainless steel, but stainless comes in many grades of hardness and flexibility. The stainless steel in the less-expensive trimming tools is of fairly poor quality and tends to wear quickly. In contrast, the stainless steel used in the flexible metal ribs made by Kemper, MKM, and Mudtools is a hard spring steel and holds up very well, even in the most demanding circumstances.

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.

CustomDECALS DECALS Custom For all Ceramic & Glass Applications

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Fax 937 223-1115 wisescreenprint@yahoo.com

1011 Valley St. Dayton, OH 45404

The ubiquitous Kemper needle tools are pretty much the standard, and are available in several models. The needles are all stainless steel, but the handles are aluminum or wood. For the best all-stainlesssteel needle tool, search online lab supply or surgical instrument supply vendors and select a pin-vise style needle holder and a variety of dissecting needles.

Most of the finest clay knives and trimming tools are made from high-carbon steel such as is found in many of the finest kitchen knives. Carbon steel has the disadvantage of rusting, and thus is not a good choice for many tools, but in situations demanding strength, rigidity, and a long-lasting edge, it is superior to any stainless alloy. The cutters on Dolan tools were carbon steel, but unfortunately these fine tools have disappeared from the market. Some vendors, including Bailey, are currently offering a limited range of carbon steel trimming tools in both band loop styles and the traditional Japanese “kanna� strap-style. The slender, flat street-sweeper bristles often found in the gutters along city streets are a carbon steel alloy that can be bent, and make very good small, trimming tool blades.

If you are looking for trimming tools that will hold an edge as long as possible, always ask if you are getting carbon steel; if you want trimming tools that almost never need sharpening, pay the price for Phil Poburka’s tungsten-carbide Bison tools, found at www.bisonstudios.com.

These tools are beautifully designed and very finely crafted, and tungsten carbide is one of the hardest substances available.

This material is brittle and the cutting end may break if the tool is dropped on a hard surface, but the many satisfied owners and users of Bison tools have learned clever ways to minimize this possibility. Phil and his tools will be the subject of an upcoming column. [

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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

Ventilation — the intake and circulation of fresh air — is an important health consideration for any pottery studio.

FRESH AIR REQUIREMENTS Basic, good health requires you to have a certain amount of fresh air in your pottery. The American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) suggests somewhere in the range of 20 cubic feet per minute (cfm) of fresh (outside) air per person for workshops and studios.

Look around the room in which you do pottery. Do you know where air is coming into your room, and where it is going out?

Remember, it is physically impossible for air to come into a room without an equal amount of air going out. You need to know where the air supply is located and where it leaves.

“SEEING” THE AIR Sometimes you can feel the direction of the air on your skin and figure out, or “see,” where it is going. If it is a strong breeze, this is a bad thing in a pottery. Even light breezes can raise fine dust. Air currents will stir up dusts that are best left settled.

AIR CONDITIONERS When you do the tests, turn off any window air conditioners. These machines do not bring any fresh air into the room. They only suck in room air, cool it, and blow the same air out again. Some have an “exhaust” setting and may draw a very small amount of air out of the room. But they primarily

RECIRCULATING VENTILATION SYSTEMS Many school art classrooms have air supplied by diffusers at the ceiling. These look like louvers in the form of concentric squares or circles. You should be able to detect air coming into the room through these. However, this is not “fresh” air.

The air coming through these diffusers is primarily air that has been circulating around the building for some time. Only a small percentage of air from recirculating diffusers is fresh. If someone has fooled around with the dampers in the system to save heating and cooling costs, there could even be no fresh air coming through the system!

The mixed air coming through those diffusers must leave the room at the same rate as it comes in. It must be sucked back into the recirculating ventilation system and redelivered to your room and others in the building. Most commonly, these locations are called “return grilles” and they usually are located in the ceiling.

Sometimes the return air grilles are in the hallway, and the air first goes out through the door or an opening in the wall. If you are in a school, your building manager should be able to tell you where this air enters and leaves your room.

Recirculating ventilation systems are not recommended for ceramics activities, however. They cannot control dust. If the pottery is dusty, dust will deposit in the ventilation ducts and soon be redistributed throughout the rest of the building.

UNIVENTS Another type of system common in schools is a heating and cooling unit called a “univent.” These are often placed just underneath the windows. Univents draw

air from near the floor, heat or cool this air, and blow it out the register grille at the top.

They provide no fresh air at all, unless they are connected to the outside. If you look on the outside of the building where they are located and see louvers through the wall, then these univents may be bringing in some fresh air. However, the amount of fresh air they draw depends on how a valve inside the univent is set. It can be set to provide no fresh air.

