Clay Times Magazine Volume 12 • Issue 67

Clay cerAMic

Art

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Spray Equipment for Ceramic Slips & Glazes Deborah Shapiro’s Secrets to Eye-catching Pots & Displays Dynamite Formulas for Crystalline Glazing Mixed Media: Jan Jacque Joins Clay with Wood

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Marc Lancet Leads Tahoe’s Sierra Nevada College to a New Beginning

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Otto Heino’s Yellow Glaze: The Legend Lives On

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Amaco® offers 541 LEAD-FREE glazes and underglazes.

To order an Amaco® retro T-shirt like Jim’s, visit www.buyamaco.com.

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contents

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TIMES

Clay

November/December 2006 • Volume 12, Number 6 courtney frisse

Following his successful replication of a prized “lost” Asian high-fire yellow glaze, California potter Otto Heino has become a living legend—with a very notable following of real-life collectors. To find out why, turn to page 34.

features 34 Otto Heino: Is he Really a Millionaire Potter?

Many have doubted the story behind this 91-year-old’s financial success in the clay world; so CT editor Polly Beach visited him in person to see if she could set the record straight ...

42 A Sense of Balance Oregon potter Deborah Shapiro shares her secrets to beautiful pots and an eye-catching display.

46 Buying Spray Equipment From spray booths to airbrushes, here’s an in-depth look at what to consider before you purchase spray equipment for glaze & slip application.

Pair of Flower Vases by Deborah Shapiro. Wheel-thrown porcelain fired to cone 10 in oxidation. Story appears on page 42.

workshops 18 Crystalline Glaze Workshops 2005-2006 A group of potters meet in Palm Springs to experiment with crystalline glazing formulas and techniques.

38 The Way of Clay Mark Lancet leads participants in traditional Japanese forming techniques at Sierra Nevada College, Lake Tahoe, Nevada.

50 A Perfect Marriage: Jan Jacque’s Mixed Media Forms of Clay & Wood When her woodworker boyfriend dropped into her life, this handbuilder opened up her thinking —and her product line—to a new medium.

Slab-built platter by Marc Lancet. Fired to cone 10 in reduction during the final workshop at Sierra Nevada College’s Luria ceramic studio. Details on page 38.

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contents

TIMES

Clay November/December 2006 • Volume 12, Number 6

Tango in Green by Jan Jacque. 15" x 16" x 3". Multiple-fired white earthenware with cherry wood. Story appears on page 50.

departments

columns

11 EDITOR’S DESK

23 AS FAR AS I KNOW

Clay-related gift options in time for the holidays

“Tae Kwon Potter”

by Pete Pinnell

13 YOUR WORDS

27 BENEATH THE SURFACE

Letters from our readers

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

This spray gun offered by Bailey Pottery Equipment features quart-size plastic containers to hold a considerable amount of glaze or slip. Complete information on what to consider when buying spray equipment begins on page 46.

Striking crystalline formulas & more

54 THE GALLERY A selection of new works by CT readers

“Making Goblets”

by Bill van Gilder

59 TOOL TIMES “Hands & Tools: Shaping Your Message”

by Vince Pitelka

61 KILNS & FIRING “Instruments for Measuring Temperature, Part II” by Marc Ward

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

62 STUDIO HEALTH & SAFETY

67 POTTERY CLASSES Where you can learn claywork in the United States and Canada

“Lead Glazes in Schools”

by Monona Rossol

65 BOOKS & VIDEOS

72 CLASSIFIED MARKETPLACE

“Wheel-Thrown Pottery” review by Steven Branfman

Goods and services offered especially for active clay artists

29 TEACHING TECHNIQUES

SARAH HOLDEN PHOTO

53 GREAT GLAZES

On the cover: Ojai, California potter Otto Heino poses with his yellow-glazed pot.

Story begins on page 34. Photo by Polly Beach.

“Techniques & Inspiration”

by Lana Wilson & Janis Mars Wunderlich

74 AROUND THE FIREBOX Vase by Tom Wallick, one of numerous participants in Crystalline Glaze Workshops 2005-2006. Mink glaze sprayed over Amber.

Glaze formula on page 53; story on page 18.

“Dancing About Architecture”

by David Hendley

When Adam Silverman went to work in Mashiko, Japan the only tool he brought was a Giffin Grip. giffingrip.com

ceramic art trends, tools & techniques

®

magazine

TIMES

Clay

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

CLAyTIMES·COM n November/December 2006

Clay Times® (ISSN 1087-7614) is published bimonthly, six issues per year. Periodicals Postage Paid at Waterford, VA, and at additional mailing offices. Annual subscriptions are available for $30 in the U.S.; $36 in Canada; $55 elsewhere (must be payable in US$). To subscribe, call toll-free 1-800-356-2529, or visit www. claytimes.com.

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

POSTMASTER: Address service requested. Send address changes to: Clay Times, PO Box 365, Waterford, VA 20197-0365. Copyright © 2006 Clay Times, Inc. All rights reserved. The material contained herein is derived from various sources and does not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. All technical material is offered as general information only and should not be acted upon without expert supervision. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the publisher.

by PoLLy beAcH

A

s the holidays draw ever closer, we face the annual challenge of providing our loved ones with the gifts of their dreams. Lucky for our loved ones, the ability to locate the perfect gifts for most of us—active clay artists, that is—is easier now than ever.

With the convenience of shopping at home via ceramic-related Web sites (check out the online store at www.claytimes.com!), catalogs, and (of course) pottery magazines, those soughtafter potter’s books, tools, equipment, and accessories are easily located and purchased with the click of a computer mouse.

Looking For Something?

Search Clay Times Online

So this holiday season, support the growth of your claywork and the ceramic community: When shopping for fellow clay artists or when someone asks what you’d like to receive as a holiday gift, direct them to our advertisers (see the index on page 73 of this issue) or visit the Clay Times store at www.claytimes.com to select from new books, T-shirts, potter’s tools, Clay Times subscriptions, renewals, back issues, and more.

Your valued support will help us all continue to serve you for years to come. Happy holidays! [

your clay question_

Find

Check out the COMPREHENSIVE Clay Times index by using the search box at

www.claytimes.com

spouting off I Editor’s Desk

Resources for Holiday Gift-giving

But it hasn’t always been that easy. I remember back in 1995, when Clay Times emerged as a fledgling newsletter, how difficult it could be to find goods and services for clay artists. At that time, if you didn’t have a local ceramics supplier and you wanted to find, say, a book on pottery, the search could be quite extensive.

In my own quest to expand my knowledge on pottery, I can recall numerous occasions when I walked into my local book store or library and was disappointed to find only a handful of titles relating to ceramics. More often than not, those few titles available addressed ceramic collectibles, or the history of ceramics.

Books on processes like wheel-throwing, handbuilding, glazing, or firing were rare and hard to find.

CLAyTIMES·COM n November/December 2006

What a publishing explosion has taken place since then! During the past several years, more and more national book publishers have finally taken an interest in pottery. At least once a month, a promo copy of a new title shows up on my desk. It’s so exciting to see the field of ceramics being taken more and more seriously, and rewarding for all of us as the interest in claywork spreads into the mainstream. The more available that pottery books become, the more people learn about clay. The more people learn about clay, the greater the demand for clay-related goods and services. As more goods and services for clay artists become available, the better the selection from which to choose, and the more competitive the prices become for us, the artists. It’s a win-win situation!

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$250

12

In Appreciation I enjoyed reading Mac Ward’s astute article on my handbuilt claywork, and would like to add a note of appreciation for a couple of my eastern North Carolina neighbors.

The two unglazed, wood-fired pieces shown in the article were fired at Dan Finch’s modified anagama kiln in nearby Bailey. Dan’s big workshop is a magnet for local potters, and I am glad for the chance to be part of the group.

The fly-ash-saturated surfaces were achieved in the richly turbulent atmosphere of Dan’s kiln, a product of its long firing cycle.

Since 1999, photographer Ron Sowers of Rocky Mount has documented a few of my pieces each year. His sensitive use of light and shadow, combined with his perceptive framing, have made him a trusted visual chronicler of my work. An outstanding art photographer in his own right, Ron currently has a solo show at the Rocky Mount Art Center. All photos included in the CT article were taken by Ron.

been that I really have very few other ceramic artists/mothers to relate to. None of my pottery friends and idols are moms, so they can go do residencies, travel to shows, and work whenever they want. (Pretty much my whole blog is about being a mom and a potter. Writing seems very therapeutic!)

Last summer, I did have the opportunity to do a week-long workshop with Linda Christianson, who is also a mom and one of my idols.

I got to pick her brain about being a mother, as well as the challenge of trying to make it in this business. Thanks to your columns, I now feel at ease with being a mom and potter, and feel like I know all these women personally. Thank you so much, and thanks to all the moms who wrote down their experiences. I have soaked it all in, related to each one, and breathed a sigh of relief that I’m not the only one!

Jennifer Mecca, via e-mail [

Spouting Off I Letters

Your Words

Sunset in West Texas

I would like to clarify one technical point: the clay used for these pieces does not accept any significant stretching or bending. I generally use “impact” to form shapes, except for the press-molded modular forms that are later assembled. In other words, this clay mixture does not bend, twist, or stretch. This awareness may help other clayworkers avoid pitfalls with their experimentation.

Mark Gordon • Wilson, North Carolina

Mud Mamas

Two years after I had my son, I found out I was expecting twins. With all my children, I worked up to the day they were born. I am now going on my sixth year of being a studio potter and a mother, trying to juggle it all. All this time I’ve been working, my biggest issue has

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

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CLAyTIMES·COM n November/December 2006

I have wanted to respond to the “Mud Mamas” articles ever since the first one came out a few issues ago ... I can’t tell you how much I needed something like this to read!

I am a potter with three children under the age of 6 (two of whom are twins). When I got out of grad school, I was ready to hit the ground running and “make it big,” so to say.

I got married a month after I did my thesis show, and got pregnant—all in the same year.

I knew that if I gave up throwing and stopped entering juried shows, I would find myself out of the loop.

13

d

What’s Hot ceramic art world news • events • calls for entries

tural ceramics by current and recent Bray resident artists including Jennifer Allen, Melissa Mencini, Tara Wilson, Rosalie Wynkoop, Joe Pintz, Koi Neng Liew, Andrea Marquis, Josh DeWeese, Deborah Schwartzkopf, Christina West, Jesse Potts, and new Resident Artist Director, Steven Young Lee.

Conferences ‰

The 22nd Alabama Clay Conference will take place February 2-4, 2007 at the University of North Alabama campus in Florence, AL. The annual conference will feature lectures, exhibitions, and demonstrations by artists Linda Arbuckle, Sandra Blain, Bill van Gilder, and Lisa Orr.

The event will continue through December 23. Gallery hours are Monday-Friday, 10 am to 5 pm, and Sundays 1-5 pm. For more information, contact Emily at (406) 443-3502, ext. 18.

Pre-registration for the conference is $110 through December 30th ($45 for students).

On-site registration will be $135 ($55 for students). For further details, visit www. alclayconference.org or write to 1809 N. Wood Ave., Florence, AL 35630.

•

The Billings Holiday Exhibition and Sale will be held December 1-2 at the Bill McIntosh Gallery, 2507 Montana Ave, Billings, MT, 59101. An opening reception will be held on Friday, December 1 from 5-9 pm, and the sale will continue Saturday, December 2 from 10 am-4 pm. For details, call (406) 252-2010.

Art Sales ‰

CLAyTIMES·COM n November/December 2006

The 28th Annual Women’s Building Celebration of Craftswomen takes place the weekends of November 25-26 and December 2-3 at the Fort Mason Center’s Herbst Pavilion in San Francisco, California.

14

Burnt Offering XVIII by Celebration of Craftswomen participant Judy Stone.

San Francisco’s largest holiday fine crafts retail fair, The Celebration of Craftswomen offers both contemporary and traditional handcrafted items as well as fine art.

Featured are functional and decorative ceramic and glass vessels, plus works in many other media.

Detail of work by Celebration of Craftswomen participant Barbara Sebastian.

The Herbst Pavilion is located at Buchanan Street and Marina Boulevard. The show is open 10 am-5 pm daily and features a changing roster of more than 150 different artists each weekend (over 300 artists total). Oneday admission is $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and students, and free for children ages 12 and under. Two-day passes are available for $14 and may be used any two days on either weekend. For tickets or more information, telephone (415) 431-1180, ext. 15, or visit www.celebrationofcraftswomen.org.

‰ The Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramics Arts, located at 2915 Country Club Avenue in Helena, Montana, presents the following holiday exhibitions/sales:

•

The Bray Holiday Exhibition and Sale opens with a public reception on Thursday, November 16 from 6-8 p.m. The Exhibition and Sale features functional and sculp-

•

The Bozeman Holiday Exhibition and Sale will be held at the Emerson Center for Arts and Culture, 111 S. Grand, Bozeman, MT 59715. An opening reception will be held on Friday, December 8 from 5-9 pm, and the sale will continue Saturday, December 9 from 10 am-4 pm. To learn more, call (406) 587-9797 or visit the Web site at www.archiebray.org.

Workshops ‰

The Carbondale Clay Center in Colorado will host a raku workshop with Jim Romberg February 24-25, 2007. Internationally renowned for his work in the realm of ceramic art and raku, Romberg will demonstrate techniques on and off the wheel while leading participants in alternative firing techniques.

The Carbondale Clay Center is located at 135 Main Street, Carbondale, CO 81623. For more information, call (970) 963-2529 or visit www. carbondaleclay.org.

‰ Traditions Mexico offers tours and workshops focusing on the artisans and folk artists of Oaxaca and neighboring states in southern Mexico. A 10-day pre-Columbian woodfiring workshop and exchange will take place in the indigenous Zapotec and Mixtec villages December 31, 2006 through January 8, 2007.

Participants will not only learn from master potters, but will also help with firing and surface treatment experimentation, as well as help traditional Mexican masters gain exposure to outside ideas and techniques.

For more information on this workshop/ exchange and on other tours and workshops, visit www.traditionsmexico.com.

New Ceramic Acquisitions ‰ The Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art at The University of Oklahoma has announced a major gift of ceramic art from the collection of Harrison Jedel of Kansas City, Missouri.

Adding substantially to the museum’s holdings of work by artists such as Ken Ferguson and Paul Soldner, “The gift also deepens the breadth of the ceramics collection as a whole with the addition of work by artists new to the museum: Shoji Hamada, Jim Leedy, John Gill, John Glick, and others,” says Eric Lee, Museum Director.

For further details, call (405) 325-3272 or visit www.ou.edu/fjjma.

Ceramics Exhibitions ‰ Bulldog Pottery of Seagrove, North Caroli-

Featured works range from wood-fired stoneware to polished porcelain, both handbuilt and wheel-turned, with variations on every mode. The earth tones of the anagama kiln will be seen, along with the delicate filigree of fired paperclay and vessels with lively, patterned surfaces.

The exhibition will be on display until December 31. Gallery 31 North is located at Route 31 and Hunt Place in Glen Gardner, NJ 08826. Hours are Tuesday through Sunday, 12-6 pm. Call (908) 537-7044 or visit www. gallery31north.com for more information.

‰

“Our Cups Runneth Over,” a biannual celebration of ceramic cup forms, will be on display at the Society of Arts and Crafts in Boston, Massachusetts from November 4 through January 21, 2007.

Sixty artists from across the country will exhibit their interpretations of the cup—a humble form, yet one with endless functional and sculptural possibilities. Pieces range from teacups to tumblers and from limited production to one-of-a-kind cups.

The SAC is located at 175 Newbury Street in Boston, MA 02116. Hours are Monday through Saturday, 10 am-6 pm, and Sunday, 12-5 pm.

For further details, telephone (617) 266-1810, ext. 13, or visit www.societyofcrafts.org.

‰

“Ruth Duckworth, Modernist Sculptor” will be exhibited at The Renwick Gallery in Washington, DC through January 15, 2007.

The Nature Art Gallery is located at 11 West Jones Street, Raleigh, NC 27601. To find out more, call (919) 733-7450, ext. 360, or visit the Web sites at www.bulldogpottery.com or www. naturalsciences.org.

The Renwick is located on Pennsylvania Avenue at 17th Street in northwest Washington; and is open daily, 10 am-5:30 pm.Tours may be arranged by calling (202) 275-1693. For further information, call (202) 633-2850 or visit the Web site at http://americanart.si.edu/renwick/ index.cfm.

‰

‰

Gallery 31 North in Glen Gardner, New Jersey, is hosting “Claybash!”—an exhibition of contemporary functional ceramics—as a benefit for the Hunterdon Museum of Art.

Red Lodge Clay Center in Montana will present an exhibition of new works by Boomer Moore in November. An opening reception will be held on Friday, November 3 from 5-8 pm.

CLAyTIMES·COM n November/December 2006

na, presents the works of Bruce Gholson and Samantha Henneke at the Natural Sciences Museum in Raleigh. More than 100 works by these artists are on display in the museum’s Nature Art Gallery through November 26.

Among the artists in the show are: Jerry Bennett, Peter Callas, Chrissy Callas, Marty Fielding, Julia Galloway, Chris Gryder, Chris Gustin, Ron Hand, Ayumi Horie, Shizue Imai, Alec Karros, Liz Kinder, Jeffrey Kleckner, Heeseung Lee, Allison McGowan, Willi Singleton, Rob Sutherland, Jack Troy, and Jordan Taylor. These artists have been recognized for their extraordinary creativity and individuality, and many are represented in important museum collections.

hot stuff I News & Events

Trips

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Hot Stuff I News & Events

Throughout December, “Holiday Show 2006” will follow, featuring works by Robert Briscoe, Sam Chung, Bernadette Curran, Sarah Jaeger, Paul McCoy, Warren MacKenzie, Ron Meyers, Jeff Oestreich, Steve Roberts, Jan Schachter, Bonnie Seaman, Andy Shaw, Gay Smith, and others to be announced.

‰ “40 Under 40” opens The Clay Place exhibit season at a new location: 1 Walnut Street in Carnegie, Pennsylvania 15106. The exhibition features 40 ceramic works by 40 artists under 40 years of age, and runs through November 25.

Red Lodge Clay Center is located at 123 South Broadway, Red Lodge, MT 59068.

“40 Over 40” will follow, opening December 1st and continuing through Saturday, January 27, 2007 with 40 ceramic works by 40 artists over the age of 40.

More information may be found online at www.redlodgeclaycenter.com, or by calling (406) 446-3993.

For complete lists of participating artists, visit the Web site at www.clayplace.com. The

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Introducing our new Low-Stone 900 Series colors.

We’re coming out with 36 brand new colors for our most popular low-fire glaze line. As always they are lead-free and dinnerware safe. Each color will work with the existing colors to create new layered effects. Watch this space for pictures of the other 18 new colors and some great new layering ideas.

