focus self critique - Ceramic Arts Daily

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CERAMICS MONTHLY
focus self critique
M O N T H L Y
August/September 2006 $ 7 . 5 0 ( C an$ 9 , h6 . 5 0 ) w w w . ceramicsmonthly . org
focus self critique
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2006 $ 7 . 5 0 ( C an$ 9 , E6 . 5 0 )
w w w . ceramicsmonthly . org
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Ceramics Monthly August/September 2006
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M O N T H L Y
Editorial
[email protected]
telephone: (614) 895-4213
fax: (614) 891-8960
editor Sherman Hall
assistant editor Renée Fairchild
assistant editor Jennifer Poellot
technical editor Dave Finkelnburg
publisher Charles Spahr
Advertising/Classifieds
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fax: (614) 891-8960
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advertising services Debbie Plummer
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Design/Production
design Paula John
Editorial and advertising offices
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Editorial Advisory Board
Linda Arbuckle; Professor, Ceramics, Univ. of Florida
Tom Coleman; Studio Potter, Nevada
Dick Lehman; Studio Potter, Indiana
Meira Mathison; Director, Metchosin Art School, Canada
Don Pilcher; Potter and Author, Illinois
Bernard Pucker; Director, Pucker Gallery, Boston
Phil Rogers; Potter and Author, Wales
Jan Schachter; Potter, California
Mark Shapiro; Worthington, Massachusetts
Susan York; Santa Fe, New Mexico
Ceramics Monthly (ISSN 0009-0328) is published monthly,
except July and September, by The American Ceramic Society,
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Opinions expressed are those of the contributors and do
not necessarily represent those of the editors or The American
Ceramic Society.
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indexing: An index of each year’s feature articles
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Copyright © 2006
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AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2006 / Volume 54 Number 7
M O N T H L Y
focus self critique
30
Green Wood by Tony Clennell
An accidental discovery teaches an unexpected lesson and helps
a potter better understand his aesthetic motivations.
recipes Ash Celadon
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Critical Care: The Art of Self Critique by Simon Levin
With the help of two infl uential teachers, an artist comes to realize
that self critique is, well, critical to success.
features
39
A Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration
The Archie Bray and Jentel Foundation Residency
with essays by Melissa Post
42
Marcus O’Mahony by Michael Moore
A potter uses his strong connections to his surroundings to create
elemental pots.
46
Struggling to Understand
(And the Rewards of Uncertainty) by Lucy Breslin
48
Peter Callas: Sculpture at the Edge by Dorothy Joiner
Abstract sculptures reveal a close affinity with nature, and a respect for
color, texture, design and material.
50
An Anagama and an Electric Kiln by Daryn Lowman
A touch of commercial glaze and a turn in the electric kiln transforms duds
from the anagama into gems.
52
Lee Akins by Rafael Molina-Rodriguez
An artist unconsciously blends inspiration from one medium into another.
recipes Low-Fire G lazes for Texture
52
cover: Vase, 20cm (8 in.) in
height, thrown and faceted
heavily grogged stoneware,
with crackle and dry red
slips, Shino liner glaze, fired
to 1300˚C (2372˚F), 2005,
C80 (US$101), by Marcus
O’Mahony, Lismore, County
Waterford, Ireland; page 42.
X
50
X
39
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departments
10
from the editor
12
letters from readers
14
answers from the CM technical staff
16
suggestions from readers
16
Tip of the Month: Quick-Change Artist
18
upfront reviews, news and exhibitions
56
call for entries
56
56
58
58
International Exhibitions
United States Exhibitions
Regional Exhibitions
Fairs and Festivals
60
new books
62
calendar
62
62
62
68
70
72
82
Conferences
Solo Exhibitions
Group Ceramics Exhibitions
Ceramics in Multimedia Exhibitions
Fairs, Festivals and Sales
Workshops
International Events
92
classified advertising
95
index to advertisers
96
comment
Fire the Gods by Don Pilcher
online
www.ceramicsmonthly.org
current features, expanded features, archive articles, calendar, call for entries and classifieds
new online exclusive feature
26
African Artistry in Clay
Women Potters of the Folona Mali by Barbara Frank
special listings
Gallery Guide
Where to see ceramics in the U.S. and abroad
Residencies and Fellowships
Full listing of professional-development opportunities
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from the editor
Our focus topic for this issue is criticism. Now, if you’re like me, you are about
to cower defensively into the corner of
your studio at the sound of that word,
preparing to be told how your work is
below par, what aesthetic stance you should
adopt, and trying to figure out how not
to laugh out loud at the hot new art buzzword. Never fear! We will be talking about
self critique, so you are in control.
Consider the fact that criticism is
something we all do on a regular basis. We
continually evaluate our technique, forms,
methods, recipes, etc., and adjust in order
to better our efforts. This is a crucial step
toward improvement and innovation; it’s
what keeps this field relevant and viable. If
done well, it’s what keeps us interested in
our own work.
The intent of this focus, convoluted as
it may sound at first, is to think critically
about criticism in ceramics and what role
it does, could or should play. Criticising
criticism—why not? We think critically
about all other aspects of our creative endeavors, so it doesn’t make much sense to
stop short of talking about our analytical
process—sort of a checks-and-balances approach to looking at our ability to evaluate
our work. We are presenting two authors
in our focus features this issue who have
taken different approaches to this. Simon
Levin and Tony Clennell both make functional pots, but each has different, deeper,
more personal reasons for why they do this,
what they get out of it, how they evaluate
their own work, and how they arrived at
understanding these things. It is one thing
to assess your own work, and quite another
to articulate that process of discovery so
that others can benefit.
So, in reading these articles, I hope you
will take away not only insight into the
work of these artists, but an understanding
of how we all can gain a deeper connection
to, and a stronger grasp of, our own work.
Sherman Hall, Editor
What Do You Think?
Though every image in CM is subject to
critique, we understand that it is sometimes
difficult to separate the person from the art,
whether it’s your own or someone else’s. In
the interest of cultivating objective criticism,
this image is presented by an anonymous
volunteer who is willing to subject their
work to equally anonymous critique. This is
done in the spirit of inviting straightforward
comments from you. E-mail your constructive
critique to [email protected].
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letters
Clay and Cloth
Your note in the Letters column [May
issue] requesting information about other
materials potters use got me up out of my
chair to do what I’ve been meaning to do
for a while; send C eramics M onthly some
images of a show I had where I paired
dyed/printed textiles with each piece of
pottery. The show featured anagama-fired
work from the kiln at Peter’s Valley, and
raku work and soda-fired work from my
own kilns.
I’ve been potting on and off since 1973
and had always enjoyed masking and patterning my pots, treating the surfaces like
canvas in the round. But after a divorce
in 1996, I felt a bit burned out, especially
since my ex had been my firing partner. I
turned to textiles, took a screen printing
course, retired from my “real” job, and
began making and selling one-of-a-kind
wearable art. The expanse of space on
garment-scale cloth felt like a liberation
after all those small pots. I developed large
screens and started to monoprint and shibori (tie- and resist-dying) as well.
After a while, I felt the call of the clay
again, and my approach to clay had been
expanded by the time spent on surface
design on fabric.
When I was doing inlaid glaze work on
raku pots, I eventually felt that the scale of
the pots was too small, or the method I was
using could not accomodate smaller details
that would fit the work better. The use of
silk-screens in my fiber work showed me a
new way to pattern pots, and I developed
a way to use silk-screened glaze on round
pots (which is another article I’ve been
meaning to send to CM). I started experimenting with seaweed thickener as a resist
and used clay as a resist on textiles. I found
that there were more similarities than differences between these two materials.
In my studio, fabric printing tables, and
my wheels and bisque kiln are on opposite
“Deep Breath,” anagama-fired stoneware vase
with silk cloth dyed to match the ash rivulets on
the pot, by Susan Kotulak, Clermont, New York.
sides of the same space. I starting feeling
like the finished textiles and the pots were
calling out to each other, so I started pairing them up. I had just completed an anagama firing and, while many of those pots
had only natural ash glaze and flashing, I
started using the colors and patterns from
the fire to dye a textile response.
And then there were pots where I had
silk-screened oxides onto the surfaces
before the firing. To dye the companion
cloth, I used the same screen, but through
color shifts and textures, tried to record
and respond to how the kiln had colored/
changed those motifs.
S usan K otulak, Clermont, NY
Read more Letters online at www.ceramicsmonthly.org/letters.
Submit letters by e-mailing [email protected]. Include
your full name and address. Editing for clarity or brevity may take place.
Letters also can be mailed to Ceramics Monthly, 735 Ceramic Pl., Suite
100, Westerville, OH 43081.
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answers
Q I nM
From the CM Technical Staff
oxide.” The lower the amount of coloring oxides,
the easier it is to keep them in glazes under acidic
conditions. The other three rules are: Have enough
used this glaz e, substituting strontium carbonate for the barium carbonate at a 1 :1 ratio. T his silica (SiO2); Have enough alumina(Al2O3); Make
y ields a gorgeous glaz e, but unfortunately it is sure the glaze is well melted. At Cone 8 or above,
unstable, breaking dow n w ith acidic foods. I ’ ve the glaze is probably melted enough, and it does
tried a ratio of . 7 5 :1 , but the color is poor. I ’ d have enough SiO2 and Al2O3. It just has too much
dearly love to use this glaz e again for functional iron and manganese. If you are firing in reduction,
the iron in this glaze becomes a flux, making the
dishw are. D o y ou see any possibilities for corglaze even less stable than it already is.
recting the problem? — A . G .
The most iron that can usually be held in
H oney G old
solution in a cooling glaze is about 10%. When
( C one 8 – 1 0 )
an oxide cannot stay in solution, it crystallizes on
B arium ( S trontium) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 . 5 4 %
the surface, so it is in direct contact with acidic
G erstley B orate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . 7 5
food. Such a glaze may change color and become
W hiting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 5 . 7 1
etched over time.
G - 2 0 0 F eldspar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 7 . 5 0
The good news is there is nothing toxic in this
B all C lay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 0 . 7 1
glaze, so it is not going to add to anyone’s toxic
S ilica ( F lint) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 6 . 7 9
load. Manganese toxicity is related to dust and firing
1 0 0 .0 0 %
fumes (not ingestion), so I hope your kiln is properly
A dd: M anganese D ioxide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . 5 7 %
vented—a good policy under any condition.
R ed I ron O xide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 . 8 2 %
My suggestion is to do some line blends to
B entonite. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . 7 9 %
reduce the iron and manganese. Every reduction
One of the four rules for making stable glazes, of these materials will result in a more stable glaze.
covered in my and John Hesselberth’s book M aster- Adding more alumina and silica may help, but I’m
ing C one 6 G laz es, is “don’t add too much coloring sure the glaze will not be as acceptable.
ay 1 9 9 4 C M
printed a C one 8 – 1 0 formula
used by A ndrea F abrega called H oney G old. I ’ ve
Adding 5% more ball clay and 5.5% silica will
raise the SiO2 and Al2O3 and make the glaze more
stable (if it’s still well melted). I would suggest a five
part line blend with the original at one end and the
above modification at the other.
R on R oy
C eramics C onsultant
B righton, O N , C anada
Word of the Month
Calcine
To heat a material, usually a powder or
other loose material, to a high temperature
without melting, in order to produce certain
physical or chemical changes. Calcination of
certain glaze ingredients such as zinc oxide
and kaolin is done to make the powders
coarser and less fluffy, without changing their
chemical composition. This avoids excessive
shrinkage and possible cracking, of wet glazes
during drying.
If you have a question about this or any other ceramics topic, ask the CM
experts at [email protected]. You also can mail questions to Ceramics Monthly, 735 Ceramic Pl., Suite 100, Westerville, OH
43081; or fax to (614) 891-8960.
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suggestions
Brush Maintenance
I do a lot of onglaze painting with slips,
which is hard on good-quality brushes. To
help preserve my brushes, and to maintain
their shape, I soak them in aloe vera gel for
five minutes at the end of my workday. I then
shape the bristles to the original form of the
brush with my fingers (this is good for my
hands) and allow them to dry.
The gel will hold the shape until the brushes
are ready to be used again. No more fuzzy brush
ends! The gel easily rinses off with water and can
be kept in a covered jar for re-use. It is also avail- surprising traction. The tube size is varied by
able in bottles at health food stores.— N ausika the volume of air inside. The greenware grips
the rubber tube and stays in place well.
R ichardson, D ix on, N M
Small tubes are
cheap, come in several
Grippy Trim Tube
I own a number of bats and chucks for sizes and may be found
trimming greenware. Once in a while, there at lawn equipment
is an item that will not work well with any of stores. They are used
them. Making a chuck from new clay has its for small wagons and
other wheeled devices
problems, not to mention the waste.
For these items, I use a small tire inner tube. for yardwork.
When shopping for a tube, try to find one
When used on a dirty bat, the inner tube has
where the valve stem extends at a right angle.
When using the tube, point the valve stem down
towards the bat, away from the claywork.— R ick
Erickson, G reen B ay, V A
Tip of the Month
Quick-Change Artist
For throwing mugs and small bowls, I use
a quick-change bat system. To make one, you
need one square plastic bat that attaches to
your wheel head with bat pins, PVC molding
from the hardware store, PVC cement, and
some commercial 6-inch-square terra-cotta
tiles. Cut the PVC molding into two 5-inch
lengths and two 4¼-inch lengths. Place one of
the terra-cotta tiles in the center of the plastic
bat and dry-fit the PVC molding around it,
leaving two corners open to make it easy to
remove the tiles. Glue down the molding with
the cement and let it dry. Remove the tile from
the assembly while it dries or you won’t get
it out later. Once it’s dry, mount the plastic
bat on your bat pins, insert a terra-cotta tile
and throw your pot. You can quickly remove
the tile and insert a fresh one for your next
pot. A terra-cotta tile costs about 30 cents,
so it makes a really cheap bat.
Congratulations to Sylvia Shirley of
Pittsburg, Kansas. Your subscription has
been extended by one year!
Share your ideas with others. Previously unpublished suggestions are
welcome. Ceramics Monthly will pay $10 for each one published. Include
a drawing or photograph to illustrate your idea and we will add another $10
to the payment. E-mail to [email protected]; mail to
Ceramics Monthly, 735 Ceramic Pl., Suite 100, Westerville, OH 43081;
or fax to (614) 891-8960
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upfront
reviews, news and exhibitions
18
Eva Zeisel Retrospective Exhibition
by Lee Rexrode
Eri e Art Museum, Eri e, Pennsylvania
20
Jim Robison: Large-scale Works
by Judy Adams
Rufford Craft Centre, Nottinghamshire, Engl and
22
A Passion for Pottery
Clay and Paper, and the Painted Fish G allery,
Dunedin, Florida
22
Best of 2006
Ohio Craft Museum, Columbus, Ohio
24
Third Biennale of Ceramics
Savona, Italy
24
Life INsight
Kentuc ky Museum of Art and Craft,
Louisville, Kentuc ky
24
VII International Ceramics Biennial of Manises
Museum of Ceramics, Manises, Spain
26
Lisa Nocentini
G alleria L’Albero Celeste, Siena, Italy,
and La Barbagianna House of Contemporary Art,
Florence, Italy
26
New Directions
Baltimore Clayworks, Baltimore, Maryland
Top: Four Mondrian pattern vases, platter, teacup/saucer, glazed earthenware, 1929–30,
produced for Schramberger Majolika Fabrik, Schramberg, Germany.
Middle left: Gobelin 8-pattern juice set and dessert plate, glazed earthenware, 1929–30,
produced for Schramberger Majolika Fabrik, Schramberg, Germany.
Middle right: Small vase, glazed earthenware, 1926, produced for Kispester Pottery,
Budapest, Hungary.
Bottom: Vases and jars, to 10¹⁄₂ in. (27 cm) in height, glazed porcelain, 1983,
produced by Zsolnay Porcelain Factory, Pecs, Hungary in 1999.
All pieces above designed by Eva Zeisel.
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Eva Zeisel’s “Baby Food Container,” 3 in. (8 cm) in height,
glazed earthenware, designed for Red Wing Pottery in 1947;
at the Erie Art Museum, Erie, Pennsylvania.
review:
Eva Zeisel Retrospective Exhibition
by Lee Rexrode
There are a handful of pioneer women in the ceramic arts.
Women of this caliber from the U.S. who immediately come
to mind are Beatrice Wood, Karen Karnes and Betty Woodman. Hungarian artist Eva Ziesel can also be counted among
these legendary female ceramics artists as a primordial industrial designer. Zeisel worked for numerous industrial design
companies such as Schramberger Majolika Fabrik in Germany,
the Lomonosov and Dulevo factories in the Soviet Union, Bay
Ridge Specialty Company in New Jersey, Castleton China
Company of Pennsylvania, Hall China Company of Ohio, and
the Orange Chicken of New York.
The exhibition of Zeisel’s work on view through July 2007
at the Erie Art Museum (www.erieartmuseum.org) in Erie,
Pennsylvania, is not to be missed by design enthusiasts. The
exhibition houses more than 200 works, and spans the long
and prolific life of Eva Zeisel. Although the majority of the
exhibition is ceramics, other works in the show include wood,
metal and glass.
The exhibition appears to cover Zeisel’s accomplishments
and career quite well. It is immediately apparent that her
work stylistically evolved and reflected the period in which the
art was made. Form, function and a sense of whimsy can be
found in most of the table and cookware that was created over
many decades. Overall, Zeisel’s work embraces a minimalist
Bauhaus sense of design in an accomplished manner. Later
examples embody the streamlined designs found typically
during the 1950s.
Two of her very early works made at the Kispester Pottery
Company in Budapest are prized examples of the exhibition.
The two vases are naïve in nature and presumably reflect her interest in Hungarian folk art. They were produced in 1926, when
Ziesel was a young, nineteen-year-old artist. Obviously, they are
experimental and appear to reflect the artist’s desire to search for
a deeper truth in her work. In addition to her fascination with
Hungarian folk art, the pre-Columbian pottery she discovered
in various museums also had an influence on her work.
An extraordinary amount of lusterware showcases some of
the most sophisticated forms and glazes found in the exhibition. These porcelain works were designed by Zeisel in 1983
and produced in 1999 by the Zsolnay Porcelain Factory in
Pecs, Hungary. One piece in particular boasts a spectacular
blue luster glaze with an expressive rim that metaphorically
resembles a stop-action photo of a droplet of water landing and
splashing upward. Its rim is playfully varied atop an elegant,
simple vase form.
Zeisel’s “Baby Food Containers” were designed for Red
Wing Pottery in 1947. At first glance they appear to be drinking
cups, but in fact are sophisticated designs that ergonomically
conform to the hand as a small dish. “Rabbit Syrup Pitchers”
externalize the anthropomorphic relationship of nature, form
and function.
Ceramic mixing bowls have rims that flow from spout to
subtle handles humbly and delicately incorporated into the
form. These transcend typical expectations and these designs
sustain a sophistication that sustains critical analysis of today.
These designs are not unlike the stacked bowls in silver produced in 1957. One might wonder if artists such as Elsa Rady
(see March 2006 CM) were influenced by this work.
There is an extensive display of works from 1929–30 from
the Schramberger Majolika Fabrik in Schramberg, Germany,
(“Futura” and “Mondrian” patterns) that reflect an Art Deco
style, but the linear patterns are not intentionally as precise as
one would expect from this era. The “Futura” pattern is geometric, but the lines appear to be applied by a sponge leaving
a jagged edge which becomes an interesting variation of the
Deco style.
Although Zeisel was born in Budapest Hungary in 1906 into
an upper-class, artistic family, her life was not without challenges and turmoil. Her career began at the early age of nineteen
in a pottery studio she established at her parent’s house in 1926.
In 1932, she moved to the Soviet Union and was appointed a
position at the Lomonosov Factory. In 1934, she began work at
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upfront
Following its run at the Erie Art Museum, the exhibition will
be available for travel. To learn more, contact the museum director,
John Vanco at [email protected].
the Dulevo factory in Moscow, the second largest ceramic factory
in the world, and in 1935 became the art director of the China
and Glass Industry for the entire Soviet Union. However, in 1936,
Zeisel was accused of plotting to assassinate Stalin via inviting her
moldmaker friend to the Soviet Union. Presumably, he was the intended marksman. Zeisel was then imprisoned for sixteen months,
Jim Robison: Large-Scale Works
by Judy Adams
In his solo exhibition, which was on display through June 30 at
Rufford Craft Centre (www.ruffordcraftcentre.org.uk) in Nottinghamshire, England, Jim Robison so effectively captured the mood
of England’s northern landscape, with its brooding skies, windswept
trees and sudden shafts of sunlight, that some may have found it surprising to learn that the ceramist was born and raised in Missouri.
Robison does, however, know England well. The exhibition was
a celebration of more than forty years in ceramics, around thirty
of which were spent living and working in Yorkshire. He moved
to the UK in the 1970s after a background that included training
as a jet engine mechanic in the US Air Force, majoring in fine art
in Iowa, and completing postgraduate work in sculpture at Eastern
Michigan University. In the 1960s, he was inspired by the work
of Peter Voulkos, Daniel Rhodes and Paul Soldner, and was also
influenced by friendships with David Leach, Michael Cardew and
other British potters.
Rufford’s exhibition space forms part of Rufford Country Park
which includes a ruined twelfth-century abbey, lake and woodland.
Robison’s work was housed in the Apsidal Gallery and Orangery,
a combination of interior and exterior space, enclosed by high
Eva Zeisel’s candlestick, 8½ in. (22 cm) in height, glazed porcelain, 1983,
produced by Zsolnay Porcelain Factory, Pecs, Hungary in 1999.
mostly in solitary confinement. To her surprise, she was released
from prison in 1938 assumably due to the influence of her family.
She sought refuge in Vienna and then traveled to England where she
married Hans Zeisel. Soon afterward, the married couple traveled
to the United States, nearly penniless, where she began work for the
Bay Ridge Specialty Company in Trenton, New Jersey. Her long and
distinguished career includes teaching the first industrial ceramic
design course at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn in 1939, designing the
formal dinnerware for the Museum of Modern Art in the 1940s,
teaching briefly at the Rhode Island School of Design in 1960, to
receiving a senior fellowship from the National Endowment for the
Arts in 1983. Zeisel was awarded two honorary degrees; one from
the Royal College of Art, London, and the other from Parsons New
School in New York City. She has numerous awards and international exhibitions throughout her life. Eva Zeisel currently resides
in New York City and will be 100 years old later this year.
Zeisel once said, “I have rarely designed objects that were meant
to stand alone. My designs have family relationships. They are either
mother and child, siblings or cousins. They might not have identical
lines, but there is always a family relationship.”
Jim Robison’s “Planter, Bowl Top,” 76 cm (30 in.) in height, slab-built,
high-grog clay with slips and glazes, fired once to Cone 8, £400 (US$737).
brick walls. The location gave full scope to view Robison’s work, a
selection which ranged from platters and vases, to planters, garden
sculpture, seating and water features. What links all pieces, from
small extruded vases to the large-scale, multisectioned sculptural
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form, was the underlying confidence. There is no hesitation in his
forms, no fussiness in his decoration or finishing touches, just a
sure hand and years of experience. This combination allows him to
exploit the vast potential of clay in order to show us what inspires
him. In this exhibition, that inspiration was clearly landscape, in
the raw and rolling horizons of Yorkshire’s hills and craggy cliffs,
and in man’s tentative attempts to tame the landscape through
enclosure, agriculture and industry.