AIR PURIFIERS You can forget about units to “purify” or filter your air. They provide no fresh air and usually cause more trouble than they fix. The HEPA filtered units will collect the toxic dust all right; but to do this, they have to draw in and expel air rapidly—which creates air currents. These units can stir up more dust than they collect.

Other types of purifiers are the electrostatic precipitators and ion generators. These create ozone, a highly toxic gas. We already have too much ozone in our air from pollution sources. You don’t want any machine that adds more ozone to the air.

Some manufacturers of ion generators and ozone generators have been prosecuted and even jailed for false advertising. The most recent class action lawsuit on behalf of 3.2 million customers was settled in January, 2007. The suit was against Sharper Image, the manufacturer of the Ionic Breeze.

Sharper Image offered consumers about $60 million in the form of $19 merchandise credits to each of the roughly 3.2 million consumers who had bought one of its “Ionic Breeze” purifiers since May 6, 1999. This same group of consumers also will be able to buy a grille attachment for the Ionic Breeze for $7, which Sharper Image says will reduce the toxic ozone emissions from the device.

Since these air purifiers collect only about as much dust as the screen on your TV, I suggest you buy another TV instead!

CLAYTIMES·COM n MARCH/APRIL 2008

If the air movement is too gentle to feel on your skin, you may be able to use a ridiculously simple tool. Just attach a piece of toilet paper to the end of a stick. This paper should flutter slightly in one direction or the other, indicating the direction of the air. Put this up to ventilation grills and diffusers in doorways or near windows, and see if you can detect the direction the air moves. Smoke from incense sticks or bubbles from children’s soap bubble kits will also detect air movement.

provide turbulence that will confuse your testing.

by MONONA ROSSOL

Studio I Health & Safety

Fresh Air in the Pottery

57

Studio I Health & Safety

EXHAUST FANS Many studios and shops have exhaust fans that take air directly from the pottery to the outside.

This system can work well. The side of the fan that draws air in creates little air turbulence, which is good. Now it is even more important to know where the air supply for the room is.

The reason is that you want your work area to be located somewhere on the path between the air source and the exhaust fan. Most of the air exchange occurs in this pathway. Other areas of the room may not get much fresh air.

For example, if the exhaust fan and an open window are on the same wall, the ventilation is only along that wall.

Making a diagram of your pottery, and drawing the location of the exhaust fan and any openings in the room through which fresh air will be drawn, can help you see this more clearly. You can literally draw a line between the exhaust fan and a single open window, and that line is where most of the air will travel.

THE SIZE OF THE FAN You don’t want a fan so strong that it will draw air into the room at turbulent rates.

For just enough fresh air for you and others in the room, you may only need a fan that draws in 20 cfm/person, which satisfies the ASHRAE fresh air requirement. So if there

Clay brings us together and sets us apart.

are 10 people maximum in the room, the fan needs to draw a steady 200 cfm.

You probably will want an option for a faster draw to clear the air on occasion, or to work as a local exhaust fan. A good rate for such clearance is 10 room exchanges per hour. So if you measure the width, height, and length of your room and multiply, you have the cubic feet. Then multiply by 10 room exchanges and divide by 60 minutes per hour and that should give you the cfm required for the fan.

If there are local exhaust systems in the room— such as spray booths or kiln hoods—these can sometimes be placed to also exchange air throughout the room, and no exhaust fan may be needed.

EXHAUST FANS AS LOCAL SYSTEM If the exhaust fan is placed in a window at work table level, then the work surface in front of this fan will function as if it were a local exhaust system. This system is not legal in many communities if highly toxic substances are exhausted out of the window—such as many glaze chemicals. For sanding clay and similar dusty processes, this should be permitted. In this case, you may want a two-speed fan with a faster draw for dust removal.

MAKE-UP AIR The problem with exhaust fans is that the makeup air also needs to be “conditioned”— that is, not too hot or cold. So if you are using an open window as your source of air, you will be hot in the summer and cold in the winter.

For people working in the warm climates, this may not be a problem most of the year.

People working in cold climates many need an industrial make-up unit. These units bring in air and heat it. However, I suggest you contact an engineer familiar with specifying and installing them. Some units will require a duct to your roof as well.

CLAYTIMES·COM n MARCH/APRIL 2008

CONFUSED?

