Clay Times Magazine Volume 13 • Issue 73 by claytimes

Clay art

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TIMES

Volume 13 • Number 6 November/December 2007

Eden Revisited:

Ceramic Art of Kurt Weiser

A Handbuilt Basket Project for the Holidays Hot New Claywork from Josh Copus’s Noborigama Essential Packing Tips To Help Your Pots Survive a Journey An EZ-Way to Take Pot Shots Like A Pro Jafar Shoja’s Dysfunctional Ceramic Teapots $ 7.50 U.S./$9 CAN

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contents

TIMES

Clay

November/December 2007 Volume 13, Number 6

cover exhibit 20 Eden Revisited: The Ceramic Art of Kurt Weiser Portland’s Museum of Contemporary Craft hosts this one-man show devoted to the ingenious surface imagery that springs to life on ceramic works by Kurt Weiser.

features 34 Marketing Your Pottery: The Quest for Wow! When planning the strategy to help your pottery business grow, a ho-hum approach just isn’t good enough.

39 Ship Happens Marking the “fragile” warning on a box is not a protective incantation! Let our experienced pot unpackers share tips to ensure your pots arrive at their destination intact. Crystalline-glazed vase by Holly McKeen. Turn to page 34 to see more.

41 Material Influence: The Works of Josh Copus This North Carolina potter is literally digging the clay scene all around him to produce a body of work that’s totally hot!

45 Illusions of Teapots Okay, so they’re not really teapots, but Jafar Shoja’s works kinda look that way, don’t they?

51 EZ Cube

Jafar Shoja’s Red Dragon. 12" x 8" x 6". His story begins on page 45.

Tom Zwierlein shares his fascination with a pop-up tent that’s helping art photographers yield eye-popping images. 7

contents

TIMES

Clay

On the cover: Europa by Kurt Weiser. 27" x 17". Cast porcelain, china paint, bronze. From collection of Sara and David Lieberman; one of several works on exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Craft, Portland, Oregon.

November/December 2007 • Volume 13, Number 6

departments 10 EDITOR’S DESK A look at Clay Times, past and present

11 YOUR WORDS Our readers set the record straight

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

33 GREAT GLAZES This month’s hot formula: a “fix-it” glaze for refiring your mistakes!

48 THE GALLERY A selection of unique works by CT readers

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

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

Tea Bowl by Tom Zwierlein, who photographed this work with the aid of a pop-up lighting tent. See page 51.

65 CLASSIFIED MARKETPLACE Goods and services offered especially for active clay artists

columns 55 KILNS & FIRING 23 AS FAR AS I KNOW “Practical Use of the Unity Formula” by Pete Pinnell

27 BENEATH THE SURFACE “This Holiday Season, Could You Help A Fellow Potter?” by Lana Wilson

“Apples vs. Oranges: Using the Right Comparison?” by Marc Ward

57 STUDIO HEALTH & SAFETY “Ceramic Talc: Two Sides of a Story” by Monona Rossol

64 AROUND THE FIREBOX 29 TEACHING TECHNIQUES “A Simple Handbuilt Basket” by Bill van Gilder

53 TOOL TIMES 8

“There’s No Single Way” by Vince Pitelka

“A Tiny Studio and a Tall Extruder” by David Hendley

66 BOOKS & VIDEOS “Three Books on Picasso’s Ceramics” review by Steve Branfman

Bottle Pair by Josh Copus, who digs his clay from a field alongside a local creekbed. See story, page 41.

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Editor’s Update

Dreaming by Jo Anna Fireman.

Lost in Cyberspace We’ve received a number of favorable comments on Lana Wilson’s recent column (September/October 2007 Clay Times) about Jo Anna Fireman, the former psychotherapist who traded in her career to become a full-time clay artist. What I didn’t know as we were producing that issue—that I do know now—is that Lana had e-mailed images of Jo Anna’s work along with the text for her column. Unfortunately, the images were apparently lost in cyberspace and never made it to my desk. As you might guess, both Lana and Jo Anna were saddened that the images did not appear along with the story. So to make amends, I am publishing those images here, above. As you can see from the work, Jo Anna clearly has come a long way with her ceramic talents in just a very short time. I think you’ll agree—she seems to have made the right decision when she chose to make a living from her claywork!

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Also following publication of our previous issue, I was contacted by glaze expert John Hesselberth, who initiated our glaze rating system a few years ago and who has since reviewed most of our published glazes prior to publication for their safety relative to use on functional ware. Those ratings have been published alongside the glaze recipes for quite some time now, to help our readers decide whether or not to use a glaze on surfaces that come into contact with food or drink.

Goat Lady by Jo Anna Fireman.

But I must admit, there have been times when I haven’t provided John with the recipes in advance of publication because I personally considered those glazes “safe,” and didn’t want to bother him with last-minute glaze reviews that I thought unnecessary. Well, you might guess what finally happened: what I assumed to be a glaze which everyone would agree was “safe” ended up as a glaze which John said he would absolutely not consider safe for use on functional ware. This particular glaze, Millring Green, appeared in the “Great Glazes” section (page 57, September/October 2007 Clay Times) with a “two-check” rating, meaning “safe for functional ware.” Please note that this was not John’s rating. He says the glaze should not be considered food-safe because of its low silica level and because it contains a significant amount (3%) of copper carbonate. I sense that there are two ways to view this, and several other glaze formulas, in regard to use on functional ware. I wonder: how would you rate this glaze—food-safe or not, and why? Do you consider our glaze rating system useful? John and I would love to hear your comments! Meanwhile, please note that any future glazes rated specifically by John Hesselberth will be marked as such, so as to avoid any misunderstandings. My thanks to John for his understanding and our kudos to him for the excellent service he has been providing the clay community! — Polly Beach, Editor [

By researching this item, I was lead on an interesting fact chase. Wikipedia lists silicon dioxide’s (silica’s) melting point at 1650° C (±75). In Fahrenheit, that’s 3002° (±167°) which includes Pete’s number, but this is a melting range instead of a fixed number. While I can’t fully explain this, I’ll guess that particle size and purity of the material to be melted would have a good deal to do with when it melts resulting in a range instead of a fixed number. Picky, picky, picky. To further complicate matters, the web page at http://www.azom. com/details.asp?ArticleID=1114 lists silica’s melting point as 1830° C, which would top out at 3326° F. I can’t begin to explain that one because it is a bit higher than cone 37, which is pretty near the hottest cone of all, cone 42 (3659° F). Don’t you just love those Internet “facts”? Bill Hunt Columbus, Ohio Dear Bill,

Pete Pinnell Clay Times Columnist

Bothered by Boron I read with trepidation part 3 of Pete Pinnell’s article on glaze chemistry (JulyAugust 2007), in which he, as promised, included a discourse on boron. The article contained the usual excuses for treating boron as a “stabilizer” in glazes fired to earthenware and stoneware heat work levels. I am astonished that writers and teachers of ceramics continue to misclassify boron in this manner in spite of conclusive evidence that boron functions as a flux in earthenware and stoneware glazes. Frankly, I don’t care whether boron forms a worthless glass at a low temperature, or stabilizes low-temperature enamels, or tap-dances and whistles “Dixie” when heated in an oven. I do care that di-boron trioxide (B2O3) dissociates an atom of oxygen at around 842° F, becoming boron oxide (BO), which is an active flux.

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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 Proofreader: Jon Singer Office Assistant: Ingrid Phillips 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: Mary K. Cloonan • Ellen Grimm Jenna McCracken • Holly McKeen Leigh Taylor-Mickelson Tom Zwierlein Published by: CLAY TIMES INC. 15481 Second St. • PO Box 365 Waterford, Virginia 20197-0365 (540) 882-3576 • FAX (540) 882-4196 Toll-free subscription line: (800) 356-2529

Doubters should try this: mix two batches of your most reliable glaze base, then add 10% boric acid to one of the batches. Fire both glazes to maturity on test cups or test tiles placed side-by-side in your kiln, then examine the results. (Tip: you may want to place a catchplate under the test with the added boron.) The glaze with the additional boron will be more fluid every time; therefore, it is not possible that boron functions as a stabilizer

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 1-800-3562529, or visit www.claytimes.com.

While converting a glaze formula to its relative proportions of oxide content gives only an approximate description of its characteristics, I have found that including boron in flux unity provides a better description than does treating it as some-

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.

Freelance editorial and photographic submissions are welcome: Please contact Clay Times or visit our Web site for writer’s and photographer’s guidelines. POSTMASTER: Address service requested. Send address changes to: Clay Times, PO Box 365, Waterford, VA 20197-0365. Copyright © 2007 Clay Times, Inc.

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That’s another great example of my shortcomings as a proofreader. Now you know why I hire an accountant to do my taxes: the IRS is less forgiving than Clay Times readers when I write “23” and really mean “32.” As for the differing melting temperatures given for silica, I’ve also noticed that: I’ve always assumed that it’s related to differing mesh sizes and/or rates of climb used in the tests, so the temperature “range” provided by Wikipedia is probably the best way to describe this. In any event, I’m just as unlikely to fire to cone 23 as cone 32, so a specific temperature is less interesting to me than the things we can learn about the

Thanks for your correction.

Clay

Spouting Off I Your Words

Here’s a correction and some comments you might want to run regarding Pete Pinnell’s “An Introduction to Glaze Chemistry” in the March/April issue. On the second page of this otherwise brilliantly written article, Pete states that silica melts at “3115° F [1713° C], or about cone 23.” If he’s right about that melting temperature, then silica would instead melt closer to cone 32 (at the standard firing rate of 108° F per hour of heat rise).

relationships between the oxides. For instance, alumina melts at about cone 42 and silica at about cone 32, but together (in certain proportions) they melt at cone 28. To me, that’s pretty cool (though, perhaps I’m easily entertained).

Say What?

TIMES

We Stand Corrected

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In short, boron plays (at least) three important roles: 1) It helps glazes to melt sooner, so it seems to act as a flux; 2) It stabilizes glassy melts and prevents devitrification, acting as a stabilizer; and 3) It functions as an important, secondary glass former.

Jay Henderson Richlands, Virginia Dear Jay, I’m afraid it’s not that simple. Let’s flip your test around: if adding a “flux” to any mixture makes the mixture melt sooner or run more, then CaO, MgO, SrO, BaO, and ZnO aren’t really fluxes, since any of these can raise viscosity, melting temperature, or both. All one has to do is include any of these in a simple tri-axial blend and you’ll find plenty of proportions at which this occurs. Similarly, if raising the melting point of a glaze is the definition of a stabilizer, then Al2O3 must not be one, since its inclusion often lowers the point at which a glaze melts. As Hermann Seger proved (much to his surprise) 125 years ago, the inclusion of alumina in the most common highfire glaze system (K2O/Na2O-CaO-SiO2) lowers the melting point in a dramatic and undeniable way. (I will be writing more about this in a future column). The addition of silica can also cause the results you describe—just add flint to many silicastarved high-fire matte glazes and watch them run off the pot. By your definition, alumina and silica are also fluxes, at least at times, and in certain proportions. You’re also ignoring the other function of a stabilizer, which is to effect whether a glaze remains in a glassy state, or reorganizes itself into that combination of amorphous and crystalline phases we call matte glazes. Stabilizers play a central role in this, and boron is especially effective in this regard. Just try and formulate a matte glaze that contains an appreciable level of boron, such as one finds in an earthenware glaze, and you’ll see its stabilizing qualities.

I’m not wedded to listing boron in the middle column—as I wrote in the article, I think we need to treat it more like it was in its own column, and try to take into account all its effects, not just one. Thanks for the letter. The more we discuss this and compare notes, the better we all get at understanding this stuff. Pete Pinnell Clay Times Columnist

Proud Owner of an iPod® Just when I was feeling like interest in and demand for art is at its highest level ever, I read Mr. Turnquist’s letter, “The iPod Dilemma.” Now I have conflicting thoughts on the matter: either a) I have my head in the sand and have not noticed the “anti-art culture” out there and that nobody cares about art anymore, or b) Mr. Turnquist had a run-in with a kid wearing a iPod. Now I can assure you, I am not nearly as scholarly as Mr. Turnquist appears to be, and I don’t hang out with collectors and art dealers, so I can honestly say I don’t know how the high-end art market is doing. But I do know this: I go to every craft market and art and music festival in my region and find that they are swarming with parents and their children. I see booths with artists both old and young filled with patrons buying paintings, pottery, and all other [kinds] of art.

As far as art in our schools, yes, I agree with Mr. Turnquist. More funding is always better and as a society we should better support our schools. But let me add, our schools are not completely devoid of art. I walk down the hallways in my son’s elementary school and artwork is hung floor-to-ceiling down the whole length of the halls. In fact, I was so excited last week when my son told me of a field trip to the high school next door so they could do some handbuilding with clay in the high school’s art studio. Yes, that’s clay, kilns, art studio, and high school. How cool is that! No, Mr. Turnquist, I don’t think I have my head in the sand, I don’t think there is a large scale “anti-art culture” out there, I don’t think our world will be “empty of handmade creations,” or “saturated by sameness and banality.” The whole thing about “what portion of the public on the street has even a modicum of knowledge of any form of art,”—how insulting! Come down from your ivory tower. Mr. Turnquist, I don’t believe the “public on the street” thinks art is a “useless endeavor.” In fact, I challenge you to show me a household that doesn’t at least have one piece of art hanging on a wall (copy or original), or a handcut crystal vase they got as a wedding gift, or a handmade coffee cup they bought on vacation, or any other multitude of pieces of art—art that is cherished and appreciated. Mr. Turnquist, I’m 43, I buy pottery, I make pottery as a hobby, I appreciate art, the artist, and the effort. I also own an iPod (along with several million others) and as I am handing over cash to a potter—while wearing my iPod—for a handmade vase, I don’t think he is “dreading” me or considers me an “enemy.” Michael Sligar Baton Rouge, Louisiana [

CLAYTIMES·COM n NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007

I didn’t have room in my articles to go into the importance of boron as a secondary glass former. The most common visible example is the pretty, bluish-gray haze that boron can create in glossy glazes, especially at earthenware and mid-range temperatures. This is caused by a separation between the boron and silica glasses that is analogous to the separation of oil and vinegar in a salad dressing. If boron were not a glass former, it wouldn’t create this very common, highly visible effect.

That’s why boron is so cool, and why I enjoy including it in glazes—it does so dang much! You make a good point that it can be instructive to place boron with the fluxes to see how that affects the balance of oxides in the formula. In the same vein, it’s also fun to place the boron with the silica, and see how that changes our understanding.

In fact, I can cite the Festival International de Louisiane in Lafayette, Louisiana as an example. The festival, which is 5 days long, has over 20,000 visitors, has more than 100 artists, has dozens of musical and dance groups from around the world, plus a children’s village with dance, music, and hands-on art. You name it, they have it! This festival is all about the visual and performing arts. I’m not sure what the “proverbial word” is that Mr. Turnquist thinks artists need to be spreading, but I’m sure it is being spread at this festival, judging from my 6-year-old son’s excitement about being there.

Spouting Off I Your Words, cont.

thing else or leaving it out and “eyeballing” the result. Pete Pinnell’s discourse on boron is traditional, oft-repeated, and wrong. He should say out loud, ten times, “at earthenware and stoneware heat levels, boron functions as a flux.” I promise his head will not explode.

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ceramic art world news • events • calls for entries Conferences

Hot Stuff I News & Events

What’s Hot ‰ Lectures and round-table discussions on crafts and modernity will be presented November 23-25 during the Neocraft Conference in Nova Scotia, Canada. The registration fee is $200; students receive a $100 discount. For further details, contact Dr. Sandra Alfoldy, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, 5163 Duke St., Halifax, Nova Scotia B3J 3J6; e-mail salfoldy@nscad.ca or conference@neocraft.ca; web address: www.neocraft. ca; telephone (902) 494-8306.

‰ The 23rd Alabama Clay Conference takes place February 8-10, 2008, on the campus of the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, AL. Guest artists will include Jason Briggs of Tennessee, Curtis Benzle of Alabama, and Ching-Yuen of Taiwan. Discount registration fee is $135 ($45/students) through December 30; $160

Tango by Kurt Weiser. 22" x 5". Glazed stoneware with porcelain inclusions. Collection of the artist (whose works are on exhibit through January 6 at the Museum of Contemporary Craft, Portland, Oregon. More images appear on this issue’s cover and in the story appearing on p. 20-22 of this issue.)