Clay Place may be reached by telephone at (412) 276-3260, or via e-mail at clayplace1@ aol.com. Gallery hours are Monday through Saturday from 10:30 am to 5 pm, and by appointment.

Calls for Entries January submissions deadlines

‰

The National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) 2007 is now accepting applications for “By the Ounce,” an exhibition in celebration of Kentucky bourbon—open to all ceramic shot glasses.

The exhibition will be juried by John Neely.

Entry deadline is January 1, 2007. A fee of $15 is required for up to four images (accepted on CD only).

“By the Ounce” will be held during the 41st Annual NCECA conference in Louisville, KY, March 12-16, 2007. Cash awards include: $800 for first place, $500 for second place, and $300 for third place. For more information and an application, e-mail Lindsay at aoesterritter@yahoo.com.

‰

The Guilford Art Center is calling for submissions to the Biennial Exhibition of North American (Functional) Clay. The exhibition will be juried by Val Cushing and will take place from May 4 through June 17, 2007.

The entry deadline is January 26. A fee of $25 is required for up to three submissions, slide format only.

CLAyTIMES·COM n November/December 2006

Each artist may submit up to three functional pieces or sets. Each work may be represented by two separate images: one full view and one detail. All entries must be non-production work executed within the past two years. Size may not exceed 30" in any direction or 20 lbs. in weight.

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E-mail gallery@guilfordartcenter.org for a prospectus, write to The Guilford Art Center, 411 Church Street, Guilford, CT 06437, or call (203) 453-5947, ext. 12. Further information may be found online at www.guilfordart center.org.

‰

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929 to 932 P.O. Box 874 Lewiston, NY US 14092-0874

933 to 937

938 to 943

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

Target Gallery of Alexandria, Virginia is accepting submissions for “Roots and Branches,” an all-media show exploring ancestry, migration, and history. The show date is March 24-April 29, 2007; submission deadline is January 3, 2007. For a prospectus, visit www.torpedofactory.org or call (703) 838-4565, ext. 4.

‰

The Lincoln Arts Culture Foundation, in Lincoln, California, announces its annual call for entries to the “Feats of Clay XX” exhibition.

This is the 20th year of “Feats of Clay,” one of the nation’s most prestigious and unique ceramic contests. The call is extended to artists working in the United States and its territories, and—for the first time—to artists in Mexico and Canada.

The exhibition will be held from April 28th to May 27th, 2007. The application deadline is February 9th.

of the work. Both functional and sculptural forms are encouraged. Work must fit through a standard door frame and weight must fall within a range easily handled by two people. Accepted works must be for sale, available for the duration of the exhibit, and made within the last two years.

The Artery is located at 207 G Street, Davis, CA 95616 and may be contacted by phone at (530) 758-8330 or by e-mail artery@davis.com.

More information is also available online at www.arteryart.com. [

NH White Mountains: 4BR,2BA house with attached 1,100 ft² barn & detached 2-car garage on 3.2 acres, 430 ft. water frontage. Located in Chocorua Village on busy NH 16.

Ideal location for studio/shop & raising family. View at www. forsalebyowner.com ad # 20706071 or (603) 323-3375.

Hot Stuff I News & Events

February submissions deadlines

Submissions will be juried from slides; submission fees are as follows: $15 for one entry, $25 for two entries, and $30 for three entries.

Awards total nearly $21,000 in place, merit, and purchase awards.

For a prospectus, send a #10 SASE to Lincoln Arts, 540 F Street, Lincoln, CA 95648, call (916) 6459713, or visit the Web site at www. lincolnarts.org.

‰ The Artery of Davis, California is now accepting submissions for the 2007 California Clay Competition, to be held April 27 through June 2, 2007.

Home of the Artists’ Cooperative of Davis, The Artery has sponsored the Competition since 1990, giving California ceramic artists an opportunity to display their work during the California Conference for the Advancement of Ceramic Art (CCACA).

Submission of slides, fees, and entry form must be postmarked by February 20, 2007. A $15 non-refundable fee is required for each entry. Entry forms may be accompanied by up to three slides per entry.

All submissions must be made of either clay or mixed media, with clay being the major emphasis

CLAyTIMES·COM n November/December 2006

Jim Melchert will serve as this year’s juror. The competition is open to all artists living in California. Approximately 35 works will be accepted from an expected 400 entries.

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Hot Stuff I Crystalline Glazing

Crystalline Glaze Workshops 2005-06 STORY by DIANE CREBER • IMAGES BY SARAH HOLDEN

Vase by Ginny Conrow, with “Gold Stuff” glaze.

Gold Stuff

CLAyTIMES·COM n November/December 2006

è

18

used by Ginny Conrow

Frit GF106 Calcined Zinc Oxide Silica (325 mesh) TOTAL add Bentonite Rutile Ilmenite

68.42% 24.13 7.45 100.0% 2.0% 5.0% 3.0%

Fired with a neutral/reduction atmosphere in a Geil auto-damper kiln.

C

rystalline glaze potters have benefited greatly by recent advancements in computer technology.

By being able to pre-set firing programs, firings have become less labor-intensive and more accurate, encouraging more potters to experiment with these glazes.

Consequently, there has been far more development in crystalline glazes in the last few years than in the past. A variety of events have recently taken place to bring crystalline glaze potters together to explore this evolving art and technology.

In September 2005, Jesse Hull organized LatticeStructures™, a conference and

exhibition of crystalline glazing in Kansas City, Missouri. This two-day event brought together more than 100 potters for discussions and exchanges of ideas.

An exhibition was held simultaneously in the gallery at Red Star Studios. The gathering generated such enthusiasm among the participants that a subsequent conference was held again this year.

The second gathering was a five-day workshop held in May at the studio of Kris Friedrich in Palm Springs, California. Together with Peter Ilsley, John Tilton, Jesse Hull, and Glen Doyle, Friedrich planned the workshop and pre-mixed the glazes, although participants were

Hot Stuff I Crystalline Glazing

Dusty Rose

è

furnished by Peter Ilsley

Ferro Frit 3110 Zinc Oxide EPK Amorphous Silica Titanium Dioxide TOTAL add Bentonite Copper Carbonate

48.40% 24.35 1.50 17.95 7.80 100.0% 2.0% 2.0%

Fired in an oxidation crystalline firing peaking at 2340° F, followed by a second reduction firing descending from 1450° F.

also encouraged to mix their own. Guest potter Peter Ilsley from Daventry, England led the group of 22 invited potters and showed slides of his work, shared new glaze recipes and firing schedules, and demonstrated making a portable gas-fired kiln.

Each participant brought several bisque pots to glaze and fire in Friedrich’s many kilns.

His colleague, Tom Wallick, fired the kilns late into the night. The studio was equipped with four electric kilns, two gas (one a large car kiln), and a gas raku kiln for post-firing reduction. We also had use of a spray booth, and anything else one would need for doing crystalline glazes.

Interestingly enough, we found that one glaze could give a variety of results depending on its firing atmosphere. For instance, a glaze containing 2% copper carbonate first fired in oxidation in the electric kiln resulted in green

crystals on a green background. The same glaze fired in slight reduction in the gas kiln resulted in a mirror-like surface with a grey background and golden tan crystals. Up until recently, most crystalline potters have avoided reduction when growing the crystals because it was thought to interfere with crystal growth. However, by introducing slight reduction toward the end of the crystal-growing phase, we found it possible to have crystals in combination with effects unique to reduction firing.

A pot first fired in the electric kiln and re-fired in a reducing atmosphere in the raku kiln resulted in a pink back-

ground with bright red crystals. This effect was achieved by first taking the temperature to 1500° F, then dropping to 1300° F in a reduction atmosphere.

More interesting results came from Jesse Hull’s experiments with glazes containing silver nitrate and small amounts of other oxides. The first electric firing left them looking rather flat … but after re-firing in the raku kiln in heavy reduction, the results were spectacular! A mirror finish with crystals of rainbow translucence could be seen, and as the pots were turned, other subtle colorings emerged as well.

CLAyTIMES·COM n November/December 2006

Ilsley opened the workshop with a talk, followed by a planning meeting and constant juggling of activities as the workshop progressed. We glazed pots and shared ideas both one-on-one and in larger groups. Throughout the five days, we glazed and fired continuously. Whenever a kiln was opened, we gathered around to see the results—sometimes burning fingers with impatience! Discussions followed, results were compared, and new kiln loads were fired in turn.

Vase by Peter Ilsley, with “Dusty Rose” glaze.

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GINNY CONROW PHOTO

Hot Stuff I Crystalline Glazing

Although most of the participants were interested in achieving macro crystals, John Tilton and Marsha Silverman worked with crystalline mattes. Their results were so outstanding that many of us are now going to be experimenting with the matte glazes. Meanwhile, Tilton and Silverman also achieved some pretty exciting macro crystals, and plan to experiment with some of these glazes, too.

Workshop leader Peter Ilsley loads the post-fire reduction kiln.

Matt Evans, a potter who often works with Friedrich, demonstrated throwing large, tall vessels to be crystalline glazed. On another day, professional photographer Sarah Holden took photos of our work on black glass with indirect lighting bouncing off the walls. She discussed how to photograph pottery and how to deal with an unwanted glare from the shiny glaze surface. Kiln manufacturer Paul Geil visited the studio and demonstrated temperature control and the use of oxygen probes and controllers.

Working with other professional potters in this setting allowed ideas to flow, and the results were outstanding. I feel I learned more about this glaze process in five days than I have in the past five years!

I predict crystalline glazing will change dramatically, and it will be exciting to see where these potters take this process after experimenting together and sharing their results.

Gold Silver Nitrate è

furnished by Jesse Hull

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add Titanium Dioxide Silver Nitrate Cobalt Carbonate M.A.G.M.A. Binder

LEAH SHEA PHOTO

CLAyTIMES·COM n November/December 2006

Fusion Frit 75 Zinc Oxide Silica Grolleg Kaolin Calcined Alumina TOTAL

Vessel by Jesse Hull. Decorated with “Gold Silver Nitrate” glaze.

51.50% 23.50 22.00 1.00 2.00 100.00% 4.00% 5.00% 0.25% 0.30%

Fired in an oxidation atmosphere peaking at 2350° F, followed by a separate heavy reduction firing descending from 1500° F. Pedestal fired in oxidation with gloss and crackle glazes to cone 2, then masked and glass etched. Finial lid and pedestal accented with low-fire enamel and 18K gold.

Hot Stuff I Crystalline Glazing

The participants all have Kris Friedrich to thank for making this workshop possible, and inviting us to use his studio. He created a CD of the workshop’s results, so we will each have a lasting record of glazes used, kilns fired, firing schedules, and other useful information. By sharing our processes, each of us has come away richer in our knowledge of these fascinating glazes. [ Diane Creber is a full-time studio potter specializing in crystalline glazes. She is the author of Crystalline Glazes, published by A & C Black, London, England and The University of Pennsylvania Press, USA. She is also the author of numerous magazine articles and a forthcoming book, Potters in Residence.

For details concerning future crystalline glazing events, e-mail Jesse Hull at latticestructures@gmail.com.

Golden Snow/Snair 1 Base è

used by John Tilton

Ferro Frit 3110 Zinc Oxide EPK Amorphous Silica Titanium Dioxide TOTAL add Bentonite

48.40% 24.35 1.50 17.95 7.80 100.00%

Vase by John Tilton, glazed with “Golden Snow/Snair 1 Base.”

2.0%

Fired in a neutral/reducing atmosphere in an auto-damper kiln.

Crystalline Matte

è furnished by Mark & Scott Winner

MM Frit 4067 (German) Custer Feldspar Zinc Lead Bisilicate Amorphous Silica TOTAL

6.0% 1.1%

Fired in an oxidation crystalline firing peaking at 2345° F, with holds between 2100-1850° F.

è GLAZE SAFETY NOTE: Formulas marked with this check may be considered questionable for use on functional pottery.

Test thoroughly before using.

Vase by Mark and Scott Winner, with “Crystalline Matte” glaze.

CLAyTIMES·COM n November/December 2006

add Rutile Copper Carbonate

58.3% 15.9 12.1 8.4 5.3 100.0%

21

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Ditton Pottery

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CLAyTIMES·COM n November/December 2006

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exhibiting at the Buyers Market of American Craft, the only choice for spending more time in the studio and less time on the road.

How does the teacher balance the strength of a narrow, skills-and-tradition approach with the need for personal growth and expression?

by PETE PINNELL

T

he last time I engaged in a regular, organized athletic pursuit, Richard Nixon was president.

Over the ensuing years I have been pretty sedentary, even sedimentary (since I seem to be settling ever downward). My primary contact with sport has been in the role of Dad: I stand on the sideline at a sporting event, yell “good job!” at sporadic intervals, and take everyone out for ice cream afterward. Like most men my age, I live with the assumption that sports are for the young, while the rest of us simply exercise—or try to.

All physical evidence to the contrary, I do exercise. I ride my bike to work in nice weather, and when the weather is not so nice I accompany my kids to the neighborhood YMCA, where I flog myself into spending an hour on those torture devices euphemistically referred to as “exercise machines.” Like my comrades-in-sweat I mount some large, diabolical-looking machine, stare at a bank of televisions, and slowly sink into a sweat-soaked stupor.

About a year ago, my youngest child (Mary Catherine) saw a demonstration

It is shocking just how little control I have over my body’s movements.

Watching myself in the mirror, it looks like I’m a marionette being controlled by a dysfunctional committee. At three months, I can now mimic some of the simpler movements, while at other times my best attempts devolve into a series of painful flailings in random directions. I am delighted that there are six-year-olds in the class, so that when we’re asked to practice our “head kicks,” my highest kicks will be equal in height to at least a few of the heads in the room.

One of the reasons I’m not very good at this is a simple lack of physical talent: I was never much of an athlete, and I am eternally grateful that my attempts at dancing predate both the video camera and the Internet.

Besides that, we as a society have found precious few ways to integrate sport into our white-collar jobs. This has left most of us with few physical skills beyond an ability to sit for long periods of time. I’ve begun to think that changing this might

not be that difficult. In academia, it could be accomplished with a few small additions to Robert’s Rules of Order: Chair: “Discussion being closed, we enter the fisticuffs portion of the meeting: all those in favor of the motion move to the left corner and don gloves. All opposed, move to the right corner and prepare similarly.”

My eye-hand coordination might not have slipped so badly if my job required a bit more physicality (a “strenuous” faculty meeting being one that is long enough to require a bathroom break). Forcing us to truly defend our ideas would certainly help in that regard. A nice side effect is that it might clean out some of the dead wood from many departments.

Chair: “… The motion passes.

Too bad about old Parkinson: all those in favor of granting Emeritus status to Professor Parkinson, please signify by …”

The really interesting thing about engaging in a sport is that it is also the first time in decades I’ve attempted to learn something that is completely new to me. Yes, I do a lot of learning in my job as a professor, but most of it is simply an extension or a deepening of my current knowledge. With Tae Kwon Do, I’m learning totally new things (ask me to count to 10 in Korean!), and I’m learning them in public, where my progress (or lack thereof) is painfully obvious. As a teacher, it is good for me to be on the other side. It has reinforced things I know (i.e., I should repeat all important information numerous times to help retention), and has reminded me that

CLAyTIMES·COM n November/December 2006

One of the reasons I’m fairly regular about this is that my kids are enrolled in a variety of evening sports: karate, gymnastics, dance, etc. I take them to the specified locations and sign them in, then proceed to my brain-numbing session. An hour or so later I return to their rooms, usually in time to watch the end of their classes. The contrast between their activities and mine is pretty stark: they have fun and learn new kata, or movements, while I learn that commercial television is silly and soporific.

of Tae Kwon Do and asked to join the class. This class is advertised as being “for all ages,” and the membership reflects that, with everything from tiny 6-year-olds (like “MC,” as we call her) to balding, bespectacled men in late middle age. I noticed that many attendees were in family groupings consisting of a parent and one or two children advancing through the belts together. MC started asking me to join, and frankly, an invitation to join a chain gang was sounding better than another session on the elliptical trainer. So, early last summer, I signed up.

Perspectives I As Far As I Know

Tae Kwon Potter

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each student progresses at a different rate (e.g., some of us are slow).

The really striking thing is that, like pottery making, Tae Kwon Do is a discipline, and so learning about both is in some ways very similar (see, this really is a column about ceramics). The difference is that Tae Kwon Do is taught in a very traditional manner, in line with its status as a martial art. We bow when entering and leaving the room.

If we arrive late, we stand quietly at

the door until we are recognized by the teacher and ask permission to enter the class late. When we spar, we bow to our opponent, and at the end of sparring, we again bow, shake hands, and thank each other—in Korean. All black belts (both advanced students and the teacher) are addressed as Mr. or Ms., and all exchanges are courteous and respectful.

As a student, I would never question the knowledge or expertise of the teachers, and they, in turn, try very hard to say positive things about my efforts (“That’s

better—you didn’t fall down that time”).

This sense of respect and courtesy never slows down the class; in fact, it seems to speed it up. Events move quickly because there is no need for the teacher to shout to get the students’ attention, or to herd them into the next activity. At certain points, I know the teacher will announce, “White belts, move over to this corner for one-steps,” and we will immediately move there and begin.

Yes, pottery making, like all arts, is a discipline, and becoming good at it demands time, effort, practice, and concentration. Can you imagine becoming a good violin player without practicing? What is different about teaching (and learning) in ceramics is that there are many right ways to do things rather than just one. I can’t drill my beginning throwers in the same way as in Tae Kwon Do because the way they touch the clay is important to the final qualities of the pot, and there are many ways to do it that are “right.” So, while my beginners might all be throwing cups on some specific day, I hope they will each be approaching the idea of “cup” in a different, uniquely personal way.

CLAyTIMES·COM n November/December 2006

On the other hand, I’m a bit envious of the discipline, order, dedication, and even (to some degree) the respectful formality of the martial arts. No, I don’t think it could ever work in a university art studio, but having just a bit of it might help students find the right attitude when tackling a challenge.

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Every veteran teacher has had a beginning student respond to criticism by retorting, “Well, that’s just your opinion,” as if the artistic opinions of a freshman were equal to those of a teacher of many years. In some ways, this is our own fault in modern universities. Professors dress informally, are addressed by their first names, and go out of their way to be friendly, approachable, and informal with students. This kind of behavior is pretty much required in academia these days to help with the very laudable goals of student recruitment and retention. On the other hand, this can perpetuate the fiction that the professor and the student are equals, when in reality we are not.

First of all, I have enormous power over my students in both formal ways—such as issuing grades or writing letters of recommendation—and in informal

Perhaps what I need is a black belt in ceramics. I could wear it to class as an obvious reminder of my status and experience, and students would wear their white belts (or orange, or green, etc.) as a not-so-subtle reminder of their accomplishments to date. I can just imagine a formal “belting” ceremony

in ceramics class, in which the acolyte potter stands before the class and is handed an orange belt, while the professor announces “Congratulations!