58

Trinity Ceramic Supply, Inc. 9016 Diplomacy Row Dallas, TX 75247 214 631-0540 www.trinityceramic.com

If any reader is planning a ventilation system, I may be able to help. I answer a number of questions about ventilation every day, so feel free to e-mail me or mail your diagrams and questions. I even know a couple of engineers I can recommend.[ 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.

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.

ALABAMA

DELAWARE

IDAHO

Imagine Partners in Art — 210 South 41st Street, Birmingham, AL 35222; 205.706.8308; www. imaginepartnersinart.com; imaginepartnersinart@msn.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, clay-and-cocktail workshops.

Center for the Creative Arts – 410 Upper Snuff Mill Row and Rte 82, Yorklyn, DE 19736; 302.239.2434; www.ccarts.org; skgabor@ccarts.org; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, glazing, firing; children and adult classes.

Boulder Mountain Clayworks — PO Box 3725 Ketchum, ID 83340; 208.726.4484; www.bouldermtnclay.com; bouldermtnclay@yahoo.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture, glazing, firing, raku; children and adult classes.

ARKANSAS 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.

CALIFORNIA Clayworks Studio — 4130 Greenbush Avenue, Sherman Oaks, CA 91423; 818-905-8300; www.claycamp.com; e_wohlstadter@yahoo.com;wheelthrowing, handbuilding, sculpture, tile, mosaic, glazing, firing, classes for children and adults, summer camps.

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.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Eastern Market Pottery — New location on Capitol Hill. 320 3rd Street NE, Washington, DC 22002; 202.544.6669; cbrome@earthlink.net; stoneware, wheelthrowing, glazing, decorating.

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

FLORIDA 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.

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.

GEORGIA

Birch Mountain Pottery — 223 Merrow Road, PO Box 422, Tolland, CT 06084; (860) 875-0149; www.birchmountainpottery.com;info@birchmountainpottery. com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, glazing, firing, raku; children and adults, special classes.

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.

Tracy Art Center, Elaine’s Pottery Studio — 56 College Street, Old Saybrook, CT 06475; 860.388.3599; www.exfpottery.com; exfpottery@ yahoo.com; adult & children’s classes in wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture, decorating, glazing, raku.

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 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.

INDIANA Indiana Memorial Union – 900 E. Seventh Street, Bloomington, IN 47405; 812.855.2328; www.imu.indiana.edu/studios; studios@indiana.edu; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture, glazing, firing. Adult classes and children’s workshops.

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

MARYLAND 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.

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.

CLAYTIMES·COM n MARCH/APRIL 2008

CONNECTICUT

Resources I Classes

Community Pottery Classes

59

Resources I Classes

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.

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

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.

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.

MINNESOTA 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.

CLAYTIMES·COM n MARCH/APRIL 2008

Bill van Gilder 2008 Workshop Schedule

60

Mar. 14-16

Ella Sharp Museum of Art & History, Jackson, MI 517.787.2320 • www.ellasharp.com

Mar. 19-21

van Gilder Tools Sales at NCECA Conference

Pittsburgh, PA • 866.266.2322 • www.nceca.net

Apr. 6-12

Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN

865.436.5860 • www.arrowmont.org

e-mail: info@arrowmont.com

May 15-18

Mud Puddle Pottery Studio, Pegram, TN

615.646.6644 • mudpuddle@bellsouth.net

May 26-31

Pottery West, Las Vegas, NV

potterywest@cox.net • www.potterywest.com

June 13-15

Arapahoe Community College w/Mile Hi Ceramics,

Littleton, CO • 303.797.5948 • kathy.holt@arapahoe.edu

July 28-Aug. 1 Sierra Nevada College, Incline Village, NV [Lake Tahoe]

775.881.7588 • sierranevada.edu/workshops

Aug. 27-30

Rehoboth Art League, Rehoboth Beach, DE

302.227.8408 • www.rehobothartleague.org

Ceramics Studios, Guilds, Universities, Colleges:

To schedule a van Gilder workshop call 301.416.2970 or e-mail: vangilderpottery@earthlink.net

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

MISSISSIPPI 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).

MONTANA Clay Arts Guild of Helena — 3025 Bozeman Avenue, Helena, MT 59601; 406.449.6080; www.helenaclayartsguild.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, raku, studios.

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

NEW JERSEY 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.

Thompson Park Creative Arts Center — Monmouth County Park System, 805 Newman Springs Road, Lincroft, NJ 07738; 732.842.4000, ext. 4343; www.monmouthcountyparks.com; sliu@ monmouthcountyparks.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, workshops, raku & electric kilns, beginners thru advanced for adults, children, parent/child.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

NORTH CAROLINA 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.