($55/students) afterward. For more information, daily schedule, accommodations, directions, and further details about the conference, visit www.alclayconference.org. ‰ The National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) will be holding its 42nd Annual Conference,

“Innovation, Community, Environment,” at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, March 19-22, 2008. Featured guest demonstrators include Ed Eberle, Sandy Brown, Lorna Meadon, and James Tisdale. Additional presenters include several lecturers and panelists on a wide

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‰ Trade Secrets: Cruisin’ for Clay, the inaugural Clay Times potters conference at sea, takes place January 28-February 2, 2008, on board Royal Caribbean’s luxurious Navigator cruise ship. Mix business with pleasure as you set sail from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida with renowned clay artists Bill van Gilder, Pete Pinnell, and Lisa Orr—en route to beautiful Cozumel, Mexico and Belize City, Belize. Enjoy two full days of awesome demos, lectures, and slide shows by guest artists, mixed with two full days on your own to explore the port cities. To learn more, see page 10 of this issue, and visit www.claytimes.com. (Register by Nov. 15, 2007 for the extended $100 earlybird discount!)

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Calls for Entries November submission deadlines ‰ The Limner Gallery of Hudson, New York is requesting digital and slide entries by November 30 for its Emerging Artists 2008 exhibition, to be held March 7-31, 2008. Entry fee is $35 for four images; additional entries are $5 each. Grand prize award: $2,000. View the show prospectus online at: www.slowart.com/ prospectus/ea2008.htm. For further details, contact Emerging Artists 2008, Limner Galleries, 123 Warren St., Hudson, NY 12534, or e-mail: slowart@aol.com. December submission deadlines

‰ The Visual Arts Society of Denton, Texas is accepting entries through December 21 for the 40th Annual National Visual Arts Exhibition, to take place April 10-May 29, 2008. Entry fee is $30/members; $35/non-members for three slides or digital images to be juried by Nic Nicosia. To request a prospectus, send your SASE to the

‰ More than $5,000 will be awarded in conjunction with Big Fish Small Pot: Third International Small Teapot Competition and Show, to take place February 25-March 20, 2008. Digital and slide submissions of small teapots may be entered through December 30. Fee (for three entries) is $40. To request a prospectus, send your SASE to Art Gallery, Saddleback College, 28000 Marguerite Pkwy., Mission Viejo, California 92692. Contact: thuntley@saddleback.edu; http:// gallery.saddleback.edu. ‰ The Hui No`eau Visual Arts Center is requesting entries from its members for the Annual Juried Members Exhibition 2008, to take place January 11 through February 2, 2008. To become a member, call 572-6560. Entry fee: $10; deadline is Dec. 20, 2007. For further details, visit www.huinoeau.com. ‰ The Oregon College of Art and Craft is accepting exhibition proposals for 2008/2009 through December 31. Please send proposals/queries to Arthur DeBow, Oregon College of Art and Craft, Hoffman Gallery, 8254 SW Barnes Rd., Portland, Oregon 97225; or e-mail: adebow@ocac.edu. January submission deadlines ‰ Calls for entries are being accepted through January 10, 2008 for the Strictly Functional Pottery National to be held April 19-May 18, 2008 in historic downtown Lancaster, PA. Linda Arbuckle will serve as this year’s juror. To apply or find out full details on the show, send your self-addressed stamped envelope to Market House Craft Center, PO Box 204, East Petersburg, PA 17520-0204, or log onto the Web site at: www. strictlyfunctionalpotterynational.net. February submission deadlines ‰ Digital entries for the 8th International Ceramics Competition, to take place August 1 - September 30, 2008

CLAYTIMES·COM n NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007

‰ Jurors Marko Fields, Kate Maury, and Keith Williams are accepting entries from resident clay artists of the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean through December 7 for the Second Biennial Concordia Continental Ceramic Competition. The event will take place Jan. 24-Feb. 20, 2008. Entry fee for three digital or slide submissions is $25/ artist. Several purchase awards are offered. To request a prospectus, send an SASE to Keith Williams, Art Dept., Concordia University, 275 Syndicate St. N, St. Paul, MN 55104, or e-mail: williams@csp.edu.

Visual Arts Society of Texas, PO Box 1281, Denton, TX 76202; visit the Web site at vastarts.org, or e-mail: president@verizon.net.

Hot Stuff I News & Events

variety of topics affecting the clay community. Trade shows, gallery exhibitions, slide and documentary showings, fund-raiser sales, and more will also take place throughout the event. Online registration begins November 1 at www.nceca.net. For additional information, e-mail office@nceca.net or call toll-free 1 (866) 266-2322.

Hot Stuff I News & Events

best in Texas-made contemporary craft, is accepting entries through March 1, 2008 from Texas resident artists who work with clay as well as wood, fiber, glass, metal, and found/ recycled materials. The exhibition will be on view May 24-August 11 at Houston Center for Contemporary Crafts, Houston, Texas. For further details, visit crafthouson.org; for complete application guidelines, visit callforentry.org.

in Mino, Japan, will be accepted from November 1, 2007-February 4, 2008. Contact: International Ceramics Festival Mino, Executive Committee Office, 4-2-5 Higashi-machi, Tajimi City, Gifu Prefecture, Japan 507-0801; info@icfmino.com; www. icfmino.com; tel: 81 572 25 4111.

‰ CraftTexas 2008, the fifth in a series of juried exhibitions showcasing the

‰ The San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts in San Angelo, Texas is accepting entries postmarked through February 4, 2008 for the 17th San Angelo National Ceramic Competition. For complete details, contact Karen Zimmerly at the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, One Love St., San Angelo, TX 76903, tel. (325) 653-3333. e-mail: museum@samfa.org; Web site: www.samfa.org.

Ceramics Exhibitions

GLAZES INC.

Introducing our new Low-Stone 900 Series colors. Here is the second half of our 37 brand new colors for 900 series low-ﬁre glazes. As always they are lead-free and dinnerware safe. Each color will work with the existing colors to create new layered effects.

‰ Hand and Wheel: Purposeful Pots, featuring the work of Mary Bowron and Jill Hinckley plus new work by gallery members, takes place through November 3 at Creative Partners Gallery, 4600 East West Highway, Bethesda, Maryland. ‰ Parades: Freer Ceramics continues through November 4 at the Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, 12th St. and Jefferson Dr., Washington, DC. ‰ Naked Clay is on exhibit through November 8 at Artisan Gallery at Woman Made, 685 Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, Illinois. ‰ Fifty American Potters: From the Ceramics Collection of Bruno and Mary Moser runs through November 17 at the Art Museum of Greater Lafayette, 102 S. 10th St., Lafayette, Indiana.

CLAYTIMES·COM n NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007

‰ Form and Imagination: Women Ceramic Sculptors runs through November 24 at the American Museum of Ceramic Art, 340 S. Garey Ave, Pomona, California.

‰ Asheville in Atlanta 2007, to feature works by Kyle Carpenter, Emily Reason, William Baker, and Akira Satake, takes place through November 17 at MudFire Gallery, 175 Laredo Dr., Decatur, Georgia.

945 to 949 94 Fenmar Dr. Toronto, ON Canada M9L 1M5

950 to 954 P.O. Box 874 Lewiston, NY US 14092-0874

955 to 958

959 to 962

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

‰ Danish Ceramics runs through November 24 at the Works Gallery, 303 Cherry St., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

‰ Johnston and Jones, to feature works by Daniel Johnston and Mark Jones, takes place through November 24 at North Carolina Pottery Center, 250 E. Ave., Seagrove, North Carolina. ‰ Hitomi’s Farewell features the work of Hitomi Shibata through Nov. 24 at the North Carolina Pottery Center, 250 E. Ave, Seagrove, North Carolina.

January 6, 2008 at the Museum of Contemporary Craft, 724 Northwest Davis St., Portland, Oregon. ‰ Getting Together: Ceramics from Manitoba and Quebec takes place through January 13 at Musée des maîtres et artisans du Quebec, 615, Ave. Sainte-Croix, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

‰ Western North Carolina Pottery: The Rodney Henderson Leftwich Collection is on exhibit through January 13, 2008 at the Folk Art Center, MP 382 Blue Ridge Parkway, Asheville, North Carolina. ‰ Warren Mackenzie: Legacy of an American Potter is on exhibit through January 20, 2008, at North Dakota Museum of Art, 261 Centennial Dr., Grand Forks, North Dakota. [

Hot Stuff I News & Events

‰ Collaborative Vessels, to feature works by Tony Marsh, Sun Koo Yuh, and Jean-Pierre Larocque, takes place through November 24 at Santa Fe Clay, 1615 Paseo de Peralta, Santa Fe, New Mexico.

‰ Anagama: Out of the Ancient Furnace features the work of Craig Edwards through December 1 at Marshall Area Fine Art Center Gallery, 109 N. 3rd St., Marshall, Minnesota. ‰ Ceramics of Jack Troy takes place through December 14 at Marywood University’s Suraci Gallery, 2300 Adams Ave., Scranton, Pennsylvania. ‰ Ceramics, Ethics and Technology: Materials, Method and Modernism takes place through December 16 at Surrey Art Gallery, 13750-88 Ave., Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. ‰ Eva Zeisel: Extraordinary Designer at 100 takes place through December 30 at the Los Angeles Craft and Folk Art Museum, 5814 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California. ‰ Albert Kahn & Pewabic Pottery is on exhibit through December 31 at Pewabic Pottery, 10125 E. Jefferson Ave., Detroit, Michigan.

‰ The Hand of Toshiko Takaezu is on exhibit through January 1, 2008 at Zanesville Art Center, 620 Military Rd., Zanesville, Ohio. ‰ Eden Revisited: The Ceramic Art of Kurt Weiser is on exhibit through

CLAYTIMES·COM n NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007

‰ Telling Tales: A Celebration of the Narrative in Contemporary Studio Ceramics, Glass and Sculpture is on exhibit through December 31 at Dashwood Galleries, 100 Seventh Ave., SW #203, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

CLAYTIMES·COM n SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2007

Opposite page: The Bird Merchant, 1991. Cast porcelain, china paint. 11" x 12½". Courtesy of the Kamm Teapot Foundation.

Above: Iguana. Cast porcelain, china paint. 17¼" x 9" x 5". Collection of the Arizona State University Art Museum, gift of the Museum Store.

At right: Same piece as above; view of opposite side.

“Peach Tea Picnic” Teapot by Claudia Tarantino. 3" x 11" x 10". Earthenware with underglaze color.

The Ceramic Art of Kurt Weiser

his captivating exhibition takes place October 31, 2007-January 6, 2008 at the Museum of Contemporary Craft in Portland, Oregon. It is a mid-career retrospective with an accompanying exhibition catalogue, both of which examine

the stylistic development of Kurt Weiser’s ceramic work from the 1970s to the present. Internationally recognized as a contemporary ceramist and educator, Weiser is known for his technical virtuosity with

porcelain forms and his use of china painting techniques in a distinct contemporary style. His subject matter illustrates lush, mysterious landscapes and distorted narratives set amidst color-saturated flora and fauna that read as voyeuristic candid

CLAYTIMES·COM n SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2007

Eden Revisited:

CLAYTIMES·COM n NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007

Red Leaf by Kurt Weiser. 1998. Cast porcelain, china paint. 20" x 12". Collection of Roberta and Bruce Hammer.

snapshots of the human condition. The exhibition, sponsored by Skutt Ceramic Products, features 40 ceramic objects drawn from the artist’s holdings, the Ceramic Research Center’s collection, and other collections from across the country. It is also funded by a generous grant from the Windgate Charitable Foundation, the exhibition is organized by Arizona State University Art Museum

Ceramic Research Center and its Curator of Ceramics, Peter Held. Museum admission is by donation only. Hours are Tuesday-Sunday, 11am-6pm; Thursday, 11am-8pm. The Museum address is 724 Northwest Davis St., Portland, OR 97209, tel. (503) 223-2654. For further details, email: wendy@museumofcontemporarycraft.org. or log onto: www. museumofcontemporarycraft.org. [

Practical Use of the Unity Formula by PETE PINNELL

n the previous four columns on this subject, we’ve worked our way through the steps to understanding how to read a unity molecular formula, or UMF (which is also known as a Seger formula, or simply as a unity formula). As we saw before, with this formula we can learn which oxides are in a glaze, and also see their balance and proportion. With this information we can begin to understand how glazes work, and also begin to see ways to intelligently manipulate a glaze formula to give us the fired results we want. In this column, I’ll show you a standard high-fire glaze that many of you have probably used before, and we’ll explore ways to better understand the glaze, and also how we might use the formula as a jump-off point to develop new glazes. Here’s the glaze we’re going to explore—a classic, called “Tomato Red:”

Tomato Red cone 9-11 reduction

Total of base glaze: add: Bentonite (to prevent settling) Red iron oxide**

45.0% 24.0 7.0 6.0 7.0 11.0 100.0%

2.0 8.0

*I use synthetic bone ash, also known as tricalcium phosphate. Natural bone ash sometimes contains residual organic matter that can spoil in water, resulting

The recipe translates into this unity formula (rounded for clarity):

Unity Formula K2O Na2O CaO MgO

0.07 0.14 0.57 0.22

Al2O3 0.34

SiO2 2.92 P2O5 0.11 8:6:1 Si:Al ratio

Let’s briefly interpret these numbers. In the flux (left hand) column, we see four oxides: potassium, sodium, calcium, and magnesium. Added together, the alkalis (sodium and potassium oxides) make up .21 molecules, while the alkaline earths (calcium and magnesium oxides) add up to .79. This (approximately) 20/80 balance between the alkalis and alkaline earth oxides is remarkably typical for a highfire glaze: most of them have between .15 and .3 molecules of alkali, with the balance being almost entirely alkaline earths. The only thing that jumps out at all is that this is more magnesium than we see in most glossy glazes, though not extraordinarily so. As for the alumina (Al2O3) and silica (SiO2), these amounts are a bit on the low side for a cone 9-10 glaze; but again, they aren’t abnormally so—just low enough that I might expect a little running. The ratio of alumina to silica is just a bit below 9:1, or 9 molecules of silica for each molecule of alumina. Again, this is quite typical for glossy glazes at midrange and high-fire temperatures. Taken as a whole, this looks like a typical highfire glossy glaze that should produce a tenmoku brown-black when you add enough iron. Only one thing stands out as unusual—the P2O5 (phosphorus oxide) in the third column. Could it be causing the glaze to produce a bright, iron red

color instead of a dark, warm black? The best way to find out is to try the glaze without the phosphorus oxide. The problem with trying to take out just the phosphorus is that it is found in a material—tricalcium phosphate—that contains a large portion of one of the fluxes (calcium oxide), so we can’t just leave it out without adjusting the other ingredients. This is where we can take advantage of the unity formula. I placed this formula into the Glaze Calculator section of Hyperglaze (one of several computer programs now available for performing glaze calculations), and came up with a recipe that duplicates the chemistry of the formula, yet without the phosphorus.

Tomato Red without P2O5 Kona F-4 Feldspar Magnesium Carbonate Whiting EPK Flint (Silica) Total: add: Bentonite Red Iron Oxide

45.0 6.0 17.5 7.5 24.0 100.0%

2.0 8.0

However, I hate to assume that salient characteristics of any glaze are dependent on just one element. Besides, as long as I’m firing tests, I’d like to try a few other things and see if I can better understand this glaze. I’m a bit curious about the magnesium oxide. I have the recipes for a number of

CLAYTIMES·COM n NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007

Kona F-4 Feldspar Flint (Silica) EPK (Kaolin) Magnesium Carbonate Whiting Bone Ash*

in a bucketful of glaze with a truly remarkable, “clear the building!” smell. ** I prefer a very pure, precipitated red iron oxide that I buy from the Archie Bray Foundation clay business in Helena, Montana. This oxide may also be available elsewhere.

Perspectives I As Far As I Know

Back to Basics, Final Part 5

Perspectives I As Far As I Know

Tomato Red with Calcium Substitution Kona F-4 Feldspar Bone Ash Whiting EPK Flint (Silica) Total: add: Red Iron Oxide Bentonite

44.00 10.50 14.00 7.00 24.50 100.00%

8.00 2.00

different iron-red glazes, and I’ve noticed that most of them also have some magnesium content. Is this essential, or is it because all of the recipes were simply derived from the first one, and the inclusion of magnesium is coincidental? Returning to the unity formula, I duplicated the original version (including the phosphorus), but replaced the magnesium oxide in the glaze with (in order) calcium oxide, strontium oxide, and barium oxide, the other three alkaline earths that we commonly use in glazes. Those recipes appear above.

CLAYTIMES·COM n NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007

The tiles were all fired in the same kiln, to cone 9 reduction. The fired tiles appear in this column in order, with the original glaze first, followed by the sample without phosphorus oxide (pictured on previous page), and the final three (pictured on this page) which do contain phosphorus oxide, but have the magnesium oxide replaced with calcium, strontium, and barium oxide.

As you can see, the original glaze is a bright, crystalline orange-red that is reticulated with a dull greenish brown throughout the field and along edges. Removing the phosphorus oxide (second glaze appearing on page 23) resulted in a dark tenmoku-like amber brown, with an extremely glossy surface. This seems to indicate that phosphorus is essential for producing the iron-red color. But does it also mean that the addition of phosphorus would turn any tenmoku into a tomato red?