His planters demonstrated a satisfying attention to function too.
On some, the bases were formed from two gently curved sheets of
clay with torn openings. Above the bases sat a bowl, neatly and carefully cradled. The pieces, around three feet high, were heavy enough
to withstand a strong wind, but pierced to lessen resistance and add
extra stability. Positioned outside the Apsidal Gallery and within the
walled Orangery, the planters were spilling over with blooms. This
was a welcome change from galleries’ usual reverential approach to
ceramic display—spotlit pots on white plinths. Within the gallery, it
Katherine Mathisen’s “Red Urn,” 21 in. (53 cm) in height, earthenware, $325;
at Clay and Paper and the Painted Fish Gallery, Dunedin, Florida.
tersburg), Gail Snively (Hope Sound), Peter Streit (Tampa), John
Tilton (Alachua) and Glen Woods (Palm Harbor). Each potter
will be exhibiting three to five pieces.
Best of 2006
Jim Robison’s “Garden Sculpture,” 228 cm (90 in.) in height, slab-built,
high-grog clay with slips and glazes, fired once to Cone 8, £10,000
(US$18,425); at the Rufford Craft Centre, Nottinghamshire, England.
Ohio Designer Craftsmen (www.ohiocraft.org) is showcasing its
“Best of 2006” exhibition through August 27 at the Ohio Craft
was disappointing to find the smaller scale work trapped uneasily in
glass cases, but as the Apsidal is unmanned, and Robison infinitely
collectable, there was probably no alternative.
F or an ex panded version of this review along with more images of
work in the ex hibition, visit our website www.ceramicsmonthly.org.
the author J udy A dams is a freelance writer and ceramics artist
based in L incolnshire, England. S he makes stoneware ceramics, selling
through galleries in the U K , and has conducted workshops in a school
for young people with learning difficulties.
A Passion for Pottery
“A Passion for Pottery III: Let’s Celebrate Florida Potters,”
an invitational exhibition featuring the works of ten potters
from Florida, will be on display through August 27 at Clay
and Paper (www.claypaper.com) and the Painted Fish Gallery
(www.paintedfishgallery.com) in Dunedin, Florida.
Participating potters are Jack Boyle (San Antonio), Ira Burhans
(Palm Harbor), Ken Jensen (St. Augustine), Jason Lachtara (St.
Petersburg), Katherine Mathisen (Ocoee), Charlie Parker (St. Pe-
Elaine Lamb’s “Revealed,” 10 in. (25 cm) in height, thrown and altered
porcelain with handbuilt additions, with slip, sgraffito, underglazes and
colored glaze; at Ohio Craft Museum, Columbus, Ohio.
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Museum in Columbus, Ohio. The Best of 2006 features 101 works
in glass, metal, fiber, clay and mixed media by 71 artists. Juror Gwen
Heffner, ceramist, independent curator and information specialist
at the Kentucky Artisan Center in Berea, Kentucky, selected the
work from nearly 300 entries.
“I was pleased to find that established artists within the field are
continuing to challenge themselves and their materials, and even
more pleased to find several new and emerging talents,” Heffner
stated. “The best of these went beyond mastery of materials and
technique, entered the realm of personal expression and communication, and created works that evoked emotion and mystery.”
Third Biennale of Ceramics
The “Third Biennale of Ceramics in Contemporary Art” is being
held through September 10 in Savona, Italy. The Biennale is aimed
Russell Biles’ “Carousel of Life: Eight Seconds,” 18 in. (45 cm)
in height, coil-built earthenware with underglaze, 2003;
at Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft, Louisville, Kentucky.
ally chronicle our rites of passage,” stated Brown. “This exhibition
was an opportunity to invite some of those who live life ‘out loud’
with an intimate, personal perspective relevant to our generic everywoman/man experience. . . . Some works are humorous, joyous
and celebratory. Others are solitary and introspective. Others are
profoundly heavy with critical concerns about today and the future.
All contribute to an insightful picture of our shared humanity.”
Guido Venturini’s “Little Pooper,” 24 cm (9 in.) in height, slip-cast ceramic;
at Third Biennale of Ceramics in Contemporary Art, Savona, Italy.
VII International Ceramics Biennial of Manises
The VII International Ceramics Biennial of Manises was held
recently at the Museum of Ceramics (www.manises-museo.org) in
Manises, Spain. There were 394 works submitted to the competi-
at developing the social and cultural assets of the Ceramic District
in the Province of Savona (Ligurian Riviera, Italy).
“To avoid dangerous falls, and consequently getting stuck in
the family toilet, I created this comfortable cagheuse (poop house)
for children,” said Guido Venturini. “I thought of enhancing the
object by using a premium material like ceramic, fully aware of the
extreme importance attributed to feces during the pre-verbal age
and the years immediately following such a period (in these uncivil
times it is customary to do it in a plastic container, that when it
is scratched also retains germs and bacteria, with the imaginable
consequences for hygiene!).”
Life INsight
“Life INsight: The Human Experience,” a national juried exhibition of contemporary crafts, is on view at the Kentucky Museum
of Art and Craft (www.kentuckyarts.org) in Louisville, Kentucky,
through November 4. Curated by Gail M. Brown, the exhibition
includes craft objects by nearly 100 artists.
“Life INsight: The Human Experience, brings together works,
from a national body of artists of all levels of experience, which visu-
Marc Verbruggen’s “Mirrors of My Actuality–Object IV,” 44 cm
(17 in.) in total width, porcelain with silk-screen decoration.
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asheville, nc 828.252.6033
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25
st. petersburg, fl 727.553.9344
7/13/06 7:17:45 PM
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Siena, Italy, and from September 9–October 10 at La Barbagianna
House of Contemporary Art in Florence, Italy. The exhibition
features Nocentini’s figurative sculpture, a shift from her focus on
functional pottery earlier in her career.
“Female birds and fisherwomen, nests and pillories, shoes, scales,
and aquariums all seem to make perfect sense and have a proper
place in the unusual world created by Lisa Nocentini,” said art
critic Daria Filardo in a recent catalog of Nocentini’s work. “The
bewilderment, which strikes us as we approach this imaginative
world, is surprisingly offset by a solid affinity to reality—as if we
could actually run into similar characters in real life. The earth is
evoked through the use of soft, gentle materials and colors, as are
the characters, whose very absurdity makes them possible.”
tion by more than 200 artists. From these, jurors chose 58 works
from 18 countries.
Spanish artist Myriam Jiménez Huertas was awarded the President de la Generalitat Valenciana award, with a prize of C6000
(US$7650), for her work, “Jardin.” Marc Verbruggen of Belgium
was given the Diputació de València award, with an endowment
New Directions
“New Directions: Baltimore Clayworks Resident Artists” was on view
through July 9 at Baltimore Clayworks (www.baltimoreclayworks.org)
in Baltimore, Maryland. The exhibition featured new works by the
Clayworks’ thirteen resident artists.
“Joining the resident community at Baltimore Clayworks
opened the door for me professionally by providing opportunities
for teaching, 24-hour access to a studio with gas kilns, a wood-fire
salt kiln, and access to a public gallery in which to sell my work,”
said Matt Hyleck. “Being a part of this active residency program
Left: Adrián Guerrero’s “Amar-Awar,” 83 cm (32 in.) in height, stoneware.
Right: Myriam Jiménez Huertas’ “Jardin,” 11 cm (4 in.) in height, stoneware
and porcelain engobe; at Museum of Ceramics of Manises, Manises, Spain.
of C3000 (US$3800), for his piece entitled “Mirrors of My Actuality–Object IV.” Mexican artist Adrián Guerrero was presented
with the Ciudad de Vénissieux award of C1800 (US$2300) for
his work “Amar-Awar.”
Lisa Nocentini
New works by Italian ceramist Lisa Nocentini will be on view through
August 24 at Galleria L’Albero Celeste (www.alberoceleste.com) in-
Matt Hyleck’s “Horizon Caddy,” 5 in. (13cm) in height, stoneware
with crackle Shino glaze, fired to Cone 10 reduction, 2006.
provides me with a stimulating, critical and diverse environment
in which to develop my work. The Clayworks community of artists, students, staff and board members are very supportive of my
development as a working artist in the Baltimore region.”
“I have found that being surrounded by other creative artists
and especially seeing and touching the diverse and innovative work
Lisa Nocentini’s “The Pantry,” 75 cm (30 in.) in height, handbuilt earthenware with
stains, fired to 940°C (1724°F), 2004, C2000 (US$2550); at Galleria L’Albero Celeste,
Siena, Italy, and La Barbagianna House of Contemporary Art, Florence, Italy.
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setts. The exhibition included Living National Treasure Isezaki Jun,
and Kakurezaki Ryuichi and Jeff Shapiro, who were mentored by Isezaki. Also included was Tim Rowan, who apprenticed Kakurezaki,
and Isezaki Koichiro, who apprenticed Shapiro.
“The exhibition is compelling for a number of reasons,”
explained Lucy Lacoste. “It illustrates the crossover of cultural
influences and shows the departure from those same elements.
There is a tangent connecting the participants of the exhibition,
but the breadth of the work reaches new and uncharted territory
well beyond the parameters of tradition.”
Submissions to the Upfront column are welcome. We would be pleased to consider press
releases, artists’ statements and images in conjunction with exhibitions or other events of
interest for publication. Images should be high-resolution digital on CD, or original (not
duplicate) slides or transparencies. Mail to Ceramics Monthly, 735 Ceramic Pl., Suite 100,
Westerville, OH 43081.
Collette Smith’s gravy boat with tray, 6 in. (15 cm) in height, thrown
and altered porcelain, with celadon and ash glaze, fired to Cone 10
reduction, 2006; at Baltimore Clayworks, Baltimore, Maryland.
galleries in this issue
produced is personally motivating and stimulating,” commented
Collette Smith. “We are here for each other when we need help
with problems or to get an instant critique or opinion. The program
inspires all of us to [take more risks] and to grow as artists.”
American Museum of Ceramic Art, Pomona, California
www.ceramicmuseum.org
Baltimore Clayworks, Baltimore, Maryland
www.baltimoreclayworks.org
Generational Crossroads
Canton Museum of Art, Canton, Ohio
www.cantonart.org
“Generational Crossroads: Bizen Evolution,” an exhibition of five
Japanese and American ceramics artists, which traces the aesthetic
lineage of the Isezaki family in Bizen, Japan, was on view recently
at Lacoste Gallery (www.lacostegallery.com) in Concord, Massachu-
Clay and Paper, Dunedin, Florida
www.claypaper.com
Erie Art Museum, Erie, Pennsylvania
www.erieartmuseum.org
Galleria L’Albero Celeste, Siena, Italy
www.alberoceleste.com
Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft, Louisville, Kentucky
www.kentuckyarts.org
La Barbagianna House of Contemporary Art,
Florence, Italy
Lacoste Gallery, Concord, Massachusetts
www.lacostegallery.com
Museum of Ceramics, Manises, Spain
www.manises-museo.org
Ohio Craft Museum, Columbus, Ohio
www.ohiocraft.org
Painted Fish Gallery, Dunedin, Florida
www.paintedfishgallery.com
Pottery Northwest, Seattle, Washington
www.potterynorthwest.org
Rufford Craft Centre, Nottinghamshire, England
www.ruffordcraftcentre.org.uk
Terra Incognito Studios & Gallery, Oak Park, Illinois
www.terraincognitostudios.com
Wiessman Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
www.wiessmangallery.com
Isezaki Jun’s “Big Flower Vase,” 22 in. (56 cm) in height,
handbuilt Bizen clay, wood fired, with natural ash deposits;
at Lacoste Gallery, Concord, Massachusetts.
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G reen W
byTony
Tony Clennell
Clennell
by
ood
Bowl, 16 in. (41 cm) in diameter, thrown stoneware, with hacksaw decoration, crackle slip and ash celadon glaze, wood fired, $175, by Tony Clennell.
Sometimes we think that to be new and exciting
we have to change everything about ourselves.
Two consecutive events contributed to the ash-glazed Celadon pots
that I am currently making and firing in our wood kiln: First, I attended the “The Naked Truth: International Wood-Fire Conference”
in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in September 2004; then I was invited to
participate in “Ron Meyers and The Royal Canadians,” an exhibition that opened in December 2005 at the Signature Gallery in
Atlanta, Georgia.
At the Naked Truth conference, I sat through slides and presentations of wood-fired pots from around the world, and saw surfaces
that were out of this world. I did, however, wonder if I mixed up
the slides and showed them out of order, would I be able to identify
the makers? There were certain makers’ pots with which I am very
familiar and could pick out of a police lineup with almost 100%
certainty. The work of Linda Christianson comes quickly to mind;
the forms are the signature and not necessarily the heavily encrusted
wood-fired surfaces. The surfaces I saw, I loved and lusted for; however, I felt the identity of the maker seemed somewhat secondary
to the surface created by the fire. In many cases, these surfaces were
created by firing the pots for days, weeks and sometimes multiple
firings of days and weeks.
Knowing that my wife and partner Sheila and I were not up to the
task of days and days of firing, I wondered “why are we wood firing
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anyway?” There are a number of reasons, beginning
with my love of fires and manual labor. Maintaining
a wood-fired kiln has always been something I have
done that few others around me did. So when wood
firing became the “thing to do,” I switched to a train
kiln that created heavily encrusted wood-fired pots in
a relatively short period of time. But, attending the
Naked Truth conference made me realize that the surfaces that I was creating (what I thought to be “nasty”
crusty surfaces) looked like fine china compared to
the surfaces I saw at the conference. My surfaces were
fairly tame comparatively. If I wanted to make pots
with that nasty surface, I’d need to be associated with
a college or switch gears.
I ended up switching gears. My friend Ron Meyers
of Athens, Georgia, asked Sheila and me to be in Ron
Meyers and The Royal Canadians. The exhibition had
a line up of prominent Canadian potters including
Bruce Cochrane, Walter Ostrom and Matthias Ostermann, as well as Meyers. We wanted our work for the
show to be wood fired so that it could be altered and
enhanced by the power of the flame. I set out making
a bunch of very loosely thrown, unglazed bottles and
vases, and had two quite-nice wood firings. But when
I sat down to really look at the work, I thought about
what had occured to me at the Naked Truth conference. How would anyone know these pots were made
by me? They could have been made by lots of different wood-fire potters. Where was my signature? My
fellow Canadians’ pots would be easily identified and
Ron’s animated images would certainly be instantly
recognizable. Sheila had not panicked and was quietly
working away making work that she was familiar with.
She seemed content to make small refinements and was
busy paying attention to details. Her work, to those familiar with it, would have her name written all over it.
I realized that maybe the unglazed, crusty wood-fired
surfaces just weren’t my signature. Although I loved
to look at those rich surfaces I saw at the conference,
they weren’t what I needed to make.
Fearing that I might be the weakest link in the
show, I returned to what I considered to be my signature piece: the jug and the clay handle. Handles have
always been my signature and I decided to make work
that showed them off. To best show off the forms and
the handles, I picked a glaze that I have long loved for
its ability to pool and run. I had abandoned the use of
this glaze long ago because it often gave me trouble in
the gas kiln by running too much and sticking to the
shelves. I made the forms so that they had what I call
a “European foot,” which acted like a saucer to catch
the glaze and ash as it cascaded down the exterior of
the pots. True to my form of testing, I fired the whole
“Large Beaked Jug,” 20 in. (51 cm) in height, thrown stoneware, with celadon- and
ash-glazed sections, wood fired, $450, by Tony Clennell.
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75-cubic-foot wood kiln with this glaze on every piece. The pots
were wadded underneath and, with my European foot, I figured
they would be fine.
Early in the firing, at about 1800°F (982°C), I added green wood
to try to hold the kiln back. The kiln slowed down and demonstrated
signs of reduction with the green wood. Later on, the front of the
kiln reached Cone 10 while the back of the kiln was quite cool. I
Dear Nils,
I have written this article for Ceramics Monthly
explaining the phenomena of what I experienced
with green wood. At about 1800°F (982°C), I was
having trouble holding the kiln back. It just kept
rocketing ahead, and I was trying to establish a reduction atmosphere. As a last resort, I added green
wood, which not only slowed the kiln but established
strong signs of reduction. After two hours of green
wood reduction, I fired as per schedule with dry
wood until we hit Cone 10 in the front of the kiln. In
order to hold the front of the kiln at Cone 10 while
we sidestoked the back, I added green wood. Much
to my surprise, the front started to rocket higher and
higher. What’s goin’ on?
Best,
Tony
Dear Tony,
In my opinion, the green wood has the added potential energy of having the water breaking down and
releasing hydrogen at elevated temperatures above
2200°F (1204°C), which can then theoretically produce
more Btus (British thermal units) and a reduction atmosphere as well. Your initial thought of green wood slowing down the temperature is natural common sense
“Square Box,” 6 in. (15 cm) in height, thrown and altered stoneware, crackle slip,
pattern and space detailing in black, wood fired, $225, by Sheila Clennell.
because that would likely happen in a wood stove environment with temperatures below 1800°F. It probably
depends on the size of the wood with smaller, split
decided that, in order to keep the front from overfiring while I stoked
the back of the kiln, I would add green wood to the firebox again.
My original thinking was that this would slow things down while
everything caught up. Much to my surprise, the front of the kiln
skyrocketed to temperatures of Cone 12 flat and more likely Cone
14 plus. I thought the ash glaze would just run like a river all over
the shelves, but there was no turning back. We finished off the kiln
worrying about shelves warping and bending, and glazes pooling
everywhere but on the pot.
After an anxious two-day wait, we opened the kiln. The pots were
more than fine. In my mind, they were beautiful. Although the wood
kiln reached temperatures above Cone 14 in spots, it was slower and
gentler. The glaze had a depth of surface to which I’m afraid my
photographs can’t do justice. The additional ash from the wood kiln
could be seen flowing down the windward or flame side of the pot.
The cooler side of the pot was a soft satin matt. We unloaded the
kiln and I wrote in my kiln diary, “Green Wood?????!” Sheila’s pots,
although not all green, were spot on!
To find out what was going on with this green wood, I sent the
following message to my friend Nils Lou, author of The A rt of F iring, an experienced wood-fire potter and associate professor of art
at Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon.
pieces releasing the water vapor more readily than the
larger logs. The anecdotal evidence that you have given
seems to bear out the fact though that green wood
can indeed work to increase the temperature.
Best regards,
Nils
We are now firing our kiln with green wood at lower temperatures (Cone 06) to obtain glaze reduction and also at higher temperatures to send heat to the back of the kiln in the form of steam
and to improve reduction. As for the use of ash in a glaze, it can be
said that the simpler a material is, the more complex its molecular
makeup. The fact that ash on its own makes a glaze suggests that it
must be a very complex material. The use of a glaze that contains
two or three materials suits my personality. Just altering these three
materials can make all the difference in the world. Since we work in
Canada’s best-known wine region, we are very closely linked with
the wine industry and its way of thinking. A wine snob can tell the
difference between a Beamsville Bench Chardonnay and a Napa
Valley one. The soil, the type of vines, the season and the overall
climate of the region combined with the winemaker can produce a
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wine of a distinct nose, taste and quality. I
would like to believe that the addition of local
materials to the ash celadon glaze makes it as
distinctive to the Beamsville area where we live,
as the one you might produce in your part of
the country.
People new to ceramics often ask how
a potter comes up with their own identity
and their own signature in their work. For
me, the answer with this green-wood work
was the rediscovery of an old love; looking
at the things you love and the things you
do well and trying to pull that together into
something that speaks of who you are. If I was
asked into another show, the first thing I’d do
before throwing and firing two kiln loads of
wood-fired pots is sit down and answer these
two questions: Who am I? What kind of
work expresses best who I am? Sometimes we
think that to be new and exciting we have to
change everything about ourselves.
The pot is the man, his virtues and vices
are shown therein . . . no disguise is possible.
—Bernard Leach.
Once again the wisdom of my old reference Bernard Leach has penetrated the gray
matter of this brain of mine. The pots you
make must be honest to who you are and you
can’t just change them like you were off to a
costume party. Unless of course, you see an
invitational show as a costume party and not
a representation of what you’d like to wear
each and every day.
After looking at photos of our work, one
should hopefully see a respect for function.
Our work is meant to be used. The pots ought
to display strength, since I think a couple
making craft in this century ought to possess
inner strength. The pots ought to display skill
and yet a relaxed, comfortable use of that
skill. We have been making pots for several
decades. The pots ought to have attention to
small details. After all, it is the details that
make the difference between a professional
potter and an amateur. The pots ought to
inform you of what colors we are most likely
to be wearing today. If you guessed plain,
drab or green you answered the skill-testing
question. Finally, the pots ought to show
a marriage, two people working together,
similar but different.
Students achieving oneness will move ahead
to twoness.—Woody Allen
recipe
The glaze that I use is from A Potter’s Book by Bernard Leach, first published in
May 1940. It is the first book on pottery I ever purchased. The glaze, I believe,
is credited to Katherine Pleydell-Bouverie and called Bouverie Slip Glaze in the
Leach book. We call the glaze 221.
221 Glaze
Ash .....................................................40 %
Feldspar ..............................................40
Ball clay ...............................................20
100 %
The reason I like using this glaze is because of the ease with which I can alter its
appearance.
Change the kind of ash you use and it will be different. We have found very
subtle, but obvious changes in the glaze using oak ash versus hickory or mixed
hardwood. Additions of softwood ash such as pine or cedar would be great. Living
in wine country, we have contemplated using old Chardonnay vine ash for the
white wine lovers and Cabarnet Franc vine ash for the red wine lovers. Change
the feldspar component; try nepheline syenite, cornwall stone, potash or soda
feldspar. Change the ball clay; there are a number of different ball clays available
(Kentucky OM 4, Bell Dark, etc.).
To add color to this glaze, I’m a bit of a fan of using a local red clay. We use
a local red clay from a ditch above our pottery. We screen it through a window
screen first and then put it in the blender for a good mix. We use 5% local clay for
the celadon. The iron in the body of your clay will color the glaze somewhat, but I
like the darker greens. I’m a fan of using the ashes from my burned firewood and
the local clays for coloring because it is somewhat like the chef using local produce
for his or her cuisine. It can add a local flavor and a distinctiveness.
“Beaker with Tongue Piercing,” 6 in. (15 cm) in height, stoneware, with nichrome wire
and ash celadon glaze, wood fired, $125, by Tony Clennell, Beamsville, Ontario, Canada.
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Critical Care:
The Art of Self Critique
by Simon Levin
“Neighborhood,” to 4¹⁄₂ in. (11 cm) in height, porcelains and stonewares, fired in an anagama, 2005. Levin says, “I was still locked in my assumptions of the
houses as individual works until my three-year-old daughter started to arrange them into a city. Changing shapes and surfaces across many houses creates rhythms
and even narratives. Grouping the houses allows me to consider the implications and how the results might feed my next series.”
I use one tool everyday, on every pot or sculpture, whether I made
it or not. This pervasive tool is critical analysis, and I use it to assess
the pot I am currently throwing, the work I made yesterday and
the work I made years ago. Like a bite of the fruit from the tree of
knowledge of good and evil, having an understanding with which
to assess pottery cast me out of the garden of blissfully bad pots into
the struggle of evolving a voice in clay. My work and view of pottery
has never been the same.
Before I understood critical analysis, claims that all art is subjective were used to counter any critique that was not complimentary.