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.

OHIO 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.

Resources I Classes

Finch Pottery — 5526 Finch Nursery Lane, Bailey, NC 27807-9492; 252.235.4664; www.danfinch.com; dan.finch@earthlink.net; wheel-throwing.

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.

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.

RHODE ISLAND The Cole Center for Creative Studies at the Newport Art Museum — 76 Bellevue Avenue, Newport, RI 02840; 401.848.2787; www. newportartmuseum.org; jhambleton@newportartmuseum. org; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, glazing, firing; children and adults.

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.

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.

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.

TENNESSEE

ITALY — South of Rome

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.

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

TEXAS

Workshops with

Xavier González

www.flatrockclay.com

Mon-Fri 9-6 Sat 9-1

April 18-20, 2008 Jeffcoat Pottery, Calabash, NC 910-579-2400 Hands on Workshop Throwing Techniques and Crystalline Glazes

Think Global Buy Local

2oo2 South School Fayetteville, ARkansas

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

VIRGINIA 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,

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

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

CLAYTIMES·COM n MARCH/APRIL 2008

Quality at Great Prices Clay, Glazes Tools, Books Raw Materials Equipment Workshops

K CLAY C O R FLAT PLIES SUP

479-521-3181

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. One daily/weekly.

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Opinion I Around the Firebox

Feel the Burn by david hendley

H

ealth and fitness concerns seem to be on people’s minds these days. Surveys have shown that the top three New Year’s resolutions for many years have been to eat less, exercise more, and spend less money. Just a few years ago, there was not a gym or health club in my rural locale; now there are three, with a fourth under construction. Of course stress is unhealthy, but stress in the workplace is at an all-time high. This is probably caused by all the new technology that was supposed to make things more efficient and less stressful!

CLAYTIMES·COM n MARCH/APRIL 2008

Potters need to pay attention to physical fitness and job-related stress. Friends and acquaintances are often surprised when I appear tired or stressed. They think of me as merrily playing with clay all day, and don’t realize that orders are promised by certain dates, extra inventory must be completed in time for upcoming shows, and clay regularly cracks when dried and fired. Potters, I tell them, also have to deal with things like taxes, mailing lists, accounting, and maintaining Web sites, which means that—like everyone else—we spend hours manipulating electrons on a computer monitor and dealing with the frustration when the computer doesn’t work as it should.

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All in all, though, with a little thought and effort, becoming a potter can be a good path to a healthy lifestyle. That’s one of the things that first attracted me to working with clay; it involves a good balance of varied physical exertion, mental work, and creative problem solving. Variety makes any job more interesting as well as easier on the body. It’s repetition and/or lack of physical activity that are damaging, both mentally and physically.

When people ask me what my “typical day” is like, I don’t know what to tell them, because I don’t have a typical day, which is great.

Then again, if you approach it the wrong way, working as a potter can be a path to chronic health problems and early burnout. I have seen this many times through the years: a gung-ho potter ramps up production with 80-hour work weeks and hired assistants, dividing the work into narrow, repetitive tasks. After five years of this, the equipment is typically up for sale and the potter can’t work because of a bad back, carpal tunnel

syndrome, or just plain exhaustion. Henry Ford’s factory production model applied to handmade pottery is not a good idea.

As a potter, it never made much sense to me to pay good money to join a gym. Joining would mean I would be spending even more money and time, and generating greenhouse gases, driving to the gym every time I wanted to exercise. I can get all the exercise I need right here at the “potter’s gym and spa.” If I want an aerobic workout I can wedge clay or split firewood for 30 minutes. With a woodfired kiln and a house and studio both heated with wood, I always need more firewood, so it only makes sense to achieve two objectives at once. My “weight training” is accomplished by moving tons of clay and glaze materials through the studio every year. And who needs a sauna when you can enjoy the soothing radiant heat from the firebox of a wood kiln?

Of course activities like walking or running and stretching can be done anywhere.

Here, for your consideration, are some other things I do and recommend to potters to help them stay in good condition both physically and mentally. First of all, quit hunching over your potter’s wheel. It may be okay when you are young or if you only throw pots a few hours a week, but to avoid back problems, serious potters who plan to keep at it for a long time need to elevate their wheels and learn to throw standing up. Actually, the idea is not to throw while standing, but to throw while leaning. Leaning, as opposed to standing, is not tiring, even for long periods.

I lean, with my weight on my left leg, so my right foot can freely move the foot pedal and control the speed of the wheel.