Tomato Red with Strontium Substitution Kona F-4 Feldspar Bone Ash Whiting Strontium Carbonate EPK Flint (Silica) Total: add: Red Iron Oxide Bentonite

Tomato Red with Barium Substitution1

43.00 10.00 7.00 10.00 7.00 23.00 100.00%

Kona F-4 Feldspar Bone Ash Whiting Barium Carbonate EPK Flint (Silica) Total: add: Red Iron Oxide Bentonite

8.00 2.00

The other three tests seem to answer that question. Replacement of the magnesium with (third, fourth, and fifth tile from left) calcium, strontium, or barium oxides also results in tenmoku browns, though each has slightly different color qualities and surface characteristics. Taken together, these tests seem to indicate that a high-fire reduction tomato red needs to contain both magnesium oxide and phosphorus oxide in order to turn red rather than an ordinary tenmoku brown. Of course this raises other, obvious, questions. Is this the ideal proportion for each of those oxides? What if we raised or lowered the amounts of magnesium and phosphorus oxides? The alumina and silica are already a bit low for a high fire glaze; what if we lowered them even more, or conversely raised them to a higher level? What if we changed the balance of alkali to alkaline earth? What if we added boron oxide (B2O3) to lower the maturing temperature of this glaze—would we be able to reproduce it at cone 6 in an electric kiln? As you can see, doing these few simple tests answered some basic questions, but raised many others. The point of this article isn’t to uncover all the secrets of Tomato Red, but to demonstrate how powerful and practical the unity formula is as a tool for understanding and manipulating glazes. Nothing we did, or

41.50 10.00 6.50 13.00 7.00 22.00 100.00%

8.00 2.00

hypothesized in this article is practical without the use of unity formulas, but all of it is fairly simple to achieve when using them. With this, I’ll end this series of articles, which, as usual, seems to only scratch the surface of this topic. If you’re even vaguely interested in manipulating glazes, then the possibilities of this tool should be extremely intriguing. Like any technical process that involves numbers and chemical symbols, it can at first appear impossibly confusing. Yet if you spend a little time with a good computer glaze calculation program, you’ll soon be able to use it to better understand your current glazes, or to produce exciting new ones. [ Footnote: Please note that barium is a potentially poisonous material. I haven’t tested this glaze for leaching, so please don’t put this on any surface that may come into contact with food or drink.

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. Cruise to the Caribbean with Pete Pinnell, Bill van Gilder, and Lisa Orr from Jan. 28-Feb. 2, 2008 and discover their trade secrets! Full details on the inaugural Clay Times “Cruisin’ for Clay” conference appear on pagepb 10 of this issue and online at www.claytimes.com.

Santa, I’ve been SUCH a GOOD GIRL – I definitely deserve a SOLDNER MIXER

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CLAYTIMES·COM n NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007

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APRIL 19–MAY 18, 2008 www.strictlyfunctionalpotterynational.net

by LANA Wilson

Potters faced devastating problems after Katrina. Mississippi’s Brian Nettles educated me. This is the first of a two-part series on Nettles and Katrina. Lana Wilson: What was your life like before Katrina? Brian Nettles: I opened Nettles Studios in downtown Pass Christian in April, 1997. Pass Christian is 25 miles west of Biloxi, and 65 miles east of New Orleans. My downtown studio was one block off the Gulf of Mexico. I had a small pottery shop, a metal fabrication shop, and a showroom. Over the years, the business grew and I added more equipment and supplies. By the year 2000, we needed more space, so my wife and I purchased 27 acres of land on the Wolf River, four miles inland from the Gulf Coast.

Remains of Brian Nettles’ studio following the wrath of Hurricane Katrina: the kiln, shelves, and other studio contents were left scattered as lawn debris.

We camped out over the next year and hand-built our home. We then built a 700-square-foot pottery studio and a 2,200-square-foot kiln shed. We built a 36-cubic-foot gas-fired reduction kiln, a 12-cubic-foot soda kiln, and a 28-foot-long Japanese-style wood-fired anagama, the only kiln of its type in Mississippi.

and holiday home shows. We were planning on a gallery and sculpture garden to open in 2007. I had been supplementing my income by teaching and working on projects for the Ohr Museum (a contract I lost due to Katrina). We had also been collecting pottery equipment to teach ceramics at the Wolf River location as well.

Wilson: How did you get interested in anagamas?

Wilson: How did Katrina affect you?

Wilson: Did you have customers both in town at your showroom and out on your land at your home studio? Nettles: As we continued to keep the showroom and foundry going in town, we slowly started bringing customers out to our land for kiln openings, sales,

Nettles: We had 15 feet of water come across our property, ripping our home in two. Half of our house ended up 50 feet away from the foundation. We lost all the contents in our house. Water was over the roof of our home studio. The building stood, but we had to restore everything from the attic down. All the clay equipment was ruined. Downtown, our showroom, foundry, and storage were almost totally gone—only a concrete slab remained. Two weeks before the storm, I had unloaded our anagama and stocked the shelves with over $36,000 in ceramics. We made 80% of our income during the last three months of the year. We work all year, and then sell it, basically at one time. It all was lost in August—just before our fall/winter sales.

Wilson: What was your insurance situation? Nettles: Our house and studios were insured to the maximum amount for fire, wind, theft, etc. But our insurance agent told us, “Don’t waste your money on flood insurance, you will never need it at your elevation.” The Small Business Administration estimated our damages at $92,000 to our business, not including the large anagama that would retail for over $40,000. Our home was insured to the max as well, but again, we were told there was no need for flood insurance. Our four-year-old home has estimated damages from the Small Business Association at $169,000. We received $3,200 from our insurance agency for wind damage and $5,200 from FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) for home repairs, but no money for the business. After spending all our savings and retirement trying to restore the house and studios, we recently had to take a second mortgage on the home. So our note went from $679 to $1,478, which we have been paying since the storm, even though the house is not habitable and we are receiving no income.

CLAYTIMES·COM n NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007

Nettles: The anagama was inspired by attending the 2000 International Workshop of Ceramics Artists in Tokoname, Japan. I traveled to see other ancient Japanese kiln sites to understand more about wood-fired kilns. Through different teaching and workshop opportunities, I have been involved in building about 25 kilns of various types and sizes.

Perspectives I Beneath the Surface

This Holiday Season, Could You Help A Fellow Potter?

Perspectives I Beneath the Surface

Since the August storm, I have rebuilt half my home and restored my ceramics studio. I have begun making pots again and I am trying to restore my business. Selling work is more difficult than restoring the buildings! The customers are gone, as most of my town is gone. Pass Christian, or “The Pass,” had about 6,500 residents before [Katrina]. Today there are about 2,000 residents, with most living in FEMA trailers. Wilson: What did you do immediately after Katrina? Nettles: I went from the first few days after the storm sleeping in my truck, to a tent for two months, then a FEMA trailer for nine more months, and finally back into half of my house. I didn’t have drinking water on my property for over 12 months. With this situation, it becomes a daily struggle just to survive. My town today still has only one gas station, and one sandwich shop operating out of a 12’ x 16’ portable building. That’s it for the commercial district. My wife evacuated 90 miles north with our two-year-old son. Seeing the devastation, we kept him up there for about a month until some things got cleaned up and safer on our property. To earn some money immediately after the storm, I took my chain saw and wheelbarrow that I had evacuated with and started cutting trees off of people’s houses to help them as well as earn money to start my recovery process. I did this for about four weeks, seven days a week. Then I started rebuilding my home.

CLAYTIMES·COM n NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007

What is only beginning to be talked about is the devastation Katrina did to families. Some couples I knew that had been together for decades came apart. Living with post-traumatic stress syndrome, which everyone in the entire community is, also caused my wife and me to separate. We had a rock-solid marriage for 14 years, but when things like this happen, it can crack the strongest people. Now I am raising my four-year-old son and juggling rebuilding, making pots, cooking, cleaning, grocery store runs, day care, insurance, lawyers, etc. My son keeps me motivated and he has recently started to make pots in the studio!

Wilson: What was your work like before Katrina? Nettles: Before Katrina, I would say my work was functional and nature-inspired, fired in soda or in anagama kilns. I tried for textures, colors, and forms that you would find in the local fauna or on the barrier islands in South Mississippi. I wanted my work to blend in with nature, so that if you were walking in the woods, you might walk past one of my pots and not notice it on the forest floor. Wilson: How has your work changed since Katrina?

Nettles: Since the storm, my life’s rhythms have changed, much as nature around me has changed. The local forests have been violated and scarred for life. The trees have been stripped of all their leaves, broken and burned by the salt water. Two years after, the strong trees have slowly started to recover and the weak ones have died. The wild animals that were in the forest around me have just started to return. It has taken over two years to start to recover and have some sort of normal living again, and not be in the survival mode for the most basic needs. So, my claywork has changed from functional ware to more sculptural work reflecting the broken, violated, and frustrated feelings. Wilson: You mentioned your work keeps changing. Did it do that before Katrina or are you on an accelerated change roll because of Katrina? Nettles: I don’t think before the storm my work changed too fast. I was pretty much a village potter for the last many years. Since the storm, I have been thinking more about the place where I choose to work and why I choose to live in South Mississippi, which in turn is making my work change. My family ancestors came to Biloxi from Spain to make sails for the fishing boats. I have deep roots in the Biloxi area. I have been thinking about the craftsmen who were here before me in this area, boat builders, sail makers, tool makers, art potters, folk potters, and primitive potters. The direction I see my work going is toward boat forms, inspiration from the markings on the Biloxi Indian pot shards I find on the islands, tool-type forms for sculptural work, Ohr pots and Newcomb pots. I don’t have a lot of time to think about this because every other day I wake up to deal with FEMA, SBA, insurance, (or the lack of it), or many of the other frustrating things that have come along with the storm. So the broken, violated, frustrated feelings tend to flow into my work in the studio. I do feel as I get into a more secure rhythm my work will settle back down, but with a new direction. Wilson: Have you seen the work of other potters change? Nettles: Yes, I think every artist’s work has changed. When your entire community is wiped off the map, it affects you very deeply. When your life revolves around the basic necessities, it shows in your work. Log onto www.craftemergency.org to learn more about affected artists and make your donation toward their recovery. [ Lana Wilson is a passionate handbuilder. See her Web site at www.lanawilson.com. If you have a comment or critique on her work, she welcomes your e-mail at: lana@lanawilson.com. If you are a parent and a clay person, see the bulletin board and articles at The ClayParent Web site: www.mud mamasandpapas.com.

A Simple Handbuilt Basket column by BILL van GILDER • photos by rex looney

In Form I Teaching Techniques

A Tisket, A Tasket

Necessary Supplies • 5 lbs. clay • a hump mold • 2 small wooden bats • 23/8" thick slab-rolling sticks • a rolling pin • a fettling and/or wire knife • a short length of 1” dowel • a small, soft-nap paint roller • some water and a small sponge Optional • an extruder • a 1" long oval-shaped die • a ½" round-shaped die • a banding wheel

1 Project Description There are four distinct parts of a basket to be made: the base slab, one rim coil, a quantity of short wall coils, and a “spacer” coil, which will eventually be recycled. To help students understand and organize the construction steps they’ll use to make the 10-step project (Fig. 1), it helps to outline the process verbally first. Keep your step descriptions simple at this point. The details can come as you assemble your basket. This is more of a note-taking outline.

I also point out that the skills used while handbuilding (neatness, assembling, tool-use and, eventually, glazing) will be similar to those used while throwing. Yet handbuilding gets us thinking differently about project construction. Although we use the same basic ideas relative to functional containers, we approach handbuilding projects from a different angle. Our handbuilt work usually won’t be round, uniform in thickness, or trimmed.

With your class gathered around you at your work table, list the steps:

This is one of those projects: a handbuilt basket.

1. Make all the coil parts. 2. Set up your mold. 3. Make the base slab, place it over the mold base, and cut to fit. 4. Put your rim coil in place. 5. Put your “spacer” coil in place. 6. Dampen the slab-base edge and the top edge of the rim coil. 7. Attach all the vertical wall coils. 8. Press the wall coils securely to the base edge and rim coil.

As I write this project, I’m going to assume that your classroom has an extruder; the making of the coil parts is described here as if that’s the case. However, one can certainly make this basket project totally by hand. The making of the long “spacer” coil and the long rim strap will have to be done carefully and evenly. It will take a bit longer, timewise, but it certainly is possible. (The rim strap can be made by flattening a long ¾" diameter coil.)

The Molds This project takes a bit of advance preparation on the instructor’s side, well in advance of your demo. At least one or more hump molds will need to be thrown, dried, and bisque-fired. The molds pictured on the next page (Fig. 2) were thrown using about four lbs. of average clay—nothing special. Each mold narrows from the rim to the foot, although the dimensions of each mold (top width to base diameter) can vary.

CLAYTIMES·COM n NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007

t’s a fact: the majority of our students are “hooked” on the wheel— that is, they’d rather learn to throw pots than handbuild them. So I’m insistent, occasionally, that some equally challenging and cool projects can be made without using a wheel.

9. Carefully press the wall coils to the mold. 10. Wait 30 minutes, upright your basket, then remove the mold.

In Form I Teaching Techniques

Our molds are about 5" tall and 7" wide at the rim. I’ve thrown a useful ledge, or gallery, at the inside rim of each mold to provide a grip for easy removal from the newly-made basket. I’ve also slightly squared the rims of some of the molds. This is a simple move, done while the mold is soft. When the molds are leather-hard, each base edge is sparingly softened with a damp sponge. A definite corner is essential here. The molds are then dried and bisque-fired, and ready for your demo.

CLAYTIMES·COM n NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007

Making the Basket Parts

“I’m going to extrude a bunch of long, ½" diameter coils, first. If you’ve never used the extruder, this is how it works. First, set up the die. The hole at the center of the die that comes with the extruder is too large. I’ve found this ½" diameter washer which I’ll mount in place over the larger hole. It’s held in place with two tabs of clay (Fig. 3). Install the die onto the extruder and give the inside of the extruder barrel a very quick spray with PAM® cooking spray. The slick barrel will now be much easier to clean when you’re finished.”

Load the barrel with clay (¾ full is ample), and extrude at least six 24"- to 30"-long coils. Lay them out on a clean, dry surface. Now remove your round die and install the oval-shaped hole in this multi-holed die, also supplied with the machine (as in Fig. 3). This oval-shaped length of coil will also need to be 24"-plus long, or a bit longer than the circumference (the distance around) the mold’s rim. Lay this oval rim coil with your group of long, round coils. “Next, make the base slab. The easiest way to do it? Use these two 3/8"-thick sticks and the rolling pin. Make the slabs about an inch bigger than the mold’s base. We’ve now got all the basket parts made, so let’s make the basket.”

Assembling the Basket Place a small, wooden bat onto a banding wheel and place a mold, upside-down, onto the bat. Slap your base slab onto the base of the mold and trim it tightly to the edge of the base (Fig. 4). Wrap your long, oval rim coil snugly around the rim of the mold and trim each end at an angle (Fig. 5). Dampen one cut end and press the ends together against the mold (Fig. 6).

Now, wrap a long length of round coil around the rim strap (as in Fig. 8). Cut each end to meet and press the ends lightly together. This is the “spacer” coil previously described, which is only used as a temporary measuring device; it will be set aside for recycling after assembling the basket parts. With a fettling knife in hand, cut the remaining long round-shaped coils into short lengths (Fig. 7). What lengths? Measure from the top surface of the spacer coil upward to the midway point of the base-slab thickness (i.e., if your mold is 5" tall, the short coil length will be about 4½" long). With a small, damp sponge, lightly wet the edge of the base slab and the top edge of the rim coil (avoid wetting the mold; otherwise, everything sticks to it). Set the short coils against the mold—one end resting on top of the spacer coil; the other, attached to the side of the slab (Fig. 8). Using light fingertip pressure, press each end of each short coil securely into place. Now, use your 1" diameter dowel to firmly press and squash each coil tightly to the base edge at one end, and to the rim coil at the other (Figs. 9-10). Then use a small, short-nap paint roller to carefully press the wall coils tightly to the mold.

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11 Lastly, carefully remove the spacer coil from the basket’s rim. Allow your basket to airdry on the mold for a least 30 minutes. Then, place another small, wooden bat onto the base and, sandwiching your molded basket between the two bats, flip the project over and upright. Now remove the mold (Fig. 11). “You’ve got a list of step-bystep directions on how to make the basket. Here are some more molds, and clay, and

there’s the extruder. Now make your basket!” [ Bill van Gilder has been a full-time potter and ceramics teacher since the 1960s. He is creator/host of the Throwing Clay DIY Network TV series and teaches functional pottery-making workshops. He may be reached by e-mail at vangilderpottery@earthlink.net. His potters’ tool line, van Gilder Tools, is available via the Clay Times online store at www.claytimes. com, or by calling toll-free 1-800356-2529.