You may now move up to pitchers!”

I’m being silly, but at the heart of this is a question that teachers of every art face, which is how to balance the strength of a narrow, skills-and-tradition approach with the need for personal growth and expression. Too much discipline and we lose the splendor of many diverse viewpoints and potentially stifle creativity. Too little, and we’re projecting the message that our vast histories and strongly developed traditions are trifling and trivial. Finding the right balance is imperative. In my classes, I insist that sculptors also make pots, and that potters also make sculpture: I don’t want any student to be able to leave an important aspect of our field completely unexamined.

The only “correct” approach is the one

that helps each student reach his or her full potential.

Spending time in a martial art has served as a potent reminder of one way of teaching and learning that is all but lost in contemporary art schools. I can’t imagine teaching art entirely in this fashion, but I also think that tradition is too powerful a tool to abandon altogether.

Class! Repeat the five tenets of Tae Kwon Do: courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control, indomitable spirit!

Class dismissed. [

Pete Pinnell teaches at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He has been a potter for many years and has numerous exhibitions and workshops to his credit.

You can reach him with comments or questions at ppinnell1@unl.edu.

Perspectives I As Far As I Know

ways, such as the off-hand comments I might make about their art that can either lift or crush them. For that reason alone, we are not really equals. Besides, the reason I am in this position of power is because I have proven myself professionally and have earned the right to teach the class. Some students seem to understand this instinctively, and both of us are comfortable in our roles. Others seem to be confused by the outward manifestations of equality, and become resentful that I would have the gall to evaluate their work (beyond saying “good job” and taking them out for ice cream, I suppose).

CLAyTIMES·COM n November/December 2006

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CLAyTIMES·COM n November/December 2006

by LANA WILSOn & JANIS MARS WUNDERLICH

“My imagery captures the exhaustion and exhilaration of life as both an artist and parent.”

Fig. 1

In the previous column, Janis Wunderlich discussed being a parent of five and an artist. This column explores her sources of inspiration and her techniques.

keep my sanity and sense of humor as I balance my time between the fun and craziness of parenthood and art making.

My basic construction technique is using thin, slab-like coils of clay. I build up the glaze surfaces by repeatedly firing layers of underglazes, slip, and overglaze. Back when I only had a couple of kids and more time, I did many glazes tests. Now that my studio time is more limited, I utilize triedand-true recipes and commercial glazes.

I use a locally mixed clay (Columbus Clay Company’s White Sculpture). It is a white earthenware body that I bisque-fire fairly high to cone 2, even though it is a lowtemperature clay body. I like my sculptures to be extra-strong because they travel a lot and they have to hang out at our house, which can be dangerous—sometimes!

C

hildren’s literature, from Where the Wild Things Are to Grimm’s Fairy Tales, is a strong influence in my work.

Mother Goose has influenced me in recent pieces. I love the bizarre poetry about men who go to sea in a bowl or dishes running away with spoons.

I feel a natural connection to the animal kingdom, mostly because my children often behave like naughty little animals, and because of the inherent nurturing and protective instincts that I possess as a mother.

I am amazed at how my parental experiences—the good and frustrating—fuel my imagination. My sculptures are like journal entries that document my personal journey.

I often create work laden with complex dualities, showing both the suffering and joys of my life. The challenge for me is to

Fig. 2

I glaze in layers and fire each piece about four to six times. I apply and fire the light colors first, working toward darker colors in subsequent firings.

To save a step, I always apply the first layer of underglazes and 1-2-3-4 Colored Slip [see formula, page 28] before my sculpture is bisqued. The commercial colors I use are Amaco Liquid Underglazes (LUG) yellows (60 and 61), pink (50), a light blue (20), and Amaco Velvet 317 Medium Pink. To the 1-2-3-4 Slip recipe, I add 20% to 30% Mason® stain 6020 Pink or 6376 Blue or 6264 Victoria Green. The first color application has a lot of pink, yellow, light blue, and light orange. Sometimes I add other Mason stains and oxides to the 1-2-3-4 Slip (see recipe, next page).

Fig. 3

CLAyTIMES·COM n November/December 2006

My children inspire me with their imaginative minds and animal-like energy. They continually feed my thoughts with their “fairytale-like” quirkiness. Parenting is physically and emotionally demanding. The cleaning, cooking, chores, and laundry never end. The tantrums, messy diapers, and adolescent “sassiness” are emotionally draining.

The babies are always clinging to me, hanging onto my arms and legs. Sometimes I look like a playground. But I do love it.

Perspectives I Beneath the Surface

Techniques & Inspiration

27

Perspectives I Beneath the Surface

1-2-3-4 Simple Slip Base Cone 04 to 10 OM-4 Ball Clay 10% #4 Kona Feldspar 20 Silica 30 Kaolin 40 TOTAL 100% Before the first firing, I also apply a very thin layer of

Gerstley borate in certain areas to act as a resist. The resist works because as the Gerstley borate melts, the color beneath becomes shiny. This is how I achieve some of the patterning on the surface. After the first firing, my pieces look like Easter bunnies because they are so pastel (see Fig. 1).

For the next firing, I paint on darker Amaco Velvet colors like 375 Maroon, 386 Electric Blue, and 385 Cinnamon. I also

might paint on some oxides and more Gerstley borate resist.

Second firings range from cone 04 to cone 02. For areas that I want to remain a saturated color (like pink), I will add a little watered-down commercial clear overglaze. I paint dots, lines, flowers, and various patterns with Gerstley borate and/or commercial clear.

The next firing is for the overglaze colors, which I fire to cone 04 or 06, depending on

which glazes I’m using. I use little bottles of commercial “hobby glaze” to get my shiny reds, oranges, and yellows. I try to pay attention to the cone firing temperature stated on the red and orange glaze bottles because those colors burn out easily. My favorites are Duncan Calypso Red and Tangerine Orange. I fire each layer of color separately to prevent the glazes from getting muddled (Figs. 2 and 3).

The last firing is for the layer of iron oxide and watered-down Amaco® Velour Black (Fig. 4).

Sometimes I’ll do more firings until the reds and blacks are just right. I justify this multiple-firing process by firing several sculptures at a time. I make several pieces and load them into my kiln. There they sit, safe from little-kid fingers.

After I have built three or four, I’m ready to start the bisquing and glazing process.

My recent work explores the idea of “accessorizing” with children. Instead of “artsy” or fancy accessories and jewelry, I have children hanging from my ears, neck and arms. As a mother, I seem hidden and lost behind all the clingy creatures. In reality, I am clothed, strengthened and made beautiful by them: My children give me layers, texture, and identity. [

CLAyTIMES·COM n November/December 2006

Janis Wunderlich has organized a panel for NCECA 2007 in Louisville, Kentucky, on “Trying To Be An Artist and a Parent” with Lana Wilson as moderator and Lee Puffer, a graduate student in clay, who has two children.

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Lana Wilson is a handbuilder from Del Mar, California. She gives frequent workshops and is the author of Ceramics: Shape and Surface.

Her Web site is www.lanawilson. com. She is very interested in your thoughts on this series of columns on parenting and clay. E-mail her at lana@lanawilson.com.

Fig. 4

Making Goblets

by BILL van GILDER

T

his goblet-making project grew from the following student request: “Members of my church know I’m learning to make pottery, and asked me to make them a communion set. They need a small pitcher, a small plate, and a chalice or goblet. What do you think?”

“Well,” I reply, “you already know how to make a mug, so making a small pitcher should be easy. And I’ll show you how to make a plate, which is pretty straight forward. The chalice, or goblet, is a bit more complicated. But if you’re up for it, let’s show the whole class how to make one—or, a whole set of them.”

Necessary Supplies

Because this project will function as a drinking vessel, I advise using clay that has a smooth texture. Less aggregate—grog or sand—means a tight, smooth rim and little chipping potential.

• 2 or more balls of clay • some water • a small sponge • a small, stiff rib tool • a cut-off wire • a scoring tool • a trimming tool • a hole cutter

In our classroom, we provide a very plastic, smooth, white clay body (‘Shenandoah White’ from Campbell’s Ceramics, Richmond, VA) and an equally plastic, toasty, red/brown body (‘Red Rock’ from Highwater Clays, Asheville, NC). Both clays mature fully at cone 6 and are suitable for throwing and handbuilding.

Optional: • • • • •

The Clay

a small bat a pointed chopstick one 8-oz. ball of clay a profiled foot rib a potato peeler

With your pre-planned lesson for this class out the window, announce to students, “Today’s project is goblet-making. Knead

1

2

and weigh out two to six lumps of clay of equal weights. Use 12 or 14 ounces, or at the most, 1 lb. Take your lumps to the wheel, cover them up with plastic, grab a stool, and find a spot near my wheel.” (I’m right-handed, so the best view for students is at my right. It’s something worth pointing out to the class.)

In Form I Teaching Techniques

A two-piece project

As you sit at the wheel, you might share, “The chalice shape, or goblet, has been around forever. But why put a cup on a stem? One theory is that elevating the cup from the table keeps bugs and crawling insects out of the drink. Another theory is that the stem puts the wine a little closer to heaven. Because the chalice was, and still is, used extensively for religious ceremonies, this makes sense, I guess. Who knows?”

Explain to your students that there are lots of ways to make goblets. They can be made in one piece with the stem extensively trimmed out, or by throwing the stem separately, upside-down with a flaring foot.

Or like this demo, both the cup and stem may be thrown upright. You can handbuild the stems, too, which can be pretty wild.

The Cup Begin your demo by throwing two cups (Fig 1). One will have a flat exterior wall, but will be slightly flaring in form. The other will be rounded with a flaring rim.

Use your rib to smooth the exterior surface

3

29

In Form I Teaching Techniques

of both cups, which provides a level surface for brush-decoration later on (another possible part of your demo).

4

5

CLAyTIMES·COM n November/December 2006

6

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Stress to students the need to lean over to view each cup profile as their hands are at work. Have them watch the shape change at the 12 o’clock position of the cup.

As mentioned in one of my previous Clay Times columns, “Watch what your hands are producing —not what they are doing.” That’s done by visually locking onto the 12 o’clock spot as the hands work at the 3 o’clock position (or at the 9 o’clock spot, if one is left-handed).

Make each cup with a curved, bowl-like interior floor shape and a base thickness of ¼ inch. Rib each cup into final shape, which also removes the slip from the exterior wall. Remove excess water from the interior of the cup and gently round and smooth the rim with a small sponge. Undercut a small bevel at the foot, wire-cut the cup from the wheelhead, and stop the wheel.

With dry hands, tuck all eight of your fingertips into the base area and lift the cup from the wheelhead (Fig. 2) to a dry, clean ware board. Point out to students that, “Using all eight fingertips during the lift eliminates the need to touch the cup at the rim, or body.

All those fingertips provide lots of stability. Stay relaxed and handle your cup gently as you set it down onto the ware board. And remember—it’s only clay! If your first attempt doesn’t work, it’s easy to make another cup. This pickingup-pots technique is a skill worth learning.”

Measuring “Want to make an identical pair, or set, of goblets? This takes some measuring of each goblet part, so watch this.”

7

Using a ruler for height and width measurements is OK, but it takes time and it’s usually not very precise. After throwing your first

cup, demo this easy method for repeating measurements: Attach an 8-oz. ball of soft clay to the rim of the splash pan, or to something stable nearby, at the 12 o’clock position. Insert a pointed chopstick into the clay and position the pointed end of the stick 1 /8" away from the cup’s rim (see Fig. 3).

“My tall, flaring cup is made with 12 oz. of clay with a height of 4". The top width, rim to rim, is 3½". Measure your first cup with your ruler and record the details and dimensions in your notebook—weight, height, width, and shape—then set up the pointer.

Remove the cup, and from here on, use the pointer to size each cup. Got it? OK, now let’s make a rounded cup form. My rounded cup is 12 oz. in weight, and will be 3½" tall. The top width will also be 3½".

Attach another ball of clay to the wheelhead and throw a rounded cup form. Wire it from the wheelhead, and place it next to cup #1 on the ware board.

“OK, that’s two possible cup shapes made. Now, let’s make the second part of each goblet.”

The Stem “As with the cups, I’m using another 12-oz. ball of clay for each stem. Get your lump centered, and open it really wide with a flat, ¼" floor thickness. Here—let me show you what I’m doing.”

Note that during their first stemmaking attempts, the most common mistake made by students is not opening the floor area wide enough. The stability of their finished goblet is the issue here, so encourage them to open the floor far wider than they think necessary, with an inside measurement of at least 3" (or more if they’re using a 14-oz. or 1-lb. ball of clay).

An easy way to figure the opening measurement, no matter what clay weights are being used, is to copy the cup’s top diameter mea-

Also mention that you’re throwing the stem using a minimum of water. As the stem grows tall and narrow, it becomes difficult to remove the excess water from the inside floor area, so less water is best.

Swab the collected water from the inside of your now-opened lump and begin the pull upward.

As you continue with the project at hand, emphasize that the stem is pulled upward in a conical shape: wide at the foot, tapering to the rim. “Apply more pressure with your outside fingertips, less pressure from the inside. This forces the wall inward as you pull it upward. Try for an even wall thickness from foot to rim, and stop your pull when your coneshaped stem reaches the 4" mark on your ruler” (Fig. 4).

The next step is collaring the stem. This narrows the stem, adds to its height, and gives it its graceful shape. Using a quick wheel speed and lots of water, surround the stem down low with your wet thumbs and fingertips (Fig. 5), and compress the wet wall as you gently slide them upward to the rim several times. This collaring also thickens the stem wall. So, after each of your collaring moves—and it may take three or four of them —measure the height of the stem several times and pull the wall upward another ½", thinning it further. The final height of your stem will be about 4½".

Next, pick up your rib tool and put a final, smooth shape into the form from foot to rim. If you’re going to pick up your stem from the wheelhead to move it to a ware

As a finishing detail, use a profiled foot rib to round and smooth the foot edge (Fig. 7). You can easily make your own profiled rib by using a pair of scissors to cut a rounded shape from the corner of an old, stiff credit card. And here’s a tip: for a really clean, smooth, rounded foot profile, liberally wet the foot area before pressing the tool into the clay. Then lightly sponge the rounded foot and stepped line you’ve created.

8

Set your pointer near the rim of the stem and wire-cut the form from the wheelhead or bat. To lift your stem from the wheelhead, dry your fingertips and gently grasp the stem at the halfway point. Lift and move it to your ware board (Fig. 8), or gently remove the bat.

Then make another stem.

Allow your cups and stems to dry until they’re soft leather-hard.

Gather the class around your wheel again and assemble the parts into finished goblets.

Assembling the Goblet To give students a sense of what’s coming, pick up a stem in one hand, and a cup in the other. Position the two together—cup on top of the stem (Fig. 9).

9

“Now we join the pieces. Begin by dipping the flaring rim of the stem into water. This will re-soften that top area, which will help with the attachment.” Set the wet stem aside and begin to secure the cup to the wheelhead.

Here’s an opportunity to demo a new technique—the vacuum seal.

“We’ve got to trim and round the base of the cup before we can attach the stem. That starts by centering and securely attaching our cup to the wheelhead. You can use three small coils of clay to hold your cup in place, or try this:”

10

CLAyTIMES·COM n November/December 2006

Now finalize the shape of the rim. This is where the cup and stem will be joined, so the top 1" section of the stem will need to flare outward. The inside of this widened rim becomes the seating area for the cup, so it also needs to be ample in diameter—about 2" (Fig. 6).

board, it’s necessary to remove the wet slip from the stem’s surface during this tooling step. If you’re throwing the stem on a small bat, slip removal is less important.

In Form I Teaching Techniques

surement. Your cup’s diameter at the rim might be 3½", so open the stem base at least that wide.

31

In Form I Teaching Techniques

11

12

With a small sponge, lightly dampen the rim of the cup. Then lightly dampen the center 5" of the wheelhead. Center the cup with its rim down on the wheelhead and, with a slow wheel speed, gently press down at the center of the cup’s base.

Now use one fingertip to press and seal the rim to the smooth, metal wheelhead. This creates a vacuum between the cup and the wheelhead to hold the cup in place. “No coils —and it’s actually easy to do. Try it.”

With the wheel moving at medium speed, use your trimming tool to round the base area of the cup by cutting away the flaring edges of the foot.

Lightly score and wet the trimmed area. A 2" diameter circle of light score lines is ample (Fig. 10). Stop the wheel.

Invert the stem onto the cup and center it. With the wheel again at medium speed, use a damp fingertip, a small curved rib, or the rounded end of a wooden sculpting tool to firmly press the soft, flared rim of the stem tightly to the base of the cup (Fig. 11). Lightly sponge and smooth the joint.

CLAyTIMES·COM n November/December 2006

Pick up your trimming tool again and, supporting the stem with your fingertips, gently trim and round the stem’s foot edge. Use a fingertip or a small, damp sponge to lightly smooth the trimmed area.

32

With the wheel still at medium speed, use a hole cutter to ‘trim’ a ¼" hole at the center of the stem’s base (Fig. 12). [You have an opportunity here to explain ‘trapped air.’] Bevel the hole with the cutter, smooth it with your fingertip, and stop the wheel. Remove your goblet from the wheelhead.

If you’ve vacuum-sealed your cup to the wheelhead, grasp the body of the cup with both hands and give it a firm, short twist. This gently breaks the seal. “But be careful. Be sure to hold at the body of the cup and not at the rim. Squeezing the rim during the release can crack it. Be firm —but at the same time, be gentle.”

13

14

Faceting the Stem “Last major step: facet the stem of your goblet.

The source of this faceted stem comes from observing the faceted stems of crystal glass goblets we’ve all seen or used at one time or another. It’s a ‘borrow,’ design-wise.”

Upright your goblet, center it on the wheelhead, and pick up your potato peeler. Hold the goblet firmly in place using some fingertip pressure at the inside floor of the cup. With an extremely slow wheel speed, start at the top of the stem and peel a flat facet downward to the flaring base.

Use a quick, rhythmic tool motion during each cut. Work your way around the stem, one cut after the other. Zip, zip, zip … (Fig. 13).

“A minor, finishing detail: even-up the ends of the facets.” With the wheel at a medium speed and lightly holding the goblet in place on the wheelhead, use the small, curved end of a stiff rib to smooth and align the bottom ends of the facets (Fig. 14).

“Making goblets can be as simple or as complicated as you choose. The steps and techniques I’ve shown you are easier than they look. Just take it one step at a time.”

Suggest to students that they develop their own shapes and details: Tall stems, short stems, large cups, tiny cups, stamping, wax resist, sgraffito, slip trailing—the possibilities are endless.

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

TIPS FOR INSTRUCTORS • The best way to describe specific making-steps during your demo is by drawing some simple crosssectioned illustrations on an erasable board. Keep a small board and marker by your wheel and, if students are taking notes about the current project, have them copy your sketches onto their note pads. These drawn notes will be a great reference, especially if students attempt the project a week later.