It’s easy to elevate most electric wheels by simply setting the wheel on some concrete blocks. The top of the wheelhead needs to be right at, or just below, your belly button. For me, a rather tall guy, most wheels need to be set on concrete blocks (16" tall) and firebricks (2½" thick) to achieve the right height (18½").

Once you determine the right height for you, more permanent legs can be made for your wheel. The easiest way to find something to lean against while throwing is to simply situate your wheel next to something solid and substantial. I use the support post of some industrial metal shelving. A post or

floor-to-ceiling pole can always be installed if there are no other options.

Next, even though standing and leaning is much better than sitting and hunching, don’t stay at the wheel for extended periods, no matter how much work needs to be done— even if it means you have to finish your work in the evening or on your day off. I take a short break every hour. The “break” doesn’t have to be rest or inactivity, but it needs to be five minutes of something physically different from standing at the wheel. Twice a day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon, I take a longer break. These breaks, for mental as well as physical rejuvenation, must entail relaxing, not just doing a different job.

The “take a break” rule also applies to other activities, such as glazing, loading the kiln, and especially working at the computer. In 30 years as a potter I never had any problems with wrist pain until I started spending hours sitting at a computer, manipulating a mouse.

Pets are great diversions and stress-relievers.

My favorite break activity, on pleasant days, is rolling around in the yard with the dogs. This is especially nice on cool but sunny winter days. On rainy or cold days, I let them come into the studio for a visit. Similarly, nothing is more relaxing than a purring studio cat sitting on your lap, provided you find the right one. I’ve had cats that couldn’t be allowed in the studio because they would jump around and break things, but I’ve also had cats who were so delicate and careful they could be left in the studio all day.

Finally, remember that your mother was right: don’t make a mess, and clean it up if you have an accident. For the sake of your lungs, keep dust to a minimum and wear a respirator if you do a job that creates dust, such as mixing dry glaze ingredients or sanding dry clay. Get a real respirator that fits your face and has replaceable dust cartridges, not a disposable paper mask. The cost is less than one month’s dues at the gym. [ David Hendley can be reached by e-mail at: david@farmpots.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.

For Sale • Ohio Slip. A natural glaze from a new deposit of clay in southwestern Ohio — a very clean and consistent material.

Comparable to Albany Slip. Ohio Slip matures at temperatures from cone 6 through cone 12. Prices: 10 lbs.@$.80/ lb.; 25 lbs.@$.70/lb.; 120 lbs.@$.60/lb.; 350 lbs.@$.50/lb. Family-owned; mined and processed by A&K Clay Co., LLC. Phone 937.379.1495, or visit our Web site at: www.akclay.com.

Opportunities • Ahead of the Need, an invitational exhibition to benefit the Craft Emergency Relief Fund (CERF). Curated by Lana Wilson & Anthony Schaller. Online Hosting: www.claylink.com (Charlie Cummings Gallery Web site). Exhibition dates: Saturday, April 5 through Wednesday, April 30, 2008.

• 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.

• 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.

tion to Frog Pond Pottery, PO Box 88, Pocopson, PA 19366.

• The National K-12 Ceramic Exhibition Foundation, Inc. in conjunction with NCECA and our Generous Sponsors invites you to attend our opening of The 11th Annual National K-12 Ceramic Exhibition March 19, 2008 at 4 pm at The Pittsburgh Convention Center. Entries for the 12th Annual National K-12 Ceramic Exhibition in Phoenix in 2009 may be submitted online this summer at: www.k12clay.org.

Travel

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.

Pottery Tours • The 16th Annual Minnesota Potters Studio Tour and Sale is anticipated by all who enjoy handmade pottery. May 10 & 11, 2008: 28 potters from 12 states at six hospitable studios. See map & more info at www.minnesotapotters.com or call 651/674-4555.

Tools for Potters • GlazeMaster™ glaze database and calculation software for Windows and Macs. $50.00 + $4.50 shipping in North America. Visit www. masteringglazes.com for a free trial download and more information. Or send your check or VISA/MC informa-

• 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.

• “Mata Ortiz Contact” — A one-stop connection to the incredible potters of Marta 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. Hands-on learning and uncommon, small-group travel among the ancestral masters.

Visit us at NCECA booth 512. Web: www.traditionsmexico.com, e-mail: traditionsmexico@yahoo.com.

• Tuscany Workshop: May 25th June 7th. Focus will be on drinking vessels. No throwing skills required.