Bill van Gilder 2008 Workshop Schedule Jan. 21-25 Jan. 28-Feb. 2 Feb. 15-17 Mar. 14-16 Mar. 19-21 Apr. 6-12 May 15-18 May 26-31 June 13-15 July 28-Aug. 1 Aug. 27-30

The Art League of Marco Island, Marco Island, FL (239) 394-4221 • mail@marcoislandart.com “Trade Secrets: Cruisin’ for Clay” Clay Times Potters Conference at Sea • Belize & Cozumel, Mex. (540) 882-3576 • advertising@claytimes.com College of the Albermarle, Manteo, NC [Outer Banks] (252) 475-9250 • tshearin@albemarle.edu Ella Sharp Museum of Art & History, Jackson, MI (517) 787-2320 • www.ellasharp.com van Gilder Tools Sales at NCECA Conference Pittsburgh, PA • (866) 266-2322 • www.nceca.net Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN (865) 436-5860 • www.arrowmont.org email: info@arrowmont.com Mud Puddle Pottery Studio, Pegram, TN (615) 646-6644 • mudpuddle@bellsouth.net Pottery West, Las Vegas, NV potterywest@cox.net • www.potterywest.com Arapahoe Community College w/Mile Hi Ceramics, Littleton, CO • (303) 797-5948 • kathy.holt@arapahoe.edu Sierra Nevada College, Incline Village, NV [Lake Tahoe] (775) 881-7588 • sierranevada.edu/workshops Rehoboth Art League, Rehoboth Beach, DE (302) 227-8408 • www.rehobothartleague.org

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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.

TEXT, GLAZE, and images furnished by TIM EBERHARDT

Before and after: The original pot (left) was enhanced with “Salvation Glaze” by re-firing to Cone 10 in oxidation (right).

have a glaze I call “Salvation.” Got a pot that has failed in its first firing? Got a pot that is a loser and destined for the dumpster, but you have so much effort and hope invested that you can’t just toss it? Have you refired again and again and come to the conclusion that it is hopeless? Take heart, there is Salvation!

If you want the glaze to tend toward purple, add 0.5% cobalt carbonate and 3% manganese. If you want the glaze to tend toward blue, add only 2 or 3% cobalt carbonate. I literally use this on pots that are dogs, and afterwards, I sell them for hundreds! [

Salvation Glaze* éé cone

10 oxidation or cone 10 reduction

Custer Feldspar Gerstley Borate Dolomite Talc OM4 Silica TOTAL

27.0 % 12.0 8.8 19.5 7.5 25.2 100.0 %

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.

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

CLAYTIMES·COM n NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007

At right is a recipe that I use in all the above situations and it always improves the pot. Sometimes I am shocked at the results! I am no glaze guru, but I can see and say that this glaze is generally highly “reactive.” By “reactive,” I mean that when it touches other glazes—especially if it is over other glazes—it reacts in such a way that I am generally shocked at how dramatically the pot has changed.

I fire this glaze primarily to cone 10 in oxidation, have used it at cone 10 reduction, have even used it at cone 6 by adding a few ingredients to drop the melting point. The only other thing I will tell you is that the glaze is in the blue/purple end of the spectrum when used by itself. However, if it is used over another glaze and “salvation” is the purpose, it will change things in ways you won’t expect. My experience has been that it’s always for the better.

* Please see editor’s note on page 10 regarding changes to our glaze rating system.

Clockwise, from top: Cobalt and manganese crystalline glazes sprayed and layered on porcelain plate; cone 10 oxidation. Carved 12" stoneware bowl fired to cone 6 in oxidation. Three crystalline glazes sprayed and layered on 10" porcelain vase; cone 10 oxidation.

Marketing Your Pottery:

The Quest for Wow! STORY AND PHOTOS BY Holly McKeen

With the help of her husband and teenage kids, Holly McKeen has formulated a strategy integrating all aspects of her life—including honey production, organic beef farming, and a bed-and-breakfast operation—with her pottery.

ost potters love to make pots more than sell them! The reality is, however, that making a living from clay takes a strong business and marketing sense in addition to artistic ability and passion. Developing a quality body of work is certainly the first step, yet understanding how to sell the product becomes equally important. Some believe that creating a successful pottery business in today’s marketplace requires the determination to build a “Wow!” into the overall experience of doing business with you.

At one time, marketing was only about advertising, but times have changed. As our lives become saturated with multimedia ads of all kinds, and an overabundance of product choices, modern entrepreneurs have realized that they must look for new ways to differentiate their products. It has never been more important to understand your target market, catch the interest of buyers, create excitement around your product, and capture customer loyalty for your brand that has them spreading the word.

Today, there is much more to consider in marketing your pottery than the look of your business cards or show invitations, although these are tangible pieces of your overall marketing plan. In his new book, Purple Cow, Seth Godin focuses on the importance of being “remarkable” in every aspect of your business. Godin says, “Everything from service to design are now at the heart of what it means to be a marketer ... Marketing is the act of inventing the product. The effort of designing it. The craft of producing it. The art of pricing it. The technique of selling it ...”

In applying these notions to the business of pottery, our marketing naturally begins with the making of a pot that is somehow different; noticeable; remarkable. People are interested in finding products that they can get excited about, or attached to—something they’ll want to tell their friends about. Next, we need to consider what venues and activities will best add to that excitement: keep the energy up, be positive, fun, professional, or noticeable; create an experience that will keep folks talking about this special pottery, or this interesting potter. The overall remarkable experience you provide will include essentials such as quality & uniqueness in the making, a positive personal interaction, integrity, great service, a satisfaction guarantee, and pricing and packaging that reflect the value of your pottery. Give your customers all these things, and you might just hear “Wow!” As they start spreading the word about you and your pots, you will see your sales increase, and your business prosper. JEFF WILLIS PHOTOS

When first researching ways to make a living from my pots, my husband and I considered the usual venues, and what might fit best with our lifestyle. I knew I did not want to be tied to the production demands of the wholesale market (although I did work and show in a gallery, consign pots in a couple of locations, and participate in a few established shows, both

large and small). In reflecting back on these experiences, I realized that I might find more enjoyment in opening a showroom attached to my studio right here on our farm. The idea of building our own gallery and marketing it ourselves felt more exciting than the other options, so we created Greendale Pottery & Country Guest House. While the option of opening a showroom on- site is not available to every potter, the principles for business success apply equally, whether dealing with retail or wholesale clients, studio shows, art market customers, or gallery owners. The intricacies of owning & operating a pottery business can be just as demanding as the making of the pots. I have enjoyed taking marketing courses and reading more on the subject, testing different ways to gain exposure, discovering how to bring people in, and more importantly, learning how to bring them back with their friends! From carefully considering the design, making, and finishing of the pottery, to the showroom/ studio setup, Web site design and optimization, to networking, advertising and media relations, we have worked hard to present an image of quality and excellence in the overall experience of doing business with us. In 2006, our second year, we were excited to be nominated by our customers, and juried as a finalist for the “Best New Business of the

Top left: Mink and amber 12" crystalline vase glazed and fired in reduction at Kris Friedrich’s studio in Palm Springs. Bottom left: 3" Crystalline-glazed platter with cobalt blueon-black glaze. Fired in oxidation to cone 10; recently on exhibit at Krystallos 2007.

Sand and Sea Tea Set. Stoneware with four glazes fired to cone 6 in oxidation.

Expand your Horizons with Cross Marketing & Local Tours Vancouver. By joining together with other highquality, small shops in our vicinity, we draw more clientele and provide a “unique country shopping experience” enticing customers from farther away. We have a honey store, a natural soap shop, an antique store, and a specialty cheese shop close by, with whom we have several events through the year.

Shared promotional materials and e-mail lists expand our customer base. We are able to produce events at a very low shared cost, and we draw quite a crowd! Our customers have told us how much they enjoy coming out to the country to buy directly from the makers. It’s all about the fun experience! We also highlight the farm aspect of our location to be part of a very popular

“Circle Farm Tour” (we also raise organic beef). This agri-tourism initiative of our regional tourism association is a highly professional and extensive marketing campaign that has served the pottery as well as the beef sales. Keep an open mind and always be on the alert to respond to interesting opportunities whenever they arise.

CLAYTIMES·COM n NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007

Potters often put together very successful studio tours or events with other potters and artists. Think about expanding on that idea, and take a closer look around you. Once you have a strong sense of your target market, look nearby for other well-run small businesses with the same clientele as you. Talk with them about ways you could jointly market events! We live in a rural area an hour from

Plate. Crystalline-glazed porcelain, fired to cone 10 in oxidation.

CLAYTIMES·COM n NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007

Year, Independent,” a Business Excellence award from our local Chamber of Commerce.

How did we go about this? Well, not surprisingly, folks have told us it’s not just about the pots, although the pots have been well-received. We have found that, for our customers, it really is about the whole experience. Our clients love coming to visit our wonderful farm setting, to see the pottery being made, and to listen to me share my excitement over a new design or new glaze. They like the unusually colorful stoneware glazes and the beautiful crystalline-glazed porcelain, something new to many of our customers. Our clients love being invited back into the studio area to see new pieces in progress. They feel a part of it all when asked for their feedback on design or practicality, and I gain a sense of the marketability before the finished product gets to the showroom. On Saturday mornings, there will often be a kiln opening to allow customers the opportunity to peek

into the kiln along with me, and to lift out a still-warm piece. It’s fun to sell a piece right out of the kiln, and watch the excitement the new owner feels from being there when it was born! It’s also a great opportunity to educate customers on the process and the value of handcrafted work, another aspect of effective pricing as it relates to perceived value. Our customers tell us they like that we have dependable, regular showroom hours, even though we chose to limit our hours to Thursday, Friday, and Saturday to provide uninterrupted production time the rest of the week. Some Thursday mornings, there are folks waiting on the porch at opening time! They also appreciate the consistent quality, availability and variety of stock, and how every item is gift-wrapped. Mostly, we hear how much our guests enjoy sharing in my excitement of how I get to earn a living—right here at my studio on our farm. They love the positive energy in the shop. We want a visit to our pottery to be remembered as an uplifting and valuable experience, a

far step beyond a trip to the mall. Clients get attached to the relationship being built through this process, and the relationship keeps them coming back. These things are all part of our marketing strategy, over and above the quest to offer well-crafted and unique pots. Whether your customers are in your booth, at your studio show, or wholesalers on the phone, your marketing is all about the entire experience. Think about ways you can give your customers a positive, memorable experience that benefits them. When you are able to connect with customers and engage them in sharing your passion for your pottery, they will spread the word. Build that customer loyalty, get them talking to their friends about you, and watch your business grow! [

Holly McKeen is a potter and bed/breakfast operator who resides in Chilliwack, B.C., Canada. She may be contacted through her Web site at www.greendalepottery.com.

SHIP HAPPENS BY MARY K. CLOONAN AND LEIGH TAYLOR MICKELSON

MARY K. CLOONAN PHOTO

ongratulations! You have sold your ceramic art work—or better yet, it has been accepted into an exhibition. Years of inspiration, perspiration, anticipation, and dedication have led to this moment—so don’t skimp on the preparation when packing your work to ship to the gallery or customer. As gallery workers, we have seen the good, the bad, and the mind-boggling packing jobs, and wish to pass along our experiences to help avoid hassles and tears of sadness along the way (for us as well as for you). Before adopting our recommendations, though, make sure you read any paperwork or agreements from the gallery to which your work is being shipped, as each venue may have its own specific terms and procedures. Meanwhile, the following basic guidelines should help get you on the right track. As you take on the shipping battle, be sure to choose your weapons well. You’ll best meet the challenge armed with sturdy, lightweight, insular materials. (Note: Polyester tablecloths and old bed sheets with cartoon characters do not fall into this category!) If you think the Sunday newspaper (properly wadded and stuffed) might do the trick, note that it will cost you in the end because of its weight.

excess bubble wrap, boxes, and peanuts from incoming shipments. You will soon become a connoisseur and collector of cardboard boxes, adept at discerning their sturdiness and nesting capabilities.

Materials Make A Difference

Keeping Track of the Goods

Begin your strategy by gathering the right materials to simplify packing: bubble wrap, Styrofoam® peanuts, two types of packing tape, strong cardboard boxes of several sizes, permanent markers, and—perhaps most importantly—practical thinking.

Now that you’ve got your materials, it’s time to pack. Put together an inventory list of all works to be shipped, and label each piece clearly with its corresponding number. Next, lay all of the works out on a table. Begin by wrapping any extremities, such as spouts or fingers, with an extra layer of wrap. For extremely fragile parts or appendages, tissue paper is a good choice for the first layer of wrapping. You can also stuff the tissue into negative spaces to avoid compression. As you wrap, pretend that your art works are going in-line skating, and add those pads! Pay extra attention to any protrusions, lips, or corners so they are protected extra-well. Make sure that no surface is exposed and that there is actual bubble wrap—not just the

plastic—in direct contact with all parts of your work. Your art objects should be cocooned in at least two snug layers of bubble wrap; even more for heavier or larger pieces. If you tap on the piece, you shouldn’t hear the clink of clay. In fact, you shouldn’t feel anything hard at all; if you do, you need more wrap! It’s a good idea to label and bundle pot lids together with their corresponding bottoms in the same box. (It is frustrating if the person who unpacks that box is forced to play mix-and-match or go spelunking through a box of loose peanuts in search of a rogue lid!)

Use Visible, Colored Tape How you secure that wrap is important, too. It sounds silly, but the type of tape used is an important consideration. Choose masking tape or brown packing tape to keep it under wraps. By using a visible (not clear) and removable tape, it speeds up the unpacking and re-packing process, allowing us to see where edges start and stop. Speed is important when a gallery has more than 50 boxes to unpack and pack.

CLAYTIMES·COM n NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007

A smart packer will always be on the lookout for useful makeshift (meaning free) packing materials. Save and stow away those padded envelopes or air-pillows receives in other shipments. Suddenly, something that used to go straight into the recycle bin, like an empty egg carton or cereal box, transforms itself into packing gold. Also take your gathering instincts out of the home and arrange to relieve retail stores, who are often happy for your efforts, of their

The doubled-boxed work inside this carton arrived safely, in spite of the massive dent.

Have Mercy on the Unpackers We can’t tell you how irritating it is to come across a box brimming with bubble-wrapped objects that have been mummified with clear tape. Such a sight can literally bring tears to our eyes after a long day of unpacking! What ensues is an emotionally filled battle between a mostly-dull matte knife and the unforgiving skin of layers of clear packing tape. What should be a moment akin to Christmas morning soon becomes a scuffle that can cause damage to your piece (fragile parts can break or scratch during the process), as well as bad moods! Yes, your work made it through the shipping, but will it make it through the unveiling? We can’t stress this enough—don’t mummify it with tape! After all, your goal is to send it off to the gallery, not send it off to the after-life. Galleries generally re-use your packing materials for return shipping. If those materials are mangled during the opening, they can become less reliable. As its creator, you know your work best; but for galleries, each box contains unknown entities and we don’t know where the pressure points or top may be. Use logic when wrapping, and don’t use an extravagance of tape. Better yet—don’t use tape at all! For small, wrapped objects, rubber bands work great as fasteners, and are reusable again and again. Cling wrap is swell, too, but please use the tinted kind and repress your urge to swaddle.

place your bubbled items in the center, fill in around the edges with more p.o.p.s, and finally top it off with, you guessed it—another p.o.p. The artwork should be centered and surrounded by peanuts between the walls.

Hang Tough for the Transport Now for your first line of defense: the outer shell. Shipping companies will not pay the insurance for breakable work if it is not properly packed and double-boxed. One should always double-box, with at least two inches between the outer and inner box. This should allow for any and all abuse it will receive on the way. Put a p.o.p or sheet of Styrofoam insulation on the bottom of the box, and place the inner box inside. Wedge more filler between the walls and on top (this is where those egg cartons and cereal boxes filled with peanuts come in handy), and finally, seal with strong packing tape (clear is okay here). Soft upholstery foam is also great for stuffing the outer box. Your packing crosssection should resemble a Tootsie-Pop®, and it should take a lot of licks to get to the center. When packing, keep in mind the infamous “egg-off-the-roof” experiment you did in physics class (many omelets were made due to the lack of proper packing). Picture the labyrinth of a shipping center’s sorting area, with all its conveyor belts and pendulous boots that literally kick your box toward its destination. Marking the “FRAGILE” warning on a box is not a protective incantation. That “fragile” label only seems to incite abuse rather than preventing it, provoking the machinery as some sort of direct challenge.