• Explain what you are going to do during each step before you demonstrate it, then demonstrate it, in that order. Keep in mind that this is probably the first time students have seen the process you’re showing them. Describing what your hands are doing while you are doing it can be too much for students to absorb all at once. Communicating demo ideas clearly to students is paramount, and teaching your techniques in distinct, separated steps is a big help.

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Above: Otto Heino’s backyard, the property he refers to as his “paradise,” which he and late wife Vivika purchased from Beatrice Wood in 1968. Top left: Entrance to the Ojai, California pottery. Bottom left: Drying racks are built-in to the back porch of Heino’s home studio, overlooking the lush gardens.

34

Otto Heino Living Legend STORY AND PHOTOS BY POLLY BEACH

When I was recently invited to visit Otto Heino’s home studio in beautiful Ojai, California, I coudn’t resist. The potter had become legendary some 10 years ago, following his replication of a sought-after high-fire yellow glaze, coveted by Asian monks for its value as a glaze for their ceremonial pots.

Those pots have been sold for upwards of $20,000 each. But as of January 1, 2007, the price will be rising...

“I never knew I’d make a fortune in pottery.” — Otto Heino

A

n unusual statement, indeed. Yet at age 91, Otto Heino still wedges all his own clay, throws and trims all his own pots, mixes all his own glazes, and—yes, really— fires his wood kiln all by himself, over the course of 30 hours. (When asked how he stays awake, he says it’s not by coffee drinking, but by consumption of a six-pack of beer after the kiln reaches 2000° F, so he “won’t sweat!”)

Top right: Otto Heino prepares one of three large balls of clay to be centered on top of each other for wheel-throwing of a 37-lb. platter (subsequent platter photos appear on page 37).

CLAyTIMES·COM n November/December 2006

Above: Two views of Heino’s home gallery, featuring a wide variety of his works. Selling prices for single pots range from a few hundred to several thousands of dollars each, depending upon the type of glaze used and the size of the piece. [Note: The painting which appears at the top of the upper photo is by actor Anthony Hopkins, an avid collector of Heino’s pots, who will be showing his works alongside those of Heino in a future joint exhibition.]

Every part of the pottery making process, Otto insists, must be done completely by him—after all, that’s what his patrons are paying for. He has no studio assistant. His only help comes from his neighbor, Nancy Hauber, who stumbled upon Otto at work in his studio six years ago, when her dog strayed away from home and ended up at the foot of Otto’s wheel.

Ever since, Nancy has been helping him clean and arrange his studio and gallery, and as a professional photographer, has been very helpful in documenting his work in the form of photographs.

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CLAyTIMES·COM n November/December 2006

Heino’s studio is plastered with memorabilia of his life with late wife Vivika, and is constantly filled with pots in progress. He has eleven wheels and eight kilns, including two wood kilns and a large 8' car kiln, which he uses for his bisque firings.

36

No, we haven’t seen his bank statement ... but the testimonials from his collectors, along with the Bentley and Rolls Royce registered in his name, are strong indicators that Otto Heino’s earnings as a potter are respectable, to say the least!

Nancy has offered to serve as Otto’s paid assistant, to help him organize his many papers, files, bills, etc., but he adamantly refuses any help with his business, too. He doesn’t want his collectors to think that he’s paying someone to do his work for him, he says.

And he still makes pots every day. So even at his very respectable age, Otto can throw a huge platter with 37 pounds of clay. He prides himself on the fact that he uses very little water whenever he works at the wheel. He says his secret in preventing S-cracks is to compact or compress the clay repeatedly after centering it by opening it outward, pushing back in again, and repeating the process a few times.

“Let the clay do all the work,” he says. “You’ve got to love the clay; be true to the clay. It’s the only live material the artist works with. You’ve got to let it do 80% of the work.” He adds that most artists only let it do 50%. “They rip the heck out of it,” he says.

Otto lives in the home he and his late wife Vivika, who died in 1995, purchased from potter Beatrice Wood in 1968. Back in their day, they socialized with the most respected clay artists in the nation. The home where he still lives, the place he calls “paradise,” is rich with pottery history. Tucked away in the valley between the towering mountains of Ojai, CA, the buildings that serve as his home, studio, gallery, and kiln shed are perched on a one-acre spread surrounded by beautiful fruit trees and lush, flowering gardens.

Unusually healthy for his age, Otto takes no medication of any kind. He supplements his diet with a daily multivitamin, and has been treating his face to a twice-weekly facial mask made from his own porcelain slip, which he spreads onto his face, leaves on for 15 minutes, then peels away. He says he’s been doing this for nearly as long as he has lived in his house in Ojai.

During my visit, I was anxious to confirm Otto’s legendary success in the clay world. I asked him about his collectors, his Rolls Royce, his Bentley, and his bank account. Then I asked others to verify his story. Yes indeed, I am told ... people come from far and wide to buy the yellow-glazed pots, priced in the thousands of dollars. They’re not sold in galleries—only directly

by Otto. He has established a following of very wealthy collectors who have been purchasing his pots for years. The Asian monks are still buying that coveted yellow glaze, too.

Above: Heino throws a 37-lb. platter on the wheel he built for himself in 1951.

At right: One of Heino’s large platters, decorated with Applewood glaze.

How did he get to this point, I wonder? Wouldn’t we all just love to command thousands of dollars for a single pot?

Hmm ... now I think I know why. They’re not collecting the pots, they’re collecting the legend himself. They’re collecting Otto. [ To learn more about Otto Heino’s legendary yellow glaze, visit the online article by Tom McGowan at the CT Web site, www.claytimes.com.

One of Heino’s eight kilns, which surround his home studio and gallery.

CLAyTIMES·COM n November/December 2006

The man is charming and fascinating: clear-minded, wellspoken, healthy, polite, and personable. He loves to share his stories. A fighter pilot against the Germans during World War II, Otto shows me the scars on his leg from shrapnel wounds incurred when his plane was shot down. He had to bail out by parachute during two missions, he says, and at one point found himself captured by the Germans.

37

The Way of Clay A workshop with Marc Lancet

BY BARBARA MCKENZIE

CLAyTIMES·COM n November/December 2006

mia ishiguro PHOtos

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Hiki Dashi stain is applied to a slabbuilt form with a handmade brush. At top: Marc Lancet demonstrates and discusses the tea bowl form and its significance in Japanese culture.

The place is Sierra Nevada College; the time is late July, 2006; the instructor is Marc Lancet, professor of three-dimensional art at Solano College in Fairfield, California, and co-author of the book, Japanese Wood-fired Ceramics. We are a group of 12 students ready to experience “The Way of Clay”—Lancet style.

M

We start by sculpting effigy figures to be buried at the Mountain Campus on the last day. The effigies will be our contribution to the story of the land—a remnant to be uncovered by the future occupants—a nice idea. While we sculpt, Lancet begins to throw tea bowls, talking as he works.

He discusses the significance of the tea bowl in Japanese culture, its size and weight as related to function, and formal considerations, such as the shape of the rim. Mia Ishiguro, a workshop participant who grew up in Japan, contributes to our knowledge of the tea bowl.

Lancet uses 1½ lbs. of clay, centering quickly, establishing a gentle interior curve to create a slight depression at the bottom to form the “tea pool.” He then pulls the walls up thinly to nearly the desired height. I watch closely, as I admire the casualness of Lancet’s tea bowls, which I’d previously seen only in photographs.

The dynamic, asymmetrical feet of Lancet’s tea bowls are formed by carefully pushing a flattened piece of wood into the clay, working against the wheel’s rotation.

The afternoon session starts with a demonstration of trimming the foot—an important part of the tea bowl to the Japanese connoisseur. The foot is roughly 1/3 the width of the tea bowl itself. Lancet uses conventional trimming tools to remove excess clay and to establish the approximate diameter of the foot. Then, slowing the wheel, he uses a small piece of wood, about ¾" wide, one end sanded to create a flattened edge. He pushes this tool into the foot, working against the counter-clockwise rotation of the wheel: i.e., the wheel is spinning to the right, while he is pushing toward the left. It’s a tricky maneuver, but, when successful, the result is a dynamic, asymmetrical foot (see photo, above).

We move from wheel-throwing to slab construction, watching as Lancet “throws out” a slab rather than using a slab roller.

“Aim for the middle of the slab when you throw it onto the table,” he advises. “That will give it a uniform thickness.” As a final step, he uses a rolling pin and two sticks of wood to achieve the exact thickness he wants—¾". Three large, bisqued trays provide an example of the technique he will demonstrate. Next is the forming process. Lancet lays the slab on top of a large piece of foam rubber about 8" thick.

He places a wood template (roughly

rectangular) on top of the clay, creating a sandwich of foam rubber, clay, and template. Then he pushes the template (with the clay underneath) into the slab, almost to the bottom of the foam rubber.

When the foam rubber and the template are removed, he cuts the rim. On this piece, he doesn’t want a totally smooth edge, so he cuts only halfway. When the clay has hardened, he will break off the remaining half, leaving a partially roughened edge. He makes two more trays, working quickly and confidently, propping up recalcitrant sides with rolled wads of leftover clay. Then he switches to a large fan-shaped template, a shape favored by the Japanese for handled serving dishes. He proceeds as with the tray template, making two fan-shaped dishes with slightly curving sides. At the wheel, he throws two handles, creating a center loop in each before setting them aside to dry.

Now it’s time for us, the participants, to try these techniques. We sketch shapes for templates, and cut our templates using a jigsaw. Preparing the clay slabs and pressing the templates into the foam rubber takes only a few minutes, so various platters and trays quickly begin to take shape. Meanwhile, Lancet is back in action, putting the handles on the fan-

CLAyTIMES·COM n November/December 2006

He begins to alter the rim by slowing the wheel speed. “If you want symmetry, run the wheel fast,” he explains. “Use a slow speed if you want asymmetry.” With the thumb and index finger of his left hand, he pinches the clay near the top, applying different degrees of pressure, his right hand gently shaping the rim. An undulating rim with a quiet inevitability begins to appear. He works quickly, producing tea bowls in a variety of styles, from the open tea bowl used in summer to the more closed winter tea bowls.

mia ishiguro PHOto

arc Lancet begins with two announcements. First, our workshop will be the last held in the current ceramics studio. After 35 years, the buildings at the Mountain Campus of Sierra Nevada College at Lake Tahoe, NV are scheduled for demolition (see sidebar on page 41). The second announcement is about us, or more specifically, about Lancet. In a week’s time, he states, he will give us a month’s worth of knowledge and instruction. I don’t doubt his intentions—but I wonder how he will accomplish them. The first day provides a blueprint of the days that follow.

39

shaped dishes, breaking off the uncut edges of the trays, and adding feet to the various slab pieces.

We work at the wheel, covering our tea bowls and slab pieces as the first day comes to an end. Was that only the first day? Later on, in the evening, Lancet holds a clinic for beginners on centering and throwing.

lois constable photo

Our second day opens with Lancet reading some of his favorite quotations. One, by Martha Graham, the dancer, sticks in my mind: “There is a life force, an energy, a quickness, that is translated through you into action. If you block it, the world will not have it.”

Oops ... an unplanned workshop moment! But no worries—this studio is about to be demolished anyway!

Lancet’s Oribe Cone 10

è

CLAyTIMES·COM n November/December 2006

Custer Feldspar Kona F-4 Spar Barium Carbonate Whiting Dolomite Ball Clay Silica Barnard Slip Clay TOTAL

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add Black Copper Oxide Calcium Chloride

24% 17 13 9 6 11 16 4 100% 5% 3%

Clear éé

Cone 10

Custer Feldspar Ball Clay Whiting Silica TOTAL

27.0% 19.5 19.5 34.0 100.0%

The quotation applies to Lancet’s way of handling clay. He works directly and with energy, exploring the plasticity of clay, the ease with which impressions can be made, the simplicity of cutting and joining. His ceramic work is gestural, not fussed over. “If you have to ask, ‘Have I done too much to a piece?’ or ‘Have I done enough to the decoration?’ you probably have,” he says. He talks about the importance of stopping, of letting go. Members of the class read their favorite quotations. We talk about discovery, and taking a chance, and creating to see where our capabilities take us.

Each day repeats the pattern of the first. Lancet does a prodigious number of demonstrations. In between, we make our own pots using the techniques we have seen. His modus operandi is now apparent: simultaneous (or almost simultaneous ) activities! No time for idle hands.

Wheel demonstrations continue.

Lancet forms tall vases deeply indented on one side; they are intended as flower containers for the tea ceremony. He makes thick-walled cylinders which he incises deeply and expands from the inside into generous serving bowls. He throws sake cups off the hump, deftly altering widemouthed cups with the side of his hand, using a rib on others to

create more vertical sides. We talk about sake, the traditional way it is served, the place it has in contemporary Japanese life.

Time has been set aside for glazing. Lancet explains glaze overlap tests, and we experiment with overlaps using the studio glazes.

Next, he demonstrates wet and dry line blends. We receive test tiles on which to try nine different wet line blends. We choose partners to facilitate this more exacting task.

Lancet concludes the glazing segment by demonstrating Oribe glazing, a style of glazing named after Furuta Oribe (1544-1615).

The technique is bold and free. We use “Lancet Oribe” [glaze formula appears at left] to create patches of green, brush a clear glaze onto unglazed sections, and unite the whole with Hiki Dashi, a mixture of wood ash and red iron oxide used for brush decoration [slip recipe appears on page 53]. The Oribe glazed pots will be given an oxidation firing in a gas kiln to Cone 10.

We use Lancet’s brushes for the Hiki Dashi decoration. The brushes are handmade: some from animal hair, others from natural materials such as broom straw.

Some have handles; others are bound with masking tape. Their improvisational quality seems to fit the casualness of line we are trying to achieve. We find that Hiki Dashi works well on shino-glazed pots, too.

Handbuilding is not neglected.

Lancet shows several different ways to texture slabs, including placing a slab on top of carved, bisqued tiles (approximately 3" x 4") arranged on a table into a large rectangle (approximately 12" x 18"). Using a rolling pin to impress the designs into the clay, he “throws out” the slab, causing the images to distort. Interesting abstractions begin to emerge. The highly textural slabs can be made into a variety of objects—trays, bowls, vases, and wall pieces.

lois constable PHOtos

Lancet rolls the edges of a soft slab he has shaped by pressing the clay into a bed of thick upholstery foam. These edges will serve as feet when the slab is inverted.

Sgraffito design of house and dog by Marc Lancet.

One of the participants, Tamara Selvig, wrote, “To end with the tea ceremony … added to the understanding of the beauty of Japanese pottery and the spirit and love that goes into each piece we create.”

That night, there’s a “Parting Party,” a farewell to the Mountain Campus. Stories of its 35-year history are told by faculty, administrators, and former students.

We share in their fond memories, knowing that we each will have our own memories of this special place.

On Saturday morning, the two gas kilns are ready to be emptied. We discuss our results and the techniques we plan to use when we return home. Boxes are packed, cars loaded, and final farewells are made. We thank Lancet for his generous instruction. A month’s worth of knowledge and instruction in a week? At least a month, I conclude. A promise made—and a promise delivered. [ Barbara McKenzie is a writer and potter who resides in Durham, NC.

2007 will be the 23rd year of summer workshops at Sierra Nevada College (SNC).

SNC is Nevada’s only private liberal arts college, and offers a BA and BFA in fine arts. Recently, the college announced its planned partnership with Knowledge Universe Learning Group. This corporation plans to expand SNC’s degree offerings and the size of its student body, and will offer financial stability to this small college located on the north shore of beautiful Lake Tahoe. The art department recently moved to the Lake Campus, from its original home on the Mountain Campus. “There was a lot of history in the old Luria ceramics studio, but it’s very exciting to move into a brand-new facility with lots of new equipment, and to be within steps of the dorms and cafeteria, united with the rest of the campus,” says Sheri Leigh, ceramics professor and workshops director.

As a backdrop for the outstanding workshops, Lake Tahoe and the scenic Sierra Nevada mountains are truly inspirational.

“You can take a workshop anywhere, but it won’t be as gorgeous as Lake Tahoe,” has been the slogan used for years now.

There are numerous summer outdoor activities for everyone such as boating, kayaking, swimming, fishing, hiking, and mountain biking. Local events include the widely acclaimed “Shakespeare on the Lake at Sand Harbor” and the Sand Harbor Music Festival, as well as the Lake Tahoe Summer Music Festival. There are also outstanding restaurants, clubs, and casinos in the area.

In the past, the summer workshops program has been host to a long list of famous ceramists such as: Rudy Autio, F. Carlton Ball, Tom Coleman, Patrick Crabb, Anne Currier, Malcolm Davis, Ken Ferguson, Julia Galloway, Vivika and Otto Heino, Catharine Heirsoux, Steven Hill, Robin Hopper, Yoshi Ikeda, Marilyn Levine, Warren MacKenzie, Richard Notkin, Jeff Oestreich, Fred Olsen, Robert Piepenburg, Daniel Rhodes, David Shaner, and Jack Troy, and others.

Students can take workshops for credit or personal enrichment. There are also many other workshops offered in other art mediums. Most of the workshops offered are one week, Monday through Friday, 9-5:30, but there are also weekend workshops and occasional two-week workshops. In addition to the classes, there is a “Meet the Artists” night every Tuesday at 7 pm that is free and open to the public.

For further details on ceramic opportunities offered by SNC, log onto the Web site at www.sierranevada.edu/workshops.

CLAyTIMES·COM n November/December 2006

As a class, we produce a lot of work. On the morning of the last day, Lancet repeats any demonstrations that we would like to see a second time. That afternoon, after we bury our effigies in secluded places on the campus, we participate in a tea ceremony on the lawn adjacent to the studio.

Lancet prepares matcha, the powdered green tea. A cylindrical vase holds an arrangement of wildflowers designed by Mia Ishiguro, who serves the tea. She offers instructions on how to hold the tea bowl properly and how to turn it so the best side can be admired by all.

Sierra Nevada Ceramics Workshops

41

A Sense of Balance story by K.T. Anders • photos by courtney frisse

Pair of Crackle Vases. 6½" x 7½" and 4½" x 5½". Wheel-thrown porcelain fired to cone 10 in oxidation.

Oregon potter Deborah Shapiro says design and display quality are key elements for successful sales.

CLAyTIMES·COM n November/December 2006

D

42

eborah Shapiro has a B.A. in modern dance. Some people may not see the connection between that and her current occupation as a full-time potter, but to Shapiro, it is the foundation of her ceramic work. “The influence of dance is evident in my pottery,” she says. “A lot of the simple, clean forms I like tie into the Martha Graham modern dance style. There’s nothing frou-frou or frilly.”