This two-week course also includes trips to local beauty spots, special dinners, wine tasting, cooking classes, and more. For more information, contact afarabow@hotmail.com or visit www.danfinch.com.

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

210.494.8633.

• 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.

• 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 all firing temperatures and atmospheres. continued on next page

CLAYTIMES·COM n MARCH/APRIL 2008

• Gary Hootman: Kiln Opening and Pottery Sale. On Wednesday, March 12, 2008, at 6 pm Pacific time, Vasefinder.com will be launching an online kiln opening and sale for woodfire potter Gary Hootman of Swisher, Iowa. Please see Vasefinder.com Events for more information.

• Potters for Peace — Potters for Peace works in the developing world offering technical and design assistance to potters and training in the fabrication of inexpensive Ceramic Water Purifiers. Get to know us at NCECA, visit our table in the non-profit area of the exhibition hall. www.pottersforpeace.com.

Resources I Classified Marketplace

Classified Marketplace

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Resources I Classified Marketplace

Classified Marketplace Videos & Books, cont.

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

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

Workshops • Grand Junction, Colorado, May 3 & 4: “Techniques in Carving and Throwing in Porcelain Clay” with Tom and Elaine Coleman. Fee $275 Members/ $250 Non-Members. Contact csilverman@gjartcenter.org or call 970-243-7337 ext 6, The Art Center. Registration Deadline April 1.

• “Revealing Glazes Workshop” by Ian Currie of Queensland, Australia will be given at Dan Finch Pottery, Bailey, NC April 5-6. This is a hands on workshop and all materials are provided. Ian will teach his very effective grid method of developing glazes. His two books will also be available. Saturday dinner provided. For more info contact afarabow@hotmail.com or go to www. danfinch.com.

• Rocky Mountain High: 1-2 week summer ceramics workshops near Aspen.Choose from 17 different ceramics workshops employing a wide variety of media and techniques. 2008 Anderson Ranch Ceramics faculty includes Gail Kendall, Mark Pharis, Juan Quezada, Stan Welsh, Val Cushing, Tip Toland, and more. Call 970.923.3181 x201, e-mail info@andersonranch.org, or see www.andersonranch.org/workshops/ for full details.

clay workshops

June 1- August 9

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summer

CLAYTIMES·COM n MARCH/APRIL 2008

20 08

Two-Weeks Jason Hess & visiting artist Daniel Murphy

One Week Bruce Cochrane Sam Chung Andrew Martin Nick Joerling Jane Shellenbarger Virginia Scotchie Mikey Walsh Apply now for summer studio assistantships work study | scholarships application deadline: April1

556 Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN

(865) 436-5860 info@arrowmont.org

w w w . a r r o w m o n t . o r g

continued from p. 63

• 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 817.326.4210.

• vanPrice Studio: April 26 & 27, Karen vanPrice—Raku & Aluminum Foil Saggar. Fee $100.00. May 10 & 11, Lana Wilson. Fee: $125.00. May 12 thru 18, Karen vanPrice—Intensive Handbuilding and Coiling. Fee: $650.00. June 28 & 29, Cindy Teyro— Whimsical Clay. Fee: $75.00. Call Karen at 928.443.9723 for additional info.

• vanPrice Studio will host a Rio Rewards PMC Certification class, sponsored by Rio Grande, from 9 to 5 PM., April 11, 12, & 13, 2008. Taught

by Tonya Davidson, well-known author and PMC expert, the class will be held at 2057 Heavenly Place, Prescott, AZ. Call toll-free 866.346.2698 or e-mail education@riogrande.com for additional information. [

Rudy Autio, David Shaner, & Ken Ferguson

W

hy books? It may seem like a silly question, but in this day of the Internet, that question is still asked. Who needs books when we can surf the net, “Google” a name or idea, or find what we need to know on Wikipedia? Who needs books when everything we need is on DVD? In this age of the paperless society, why waste paper on books when all we need is a computer, a monitor, and a highspeed connection?

For some, there is no turning back. For others, the book is, and always will be, an object to observe, hold, and marvel. The act of feeling the pages we turn, the physical journey from front cover to back, engages us. The book is timeless. It occupies space; it has presence. It exists whether or not you are reading it. It sits on your shelf, ready to react to your reach. Books record, chronicle, teach, review, remind, advise, and influence.

They inspire, entertain, affect, enlighten, and soothe. Books stir emotions. They remember and they bind us to past events.

They forever memorialize the lives and contributions of individuals, allowing us to meet, visit, and get to know people whose paths we never cross. Books are tangible.

They serve as legacies.