CLAYTIMES·COM n NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007

Yield to the Nesting Instinct

Now, what to do with your nicely wrapped art works? Time to pack the inner box. Do you dare let them roam free in the box among loose peanuts? You could, but it is better to make “pillows of peanuts” (p.o.p). This serves many functions. It is cleaner and easier to unpack and pack work, which is helpful considering the turnaround time between shows. Also, heavier items can settle to the bottom of a box when packed in loose peanuts. Fill all of those ubiquitous shopping bags with peanuts, or splurge on some zipper bags to create your own size to fill gaps. When packing the inner box, your goal is to witness no movement or noise from within when you give it a shake. If there’s not enough material, you’ll end up with the “bumper-car effect” inside your box. Begin by putting some p.o.p.s down in the bottom of the box. Then

Size Matters This process works great for small to mediumsized art objects, such as pots and small sculpture. Once your pieces get larger and more intricate, you might want to consider some other options. You can use layers of upholstery foam (cut to the size of the inner box) to create a piece-specific protective shell. Place one sheet down first, then proceed to cut out niches in each layer to accommodate the contour of your form. You can use a sharp utility knife, a hot knife, or even a jig or band saw to cut the foam. It is not an easy or quick process, but it is a good idea for larger pieces or intricate vessels that will be traveling to numerous locations. Professional shipping companies often use expandable spray foam to surround the work.

This can be expensive but worth it if the delicacy of the work merits it. We have seen homemade versions of this technique done with spray insulation and zippered baggies, but it is messy and hard to judge how much the foam will expand in the bag. Be sure to wrap your work in a plastic bag before you try this, to protect it from the wrath of the insulation blob in case of a blow-out! For large-scale, heavier work, wooden crates may be a better option than large boxes, which lose integrity and strength with each shipment. Crates can be easily constructed if one is adept and has access to a wood shop. Handles should be sturdy rope, or wood mitered into the frame of the box. Rope handles are preferable to those made of metal, which are uncomfortable to carry and sometimes tear off during transit. Remember to make your crates so they will easily fit through an average door. Most galleries and art centers do not have loading docks— something else to consider. If your crate needs to be a very large size, carriers such as UPS won’t take it, and you will have to look into alternate options, such as transport via a freight company. Label all of your boxes well with artist name, intended exhibition, which box number of how many total boxes shipped, and where the inventory list is packed. If sending multiple boxes, include a specific inventory list inside each one so the receiver knows what to look for. If the work does not sell, the list will help the shipper pack it so that it will be returned to you in a similar configuration. Shows are often scheduled back-to-back and galleries receive countless containers, so some clarification is appreciated to reduce the amount of detective work necessary on the part of show personnel. Yes, packing for a show is a tedious yet necessary task that goes along with being a professional artist. However, considering the time you have devoted to your work, it only makes sense to invest every effort possible into its packing. It certainly is much more enjoyable to receive a call from a gallery informing you that your work has been admired and sold, rather than being told that it arrived broken! [

Authors Mary K. Cloonan and Leigh Taylor Mickelson have unpacked countless works for dozens of shows at Baltimore Clayworks, Baltimore, Maryland, and the Clay Art Center in Port Chester, New York. They hope you will benefit from their experience.

: e c n e u l f n I

material

the works of Josh Copus by J.J. McCracken

ouching offers

a us

pot direct

communication with

its maker. An encounter with the work of Josh Copus presents

connection

immediate with

the

broader human experience. His pots at once embody a dialog between maker and material, sensitivity to the history of the medium, a regional connection to place and community, and a maker’s reverence for nature. Copus understands being a potter as a choice of lifestyle.

His

perspective

doesn’t

include

work

weeks and weekends—his commitment

pots

is pervasive; his life, a continuum

thought

and activity surrounding ceramics. And, he does it all with a certain infectious enthusiasm.

Bottles. 14" tall. Wood-fired local pipe clay with rice hull ash glaze (left); and unglazed pipe clay. Bottle on right was fired in the front of Copus’ new three-chamber noborigama kiln in western North Carolina. The front chamber was designed specifically for unglazed ash wares.

Carolina-Asheville, several years ago. He also studied both traditional and contemporary potters, concentrating on their use of local materials. He read and traveled the state, eventually extending his research across the continent and abroad.

The Clay “Clay is a record of every process, from its geological formation in the earth to its eventual transformation in the fire,” says Josh Copus. “My work with ceramics begins with the clay. By using local materials dug from the river bottoms and mountainsides of western North Carolina, my work gains a connection to place and establishes the materials as a valuable source of influence.” Copus became interested in the origins of his medium after the realization that he was living amidst an entire palette of clay and glaze materials. Intrigued by the possibilities, Copus began consulting with professionals at the North Carolina Geological Survey, and a geology professor at the University of North

During his North Carolina search, Copus and his research partner, Matt Jacobs, discovered an indigenous clay on a farm in nearby Leicester, termed “pipe” clay by the locals. This was the finding that sparked a revolution in his process, as well as his thoughts about raw materials and the content they can contribute to the finished work. After receiving permission for a large-scale excavation from the farm’s owner, Neil Woody, Copus and Jacobs extracted more than 200 tons of clay for studio use. (Turn to “The Gallery” department on page 49 of this issue of CT to view an image of Jacobs’ work.) Copus says he draws inspiration from “historical traditions of folk pottery and contemporary potters working in a similar manner, using simple combinations of naturally complex materials to make pots that exhibit the qualities of honesty, depth, and integrity that appeal to my sensibilities. “The physical properties of my materials are not as unique as my experience in using them ... It is the increased participation in the

CLAYTIMES·COM n NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007

Plates. 11" wide. Wood-fired local pipe clay with white slip and clear ash glaze. Pictured at top of page: Lidded Jar. 15” tall. Wood-fired local pipe clay with white slip and clear ash glaze.

42 42

creative process that I have come to value most.” He cautions that while a pot reflects the physical qualities of its constituent materials, and while those qualities can lend content to the work, using local clay is hardly a guarantee of originality or quality. The potter is always responsible for making good pots. Copus believes in the importance of a complete clay education which incorporates the value of materials for their potential as teachers. “The materials ask you to change your preferences to match their capabilities. Through this exchange, they reveal subtle influences that find a way into your work. An intimate understanding of materials, acquired through active involvement in procuring them, teaches a lesson about the broader context that the pots are participants in.”

The Community Copus’ work has forged a connection between himself and the people who have lived and worked on the land that has yielded his desired materials for generations. He says he is not just concerned with the physical properties of clay as they relate specifically to making pottery. He believes in the importance of maintaining an “essential interest in the natural environment that the

HOW TO LOCATE & DIG YOUR OWN CLAY 1. Put it out there. Talk about your interest to everyone you meet to multiply your scouting potential. You never know when something will surface during an unexpected conversation that can lead to a source. 2. Do some research. The Geological Survey or the local offices of the Cooperative Extension Program in your state are good places to start. Agents from both these organizations spend a lot of time out “in the field” and can help you understand the geology and soils of your area. They might know of some old mines or connect you with a farmer who has some unwanted clay on their land. Another good approach is to research the history of pottery in your region. It can help to learn about the types of clay used in the past and where they were occurring. There is no need to reinvent the wheel—chances are good that what worked before still works today. 3. Know what you are looking for and keep your eyes open. Be on the lookout for roadwork, new home sites, or any other areas of exposed earth that could uncover some good clay. Carry a shovel and be prepared for unexpected harvesting opportunities— just be mindful of other people’s property and request permission before digging.

Flask in Honor of Neil Woody. 7” tall. One of a three-part series. Wood-fired local pipe clay with white slip and alkaline glaze.

clay is a part of; the community of people living in that environment; and how pots can potentially impact their lives.” He believes it’s important to be aware of the historical relationship between the clay and the people who have lived atop it. Copus values the practice of wood-firing as another connection to the history of potterymaking in his state.

4. Try it out. A simple field test of coiling some clay and bending the two ends together can determine plasticity, but keep in mind that the true potential of some materials is only revealed after some processing. Clays may be run through a screen to greatly improve plasticity, and some clays with little plasticity can be good slips or glaze bases.

He further noted that wood is probably the most appropriate kiln fuel for a potter working in heavily-forested western North Carolina. It is an abundant industrial waste product in the region. He burns a mixture of strips from a molding factory in Asheville, scraps from a nearby sawmill, and round cuts gathered from a local arborist.

The Firing Just this fall, Copus fired his new threechamber, 27-foot noborigama kiln for the second time. Kiln construction had recently been the most pressing goal in building his pottery business. He had opened his Asheville, NC shop and studio in 2003; a consistently accessible kiln was the logical next step. He purchased land for the kiln from Rob Pulleyn in Marshall, NC during spring, 2007 and immediately began construction with bricks supplied by his friend, Maynard Leeman.

“This type of interaction is actually pretty common around here, in my experience. Pottery is in people’s blood, and my process of working allows me to connect back to those traditions and to those people,” Copus said.

Both the purchase of land and the kiln construction were funded by a 2006 Windgate Fellowship awarded by the Center for Craft, Creativity & Design in Hendersonville, NC. Copus credits the Center with providing a

He chose a chamber kiln design for the versatility it offers—distinct zones capable of creating different types of ware. The first chamber is designed for unglazed ash wares and longer firings, with a special emphasis on an ember bed and firebox effects. The second and third chambers are designed for glaze ware and quick firings using exhaust heat emitted from the first. This approach works well for the body of work he produces: twothirds is glazed ware and a third, raw clay. Windgate Fellowship details may be found online at www.craftcreativitydesign.org. [

Josh Copus is the founder of The Clayspace Co-op, a cooperative ceramics studio and gallery located in the historic River Arts district of Asheville, NC. More information may be found at www.clayspace.org. He may be reached directly by e-mail at copiousplus@hotmail.com. J.J. McCracken is a ceramic artist who resides in Washington, D.C. Email questions to her at: j.j.mccracken@gmail.com.

CLAYTIMES·COM n NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007

“When I moved out to Madison County, I went to this little sawmill to inquire about getting wood. I introduced myself and started to explain my situation to the mill operator. I didn’t get very far before he told me that he knew about pottery because he had some. He took me up to his house and showed me an old brown jug that he got from his grandfather. He proceeded to explain its history in his family and how old it was, as good as he could tell.

financial base that allowed him to pursue the kiln project.

Each of Shojaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s clayworks is a one-of-a-kind original that incorporates handbuilt or slipcast bodies with fragile coils and appendages.

CLAYTIMESÂˇCOM n NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007

8" x 10" x 6". This work is glazed with the Metallic Gold Luster formula appearing on page 47.

Shoja says his designs often originate in his dreams, inspiring him to sketch upon awakening, then create in clay afterward.

Illusions of Teapots

STORY By Ellen Grimm PHOTOS BY JODIE ANDRUSKEVICH

Jafar Shoja considers his Persian ancestry a strong influence on his work. For Shoja, the Smithsonian show was a welcome affirmation from fellow clay artists. He turned to clay in 2001 after decades of working with other media, including iron, neon, bronze, and stone. A portion of his studio building is still filled with ironworking tools, though he now uses them to forge tools for his clay work, such as a tong-like device attached to a golf ball that he rolls over clay to make patterns. He worked also as an abstract painter, taking on sometimes weighty subjects such as the dangers

of the atomic age. “I had a point to those paintings,” he said. “But these teapots. There is no point. You just enjoy them.” His studio, with its display area and adjoining rooms—each with its own purpose in his artistic process—is filled with books on all matters clay. “This field, this medium is the most complex,” he said. “I think I’m going to stay with clay because I still have lots that I haven’t done yet.” An exuberant man, whose conversation is wide-ranging and

associative, Shoja bases his teapots on sketches he draws on any flat surface he can find, including napkins, gum wrappers, and cardboard. “I have oodles of drawings. I sketch something subconsciously,” he said. This means Shoja takes many a curtailed nap on the couch he keeps in his studio, often jumping up to capture an image that occurs to him as he drifts off to sleep. Once he begins his claywork, he departs from the sketches, ending up with a teapot that only remotely resembles the original drawing. “I just start with the basics of the sketch, then I let it go. Form follows form—they relate to each other,” he said. His forms include solid, rolled clay, which he uses for teapot handles. To create hollow shapes, he wraps an iron spike, which resembles a foot-long nail, in newspaper (he keeps a stack of outdated Persian newspapers in his studio), then rolls the spike on a slab of clay. When he pulls the paper out of the clay shape, he is left with a hollow, conical piece he can then manipulate to form part of the teapot’s body. He sometimes curls the end and, by adding a coil, extends it to form a decorative handle. The “S” shape appears frequently in his work, reflecting the Persian influence in his art.

CLAYTIMES·COM n NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007

afar Shoja began his life as an artist in Iran, where he became an expert in Persian miniature paintings, using tiny brushes made of cat hair with tips so fine that they are invisible. About 50 years after leaving Iran for the United States as a young man, Shoja lives in Nashua, New Hampshire, where he creates elaborate ceramic teapots that have metamorphosed in ways that suggest fantastical animals or intricate musical instruments. Shoja delights in creating what he calls “dysfunctional” teapots, with proliferating handles, and spouts without openings. “It doesn’t have to have any relationship to a teapot,” Shoja said recently, during an interview in his Nashua studio. “The forms can excite, so that they give you an illusion of a teapot.” Last spring, Shoja’s teapots were featured in the Smithsonian Craft Show in Washington, D.C. He was one of 120 artists or partnerships selected from more than 1,100 applicants, and one of 39 firsttime exhibitors. He is a devotee of teapots as his source of inspiration. “Look at them! I cannot do this with a horse,” he said. “They give me so much freedom that I can move any aspect of it to any direction I want.”

CLAYTIMESÂˇCOM n NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007

10" x 10" x 4". This work is glazed with a cone 6 turquoise glaze of 60% soda feldspar, 20% dolomite, and 20% barium carbonate (base formula), plus additions including 2.5% copper carbonate for color and 2% bentonite to prevent settling in the glaze bucket. (CAUTION: This glaze is highly toxic! Use only on non-functional work; wear gloves and respirator when mixing and using.) It yields a satin matte surface.

10" x 10" x 8". Many of his intricate surface designs and impressions result from molds Shoja has made from flea market crystal ware.

He also creates the bodies of his teapots using crystal glassware he finds in flea markets, which serve as molds for their shapes and patterns. He makes patterns also with what he calls “crazy” tools, such as metal gutter netting, a child’s bubble maker, toothpicks, gears, buttons, doorknobs, bottle caps, ball bearings, and a meat tenderizer. “You name it—anything,” he said. One of Shoja’s major preoccupations is strengthening his clay in ways that increase

He mixes his clay with 5% paper, a formula that makes the thin, narrow slabs he uses to fashion ribbon-like strips more resistant to breakage. In addition, when the paper burns away in the kiln, the clay becomes more porous, enhancing its ability to absorb glaze. When he finishes crafting his teapots, Shoja covers them with plastic for two to three weeks, occasionally removing the plastic for about an hour during the day to air them out. He also closely checks all the joints—

Shoja seems to revel in the chemistry and physics of the glazing and firing processes, fine-tuning his techniques. If a glaze does not emerge from the kiln to his liking, he will use a different glaze and a different temperature. He learns from his “disasters”—teapots with parts that have caved in because of where they were placed in the kiln, or even a slight weight imbalance. Still, he is not seeking perfection, he said. “My works are not perfect. My works are for wonderment. People say, ‘Wow, 1 you must have a crazy mind. You must have nightmares,’” he said. “This is a compliment.” [

SHOJA’s PROCESS “I use slab/mold, coil, pinch, and slipcasting methods to achieve my goal. I also take pictures of the bisque-fired teapots with a digital camera and transfer them to my computer, then print them on regular 8" x 11" sheets of paper in blackand-white. When I spray glaze on any part of the teapot, I record the symbol for the glaze onto the picture, and this becomes my record for future reference. “I test-fire 2 each glaze for its color; then I use glazes like a painter’s palette. I seldom use the glaze as it is. I often spray glaze over glaze with the understanding of what that color will look like after firing. Often, I am successful in getting what I intended, yet other times I get a delightful surprise. I also collect the dust from my spray-booth filter, and pass it through a 100-mesh sieve. I find the mixture of all colors gives a unique warm, black-brown luster look.”

*HIGHLY TOXIC; can be absorbed through skin! Wear impermeable gloves and approved NIOSH respirator when mixing.

13" x 8" x 7". Fine serpentine-like appendages are made stronger with the addition of 5% paper to Shoja’s clay body, and a covered drying process that takes two to three weeks.

the odds that his delicate shapes will withstand the sculpting, drying, and firing processes. To aerate the clay, he painstakingly pokes it with a cobbler’s spike (a gift from a cobbler friend), creating pin-prick texture on one side and evening out the thickness.

and there are many—to make sure they are secure and intact (he aerates pieces before joining them). If he finds a piece, such as a handle, that is drying too quickly, he wets it to slow down the process and keep all pieces drying uniformly.