I had critiques such as: “Your work seems to have an Asian aesthetic,
and yet you are Jewish, why don’t you make pots with a Jewish
aesthetic.” I spent many soul-searching hours struggling with that
comment. In the midst of this foggy thinking I met prophets of the
pot—Linda Christianson and Michael Simon—who gave me my
first meaty critiques, which sent me back to the wheel energized
with understanding and direction. They gave me that first bite of
the apple and I am forever thankful. Their gift gives me a basis to
make sound judgments about my own work, and with which I can
harness my drive to make better work.
In order to critique your own work, you have to have an intent
on which you can judge yourself successful or not. Through working
with Linda and Michael I came to see clay as a language. A good pot
should be like a paragraph exploring an idea; each element of the
pot should be a sentence that rephrases the idea, adding nuance and
depth while reiterating the theme. Like learning a new language, I
first began to acquire vocabulary, slowly translating ideas into wet
clay. In time, I became more fluent in the language of clay. Eventually
I had to decide what to say.
Linda achieves that delicate mix of being totally affirming and
totally honest. Her critiques center on elements in a pot that are enjoyable, and discuss how she responds to them. Then she points out
aspects that are untoward, unconsidered or detract from the articulate
elements. My first critiques with Linda revealed the enormity of elements in a pot. I would offer up a piece for critique and she would
say, “Oh, I am liking that exterior but I am not convinced about
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focus self critique
the interior.” I would return to the wheel attending to the interior
as well as the exterior. Again, I would submit the next generation of
pots for review and Linda would applaud my efforts, but ask me to
consider the foot. To the wheel I would return with interior, exterior
and foot in mind, and again back to Linda. Each time she would
add elements to my to-do list, challenging me to consider relationships between surface, rim, weight, texture, feel, glaze, color, stance,
thickness, clay treatment, etc.
Through working with Michael, I came to understand that technical skill had little to do with expression and emotive communication.
Michael’s critiques called into question assumptions about what
makes a pot good. Comments like “thinness is only one virtue” sent
me exploring choices I made about vessel walls and weight of ware.
Critique offers a process for growth.
It is the natural selection mechanism
for studio evolution. The plumped out
house at right was the first generation.
It is almost a foot tall, made from solid
clay, and then hollowed and stretched
from the interior. I was looking for rugged forms that could take repeated hits
from wood and dramatic shifts in the
temperature of the stoking aisle. I chose
houses because of their timeless, universal qualities and the rich metaphors
created by windows. I regret the static
and uninteresting edges of this house.
The window is skimpy and overworked.
These houses needed so much handling
that the process removed the gesture
and energy I was seeking to create.
The second generation of houses
became much smaller (under 4 in.), and
though the edges remained sharp, the
planes and the lines of the houses became wandering and gestural. I was still
locked in my assumptions of the houses
as individual works until my 3-year-old
daughter started to arrange them into
a city. Her honest interaction with the
pieces threw the work in a modular
direction where I create relationships
between houses. I can create neighborhoods such as the one on page 34.
Changing shapes and surfaces across
many houses creates rhythms and even
narratives. I often ponder which house is
the Boo Radley house of the neighborhood. G rouping the houses allows me to
consider the implications and how the
results might feed my next series.
Both Linda and Michael were passionate about taking responsibility
for all the choices made in a pot.
In deciding what I wanted my pots to say, I chose words that I
wanted my pots to embody; like soft, generous, full and kind. I found
these words more approachable than ideas of revolutionary, antiestablishment, earth-shaking social commentary. Then, when I was
making a decision about the weight or shape of a lip, I asked, “Is that
a soft lip? Is it generous?” I let my intent guide my decisions, striving
to become aware of choices I had made without knowing. I worked
in series, varying forms and elements, and changing relationships
between shapes and surfaces; all the while critically assessing the effect
of each change and sum of the parts. The pots deemed most successful
were the ones that best captured the essence of the words.
“Dream House Volume 3,” 12 in. (30 cm) in height, wire cut and hollowed stoneware,
fired in an anagama with sand, 2004.
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The Suck Factor
In a hotel room one night preparing to give a slide lecture, I decided to graph my pottery career. On first glance, it looks as though
my career has been one of steady decline, but let me explain. I
needed a unit of measurement to plot. I thought back to my early
pots—the ones that were trying to be novel for the sake of originality—and how much those pots sucked. It seemed natural to graph
the amount my pots have sucked over time. Hence, the birth of the
Suck Factor Unit or SFU.
The next decision was to set the parameters of the suck factor, how
much, or how little, can a pot actually suck? It occurred to me that a
pot can suck all the way around; therefore the maximum is 360° .
The graph then charts milestones where the suck factor changes
course. Starting around 350°, the pots started to become better in
1991 with my introduction to wood firing. This is not to say that
wood firing makes pots suck less, but my being connected to the
process of making helped to reduce the SFU in my pots. Looking at
the chart, you can see the SFU plummet when Linda Christianson
and Michael Simon became my teachers. My understanding of clay
as a form of communication, my own critical analysis and attention
to detail are all due to their teachings. You can see a rise in suck
factor during graduate school. Trying new things, the infl uences of
many voices and outside pressures all served to make my pots suck
more. This continued for the year after grad school when I didn’t
have access to a kiln. Since building my own kilns in 1999 and trusting my graduate training and self assessments, the pots have become more my own and the SFU has decreased to around 80°.
I am a sucker for a good wood-fired surface.
I fell in love with the ash and fl ash of the process. The drama of runny ash is seductive. The
more I live with wood-fired pots though, it is
the synergy created between form, surface
and effect that really holds my attention. I am
forced to ask myself if a bottle like the one
at the far left becomes a generic canvas to
showcase firing effects. The subtlety of this
bottle form seems antithetical to the activity
of the surface.
The combination of surface and form of
the bottle on the right is more successful. The
bottle is soft and lush. It tells the tale of the
firing but in a much more coy way. The surface is velvety and soft, and the curves of the
fl ame path are more akin to the lines of the
form. This bottle is a bit static; the walls lack
some of the movement and life that enriches
a good pot.
Left: “Busy Bottle,” 14 in. (36 cm) in height, thrown
porcelain, fired in an anagama, 2006.
Right: “Helmar Bottle,” 13 in. (33 cm) in height, thrown
porcelain, with dried slip, fired in a noborigama, 2005.
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focus self critique
Today I still work in the same manner, though, like a poet changing a single word, the permutations seem less extreme and more about
nuance. I seek to create relationships in my pottery that reiterate not
only linguistic ideas, but also formal elements. I love when a handle
echoes the width of a spout or trim lines have a similar width or feel
as throwing lines. I despair when I miss opportunities to emphasize
the best parts. Often critical analysis serves as a reminder of what to
do better next time.
Occasionally I become enamored with some aspect of clay and it
blinds me to the actual effect of the whole piece. Like a good gimmick, it enthralls my eye, obfuscating the lack of substance. I strive
for objectivity in my critiques, but like everyone I often fail. There
are small truths I discover when I am working on the wheel. Little
things are revealed in the process, like the telling rip of short clay
when you trim a foot, or the burnished quality of clay when it is
trimmed past leather hard. I find clay to be a very honest medium,
unforgiving in its sensitivity as a recorder of information. I hope to be
so honest in my assessments of my own work. In an effort to become
more honest, I try to demystify myself and my processes.
Critical analysis makes us better artists because it focuses our
attention on aspects of the work we might otherwise gloss over.
While critique is a part of an artistic educational experience, it is
lacking from our magazines and conferences. Critical analysis is not
something we clay artists practice in public. The NCECA (National
Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts) conference, though full
of great shows and interesting panels, is usually one big congratulatory hug. Affirmation, though addictive, is not instructive. I ache for
a good critique now and again. It occurred to me that the best way
to initiate a critical dialog would be to critique my own work here.
I do it daily, why not publicly?
When things are at their best in the studio, I wake in the morning
hungry to get back to the wheel. I am motivated when the conversation with the work is full of questions and direction. Critical analysis
provides feedback to the questions posed by making work. A good
I love how fat and full this pitcher is. It swells so
generously with lift and heft from a small base. It
has an almost comical austerity. I also enj oy the
puckered liplike quality of the spout; it reinforces
the humor of this swollen birdlike form. Looking
at the detail below, I really respond to the roundness of the handle. I like the relationships created
between the width of the handle and the width
of the spout. The curve of the handle connections
beautifully mimic the opening of the pitcher. But
the side of the handle creates an edge that is unlike anything else on the pot. It is a clean sharp
line that distracts from all the other things this
pitcher communicates.
“Blowfish Pitcher,” 10 in. (25 cm) in height, thrown and plumped
stoneware, fired in an anagama with sand, 2004.
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critique leaves you with a next step.
After graduate school, I began to rely
on my own assessments of my work,
and I discovered a perpetuating dialog
of creation and critique.
As potters, we are really good at
affirming each other, concentrating
on strong elements in the work and
nurturing almost to the point of mollycoddling. How honest are we when we
don’t offer our insights both laudatory
and critical? I have had the honor to
have been taught by some very insightful
teachers. But the ones who have made
the greatest impact on my life and my
work were those who were courageous
enough to be honest with me and to
teach me to be honest with myself. I
challenge the writers, thinkers, speakers
and publishers in our community to
create public space for criticism, ignoring the fragility of egos and trusting the
benefits of honest appraisal.
I have been making these large
thrown j ars for several years now
and they have evolved nicely. I am
drawn to how the swelling surface
is accented by lines that broaden
and fl atten toward the widest
point and narrow at the neck and
foot. I use a dry slip technique
to soften the effects of shiny ash
and I love the misty movements of
fl ame path across the side of this
j ar. The suggestion of symmetry in
the form gives the vessel breath
and life, and makes me want to
take the j ourney around it. The
weak point for me is the lip. The
edge of the lip is a nice echo of
the wandering edge on the foot,
but the point at which the texture
ends is muddy and unclear. I need
to find a clear way to think about
the rims of these j ars, but because
they are an anachronistic form I
struggle to j ustify direction.
“Combed Jar,” 14 in. (36 cm) in height,
thrown and plumped stoneware, with dry slip,
fired in an anagama, 2006, $350.
“Swiss Mug,” 3¹⁄₂ in. (9 cm) in height, thrown porcelain,
fired in an anagama, 2005.
I am disappointed with the edge of the lip of the cup above. The
handle is full, the belly swells nicely but the lip is so sharp. The handle also fails to continue the line created by the belly.
The mug to the right offers a much better relationship between
handle and lip treatments. The wad mark on the side is a nice echo
of the negative space of the handle. The soft fl ashing is like the
wandering lines of lip and foot, yet the bottom half of the handle
feels thin and rigid. Imagine if it were more plump.
“Lush Mug,” 3¹⁄₂ in. (9 cm) in height, thrown and altered porcelain,
fired in an anagama, 2005, by Simon Levin, Gresham, Wisconsin.
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A Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration
The Archie Bray and Jentel Foundation Residency
The Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, Montana, and the Jentel
Foundation in Banner, Wyoming, teamed up in recent years to
support the development of more informed and thoughtful critical writing about the ceramic arts. The resulting shared residency
program (now in its fourth year) does just that.
Bray resident director Josh DeWeese believes that the Archie Bray’s
environment of free exchange and experimentation is ideal for an
interested writer to explore, inquire and learn about the ceramic arts,
and gain a more complete knowledge of materials and the intuitive
science involved in creation. The annually awarded residency includes
time at the Bray to experience this environment, which simultaneously encourages and challenges the individual.
The few weeks at the Bray are followed by time at Jentel to focus,
to develop material and to produce essays about the Bray fellowship
artists. The essays are published in a catalog that accompanies the
artists’ solo exhibitions at the close of their residencies.
Melissa Post, curator at the Mint Museum of Craft + Design in
Charlotte, North Carolina, participated in the program this past
spring. The following are excerpts from the essays she produced
during her residency.
Deborah Schwartzkopf:
Blossoming Geometries
Deborah Schwartzkopf has created a unique ceramic vocabulary of blossoming geometries. Exuding presence and
personality, her sophisticated, sculpturally utile vessels initiate a dialog between the interior and the exterior, the object
and the user.
Familial relationships, education and the environment
frame her distinctly Constructivist aesthetic. The daughter of
two talented craftspeople, she views patterns as both a welcome
point of departure and a source of technical constraint. This
interest was augmented during her undergraduate studies at
the University of Alaska Anchorage. Graduate studies at Penn
State perpetuated her desire to refine her ideas about form and
surface, concepts and color, confirming her career aspirations.
From the cambered shadows of the low-lying fences lining her
pathway home, to Frank Gehry’s organic architectural geometries, a broad array of influences converged in Schwartzkopf ’s
work and became the foundation for her signature style of
elegant yet vigorous forms.
The subtlety of the oxidation salt-fired pastel surfaces
disguises the complexity of Schwartzkopf ’s constructions, a
combination of wheel thrown, handbuilt and altered parts.
Layering underglazes and glazes, she fires her work for a full
day to Cone 10 in an oxidation/salt atmosphere.
Schwartzkopf is driven by her diverse interests in botany,
science, philosophy and literature, as well as a fierce work ethic
framed by a clear sense of purpose, priorities, and expectations.
Taut arcs and counter arcs define Schwartzkopf ’s three-dimensional canvases, whose dapples and swathes of color elicit
emotions ranging from the contemplative to the dramatic.
“Oil Pourer,” 6 in. (15 cm) in height, thrown and handbuilt porcelain, salt fired
to Cone 10 in oxidation. Schwartzkopf, the current Lilian Fellowship recipient,
said, “I found talking with Melissa Post to be comfortable and interesting.
She has seen the world from a side I have never known and her knowledge
is apparent in the questions she asks. Explaining how I work in depth to a
stranger was intimidating at first, but her warmness and knowledgeable
curiosity turned it into a true learning experience. Our discussions challenged
me to articulate sources and inspirations for my pottery. I realized again the
support I have received from family, mentors and teachers.”
From tightly rendered mugs to gracefully attenuated vases, her
work exudes a synthesis of influences, whose essence she has
distilled into her own. Deborah Schwartzkopf articulates her
vision of functional pottery, nurturing and developing a ceramic
language defined by its organic geometry, and enriching the
tradition for the future.
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Melissa Mencini:
Private Parts
Prep space, wheel, laptop and shelves—moveable and immovable. A typical studio with an atypical twist. For, although
Melissa Mencini’s library occupies only one shelf of her studio,
its contents—including titles such as A ntique M edical Instruments, P hotographic A tlas of C ivil W ar Injuries, P rofessional
G uide to D iseases and D isorders, and A nomalies and C uriosities
of M edicine— speak volumes. From these source materials,
Mencini derives inspiration, cultivating her uncanny interests
and translating them into uncommonly beautiful, exquisitely
rendered sculptural objects, which straddle the line between
literal and conceptual.
Rooted in functionalism, Mencini’s relationship with clay
began at Ohio’s Bowling Green State University. Pursuing her
M.F.A. at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, thereafter, Mencini developed her sculpting skills, broadened her
knowledge of art history and her teaching abilities. Abstracting
bowls, which morphed into “tools for measuring large circles”
and cultivating interests in medicine, tools and assemblage,
Mencini transitioned from functional ceramics to implicitly
functional ceramic sculpture.
Formal beauty and an enigmatic presence characterize
her work. From crude contraptions to highly sophisticated
implements, Mencini immerses herself in a world of intensive
independent inquiry.
Her fascination lies in discovering the simple solutions
achieved with seemingly primitive instruments. Formaldehyde
disinfectors, toothkeys and scarificators are among Mencini’s
repertoire of antique medical instruments, which reveal as
much about her own interest in their successful design and
utility, as they do about her empathy towards others, their fear
of doctors, of being naked and vulnerable. Viewer becomes
voyeur when examining her dilators and retractors. Navigators
of hidden canals and conduits for viewing secret
chambers, they offer the promise of being privy
to parts unseen.
Scaling her immense photorealistic forms
from actual tools, Mencini constructs her work
by throwing most of the individual segments,
coiling, altering, trimming and filling their
joints with coffee- or tea-stained pig intestines.
Mixing her own colorants and infusing her
glazes with metallic pigments, she renders
surfaces sterile, shiny, rusting or patinated. Her
moveable parts grind like metal against metal.
Transforming ceramic into metal—visually, tactually and aurally—Mencini is an alchemist.
Abnormalities, oddities and curiosities, from
hermaphrodites and conjoined twins to shape
shifters, science fiction and sideshow happenings are among Mencini’s keen interests. Her
work illustrates her intense fascination with
the idea of the Doppelganger or double, and
her successful translation of concepts, from
human to object, from literal to conceptual.
Mencini intends for her work “to elicit a physical reaction, whether it is cringing, questioning
“One of Four Humors: Scarificator,” 10¹⁄₂ inches (27 cm) in height, earthenware. “Working with
or smiling.” With her Precisionist sculptural
Melissa Post was an enlightening experience,” said current Lincoln Fellowship recipient Melissa
renderings, Mencini honors the history of the
Mencini. “There was an immediate connection between us. She helped me make realizations
medical object, medicine and medical advances,
about my work that I had not yet considered. There was a depth to our discussions that helped
infusing us with a profound sense of curiosity
me confront concepts within my work, that as an artist, is sometimes difficult to look at and
contemplate further.”
and wonderment.
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Koi Neng Liew:
Character Development
Born in 1975, the Year of the Rabbit, Koi Neng Liew was
raised in Singapore in a close-knit, traditional Chinese family.
Family, schooling and the army framed his life experiences,
which alternated between imposed periods in authoritarian
environments to self-chosen periods in progressive environments. Assuming the role of observer, Liew shaped a stable
world of his own.
During his youth, Liew pursued arts, crafts and drawing,
escaping an otherwise austere environment by immersing himself in the world of comic books, Japanese animation, Hong
Kong kung fu and the martial arts. The discovery of a muscle
man drawing on a school desk triggered his interest in the idea
of humans as characters.
Liew served his mandatory two and a half years in the army,
and rather than being held captive by army, he captured his
fellow soldiers through sketches and drawings. They became
his friends and source material.
Returning to school, Liew resumed his lines of aesthetic
inquiry, exploring the ideas of segmentation and fragmentation, developing his functional work and installation skills,
and refining his ideas. The underpinnings of his academic
drawings resurfaced in his successive studies at New York State
College of Ceramics at Alfred University and the University
of Nebraska–Lincoln.
Unlike the breathy responses evoked by the flawless marble
surfaces, harmonious proportions and impassive expressions of his classical precedents, Liew’s rugged, dramatically
stylized beings provoke visceral reactions. Seeking disorder
and a looser style, Liew says he leaves the “imperfections on
the surface,” illustrating that they “have nothing to hide.”
Coarsely textured skin, massive hands, cinched waists, rippling muscles, and considerable appendages characterize his
Mannerist aesthetic.
Monstrous yet vulnerable, crude yet tender, Liew’s formidable figures challenge our judgmental tendencies. From
meticulously detailed visages to the more loosely rendered
root structures that ground them, the fleeing “Grasshopper
Man,” surreptitious “Mantis,” and predatory “Fire Ant Lady”
are among the current cast of characters. Hewn by shaping,
slicing, hollowing and drying the segments to leather hard,
the work is then fused, fired and sculpted into one piece.
Working on several figures simultaneously, Liew creates his
“Shi Se—Rabbit Girl with Umbrella,” earthenware, 5 feet (1.5 m) in height,
2004. “I met with Melissa Post for a week when she was visiting at the Archie
Bray Foundation. I really enjoyed our interaction. Melissa was approachable
and we had comfortable, intelligent conversations. She spent a good deal
of time with us, and I respected her aesthetic and her keen sense of quality.
Her intuitive eye and intelligent questions created a dialog that surpassed the
usual surface of work for a more in-depth discussion. It was a pleasure to have
her visit and I look forward to talking with her again,” states Koi Neng Liew,
current Taunt Fellowship recipient.
compositions. Perhaps their metamorphoses are metaphors for
his own metamorphosis?
Liew’s oeuvre celebrates the triumph of the human spirit over
adversity. His powerful personae are mediums through which
he processes his experiences and by which he has unwittingly
emboldened himself. Liew is taking risks, and in so doing,
redefining our contemporary aesthetic sensibilities.
The full tex t of these essays can be found in a catalog published in conjunction with the “ Taunt, L ilian, and L incoln F ellowship Ex hibition,” at the A rchie B ray F oundation for the C eramic A rts, H elena, M ontana, A ugust 1 0 – 2 5 . F or information, see www.archiebray.org.
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Marcus
O’Mahony
by Michael Moore
Vase, 20 cm (8 in.) in height, thrown and
altered stoneware, with crackle and orange
tan slips, salt fired on its side on shells to
1300˚C (2372˚F), 2005, E110 (US$139).
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Marcus O’Mahony was once described as Ireland’s bestkept secret. Jim Dennison, head of design at the Limerick
School of Art and Design (LSAD) in Ireland made these
comments at the opening of O’Mahony’s pottery in
County Waterford in 1998. Born in London in 1952,
O’Mahony studied Ceramics at LSAD during the 1970s,
a period for Irish ceramics described by Michael Robinson,
retired curator of the Ulster Museum in Belfast, as “The
Age of the Pot.”
Throughout his career O’Mahony has not sought to
mass produce pottery. Working on the wheel, bottles,
jars, bowls and teapots are produced for wood and
salt-glaze firings. Often raw fired, local ashes coat these
pots, and Coillte, the Irish Forestry Board, supplies fuel
in the form of kiln-dried local oak. Indeed, much of
O’Mahony’s practice has a distinct feel of the elemental,
the local and indigenous.
Even the grog brings its own unique and local character,
supplied by a friend from the riverbanks of County Wicklow. The Wicklow granite adds a coarse and blistering quality to the surface of O’Mahony pots. Recently, he has been
considering the work of Canadian Les Manning and, like
Manning, has begun to blend his stoneware and porcelain
within the one form.
With that sense of closeness to nature, brought by the
use of local and idiosyncratic materials, combined with the
Jeckyll-and-Hyde practice of switching from one material—fine porcelain—to a distinctly and characteristically
different one—coarsely grogged stoneware—one must consider the location of O’Mahony’s studio. Immediately to
the north are the rolling foothills of the Knockmealdown
Mountains. Indeed the most direct route from Dublin to
the studio is over the Knockmealdown Mountains pass
known as the Vee with its remote and stunning landscape.
Immediately to the south lies the Atlantic Ocean, not ten
miles away.
He found the studio by traveling the lanes of County
Waterford, spied a derelict house and barn, found the
nearest house and asked if the site was for sale. Within two
months, Glencairn Pottery was born. The barn became
the studio and the house was renovated for living quarters.
More recently, O’Mahony built a second house and now
Above right: Lidded jar, 15 cm (6 in.) in height, thrown and faceted
stoneware, with tan slip and temmoku liner glaze, wood and salt fired to
1300˚C (2372˚F), 2005, E80 (US$101).
Right: Teapot, 20 cm (8 in.) in height, thrown and faceted stoneware,
with Orange/tan Slip and Shino liner glaze, and temmoku glaze, which
was bleached when salt fired to 1300˚C (2372˚F), 2005, E130 (US$164).
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Squared dish, 15 cm (6 in.) square, thrown and cut stoneware, with sgraffito and crackle slip, with black stain detail, salt fired to 1300˚C (2372˚F), 2005, E50, (US$63).
runs wood-fire and salt-glaze courses during the summers where
participants have full accommodation onsite.