Shapiro’s works are mostly functional— tableware, vases, bathroom sets—with some decorative pieces. But always the lines have a clean and direct quality. “I’m

very attracted to other people’s work that is rough and raw, with torn slabs,” she notes. “But I can’t do that. To me, it’s a personal challenge to get the walls even, the curves clean, the rims strong, and the foot placed just right so it looks delicate. My forms are simple, but there are a lot of different ways to use the word “simple.” I pare down my thrown forms to essential curves—shoulder, belly, lip, foot—and fill those curves with the volume of inhaled breath.”

And that brings us to the most distinguishing feature of Shapiro’s work—the abstract, decorative gestural markings

that seem to capture that breath. You can almost feel the movement of the dance in them. On her spare surfaces, the fluid lines circle around the vertical like a dancer on a bare stage scribing the air with turns and spirals. “People often ask me if they are Chinese calligraphy,” says Shapiro. “They aren’t—they are purely abstract.”

She creates the lines with a black glaze, thickened by letting it sit for a day and siphoning the water from it until it reaches the consistency she describes as “French’s® mustard.” Using a needlenosed squeeze bottle, she makes one

pass. “The line starts off the piece either from the side or top. I tell people to practice with a bottle of French’s mustard to get the feel of the continuous pressure you have to apply as it comes out.” Although Shapiro’s husband, Andre, has been helping her throw and glaze for the past 13 years, she does the design work herself. “Andre leaves me alone and I get to play with the squeeze bottle,” she says.

Her gesture is no mere afterthought of surface decoration. “I think the gesture and the piece work together,” says Shapiro. “On my bowls and platters, my foot is set way in and my forms are pulled out to the farthest they can go without collapsing. I like that levitation. Without the strength of form, the gesture would look weaker.”

Porcelain tricks Shapiro works with Laguna’s S Porcelain clay, fired to cone 10 in an electric kiln.

“It’s a wonderful throwing clay,” she notes, “but it doesn’t like to join.” So she

has a few tricks up her sleeve. When attaching a handle, for example, she doesn’t use slip. “Instead, I stick the handle on where I want it, but rather than smoothing it in, I set it aside for about 10 minutes and let the moisture equalize between the handle and the cup. I have a tenth of the cracks that way.”

For larger handles, such as teapots, she adds a little coil of clay around the base of the handle. “It gives a negative pressure,” she explains. “Rather than the piece trying to pull apart, it has an extra piece of clay that is pushing in. So it balances the pressure to add a coil. It’s pretty standard when handbuilding to add a coil at every seam.”

Her graceful teapot handles are hollow, made with extruded 1½" hollow tubes.

“After extruding, I pull and shape them, lay them down and stamp them, then hit them with the heat gun so they will stiffen up,” she says. “It makes a handle that is stronger to hold, lightweight, and cool to the touch.” Two small holes in either side ensure the handles don’t blow up in the kiln.

Glazing Shapiro’s favorite glaze is her crackle glaze. “It’s my love and my pain because you have to stain the cracks after it comes out of the kiln,” she says. And that’s not all. “We always have trouble with that glaze because the calcium—whiting—is always changing. Even if you buy a ton at a time, it can vary from bag to bag. One month the crackle is gorgeous, the next month, the pots are cracked. I’ve been working with crackle glazes for 20 years and I still don’t feel like I really know them. But I’ll never give up: It’s me or the glaze—one of us will survive.”

If the crackle is her pain, the pink blush is her pride. The interaction of chrome and tin flashes pink at high temperature. Shapiro’s mint base glaze has tin and copper in it; the black glaze for her gesture has chrome. The result is the pink halo. “If you use around 7% tin oxide as an opacifier in a base glaze and then add as little as ½% chrome, you’ll get pinks,” she explains.

CLAyTIMES·COM n November/December 2006

Mint Boat. 4¾" x 14" x 4¼". Wheel-thrown and altered porcelain fired to cone 10 in oxidation.

43

Sushi Set for Two. Wheel-thrown porcelain fired to cone 10 in oxidation.

CLAyTIMES·COM n November/December 2006

Marketing Wisdom

44

In addition to making beautiful pots, Shapiro is something of a marketing master. She credits her success at making a living as a potter partly to her savvy at displaying her work at the many craft fairs she enters. “Most people don’t pay enough attention to their display—they just put out their pots on tables or shelves. But a display that ties into the work and looks like the work itself really can add to sales. Nothing makes me cringe more than seeing people with a horizontal line of the same size pots on horizontal shelves. It’s boring to the eye.”

From years of retail work, Shapiro learned that the human eye, when looking at a display, looks flat across in a horizontal line. “If you put blue pots across an entire shelf at eye level, and green pots on the shelf below them, people will only see the blue pots. You need to break things up vertically. That is a basic display rule.”

Shapiro also suggests grouping pots by color, but again, vertically rather than horizontally. “That will stop the eye,” she explains. “Any time you can stop people in their tracks and have them take the time to look at what’s in your booth, you have a better chance to sell.”

Another of her techniques is to set a scene that relates the function of pots to each other. For example, grouping together a sushi plate, soy sauce bowl, tea cup, and rice bowl on a pedestal gives customers an idea. “Often they’ll buy the whole set,” she notes.

Inspiration Potters find inspiration in a variety of ways, including attending workshops and looking at forms in other mediums.

For Shapiro, there’s another element that adds to the mix. She describes her source of inspiration in terms of the Dr. Seuss book, The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins.

“It expresses perfectly how I come up with new ideas,” she says. “In the book,

little Bartholomew is ordered by the king to remove his hat. He does, but in its place appears another hat exactly like the first one. Poor Bart keeps removing hats, one after another—hundreds of them. After over 400 hats, suddenly the hat on his head has a feather coming out of it. The next hat has two feathers. They keep getting more and more elaborate.

Finally, the 500th hat is a magnificent masterpiece, and he takes it off and gives it to the king. No more hats appear on his head and all is forgiven. The moral? After lots and lots of repetition, something small but amazing will happen ...” ... Sort of like the warm-ups a dancer goes through before finally being able to dance. [

Deborah Shapiro can be reached at shapiroporcelain@yahoo.com.

K. T. Anders is a freelance writer and potter who resides in Upperville, Virginia.

The key to successful booth displays, says Deborah Shapiro, is to arrange pots vertically by stepping them up and down at various levels, rather than simply arranging them on a single, flat surface.

CLAyTIMES·COM n November/December 2006

Jade Cat Teapot. 9¼" tall x 8½" wide with spout x 6½".

Wheel-thrown porcelain fired to cone 10 in oxidation.

45

Buying Spray Equipment

by JENNA McCRACKEN

Proper ventilation is crucial in the ceramics studio. Where processes such as sanding, mixing powders, and spraying are involved, local ventilation—at the site of activity—is a must. Whether glazes contain hazardous materials or not, mists present respiratory health risks requiring the same serious consideration we give to handling dusts.

Use of a well-designed, properly functioning spray booth coupled with a properly fitted, NIOSHapproved respirator offers effective protection.

The Spray Booth A spray booth is a hood, or 5-sided box that confines, collects, and exhausts dust from sanding clay or mixing dry powders, and mist generated by spraying glazes, underglazes, overglazes, and oxides.

The booth has a collection point for excess material/overspray (a filter), a blower or exhaust fan, and ducting. A properly functioning filter should remove much of the material from dust/mist laden air before it is exhausted through the ducting outdoors. The exhaust fan provides the draw, and typically requires a 110-115V power source for operation. Ideally, replacement/fresh air should be available, as through an open window (well away from the exhaust point so that contaminated air will not be returned inside).

Venting to the outdoors via duct work is strongly advised, so that any material that escapes the filter will be exhausted outside of the working environment.

The booth itself may be made of sheet metal, fiberglass, or injection-molded polyethylene; many are constructed as a single unit, so make sure your selection will fit through the doorway of your studio. When deciding upon size, assess available space and then determine what will accommodate the size/scale of your work.

CLAyTIMES·COM n November/December 2006

Collection and Suction

46

A filter is positioned in the exhaust port, most often located in the back wall of the booth. Regular filter replacement is crucial; frequency depends upon level of usage. Contact the manufacturer for guidelines on judging filter saturation. Price and size replacement filters before purchasing a spray booth, in order to gauge expected cost of regular booth maintenance.

Laguna’s Pro-V spray booth is available with a choice of tube axial exhaust fans, depending upon size and length of ducting required: 1720 CFM, ½ hp motor—for use with short, straight runs of ducting; and 2288 CFM, ¾ hp motor—when longer runs with multiple bends are required. A larger exhaust port or longer duct work increases volume and therefore necessitates a stronger draw. The number of bends in the ducting also affects the decision about the size of fan motor to buy.

Most manufacturers use disposable filters, many are simply regular furnace filters. Reusable baffle filters are available on some models, usually made of aluminum or Styrofoam®, and are removable for washing. These filters are designed primarily to knock heavy mist residue out of the air so that it may be reclaimed (and reused). Use the same precautions during filter replacement/cleaning as when handling wet or dry waste glaze material; spray booth filters used for certain glazes must be handled and disposed of as hazardous waste, as must the waste water produced when cleaning.

A spray booth may be equipped with either a blower or an exhaust fan. The motor may be mounted on the fan itself—in the air stream (typically referred to as “in-line”)—and therefore sealed to prevent eventual wear caused by exposure to abrasive ceramic materials. Or, a motor may be mounted externally, outside of the air stream. In either case, booths designed specifically for handling ceramic materials (water-based) are not the same as booths with spark-resistant, sealed motors—required when spraying lacquers, solvents, and other flammable materials. Spray booths surveyed in this article are not equipped for use with flammable materials, though some companies will provide a spark-resistant motor (called a “hazardous location motor”) upon request so … consider the nature of the materials sprayed in your studio.

Used in industrial hygiene and ventilation engineering, the term CFM, cubic feet per minute, is pervasive throughout spray booth sales literature. Blowers/fans receive a rating (CFM) indicating amount of air caused to flow per minute. The Web-based Wikipedia’s definition is sufficient in this context: “A measurement of air flow that indicates how many cubic feet of air pass by a stationary point in one minute. The higher the number, the more air is being forced through the system.”

Booth manufacturers will provide installation guidelines and venting instructions, as well as help you determine the adequate CFM rating for your studio—in fact; they want you to call them.

Some sell fan motors without plugs for the express purpose of encouraging you to consult an expert. Whether you are dealing with electricity or air quality, the potential health and safety risks are serious. If you lack the proper training and experience, hire experts to assist in setting up and maintaining your operation.

Venting and Exhaust When venting outdoors, ensure that the venting system will meet building code and consider length of duct work required before shopping. When venting outdoors is not possible, consult the manufacturer for advice. One option, offered on the Laguna models, is an additional filtration system (called an Air Scrubber).

The idea is that escaping material would be caught in a second baffle filter, followed by a high particulate filter—thus providing three “lines of defense” versus the single filter system in a standard booth. (Note: Laguna describes their reusable “knock-down baffle filter” as a glaze-saving device, noting that baffles are neither heavy metal- nor silica-trapping filters. Because they are not trapping filters, the Air Scrubber with its two additional filters is an absolute must in an unvented Laguna spray booth.)

More on Safety

Determining Filter Saturation: AMACO offers this simple test to determine if a spray booth filter needs to be changed: Cut a 4" x 4" piece of tissue paper. Then cut ¼" strips around the edges and hang with tape onto the front of the spray booth. During operation, the fringes will be pulled back toward the inside. When the filter is clogged, the fringes will hang straight, indicating it is time to replace the filter.

particles accumulate is as important as regular filter cleaning and replacement. Compare ease of cleaning across several models before committing to one. Also be sure to ask about necessity of cleaning fan parts and ducting, too.

It is important to know what is in your glazes before spraying or, in the absence of adequate information, assume hazardous potential. Contact manufacturers of commercial glaze products if information is not easily accessible. Always use a properly rated, properly fitted, NIOSH approved respirator for mists when spraying.

Accessories and Other Options Some spray booths are modular units that may be connected together. Conveyor systems are especially useful for tile and production operations that require several consecutive applications of different glazes. Leg packages and stands are available for converting most bench top models to freestanding booths when workbench space is limited.

CLAyTIMES·COM n November/December 2006

When dealing with dust and mist production in the ceramic process, a spray booth that is not properly vented—whether due to a saturated filter or laboring fan—cannot prevent pollution of studio air. Thus, a hazardous environment is created not only for the spray operator, but also for others working in the same area. Wherever mist lands, there is potential for it to be raised into the air again. Spraying outdoors without a booth is also irresponsible; the environment is polluted, and wind direction can send overspray into undesirable areas. A primary function of a spray booth should be to efficiently collect overspray for re-use or proper disposal. Frequent cleaning of all surfaces upon which mist

AMACO’s Spray Booth No. 1, a benchtop model, is available with an optional stand that has adjustable legs for varying the height from 49½" to 54½". This booth is constructed of steel and features a ¾ hp fan motor with exhaust air delivery of 1361 CFM. The exhaust opening in the back accepts a standard 10" duct to vent to the outdoors.

4

A Sampling of Spray Booths Manufacturer & Web Address

Model(s)

Basic construction, filter type, CFM rating

Interior Dimensions WxDxH

Exterior Dimensions WxDxH

MSRP

Alpine

SB1

steel sheet metal; disposable standard furnace filter; blower—900 CFM

28" x 22" x 33"

28" x 22" x 69"

$1400

Spray Booth No. 1

steel sheet metal; tabletop unit; disposable filter; adjustable height stand available; fan—1361 CFM

24" x 24" x 26"

24" x 44" x 26"

$1600

Pro-V

polyethylene; reusable filters; leg assembly included; fan—CFM varies with motor choice: 1720-2288

47" x 34" x 39"

48¼" x 50¼" x 74¼"

$18702057

Pro-X

polyethylene; tabletop unit; reusable filters; stand available; fan—1187 CFM

27½" x 30" x 34½"

30¾" x 34" x 47½"

$1217

(A.R.T. Studio Clay Company, Inc.)

www.artclay.com

AMACO (American Art Clay Company, Inc.)

www.amaco.com

Laguna Clay Company www.lagunaclay.com

Air Scrubber high-particulate filter

Paasche Airbrush Company www.paascheairbrush.com

$495

EBF-3

sheet metal; benchtop unit; disposable fiberglass paint filter; vent unit—1100 CFM

36" x 30" x 24"

40" x 38" x 68"

$1195

FABSF-3

sheet metal; disposable fiberglass paint filter; leg assembly included; vent unit—1550 CFM

36" x 24" x 48"

40" x 50" x 98"

$1695

*Wider range of models available

Sugar Creek Industries, Inc. www.sugarcreekind.com

SB-1-SC

fiberglass; disposable standard furnace filter; stand available; blower—980 CFM

20" x 17" x 27¾"

22" x 26" x 35"

$720

SB-2-SC

fiberglass; disposable standard furnace filter; stand available; blower—980 CFM

40" x 20" x 30"

43½" x 33" x 36½"

$830

CLAyTIMES·COM n November/December 2006

Preparing to Buy: The table above offers a sampling of spray booths currently available. The MSRP column lists retail prices

48

suggested by the manufacturer. These prices change over time, because of competitive pressures and fluctuating materials costs. Check manufacturer Web sites and local distributors for special sales and in-depth product information.

Spray guns are available through many pottery equipment distributors, who carry

a

variety of models made by the following manufacturers: Critter Spray Products Geil Kilns Paasche Airbrush Company

www.crittersprayproducts.com www.kilns.com www.paascheairbrush.com

External-mix, high-pressure, pneumatic siphon gun Internal-mix, gravity-feed HVLP conversion gun Wide variety of spray guns and airbrushes

Paintec

www.paintec.com

Pump sprayer; accepts pneumatic connection

van Gilder Tools

www.claytimes.com

Oral siphon blower; accepts pneumatic connection

1

2

3

4

1. The Critter model 118 Siphon Gun requires a minimum ¾ hp air compressor and between 10-90 psi to operate. This popular external-mix, highpressure gun is available through many pottery equipment distributors: $54.50. 2. Geil Kilns is selling a gravity-feed HVLP conversion gun with all the benefits of an HVLP system, yet it runs off of an air compressor: $49.95. 3. Paintec’s pump sprayer: $40. An attachment (also $40) is available for this sprayer, allowing it to be connected to an air compressor for high-pressure spray application. Nozzles are bronze and extra nozzle sets are available, offering a variety of orifice sizes. 4. These oral siphon blowers, available at www.claytimes.com, are part of Bill van Gilder’s pottery tool line: $24.50. Offering incredible versatility, these blowers may be operated by the user’s breath, or by connection to an air compressor.

The Spray Gun Spray guns may be divided into four groups, based on the source of operational air. Possible sources of air include: turbine-driven HVLP (high volume low pressure) systems, compressors, handoperated pumps, and the operator’s mouth. Most of the models commonly carried by pottery equipment distributors are designed for water-based ceramic materials—as opposed to those made to handle oil-based paints—and fall into the last three groups, with pneumatic (air compressor-driven) spray guns widely advocated by potters.

Pneumatic guns offer the highest pressure and, along with the HVLP guns, the most consistent spray output. Some argue for the superiority of HVLP systems, declaring they deliver the highest rate of material transfer to ware. HVLP conversion guns are available to satisfy this preference—such as those sold by Geil Kilns; they run off of an air compressor, as opposed to a turbine-driven system. For more information on turbine-driven HVLP systems, see Vince Pitelka’s Tool Times columns: “Building Your Own Spray Booth,” Clay Times, January/February 2003, pp. 37, 53; and “Choosing Spray Equipment,” Clay Times, March/April 2003, pp. 31, 39.

Pneumatic spray guns may be further subdivided into internal- or external-mix guns, and siphon or gravity-feed guns. Air and fluid may mix inside the gun or outside; guns are classified as internaland external-mix respectively. The reservoir on a gravity-feed gun is located above the gun and they are typically internal-mix systems.

A siphon tube is inserted into the liquid-containing reservoir.

When air blows over the orifice at the top of the tube, negative pressure is created and the liquid is siphoned, or pulled up the tube from the reservoir. Upon reaching the orifice, the liquid is blown outward, distributed in the form of mist in a cone-shaped (circular) or fan-shaped (linear) pattern. External-mix guns take less abuse from the abrasiveness of ceramic materials and are reportedly the easiest to clean, since the only parts actually in contact with glaze material are the siphon tube and reservoir.

Options on certain guns include the capability of changing the shape of the mist distribution pattern or adjusting the amount of

The amount of air needed to operate a high-pressure gun varies between manufacturers, but falls within a 15-90 psi range.

Discuss compressor requirements with the gun manufacturer or distributor. Remember that a compressor’s power determines the amount of time it takes to pump the reservoir tank to the desired pressure. While a gun may only require a ¾ hp compressor, a light-duty compressor will have to run more often to keep the tank at a certain level when under high demand (noisy). This is the reason some potters suggest buying a 5 hp compressor.