China Clay Copper Oxide Manganese Dioxide

23.09% 7.62% 69.28%

This simple glaze gives a warm, metallic bronze color. The same glaze with copper oxide increased to 15.24% will give a pewter finish, with a metallic luster.

CLAYTIMES·COM n NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007

Metallic Gold Luster Glaze* Cone 6 oxidation • for decorative use only from Glazes Cone 6 by M. Bailey

Readers Share I Art Works

The Gallery

CLAYTIMES·COM n NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007

Butter Dish. 9" x 3" x 3½". Handbuilt, sprayed with multiple glazes, salt-fired to cone 10. Shawn O’Connor, 446 Marston Hill Rd., Minot, ME 04258. E-mail: shawn.oconnor1981@gmail.com.

Oil and Vinegar Set. 4" (H) x 7" (W) x 3½" (D). Wheel-thrown and altered stoneware, wood-fired to Cone 12. Hong-Ling Wee, 81 Mott St. 5-S, New York, NY 10013. E-mail: HL@ceramicus.com; Web site: www.ceramicus.com.

To have your work considered for publication in The Gallery, please send a high-quality color print, slide, or 1050- x 1500-pixel digital image to: The Gallery, Clay Times, P.O. Box 365, Waterford, VA 20197. Please include your name, address, telephone number, Web 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

Secret Keeper. 5" x 5" x 10". Wheel-thrown and glazed porcelain. Yoko Sekino-Bové, 1497 Route 136, Washington, PA 15301. E-mail: claygypsy@juno.com. House Jar. Wood-fired local clay. Matt Jacobs, Clayspace Co-op, 119A Roberts Street, Asheville NC 28801. Web site: www.clayspace.org.

Tea for Me. 5½" x 5½" without handle. Wheel-thrown and assembled stoneware, fired to cone 10 in reduction. Handmade cane handle. Ken Bradford, 7112 Walnut Creek Drive, Oklahoma City, OK 73142. E-mail: cheflucian@tulsahurricane.com.

CLAYTIMES·COM n NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007

Elephant Splash. 7½" x 6". Thrown and altered stoneware fired to cone 5 in oxidation. Maggie Jones, 50 Cedar Creek Rd., Black Mountain, ND 28711. Web site: turtleislandpottery.com.

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Making Your Own High-quality Images With the EZ Cube Story, photos, and art by Tom Zwierlein

grew up in the day of the 8-track tape and the photographic slide. I still have slides from the early 1970s; back then, we thought slides were great.

When preparing to share images of our works at a clay conference, we spent a lot of time and hard work to produce a sleeve of just 20 images (all of which could be projected in just 30 seconds). Today, young people pull out their iPods™ and share a digital image presentation that can capture the viewer’s attention for 5 to 10 minutes! My slides are starting to fade now, and thanks to a bad beer spill one night, they’re a little dirty, too! Yes, things change with time (like my hairline!) but I think it is important to stay current. I have been converting film to digital images since 1994. I have always shot my own work. As an undergraduate photography minor, I once learned what was necessary to take good shots of shiny pots. Mostly, I used natural light at the right time of the day. This year a colleague bought me a present, the “EZ Cube,” and fluorescent flood lamps with stands. This thing is nothing short of amazing. Cool florescent lamps use little power and last a long time. I still remember the heat from photo floods, and watching the power grid spin. The “EZ Cube” will fold flat when not in use; it pops out like a good camping tent when needed. It is a translucent material that can be ordered with a variety of backgrounds that clip in place.

I use a full-size SLR digital camera, a tripod, and the “EZ Cube” set up. Hit the white balance button, shoot, open images in Photoshop®, and I’m done. If you are starting from scratch, it will cost a few hundred dollars, but it won’t be long until it pays for itself. The beauty of this arrangement is that if you don’t like the outcome, you can quickly re-shoot and amend the problems. Soon after the initial investment, the process is almost free! [

CLAYTIMES·COM n SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2007 CLAYTIMES·COM n NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007

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51 51

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A visit abroad reveals a variety of different tools...

s of this writing I am in Istanbul, Turkey, in my hotel room after a day of photographing pots and sculpture at the Istanbul Archaeological Museum. I’ve been here for three days, visiting all the great mosques, palaces, and museums. This is among the greatest cities for clay artists to visit. Before arriving in Istanbul, for two weeks I was one of 12 international ceramic artists participating in a terra sigillata symposium at the Dokuz Eylul University summer camp at Urzmek, on the Aegean Coast southwest of Izmir. It was an eclectic group, and I enjoyed watching the ways the different artists used tools.

or even leather-hard clay, but I had not thought to bring a standard cut-off wire with me. I also use multi-strand stain-

a Surform tool tends to rake the sand or grog to the surface, leaving it rough and stonelike. A number of the artists chose to work large, requiring a grogged clay. The Turkish sculpture clay was beautifully plastic and responded well to most forming methods, but was frustrating to finish. Among the pieces I constructed was a large, coilbuilt jar, and I finished most of the surface with the Surform tool. This clay was far coarser than what I am used to, but was beautiful to work with otherwise. I am very satisfied with the surface that I achieved.

Large coil-built jars randomly displayed outside the museum at the Greco-Roman ruins of Aphrodisias in western Turkey. That’s exactly what many of the participants did. Where I would have used a Surform® tool, they carved away clay with a sharp knife. In some cases, the effect was almost like “whittling” very soft wood, and it proved to be an excellent way of working with clay subtractively. I suppose that’s obvious, but I had never used a fettling knife that way before. Now, suddenly, I am intrigued by the idea of starting with a big block of leather-hard clay and going at it with my sharp Turkish knife. The nylon cut-off wires proved problematic. For cutting soft clay they were fine, but as soon as we tried to cut anything a little stiffer, they broke. In North America, we often use cut-off wires for cutting stiff

less steel micro-cable in my colored clay work, and I wish I had brought a spool. Israeli artist Rina Kimche had some pieces that needed to be cut horizontally on a wavy line, and those nylon cut-off wires kept breaking. A stainless steel cut-off wire would have made short work of that task. I brought Surform tools for each participant, and these provided a good discovery for many of them. We had a variety of clays to choose from, including several very fine-grain clays, and several containing very coarse grog—nothing in between. The Surform tools worked great on the fine-grain clay bodies, as is always the case, but proved problematic on the bodies containing coarse grog. That was no surprise—

Since we were applying terra sig to all of the work, many of us used a standard metal spoon to burnish the surface a bit, knocking down the groggy particles, leaving a finish more suitable for receiving the terra sig and subsequent polishing. I’ve done a lot of burnishing in the past, but always on smoother clay bodies. This experience provided a direct tie to the origins of burnishing thousands of years ago, when ancient potters used it for exactly the same reasons we used it on this groggy clay. Several months ago, I informed my Turkish hosts that I would need a large rolling pin with bearing-mounted handles, but apparently such a thing does not exist in Turkey. So I brought one of my big Vic Firth maple rolling pins with its 15” x 3” barrel. We had a crew of students wedging clay and making coils and slabs, and they

CLAYTIMES·COM n NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007

Sevim Cizer, a senior member of the ceramics faculty at Dokuz Eylul, organized the symposium. She generously provided us each with a box of tools. Included in that box was a cut-off wire made of nylon fishing line, several modeling tools, a band-loop trimming tool, a sponge, a number of spring steel (not stainless) ribs, and a knife similar to a fettling knife—but much more substantial, and quite sharp. I brought a standard fettling knife because I depend on it so much in my work. It is my conviction that we should keep sharp instruments away from potters and clay sculptors whenever possible, so I generally dull the X-acto knives and fettling knives in my studio. They don’t need a sharp edge to work well on clay. But the

knives provided by Sevim were quite sharp, and proved especially nice for carving stiff clay.

by VINCE PITELKA

Shop Talk I Tool Times

There’s No Single Way

Shop Talk I Tool Times

all ended up using my rolling pin for slab preparation, since many of the participants needed slabs. They all fell in love with that rolling pin. Curiously, it seems that cheap East Asian brushes have not reached Turkey. I brought one with me, and several of the participants borrowed it to apply their terra sig. The soft, resilient bristles with high reservoir capacity are so appropriate for the task. On one of our excursions, we visited the traditional Turkish pottery village of Karacasu. We stopped at a number of potteries, and at the largest one I was struck by the dramatic contrasts present. I shot plenty of photographs, and one of them depicts the cylindrical gratekiln—basically unchanged since the earliest Palestinian examples from 2000 BC. Above it, mounted on the roof, is a satellite dish. The studio is below ground, with an earth-covered wood roof for warmth in the winter and cooling in the summer. The potters work by the light of several small windows.

The master potter and his young cousin worked side-byside, producing covered casseroles in several sizes. These men are among the best potters I have seen, working with complete confidence, seeming to derive considerable satisfaction from their work. They work on simple, homemade, motorized kickwheels, surrounded by platforms that hold prepared clay and receive the finished work. The tools are the simplest you can imagine—crudely formed wood and metal ribs, scraps of fabric, rough sponges, and plastic combs for texture. Aside from the motor power, I expect that the design of the studio and the means of making the casseroles have changed little in thousands of years. And yet, opposite the master potter on a small shelf, was a computer with a web-cam mounted on top, aimed at the potter. Hanging from the ceiling was a TV tuned to Turkish soap-operas. We spent a few hours roaming the extraordinary ruins of Aphro-

disias, the ancient Greco-Roman city about 100 kilometers inland from Kusadasi. It is all very impressive, but I was especially struck by the giant coil-built jars, used for food storage as well as for funerary rites. Some of these jars are 5' tall, and on the inside you can place your fingers in the marks made by the potter 2,000 years ago. That’s a humbling experience, but it is also inspiring. How much have we changed, in the ways we work clay? New techniques and tools are always coming along, but how many of them are really necessary? I always maintain that the potter should turn first to her/his hands as the primary tools. There is little evidence that the Roman potters who made those huge storage jars worked with anything but their hands and a few coarse ribs. Those jars, the traditional potters at Karacasu, and the work of my fellow artists in the workshop at Urzmek all reaffirmed my conviction that we should do as much as possible with our hands when working clay.

I am supposed to be the tool guy at Clay Times, but I am still most interested in what the potter or sculptor can do with just her/ his hands. That’s the truest test of resourcefulness and innovation in forming clay. Every tool is an extension of our fingers and hands, but we must always ask ourselves if the tools we choose are really an improvement over the fingers and hands. I’ll be back home in a few days, but I am sure this experience in Turkey will creep into my “Tool Times” column again and again. I’ve been inspired and educated in so many ways. [

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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BY marc ward

his is the “comparing apples with oranges” article.

With more information available in our world, there’s this wonderfully maddening paradox. There is also more disinformation, or as the scientists like to say, “more hooey.” The problem is, it’s hard to tell fact from opinion. If you haunt the online world, where opinion masquerades as fact, you can be led down many a false road. In fact, most of the time, you’re not even aware that you’re supposed to make the distinction between opinion and fact. Many folks who make a habit of giving opinions are then held up to be experts dispensing facts. OK, I mentioned fruit in the first sentence. Let me give you some examples. A couple of days ago, I get a call from a customer. He has rebuilt his raku kiln; made it bigger by about 30%. He added hard brick. Now he can’t get it to temperature. So, I proceed with my rehearsed litany of questions. One of the questions I ask (that may sound a bit silly) is: Did you turn up your burner? It is amazing how many people say “no.” This guy has built a bigger kiln, with poorer insulating materials, and can’t figure out why the burner doesn’t do the same thing it used to. But I’m not going to bust his chops about this, because he’s fallen for the “apples and oranges” thing.

I reach for my handy calculator, punch some buttons, and tell him he has to turn the burner up to about 15 psi. Now he’s confused. Now he begins to argue! “I don’t think I should do that,” he says. Of course, I’ve done this dance with customers before, and start to tell him a tale about fruit and opinions. (Those of you out there that are math geeks may now be saying, “Wait a minute: 30% bigger kiln, but 300% more pressure. What gives?” Pressure, as a function of BTU output, is contained within a quadratic equation. For the normal, ungeeked reader, this is gobbledegook— it means that just because you triple the pressure, it doesn’t mean you triple the output. Gary, from his place of expertise, has sowed confusion in the guise of fact. Our clay community is steeped in this pseudo-knowledge. Last week, I found myself speaking through an interpreter with a potter from Taiwan—a stranger in a strange land. He has just built a kiln like his American sponsor. It’s a 100-cubic-foot sprungarch kiln with six burner ports on the sides. His American sponsor (the expert with the apples) fires with high-pressure propane. Our Eastern friend (the trusting soul with the oranges) is firing on lowpressure natural gas. I hang my head and let out a soft groan. The interpreter is listening to my fruit salad analogy thing that I do, and now has to pass this on

to the person being hit by the fruit. Six low-cost burners on high-pressure propane easily fired the sponsor’s kiln. Six low-cost burners will not even come close to firing the trusting soul’s kiln on low-pressure natural gas. Two expensive burners would have fired it. But now, our friend from the East has to rebuild the kiln or buy six expensive burners when two would have sufficed. Apples and oranges! A long pause on the phone, foreign words I don’t understand, but a tone I do recognize: The fruit trap. The fact giver, recognizing at the same time as the fact receiver, that there was no fact—just opinion. Yikes! Now that I’ve shared these two stories from the past week of my life, I’m wondering: what do you do? Always question experts. I don’t mean just question what they are saying, but question whether they are even really experts to begin with! I know many of you are thinking, “Wait a minute, he’s writing a column: he’s supposed to be an expert, or at least playing the role in this magazine.” Bingo! I find that the most successful customers I deal with are the ones that ask the hardest questions. They are the ones who want answers explained to their satisfaction. If you sense some of the “hooey” I referenced before, don’t be afraid to start asking the hard questions. Ultimately, it’s your job to dodge the fruit thrown your way. [

Marc Ward is owner and operator of Ward Burner Systems, PO Box 1086, Dandridge, Tennessee 37725. He invites you to sign up for his free newsletter, and can be reached by phone at (865) 397-2914 or through the online catalog and Web site at this address: www.wardburner.com.

CLAYTIMES·COM n NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007

What’s the “apples and oranges” thing? A friend of his told him never to fire his burner above 5 psi (pounds per square inch) of pressure. His friend, Garish Coppermat (his friends call him Gary) has been doing raku a lot longer than he has—maybe 16 months longer. So Gary is the expert. Gary has found that on his kiln, with his burner, if he tries to turn the burner up over 5 psi, things start to go south on him. Now, this bit of specific

localized information turns into a steadfast opinion, then turns into fact. In fact, it’s the fruit salad I alluded to in the opening sentence—apples and oranges.

Shop Talk I Firing

Apples vs Oranges: Using the Right Comparison?

CLAYTIMES·COM n NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007

Finding One’s Way With Clay by Paulus Berensohn is one of the best loved books on clay ever written. It is an eloquent how-to book and a provocative and inspirational look at the relationship between clay and the human being. The 25th Anniversary Edition of Finding One’s Way With Clay is available at Trinity Ceramic Supply, Inc. for $26.50 plus $4.00 for shipping in the continental U.S.

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

Could your ceramic talc contain asbestos? by MONONA ROSSOL

Ceramic talcs are common clay and glaze ingredients. Talcs are mined from deposits in the earth. While cosmetic talcs used in make-up are almost pure talc, the industrial talcs used in ceramics contain mixtures of minerals other than talc. This story is about one of those talcs, the one mined in upstate New York that some people think contains asbestos.

HISTORY In 1967, the first study of New York talc was released.1 The study concluded that dust from this talc was causing asbestos-related diseases in miners. While microscopic studies certainly showed fibers of some kind in the talc, a battle began over whether or not these fibers were truly asbestos. The pottery world split into three camps: those who believe the talc contained asbestos, those who did not believe the talc contained asbestos, and a large group of people who didn’t even know about the debate and didn’t care. My own position is the same as that of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Their researchers did the early studies and NIOSH has never wavered in their view that this talc does contain asbestos.

BROOKFIELD, CT The schools in Brookfield were old. Asbestos had to be removed. After the extensive clean-up, the school system adopted an air and dust testing program

Then a few months later, asbestos was detected again. Sure enough, the teacher had ordered a different brand of clay from yet another company which, unknown to her, also contained New York talc.

THE LETTER Then on June 20, 2007, the Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) and CT Department of Education (DOE) released a joint letter to all Connecticut Superintendents of School to alert them to the “Potential Asbestos Hazard in Art Clay.” In this letter, they note, a “recent court case in New Jersey found talc mined by the R.T. Vanderbilt Company of New York was responsible for an asbestos-related cancer (mesothelioma) in a pottery shop owner.” This potter had used Vanderbilt’s NYTAL 100 talc in his glazes. The jury awarded the potter’s estate $3.35 million plus an undisclosed amount of punitive damages.