So what does O’Mahony make? “A lot of the things I make are
humble objects,” he explains. True, there are obvious associations
of function, as these pots pour perfectly, but O’Mahony cites polar
influences of both the British Leach tradition and the Otis group in
the United States. Marveling at the can-do attitude of the Americans,
such as Voulkos, Soldner and Shapiro, perhaps it is no surprise then
that he can switch so readily from one clay so fine, to another so
brutal, during a day in the studio.
Faithfully traveling at least once a year to charge his creative
juices, O’Mahony cites contemporary and historical pots as a major
influence on his work. Architecture is also an influence and referencing the magnificent Gothic Cathedral of Bourges, he says, “Form is
huge, paramount, in terms of inspiration.”
The range of objects O’Mahony makes is diverse, not only in
material but also in scale and form. From small cups, teabowls,
teapots, platters and flasks, to large collared bottles. Here again is a
very positive contradiction, as these large bottles measuring up to 40
centimeters (16 inches) in height, when lifted, feel exceptionally light.
It seems O’Mahony has the ability to truly challenge the plasticity of
his clays to the limit in what appears to be effortlessly calm throwing.
Indeed he can spend as much time standing on top of his potter’s
wheel as he does sitting at it, limited only by his own physiology in
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terms of the scale of his wheel-based work. Standing like this also
creative decisions. Certain pots will go in certain places, depending
allows him to see the form as it evolves on the wheel.
on scale and the flow of the flame.
O’Mahony is equally passionate and physical about one small
With local fuel and Wicklow granite all imposing their personbowl or one large vessel, again reflecting the polarity one finds
alities, perhaps O’Mahony is simply the conduit through which
both in his choice of materials and the location of his studio. These
all these individual qualities flow and materialize into functional
objects spend time on and off the wheel before they are set aside
and distinctive objects. When one meets Marcus O’Mahony it is
for decoration and firing. Therefore, these pieces evolve in batches,
impossible not to remark on his passion for ceramics and his talent
with very little turning involved. Many of O’Mahony’s pots receive
as a potter. Ireland’s best kept secret? Perhaps. He certainly is one of
no turning at all and are completely finished after one sitting at the
Ireland’s most innovative makers.
wheel. This may be the key to what instills his pots with an individual
To see more works by M arcus O ’M ahony, and to find out more
distinction, perhaps like the uniqueness of handwriting. The fluid
about the workshops he offers at G lencairn P ottery in L ismore, C ounty
calligraphic quality of O’Mahony’s throwing is thoroughly connected
W aterford, Ireland, see www.marcusomahony.com.
to his decorative methods.
A simple crackle slip adorns
the interior of his open vessels,
with only a random and minimal
speckle of one or two dots of
black stain on the exterior. Pots
are dampened, dipped with a
smooth slip and then sometimes
sprinkled with local ash. All of
these decisions are made with
the immediacy and confidence of
a mature potter revelling in the
play of abstraction and function.
Everything about O’Mahony’s
practice exudes deceptively simple
spontaneous fluidity that only
comes from years of expertise. It
all appears so effortless until one
of O’Mahony’s students tries to
do the same thing. The simple
flick of a brush loaded with slip
or a tiny speckle of stain reveals
a minimalist level of control and
that rare understanding of knowing when to stop.
Perhaps from an impression
that O’Mahony is constantly
thinking ahead, his decoration
comes from years of experience
of knowing what happens inside
kilns. For him, the kiln is not
where the creative process ends. “I
love how the creative act continues
into the firing,” he explains.
Using the firewall as a location for some pots, stacking both
his gas- and wood-fired kiln is
entwined in his creative thinking. As all potters come to realize, O’Mahony believes when to
reduce, when to introduce salt and
Vase, 25 cm (10 in.) in height, thrown and altered stoneware, with cut feet, applied hakeme and brown slip, wood fired
when to cool his kiln are all key
to 1300˚C (2372˚F), 2005, E120 (US$152), by Marcus O’Mahony, Lismore, County Waterford, Ireland.
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Struggling To Understand
(And the Rewards of Uncertainty)
“Summer Song #13,” 10 in. (25 cm) in height, white earthenware, fired to Cone 04, by Lucy Breslin, South Portland, Maine.
Whenever I’m asked to speak about my work, I think of a tag from
a teabag taped to my refrigerator, “When your work speaks for itself,
don’t interrupt.” Words of wisdom that are easy to escape into. Yet
over the years, artists have taught me much through speaking about
their work, so I’m forced to acknowledge merit in the process. And
because I’m constantly asking my students “So, what’s this about?”,
it’s important to turn the question on myself every once in a while.
Although I’ve been making work of a similar manner for years, the
answer to that question remains somewhat elusive. I’d much rather
be asked technical questions. The answers are so direct and uncomplicated. I use a white earthenware, start on the wheel and end up
handbuilding, fire to Cone 04, and so on. While the making of the
work presents definite challenges, the telling of the processes can be
broken down into small chunks of information easy to share.
But the bigger questions don’t capsulate so easily; “Why am I
making this?” seems to elicit a more atmospheric answer than does
“How am I making this?” On the most simplistic level, I would address the fascination with seeing, the mystery of transformation, the
elusiveness of beauty and the pleasures of making.
Many artists speak to the cultivation of seeing. Marguerite
Wildenhain, a potter and Bauhaus expatriate said, “To see is very
difficult; to see not like a camera, but with a feeling heart, with a
bright brain, with more than average sensitivities, what everybody else
could see, if they knew how to look.” How does one see a leaf with
one’s heart and one’s brain? Perhaps to see it with one’s heart means
to experience its connectedness with all life and to see it with one’s
brain means to understand the life processes which birthed it.
Shoji Hamada, the deified Japanese potter, talked about how he
was criticized for painting the same broken sugar cane on thousands
of pots. “It’s not the same,” he explained, “my brush is connected
to my arm and my arm is connected to my heart. Therefore it can
never be the same.”
Another artist, writer Flannery O’Connor, said, “. . . there’s a
certain grain of stupidity that the writer of fiction can hardly do
without, and that is the quality of having to stare, of not getting
the point at once. The longer you look at one object, the more of
the world you see in it . . . .” One can easily substitute visual artist
for writer of fiction. But seeing is just the beginning. Next comes
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PHOTOS: MARK JOHNSON
the mystery of transformation. In ceramics, this mystery occurs on
several levels. Moist, amorphous, unarticulated clay when shaped and
fired becomes hardened, somewhat brittle and permanently defined.
Pulverized rocks and minerals mixed with water, when trusted to the
flame or radiance of heat, are made molten only to reemerge shining,
chromatic and solid again. But the more magical transformation is
that which takes place in all art: when the artist attempts to give
form to mysteries half-glimpsed, incompletely understood and yet
so veritably experienced.
As for my own work, the elusiveness of beauty teases and coaxes
me. Throughout time, beauty and the essence of beauty have challenged philosophers, aestheticians, artists and scientists, among others.
At times, beauty has been equated with, but not limited to, truth,
goodness, harmony, the sublime, the tubercular, the scintillating, the
flawless, the embellished and even the grotesque.
Once, one of my colleagues, while researching in Africa, asked a
chief she knew to choose which he thought was the most beautiful
mask from those present. Slowly he turned each one over and studied
them all for a while. Then he pointed to one. She was puzzled and
asked him how he had decided. He then explained that the one most
worn was the one most beautiful.
For me, beauty is about the fullness of the moment. It occurs
rarely and unexpectedly. When it does occur every part of me is alive
and overflowing, desiring nothing, complete with wonder. Sometimes
these moments seem to disappear before they have arrived. Other
times these moments assume a more tidal nature, rising and ebbing,
washing away everything but saturating joy held in brief interlude.
This beauty has no goal that I am aware of and cannot be acted
upon or willed. In the past, it has sometimes presented itself while
walking the beach or cross-country skiing, while holding someone
dear, while reading a poem, and a few times, but only a few times, on
removing a piece from the kiln. Perhaps because I have not yet been
successful in resuscitating, let alone bringing about, these moments
of beauty in my life, I try to give them form in my work. If the work
can at least hint at this fullness, this wonder, then I am pleased.
As for the pleasure of making, I borrow a phrase from the muchquoted Ellen Dissanayake. She talks about the sheer enjoyment of
making. She eschews the word “art” and chooses instead to address
how humans, since earliest man, have been attracted to the extraordinary as a dimension of experience, and how humans have been moved
to engage their deepest feelings and concerns when making objects
that function in both daily activities and celebratory rituals.
As a cultural anthropologist, and a Darwinian, she argues that,
“Pleasure in handling is hardwired into human nature for good reason; it predisposes us to be tool users and makers.” She believes that
our human ancestors proclivity toward making utilitarian objects
special helped some survive better than others. She also believes
that the joy which goes into “making special,” as she calls it, has an
indisputable effect on the world.
All this said, I might never understand my work or why I make
it. The answer has been playing with me now for twenty years. And
while all questions beg answers, there’s also a sense of comfort in
knowing that not everything can be explained. In fact, not knowing
isn’t really so bad, as long as the quest to understand continues.
“Coral Vase,” 24 in. (61 cm) in height, white earthenware, fired to Cone 04.
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Peter Callas
Sculpture at the Edge
by Dorothy Joiner
In 1883, Claude Monet moved to Giverny, southwest of Paris,
near the Epte River, a tributary of the Seine. There he created a
plein-air (open-air) studio where he painted for more than four
decades until his death in 1926. He hung Japanese prints wall to
wall in his house, planted color-saturated flowers in parallel rows
of the Clos Normand (Cottage Garden), fashioned an Oriental
water garden lined with weeping willows, and had gardeners rake
the water lilies into patterns on his pond. He thereby fashioned an
ambience in which the Japanese aesthetic and a profound love of
nature were interwoven. Drawn from these sources, Monet’s later
work at Giverny is now seen as a forerunner of twentieth-century
Abstract Expressionism.
Sharing the French painter’s predilection for the Asian sensibility and his passion for the natural world, American ceramist Peter
Callas offers an intriguing analogue to Monet. Callas has lived for
the past twenty years on three acres in New Jersey in an 1812 German Moravian farmhouse on the Pequest River. His home is in the
midst of a radiant, blossom-filled garden bathed with a dappled light.
Wildflowers line the river running through his property, inviting
the occasional visit of a blue heron. A botanical arboretum with an
Asian flair boasts rare species, chosen for their varied hues. Nearby,
a 50-acre orchard supplies peaches and apples. These Edenesque
surroundings, together with extensive travel and study both at home
and abroad—Europe, Australia, South America, Asia and particularly Japan—have informed Callas’ work for the past thirty years.
Combining these influences with a very American dynamism, he is
now making large-scale sculptures that reflect the past at the same time
that they plunge ahead into an energetic expressionism. “Where there
is no passion,” he asserts, “there is no backbone.”
For Callas, life in his own exquisite setting is exhilarating. A selfproclaimed “horticulture bug,” he tends flower beds boasting over
200 varieties, spies on root systems, and notes colors and textures,
the strengths of tree trunks, and the marvelous vitality of swelling
buds. Callas’ empathy with nature parallels that of the Japanese,
whose animistic Shinto traditions hold that spirits inhabit the natural
world—mountains, trees, rocks—lending these a numinous quality.
This reverence for natural phenomena fosters in turn a heightened
awareness of and respect for color, texture, design and material.
Nature for the Asian is less a juxtaposition of objects than a hallowed field of energies.
Callas’ impassioned identification with nature, which simultaneously destroys and regenerates, leads him, like his Japanese
counterparts, to eschew Western “perfection” in favor of surfaces
that are deliberately coarsened and shapes that deny the symmetri-
“Zao,” 36 in. (91 cm) in height, slab-built stoneware,
once-fired in an anagama, with natural glaze, 1994.
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PHOTOS: CRAIG PHILLIPS, BRETT SZEMPLE
cal and the concentric. He prefers, instead, forms that are gnarled,
Rosenberg, as “an arena in which to act—rather than as a space in
wrenched and warped, evoking nature’s raw, transformative powers
which to reproduce, redesign, analyze or express an object, actual or
and breathtaking splendor.
imagined.” They maintained, furthermore, that the very intensity of
Also allying Callas to both Japanese traditions and to natural
their “action” touched and, in a way, harnessed those dynamic, and
processes is his commitment to wood firing, almost universally reclargely unconscious, archetypal forces controlling the outside world
ognized as aleatory and edgy. But, according to Callas, the rewards
as well as the human psyche. Their skills finely honed with years
are at the edge. Admittedly anachronistic and downright inefficient,
of practice, the “action” painters were thus able to temper freedom
wood firing nonetheless produces a timeless beauty, and
seemingly “accidental” glazes resulting from the interaction of clay, ash and atmosphere. Difficult to control
and apparently fortuitous, these glazes effect a wide
range of textures and colors. In a wood-fired kiln, the
artist can harness and reproduce, as it were, the earth’s
fiery diurnal processes, those millennial metamorphoses that erupt as volcanoes. Just as clay undergoes a
physical transformation in the kiln, so do the earth’s
tectonic plates change chemically as they cast against
each other and are subjected to intense, prolonged heat
cycles. “Wood firing,” he says, “is high drama, a powerful
metaphor of nature.”
After having earned international recognition for
vases, double-necked vessels, flasks, platters and ceremonial tea wares, Callas has, during the past decade,
focused on nonfigurative sculpture. Bringing to this
medium his characteristic gestural energy, he fashions
plurifacial, tuberous configurations rising out of stable,
yet fluid bases that harmonize the rough, smooth and
sharp. Swirling masses of molten material are solidified,
gouged and scored, calling attention to the malleable
quality of the clay itself. Concavities often jagged, sometimes more regular, intimate the sombrous mystery of
caves. Holes, reminiscent of Henry Moore and Barbara
Hepworth, reveal a concern for the void, connecting, in
Moore’s words, “one side with the other,” resulting in
greater three-dimensionality. Slabs branch out from the
core, extending into space, as though denying restrictive
contours, underscoring the subtle tension between mass
and border. Other passages, like double images, hint at
the animate, perhaps the features of a human visage or
the outline of an animal face. In a deep, resonant palette
due to the elevated temperatures of the firing, the pieces
range from grayed blues to more roseate colorations.
The parallels to Callas’ “wrenched” and “eroded”
aesthetic are provocative: Monet’s late dreamlike, almost
calligraphic natural forms; and the nonfigurative, ges“Exodus,” 36 in. (91 cm) in height, slab-built stoneware, once-fired in an anagama,
tural paintings of the Abstract Expressionists during the
with natural glaze, 1999, by Peter Callas, Belvidere, New Jersey.
’50s. These painters believed that art’s ability to embody
human experience is independent of representation. Art
divorced from description could, they declared, convey universal, very
with control, inspiration with discipline. Translating a similar vitality
human themes. Committed to vestigial shapes, abstract arabesques
into clay, Callas makes sculptures that intersect nature’s accidental,
and cascading lines, they saw the canvas, in the words of Harold
divergent side—those characteristics favored by the Asian mind.
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An Anagama and an Electric Kiln
by Daryn Lowman
Lowman likes to use organic qualities in conjunction with hard lines, or linear architecture, as shown in this stoneware platter, which is 17 in. (43 cm) square.
The piece was initially wood fired, then low-fire glazes were brushed on, and it was refired in an electric kiln, 2003.
In the last twenty years, wood-fired ceramics has gained momentum.
Currently, in the United States, the ceramics department at any given
college or university does not only boast the quality of its facilities
just in the number of electric kilns or the size of car kiln, but also
with the representative atmospheric kiln. The emergence of outdoor
kilns—be they wood, salt or soda—in ceramics programs is continuing and these processes maintain an evolutionary course.
It has been ten years since my introduction to kiln construction at
the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF). The ceramics department
there was an energizing place. People gathered there because pots are
social; they gathered because it was cold; but mostly they gathered
because it was fun to make pots.
As happens when most individuals become entranced with the
processes of making ceramics, wood firing has a way of taking over all
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your time. In graduate school this commitment to a specific process
of the incredible layers of ash and color it becomes apparent that
can be absorbed, but in life, time is gobbled up by so many tasks.
showing restraint is sometimes the right decision. In many cases, the
Spending months stacking wood, making work, loading kilns, firing
drawings on the pots were enough of a separation from the loose
kilns puts a lot of pressure on the work produced.
forms and the active surface. However, there also were pieces on
When considering the quality of wood firing, what is the standard
which fire and ash had not sufficiently left their marks, and these
that establishes success? For me a successful wood-fired pot emits
pieces forced me to consider another layer.
a certain energy. It may be the effect of ferocious flames, heat and
It became interesting to find certain lines and shapes drawn on
labor on the surface of a simple coffee cup, or the interior of a platter.
the surfaces, remaining intact and sustaining their crisp freshness.
However, there are pieces that this labor-intensive process creates that
In others the drawings were intact, but only as a residual marking,
have qualities that are not desirable including unmelted ash, uneven
subtle and ghostly.
temperatures within the kiln and ineffective flame patterns. That’s
Taking these pieces back into the studio meant the process continwood firing for you.
ued. I installed a layer that included tiny brushes, little containers of
Sometimes pieces that don’t appear successful at first can become
commercial glazes, and a completely different sensibility and touch
the “desirables” upon later encounters. Most often, however, the work
than the pot had seen thus far.
that simply does not make the cut will sit around and maybe find
In the electric kiln, earthy colors become more crisp, the Shinos
its way back into the tumultuous environment of flame and ash for
richer and the commercial glazes brighter! The wood-fired pot that is
another go around.
refired in an oxidized atmosphere still emits the energy of flame and
When I found it difficult to let go of the “undesirable” or wait
wood, but also is enhanced by the oxygen-rich atmosphere.
for the next kiln load, I inadvertently began considering the idea
The additional layer to this process allows the surfaces of old and
of continuing the process, but this time without flame and with a
new, used and cherished to coexist. By combining retro with mingei
different application.
and a touch of art deco with wabi-sabi, my intention has been to
While in graduate school at the University of Minnesota, I befurther consider the finality of a work.
came increasingly interested in mid-century
design and also the work of English painter
Ben Nicholson. Colors were straight out of
the bucket, the lines crisp and clean, but
also, the surface was intriguing. Surface
that gave reference to weathering, touch and
time. The surfaces drew me back to rural
architecture and the aging qualities of wood
and paint; surfaces that contained stories.
In the evolution of developing form in my
work, I looked toward Korean Yi and Shilla
Dynasty wares, American folk pottery, and
to landscapes of rural Minnesota.
Integrating these values of process into
my own work created many prototypes and
discoveries. Initially using soda/salt kilns to
play with the mixture of temperatures and
to create the first melted layer of information, I quickly found that the glassy uniformity on these surfaces did not develop the
desired tensions in textures.
In formulating my work habits, I used
the soft, organic qualities of clay, slip and
glazes along with crisp, hard lines drawn
into the surface. In a sense, I began wrapping the pots with a linear architecture, and
utilizing iconographic drawings and shapes
to break up the surface.
Within the commitment to any idea
or vision there exist levels of restraint and
thoughts of reconsidering. In removing a
Teapot, 9 in. (23 cm) in height, stoneware, with low-fire glazes,
pot from an anagama and taking notice
wood fired, 2003, by Daryn Lowman, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
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Lee Akins
by Rafael Molina-Rodriguez
PHOTOS: LEE AKINS, RAFAEL MOLINA-RODRIGUEZ
Dallas, Texas, ceramist and educator Lee Akins successfully balances
a teaching career with an active studio life. His work in clay is ostensibly sculptural in nature, but upon closer inspection it reveals its
vessel structure. The forms reference the human figure; the surfaces
are inspired by natural and man-made objects.
Akins grew up in Taiwan. He says, “It was a strong influence on
my aesthetic; on my life. Having that as a beginning point made a
big difference.” While there, he developed a keen interest in the arts,
especially ceramics and photography.
“I enjoy photography,” Akins continued. “My photographs are
of nature and other subjects. Photographic images serve as a source,
an idea and an inspiration. I never look at a photograph to make a
piece, but there’s some connection. It’s surprising to see them match
up so closely after the fact.”
After finishing high school in Taiwan, Akins moved back to the
United States to attend college. He received a B.F.A. from the College
of the Dayton Art Institute in Ohio, and an M.F.A. from Southern
Methodist University in Dallas. Since 1988, Akins has been a professor of art at Collin County Community College in Plano, Texas. He
teaches courses in ceramics and sculpture.
Akins cites Henry Moore and Hans Coper as two artists whose
works influence him greatly. It’s no surprise then when he says, “My
A piece of weathered wood from Lake Katherine in New Mexico
is just one of many natural surfaces that inspire Akins’ work.
“Torso Lidded Jar,” 20 in. (51 cm) in height, coil-built
terra cotta, with Peeling Paint Glaze, fired to Cone 01 in oxidation,
motivated by a wall and boards seen in the Philippines.
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“Round Jar,” 17 in. (43 cm) in height, coil-built terra
cotta, with copper oxide, fired in oxidation, inspired by a
red wall in Portland, Oregon.
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work seeks to combine figurative imagery with
the format of the traditional clay vessel.”
Akins’ work is anthropomorphic in form.
The shapes and proportions suggest human
characteristics for inanimate objects. In Akins’
view, “The vessel has historically been a powerful metaphor for the body, with each part of the
pot being named for a corresponding area of
the body. A full lip, a gentle curve of the neck,
a rotund belly or a broad shoulder all combine
to provide animation to the pot. Some are male,
some are a synthesis of male and female, but most
are female forms.”
The forms also find precedence in prehistoric
sculptures. Akins describes his work as, “. . .
inspired by fertility figures found in most early
cultures. The Venus of Willendorf and stone
carvings of the Cycladic culture are some of the
most powerful to me.”
Looking at utilitarian pottery for inspiration,
Akins’ most recent work includes pitchers and
covered jars. The covers or stoppers give the
impression of a face or head. Moreover, this
series attempts to work with the figure in a more
gestural way, implying the way a body moves.
Before forming an object, Akins generates
ideas by sketching with graphite on paper and
making maquettes. These miniatures are quick
clay sketches that are pinched and modeled.
Left: “Green Jar,” 19 in. (48 cm) in height, coil-built terra
cotta, with Scotchie Crackle Slip and copper oxide, fired
to Cone 01 in oxidation, by Lee Akins, Dallas, Texas. The
surface of this piece was inspired by a cave wall in Gunung
Kawai, Indonesia, shown above.
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recipes
They are valuable aids in working
out designs for pieces that are later
made to scale.
“Earthenware clay,” says Akins,
“gives warmth to the colors, yet
allows a wide choice of finishes.”
Scotchie Crackle Slip
Messenger Crawl
(Cones 04–01)
(Cones 06–01)
Akins’ constructs his figurative vesGerstley Borate ...................................25 %
Borax .................................................. 4 %
sels using coils. Although proficient
Kaolin .................................................50
Gerstley Borate ...................................46
with other ways of working, inSilica (Flint) ..........................................25
Magnesium Carbonate ........................31
cluding wheel throwing, he prefers
100 %
Kaolin .................................................19
forming by hand in lieu of assisted
Use on leather-hard clay.
100 %
technologies. Akins says, “My pieces
Add: Zircopax ...................................... 5 %
are coil built. Coiling allows me to
Piepenburg Patina
(Cones 04–01)
control the form.”