Reading Rudy Autio is like following the history of contemporary American ceramics. His founding of the Archie Bray Foundation with Peter Voulkos in

Following the Rhythms of Life: The Ceramic Art of David Shaner is a lovely book and a wonderful tribute to an artist with a warm, kind, and gentle demeanor but whose dedication, intent, and passion were intense and second to none. Peter Held and Jack Troy each knew David and came to their friendships from somewhat disparate origins. One of the strengths of the book is their cooperative effort to bring David’s story forward. There is obvious respect, almost reverence, toward the artist, yet there is not a hint of vanity or undeserved distinction or admiration. Reading the book opened my eyes to the creative process that Shaner practiced his whole life. His influences were many and surprisingly diverse: from the sculptors Constantin Brancusi and Henry Moore to the varied arts of Isamu Noguchi to the photographs of Ansel Adams, Andreas Feninger, and Edward Weston. He was drawn to the pottery of Nampeyo and Maria Martinez and even had the fortune to meet the American

painter and potter Henry Varnum Poor—who had a profound influence on Shaner’s notion that a career as an artist was possible. They all affected his view of the world and his art.

The writing is clear and concise, and it flows easily and comfortably. Interspersed are contributions, quotes, and anecdotes shared by others who knew David or whose professional lives he touched. These additional contributions and experiences offer further insight and valuable perspective that serve to narrow the gap between an artist of Shaner’s magnitude, and the reader hoping to learn as much as they can. There are 66 color photos; 20 of them are glorious full-page images of Shaner’s work. Following The Rhythms of Life: The Ceramic Art of David Shaner is a book that will occupy you, engage you, teach you, and inspire you. Yes, the artist deserves your attention, and this book encourages that. (Following The Rhythms of Life: The Ceramic Art of David Shaner, edited by Peter Held with essays by Jack Troy and Peter Held and contributions from Conan Putnam and Hollis Walker. Hardcover, $40.)

Ken Ferguson: Talking with the Wheel is in some ways the most personal of the three books.

The four contributors, eminent professionals in their fields, each shared an emotional connection to Ferguson. It is clear in their words.

The shared authorship brings a diversity of perspectives that flow in and out of each other, weaving a story so complete that it would be hard to imagine the book being conceived in any other way. Garth Clark offers a short, yet substantial, biography of the man. His writing is filled with individuality and a closeness that is comfortable for us as outsiders to connect with. Peter von Ziegesar focuses on Ferguson the man; his personality, demeanor, style, and presence. He effectively, and with great perception, ties Ferguson’s art to his blue-collar upbringing, practical nature, and personality, while never losing touch

CLAYTIMES·COM n MARCH/APRIL 2008

Rudy Autio, David Shaner, and Ken Ferguson are potters whose lives, accomplishments, and contributions to our craft must be learned and appreciated. Rudy passed away last year, Ken in 2004, and David in 2002. I am lucky to have shared thoughts and conversations with all three over the years. In many ways each was larger than life, yet they were all as regular and “normal” as you or me.

Thankfully we have their books to hold, to treasure, and to help us remember.

1951 is certainly one of the single most important contributions and accomplishments in American ceramics. Louana Lackey’s writing style is comfortable, if not downright friendly. She has told Autio’s story with a good balance of reverence and informal humanity. Her love of the craft, its history and significance to 20th century art, and respect for Autio are clearly expressed. She has done an excellent job of presenting the reader with a personal story of the man without too much tedium. The load of insights into the artist’s character makes reading Rudy Autio special. Louana and Rudy were good friends whose love, respect, and cooperation for each other made this book possible. Sadly, Louana passed away in 2005. Rudy Autio is not just a loving tribute to one of the most important potters of the 20th century. In words and glorious color photos of his claywork, drawings and prints, this is a significant book not to be missed. (Rudy Autio by Louana Lackey, American Ceramic Society. Hardcover, $65.)

review by steven branfman

Resources I Books & Videos

Three Icons of Contemporary American Ceramics

65

Resources I Books & Videos

with Ferguson’s intellectual and analytical disposition. Views into his emotional and sensitive nature provide us even more knowledge and understanding.

On three separate days over a period of eight months, family friend Ted Rowland sat and talked with Ferguson about studio life, and about the many decisions that an artist makes while alone in the studio. The excerpts from those conversations offer us a rare view into the artist’s thought process, and the way creativity and expression formulates, and is communicated through, art and craft. Rowland’s questions are probing and provocative.