THE OTHER SIDE Toxicologists working for the art materials industry have been certifying New York talc-containing products as safe for years. The major U.S. certifier, the Arts & Creative Materials Institute (ACMI), provided their view in the following statement. As a condition of its use, they require us to provide their entire statement unedited. Here it is:

“As a result of conflicting information and possible consumer confusion from reports of asbestos in ceramic clays in Connecticut schools, not from safety concerns, ACMI has required member manufacturers using Nytal talc, if any, to reformulate their products within six months to replace such talc with suitable alternatives. ACMI believes this is a situation similar to that which occurred in 2000 with talc in crayons, when ACMI member companies agreed to reformulate crayons to replace the talc at the request of then Commissioner Ann Brown. Even though tests by the Consumer Product Safety Commission found traces of “asbestoslike fibers,” but in levels so small that the Commissioner Ann Brown described them as “scientifically insignificant” and stressed that “there is no cause for concern,” the companies reformulated to maintain consumer trust in their brands. Our toxicologist, Dr. Woodhall Stopford of Duke University, has required testing of clays and related products for dust production during foreseeable use and clean-up activities. Based on the amount of asbestiform fibers that might be in clays using Nytal talc and based on EPA’s risk assessment for asbestos, he found no excessive risks to users of such ceramic products. This evaluation is posted on Dr. Stopford’s Web site and has been reviewed by CPSC’s Health Directorate. It was resubmitted to CPSC after Connecticut raised their concern. This risk assessment covers all art or craft materials that may contain Nytal talc. Based on the lab reports of CPSC and other labs and the risk assessment of ACMI’s toxicological team at Duke University, ACMI does not believe certified art materials containing Nytal talc, if any, then or now need to be recalled from the market place.”

MY RESPONSE: • I agree that crayons in which the talc was suspended in wax probably will not expose users to asbestos in significant amounts, but I don’t think controversial

CLAYTIMES·COM n NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007

After 40 years of debate, the issue has been settled—at least for those who purchase pre-mixed clays and glazes. Most companies are now phasing this talc out of pre-mixed clays and other art products. This part of the story began in Connecticut.

to monitor the environment for asbestos fibers. One of the middle school samplers began detecting asbestos. For months, no one could determine where these fibers were coming from. Then they were traced to the children’s talc-containing clay in the art room. The teacher switched to a talc-free clay and the problem was over.

Studio I Health & Safety

Ceramic Talc: Two Sides of a Story

Studio I Health & Safety

ingredients belong in children’s products in any amount. • I disagree with ACMI’s statement that CPSC only found “asbestos-like fibers.” For a different opinion, I cite the National Toxicology Program’s 2002 10th Report on Carcinogens where it says: CPSC tested crayons from three manufacturers ... CPSC found trace* amounts of anthophyllite asbestos and larger amounts of transitional fibers in crayons from two of three manufacturers ... Although the risk was considered extremely low, manufacturers agreed to reformulate to eliminate talc (CPSC (2002)). [*Note: a trace is defined as 1% or less which can be significant under some circumstances.] • Regarding Dr. Stopford’s risk assessment, it is clear his definition of asbestos is different from that of NIOSH ... In fact, the lead researcher on a number of the NIOSH studies, Dr. John M. Dement, is now the Program Director of the Epidemiology Department at Duke University, the same school with which Dr. Stopford is affiliated. Yet Dr. Dement has steadfastly maintained the talc contains asbestos and is the cause of mesothelioma and lung cancer among NY talc workers.

SUMMARY Whether you favor the opinions of Dr. Stopford, Dr. Dement, or the jury that awarded millions to the family of a deceased potter who used this talc, I think it is good that people will no longer be using a mineral about which such controversy exists. Now ACMI’s members and most other ceramic manufacturers have taken the talc out of their products, or at least offer consumers a choice. If you aren’t sure if your products contain talc mined in New York, ask your supplier. [ 1. Kleinfeld M, Messite J, Kooyman O, et al. Mortality among talc miners and millers in New York State. Art Environ Health 1967; 14; 663-7. Readers who want a list of other references can contact me.

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.

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JOYCE MICHAUD � �

Plates and Platters: Nov. 17-18 Master’s Throwing: Feb. 7-10

XIAOSHENG BI �

Chinese Brushwork: March 1-2

PHIL BERNEBURG Properties of Glaze: Nov. 8-11 Electric Kiln: Jan. 12-13 � Clay and Glaze Chemistry: 6 Saturdays beginning �

CLAYTIMES·COM n NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007

�

Jan. 26 VISITING ARTISTS:

IAN GREGORY

Ceramic Sculpture and Paper Clay: Nov. 2-4

JOHN ALBERT MURPHY Slip Cast Porcelain: Feb. 16-17 Yixing Teapot Workshop Hui Wang & Zhengzhong Zhang March 7-9 Hood College Graduate School Art Department (301) 696-3456 � Fax (301) 696-3531 www.hood.edu/ceramics Hood College subscribes to a policy of equal educational and employment opportunities.

Statement of Ownership, Management and Circulation. Publication Title: Clay Times. Publication number 1087-7614. Filing Date: 10-1-2007. Published bimonthly. Annual subscription price: $30. Office of publication: 15481 Second St., PO Box 365, Waterford, VA 20197-0365. 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: 18,611. b) Paid/requested circulation: (1) Outside county mail subscriptions: 11,154. (2) In-county subscriptions: 15. (3) Sales through dealers and carriers, street vendors, counter sales and other non-USPS paid distribution: 5,376. (4) Other classes mailed through USPS: 613. c) Total paid and/or requested circulation: 17,158. d) Free distribution by mail (samples, complimentary, and other free): (1) Outside county: 532. (2) In-county: 5. (3) Other classes mailed through USPS: 96. e) Free distribution outside the mail (carriers or other means): 240. f) Total free distribution: 873. g) Total distribution: 18,031. h) copies not distributed: 580. i) Total: 18,611. j) Percent paid and/or requested circulation: 95.15%. I certify that the statements made by me above are correct and complete. Polly Beach, President, Clay Times Inc.

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CAROLINA CLAY CONNECTION

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

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

ALABAMA

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, cont.

KENTUCKY

Imagine Partners in Art — 210 South 41st Street, Birmingham, AL 35222; (205) 706-8308; www. imaginepartnersinart.com; imaginepartnersinart@msn. com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, clay-and-cocktail workshops.

Hinckley Pottery — 1707 Kalorama Road, NW, Washington, DC 20009; (202) 745-7055; www.hinckleypottery.com; info@hinckleypottery.com; wheel-throwing.

Kentucky Mudworks LLC — 238 Jefferson Street, Lexington, KY 40508; (859) 389-9681; www. kentuckymudworks.com; mudworks@insightbb.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture.

FLORIDA

LOUISIANA

ARKANSAS Flat Rock Clay Supplies — 2002 South School Ave. (Hwy. 71), Fayetteville, AR 72701; (479) 521-3181; www.flatrockclay.com; info@flatrockclay. com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, tile, special topic classes and workshops.

COLORADO

Carla’s Clay — 1733 Northgate Blvd, Sarasota, FL 34234; (941) 359-2773; www.Carlasclay.com; cobrien@carlasclay.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture, gallery, tools and supplies. The Lake Eustis Arts Accord — 205 & 211 North Grove Street, PO Box 1619, Eustis, FL 32727; (352) 589-4ART (4278); info@lakeeustisartsaccord. org; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, raku, firing, sculpture. Workshops and classes.

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

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.

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.

GEORGIA

CONNECTICUT

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Eastern Market Pottery — New location on Capitol Hill. 320 3rd Street NE, Washington, DC 22002; (202)544-6669; cbrome@earthlink.net; stoneware, wheel-throwing, glazing, decorating.

The Ocee Arts Center — 6290 Abbotts Bridge Road, Building #700, Duluth, GA 30097; (770)623-8448; www.oceearts.org; dcocee@bellsouth. net; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture, tile, mosaic, firing, glazing/decoration, apprentice programs, workshops.

ILLINOIS Clay Space —28 W 210 Warrenville Road, Warrenville, IL 60556; (630)393-2529; www.clayspace. net; clay.space@yahoo.com; adult & children’s classes, wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture, firing, glazing/ decoration.

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

MARYLAND Baltimore Clayworks — 5707 Smith Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21209; (410) 578-1919; www.baltimoreclayworks.org; matt.hyleck@baltimore clayworks.org; workshop contact: forrest.snyder@ baltimoreclayworks.org; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture, tile, mosaic, decorating, printmaking, slipcasting, wood firing, salt firing. Shiloh Pottery, Inc. — 1027 Brodbeck Road, Hampstead, MD 21074; (410) 239-8888; www.shilohpottery.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding. The Frederick Pottery School, Inc.— 5305 Jefferson Pike, Suite C-2, Frederick, MD 21703; (301) 473-8833; www.frederickpotteryschool.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, wood firing. Montpelier Arts Center— 9652 Muirkirk Road, Laurel, MD 20708; (301) 953-1993; www. pgparks.com/places/artsfac/mac.html; montpelier.arts@ pgparks.com; classes for children and adults include handbuilding, wheel-throwing, raku; special parent/child workshops offered. Glen Echo Pottery — 7300 MacArthur Blvd., Glen Echo, MD 20812; (301) 229-5585; www. glenechopottery.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, raku and soda firing.

CLAYTIMES·COM n NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007

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.

Callanwolde Fine Arts Center — 980 Briarcliff Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30306; (404) 872-5338; www.callanwolde.org; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, reduction, salt, soda, raku, and oxidation firing.

Resources I Classes

Community Pottery Classes

Resources I Classes

MARYLAND, continued

NEVADA

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.

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

Jayne Shatz Pottery — 452 Laurel Valley Court, Arnold, MD 21012; (410) 757-6351; www. jayneshatzpottery.com; jesclay@aol.com; wheelthrowing, handbuilding, sculpture, glazing, firing, wall relief and tile, workshops, critiques, marketing strategy, group and private sessions.

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

MASSACHUSETTS

NEW JERSEY

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

The Art School at Old Church — 561 Piermont Road, Demarest, NJ 07627; (201) 767-7160; www.tasoc.org; info@tasoc.org; wheelthrowing, handbuilding, sculpture, tile, glazing, raku.

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

Thompson Park Creative Arts Center — Monmouth County Park System, 805 Newman Springs Road, Lincroft, NJ 07738; (732) 842-4000, ext. 4343; www.monmouthcountyparks.com; sliu@monmouthcountyparks.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, workshops, raku & electric kilns, beginners-advanced for adults, children, parent/child.

2 Rivers Ceramic Studio — 77 Elm Street, Amesbury, MA 01913-2503; (978) 3882212; www.2riversceramic.com; hamovit@gmail. com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, classes and workshops for adults and children, 24/7 studio access for independent artists.

MINNESOTA

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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. 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: 212 Southampton Road, Hattiesburg, MS 39401; (228) 806-3153; www. bodinepottery.com; hukmut@bodinepottery.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, PMC (precious metal clay).

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

Visual Art Center of New Jersey — 68 Elm Street, Summit, NJ 07901; (908) 273-9121; www.artcenternj.org; Deemick@artcenternj.org; All things clay. Kissimmee River Pottery — One 8th Street #11, Frenchtown, NJ 08825; (908) 996-3555; www.kissimmeeriverpottery.com; riverpots@earthlink. net; beginner to advanced classes, wheel-throwing, handbuilding, workshops, cone 10 reduction firing, single firing, raku, adult day and evening classes.

NEW YORK Clay Art Center — 40 Beech Street, Port Chester, NY 10562; 914-937-2047; www. clayartcenter.org; mail@ clayartcenter.org; wheelthrowing, handbuilding, sculpture, special topics, kids and adults. The Painted Pot — 339 Smith Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231; (718) 222-0334; www.paintedpot.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture. The Potter’s Wheel—120-33 83rd Avenue, Kew Gardens, NY 11415; (718) 441-6614; www. potterswheelny.com; potterswheelny@earthlink.net; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, raku, saggar firing, kids and adult classes. 92nd Street Y Art Center — 1395 Lexington Ave, New York, NY 10128; (212) 415-5562; www.92Y.org/artclasses; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture; intensives in plaster, glazing, and complex serving pieces; open studio available.

VIRGINIA

Blue Gill Pottery — 4522 W. Wilkinson Blvd., Gastonia, NC 28056; (704) 824-9928; www.bluegillpottery.com; bluegillpottery@bellsouth.net; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, glazing, throwing.

Creative Clay Studios — 5704 E General Washington Drive, Alexandria, VA 22312; (703) 750-9480; www.creativeclaypottery.com; daisy_gail@ msn.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture, classes, workshops, studios, retail supplies, tools, clay.

Odyssey Center for Ceramic Arts — 236 Clingman Avenue, Asheville, NC 28801; (828) 285-0210; www.highwaterclays.com; odyssey@highwaterclays.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture, tile. Sawtooth School for Visual Arts — 226 N. Marshall Street, Winston Salem, NC 27171; (336) 723-7395; www.sawtooth.org; ceramics@sawtooth. org; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture, tile, classes and workshops in other fine arts and media. Finch Pottery — 5526 Finch Nursery Lane, Bailey, NC 27807-9492; (252) 235-4664; www.danfinch.com; dan.finch@earthlink.net; wheel-throwing.

OHIO Yost Pottery Studio — 1643 Massillon Road, Akron, OH 44312; (330) 734-0763; www.yostpottery. com; Wheel-throwing, handbuilding, tile, firing.

PENNSYLVANIA Allen Stoneware Gallery & Pottery Studio Classroom — Colony Plaza, 2602 West 8th Street, Erie, PA 16505; (814) 836-0345; www.allenstoneware.com; pottery@allenstoneware.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture. The Clay Studio — 139 North Second Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106; (215) 925-3453; www.theclaystudio.org; info@theclaystudio.org; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture.

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

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.

The Art League School — Located near the Torpedo Factory at 105 North Union Street, Alexandria, VA 22314; (703) 683-2323; www.theartleague.org/ school; school@theartleague.org; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture, tile, mosaic. Jacksonville Center for the Arts — 220 Parkway Lane, Floyd, VA 24091; (866) 787-8806; (540) 745-2784; www.jacksonvillecenter.org; info@ jacksonvillecenter.org; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture, mosaic, raku and pit firing, glazing and decoration. LibertyTown Arts Center — 916 Liberty Street, Fredericksburg, VA 22401; (540) 371-7255; www.libertytownarts.com; libertytownarts@verizon.net; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, glazing, decorating, tile, raku. Nan Rothwell Studio Pottery — 221 Pottery Lane, Faber, VA 22938 (near Wintergreen); (434) 263-4023; www.nanrothwellpottery.com; wheelthrowing, handbuilding, glazing, firing. Manassas Clay & Tin Barn Pottery Supply — 9122 Center Street, Manassas, VA 20110; (703) 330-1040; www.manassasclay.com; manassasclay@aol.com; wheel-throwing, handbuilding, sculpture, glazing, raku.

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

ITALY — South of Rome Maiolica Ceramica — South of Rome,Via Pellico 15 - Medieval Fondi, Italy. Italy: (+39) 338.139.4244 USA (714) 600.9535; GotuzzoWorkshops@gmail. com; www.GotuzzoWorkshops.com. Italian Maiolica and decorative art. [

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, call Karen Freeman at (540) 882-3576 or e-mail: advertising@claytimes.com.

Crystalline Glazing

Workshops with

Xavier Gonzalez February 14-17, 2008 Pottery West, Las Vegas, NV potterywest@cox.net Hands on Workshop Throwing Techniques and Crystalline Glazes June 16-20, 2008 Sierra Nevada College Lake Tahoe, NV www.sierranevada.edu/ workshops Hands on Workshop Throwing Techniques and Crystalline Glazes

To schedule a workshop with Xavier Gonzalez, call (818) 779-0990 or email: xgceramics@sbcglobal.net

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

CLAYTIMES·COM n NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007

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

More Under “Wraps”

Are you the type of person who likes to make several handles, knobs, or spouts to go with the pot you have just thrown so that you can find the ones that are the best match? If so, when your pot is finished, you are often left with perfectly good accessories that you wind up adding to the clay recycling bin in your studio. Here’s a suggestion to help you give those remaining pieces a second chance.

If you use the plastic film that sticks to nothing but itself (purchased at U-Haul®, etc.) you won’t have to mess with rubber bands to keep your bubble wrap in shape. It comes in various widths and lengths with a handle that rotates, so you can just wrap the bubble wrap tight. When you want to unwrap your pots, just pull off the film. No fuss, no tape, and no rubber bands are required.

The next time you’re at the grocery or home supply store, get a package of the small reusable plastic tubs sold for storing leftovers and small objects. They now come in an assortment of sizes, are available in sets or separately, and are relatively inexpensive. The key thing is that they are airtight and seal well.