Lichen Glaze
Bone Ash ............................................33 %
The surfaces of Akins’ work are
(Cones 06–01)
Gerstley Borate ...................................45
very intricate. The texture, pattern,
Gerstley Borate ...................................50 %
Nepheline Syenite ...............................22
Magnesium Carbonate ........................50
color and value are the result of tool
100 %
100 %
marks, ceramic media, and firing
processes. The texture is derived
Textured Ash Engobe
Peeling Paint
from Akins’ conscious effort to leave
(Cones 04–7)
(Cones 08–01)
Alumina Hydrate .................................20 %
marks of the forming process, rather
Gerstley Borate ...................................80 %
Gerstley Borate ...................................10
than covering them up. AdditionTitanium Dioxide .................................20
Unwashed Wood Ash..........................50
ally, some marks are from stamps
100 %
Kaolin .................................................20
(found and made) and others are
For Green
100 %
from textured paddles.
Add: Copper Carbonate ....................3–5 %
Add: Fine Grog....................................15 %
Color in Akins’ work is the
product of stains and glazes as well
For Blue
Add: Cobalt Carbonate ....................... 3 %
as the firing atmosphere. One of
Dry White Crackle
his favorite colorants to work with
(Cones 01–6)
For Black
is copper carbonate. “Painting copBone Ash ............................................90 %
Add: Cobalt Carbonate ....................... 5 %
per on and wiping it away is one
Ferro Frit .............................................10
Red Iron Oxide ............................ 5 %
of my favorite techniques. It’s very
100 %
Black Stain ..................................10 %
simple, yet very effective. Earthenware seems to take on a sheen with
copper,” Akins explains.
To develop a patina, Akins uses
commercial underglazes layered
oxidizing and reducing atmospheres. Most of his current work is
with oxides. They give a strong, intense color and bring out the texfired in an electric kiln; however, a few pieces are fired in a fuelture. In oxidation firing he glazes and layers more. He elaborates, “It’s
burning kiln.
more like painting on a piece. Many times I’ll build up by putting a
Akins looks forward to evolving as an instructor and artist. “I
material on and sanding it off. I’ll then apply another one and dust
find if I don’t continue exploring, I rely on the same thing. There
it off. Finally, I’ll apply another one unevenly.”
are several themes that I return to, but I keep trying to find new and
Traditionally, earthenware is fired to Cone 04 (1971°F). The
exciting forms and surfaces.”
temperature range at which Akins’ work is fired is Cone 01 (2080°F)
to Cone 1 (2109°F). “Firing higher affects the color. It also affects
the author Rafael Molina-Rodriguez is an associate professor of art at
the clay. It’s harder and more vitrified. When struck it has a nice
Tarrant County College Southeast Campus in Arlington, Texas.
ring to it,” he says. During his career, Akins has fired his work in
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call for entries
Deadlines for Ex hibitions, Fairs and Festivals
See call for entries online at www.ceramicsmonthly.org
International Exhibitions
August 14–October 6 entry deadline
Icheon, Republic of Korea “ Fourth World Ceramic
Biennale 2007 K orea (CE BIK O)” (April 28–June 17,
2007), open to works in two categories: ceramics
for use and ceramics as expression. Juried from
slides or digitals. Cash awards; grand prize K RW
60 million (US$55,000). Contact Shinhee Park,
Curatorial Department, World Ceramic E xposition
Foundation, 467-020, San 69-1, G wango-dong,
Icheon-si, G yeonggi-do; www.wocef.com or
www.worldceramic.or.kr; tel (82) 31 631 6572.
August 19 entry deadline
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania “ Ashes to Art” (October
15–November 3), open to urns made from any craft
media. Juried from digitals. Fee: $25 for 1–3 images;
$5 per extra image. Awards: purchase; best-in-show,
$2500; people’s choice, $1000. Sales commission:
40% . For prospectus, contact Funeria, 2860 Bowen
St., # 23, PO Box 221, G raton, CA 95444-0221;
www.funeria.com; tel (707) 829-1966.
Brooklyn, New York “ First International Juried Clay
E xhibition” (October 3–28). Juried from slides or
CD. Fee: $35 for up to 3 entries. Sales commission:
50% . For prospectus, send SASE to G loria K ennedy
G allery, 111 Front St., G allery 222, Brooklyn 11201;
www.gkgart.com/gkgart/movies/prospectus.swf; tel
(718) 858-5254.
Mexico City, Mexico “ Third Biennial of Utilitarian
Ceramics” (March 8–June 3, 2007), open to artists in
Mexico. Juried from 5 slides. Cash awards. Contact
Museo Franz Mayer, Av. Hidalgo 45, Centro Histó rico, Mexico City 06300; www.franzmayer.org.mx.
September 26 entry deadline
Wayne, Pennsylvania “ Craft Forms 2006, 12th
International Juried E xhibition of Contemporary
Craft” (December 1, 2006–January 24, 2007). Juror:
G retchen K eyworth, director/chief curator Fuller Craft
Museum. Fee: $25. Awards: $3000. For prospectus,
send SASE to Wayne Art Center, 413 Maplewood
Ave., Wayne 19087; www.wayneart.org.
Alexandria, Virginia “ Mixed Messages” (December
6, 2006–January 14, 2007), open to work made
from two materials. Juried by slides or CD. Juror:
V eena Singh, owner of Sansar G allery. Fee: $30
for 3 images. For prospectus, send SASE to Target
G allery, Torpedo Factory Art Center, 105 N. Union
St., Alexandria 22314; www.torpedofactory.org;
tel (703) 838-4565 x4.
United States Exhibitions
Portland, Oregon “ The G ame Show” (November
18, 2006–January 8, 2007), open to all media with
a game theme. Juried from slides or CD. Jurors:
E lizabeth Shypertt, Bill Will, Namita Wiggers. Fee: $15
for up to 3 images. Sales commission: 40% . Awards:
best-in-show, $500. Contact Contemporary Crafts
Museum & G allery, 3934 S.W. Corbett Ave., Portland
97239; www.contemporarycrafts.org/gameshow;
tel (503) 223-2654.
Paducah, Kentucky “ BLUE grassCLAYnational”
(November 4–December 30). Juried from up to
5 slides. Juror: John Utgaard. Fee: $25. Awards:
$1500. For prospectus, send SASE to Blue Clay,
Yeiser Art Center, 200 Broadway St., Paducah 42001;
www.yeiserartcenter.org; tel (270) 442-2453.
Louisville, Kentucky “ NCE CA 2007 Clay National
Biennial E xhibition— Old Currents, New Blends: A
Distillation of Art and G eography” (March 14–June
23, 2007). Juried from digitals. Fee: $30; NCE CA
members, $15; for two works. Jurors: Syd Carpenter, Silvie G ranatelli and Nick K ripal. Purchase and
merit awards. Museum to retain 30% commission.
For further information, contact NCE CA, 77 E rie
V illage Square, Ste. 280, E rie, CO 80516-6996;
www.nceca.net.
Baltimore, Maryland “ 100 Teapots 3” (January
13–February 25, 2007), open to ceramic teapots.
Juried from slides or digitals. Juror: Julia G alloway,
associate professor of ceramics at the School for
American Crafts at RIT. Fee: $15 for up to 5 entries. For prospectus, send SASE to Forrest Snyder,
Baltimore Clayworks, 5707 Smith Ave., Baltimore
21209; www.baltimoreclayworks.org; tel (410)
578-1919 x18.
Chicago, Illinois “ A Holiday Happening” (November 15, 2006–January 15, 2007), open to all
media with holiday theme. Juried from up to 2
works. Fee: $25. For prospectus, send SASE to Joan
Houlehen, A. Houberbocken, Inc., PO Box 196,
Cudahy, WI 53110.
October 1 entry deadline
Brockton, Massachusetts “ Pulp Function” (May 19,
2007–January 6, 2008), open to work made with
paper, including paper clay. Juried from slides or
digitals. Contact Fuller Craft Museum, 455 Oak
St., Brockton 02301; www.fullercraft.org; tel (508)
588-6000.
Raleigh, North Carolina “ Fine Contemporary Crafts”
(November 18, 2006–January 13, 2007). Juried
from slides. Juror: Susan Brandeis. Fee: $25. Cash
awards. For prospectus, send SASE to Artspace, 201
E . Davie St., Raleigh 27601; www.artspacenc.org;
tel (919) 821-2787.
Riverhead, New York “ Art in Clay” (November 25,
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call for entries
2006–January 14, 2007). Juried from slides or digitals.
Juror: Amei Wallach, art critic. Fee: $15 for up to 5
entries. For prospectus, send SASE to Art Sites, 651 W.
Main St., Riverhead 11901; [email protected].
Pineville, North Carolina “ Third Annual Funk-tion
National Juried Ceramics E xhibition” (November 17,
2006–January 31, 2007), open to weird, altered,
nontraditional or wild ceramics. Juried from slides or
j pegs. Juror: Priscilla Hollingsworth, associate professor of art, Augusta State University. Fee: $25 for up
to 3 entries. Cash and purchase awards. Contact
Stretch G allery, 10726 Pineville Rd., Pineville 28134;
www.stretchgallery.com; tel (704) 552-5678.
November 15 entry deadline
Englewood, Colorado “ National Juried Arts E xhibi-
tion” (March 31–May 5, 2007). Juried from slides.
Fee: $25 for up to 3 entries. For prospectus, send
SASE to Juried Art Show, Museum of Outdoor
Arts, 1000 E nglewood Pkwy., E nglewood 80110;
www.englewoodarts.org.
January 8, 2007, entry deadline
Lexington, Massachusetts “ The State of Clay” (April
1–29, 2007), open to current and former residents
of Massachusetts. Juried from digitals. Juror: Chris
G ustin. Fee: $30 for up 3 entries. Cash awards. Contact Lexington Arts & Crafts Society, 130 Waltham
St., Lexington 02421; www.lexingtonma.org.lacs;
tel (781) 862-9696.
February 15, 2007, entry deadline
Monticello, Arkansas “ Second Annual National
Juried Cup Show” (April 6–May 11, 2007). Juror:
Matt Long. Fee: $20. For prospectus, send SASE to
Scott Lykens, Cup Show, c/o University of Arkansas
Monticello Ceramics Department, PO Box 3460,
Monticello 71656; [email protected].
Regional Exhibitions
November 1 entry deadline
Irving, Texas “ U Dallas Regional Ceramics Competition” (January 27–March 4, 2007), open to residents
of Arkansas, Colorado, K ansas, Louisiana, Missouri,
New Mexico, Oklahoma or Texas. Juried from
slides. Juror: V al Cushing. Fee: $25 for 3 entries.
Awards: merit; best-in-shows receive solo exhibitions. For prospectus, send SASE to University of
Dallas, Haggerty G allery— U Dallas Regional, 1845
E . Northgate Dr., Irving 75062; www.udallas.edu;
tel (972) 721-5316.
Fairs and Festivals
Cranford, New Jersey “ Fall Nomahegan Park Fine
Art and Crafts Show” (September 30–October 1),
open to all handcrafted work. Juried from 3 slides/
photos of work; 1 of booth. Booth fee: $305 for
10×12-foot space. Contact Rose Squared Productions, Inc., 12 G alaxy Ct., Hillsborough, NJ 08844;
www.rosesquared.com; tel (908) 874-5247.
Upper Montclair, New Jersey “ Fine Art and
Crafts Show at Anderson Park” (September 16–17),
open to all handcrafted work. Juried from 3 slides/
photos of work; 1 of booth. Booth fee: $305 for
10×12-foot space. Contact Rose Squared Productions, Inc., 12 G alaxy Ct., Hillsborough, NJ 08844;
www.rosesquared.com; tel (908) 874-5247.
New York, New York “ Celebrating Women’s Creativity” (November 8–26), open to women artists.
Juried from slides or actual work. For prospectus,
send SASE to the Pen & Brush Inc., 16 E . 10th St.,
New York 10003; www.penandbrush.org; tel (212)
475-3669.
Boston, Massachusetts “ Craftboston” (March
30–April 1, 2007), open to all craft media. Juried by digitals. Fee: $70; online, $35. Contact
Craftboston, 175 Newbury St., Boston 02116;
www.craftboston.org; (617) 266-1810.
Indian Wells, California “ Indian Wells Arts Festival”
(March 30–April 1, 2007). Juried from 3 slides of
work; 1 of display. Fee: $25. Booth fee: $250–$500.
Sales commission: 90% . Contact Indian Wells Arts
Festival, Dianne Funk E nterprises, Inc., PO Box 62,
Palm Desert, CA 92261; www.iwaf.net.
Montclair, New Jersey “ Fall Brookdale Park Fine Art
and Crafts Show” (October 14–15), open to all handcrafted work. Juried from 3 slides/photos of work;
1 of booth. Booth fee: $305 for 10×12-foot space.
Contact Rose Squared Productions, Inc., 12 G alaxy
Ct., Hillsborough, NJ 08844; www.rosesquared.com;
tel (908) 874-5247.
Miami Beach, Florida “ Coldwell Banker Miami Beach
Festival of the Arts” (February 10–11, 2007), open
to all media. Juried from 4 slides; 1 of booth. Fee:
$40. Cash awards. Contact North Beach Development Corp., 210 71st St., Miami Beach 33141;
www.gonorthbeach.com; tel (305) 865-4147.
Greenville, South Carolina “ Artisphere, The International Art Festival of G reenville, South Carolina”
(April 20–22, 2007). Juried from slides. Fee: $20.
Awards: $10,000. For prospectus, contact Liz Rundorff, Artisphere, 16 Augusta St., G reenville 29601;
www.artisphere.us; tel (864) 271-9355.
For a free call for entries listing, submit information on juried events
at least four months before the entry deadline. Add one month for
listings in July, and one month for listings in September. Regional
exhibitions must be open to more than one state. Submit online at
www.ceramicsmonthly.org; mail to Call for Entries, Ceramics
Monthly, 735 Ceramic Pl., Suite 100, Westerville, OH 43081; e-mail
[email protected]; or fax (614) 891-8960.
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new books
G eorge O hr, A rt P otter
The Apostle of Individuality
by Robert A. Ellison, Jr.
This beautifully illustrated book chronicles the eccentric life and work of George
E. Ohr (1857–1918). Working in Biloxi,
Mississippi, at the turn of the twentieth
century, Ohr was known as the “Mad Potter
of Biloxi” because of his unconventional
forms and idiosyncratic personality.
“By his mid-thirties, George Edgar Ohr
had been working at the potter’s wheel for
a little over a decade,” writes Ellison, a
longtime collector of Ohr’s work. “Around
this time, he concocted a highly unusual
vision for ceramic form; his conceptual
breakthrough involved altering perfectly
thrown pots while still in their plastic state.
In many instances, the symmetry from the
wheel was totally obscured, resulting in a
sculptural form rather than a traditional
pot. This approach was unprecedented in
the history of ceramics. This is what the fuss
over Ohr’s work is all about . . . .”
The book includes more than 300 previously unpublished images of Ohr’s work,
including works that were pulled from the
rubble after a fire destroyed his studio in
1894. Ellison covers the evolution of Ohr’s
art from his art pottery to his novelty work;
from his elaborate scroll-like handles to his
integrated handles; and from his mostly
symmetrical work to his purely abstract
sculptural vessels. In addition, he outlines
the various artist marks that Ohr used to
identify his work, attaching dates to each
mark. 176 pages including index. 192 color
and 18 black-and-white photographs. $65.
ISBN 1-85759-425-8. P ublished by S cala
P ublishers, 1 4 1 W ooster S t., S te. 4 D , N ew
Y ork, N Y 1 0 0 1 2 ; www.scalapublishers.com;
tel ( 2 1 2 ) 4 7 7 -0 7 4 8 . D istributed by A ntique C ollectors’ C lub L td., Eastworks, 1 1 6
P leasant S t., Easthampton, M A 0 1 0 2 7 ;
www.antique-acc.com; tel ( 4 1 3 ) 5 2 9 -0 8 6 1
or ( 8 0 0 ) 2 5 2 -5 2 3 1 .
C lay
The History and E volution of
Humankind’s Relationship with
E arth’s Most Primal E lement
by Suzanne Staubach
As ceramics artists and enthusiasts, most
readers of C eramics M onthly would agree that
clay is a remarkable material. In this new
book, Suzanne Staubach goes beyond clay’s
myriad artistic applications and explains how
the material we love has played a profound
role in the progress of civilization. Staubach
explains how ceramic materials are crucial
to the computer and space industries, biotechnology, publishing, and a wide range of
manufacturing processes. With the invention
of pottery came cooking and storage vessels,
the discovery of alcoholic beverages, the oven,
irrigation for agriculture, vast trade networks,
plumbing, sanitation, and an incredibly
durable building material. The book is an
interesting look at how, from the primordial
ooze to modern miracles, this most humble of
substances continues to shape our world
In addition to exploring how clay affects the lives of each and every human
being, Staubach includes an appendix on
how to make a pinch pot, as well as a list of
museums with large ceramics collections.
272 pages including appendixes, notes,
bibliography and credits. 33 black-andwhite photographs and illustrations. $23.95
ISBN 0-425-20566-5. P ublished by The B erkley P ublishing G roup, a D ivision of P enguin
G roup ( U S A ) Inc., 3 7 5 H udson S t., N ew Y ork,
N Y 1 0 0 1 4 ; www.penguin.com.
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Jonathan Kaplan and Annie Chrietzberg of Ceramic Design Group in Steamboat Springs, Colorado with a Viking-28 Paragon kiln. It features an easy-access switch box
that opens forward, mercury relays, heavy duty elements, and 3” bricks. UL Listed to U.S. and Canadian safety standards.
J
“I used to be Paragon’s worst critic”
—Jonathan Kaplan
onathan Kaplan bought one of Paragon’s
first digital kilns. Six years ago he posted a
list of complaints about his Paragon kilns on
the Internet.
"My hands were bruised
from replacing relays in a
confined space,” said Jonathan, “and I was frustrated
trying to work on the wiring
of our early Paragon Kilns. I
thought of ways to improve
access to the wiring as well as
upgrade the electronics. Paragon listened.
“The Paragon Sentry 2.0
is the best electronic control-
ler I have ever used. It’s easy to program and
very accurate. The brickwork is superb, and the
extra 2” of solid brick at the top eliminates
breakage when you’re leaning into the kiln.
“The counter-balance lid
is effortless, and the sectional
design of the Paragon
Viking makes it easy
to move and assemble,” said Jonathan.
“I've been making
my living with kilns
for thirty-plus years. I know
what I need and I know what works,” said Jonathan.
Call now or visit www.paragonweb.com for
a free catalog and the name of a local Paragon
distributor.
2011 South Town East Blvd.
Mesquite, Texas 75149-1122
800-876-4328 / 972-288-7557
Toll Free Fax 888-222-6450
www.paragonweb.com
[email protected]
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calendar
Conferences, Ex hibitions, Workshops, Fairs
See calendar online at www.ceramicsmonthly.org
Conferences
Indiana, Indianapolis September 13–16 “C lay Ex pressions, Surface Decoration Hits the Midwest Region,”
includes lectures, demos and exhibitions. Contact Potters Council, 735 Ceramic Pl., Ste. 100, Westerville, OH
43081; www.potterscouncil.org; tel (614) 794-5827.
M innesota, M inneapolis September 13–17
“ Tiles of the Northern Plains: Building on Tradition,”
includes tours, lectures, demos, workshops and exhibitions. Contact Tile Heritage Foundation, PO Box
1850, Healdsburg 95448; www.tileheritage.org or
www.handmadetileassociation.org.
N ew
M exico, A lbuq uerq ue, C orrales and
S anta F e October 18–22 “ Contemporary Arts of
New Mexico,” includes museum and studio tours,
demos, lectures, exhibitions. Contact Contemporary
Art Tours/Professional Travel Inc., 25201 Chagrin Blvd.,
Ste. 390, Beachwood, OH 44122; [email protected];
tel (800) 945-4461 x109.
T exas, H ouston October 19–21 “ Shaping the Future of Craft, 2006 National Leadership Conference,”
includes panels, lectures, museum and gallery tours.
Contact American Craft Council, 72 Spring St., Sixth Fl.,
New York, NY 10012-4019; www.craftcouncil.org.
W ashington, S eattle September 7–10 “ 40 Years
of Clay Celebration,” includes exhibitions and auction, workshops by Sam Chung, Deb Schwartzkopf,
Terry Siebert. Fee/workshop: $100. “ G ang of E ight
Workshop,” Frank Boyden, Doug Jeck, Beth Cavener
Stichter, Paul Soldner, Akio Takamori, Tip Toland,
Jamie Walker, Patti Warashina. Fee: $150. Contact
Pottery Northwest, 226 First Ave., N, Seattle 98109;
www.potterynorthwest.org; tel (206) 285-4421.
D enmark, S kæ lskø r August 21–25 “ Clay InDustTry,” includes lectures, panels and workshops. Fee: Dkr
1900 (US$323); students and members, DK r 1500
(US$255); per day, DK r 550 (US$93); includes lunch and
dinner. Contact G uldagergå rd, International Ceramic
Research Center, Heilmannsvej 31 A, 4230 Skæ lskø r;
www.ceramic.dk; tel (45) 5819 0016.
H ungary , K ecskemé t November 7–10 “ Critical
Studies . . . Contemporary Writing for the Ceramic
Arts,” lectures and presentations by G abi DeWald,
Dr. Ichi Hsu and Janet Mansfield. Fee: 50,000 HUF
(US$235), includes lunch. Contact International Ceramics Studio K ecskemé t, K á polna u. 11, K ecskemé t
H-6000; [email protected]; tel (36) 76 486 867.
Solo Exhibitions
A labama, B irmingham October 6–November 10
Wood-fired ceramics by Scott Meyer; at Red Dot G allery, Pepper Pl., 2810B Third Ave. S.
A riz ona, S cottsdale October 1–31 K ina Crow,
“ Whimsical Sculptures in Clay” ; at LK G Contemporary,
7171 Main St.
A riz ona, T empe through August 5 “ Ceramic Art
of R. Michael Johns” ; at ASU Art Museum Ceramics
Research Center, Arizona State University, Mill Ave.
and Tenth St.
C alifornia, R edding through October 27 Palul,
“ Art in City Hall” ; at Redding City Hall G allery, 777
Cypress Ave.
C alifornia, S acramento through October 8 James
Lovera, “ Craters from Fire” ; at Crocker Art Museum,
216 O St.
C alifornia, S an F rancisco October 18–November
18 Bean Finneran; at the Braunstein/Q uay G allery,
430 Clementina.
F lorida, S t. P etersburg September 15–October
31 “ Brian Ransom: Harmonic Resonances” ; at Florida
Craftsmen, K lein Family G allery, 501 Central Ave.
G eorgia, A tlanta through October 31 Niki de Saint
Phalle, “ Niki in the G arden” ; at the Atlanta Botanical
G arden, 1345 Piedmont Ave., NE .
G eorgia, D ecatur through August 5 Niel Hora.
August 12–26 Barry G regg. September 16–October
14 K im Dryden, “ Oh Shino” ; at MudFire Clayworks &
G allery, 175 Laredo Dr.
I llinois, C hicago through August 9 Lindsay Feuer.
August 11–September 6 Helen Otterson. September
8–October 27 Steve Hansen; at Function + Art, 1046
W. Fulton Market.
through August 24 Lisa Merida-Paytes; at the
Woman Made G allery, 2418 W. Bloomingdale Ave.
I ndiana, B loomington October 6–November 18
Malcolm Mobutu Smith, “ Rigamarole” ; at Prima G allery, 109 E . Sixth St.
“Montgomery Creek Falls” by Palul; at Redding City
Hall Gallery, Redding, California.