Ferguson’s answers are intelligent, thoughtful, earthy, and above all, generous. There are no secrets. There is no hidden agenda. There is a palpable honesty in the artist’s words. Thankfully, Rowland has thought to present the reader with the eulogy that he delivered at the artist’s memorial service.

Well-known art critic, curator, and director of the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation, John

Perrault offers a critical analysis of Ferguson’s ceramic history and his huge body of work.

He discusses the various phases of the artist’s development, delves deep into meaning and significance, and examines influences, reactions, and consequences.

The writing is insightful and personal, and throughout the book, friends and colleagues of Ferguson offer their thoughts and share their experiences. Pages are filled with personal photos of Ken, his wife Gertrude, places they have been, Ken at the wheel, and of course his magnificent pottery. The combined efforts of these four writers are more than enough to satisfy the telling of Ken Ferguson’s story. Yet Ken Ferguson: Talking with the Wheel contains a treat, an added bonus, and a chapter that ties everything together. “Digging A Deep Well” is a compilation of Ken Ferguson’s writings and conversations. Having the opportunity to “hear” his own words unencumbered by the interviewer’s questions is an honor. I suspect that if asked, Ken would have wanted it this way. (Ken Ferguson; Talking with the Wheel by

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L & L Kilns Larkin Refractory Solutions Manabigama Kiln Plans Master Kiln Builders Metchosin School Mid-South Ceramic Supply MKM Pottery Tools Muddy Elbow Mfg./Soldner Wheels Odyssey Center for the Arts Olympic Kilns Ox-Bow School of Art Paragon Industries PCF Studios Penryn Art Gallery Peter Pugger Peters Valley Craft Center Saint-Gobain Ceramics School Arts Magazine Scott Creek/Clay Art Center Sheffield Pottery Sierra Nevada College Skutt Ceramic Products Soldner Book Signings Spectrum Glazes Thomas Stuart Wheels Trinity Ceramic Supply Tucker’s Cone Art Kilns U.S. Pigment Corp. van Gilder Workshops Ward Burner Systems Wise Screenprint Xavier González Workshops

I would be remiss if I failed to highlight the Archie Bray connection that all three men shared: Autio as a founding resident artist, and Shaner and Ferguson as directors. Was it mere coincidence that three future potters of such importance went through the Bray, or did their individual experiences there do so much to shape their careers? Whatever the significance, Rudy Autio, David Shaner, and Ken Ferguson will live on in their work, their teaching, their writing, and in the minds of those who knew them. Take the opportunity to read these books, to learn about the men, and to embrace their influence. Allow it to slip into your work and attitudes, and you, too, will help ensure their legacies. [ 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.

$-": 500-4 3&'&3&/$& ."5&3*"-4

Index to Advertisers Aftosa 20 AMACO 67 Anderson Ranch Art Center 10 Appalachian Center for Crafts 23 Arrowmont School Arts & Crafts 64 Bailey Pottery Equipment 12 Beryl’s Cake Decorating Supplies 22 BigCeramicStore.com 32 Bracker’s Good Earth Clays 14 Buyers Market of American Craft 22 Carolina Clay Connection 56 Cedar Heights Clay/Resco 34 Ceramic Review 10 Ceramic Supply Chicago 56 Clay Times Products 31, 60 Clayworks Supplies 61 Continental Clay Co. 20 The Cookie Cutter Shop 60 Del Val Potter’s Supply 22 Dolan Tools 22 Euclid’s Elements 4 Flat Rock Clay Supplies 60 Georgies Ceramic & Clay Center 24 Giffin Tec 7 Graber's Pottery, Inc. 56 Great Lakes Clay & Supply Co. 60 Guild Sourcebooks 3 Herring Designs 55 Hood College 22 Japan Pottery Tools 61 John C. Campbell Folk School 10 The Kiln Doctor 14

Garth Clark, John Perreault, Ted Rowland, Peter von Ziegesar and Ken Ferguson. Silver Gate Inc. Hardcover, $45.)

2 27 32 66 56 33 15 28 17 24 9 24 66 20 3 23 64 27 33 56 61 68 15 16 6 58 26 27 60 66 56 61

New Instructional DVD $69.95 + $4 S/H

PO Box 722 Honeoye, NY 14471 585-229-2976

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865.397-2914 info@wardburner.com

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”I’ve had my brent for over thirty years.

That’s a lot of miles without a repair.

I wish they made cars like that.” ®

Ron Korczynski Artist and Educator Natrona Heights, PA

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.

COME SEE US AT NCECA: BOOTHS 301, 303, AND 305

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