Pump guns are operated by hand, using a mechanism in the handle similar to a bicycle pump. Often, pump guns made for spraying paint will not hold up the abuse brought by abrasive materials. Many pottery equipment distributors sell Paintec’s pump gun because it has lasting bronze parts, and because it may be purchased with an adapter that allows air compressor connection.

With design roots in Asia, siphon blowers are operated orally—the user blows into a pipe connected to the reservoir that holds the liquid glaze or oxide. Siphoning occurs due to the same principle upon which high-pressure guns operate. But here’s the interesting thing: siphon blowers may also be operated pneumatically!

Bill van Gilder uses the siphon blower available through his tool line with a compressor: he simply attaches the compressor nozzle to the mouth end, replacing his own breath with high-pressure air and achieving the constancy of mist distribution for which pneumatic guns are so prized. Siphon blowers are also quickly interchangeable when applying multiple colors/glazes, and they are very easy to clean.

Airbrushes offer the most controlled application and are designed to handle small quantities of thinned-down glaze or underglaze.

They are typically internal-mix systems with smaller orifices than spray guns. Used primarily for detail work and touch-ups, they are not intended for the high volume, large coverage, or coarse particle materials for which ceramic/pottery spray guns were designed. [

Jenna McCracken is a Clay Times staff writer and potter who lives in Alexandria, Virginia. She may be reached via e-mail at j.j.mcCracken@gmail.com.

CLAyTIMES·COM n November/December 2006

External-mix high-pressure siphon spray guns are perhaps the most widely available; many pottery equipment distributors carry various models that operate as follows:

mist exiting the gun (by lowering and raising the siphon tube); all stainless steel parts; and plastic versus metal or glass reservoirs.

49

A Perfect Marriage Clay and wood live happily together in the hands of Jan Jacque

CLAyTIMES¡COM n November/December 2006

by K.T. Anders

50

Tango in Blue. 17" x 15" x 3". Multiple-fired white earthenware with cherry wood.

R

aise your hand if you think you are in control of your life and your work. Not so fast, you control freaks! The real truth is that no matter how minutely we plan our pathways, fate has a way of stepping in, and bam! We begin a new journey—one that leads us to unimaginable places.

So it was with Jan Jacque when a new boyfriend came into her life. It’s not that she was rigid in her pathway. Years prior, she had entered the Rochester Institute of Technology School for American Craftsmen pretty convinced she would be a production potter. But soon she found herself sticking her finger into those perfect, wheel-thrown shapes. “By my sophomore year I figured out round was not my forte,” she says. “I distressed everything I threw, so it occurred to me, what was the point? I started handbuilding.”

So for 15 years she worked with coils and draped slabs over molds to make and sell beautiful pots. Then fate arrived in the form of her new boyfriend, Richard Daddazio, who happened to be a woodworker. In the name of togetherness, Jacque found herself fiddling around in the woodworking studio. One day it struck her: “Gee, I could do something with this.”

The “something” turned out to be a marriage of wood and clay that for the past few years has taken Jacque’s work in an exciting new direction. It’s actually the perfect expression of her love of nature. “I see clay as earth, and wood as the growth of living things,” she explains. “I like the combination of the wood growing out of the clay. People often only take in the big things in nature—the Grand Canyon, for example—and they miss the small stuff, like the beauty of a branch or a flower popping through the ground. I want people to see the balance and complexity of nature and how it intertwines.”

Unwind. 23" x 13" x 5". Multiple-fired white earthenware with a river root (species unknown).

The wood component Jacque’s initial inspiration for a piece comes from the wood.

“If you start with the pot and then try to find a piece of wood, you can never find one that will work,” she says. She acquires wood in two ways. Sometimes she gathers branches in the woods. “I like it when the branch is gnarly, twisty, and turny, and you can see where the wind or some force of nature has transformed it a little,” she says. After studying a branch, she sketches her idea for its clay companion. Then she strips the bark and cambium and sands the wood.

Bringing wood and clay together Once she has crafted the wood into the shape she wants, Jacque rolls a slab of clay and drapes it inside one of the matching molds she has stored on a ceiling-high 6' x 3' rack.

Mountain Pass. 15" x 7" x 3". Multiple-fired white earthenware with cherry wood.

CLAyTIMES·COM n November/December 2006

But sometimes she sculpts the wood herself, sketching a shape which she then cuts out of a board of cherry, walnut, tiger maple, or sycamore in that (now shared) woodworking basement. “I shape it with a power rasp and then sand it. The rasp takes away the sharp-edged look of the board so the wood is flowing, growing, and moving.”

51

She calls it an “exercise in imagination” to see how many different things she can make by turning a mold in various positions. Although at first she made plaster molds, Jacque now uses bisqued clay molds, which are lighter and easier to handle. “I’ve even used plastic containers from McDonald’s® to make a mold,” she confesses.

Each mold is only one side of the piece, so once the clay is leather-hard, Jacque slips and scores and adds a coil on the seam, paddling until the seam is smooth. Bases are solid, formed and worked with a Surform® rasp. “They make the piece a little heavy, but it helps with stability,” she says. “I like tall tippy things, but people don’t want tippy, so this weights the bottom down.”

dust from really good wood workers,” she quips). To create interesting flashing, she lays the pieces on their sides with green leaves and ferns under and over them. “The green leaves create much more distinctive marks,” she says. The glazed sections of the pots get wrapped in aluminum foil to mask out the smoke.

“It’s easier if I don’t have to scrub the smoke off the glaze.”

Once the cabinet is set ablaze, she smothers the fire with a big, metal lid for reduction. “Then I let her smoke for about 24 hours.”

Finalizing the piece Because the piece has shrunk in the firing, the wood now has to be reshaped in order to fit—a sometimes tedious task. “One of the reasons I like my clay body is that it doesn’t have a lot of shrinkage,” she notes. “I have to sand the piece of wood down to fit into the pot—and it can go really fast or it can take an hour.” After staining the wood, she coats it with a lacquerbased stain and attaches it with silicone adhesive. “I tried a lot of adhesives, but the silicone works best,” she says. “Because the wood dries out and moves with humidity, you need something with a little stretch to it. I tried PC-7® Epoxy Paste, and the wood moved and actually broke the clay.”

To facilitate sliding the wood onto the clay after firing, she makes a little pocket in the clay. Then she finishes the shape using the Surform rasp, finetunes it with a metal rib, and smooths it with a light sanding. The final stage is another light sanding with steel wool to make the piece completely smooth.

“Then,” she says, “it gets complicated.”

Adding color

CLAyTIMES·COM n November/December 2006

In the past, Jacque sprayed color directly onto greenware. But because a recent batch of the custom-mixed white clay body she uses has been misbehaving, she now bisques the pieces before spraying or airbrushing them with oxides or watered-down Amaco Velvet stains. “To make a particular color that Amaco doesn’t offer, I mix stains and add a gum solution and sometimes a little clay,” she explains. Or she may spray on an Amaco matte glaze. “Commercial glazes are the one corner I cut,” she says.

52

Pink Ribbon. 16" x 10" x 4". Multiple-fired white earthenware with cherry wood.

Jacque was in the midst of a big commission piece when she underwent chemotherapy. It was a struggle to maintain enough energy to work on it.

“When I finally finished it,” she says, “I stood back and looked at it. And suddenly I thought, ‘I am not done with clay yet. I’m going to keep doing this!’” [

After firing to cone 04, Jacque quickly drops the temperature of the kiln. At 100° F, she opens the lid, hoping to hear a lot of “pings.” Her goal is to get fracture lines in the glaze. “The glaze doesn’t fit the clay and I’m trying to get it to crackle even more so it will pick up the smoke from the pit,” she explains.

Into the pit Once cooled, the pieces go into the pit fire in a 5' x 4' sheet metal box filled with 4" of wood chips (“I have very fine saw-

Jacque’s most recent work has been much more colorful than in the past.

That may be because once again, fate stepped into her life: she survived breast cancer in 2004. “I think that a lot of the recent bright colors I’m using are my way of screaming ‘I’m alive,’” she says. “After the chemo, I felt I had to do something different.

I even started ripping the clay.” She says her piece, “Pink Ribbon” (pictured at top), is a direct result of her ordeal.

Jan Jacque can be reached at info@ janjacque.com.

Live Strong. 30" x 11" x 4". Multiple-fired white earthenware with cherry wood.

K.T. Anders is a freelance writer and potter who resides in Upperville, Va.

Hiki Dashi Slip

furnished by Marc Lancet measured in parts by volume

Red Iron Oxide Wood Ash

Reduced Midnight è

furnished by Peter Ilsley

Fusion Frit 644 Calcined Zinc Oxide Amorphous Silica Bentonite TOTAL add Cobalt Carbonate Copper Carbonate

44.0% 24.0 30.0 2.0 100.0%

1 part 2 parts

éé Should be suitable for functional and decorative/sculptural pottery. è Questionable for use on functional pottery. Test thoroughly before using. ê Limit to use on decorative/sculptural work.

readers share I Glaze & Slip Recipes

Great Glazes

share your glaze with us!

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

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

4.0% 1.0%

Fired in an oxidation atmosphere peaking at 2340° F, followed by a second reduction firing descending from 1450° F.

Mink over Amber

used by Tom Wallick (pictured on page )

è

Ferro GF106/Pemco J-239-P 68.42% Calcined Zinc Oxide 24.13 Amorphous Silica (325 mesh) 7.45 TOTAL 100.00% add Bentonite 2.00%

4.0% 4.0% 1.0%

Amber variation to above base recipe, add Rutile Ilmenite Manganese Dioxide

4.0% 2.0% 6.0%

CLAyTIMES·COM n November/December 2006

Mink variation to above base recipe, add Rutile Red Iron Oxide Manganese Dioxide

53

Readers Share I Art Works

The Gallery

Untitled. 1" x 5½". Stoneware with white slip and wax-resist image, salt-glazed and fired to cone 10. Stacey Stanhope, 15900 Westbrook Road, Alpharetta, GA 30004.

Web: www.clayfetishpottery.com.

CLAyTIMES¡COM n November/December 2006

Pit-fired Vessel. 22" tall. Wheel-thrown and burnished porcelain, bisque-fired to cone 010 and then fired in an open pit with wood and sawdust. Sealed post-firing with masonry sealant to preserve color. Glass handle added. Dan Ishler, 30678 State Route 20, Oak Harbor, WA 98277. E-mail: ishler1@verizon.net.

54

Verbal Evasion. 7" x 30". Wheel-thrown and altered earthenware. Scott J. Ziegler, 762 East Hillside Avenue, Barrington, IL 60010. E-mail: SJZ73@yahoo.com.

Peacock Jar. 7" tall. Wheel-thrown stoneware with oxide brushwork fired in reduction. Jim Fineman, PO Box 901, Manteo, NC 27954.

E-mail: mudman2@mindspring.com.

To have your work considered for publication in The Gallery, please send a high-quality color print, slide, or 300 dpi digital image to: The Gallery, Clay Times, P.O. Box 365, Waterford, VA 20197. Please include your name, address, telephone number, Web or e-mail address, type of clay, glaze, firing method, and dimensions of the work. (Enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope for photo/slide return.)

Readers Share I Art Works

The Gallery

Encounter. 12" x 12" x 12". Cast and screen-printed porcelain fired to cone 6 in oxidation. Jessica Broad, c/o Baltimore Clayworks, 5707 Smith Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21209. E-mail: jessraist@verizon.net.

All in a Day’s Work. 11" tall. Raku-fired. Alan Noll, 2027 Standing Timber Road, Lancaster, SC 29720.

E-mail: timbercreekpottery@yahoo.com.

CLAyTIMES·COM n November/December 2006

Side-fired Vase. 9½" x 7". Stoneware with a thick coat of apple wood ash and oxides, propped on its side with seashells and fired to cone 10 in reduction.

Steve Irvine, 484068 Cape Road RR #2, Wiarton, Ontario, Canada N0H 2T0.

Web: www.steveirvine.com.

Platter. 4" x 18" x 22". Stoneware with slips, salt-fired to cone 10. Brock Rumohr, 504 Shoshone Drive, Waukesha, WI 53188. E-mail: rumclaykid@aol.com.

55

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

McSolution!

For the past year I have been using Styrofoam cups (saved from McDonald’s®) to keep my mugs from warping as they dry.

This has worked very well for me. I attach handles when the mug is at the soft leather-hard stage, and lightly drop in the Styrofoam cup right afterward. As the clay shrinks, I loosen the Styrofoam cup in each mug, and lightly drop it in again.

On occasion, when I’ve left the cups in the mugs overnight and they’ve completely dried (without the loosening), I’ve had no problems. Result? No more warped mugs! ®

Joe Vitek • Towson, Maryland

West coast to east, damp/dry boxes must be all the rage! Here are two opposite takes we’ve received on building your own, one right after another ...

Dry Box To recycle clay scraps, trimmings, and throwing slop, I have made several plaster drying bins. Purchase plastic storage bins that are 22" x 15" x 6" (the 32-quart size). Mix up and pour pottery plaster to a depth of about 4". When set, remove the plaster block and drill about ten ½" holes in the bottom of the plastic bin. Return the plaster block to the bin. Put it in the sun to dry (it will take a while).

Readers Share I Tips & Techniques

The Slurry Bucket

To use, let trimmings dry completely. Put into a 5-gallon bucket, add water to cover, and let slake. Use a drill mixer attachment and blend until thoroughly mixed, adding throwing slop as needed to get a very thick, smooth consistency. By the handfuls, spread a 2" thickness of the muck onto the plaster in the bin. Give it a week or so to dry, and the clay will be ready to wedge. If you need to slow down the drying process, you can put the lid on the bin.

Ruth Jacobson • San Bruno, California

Damp Box Rib Care Tips

Not only does this protect the wood, it also brings out the color of the grain in the wood so you end up with a nice piece of protected, radiant wood that will be useful long into the future. Four to five coats are enough to protect a piece of wood for years. This is the process that’s been used over time on the best gun stocks and wood exposed to weather.

Be sure to dispose of the rag safely and immediately.

Paul Ringo • Lake Charles, Louisiana

Stephen Sullivan • Cumberland, Maryland [

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

CLAyTIMES·COM n November/December 2006

Wooden ribs and tools (especially those that are not varnished) can use some simple maintenance to keep them functioning for years. Wash them thoroughly to get all clay residue off.

Allow them to dry completely. Use an old scrap piece of cloth and rub on some Boiled Linseed Oil—available at any home supply outlet or paint store. Apply one coat, allow it to sit for 10 minutes, and wipe off the residue. Allow the rib or tool to dry for a while, apply another coat, and follow the same procedure until the wood is no longer absorbing the oil.

Cheap and effective drying bins can easily be made by pouring a couple inches of plaster into the bottoms of plastic storage totes. Lots of sizes are available and many people have spares laying around. Drying time can be controlled by propping the lids. The plaster aids with even drying and helps prevent Scracks. Best of all … flip the plaster out and you have a large bat—and your storage tote back.

57

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CLAyTIMES·COM n November/December 2006

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by VINCE PITELKA

I

’ve been pushing clay around with hands and tools for almost 40 years.

By now, the material submits willingly (most of the time). I’ve read all the romanticized prose about our symbiosis with this magical stuff, a material as old as the Earth, a substance aligned with forces of nature. But what is it really?

Clay is among the most commonplace raw materials on Earth. It’s slippery, squishy dirt, refined by time and movement, composed of flat sub-microscopic particles called platelets that like to surround themselves with a lubricating layer of water. Certainly there’s magic— in how we manipulate and decorate the clay, and how our finished work communicates with the viewer and user.

In studio ceramics, it all starts with the hands, of course. Skill and craftsmanship originate from the hands, not the tools.

Every day, every clay worker should ask, “How much can I do with my hands alone?” In January of 2001, my first “Tool Times” column issued a challenge to put away all your clay tools and try making forms entirely with your hands. Recently

Through history, many potters have had no choice but to work with minimal tools and facilities. Under such circumstances, the innate adaptability and creativity of the human spirit show us that adversity is often the mother of invention, inspiring endless innovative ways of using the hands. The inevitable next step is to devise tools, but potters in such situations rarely use a tool when their hands will do the job.

seem a strange question from me. After all, I’m the tool guy around here. But it has never been my intention to talk you into using tools you don’t need. In fact, my own philosophy of tools is almost diametrically opposite, based on resourcefulness, improvisation, innovation, adaptation, and recycling. I encourage you to always be on the lookout for the raw materials to make your own tools, and to watch yard sales, flea markets, hardware stores, and kitchen stores for tools that can be adapted for studio use. In those circumstances, it is the familiarity with your own ways of working with clay that allows you to recognize appropriate materials and tools.

“Skill and craftsmanship originate with the hands, not the tools.”

For many years, I’ve been teaching a workshop called “Ancient Clay” that explores the methods of ancient and tribal potters around the world. We use a combination of traditional and contemporary tools, but much of the important moving and shaping is done entirely with our hands, and there’s always something wonderful about that direct contact and communication with the clay.

Tribal and ancient pots often show the marks of the maker’s hands. It’s a powerful experience to place our own fingers upon those marks, confirming a close bond with a potter from ancient times or a culture far removed from ours. That’s an opportunity most of us rarely have, and in lieu of that, working in the studio with minimal tools helps us fully realize the capability of our own hands and affirms the same bond.

When you pick up any clay tool, perhaps it is worth asking, “Could I do the same thing with my hands?” If the answer is yes, then why use that tool? This might

To push the dialogue further, I propose that when we move and shape clay with our hands or tools, we are communicating; and it is a vital form of communication between the maker and those who observe and appreciate the products of our endeavors. The language and vocabulary of this communication depend on our skill in moving and shaping clay and the range of marks and effects we can use, corresponding to ideas or images in our minds. Our hands and tools are the instruments that transmit this communication to the clay. Using them wisely and effectively clarifies the visual language and message in our pots or sculpture.

Every stroke, mark, and nuance of shape and surface communicates something important and specific, regardless of whether we make dinnerware, figurative work, teapots, or sculptural installations incorporating shard piles. Whenever we move, shape, or embellish clay, we are using a visual language shared with potters and sculptors past and present

CLAyTIMES·COM n NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2006

With hands and tools we push, pull, squeeze, center, penetrate, lift, press, smooth, narrow, widen, stretch, collar, flare, add, subtract, bend, straighten, mold, model, incise, impress, paddle, poke, prod, cut, carve, pierce, scrape, and trim. Each word implies a particular kind of movement integral to a specific causeand-effect relationship when throwing or handbuilding. Through a carefully selected sequence of these movements, we transform a solid lump of clay into a finished piece ready for drying. As we negotiate our way through a particular sequence of movements, how do we decide when to use our hands, when to use a tool, and which tool to use? Those are questions I cannot answer, because they are a matter of individual choice in each person’s “dialogue” with clay. I can offer some thoughts to help each of us work through this dialogue.

on the Clayart Internet discussion list, Mel Jacobson talked about the same thing—the challenge of making pots in the most basic, elemental fashion, with minimal tools or equipment. It can be a real wake-up call for many of us.