Readers Share I Tips & Techniques

The Slurry Bucket

I use this film at shows when I wrap more than one pot for a customer, too. It keeps them together tightly, and is easy to remove. Bob Hanlin • Oklahoma City, OK

A Smooth Move

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 2007

These tubs are great for keeping small pieces (knobs, hanI wanted to move my electric dles, spouts, or decorative kiln, the one with metal feet add-ons) for a very long time that sit on a cement floor. I without them drying out. They didn’t want to tear it down, and are made to stack easily and it was too heavy to move as it take up little space on tables, was. It was not only heavy— shelves, or even in drawers. it was also in a tight spot. Inexpensive plastic storage containers work great for I usually put a small sheet of saving those leftover knobs, handles, and appendages you paper inside the container and So I sprayed the floor just find yourself with after a production pot-making session. set my clay pieces on the paaround the feet with good ole’ per so they don’t stick to the WD-40®, let it set for about 20 plastic. Then I add a few drops minutes, and then moved it of water to maintain a moist atmosphere, and seal. I have kept with ease. This should also work with any type of heavy applipieces for many months and taken them out later when just ance, such as a freezer. the right pot came along! Jo St. Myers • Wheeling, WV [ Garry Taylor • Lebanon, NH

Opinion I Around the Firebox CLAYTIMES·COM n NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007

A Tiny Studio and a Tall Extruder by DAVID HENDLEY

Pictured at right: If your studio were as small (top) as that of Murry Gans, you’d mount your bike extruder outdoors, too!

’ve got a couple of interesting stories of potters and their projects to share with you this month. Everyone knows (or at least everyone reading Clay Times knows) that potters are a great group to hang out with—interesting, inventive, unconventional, and fun. I especially love meeting new clay artists and seeing the imaginative and resourceful ways they have devised to create the necessary time, space, and equipment needed for working with clay. If only everyone were as creative and practical as potters. I had a great time recently meeting Dallasarea potter Murry Gans. Murry likes his job as a high school science teacher and has no desire at this time to become a professional potter. But he is enthusiastic about making pottery as a hobby, and I loved learning about his solution for creating a space to practice his hobby: the 5’ x 9’ pottery studio. This mini-studio is basically a homemade garden shed, yet it has thoughtfully-placed windows and skylights. With the doors open on a pretty day, it’s a nice place to throw some pots. If it’s cold or rainy, well—just like someone whose hobby is golf—Murry is better off to wait until the weather clears. In Texas this is usually not a long wait, and in a pinch, a small space heater can warm the room in a few minutes. Through the years, I have had studios at schools, at a pottery cooperative, and in a building next to my home. I sure do like the nearby studio option the best. Whenever the urge or need arises, it’s so easy to walk over to the studio and cover a pot with plastic or work on an idea while it is fresh on my mind. Let Murry be an inspiration for you perpetual students who continue signing up for classes but are reluctant to take the step of setting up your own studios. Even if you only work with clay as a part-time hobby, I promise it will be more rewarding and you will learn more about the entire process if you establish your own studio ... even if it’s only 45 square feet.

The size of Murry’s kiln complements the scale of the studio. It is actually a Paragon “test kiln,” with a firing chamber 11” wide and 9” tall. That’s pretty small, but as Murry explains, it fits his production rate just fine. “Right now, firing only a few pieces at a time lets me play with new forming techniques and glazes without ruining dozens of pots at the same time. As I zero in on what I want to make and which glazes I like, it will probably become more important to fire bigger loads.” Murry spent several semesters taking ceramics classes at a local junior college known for having a fine ceramics department, and says he learned a lot. “But,” he says, “because the loading and firing were done for us, those processes remained mysterious. Firing my own kiln has taught me more about glazes than I think I could have learned any other way. There is nothing like grinding glaze off of a kiln shelf to get your attention.” You can see some photos of Murry’s pots at his Web site, www.murryspottery.com. Nothing you see will be more than 9” tall! I have always considered myself a great do-ityourselfer, and I’ve built quite a few of the tools and machines I use in my studio. So I was very impressed, as well as charmed, when I saw a photo of Wayne Seidl’s “Bikextruder.” I love this thing, and give Wayne the prize for “most inventive design for pottery equipment.” You gotta love the design, as it uses common, everyday objects in new ways; there is no clay extruder on the market that uses this design concept! As you can see from the photograph, the potter inserts some clay into the opening in the side of the 4” PVC pipe. Then the bike wheel is turned, which moves the bike chain. The chain is attached to the plunger, which was made from a piece of steel porch railing. Various pieces of bed-frame angle iron, bolts, and plywood from hurricane shutters complete the design.

Now for the most amazing feature of the Bikextruder: not only was it built entirely with found materials, even the tools used to build it were found. Total cost: $0. You see, Wayne lives in Key West, Florida, so with clay extruders on his mind, he rode his bicycle around town a few days after a hurricane had come through, when people were cleaning up after the storm. He says he “cheated” and used his own drill bits and saws, but he scored everything else needed to build the extruder from the street—including the screwdrivers, wrenches, and drill—and he carried everything home on his bike! This is a substantial piece of equipment. Wayne reports that the Bikextruder holds about 60 pounds of clay. A 4” PVC toilet flange is glued to the bottom of the barrel, and dies are bolted to the flange. The extruder measures a towering 8’ tall when the plunger is in the full-open position. Note to Murry: Don’t build a Bikextruder unless you have room to mount it outside your studio! [ David Hendley can be reached by e-mail at: david@farmpots.com.

Classes & Workshops

•

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.

Employment

•

PEWABIC POTTERY – Full-time/Parttime 100-year-old historic Pewabic Pottery in Detroit, Michigan, seeks staff for tile pressing, glaze mixing and application, and/ or electric and gas kiln operation in our fastpaced production studio. Kiln maintenance, mold-making, and/or throwing experience a plus. Ceramic studio experience desirable; BFA in ceramics a plus. Full-time compensation package includes medical, dental, and life insurance benefits; staff ceramic studio privileges; opportunities to exhibit in annual staff, faculty, and studio shows. E-mail salary requirements and resume to mloridon@ pewabic.org or fax to 313-822-6266.

For Sale

•

Ohio Slip. A natural glaze from a new deposit of clay in southwestern Ohio— a very clean and consistent material. Comparable to Albany Slip. Ohio Slip matures at temperatures from cone 6 through cone 12. Prices: 10 lbs.@$.80/lb.; 25 lbs.@$.70/lb.; 120 lbs.@$.60/lb.; 350 lbs.@$.50/lb. Family-owned; mined and processed by A&K Clay Co., LLC. Phone (937) 379-1495, or visit our Web site at: www.akclay.com.

Opportunities

•

CONTEMPORARY CLAY 2008 BIENNIAL is a national exhibition sponsored by The Art Center in Grand Junction, CO. Jurors are Elaine and Tom Coleman. Three slide deadline: January 18th. Exhibit runs May 2-June 28. For prospectus, send SASE to The Art Center, 1803 N. 7th Street, Grand Junction 81501.

CERF helps professional craft artists strengthen and sustain their careers through business and career-strengthening programs, emergency relief support, advocacy, and research. For more information, visit The Craft Emergency Relief Fund at www.craftemergency.org or call (803) 229-2306.

• ClayParent — A new Internet forum for potters who are parents, and their issues. After many requests for this type of interaction, the Clayworkers’ Guild of Illinois is donating Web space to open up this forum to members and non-members alike. Registration is free. The forum is located at: www.mudmamasandpapas.com. • JOIN AMERICANPOTTERS.COM TODAY! Be part of a national, searchable database for FREE. Or have an “online gallery” and sell your work ($99.00 a year). Check out: www.americanpotters.com. •

Sell your work to GALLERIES and SHOPS. For 25 years we’ve helped thousands of artists grow their careers. You’ll discover more studio time, less travel time, and more profit than ever before. Average sales: $25,000. www.AmericanCraft.com or (410) 889-2933.

•

Visit the potters of Nicaragua with Potters for Peace, January 15-29, 2008. Fee of $1100 covers all expenses except RT airfare. Nicaragua is warm and beautiful in January and you will visit a variety of pottery communities using local materials to create distinctive, wood-fired terra cotta. See what PFP does first-hand. Visit www.pottersforpeace.org, or e-mail pchartrand@bsn1.net.

ford, The Studio Resource: (703) 283-7458; larrysafford@comcast.net.

Tools for Potters

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GlazeMaster™ glaze database and calculation software for Windows and Macs. $50.00 + $4.50 shipping in North America. Visit www.masteringglazes.com for a free trial download and more information. Or send your check or VISA/MC information to Frog Pond Pottery, PO Box 88, Pocopson, PA 19366.

•

AWESOME! Bill van Gilder’s Professional Hand Tools. 13 very functional tools for handbuilding and wheel work: classroom and studio-tested! Visit store at www. claytimes.com to view and order tools.

Travel

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Potter’s Workshops and Tours in an Undiscovered Mexico. Explore the immense, but little known, ceramic diversity of deep Mexico. Hands-on learning and uncommon, small-group travel among the ancestral masters. Visit www.traditions mexico.com, or e-mail: traditionsmexico@ yahoo.com.

Videos & Books

• DVD: Advanced Pottery Projects with Doug Oian — Enhance your skills to include Large Bowls, Pitchers, Handles, Lids, and Carved Candle-lanterns. $50 includes shipping. www.SunrisePottery. com; tel. (210) 494-8633.

• To all K-12 Ceramic Arts Teachers — The 11th Annual National K-12 Ceramics Exhibition opens at the March 2008 NCECA Conference in Pittsburgh, PA. For more information, visit the Web site at www.k12clay.org.

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

Kiln Repair

• TOM TURNER’S POTTERY SCHOOL AND HIS TWO-DAY WORKSHOP 4-DISC DVD SET available at: www.tom turnerporcelain.com, or telephone (828) 689-9430.

• Kiln and Studio Repair Service — Mike Swauger, The Kiln Doctor; licensed and insured; (877) 545-6362; mike@thekilndoctor.com. Equipment sales, delivery & set-up, installations. Most parts and accessories are in stock on my full-service vehicle. Serving VA, MD, WV, DC. Rely on more than 17 years of experience. • Kiln Repair. All makes — Washington, DC metro & Northern Virginia. $45/hour (one-hour minimum) plus parts. Larry Saf-

• EXTRUDE IT! Getting the Most From Your

Clay Extruder, new instructional DVD videos by David Hendley. Volume l: Extrusions as handles, feet and additions; Volume ll: Twopart dies for hollow extrusions; Volume lll; The expansion box and extrusions as building components. $43 each or $105 for the set (more then four hours of video). (903) 795-3779; www.farmpots.com. [

Call 540-882-3576 for $50 ad details!

CLAYTIMES·COM n NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007

• SOUTHPORT, NC. Twenty-eighth July National Show, June 23-July 19. BOS $1,000; total prizes $6,000. Jurors: 2D John Poon; 3D Ben Owens III. Slide deadline: April 1. For prospectus, send an SASE to Associated Artists of Southport, 130 E. West St., Southport NC 28461, or download at www.franklinsquaregallery.org.

•

Resources I Classified Marketplace

Classified Marketplace

Resources I Books & Videos

Three Books on Picasso’s Ceramics shop to Picasso, and where he got his start. Exactly what brought Picasso to consider clay is uncertain, but it seems that a random encounter with a fellow vacationer on the beach in southern France directed him to the potters of Vallauris, a village with a long history of pottery making. It was there that he met the Ramies, and the rest, as we say, is history.

Picasso: Fired with Passion by Clare Finn and Rose Watban. National Museums of Scotland. Paperback $27.95

CLAYTIMES·COM n NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007

review by steven branfman

hough I say this with only my experience as a teacher and book monger to back me up, with the exception of perhaps Leonardo Da Vinci, no other artist has had as many books written about him as Pablo Picasso. Thankfully for us as potters, Picasso’s work in clay has not been ignored. Treated with less seriousness? For sure. Examined as less important? Definitely. Viewed as recreation and a fun distraction? Certainly. However, the writers and historians who have taken the time to carefully look at and appreciate Picasso’s pots and ceramic sculpture have found a body of work that speaks volumes about the artist’s imagination, creativity, and never-ending quest for new avenues of expression and interest in new materials and technical challenges. There have, in fact, been quite a few books written on the ceramics of Picasso. Picasso’s Ceramics by Georges Ramie (c. 1976) was the first and is the most wellknown. Georges and Suzanne Ramie were the proprietors and master potters of the Madoura Pottery in Vallauris, southern France, where Picasso first became intrigued with clay and the potters there. It was the Ramies who opened their work-

Picasso: Fired with Passion is a lovely, small (7½” x 9½”) book that focuses on Picasso’s life from 1947 to 1961, when the artist was living in Southern France, initially with his mistress Françoise Gilot, and became involved with a variety of media, most significantly ceramics. The authors take an unusual and refreshing approach in that they don’t merely present the art and dissect it. Instead, they frame Picasso’s work in clay with his lifestyle, family, and environment. They present Picasso’s newfound interest in clay in the context of his painting and creative interests. There are critical analysis, technical discussion, and personal observations that illuminate this period in the artist’s life. The book is handsome, the writing style clear and concise, and the 77 pages are easily read in a single sitting. A number of wellchosen photographs of Picasso, his work, his family, and his surroundings help illustrate the text. However, this is not a picture book. Picasso, Fired with Passion is meant to be read and absorbed, and is presented to help shed light on Picasso’s involvement with a specific material and method during a particular period in his life. You will enjoy the read. In Pablo Picasso: Ceramics, author Titus Eliens takes a different approach. Here, Picasso’s ceramic work—the pieces and the production—are the focus and the driving force behind the writing. We are introduced to the town of Vallauris, the Ramies, and their Madoura Pottery. The book does an excellent job of chronicling Picasso’s growing interest in clay as a medium and the vessel as an important object. The author analyzes the artists’s intent, direction, and use of material, as well as the influences that drove his work in clay.

Pablo Picasso: Ceramics by Titus M. Eliens. Waanders Uitgevers, Zwolle. Text in Dutch and English. Hardcover $30.00

Insightful observations on the part of Eliens into the meaning of Picasso’s imagery are illuminating. Eliens carefully considers Picasso’s approach to clay and his purposeful breaking with the traditional use of materials and pottery making methods. For example, Eliens discusses Picasso’s application of glaze and slip to greenware, instead of after the initial firing of the piece, as “breaking the rules.” Piece after piece is presented, discussed, and analyzed. The author displays a clear understanding of the relationship between the shape of a form and the surface decoration, impressing upon us the intent on the part of Picasso to accentuate this symbiotic connection. The writing is well-done, to-the-point, and not in the least elite or unnecessarily academic. Pablo Picasso: Ceramics packs a lot of meaning, perception, and scholarship into its small, 7” x 9”, 95-page frame. Good things come in small packages. Picasso in Clay: Three Decades of Ceramics from the Marina Picasso Collection, is the perfect companion to the two aforementioned books. This is an exhibition catalog produced to accompany the show of the same name held at the Gerald Peters Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico. A personal, thoughtful, and perceptive essay by Picas-

Why should we be interested in pots and clay sculptures made by an artist who

didn’t begin to work with clay until he was 66 years old? Why should the claywork of a painter who didn’t make the pots himself, but rather, confined himself to the mere manipulation of clay forms made for him by the potters in his employ, hold any interest for us? Why should we be bothered by the simplistic and often juvenile-looking renderings in slip and oxide by someone who didn’t know the first thing about cones, or glaze formulation, or firing methods, or clay preparation? Because this is Picasso, and though you may find fault in the fact that he didn’t throw on the wheel himself, for a 66-year-old guy with limited experience, he made some pretty nice pots. [

Picasso in Clay: Three Decades of Ceramics from the Marina Picasso Collection. Essays by John Richardson and Marilyn McCully. Gerald Peters Gallery. Paperback $20.00

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Steven Branfman is an accomplished potter, author, and teacher of pottery and ceramics at Thayer Academy in Braintree, Massachusetts. He is the proprietor of The Potters Shop and School and may be reached at (781) 449-7687 or via e-mail at sbranfpots@aol.com. $-": 500-4 3&'&3&/$& ."5&3*"-4

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so friend and biographer John Richardson opens the book. In just two-and-a-half pages, it gives us some provocative background. Next is an equally adept but more probing 5½-page essay by Marilyn McCully, who has written much on Picasso’s clay work, including Picasso: Painter and Sculptor in Clay (now out of print). The remainder of the book features the color photos of the 25 pieces from the exhibition. Each is on a page of its own and is accompanied on the facing page by the title of the work, its style of signature, dimensions, and whether the piece is one-of-a-kind or part of a limited edition. Picasso in Clay: Three Decades of Ceramics from the Marina Picasso Collection is not a book designed to raise your eyebrows or get under your skin. It is not a study of the artist or a revealing investigation. It is what it is, a very nicely done, handsome catalog with elegant, crisp pictures of some of Picasso’s finest work in clay.

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