I ndiana, K okomo September 1–23 Richard Weber;
at K okomo Fine Arts Center, 212 E . Rickets.
I ow a, I ow a C ity August 4–24 Allison McG owan.
Sam Taylor. September 1–21 Julie Johnson. Jay Jensen.
October 6–26 K athryn Finnerty. Charity Davis-Woodard. October 27–November 16 Josh DeWeese. Rosalie
Wynkoop; at Akar, 257 E . Iowa Ave.
M ary land, B altimore through August 23 Jessica
Broad, “ Personal Mythologies” ; at Baltimore Clayworks, 5707 Smith Ave.
M assachusetts, L enox through August 13 Jason
Walker. through August 20 Michael K line, “ Studio
Pottery” ; at Ferrin G allery, 69 Church St.
M issouri, K ansas C ity through August 19 “ Z ia:
Off the Rim” ; at Sherry Leedy Contemporary Art,
2004 Baltimore Ave.
M ontana, B oz eman August 11–September 6
Rachel Deist. September 8–October 11 K ristin Pavelka;
at Michelle G antt Ceramics G allery + Studio, 111 S.
G rand Ave., # 108.
M ontana, H elena August 15–October 15 Marcia
Selsor; at the Carroll College Art G allery, 1601 N.
Benton Ave.
M ontana, R ed L odge August 4–31 G ertrude
G raham Smith; at Red Lodge Clay Center, 123 S.
Broadway Ave.
N ew J ersey , C linton through August 20 Toshiko
Takaezu; at Hunterdon Museum of Art, 7 Lower
Center St.
N ew J ersey , S urf C ity through August 9 Susan
Beecher. August 12–September 6 Liz Q uackenbush;
at m.t. burton gallery, 1819 Long Beach Blvd.
N ew M exico, S anta F e August 4–20 Diego Romero,
“ Neo-Mimbres Pottery” ; at Robert Nichols G allery,
419 Canyon Rd.
September 22–October 27 Mitch Lyons; at Read-Johnson Contemporary Art, 1807 Second Ave., Unit 34.
N ew Y ork, L ong I sland C ity through August 18
James Brown; at G arth Clark G allery’s Proj ect Space,
45-46 21st St.
N ew Y ork, N ew Y ork through August 18 Anthony
Caro; at G arth Clark G allery, 24 W.57 St., Ste 205
September 7–October 7 Shida K uo; at Nancy Margolis G allery, 523 W. 25th St.
September 23–October 28 Sarah Lindley; at G reenwich House Pottery, 16 Jones St.
October 31, 2006–January 31, 2007 “ Clé ment
Massier: Master of Iridescence” ; at Jason Jacques
G allery, 29 E . 73rd St., # 1.
N ew Y ork, P ort C hester September 1–25 Lily Schor,
“ Hot Flashes.” October 1–29 Heather Houston, “ Horses
in Midstream” ; at Clay Art Center, 40 Beech St.
N orth C arolina, P ineville August 11–October 9
Sculptural teapots by Meryl Ruth. September 15–November 9 Alyssa Wood, “ Housekeeping” ; at Stretch
G allery, 10726 Pineville Rd.
O hio, C leveland through August 13 V iktor
Schreckengost, “ Animals in Art: Clay Creatures” ; at
the Cleveland Z oo, 3900 Wildlife Way.
O hio, C olumbus September 2–30 Todd Camp.
October 2–31 Leigh Taylor Mickelson; at Sherrie G allerie, 694 N. High St.
O regon, P ortland August 3–September 3 Lisa
Conway, “ Succulent” ; at Oregon College of Art &
Craft, 8245 S.W. Barnes Rd.
August 5–September 17 Rain Harris, “ Splendor” ;
at Contemporary Crafts Museum & G allery, 3934
S.W. Corbett Ave.
P ennsy lvania, Erie through June 1, 2007 E va Z eisel;
at the E rie Art Museum, 411 State St.
P ennsy lvania, P hiladelphia September 1–24
Myung Jin Choi. Andy Brayman; at the Clay Studio,
139 N. Second St.
T exas, D allas September 8–October 14 Marla
Z iegler; at Craighead G reen G allery, 1011 Dragon St.
T exas, El P aso through October 27 Isabella G onzales, “ Crosscurrents” ; at Stanlee and G erald Rubin
Center for V isual Arts, University of Texas E l Paso, 500
W. University Ave.
W ashington, A nacortes through August 6 Allen
Moe; at John L. Scott Focus G allery, Commercial Ave.
W ashington, T acoma through October 2 Akio
Takamori, “ Between Clouds and Memory” ; at Tacoma
Art Museum, 1701 Pacific Ave.
W isconsin, M adison October 21–November 10
Bruce Breckenridge: at DeRicci G allery, E dgewood
College, 1000 E dgewood College Dr.
W isconsin, R acine October 29, 2006–March 18,
2007 Akio Takamori, “ Between Clouds and Memory” ;
at Racine Art Museum, 441 Main St.
Group Ceramics Exhibitions
A riz ona, T empe through August 5 “ A Ceramic
Legacy: Selections from the Sté phane Janssen and
R. Michael Johns Collection” ; at ASU Art Museum
Ceramics Research Center, Arizona State University,
Mill Ave. and Tenth St.
C alifornia, P acific P alisades through September
4 “ The Colors in Clay: Special Techniques in Athenian
V ases” ; at the G etty V illa, 17985 Pacific Coast Hwy.
C alifornia, P omona through September 2 “ Musical
Mud.” September 9–November 4 “ Color Counts—
G ladding McBean, California Commercial Pottery
1930–1950” ; at AMOCA, 340 S. G arey Ave.
C alifornia, P asadena September 2–October 21
“ Covering the Surface,” Tom and E laine Coleman; at
X iem G allery, 1563 N. Lake Ave.
C alifornia, T opanga through August 20 “ The Way
of Clay: Ceramic Invitational” ; at Topanga Canyon
G allery, 120 N. Topanga Cyn Blvd., # 109.
D . C . , W ashington through September 9 “ Serve
it Forth,” Rebecca Cross, Judy K ogod, Tom Radca,
Sam Wallace; at cross mackenzie ceramic arts, 1054
31st St., NW.
through January 1, 2007 “ Freer and Tea: Raku,
Hagi, K aratsu” ; at Freer G allery of Art, Smithsonian
Institution, Jefferson Dr. at 12th St., SW.
F lorida, S t. P etersburg October 7–21 “ Architectural Imaginings,” Peter K ing and X inia Marin; at St.
Petersburg Clay Company, 420 22nd St. S.
October 7–December 31 “ From the Fire: Contemporary K orean Ceramics” ; at the Museum of Fine Arts,
255 Beach Dr. NE .
G eorgia, A thens August 25–October 14 “ Univer-
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group exhibitions
sity of G eorgia G raduate Student Ceramic Show” ; at
Lyndon House Arts Center, 293 Hoyt St.
G eorgia, W atkinsville August 26–September 14
“ Perspectives 2006; at Oconee Cultural Arts Foundation, 34 School St.
H aw ai‘ i, H onolulu through October 8 “ Trade,
Taste and Transformations: Jingdezhen Porcelain for
Japan, 1620–1645” ; at Honolulu Academy of Arts,
900 S. Beretania St.
I llinois, C hicago through August 13 “ Casas G randes
and the Ceramic Art of the Ancient Southwest” ; at Art
Institute of Chicago, 111 S. Michigan Ave.
October 7–November 4 K atie Biderbost, Ryan G reenheck, Tom Hoffman and Manemitsu Taguchi; at Lillstreet
Art Center, 4401 N. Ravenswood Ave.
October 14 “ Being to Being: A Dialogue with Clay
from the Forest to Metropolis” ; at the Mud Factory,
1200 W. 35th St.
I llinois, W oodstock August 25–October 1 “ Shades
of Autumn” ; at Jailhouse Potters, 103 N. Johnson St.
October 5–November 12 “ Clayworkers’ G uild of
Illinois Annual Members Show” ; at the Old Courthouse
Arts Center, 101 N. Johnson.
I ndiana, I ndianapolis September 5–29 “ ClayFest
2006” ; at University of Indianapolis, Christel DeHaan
Fine Arts Center, 1400 E . Hanna Ave.
I ow a, I ow a C ity August 4–24 “ Legacy of Warren
MacK enzie,” Wayne Branum, Randy Johnston and
Sandy Simon. September 1–21 Malcolm Davis, K aren
K arnes, Joe Singewald and Mikhail Z akin. October 6–26
G eorge McCauley, Ron Meyers and Norm Schulman.
October 27–November 16 “ Legacy: Chris Staley” ; at
Akar, 257 E . Iowa Ave.
M ary land, B altimore through August 19 “ Lyrics
& E xcerpts,” Michael Anthony and David Milburn; at
Meredith G allery, 805 N. Charles St.
October 7–November 12 “ World Women: On the
Horizon” ; at Baltimore Clayworks, 5707 Smith Ave.
M assachusetts, C oncord September 7–28 “ Natural Wonders,” Leslie Ferst, Lindsay Feuer, Linda Huey,
Al Jaeger, Stephen Robison and K athleen G uss, Rob
Sieminski, and Meng Z hao; at Lacoste G allery, 25
Main St.
M ichigan, D etroit September 8–November 3
“ Tooth and Claw: An Ark of Animals Reimagined” ;
at Pewabic Pottery, 10125 E . Jefferson.
M innesota, M inneapolis through August 27
“ RAW: Unfired Clay Installations,” Walter McConnell,
K risten Morgin, Clare Twomey. September 22–October 29 “ Six McK night Artists,” E dith G arcia, Audrius
Janu˘ sonis, Maren K loppmann, Paul McMullan, Anita
Powell and Tetsuya Yamada; at Northern Clay Center,
2424 Franklin Ave., E .
M ississippi, J ackson through September 10 “ From
the Fire: Contemporary K orean Ceramics” ; at the Mississippi Museum of Art, 201 E . Pascagoula St.
M issouri, K ansas C ity August 31–September 30
“ Divergence: 4 High Fire Potters,” Doug Casebeer, Peter
Olsen, Hide Sadohara and Lynn Smiser Bowers; at Red
Star Studios Ceramic Center, 821 W. 17th St.
September 17–30 “ V iva la Terra: celebrating life
. . . in clay” ; at K C Clay G uild, 200 W. 74th.
M issouri, S t. L ouis September 8–October 15
“ Likeness/the Human Form in Clay” ; at X en G allery,
401 N. E uclid Ave.
M ontana, H elena through August 6 “ The Yixing
E ffect: E choes of the Chinese Scholar” ; at Holter
Museum of Art, 12 E . Lawrence.
August 10–25 “ Taunt, Lilian and Lincoln Fellowship E xhibition,” K oi Neng Liew, Melissa Mencini and
Debrah Schwartzkopf; at Archie Bray Foundation for
the Ceramic Arts, 2915 Country Club Ave.
N ebrask, L incoln September 1–October 28 “ Ceramic Teapot Invitational” ; at Lux Center for the Arts,
2601 N. 48th St.
N ew H ampshire, M anchester October 13–November 13 “ Ceramics Biennial E xhibition 2006” ; at New
Hampshire Institute of Art, 148 Concord St.
N ew J ersey , S urf C ity September 9–October 11
“ Artists of the Baltimore Clayworks,” Mary Cloonan,
Bernadette Curran, Malcolm Davis, Tina G ebhart, Matt
Hyleck, Leigh Taylor Mickelson, Collette Smith, Lars
Westby; at m.t. burton gallery & 19th Street Ceramic
Studio, 1819 Long Beach Blvd.
N ew M exico, S anta F e August 4–September
2 “ China Response.” September 8–October 7 Jeff
Oestreich and Mark Pharis. October 13–November 11
“ Surface to Surface,” Meredith Brickell, Ayumi Horie,
K ari Radasch and E lizabeth Robinson; at Santa Fe Clay,
1615 Paseo de Peralta.
N ew Y ork, A lfred through September 29 “ Receptive V olumes” ; at the Schein-Joseph International
Museum of Ceramic Art, NY State College of Ceramics
at Alfred University.
N ew Y ork, D ix H ills through August 13 “ Patterns in Clay” ; at the Art League of Long Island, 107
E . Deer Park Rd.
N ew Y ork, N ew Y ork through August 18 “ Body and
Mind” ; at G arth Clark G allery, 24 W.57 St., Ste 205
N ew Y ork, R ochester September 19–October
20 “ History in the Making” ; at G enesee Pottery, 713
Monroe Ave.
N ew Y ork, T roy September 1–October 1 “ Ceramics Faculty of The Arts Center of the Capital Region,”
JoAnn Axford, Doug K lein, Colleen O’Sullivan, Darren
Prodger, Richard Reiner and John V issar. September
8–October 29 “ Clay Workshop Artists 2006–2007,”
Posey Bacopoulos, Mary Barringer, Mark Shapiro and
Jeff Z amek. September 8–December 31 “ Circular
Reasoning, Regional Ceramics E xhibition.” “ Slipped
Away: The Story of Albany Slip Clay and 19th-Century
Stoneware of the Capital District” ; at the Arts Center
of the Capital Region, 265 River St.
N ew Y ork, W ater M ill through August 14 “ Masters
of the Art,” Tony Clennell, David Crane and Lucinda
Piccus. August 18–September 4 “ Ceramic Sculpture,”
Rae Lapides, Marsha Lipsitz, Diane G iardi. September
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group exhibitions
8–October 2 “ Obj ects,” Mae Mougin, Nancy Robbins,
Betsy Smith and Hong Ling Wee. October 28–November
5 “ Young People’s Ceramics” ; at Celadon, A Clay Art
G allery, 41 Old Mill Rd.
N orth C arolina, B oone September 19–November
10 “ Architectural E choes in Clay” ; at Appalachian State
University, Catherine Smith G allery, 733 Rivers St.
N orth C arolina, C harlotte through November
12 “ Buncombe County Pottery from the Leftwich
Collection.” through December 10 “ G ifts from the
Delhom Service League and the Mint Museum Auxiliary.” August 5–November 5 “ North Carolina Pottery
from the E lizabeth and Leo K ohn Collection” ; at Mint
Museum of Art, 2730 Randolph Rd.
N orth C arolina, C reedmoor through September
10 “ Fresh Catch,” Alan and Rosemary Bennett; at
Cedar Creek G allery, 1150 Fleming Rd.
N orth C arolina, H endersonville September 19–
November 10 “ Architectural E choes in Clay” ; at Center
for Craft, Creativity and Design, 1181 Broyles Rd.
N orth C arolina, R aleigh October 1–November
30 “ Bulldog Pottery E xhibition,” Bruce G holson and
Samantha Henneke; at North Carolina Museum of
Natural Sciences, 11 W. Jones St.
N orth C arolina, S eagrove September 1–November
25 “ Fork Mountain Pottery: The Work of Suze Lindsay
and K ent McLaughlin; at North Carolina Pottery Center,
250 E ast Ave.
O hio, C incinnati through September 10 “ Dark
Jewels: Chinese Black and Brown Ceramics from
the Shatzman Collection” ; at Taft Museum of Art,
316 Pike St.
O hio, C olumbus through August 31 “ Weapons
and Torches,” Andi and Robert Moran; at Sherrie
G allerie, 694 N. High St.
P ennsy lvania, P hiladelphia September 1–24
“ 2D/3D,” Thom Bohnert, K im Dickey, Paul McMullan,
K irk Mangus, Anat Shiftan and Catherine White; at
the Clay Studio, 139 N. Second St.
P ennsy lvania, P ittsburgh August 25–September
30 “ WAD Clay Institute Juried Clay Annual” ; at WAD
Clay Institute, 2100 Mary St.
T exas, El P aso through September 23 “ Multiplicity: Contemporary Ceramic Sculpture,” Shawn
Busse, Marek Cecula, Bean Finneran, K ay Hwang,
Denise Pelletier, Jeanne Q uinn, G regory Roberts and
Juana V aldes; at Stanlee and G erald Rubin Center
for V isual Arts, University of Texas E l Paso, 500 W.
University Ave.
T exas, H ouston August 1–31 “ HPG CAME O E merging Artists” ; at Houston Potters G uild Clay Arts Museum
& E ducational Organization, 840 E . 28th St., Apt. A.
V ermont, B urlington August 4–31 “ Fastidious,”
Shane M. K eena, Josh LeMay and Shoshona Snow; at
Ice Coast G allery, 113 Church St.
V irginia, A lexandria through August 6 “ Tea Time.”
August 7–September 3 “ Before & After.” September
4–October 1 “ Two of a K ind.” October 2–29 “ Strictly
from Nature” ; at Scope G allery, Torpedo Factory, 105
N. Union St.
V irginia, F redericksburg September 7–October 22
“ Nickel and Detwiler: 25 Year Retrospective,” Joseph
Detwiler and Lorene Nickel; at University of Mary
Washington, duPont G allery, 1301 College Ave.
V irginia, R ichmond through September 24
“ Traditions in Miniature: The Louise Westbrook Collection of Chinese Ceramics” ; at the University of
Richmond Museums, Lora Robins G allery of Design
from Nature.
W ashington, K irkland through August 29
“ Clay? ” ; at K irkland Arts Center, 620 Market St.
W isconsin, R acine through November 25 “ Treasure
Hunt: Teapots” ; at the Charles A. Wustum Museum
of Fine Arts, 2519 Northwestern Ave.
W isconsin, V erona October 9–November 17
“ Bruce Buddies Show” ; at Sugar River G allery, V erona
Area High School, 300 Richard St.
C ontinued
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multimedia exhibitions
Ceramics in Multimedia
Exhibitions
A riz ona, P hoenix through August 13 “ Mid-Century Modern: Native American Art in Scottsdale” ; at
the Heard Museum, 2301 N. Central Ave.
C alifornia, O ntario through September 10 “ 2006
Ontario Invitational Art E xhibition,” including ceramics by Twyla Wardell; at Museum of History and Art,
225 S. E uclid Ave.
C alifornia, S acramento August 3–26 “ V iews of
the Landscape,” including ceramics by Celeste Welch;
at exploding head gallery, 924 12th St.
C alifornia, S an F rancisco through August 5 “ Body
Language— Figurative Works by 5 Women Sculptors,”
including ceramics by Jane Burton and K athy V enter;
at Sculpturesite G allery, 201 Third St.
C alifornia, S anta C ruz through November 26
“ Wild Outside Worlding Art: Local Portraits by R.R.
Jones and Mattie Leeds” ; at the Museum of Art &
History, the McPherson Center, 705 Front St.
C alifornia, S anta M onica through August 31
“ Omage: Artists, Designers and Writers of Otis College of Art and Design” ; at Track 16 G allery, Bergamot
Station, 2525 Michigan Ave., C1.
C alifornia, W alnut C reek through September 10
“ By Hand: A National Juried E xhibition of Traditional and
Innovative Craft” ; Bedford G allery, 1601 Civic Dr.
C olorado, F ort C ollins through August 19 “ Rocky
Mountain Biennial 2006” ; at Fort Collins Museum of
Contemporary Art, 201 S. College Ave.
D . C. , W ashington through January 1, 2007 “F reer—A Taste for Japanese Art”; at Freer G allery of Art,
Smithsonian Institution, Jefferson Dr. at 12th St., SW.
F lorida, D eL and through September 3 Three-person exhibition including ceramics by Steve Howell; at
DeLand Museum of Art, 600 N. Woodland Blvd.
F lorida, S t. P etersburg through September 1 “ Heat
of the Moment,” including ceramics by Sang Roberson;
at Florida Craftsmen, 501 Central Ave.
F lorida, T allahassee August 28–September 24
“ Combined Talents Annual Juried E xhibition” ; at the
Florida State University Museum of Fine Arts, 8347
Summerdale Ln.
F lorida, T ampa through October 1 “ What does this
Mean? The Narrative Tradition” ; at Tampa Museum of
Art, 600 N. Ashley Dr.
I llinois, C hicago through January 1, 2007 “ Tutankhamun and the G olden Age of Pharaohs” ; at the Field
Museum, 1400 S. Lake Shore Dr.
September 1–30 “ Hand Harvested: Our Future
in G enetic E ngineering” ; at Toj o G allery, 1418 W.
Division St.
K entucky , L ouisville through November 4 “ Life
InSight: The Human E xperience” ; at K entucky Museum
of Art and Craft, 715 W. Main St.
M aine, D eer I sle August 4–September 10 “ Color
On and Off the Wall” ; at Dowstudio, 19 Dow Rd.
M assachusetts, C ambridge through June 30,
2007 “ The Moche of Ancient Peru: Media and Messages.” through September 1, 2007 “ Imazighen! Beauty
and Artisanship in E veryday Berber Life” ; at Peabody
Museum, Harvard University, 11 Divinity Ave.
M assachusetts, L enox August 26–September 24
Three-person exhibition including ceramics by Debra
Fritts and Red Weldon Sandlin; at Ferrin G allery, 69
Church St.
M innesota, D uluth through January 7, 2007
“ Across Space, Time and Meaning” ; at Tweed Museum of Art, University of Minnesota Duluth, 1201
Ordean Ct.
M innesota, M inneapolis through September 3
E xhibition including ceramics by Susan Feigenbaum;
at G allery 360, 3011 W. 50th St.
N ew
M exico, S anta F e through August 26
“ Celebrating 25/20,” including ceramics by Richard
Devore and Ruth Duckworth; at Bellas Artes, 653
Canyon Rd.
N ew Y ork, B rookly n through December 31 “ Beauty Beyond Words: Calligraphy in Asian Traditions” ; at
Brooklyn Museum of Arts, 200 E astern Pkwy.
N ew Y ork, B uffalo September 16, 2006–January 7, 2007 “ Craft Art Western New York 2006” ; at
Burchfield-Penney Art Center, Buffalo State College,
1300 E lmwood Ave.
N ew Y ork, N ew Y ork through August 5 “ Anything
U Can Do I Can Do Better” ; at K athleen Cullen Fine
Arts, 526 W. 26th St.
through September 3 “ A Passion for Asia: The
Rockefeller Family Collects” ; at Asia Society, 725
Park Ave.
through October 29 “ Feeding Desire: Design and the
Tools of the Table, 1500–2005; at the Cooper-Hewitt
National Design Museum, 2 E . 91st St.
N orth C arolina, C hapel H ill through August
26 “ Aquatica,” including ceramic sculpture by
Mark Chatterley; at Somerhill G allery, 3 E astgate, E .
Franklin St.
N orth C arolina, C harlotte through August 6
“ Crosscurrents: Art, Craft and Design in North Carolina.” through November 26 “ Mint Menagerie: Critters from the Collection” ; at Mint Museum of Craft
+ Design, 220 N. Tryon St.
O hio, C leveland through August 20 “ The Persistence of G eometry: Form, Content and Culture in
the Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art” ; at
the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, 8501
Carnegie Ave.
O hio, K ettering September 11–October 6 Two-person exhibition including ceramics by Petra K ralickova;
at Rosewood G allery, 2655 Olson Dr.
O hio, T oledo through September 3 “ 88th Annual
Toledo Area Artists E xhibition” ; at Toledo Museum of
Art, 2445 Monroe St.
O regon, S alem October 3–28 “ The Other,” in-
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multimedia exhibitions
cluding ceramics by Marlene Miller; at Mary Lou Z eek
G allery, 335 State St.
P ennsy lvania, P hiladelphia September 30–December 31 “ Treasures/Tesoros/Tesouros: The Arts in
Latin America, 1492–1820” ; at Philadelphia Museum
of Art, 26th St. and the Benj amin Franklin Pkwy.