Shop Talk I Tool Times

Hands & Tools: Shaping your Message

59

across the world, but individualized by nuances of accent, inflection, and personality.

To what degree do you “design” the form and surface of your ware? How much forethought goes into the subtleties of shape and surface, and the resulting message communicated by the appearance and utility of your work? How does the deliberate and careful use of hands and tools determine and clarify this message?

With functional pots, utility is a prime issue, but your work is always seen before it is used. Whether for pots or sculpture, design involves the planned and purposeful manipulation of a medium to

control visual communication. This predetermines what your work says to the viewer and user. The narrative content originates in your thoughts and ideas, and is transferred to the clay by hands and tools. The choice of how to use your hands and tools in manipulating clay is like the choice of words in a sentence. As my mother always said, speak clearly. [ 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.

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Measuring Temperature II by marc ward

I

n my previous column, I talked about analog pyrometers—those dumb little guys that swing their needle back and forth to sort of give you an idea of what temperature your kiln has reached during firing. As I explained, the only way the needle moves on an analog pyrometer is by the force of the electrons pushing the needle up: more electrons, more push; fewer electrons, less push. As you can imagine, electrons are pretty puny things. That needle must be extremely light to be shoved around by those little ghosts. It is ... and they are, which is why they aren’t very accurate.

What is accurate is the puny stream of electrons generated by the thermocouple that has its nose in the heat of the kiln. That stream of elemental particles has a hard time moving things in the big, macro world we live in, but it can be measured accurately. That’s what digital pyrometers do. Instead of calling on those little guys to actually do pushups, the digital pyrometer measures the specific flow of electrons, and with a powered analyzer, presents you with a numerical value of that flow. No pushups; just an accurate indication of how much energy could be used to do pushups. That’s a big difference.

A digital pyrometer measures the very accurate flow of electrons. Instead of expressing them on a very inaccurate

So how is the digital pyrometer so smart?

Well, it’s not as smart as other forms of temperature measurement (that’s the tease for the next article), but it’s as smart as most of us need. It depends on the reading from a thermocouple. A thermocouple is a pair of different alloys joined together at one end and unconnected at the other end. When the joined tip is exposed to heat, the two metals respond differently, as far as expansion and movement. This produces the flow of electrons mentioned earlier. This continuous flow of energy was discovered by ’ole Tom Seebeck in 1821. Commonly known as Seebeck voltage, it also referred to as EMF, or Electromotive Force.

That’s the force that moves the needle in our analog pyrometer and is measured in our digital pyrometer. When temperature goes up, so does EMF output.

Because the digital pyrometer is only measuring this force, and not depending on it for the power to move things, it is far more accurate and responsive. Now let’s complicate things further: You’ve bought one of those fancy oxyprobe thing-a-ma-jigs. It measures temperature, right? But the end you put in the kiln doesn’t do it the same way as a thermocouple or its counterpart, the digital pyrometer. Now consider the RTD, or Resistance Temperature Detector.

It looks like a thermocouple, but it’s a whole different beast. It was discovered in the same year as Tom Seebeck’s thermocouple. While sipping brandy in 1821, Sir Humphrey Davy said that resistance of electrical flow showed a marked dependence to temperature. But old Hump had to wait 50 years for Sir William Siemens to provide the perfect metal to accomplish this—platinum.

Ouch! Gold is dirt-cheap compared to this stuff. That’s why oxy-probes cost so much. It’s not the meter; it’s the probe.

The resistance part is about the specific inability of electrons to flow through certain metals at specific temperatures.

So the digital pyrometer’s battery provides the power to measure the flow of electrons generated by the thermocouple, while the oxy-probe measures the resistance to flow powered by the battery. It sounds the same, but it’s the opposite.

The analog and digital pyrometers are sitting in the dark, waiting for the flash of light and measuring how bright it is.

The RTD systems are sweeping the landscape with a searchlight and waiting to measure what they see. That’s why an analog pyrometer can read the flow of a thermocouple. But an oxy-probe has to put power into the system to see what happens. The digital pyrometer is just hopped-up on power to only read the flow that has to push the analog pyrometer.

OK, I’ve briefly covered analog pyrometers, digital pyrometers, thermocouples, and RTDs. Next issue, we’ll look at the easiest, most accurate temperature measurement device there is: IR (infrared).

Oh yeah, it’s also the most expensive. Go figure! [ Marc Ward is owner and operator of Ward Burner Systems in Dandridge, Tennessee. He can be reached by phone at (865) 397-2914 or through the online catalog and Web site at this address: www.wardburner.com.

CLAyTIMES·COM n November/December 2006

And the difference and how it is represented is a big deal—a real big deal.

You can stare at an analog pyrometer for quite a while before you can detect a discernible difference in temperature.

Part of the reason for this is that the analog pyrometer works on an analog scale (a series of numbers printed on a fixed path on which a indicator moves).

You can’t discern the difference between 500° F and 502° F because the scale is too small. You may be able to tell the difference between 500° and 525°, but it is still pretty much a guess.

analog scale, it presents them as a very accurate digital numerical reading. On the analog, you probably couldn’t tell the difference between 500° and 510°. On the digital pyrometer, however, you’ll know if you are at 500.0° F or 500.2° F—and you’ll know it instantly. If you really know your kiln and it functions reliably, this may not be a very big deal. But if you have a new kiln, or a temperamental kiln, this can be a huge deal. You can stare at an analog pyrometer for an hour before you decide it has stalled. The staring time frame with a digital pyrometer can be a couple of minutes before you know something is not right.

Shop Talk I Firing

instruments for

61

Studio I Health & Safety

Lead Glazes in Schools

by MONONA ROSSOL

A

few years ago, a school district superintendent contacted me.

He told me that his elementary school and high school teachers were trying to convince him that the lead glazes they were using were safe to use in schools. He asked me to write a document in defense of his decision to ban lead glazes in his school system. I complied.

This paper has been used many times since, not only by principals and teachers, but by parents upset to find lead glazes being used in their children’s schools. I‘ve updated and shortened this publication for Clay Times in case there are readers who need to make these arguments, too.1

HOW LEAD EXPOSURE OCCURS

CLAyTIMES·COM n November/December 2006

• Dust from unfired glazes: Glazes are finely ground materials suspended in water. They become powdery and dusty again when they dry. This occurs when small splashes or spills dry, or when the glazes are painted on the bisque.

During glazing, this dust gets on hands, tables, clothing, etc. If glazes are also air-brushed or spray-applied, exposure is even greater. It is impossible to apply glazes without being exposed to at least some glaze dust.

62

• Fumes emitted from kilns during firing.

Lead and cadmium fumes are emitted by glazes during firing. Unless kiln ventilation is excellent, small amounts of fume can escape into the room and can be inhaled. The fume particles subsequently settle to contaminate dust in the area.

• Lead contamination of kilns. It is well-documented that lead fume from glazes can contaminate all the ware in the kiln—even lead-free glaze surfaces.

The kiln brick insulation and shelving becomes contaminated with lead oxide fume. This fume redeposits on lead-free ware in subsequent firings, even after

lead is no longer used. Ware from kilns used previously for firing lead glazes should not be considered lead-free.

• Using lead- or cadmium-glazed ware for food or drink. All glazes dissolve in contact with liquid. The only difference between acceptable and unacceptable glazes is the rate at which they dissolve. FDA currently only regulates the amounts of lead and cadmium that dissolve (leach) from glazes. But schools usually do not test their finished products to assure that student work is safe. Schools also cannot exercise the tight control over application and firing that is needed to make food-safe ware.

Production of food-use ceramics is not recommended except for well-equipped professional schools with access to laboratory testing. (Toxic metals other than lead and cadmium can also leach into food.)

LEAD’S EFFECTS • Young children: Lead’s “level of health concern” for young children is defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as 10 micrograms per deciliter (μg/dL) of blood and higher. This level was shown to cause neurological effects which reduce mental acuity (decrease of IQ) in children.

Then in 2003, a study in the New England Journal of Medicine confirmed that effects occur below 10 μg/dL.2 Researchers found that for blood-lead concentrations between 1 and 10 μg/dL, the total decrease in IQ averaged 7.4 points, a drop of 0.82 points for each 1 μg/dL. It is now clear that there is no known level of lead that does not have some degree of adverse effect on the mental acuity of children.

• Pregnant women: The fetus is highly vulnerable to lead. Lead should never be used in environments where young women may be pregnant.

• Adults: Lead decreases performance on neurological tests; causes weakness in fingers, wrists, and ankles; and may increase blood pressure3 in adults. Lead and lead compounds cause cancer in animals and are listed by the National Toxicology Program as reasonably anticipated to be human carcinogens.4 REGULATORY RESTRICTIONS ON USE • CPSC regulations: In 1988, Congress passed the Labeling of Hazardous Art Materials Act which is enforced by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). In 1992, CPSC issued a bulletin5 on art materials that states, “Elementary schools ... should not purchase any hazard-labeled art materials for their students ...”

The hazard labeling of glazes was confused in the past because lead glazes were often labeled “non-toxic” or even “lead-free”! These labels were approved by toxicologists on the basis of an acid test. They theorized that if lead was not released by acid, the lead was not “bioavailable:” that is, it could not get into the body to do harm.

Then in 1992, the Centers for Disease Control reported an accidental ingestion of one of these “insoluble” and “non-toxic” lead glazes which caused a dramatic rise in blood lead in a nursing home patient. It was clear from this and other supportive animal data that this acid test does not predict bioavailability.

Since then, there have been a number of acute poisonings and two deaths in nursing home patients from lead glazes.6, 7 In addition, one toxicologist who was responsible for certifying many glaze labels said in two separate legal depositions that there is no correlation between acid solubility tests and the bioavailability of lead in a glaze.8, 9 As a result, all lead-bearing glazes today should carry warnings that make them unacceptable for use in elementary schools.

If exposure over the action level is measured, regular blood lead tests, showers and changing rooms, and other measures may be instituted depending on the levels found. If the exposure is under the action level, there must be a permanent written record of this determination and monitoring must be done again whenever procedures, materials, or personnel change.

2. High school students: Lead-free glazes can be used safely by older students if teachers instruct them about the hazards and precautions, enforce good hygiene and clean-up, and if they prohibit production of food-use items. Lead-free glazes are comparable to lead glazes in quality, although bright red colors are harder to achieve. Yet attainment of a specific color is never a sufficient reason to risk students’ health.

FOOTNOTES 1. Readers who want the longer, more technical version can send an SASE to me for a free copy.

2. New England Journal of Medicine, Vol. 348:1517-1526, Apr. 17, 2003, No. 16.

3. Toxicological Profile for Lead, Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry (ASTDR), July 1999, p. 8.

3. Special Education students: Students of any age who cannot understand the hazards or who cannot be expected to carry out precautions effectively and consistently must only use products that are safe for young children. Neither lead nor lead-free glazes should be used by such students. Teachers and schools that make toxic materials available to students who cannot comprehend risks are likely to find themselves liable for damages from readily foreseeable, accidental exposure or abuse.

4. 11th Report on Carcinogens, US DHHS, NTP, 2004.

Studio I Health & Safety

• OSHA regulations: Schools that allow teachers to use lead glazes in class for more than 30 days a year10 are breaking the law unless the OSHA Lead Standard (29 CFR 1910.1025) is being met. This rule requires that employees be personally monitored by an industrial hygienist for lead exposure during typical work for at least 7 continuous hours. At least one sample must be taken for each job classification (e.g., teachers, aides, custodians, etc.) in each work area. (There are equally stringent rules for use of cadmium (29 CFR 1910.1027).)

5. Consumer Product Safety Alert, November, 1992, CPSC Press Release.

6. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, CDC, October 23, 1992, 41(42), pp. 781-783. This article described one death and a number of poisonings including the case of a patient who ingested a glaze labeled “lead-free” because it leached less than 0.06% lead by weight on an acid solubility test.

Schools that break these laws are putting their teachers and other personnel at risk (and I consider it outrageous to place children or adult students in such a workplace).

• EPA regulations: Lead, cadmium, and some other glaze metals are regulated in waste materials. The school must add lead glazes to their EPA waste program and a toxic waste disposal company must pick up all glaze waste, spray booth filters, drain trap sludge, mop water from ceramic classroom floors, and more. Recently, EPA fined the Maine College of Art for putting “waste glaze and related floor sweepings ... in the trash or wash[ing it] down the sink.”11 SAFER CURRICULUM CHOICES

7. Press Release, Arts & Creative Materials Institute, Inc., Boston, Institute Items, 39(4), Dec. 1997. ACMI reported another nursing home death from lead glaze ingestion.

8. Dr. Woodhall Stopford testifying for the defense in Ashley Rose Witt v. Duncan Enterprises; American Art Clay, Co.; Mayco Colors, Inc.;

5. Hobby & Home Crafters: Students taught unsafe practice in public schools or colleges will uncritically engage in similarly unsafe activities in after-school programs, adult learning centers, or during home ceramic hobby work. These bad habits could result in toxic exposures for as long as the interest in ceramics persists—perhaps for a lifetime. For this reason, proprietors of hobby centers and sellers of craft materials must provide the information people need to properly protect themselves, or they may be held liable for the damages their materials cause. [

C and R Products, Inc.; and Robert R. Umhoefer, Inc., Sixth Judicial Circuit Court of Pinellas Co., FL Civil Division, No. 92-5392-CI-20. Settled for about $865,000.

9. Dr. Woodhall Stopford testifying for the defense in Sherrell McClendon for her children, Jordan & Michelle Duggan. v. Duncan Ceramics, Mayco Colors, & Allstate Insurance Company USDC No. 94-2183 (US Dist. Crt, Eastern Dist. of Louisiana). Settled for about $500,000.

10. A day under the law is any day in which lead exposure could occur to any employee, even if the exposure is brief. Included would be any day in which lead glazes are applied, painted bisque is moved, the kiln is stacked, the kiln is fired, floors around glazing areas are cleaned, etc.

11. www.epa.gov/NE/pr/2005/jul/sr050702. html, Press Release # sr050702, July 5, 2005.

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.

CLAyTIMES·COM n November/December 2006

1. Elementary school children can paint bisque ware or self-hardening modeling products (ones that don’t require heating or firing) with water-based children’s paints. The items can be coated by the teacher with acrylic sealants. Elementary students shouldn’t even use lead-free ceramic glazes because they may contain metals such as barium, lithium, cobalt, chromium, and more.

4. College students are expected to graduate and set up their own studios or teach. They should be taught methods they can use safely after graduation.

They should be taught how to comply with the EPA and OSHA regulations including the OSHA Lead Standard if lead is used.

63

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Statement of Ownership, Management and Circulation.

Publication Title: Clay Times. Publication number 10877614. Filing Date: 10-1-2006. Published bimonthly.

Annual subscription price: $30. Office of publication: 15481 Second St., PO Box 365, Waterford, VA 201970365. Publisher: Clay Times Inc., PO Box 365, Waterford, VA 20197. Editor: Polly Beach, PO Box 365, Waterford, VA 20197. Managing Editor: None. Owner: Clay Times Inc., PO Box 365, Waterford, VA 20197. Stockholders owning 1% of more of total amount of stock: Polly Beach, PO Box 365, Waterford, VA 20197. Known bondholders, mortgagees, and other security holders owning or holding 1 percent of more of total amount of bonds, mortgages, or other securities: None. Extent and nature of circulation based on preceding 12 months: a) Total number of copies: 21,313. b) Paid/requested circulation: (1) Outside county mail subscriptions: 11,602. (2) In-county subscriptions: 16. (3) Sales through dealers and carriers, street vendors, counter sales and other non-USPS paid distribution: 6,168. (4) Other classes mailed through USPS: 992. c) Total paid and/or requested circulation: 18,778. d) Free distribution by mail (samples, complimentary, and other free): (1) Outside county: 2,061. (2) In-county: 0. (3) Other classes mailed through USPS: 0. e) Free distribution outside the mail (carriers or other means): 273. f) Total free distribution: 2,389. g) Total distribution: 21,112. h) copies not distributed: 201. i) Total: 21,313. j) Percent paid and/or requested circulation: 88%. I certify that the statements made by me above are correct and complete.

Polly Beach, President, Clay Times Inc.

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Featuring more than 50 easyto-read recipes all in one book, ready for use in your studio!

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reVieW by steVeN brANfMAN

by Bill van Gilder • Lark Books Paperback • $17.95 • autographed copies available at www.claytimes.com

I

t’s been a while since I’ve reviewed a technical or instructional book. Most are so plain, regular, only moderately inspiring, and always seem to cover areas that have been well-addressed before.

But when this and next issue’s books came across my desk, they demanded some attention. The fact that they are both products of Lark Books should not be surprising. I have touted Lark’s quality and choice of subject matter before.

Starting with the introduction, the author shares his personality, lays out his philosophy, and sets the stage for what is to follow. From his opening remarks you get a sense of wonder, joy, passion, and calm. His respect for the history and culture of pottery is expressed, as is his style of responding to what his students have to say about their own experiences with clay, and how each one learns.

There is no frenzy, no rush—just one step at a time.

For van Gilder, teaching wheel throwing encompasses the entire process of pottery making—from preparing the clay to glazing and firing—and each project in the book reflects this complete approach. Each of the three chapters begins with a short “pep talk,” if you will, that introduces what is to follow. van Gilder’s opening words are encouraging. Chapter 1, “Wheel-Throwing Basics,” gives the reader an overview of the entire craft of throwing—from tools, materials, and clays to glazes, kilns, and cones. The author demonstrates and teaches two of the most common methods of wedging (he calls it kneading): ram’s head and spiral wedging. His instructions are detailed without being overbearing. He

explains each step and the reasons for it. He then moves on to centering and pulling, separating approaches for clay three pounds or less from those for clay weighing more than three pounds. Important details of throwing techniques are presented and explained as a foundation for the chapters and projects that follow. van Gilder continues, teaching how to apply wax emulsion and make test tiles.

Chapter 2, “Starting Projects,” presents five basic functional items: mixing bowl, fluted bowl, soup cup and saucer, dinner plates, and butter dish. Complete instructions are included for each from start to finish, including trimming, waxing, and glazing, along with suggested glazes (including cone 6 glaze recipes) and methods of decorative application.

Chapter 3, “Advanced Projects,” includes an oval baking dish, dip bowl, garlic jar, lidded box, marbled vase, and pitcher.

Wheel-Thrown Pottery is a handsome book brimming with careful, detailed color photos on every page. The pages are bright, heavy-duty stock that looks and feels like it will survive life in the studio. The author utilizes some helpful conventions that include sidebars highlighting “tips” and other important points of reference, advice, encouragement, and technical details. Each item begins with a project summary and list of materials, including the amount of clay needed, tools, and other items.