W ashington, S eattle through August 6 “ Surface
Stances,” including ceramics by Lars Husby; at Nordic
Heritage Museum, 3014 N.W. 67th St.
through August 18 “ Nature’s Wonders,” including
ceramics by Adrian Arleo, Baba Wague Diakite, Margaret Ford, Carol G outhro, Ronna Neuenschwander
and John Woodward; at Pacini Lubel G allery, 207
Second Ave. S.
W isconsin, L a C rosse through August 19 “ The Art
of the Doll” ; at Pump House, 119 K ing St.
W isconsin, M ilw aukee September 16, 2006–January 1, 2007 “ Biedermeier: The Invention of Simplicity” ;
at Milwaukee Art Museum, 700 N. Art Museum Dr.
W isconsin, R acine through October 15 “ Treasure
Hunt: Works from RAM’s Storage” ; at Racine Art
Museum, 441 Main St.
Fairs, Festivals and Sales
C alifornia, B everly H ills October 15–16 “ The Affaire in the G ardens” ; at Beverly G ardens Park, Santa
Monica Blvd. at Rodeo Dr.
C alifornia, L aguna B each through September
1 “ Annual Festival of Arts” ; at Irvine Bowl Park, 650
Laguna Canyon Rd.
F lorida, W inter P ark August 18–19 “ Showalter
Hughes Community College— Cup-A-Thon X X II” ; at
Crealdé School of Art, 600 St. Andrews Blvd.
G eorgia, A thens September 10 “ Athens Area Potters Studio Tour.” For map, www.ocaf.com.
G eorgia, W atkinsville September 4 “ Oconee County Potters Studio Tour.” For map, www.ocaf.com.
I llinois, B arrington September 23–24 “ Art in the Barn
2006” ; at G ood Shepherd Hospital, 450 W. Hwy. 22.
I llinois, Evanston August 25–27 “ 22nd American
Craft E xposition Benefiting Breast and Ovarian Cancer
Research at E NH” ; Northwestern University E vanston,
Henry Crown Sports Pavilion, 2311 Campus Dr.
I llinois, O ak P ark September 10 “ 20th-Century
Art and Design Auction” ; at John Toomey G allery,
818 North Blvd.
M aine, B lue H ill, D eer I sle, B rooksville, S edgw ick, S tonington and S unset October 6–9 “ Peninsula Potters Sale and Studio/G allery Tour.” For map,
[email protected]; tel (207) 348-5681.
M ary land, B altimore August 31–September 3
“ 28th Annual Baltimore Summer Antiques Show” ; at
the Baltimore Convention Center, 1 W. Pratt St.
M ary land, G aithersburg October 13–15 “ Sugarloaf Crafts Festival” ; at Montgomery Co. Fairgrounds,
16 Chestnut St.
M ary land, T imonium October 6–8 “ Sugarloaf
Crafts Festival” ; at Maryland State Fairgrounds, 2200
York Rd.
M assachusetts, N orthampton October 8–10
“ Paradise City Arts Festival” ; at Three County Fairgrounds, Rte. 9.
M assachusetts, S tockbridge August 26 “ Family
Day and Summer’s E nd Celebration” ; at IS183 Art
School of the Berkshires, 13 Willard Hill Rd.
M ichigan, D etroit August 13 “ Antique & Contemporary Art Tile Fair” ; at Pewabic Pottery, 10125
E . Jefferson.
M ichigan, N ovi October 20–22 “ Sugarloaf Crafts
Festival” ; at Rock Financial Showplace, 46100 G rand
River Dr.
M innesota, M inneapolis September 8–10 “ American Pottery Festival” at Northern Clay Center, 2424
Franklin Ave., E .
September 16 “ 5th Annual 2006 Minnesota Tile Festival” ; at American Swedish Institute, 2600 Park Ave.
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fairs, festivals, sales
N ew J ersey , C ranford September 30–October 1
“ Fall Nomahegan Park Fine Art and Crafts Show” ; at
Nomahegan Park, Springfield Ave.
N ew J ersey , L ay ton September 29–October 1
“ 36th Annual Peters V alley Craft Fair” ; at Peters V alley
Craft Center, 19 K uhn Rd.
N ew
J ersey , M ontclair October 14–15 “ Fall
Brookdale Fine Art and Crafts Show” ; at Brookdale
Park, Wachtung Ave.
N ew J ersey , M orristow n October 20–22 “ Morristown CraftMarket” ; at National G uard Armory,
430 Western Ave.
N ew J ersey , S omerset October 27–29 “ Sugarloaf
Crafts Festival” ; at G arden State E xhibit Center, 50
Atrium Dr.
N ew J ersey , U pper M ontclair September 16–17
“ Fine Art and Crafts Show at Anderson Park” ; at Anderson Park, N. Mountain and Bellevue aves.
N ew M exico, T aos September 16–17 “ Art Along
E l Camino Real Norte Historical G allery and Studio
Tour.” www.taosartretreat.com.
N ew Y ork, B rookly n October 14–15 and 21–22
“ 1st Annual Craft as Art Festival” ; at the Brooklyn
Museum, 200 E astern Pkwy.
N ew Y ork, C az enovia August 19–20 “ 26th Annual Pottery Fair” ; in Stone Q uarry Hill Art Park, Stone
Q uarry Hill Rd.
N ew Y ork, N ew Y ork September 2–4 and 9–10
“ Washington Square Outdoor Art E xhibition” ; on
University Pl. from 12th St. to 3rd St., and Washington
Pl. from Washington Sq. E to Mercer St.
September 9–10, 16–17 “ 21st Annual Autumn
Crafts Festival” ; at Lincoln Center, 140 W. 56th St.
October 6–11 “ The International Art + Design Fair,
1900–2006” ; at the Seventh Regiment Armory, Park
Ave. at 67th St.
N ew Y ork, R osly n H arbor September 29–October
1 “ 10th Annual Craft as Art Festival” ; at Nassau County
Museum of Art, 1 Museum Dr.
N ew Y ork, W ater M ill October 7–8 “ Potter’s
Market” ; at Celadon G allery, 41 Old Mill Rd.
N ew Y ork, W hite P lains October 20–22 “ Thirteenth Annual Westchester Craft Show” ; at the
Westchester County Center, 198 Central Ave.
N orth C arolina, C harlotte September 9 “ 2nd Annual Potters Market Invitational” ; at the Mint Museum
of Art, 2730 Randolph Rd.
N orth C arolina, P enland August 11–12 “ Penland
School of Crafts Annual Benefit Auction.” For reservations, www.penland.org; tel (828) 765-2359, x45.
N orth C arolina, W ake F orest October 7–8
“ 2006 Wake Forest Area Artists’ Studio Tour.”
www.artistsstudiotour.com
O hio, C ambridge August 11–13 “ 38th Annual
Salt Fork Arts and Crafts Festival” ; at Cambridge City
Park, E ighth St.
P ennsy lvania, L ancaster September 1–4
“ Long’s Park Art & Craft Festival” ; in Long’s Park,
Harrisburg Pike.
P ennsy lvania, P hiladelphia October 15 “ Mastery in Clay 2006 Auction” ; at Clay Studio, 139 N.
Second St.
T exas, N ew B raunfels October 28–29 “ 14th
Annual Texas Clay Festival” ; at Buck Pottery, 1296
G ruene Rd.
V irginia, M anassas September 8–10 “ Sugarloaf
Crafts Festival” ; at Prince William Co. Fairgrounds,
10624 Dumfries Rd.
W ashington, A nacortes August 4–6 “ Anacortes
Arts Festival” ; downtown.
W est V irginia, J acksonville September 1–4
“ Stonewall Jackson Heritage Arts and Crafts Jubilee” ;
at Jackson’s Mill, Jackson’s Mill Rd.
W isconsin, R iver F alls October 14–15 “ 2006
Western Wisconsin Pottery Tour.” www.mrpots.net.
Workshops
C alifornia, L ancaster August 5–9 Architectural
ceramics workshop with Mary Harper. Fee: $575.
Contact Mary Harper, Serene Fascinations, 1414
K errick St., Lancaster 93534; tel (661) 547-4319 or
(661) 951-1445.
C alifornia, P alo A lto September 4–8 Clay printing
with Mitch Lyons. Contact Pacific Arts League, 68 Ramona St., Palo Alto 94301; www.pacificartleague.org.
C alifornia, S anta C lara November 3–5 “ Portrait
Class” with Philippe Faraut. Contact Matt Hoogland,
Clay Planet, 1775 Russell Ave., Santa Clara 95054;
C alifornia, S olana B each October 7–8 “ Architectural Decorative Pillars in Clay” with Irene De Watteville.
Fee: $195. Contact Sheila Menzies, Tile Heritage
Foundation, PO Box 1850, Healdsburg, CA 95448;
www.tileheritage.org; tel (707) 431-8453.
C alifornia, S unny vale September 16–17 “ Mastering G lazes” with Ron Roy. Fee: $90; OV CAG , ACG A
and ME CAC members, $70. September 23 “ Beachball
Babylon” with Phyllis Lee. Fee: $65; OV CAG , ACG A
and ME CAC members, $60. Contact Mother E arth
Clay Center, 790 Lucerne Dr., Sunnyvale 94085;
www.mamasclay.org; tel (408) 245-6262.
C olorado, A rvada August 26–27 “ Potter’s E rgonomics” with Joyce Michaud. Fee: $150. Contact
Arvada Ceramic Arts G uild, 5870 Olde Wadsworth
Blvd., Arvada 80003; www.arvadaceramicarts.org;
tel (303) 423-0448.
C olorado, B oulder August 26–31 “ Anagama
Wood-Firing Workshop.” Fee: $312; residents, $250.
September 2–3 Weekend workshop. Fee: $156; residents, $125. Instructors/session: Sam Hoffman and Hiroshi Ogawa. Tel Nancy Utterback (303) 441-3446.
September 15–17 Workshop with Sam Chung. Fee:
$75; after August 25, $85. Contact Todd Redmond,
Boulder Potters’ G uild, PO Box 19676, Boulder 80308;
tel (303) 427-6068.
C olorado, L oveland August 15–17 “ Portrait Class”
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calendar
workshops
with Philippe Faraut. Contact K aren Dreith, Sculpture
Depot, 418 E ighth St., SE Unit B, Loveland 80537;
C olorado, S now mass V illage September 9–22
“ Developing Your Pottery V oice” with Doug Casebeer,
Alleghany Meadows, Aysha Peltz and David Pinto. Fee:
$1100, includes studio fee. Contact Anderson Ranch
Arts Center, PO Box 5598, Snowmass V illage 81615;
www.andersonranch.org.
C olorado, V allecito L ake August 7–11 “ Holding
your Sake, Sushi and More” with June Szaj ko G etford.
Fee: $340, includes materials. All skill levels. Contact
Blue Spruce Recreational Park, 1875 County Rd. 500,
V allecito Lake 81122; www.bluesprucervpark.com;
tel (888) 884-2641.
C onnecticut, B rookfield September 8–10 “ Colored Clay” with Naomi Lindenfeld. September 22–24
“ West African Handbuilding” with Barbara Allen.
September 29–October 1 “ Textures for PMC” with
Linda K aye-Moses. October 6–9 “ Plaster and Latex
Molds” with Barbara Allen; or “ Cone 6 G laze and
Clay with Jeff Z amek; or “ Wood Firing” with Roger
Bauman; or “ PMC Lockets” with CeCe Wire. October
27–29 “ E astern Coil” with Joyce Michaud. Contact
Brookfield Center, PO Box 122, Brookfield 06804;
www.brookfieldcraftcenter.org; tel (203) 775-4526.
C onnecticut, G uilford August 12–13 “ Lidded
V essels” with David MacDonald. Intermediate through
professional. Contact Lisa Wolkow, G uilford Art Center,
411 Church St., G uilford 06437; tel (203) 453-5947;
www.guilfordartcenter.org.
D elaw are, W ilmington October 7 Clay printing
with Mitch Lyons. Contact Delaware Center for the
Contemporary Arts, 200 S. Madison St., Wilmington
19801; www.thedcca.org; tel (302) 656-6466.
F lorida, S t. P etersburg September 23 “ Sounding Sculptures” with Brian Ransom at E ckerd College
Ceramics Dept. Fee: $45; members, students, $35.
October 2–7 and/or 9–14 “ The International Architectural Ceramics Symposium,” building and installing
workshop with Peter K ing and X inia Marin, plus Rudy
Autio, Stan Bitters, G wen Heeny, John Mason, John
Donovan and Ben G illiam. Fee: 2 weeks, $1500; students, $1400; 1-week, $795; students, $745. November 11–17 “ Atmospheric Firing Methods” with Chuck
Solberg. Fee: $350; students, $300. February 24–25,
2007 Workshop with Tom and E laine Coleman. Fee:
$225; students, $195; bring ware to carve. Contact
Jennifer Lachtara, St. Petersburg Clay Company, 420
22nd St. S, St. Petersburg 33712; www.stpeteclay.com;
tel (727) 896-2529.
F lorida, W inter P ark October 14–15 Workshop
with Ron Meyers. Contact the Crealdé School of
Art, 600 St. Andrews Blvd., Winter Park 32792;
www.crealde.org; tel (407) 671-1886.
G eorgia, A tlanta September 23–24 “ Line G esture
with Functional Pottery” with Matt Long. Fee: $110.
Contact G lenn Dair, Callanwolde Fine Arts Center, 980
Briarcliff Rd., Atlanta 30306; [email protected];
tel (404) 874-9351.
G eorgia, D ecatur September 16–17 “ Thrown
and Altered Maj olica” with Posey Bacopoulos. Fee:
$125. October 7–9 “ Dreaming in Clay with Metal” with
Lisa Clague. Fee: $275. November 3–5 “ Ornament and
Abstraction” with Liz Q uackenbush. Fee: $275. Contact MudFire Clayworks, 175 Laredo Dr., Decatur 30030;
www.mudfire.com; tel (404) 377-8033.
G eorgia, R abun G ap September 18–22 “ K ohiki,
K aki and Shino Workshop” with Akira Satake. Fee:
$325, includes registration and materials. Limit of 14.
Contact Hambidge Center for Creative Arts and Sciences, Box 339, Rabun G ap 30568; www.hambidge.org;
tel (706) 746-5718.
G eorgia, W atkinsville August 26–27 Workshop
with Sam Chung. Fee: $125, includes lunch. Contact
OCAF Art Center, 34 School St., Watkinsville 30677;
C ontinued
www.ocaf.com; tel (706) 769-4565.
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[ FOB Ontario, CA ]
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calendar
workshops
I llinois, C ry stal L ake October 6–7 Demo with
Lana Wilson. Contact Molly Walsh, McHenry
County College, 8900 Rte. 14, Crystal Lake 60012;
www.clayworkersguild.com; tel (815) 455-8697.
M aine, D eer I sle September 3–9 “ Collaborations:
E xploring Form” with K aren K arnes and Mark Shapiro.
Fee: $365. Contact Haystack Mountain School of Crafts,
PO Box 518, Deer Isle 04627; www.haystack-mtn.org;
tel (207) 348-2306.
M ary land, B altimore September 16–17 “ Parts
and Pieces: Throwing and Assembling Sculptural
Forms on the Wheel” with V irginia Scotchie. October
6–10 “ Wood-Fire Workshop” with Janet Mansfield.
Fee: $300; members, $280, includes firing; bring
bisqueware. October 28–29 Workshop with Lydia
Thompson. Fee (unless noted above): $180; members,
$160. Contact Baltimore Clayworks, 5707 Smith Ave.,
Baltimore 21209; www.baltimoreclayworks.org; tel
(410) 578-1919 x18.
M ary land, F rederick September 9–10 “ G laze
Application” with Joyce Michaud. Fee: $170. September 16 “ Understanding Pottery G lazes” with Phil
Berneburg. Fee: $85. September 23–24 “ Decorative
Techniques with Porcelain” with X iaosheng Bi. Fee:
$170. October 7–8 “ Photographing Ceramics” with
Joyce Michaud. Fee: $185. October 13–16 “ Wood
Firing“ with K evin Crowe. Fee: $250. October 14–15
“ Properties of Clay” with Phil Berneburg. Fee: $170.
October 20–22 “ Firing Theory” with Peter Pinnell. Fee:
$250. November 3–5 “ Composite Throwing” with
Tony Clennell. Fee: $185. November 9–12 “ Properties
of G laze” with Phil Berneburg. Fee: $250. Contact
Hood College, Ceramics Program, 401 Rosemont
Ave., Frederick 21701; www.hood.edu/academic/art;
tel (301) 696-3456.
M assachusetts, B everly August 19 and 26 “ Teapot
Workshop.” Contact Redbrick, 95 Rantoul St., Beverly
01915; www.redbrickarts.com.
M assachusetts, M onson August 5 “ Annual
Raku Workshop” with Rick E pstein. Fee: $85. Contact Juliet Rose G allery and Studio, 191 Reimers Rd.,
Monson 01057; www.j ulietrosegallery.net; tel (413)
596-9741.
M assachusetts, T ruro September 4–8 “ Raku,
Smoke & Pit” with Ron Dean. September 11–15 “ The
Marriage of Form and Surface” with Mary Barringer.
Fee/session: $450. Contact Truro Center for the Arts
Castle Hill, 10 Meetinghouse Rd., Box 756, Truro 02666;
www.castlehill.org; tel (508) 349-7511.
M assachusetts, S tockbridge September 30–October 28, Sat. “ Introduction to Working on the Wheel”
with Alex Watson. Fee: $140, includes materials. Beginner. Contact IS183 Art School of the Berkshires, 13
Willard Hill Rd., Stockbridge 01262; www.is183.org;
tel (413) 298-5252 x100.
M assachusetts, W illiamsburg August 10–13
“ Wheel Throwing and Ancient Firing Techniques” with
Bob G reen. Fee: $385. August 13–19 “ Sculpting the
Human Figure” with Harriet Diamond. August 20–26
and/or October 22–28 “ Multifaceted World of Clay”
with Bob G reen. September 2–4 “ Make It/Mold It:
Ceramic Mold Making” with Ruth O’Mara. Fee: $295.
September 17–23 “ Working with Porcelain: Design
and Decoration” with Phoebe Sheldon. September
24–30 “ Ceramic Tile Making: From Trivets to Floors”
with Sharon Pollock. October 9–15 “ Sculpting the
Human Figure” with Judith Abraham. October 22–28
“ The Multifaceted World of Clay” with Bob G reen. Fee
(unless noted above): $360. Contact Snow Farm: the
New E ngland Craft Program, 5 Clary Rd., Williamsburg
01096; www.snowfarm.org; tel (413) 268-3101.
M ichigan, A nn A rbor August 5–6 “ Salt K iln Cone
10 Firing” with Laura K orch and I.B. Remson. Fee:
$115; members, $105; includes lab fee. Must bring
bisqueware. Limit of 12. Contact Janet Torno, Ann
Arbor Art Center, 117 W. Liberty, Ann Arbor 48104;
www.annarborartcenter.org; tel (734) 994-8004.
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A
vailable at over
55 pottery-related
businesses in Australia,
Canada, New Zealand,
& the United States.
Visit our web site
for a current list.
Or order directly on our
secure web site at:
www.masteringglazes.com
Or by mail/fax from:
Frog Pond Pottery
PO Box 88
Pocopson, PA 19366
Phone/fax: (610) 388-1254
US $39.95 + $4.50 shipping by
Priority/Air Mail in North America
or $12 international air. See our
web site or call for other shipping
options. PA residents must add
6% sales tax. Checks, money or
postal orders, VISA/MC or school
purchase requisitions accepted.
Here is what others are saying about Mastering
Cone 6 Glazes:
“What a stupendous book! I’ve read it from cover to cover and find it packed with excellent ideas,
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style is . . . easy to understand, even in the most technical chapters . . . It will become a classic.”
Paul Lewing, Seattle, Washington writing in Ceramics TECHNICAL
“I am looking at about 50 tiles, all from your book . . . I tested . . . with my local standard frit instead
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“Best selling book we have ever stocked and we carr y them all!!!!!”
Bob Millavec, Claymaker, San Jose, California
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calendar
workshops
M ichigan, D etroit August 18 or 20 “ Tabletop Tile
Workshop,” Fee: $125; members, $100; table included.
Contact Pewabic Pottery, 10125 E . Jefferson, Detroit
48214; www.pewabic.org; tel (313) 822-0954.
M ississippi, N atchez October 14 “ Basic G laze Mixing Workshop Part 1” with Conner Burns and Lindsay
Rogers. Fee: $75. Contact Burns Pottery, 209 Franklin
St., Natchez 39120; tel (601) 446-6334.
M issouri, K ansas C ity November 4–5 Workshop
with Sam Chung. Fee: $125. February 3–4, 2007 Workshop with Ron Meyers. November 3–4, 2007 Workshop
with Linda Christianson. Contact Red Star Studios
Ceramic Center, 821 W. 17th St., K ansas City 64108;
www.redstarstudios.org; tel (816) 474-7316.
M ontana, H elena September 29–October 1 “ New
Directions and E ndless Manipulations” with Doug
Casebeer and E ddie Dominguez. Fee: $350, includes
materials and firing. Limit of 15. Contact the Archie
Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts, 2915 County
Club Ave., Helena 59602; www.archiebray.org; tel
(406) 443-3502.
N ew H ampshire, M anchester August 14–18
“ Sculptural Ceramics” with Mary Ann Fleming. Fee:
$175. Contact Currier Museum of Art, 180 Pearl
St., Manchester 03104; www.currier.org; tel (603)
669-6144.
N ew J ersey , D emarest October 21 “ In Pursuit of
a Sculptural Dynamic” with Mikhail Z akin. Fee: $115.
Contact Lorraine Z aloom, the Art School at Old Church,
561 Piermont Rd., Demarest 07627; www.tasoc.org;
tel (201) 767-7160.
N ew J ersey , L ay ton September 2–4 “ Alternative Mold Processes” with Lynn Munns. Fee: $340;
includes materials and firing. September 8–10 “ Innovative Handbuilding Techniques” with Lana Wilson.
Fee: $320, includes materials and firing. Beginning
through advanced. Contact Jennifer Brooks, Peters
V alley Craft Center, 19 K uhn Rd., Layton 07851;
www.petersvalley.org; tel (973) 948-5200.
N ew J ersey , S urf C ity August 12 “ The Decorated
Form” with Liz Q uackenbush. September 9 “ WheelCentered Altering: Focus on Function & Movement”
with Tina G ebhart. Contact the m.t. burton gallery &
19th Street Ceramic Studio, 1819 Long Beach Blvd.,
Surf City 08008; www.mtburtongallery.com; tel (609)
494-0006.
N ew M exico, El P rado August 7–11 “ Throwing
Large Raku V essels” with Mark Wong. August 14–18
“ Wood K ilnbuilding” with John Bradford. Contact
Taos Clay Studio & G allery, 1208 Paseo de Pueblo
Norte, E l Prado, NM 87529; www.taosclay.com; tel
(505) 770-6563.
N ew Y ork, K atonah August 13 “ Raku Firing
Workshop. August 20 “ Clay Silver Workshop” with
David Hughes. Fee: $125. Contact Sarah Miller, K atonah
Art Center & G allery, 77 Bedford Rd., K atonah 10536;
www.katonahartcenter.com; tel (914) 232-4843.
N ew Y ork, N ew Y ork September 15 “ A One
Day Taste of PMC” with V era Lightstone. Fee: $305;
members, $265; includes materials. Contact JCC in
Manhattan, 334 Amsterdam Ave., New York 10023;
tel (646) 505-5708.