Bill van Gilder has put his heart and soul into this book. Looking for a book that will teach you or help you teach your students how to throw? Wheel-Thrown Pottery: DIY Network is setting a new standard. It’s the way to go! [

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) 4497687 or via e-mail at sbranfpots@aol.com.

CLAyTIMES·COM n November/December 2006

I am a fan of Bill van Gilder. He is a consummate professional and one need only see him work, hear him talk, or read his writing to know that teaching and passing on information and his vast experience as a potter are in his blood.

I have witnessed it first-hand at workshops, demonstrations, and at his booth at NCECA, where he displays and sells his personally designed tools. When he told me some time ago that he was working on a TV series, I was not surprised. He exudes a warm, friendly, encouraging air. When he told me that he was writing a book as an outgrowth of the series, I also was not surprised. When I saw the book and thumbed through it, I expected a quality job. There were no surprises there, either.

Wheel-Thrown Pottery does not cover any great new areas of throwing, nor does it uncover or expose any never-before witnessed experiences, revelations, or epiphanies. What it does do is present in a way that is clear, easy-to-read, view, understand, follow, emulate, and learn from, the craft, methods, and techniques of making pots on the potter’s wheel. Wheel-Thrown Pottery does not follow the same predictable path of many instructional books on the subject. Instead, van Gilder arranges his manual so as to take the student through each phase of throwing in a fresh and exciting way.

Resources I Books & Videos

Wheel-Thrown Pottery

65

creativity takes courage.

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

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Paul Andrew Wandless, “Keeper of Secrets” paper clay, ulti-fired, 14” x 7” x 9”

The Armory Art Center is a visual arts education center offering courses in ceramics, painting, drawing, jewelry and sculpture. Visit our website for a complete listing of workshops and classes. www.armoryart.org 1700 Parker Avenue, West Palm Beach, Florida

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

Listings appear alphabetically and include various classes across the United States and Canada.

ALABAMA Huntsville Museum of Art — 300 church Street South, Huntsville, AL 35801; (256) 535-4350; www.hsvmuseum.org; info@hsvmuseum.org; wheelthrowing, handbuilding, mosaic.

ALASKA The Pottery Works — Po box 58358, Fairbanks, AK 99711; (907) 488-3842; www. potteryalaska.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding.

ARIZONA Sedona Art Center — 15 Art barn road, Sedona, AZ 86339; (928) 282-3809; www. sedonaartscenter.com; sac@sedonaartscenter.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding.

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

CONNECTICUT 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.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Hinckley Pottery — 1707 Kalorama road, NW, Washington, Dc 20009; (202) 745-7055; www.hinckleypottery.com; info@hinckleypottery.com; wheel-throwing.

FLORIDA The St. Petersburg Clay Company — 420 22nd Street South, St. Petersburg, FL 33712; (727) 896-2529; www.stpeteclay.com; stpeteclay@ stpeteclay.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding.

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

ILLINOIS Boneyard Pottery — 403 S. Water Street, champaign, IL 61820; (217) 355-5610; www. boneyardpottery.com; michael@boneyardpottery.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding.

INDIANA Conner Prairie — 13400 Allisonville road, Fishers, IN 46038; (317) 776-6000; www.connerprairie. org; info@connerprairie.org; wheel-throwing.

KANSAS The Wichita Center for the Arts — 9112 e. central, Wichita, KS 67206; (316) 634-2787; www.wcfta.com; arts@wcfta.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture.

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

MAINE

CALIFORNIA

GEORGIA

Blossom Hill Crafts Pottery — 15900 blossom Hill road, Los Gatos, cA 95032; (408) 356-9035; www.blossomhillcrafts.com; joanne@ blossomhillcrafts.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture.

Good Dirt — 510 b North Thomas Street, Athens, GA 30601; (706) 355-3161; www.gooddirt.net; gooddirt@bellsouth.net; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture, decorating, glazing, tile, raku.

Starflower Farm & Studios — ceramicsfocused retreat center; 941 Jackson road, monroe, me 04951; (207) 525-3593; www.starflowerstudios.com; squidge@starflowerfarmstudios.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture, private lessons, critiques for advanced students.

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

Trails Recreation Center — 16799 east Lake Avenue, centennial, co 80015; (303) 269-8400; www.aprd.org; arts@the-trails.org; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture, glazing.

Hui No’eau Visual Arts Center — 2841 baldwin Avenue, makawao, HI 96768; (808) 5726560; www.huinoeau.com; info@huinoeau.com; wheelthrowing, handbuilding, sculpture, tile.

IDAHO The Potters Center — 110 ellen Street, boise, ID 83714; (208) 378-1112; www.potterscenter.com; scottb@potterscenter.com. beginner to intermediate wheel-throwing, handbuilding, basic glazing methods.

MARYLAND Baltimore Clayworks — 5707 Smith Avenue, baltimore, mD 21209; (410) 578-1919; www. baltimoreclayworks.org; matt.hylek@baltimoreclayworks. org; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture, tile, mosaic, decorating, printmaking, slipcasting, wood firing, salt firing.

Shiloh Pottery, Inc. — 1027 brodbeck road, Hampstead, mD 21074; (410) 239-8888; www.shilohpottery.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding.

CLAyTIMES·COM n November/December 2006

HAWAII

COLORADO

6

Resources I Classes

MARYLAND, cont.

MONTANA

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

Clay Arts Guild of Helena — 3025 Bozeman Avenue, Helena, MT 59601; (406) 449-6080; www.helenaclayartsguild.com; wheelthrowing, handbuilding, raku, studios.

Greenbelt Community Center — 15 Crescent Road, Greenbelt, MD 20770; (301) 397-2208; www.greenbeltmd.gov; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, tile.

NEVADA

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

Chesapeake Arts Center — 194 Hammonds Lane, Brooklyn Park, MD 21225; (410) 636-6597; www.chesapeakearts.org; davidj@chesapeakearts.org; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, fully-equipped, open studio hours.

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

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

Juliet Rose Gallery & Studio — 191 Reimers Road, Monson, MA 01057; (413) 5969741; www.julietrosegallery.net; julietrosearts@aol. com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture, surface design.

MINNESOTA

CLAyTIMES·COM n November/December 2006

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.

68

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 coming soon in Hattiesburg, MS; (228) 806-3153; www. bodinepottery.com; hukmut@bodinepottery.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, PMC.

Pottery West — 5026 North Pioneer Way, Las Vegas, NV 89149; (702) 987-3023; potterywest@ cox.net; wheel-throwing.

NEW HAMPSHIRE Jeff Brown Pottery — 950 1st NH Turnpike, Northwood, NH 03261; (603) 942-8829; www. jeffbrownpottery.com; jeff@jeffbrownpottery.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding.

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

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

92nd Street Y Art Center — 1395 Lexington Ave, New York, NY 10128; (212) 4155562; www.92Y.org/artclasses; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture, intensives in plaster, glazing, and complex serving pieces. Open studio available.

NORTH CAROLINA 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.

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

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

OHIO Bareclay — 399 Turman Avenue, Columbus, OH 43206; (614) 271-8225; www.bareclay.com; bareclay@wowway.com; wheel-throwing, handbulding.

Something for all levels K-12

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

Valley Art Association — 2022 Main Street, Forest Grove, OR 97116; (503) 357-3703; www. valleyart.org; chagall10@lycos.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture.

Nan Rothwell Studio Pottery — 221 Pottery Lane, Faber, VA 22938 (near Wintergreen); (434) 263-4023; www.nanrothwellpottery.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, glazing, firing.

Manassas Clay & Tin Barn Pottery Supply — 9122 Center Street, Manassas, VA 20110; (703) 330-1040; www.manassasclay.com; manassasclay@aol.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture, glazing, raku.

PENNSYLVANIA

WASHINGTON

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

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

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

SOUTH CAROLINA Adele’s Pottery Studio & Gallery — 1659 Middle Street, Sullivan’s Island, SC 29482; (843) 883-9545; wheel-throwing, handbuilding for children and teens.

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

TEXAS The Refiners Fire Art Studio — 4520 Keller Hicks Road, Keller, TX 76248; (817) 4313336; www.refinersfireartstudio.com; info@refiners fireartstudio.com; classes for children and adults, workshops, wheel-throwing and handbuilding.

VIRGINIA

The Art League School — Located near the Torpedo Factory at 105 North Union Street, Alexandria, VA 22314; (703) 683-2323; www.theartleague. org; school@theartleague.org; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture, tile, mosaic.

LibertyTown Arts Center — 916 Liberty Street, Fredericksburg, VA 22401; (540) 371-7255; www.libertytownarts.com; libertytownarts@verizon.net; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, glazing, decorating, tile, raku.

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

CANADA Arrowsmith Potter’s Guild — 600 Alberni Hwy, Parsville, British Columbia V9P 2C9; (250) 954-1872; www.arrowsmithpottersguild.bc.ca; info@arrowsmithpottersguild.bc.ca; wheel-throwing, handbuilding.

The Clay Pit/Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art —111 Queen’s Park, Toronto, ON M5S 2C7; (416) 586-8080; www.gardinermuseum. on.ca; mail@gardinermuseum.on.ca; wheel-throwing, handbuilding. [ $MBZ 5PPMT 3FGFSFODF ."UFSJBMT

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

To feature your classes, contact Karen Freeman at (540) 882-3576 or e-mail: advertising@claytimes.com.

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CLAyTIMES·COM n November/December 2006

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

Resources I Classes

OREGON

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Resources I Classified Marketplace

Classified Marketplace Classes & Workshops

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Architectural Ceramics Workshop in Italy, June 2-16, 2007, with Marcia Selsor. €1800 includes lodging, side trips, gourmet meals. University credit available. (956) 5416232; www.marciaselsor.com/workshop.html.

• Business of Crafts Weekend Workshop,

Pratt Fine Arts Center, Seattle, Washington, March 17-18, 2007 — This comprehensive two-day workshop is designed for artists and craftspeople new to selling their work or who have been selling on a small scale and are ready to take their business to the next level. (800) 969-0869, www.businessof crafts.com.

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Celebrate CERAMICS in SPAIN with SETH CARDEW at the wheel. Weekly residential courses or daily private tuition.

Also cottage to rent at the pottery. www.cardew-spain.com.

• Classes, classes, classes! The Frederick

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

Employment & Residencies

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

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

Events

CLAyTIMES·COM n November/December 2006

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“State of Clay” biennial juried exhibition — For residents and former residents of Massachusetts. Chris Gustin, Juror.

Deadline: January 8, 2007. Visit www. lexingtonma.org/LACS.

Opportunities

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Call for Artists: 12th Annual SOUTHWORKS 2007 National Juried Art Exhibition. Watkinsville, GA (5/8/2007– 6/9/2007). $10,000 in awards. Fee: $25 member/$35 non-member; three slide entries. All media. Juror: Dr. Dorothy Joiner, Art Critic and Art History Professor, La Grange College, GA. DEADLINE: March 10. Visit the Web site at www.ocaf.com to download an application.

• Ceramic studio for rent/share in Reyk-

javik, Iceland for ceramists from Jan.Nov. 2007. Warm & bright, well-equipped ceramic studio for up to four people. Room & board included. Price: 1st week €490; 2nd week €450; 3rd week €400; 4th week and longer, €370 per week. Included in price: studio, two electric kilns, electricity and heat, tools and machines, access to sales gallery, room and board. For information please contact: abba@internet.is.

Travel

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

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JOIN AMERICANPOTTERS.COM TODAY! Be part of a national, searchable database for FREE. Or have an “online gallery” and sell your work ($99.00 a year).

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

Kiln Repair

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

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

Tools for Potters

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

NEW! Bill van Gilder’s Professional Hand Tools. 12 very functional tools for

•

Visit the potters of Nicaragua on a Potters for Peace brigade. January 1428, 2007. Fee of $1100 covers all expenses except R/T airfare. Nicaragua is warm and beautiful in January, and you will visit a variety of rural communities that use local materials to create distinctive pottery.

For more information, e-mail pchartrand@ bsn1.net or call Peter at (520) 432-4616.

• Workshops and Tours in an Undiscov-

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

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

Videos & Books

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EXTRUDE IT! Getting the Most From Your Clay Extruder, new instructional DVD videos by David Hendley. Volume I—extrusions as handles, feet, and additions; Volume II—two-part dies for hollow extrusions; Volume III—the expansion box and extrusions as building components. $43 each or $105 for the set (more than four hours of video). (903) 795-3779; www. farmpots.com.

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SAVE $14.95 NOW when you order Great Glazes for just $15 (reg. $29.95) at the Clay Times online store at www. claytimes.com. This popular hands-on studio handbook features dozens of favorite glaze recipes for all firing temperatures and atmospheres. NOW AVAILABLE: Bill van Gilder’s new book of DIY television pottery projects, Wheel-Thrown Pottery, from Lark Books. Visit claytimes.com to order autographed copies! [

New!

M.F.A. in Ceramic Arts

Visit www.hood.edu/graduate for details.

The M.F. A. and Graduate Certificate in Ceramic Arts provide students with skills and knowledge from which to build a strong aesthetic direction.

TONY CLENNELL �

Composite Throwing: Nov. 3-5

PHIL BERNEBURG Electric Kiln: Jan. 13-14 Properties of Glaze: Nov. 9-12 � Clay and Glaze Chemistry, Theory & Practice: � �

Feb. 3 & 24, March 24, April 14 & 28, May 12

JOYCE MICHAUD � � �

Eastern Coil: Jan. 6-7 Plates and Platters: Jan. 20-21 Master’s Throwing: Feb. 8-11

CERAMICS HISTORY SERIES �

Feb. 2, 4, 23 & 25

�

March 13, 15, 27 & 29

TAKAO OKAZAKI �

Japanese Teabowls: April 19-22

Woodfire: A Balance of Freedom and Restraint Exhibition Opening: April 20, 6-8 p.m.

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

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Index to Advertisers

Resources I Classified Marketplace

Place your ad in the Clay Times classifieds for as little as $50! For complete details, visit the Web site at www.claytimes.com or call ad manager Karen Freeman at 540-882-3576.

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Opinion I Around the Firebox CLAyTIMES·COM n November/December 2006

74

Dancing About Architecture

by David Hendley

I

was recently putting together some information for an upcoming show, so I was re-reading and thinking about my artist’s statement. Of course, this is something that artists should do from time to time. But just like no one regularly drains their water heater tank for cleaning as directed in the instructions by all water heater manufacturers, I doubt if many artists schedule regular reviews of their artist’s statement. I sure don’t!

Yet an artist’s statement is important, and anyone who is serious about his or her work should have one. I’ve heard the rationalizations for not writing an artist’s statement— that the artist’s work is their statement, or that if you need words to explain it, the art is not doing its job. Or, as the sentiment is most famously quoted, “Writing about music is like dancing about architecture.” (By the way, no one knows for sure who first said this. It has been variously attributed to musicians Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus, Frank Zappa, Elvis Costello, and Robyn Hitchcock, as well as comedians Martin Mull and Steve Martin.)

And we’re all, I’m sure, too familiar with artist’s statements that obfuscate more than they enlighten: “The polarized duality of perception is synthesized from the dichotomy of intention and execution … ” Citing bad artist’s statements, however, is no reason to dismiss them all. It’s perfectly natural to discuss with words what you are trying to say visually with your work. Writing is a vehicle to communicate your enthusiasm about your work and let viewers know a little about your goals and objectives. Not everyone is going to understand your work, even if you only make coffee mugs, so you need to give them a chance to learn more. If you are passionate about coffee mugs, people want to know that you spent months developing the perfect glaze color for the inside of the mugs, or that your mug handles are the result of years of practice and refinement. This information can add real value to the work.

The idea of an artist’s statement is really nothing unique. If you look around, you will find that many fields have their own versions of artist’s statements. Every organization has a “mission statement” which, like

an artist’s statement, lets people know what they are trying to accomplish. Businesses have written goals and principles. If you read the “Director’s Notes” in a theater program or the liner notes on a music CD, you are reading artist’s statements. This past weekend at a music festival, I realized that many of the singer-songwriters prefaced their songs with stories about how the songs came to be written. These were, in fact, artist’s statements, and when a performer launched into a song with no introduction, I felt like something was missing.

Perhaps the best reason for writing an artist’s statement is that it helps the artist. Just the act of putting your thoughts on paper can help clarify ideas that may be vague and undeveloped, and lead to an enhanced notion of your real goal in making your artwork.

It can be a good idea to write a new artist’s statement every so often, without looking at your current one. Through the years, you will likely notice that your focus and objectives change.

So how do you go about writing an artist’s statement? I like to think of it as putting a frame around a painting. The purpose of a frame is to draw our attention to and enhance the painting, not distract from it. Just as there are simple black frames and intricate gilded ones, your work will determine what type of “frame” you will want to use. In any case, remember the frame analogy and don’t make your artist’s statement the focal point. Going on and on in convoluted artspeak is just as inappropriate and unhelpful as having nothing to say about your work.

Let your art tell the story, and let your artist’s statement add details and context.

A good way to get started is to ask yourself what you think your audience would like to know, and what questions they might have after viewing your work. I like artist’s statements that include philosophical insights but are still well-grounded by providing practical details about how the work was made and why. Ask yourself what you are trying to accomplish with your work and what techniques you use for achieving your goal.

Here, as an example, is my current artist’s statement:

Everything Matters An Artist’s Statement by David Hendley In my pottery studio, as in life, everything matters. Every material, process, tool, and technique determines the look and feel of the finished work and is an opportunity for me to incorporate my character, or spirit, into the piece. My goal is to make pottery that is expressive, honest, and functional.

Whenever possible and reasonable, because they will reflect my persona, I want to make my own tools, formulate my own materials, and cultivate my own techniques.

The kiln is my ultimate tool. My kiln burns scrap wood from a local pallet-building factory. In this age of computer-controlled kilns, this throwback to 19th-Century technology requires that I feed it and tend to it non-stop for ten hours. I have learned to “read” the sound, escaping smoke, and glowing colors of the kiln, and I can affect the outcome by varying the type of wood, speed, and duration of the firing. I love the notion that functional and artistic pottery can be made by combining lowly clay with the by-products from a manufacturing process.

I have no desire to make my business grow by hiring assistants. I like doing all the jobs around the shop, even mixing clay and stacking firewood. On any given day, I may be loading a kiln in the morning, designing and making pottery in the afternoon, and analyzing glazes on the computer in the evening.

Combined with teaching workshops, attending art fairs, and reading and writing, this means I do many jobs. They’re all important.

Everything matters.

Now, about that “dancing about architecture” notion: Since I have been taking a dance class for the last year, the idea of a dance inspired by the Chartres cathedral or Frank Lloyd Wright’s “Falling Water” really doesn’t seem so odd after all. Why not dance? [ David Hendley operates Old Farmhouse Pottery in Maydelle, Texas. Please visit his Web site at www.farmpots.com, or send an e-mail to: david@farmpots.com.

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