September 8–10, November 3–5 and/or December
1–3 “ PMC Connection Artisan Certification. Fee:
$550, includes book, tools, firing, silver and PMC
G uild membership. September 9–10, October 1–2,
November 4–5 and/or December 2–3 “ Techniques in
Precious Metal Clay.” Fee: $285, includes materials,
tools and firing. September 22–24 “ Precious Metal
Clay Certification Level Two.” Fee: $565, includes
materials. Instructor/session: V era Lightstone. Contact
V era Lightstone, 347 W. 39th St., New York 10018;
www.silverclay.com; tel (212) 947-6879.
N ew Y ork, O akdale November 3–4 “ Thrown
and Altered Maj olica” with Posey Bacopoulos. March
31–April 1, 2007 “ Altering Forms for Functional Pots”
with Susan Beecher. Fee/session: $185, includes lab
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calendar
workshops
fee. All skill levels. Contact Patricia Hubbard-Ragette,
Dowling Institute/Dowling College, Idlehour Blvd.,
Oakdale 11769; [email protected]; tel (631)
244-3420.
New York, Port Chester August 9–10 “Outdoor
Animals: Sculpture for your Garden” with Susan Halls.
Fee: $175. Contact Clay Art Center, 40 Beech St., Port
Chester 10573; tel (914) 937-2047.
New York, Troy October 20 “Old Pots/New Pots:
American Stoneware from the 19th Century to the
Present,” lecture by Mark Shapiro. October 21–22
“The Past in the Present: History as Influence” with
Mark Shapiro. November 4 “Albany Slip and Cone 6
Glazes” with Jeff Zamek. Contact Kyra TePaske, the Arts
Center of the Capital Region, 265 River St., Troy 12180;
www.artscenteronline.org; tel (518) 273-0552.
New York, Water Mill September 16–17 “Raku”
with Bill Shillalies. Fee: $275, members $200. October
14–15 “Tile Making” with Frank Giorgini. Fee: $325;
members, $250. Workshops at Celadon Gallery. Contact Clay Art Guild of the Hamptons, 51 Round Pond
Ln., Sag Harbor, NY 11963; [email protected];
tel (631) 899-3599.
North Carolina, Asheville September 8–10
“Movin’ On” with Cynthia Bringle. Fee: $200, includes registration. September 22–24 “Everything
in the Glaze Kitchen” with Peter Pinnell. Fee: $200,
includes registration. Contact the Odyssey Center for
the Ceramic Arts, 236 Clingman Ave., Asheville 28801;
www.highwaterclays.com; tel (828) 285-0210.
North Carolina, Bailey November 4–5 “Forming
and Decorating Functional Pots” with Cynthia Bringle
and Bill van Gilder. Fee: $175. Contact Finch Pottery,
5526 Finch Nursery Ln., Bailey 27807; tel (252) 2354664; www.danfinch.com.
North Carolina, Brasstown September 3–9
“Scottish-Inspired Pottery” with Pamela Kohler-Camp.
September 10–17 “World of Japanese Ceramics” with
Rebecca Floyd. Fee: $610. September 24–30 “Handmade Tiles” with Jeanie Daves. October 8–14 “Big
Pots—No Sweat” with Mary Hearne. October 15–21
“Form for Functional Pots” with Caroline Montague.
October 29–November 4 “Wheel, Glazes and Firing”
with Rob Withrow. November 5–11 “Folk Pottery.”
November 12–19 “Setting the Table.” Fee: $375.
November 26–December 2 “The Magic of Mosaics”
with Pam Brewer. December 3–9 “Throw Pots in One
Day” with Mike Lalone. Fee (unless noted above):
$412. Contact John C. Campbell Folk School, One Folk
School Rd., Brasstown 28902; www.folkschool.org;
tel (828) 837-2775.
North Carolina, Creedmoor September 9–10 “An
Investigation of Special Effects Glazes and Their Uses
on Ceramic Surfaces”; with Alan Bennett. Fee: $140,
includes breakfast and lunch. Bring bisqueware. Contact Jennifer Dolan, Cedar Creek Pottery, 1150 Fleming
Rd., Creedmoor 27512; www.cedarcreekgallery.com;
tel (919) 528-1041.
North Carolina, Durham September 23–24
“Handbuilding Images” with Dina Wilde-Ramsing.
Fee: $150, includes lunch. Contact White Oak
Pottery, 3915 Rivermont Rd., Durham 27712;
www.whiteoakartworks.com.
October 13 (slides)–15 “Pots and Possibilities”
with Nick Joerling. Fee: $140; slides only, $6. January
3–6, 2007 “Making and Thinking About Pots” with
Julia Galloway. Fee: $350, due December 12. Limit
of 15. Contact Leonora Coleman, Claymakers, 705
Foster St., Durham 27701; www.claymakers.com; tel
(919) 530-8355.
North Carolina, Oakridge September 16–17
Workshop with Ben Owen” at David Cole’s Studio.
Fee: $75; members, $55. Contact Molly Lithgo,
Carolina Clay Guild, www.carolinaclayguild.com; tel
(336) 275-1202.
North Carolina, Seagrove September 15–16 “Two
Approaches to Function” with Suze Lindsay and Kent
www.japanpotterytools.com
GEIL KILNS
Started the
Downdraft Revolution!
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calendar
workshops
McLaughlin. Contact the North Carolina Pottery Center,
250 East Ave., Seagrove 27341; tel (336) 873-8430;
www.ncpotterycenter.com.
North Carolina, Wentworth September 30–October 1 “Hands-On Handbuilding and Colored
Porcelain Workshop” with Chris Campbell at Rockingham Community College. Fee: $75; members,
$55. Contact Molly Lithgo, Carolina Clay Guild,
www.carolinaclayguild.com; tel (336) 275-1202.
Oklahoma, Oklahoma City October 21–22 Workshop with Steven Hill. Fee: $150. Contact Classen Street
Potters, 809 N. Classen Blvd., Oklahoma City 73106;
www.classenstreetpotters.com; tel (405) 235-3322.
Pennsylvania, Farmington August 7–12 and
14–19 “Wheel-Thrown Pottery” with Valda Cox. August 20–27 “Carbon-Trapping Shino” with Malcolm
Davis. Fee: $750. August 28–September 2 “Surface
Decoration Techniques” with Yoko Sekino-Bove. Fee:
$480. Fee (unless noted above): $495, includes materials and studio fees. Contact Touchstone Center for
Crafts, 1049 Wharton Furnace Rd., Farmington 15437;
www.touchstonecrafts.com; tel (800) 721-0177.
Pennsylvania, Philadelphia August 5 “Porcelain
Techniques & Tricks” with Brad Johnson. August 8
“Sculptural Forms” with Myung Jin Choi. August 9–30,
Wed. “Throw, Alter, Carve” with Kathryn Narrow. Fee:
$115; members, $105. August 15 “Brush Decoration on
Clay” with Janice Merendino. Fee (unless noted above):
$35; members, $30. Skill requirements vary. Contact
the Clay Studio, 139 N. Second St., Philadelphia 19106;
www.theclaystudio.org; tel (215) 925-3453.
Texas, Dallas September 8 (lecture)–10 Hands-on
workshop with Linda Christianson. Contact Craft Guild
of Dallas, 14325 Proton Rd., Dallas 75244; tel (972)
490-0303; www.craftguildofdallas.com.
Texas, Longview October 13–15 “Portrait Class”
with Philippe Faraut. Contact Renee Hawkins, Museum of Fine Art, 215 E. Tyler St., Longview 75601;
Wisconsin, Verona October 26–27 “Bruce Buddies,” demos and slide shows by Don Bendel, Brian
Bolden, David Dahlquist, David Gamble, Karen Koblitz,
Karen Massaro, Don Reitz, Bob Shay. Contact Randy
Becker, Verona Area High School, 300 Richard St.,
Verona 53593; www.brucebuddies.org; tel (608)
845-4455.
Virginia, Arlington September 15–17 “Overview of Cone 10 Glazes” with John Britt. September
30–October 1 “Creative Critters” with Patricia Uchill
Simons. October 21–22 “Exploring the Organic Object” with Leigh Taylor Mickelson. Contact Darlene
Tsukamoto, Lee Arts Center, 5722 Lee Hwy., Arlington
22207; www.arlingtonarts.org/leearts.htm; tel (703)
228-0558.
International Events
UD I O
T
S
OC K
R
T
LIES
FLA SUPP2oo2
South School
72701
CLAYFayetteville, ARkansas
www.flatrockclay.com
479-521-3181
Clay, Glazes
Tools, Books
Equipment
Raw Materials
Workshops
Mon-Fri 9-6
Sat 9-1
GEIL KILNS
Real Professionals
Do Know the Difference!
Australia, Sydney through August 24 Jennifer Lee;
at Liverpool Street Gallery, 243A Liverpool St.
Belgium, Brasschaat October 14–15 “Silk-Screen
Printing on Ceramics” with Ivo Nijs. Fee: C125
(US$150). November 18–19 “Slip Casting with Bone
China” with Sasha Wardell. Fee: C125 (US$150);
or “Painting with Smoke” with David Roberts. Fee:
C135 (US$160). Each includes materials and meals.
Intermediate through professional. Contact Patty Wouters, Atelier Cirkel, Miksebaan 272, 2930 Brasschaat;
www.ateliercirkel.be; tel (32) 36 33 05 89.
Canada, British Columbia, Vancouver August
3–September 4 Gordon Hutchens. September 7–October 2 Clive Tucker, “A Sting in the Tail.” October
5–30 “Ceramic Musical Instruments,” Keith Lehman,
Ron Robb, Jinny Whitehead; at Gallery of BC Ceramics,
1359 Cartwright St., Granville Island.
Canada, Ontario, Aurora September 16–17
“Ornately Functional: Form & Surface” with Kristen
Kieffer. Fee: CAN$107 (US$94); members, CAN$85.60
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calendar
international events
(US$75). Contact Fusion: Ontario Clay & Glass Association, Cedar Ridge Creative Centre, 225 Confederation
Dr., Toronto, Ontario M1G 1B22; [email protected];
tel (416) 438-8946.
Canada, Ontario, Burlington through September
17 Susan Collett, “Impluvium”; at Burlington Art
Centre, 1333 Lakeshore Rd.
Canada, Ontario, London August 2–30 “Matter
of Clay II—Repeats and Occasional Pots”; at Jonathon
Bancroft-Snell Int., 258 Dundas St.
Canada, Ontario, Toronto through August 12
Peter Powning, “clay : bronze : glass”; at Sandra
Ainsley Gallery, 55 Mill St., #32.
through October 9 “Jean-Pierre Larocque: Clay,
Sculpture and Drawings”; at the Gardiner Museum,
111 Queen’s Park.
September 9–30 Robert Archambeau and Bruce
Cochrane; at Prime Gallery, 52 McCaul St.
October 21, 2006–January 7, 2007 “Italian Arts
& Design: The 20th Century”; at the Royal Ontario
Museum, 100 Queen’s Park.
Canada, Ontario, Waterloo through September
3 “Rankin Inlet Ceramics”; at Canadian Clay & Glass
Gallery, 25 Caroline St. N.
Canada, Québec, Val-David through August 13
“1001 Pots”; at 2435 rue de l’Église.
Denmark, Copenhagen through August 19 “11
Danish Ceramists.” “Home from Damascus,” Christian
Buur Bangsgaard, Anne Fløche and Marianne Nielsen;
at Galleri Nørby, Vestergade 8.
Denmark, Hasle September 8–October 22 “European Ceramic Context 2006—Young Ceramists Under
30”; at Grøbechs Gård, Grøbechs Gård 4.
Denmark, Gudhjem September 8–October 22
“European Ceramic Context 2006—Established
Ceramics Elite”; at the Art Museum of Bornholm,
Helligdommen, Rø.
Denmark, Rønne September 8–October 22 “European Ceramic Context 2006—Industrially Manufactured Ceramic Design”; at Hjorth’s Factory Bornholm,
Museum of Ceramics, Krystalgade 5.
Denmark, Skælskør September 18–22 “Media
Hybrids” with Brian Bolden and Colby Parson-O’Keefe.
Fee: DKr 1900 (US$312); members, DKr 1700 (US$279);
students, DKr 1200 (US$197). October 7 “Creativity
as Play” with Sandy Brown. Fee: DKr 350 (US$58);
members/students, DKr 200 (US$33). October 23–27
“Vitrified Print III” with Paul Scott. Fee: DKr 1900;
members, DKr 1700; students, DKr 1200. Contact
Guldagergård, International Ceramic Research Centre,
Heilmannsvej 31 A, 4230 Skælskør; www.ceramic.dk;
tel (45) 5819 0016.
England, Bovey Tracey, Devon through August
28 “Raku,” Tim Andrews, Rob Sollis, Elizabeth Raeburn. through September 10 “Summer Exhibition.”
September 9–October 11 Malcolm Law. September
23–November 5 “Interface, Concept to Reality”; at
Devon Guild of Craftsmen, Riverside Mill.
England, Leeds August 5–October 28 Slip-cast
raku by Elena Blunsum; at the Craft Centre & Design
Gallery, City Art Gallery, The Headrow.
England, Liverpool through August 26 “Go
Figure,” Judith Davies, Pauline Hughes and Mari Ruth
Oda; Bluecoat Display Centre, College Ln.
England, London through September 3 “The Road
to Byzantium: Luxury Arts of Antiquity”; at Hermitage
Rooms, South Bldg., Somerset House.
through September 10 “From Jean Arp to Louise
Bourgeois: Modern Artists at Sèvres”; at the Wallace
Collection, Hertford House, Manchester Sq.
through October 31 “Poet’s Choice,” Gordon
Baldwin, David Garland, Ewen Henderson, Bryan Illsley,
Gillian Lowndes, Jim Malone, Sara Radstone and Sidney
Tustin; at Anthony Shaw Collection, 11 Billing Pl.
through December 22 “The Ming Vase: Deconstructing an Icon.” through December 24 “Ming
Colors: Polychrome Porcelain from Jingdezhen”; at
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calendar
Soldner Clay Mixers
by Muddy Elbow
Manufacturing
310 W. 4th
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Phone/Fax (316) 281-9132
[email protected]
soldnerequipment.com
Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, School of
Oriental and African Studies, 53 Gordon Sq.
September 14–October 4 Two-person exhibition
including ceramics by Elspeth Owen; at Hart Gallery,
113 Upper St.
September 17–30 “Pottery and Archaeological
Tour of Southwest England,” museum, gallery and
pottery tours with Alan and Gillian McMillan. Fee:
CAN$5695 (US$5056), includes lodging and most
meals. Limit of 12. Contact Bestway Tours & Safaris,
8678 Greenall Ave., Ste. 206, Burnaby, British
Columbia V5J 3M6 Canada; tel (888) 280-6890;
www.naturalheritagetours.com.
October 8–29 Phil Rogers; at Harlequin Gallery, 68
Greenwich High Rd.
England, Newark October 21–November 5 Jim
Malone; at Thoresby Gallery, Thoresby Park.
France, Cordes sur Ciel September 3–9 “Throwing
and Raku” with Frank Theunissen. Fee: C395 (US$474),
includes materials, firing and meals. Instruction in
Dutch, English, French and German. Beginning through
advanced. Contact Frank Theunissen, LaCéramique, La
Plaine, Cordes sur Ciel 81170; www.laceramique.com;
tel (33) 5 63 53 72 97.
“Retour de Chine” by Christine Fabre; at Galerie
Capazza, Nançay, France.
France, La Borne through August 9 Christian
Destieu; at Centre Créaton Céramique, La Borne.
France, Limoges through October 30 “White
Spirit, Contemporary White Ceramics”; at Fondation,
d’Enterprise Bernardaud, 27 ave. Albert Thomas.
France, Lot et Garrone September 4–9 “Paper
Clay” with Karin Heeman. Fee: C250 (US$299),
includes materials, firing and lodging. Instruction in
Dutch, English, French and German. Contact Centre
de Céramique International, Château de Barry, Auradou, Lot et Garonne 47140; tel (33) 5 53 40 64 88;
www.karinheeman-ceramics.com.
France, Manosque October 2–31 Raku by Georges
Peyrano; at Galerie Voghera, 4 rue du Tribunal.
France, Nançay through September 24 Four-person
exhibition including ceramics by Yoland Cazenove and
Etiyé Dimma Poulsen. October 7–December 10 Threeperson exhibition including ceramics by Christine Fabre;
at Galerie Capazza, Grenier de Villâtre.
France, Quimper through October 20 “Un Oeuvre
de Faïence”; at Musée de la Faïence, 14 rue JeanBaptiste Bousquet.
France, Saint-Quentin-la-Poterie through September 7 Dany Jung, “Voyageurs de l’Espace.” Catherine
Venter, “L’Esprit du Geste.” through January 7, 2007
“Pichets Extraordinaires.” September 10–November
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12 Catherine Chaillou, “Bestiaire du Sud”; at Terra
Viva Galerie, rue de la Fontaine.
France, Uzès August 5–October 5 Violette Adjiman;
at Galerie 21, 21 rue du Dr Blanchard.
France, Vallauris through August 31 “China Feelings I,” Philippe Barde and Jacques Kaufmann. Huang
Yong Ping, “Le Tatou sur la Table de Napoleon III”; at
Musée National Picasso, Place de Liberation.
through August 31 Marie-Laure Gobat-Bouchat.
September 1–November 20 Kristin McCurdy; at Espace
Grandjean, Boulevard des deux vallons.
through November 20 “Contemporary Ceramics
International Biennial”; at Musée Magnelli, Musée de
la Céramique, Place de Liberation.
through November 20 “China Feelings II,” Philippe
Barde and Jacques Kaufmann. “Monographic Exhibition,” Laurent Esquerré; at Chapelle de la Miséricode,
Place J. Lisnard.
through November 20 “Contemporary Ceramics
International Biennial Guest of Honor Country Exhibition—China”; at Salle Eden, Place de Liberation.
through November 20 “Un Possible Dialogue?”; at
Salle Jules Agard, Avenue Gerbino.
through November 20 “40 Years of the Ceramics Biennial, Overview of a Collection”; at Salle de
l’AVEC, Rue Sicard.
Germany, Berlin-Charlottenburg through August 7
“New Acquisitions.” “Ceramics from Buergel” through
October 2 “Teabowls and Ceramic Tea Equipment”; at
Keramik-Museum Berlin (KMB), Schustehrusstr. 13.
Germany, Frauenau August 3–19 “Dream Vessels”
with Heidi Kippenberg. Fee: C420–500 (US$504–600).
Contact Reinhard Mader, Bild-Werk Frauenau, Pf. 105,
Frauenau D-94258; www.bild-werk-frauenau.de; tel
(49) 9926 180 895.
Germany, Goettingen October 15–November 12
Australian Glass and Ceramics”; at Galerie Rosenhauer,
K.-Adenauer-Str. 34.
Germany, Hamburg through August 13 “Voices:
Contemporary Ceramics from Sweden. through August
27 “From Art Nouveau to Modern Style—Glass and
Ceramics from a Private Collection in Hamburg”; at
Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Steintorplatz.
Hungary, Kecskemét September 6–28 “Narrative
Sculpture” with James Tisdale. Contact International
Ceramics Studio Kecskemét, Kápolna u. 11, Kecskemét
H-6000; [email protected]; tel (36) 76 486 867.
Italy, Certaldo (Florence) September 4–9 “Soda
Firing” with Terry Davies. Contact La Meridiana, Loc.
Bagnano 135, 50052 Certaldo; www.lameridiana.fi.it;
tel (39) 0571 660084.
Italy, Faenza through November 30 Biancini Angel,
“Sculptures and Ceramics from Year Thirty to the PostWar Period”; at International Museum of Ceramics
Faenza, Via Campadori 2.
Italy, Marsciano August 12–15, September 2–3,
9–10, 16–17, 23–23, 30–October 1, 7–8, 14–15, 21–22
and/or 28–29 “Stages of Raku Ceramics—Arts and
Holidays.” Fee: 4 days, C430 (US$516); 2 days, C200
(US$240); includes materials and firing. Meals: C15/
meal (US$18). Lodging: C35/day (US$42). Instruction
in English and Italian. Beginning through advanced.
Contact Elisabetto Corrao, La Fratta Art-House,
Vocabolo Fratta 157, Marsciano; www.lafratta.it; tel
(39) 075 8785111.
Italy, Pontassieve (Florence) September 9–October 10 Sculptures by Lisa Nocentini; at La Barbagianna,
House of Contemporary Art, via di Grignano 24.
Italy, San Gimignano (Siena) through August 24
Earthenware sculptures by Lisa Nocentini; at Galleria
L’Albero Celeste, Via Marconi 1.
Italy, Savona through September 10 “Third Biennale of Ceramics in Contemporary Art-2006”; at City
Art Gallery, Palazzo Gavotti, P.zza Chabrol.
through September 10 “Third Biennale of Ceramics
in Contemporary Art-2006”; at Parfiri Art Space, Villa
Groppallo, Vado Ligure.
Continued
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calendar
in Contemporary Art-2006”; at Manilo Trucco Ceramic
Museum, c.so Ferrari 191, Albisola Superiore.
in Contemporary Art-2006”; at Villa Jorn, Casa Jorn,
via D’Annunzio 8, Albissola Marina.
Japan, Gifu through October 16 “European Noble
Wares”; at Museum of Modern Ceramic Art, Gifu,
4-2-5 Higashi-machi, Tajimi-shi.
Japan, Shigaraki through September 24 “594
Ceramics Artists Who Came to Shigaraki—The Legacy
of the Artist in Residence”; at the Museum of Contemporary Ceramic Art, 2188-7 Shigarakicho-Chokushi.
Mexico, Valle de Guadalupe November 11–13
“South of the Border Talavera Tile Painting Retreat”
with Ivette Vaillard. Fee: $350. Limit of 10. Contact
Sheila Menzies, Tile Heritage Foundation, PO Box
1850, Healdsburg, CA 95448; www.tileheritage.org;
tel (707) 431-8453.
Netherlands, Amsterdam through October 22
“Wonders of Imperial Japan: Meiji Art from the Khalili Collection”; at Van Gogh Museum, Paulus Potterstraat 7.
September 10–October 1 Anita Manshanden; at
Galerie Carla Koch, Prisengracht 510 sous.
Netherlands, Den Haag through November 5 “A
Decorative Delight: Dutch Ceramics 1880–1940”; at
Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, Stadhouderslaan 41.
Netherlands, Deventer through August 12 “Three
British Potters,” Tony Laverick, Mary Vigor, Sasha
Wardell; at Loes & Reinier, Korte Assenstraat 15.
Netherlands, Leeuwarden through August 27
Sonja Landweer, “A Life’s Work.” Mariëtte van der
Ven, “No ID.” through September 17 “Mysterious
Celadon.” September 10, 2006–February 12, 2007
Marja Hooft”; at Princessehof Leeuwarden, Grote
Kerkstraat 11.
Netherlands, ‘s-Hertogenbosch through September 10 “Free Spirit, Contemporary Ceramics of Native
America.” October 8, 2006–January 7, 2007 “Avec
Plaisir: Ceramics by Pablo Picasso”; at Sm’s - Stedelijk
‘s-Hertogenbosch, Magistratenlaan 100.
Netherlands, Tegelen through September 30 “Naked Clay, The Beauty of Clay Without Glaze”; at Keramiekcentrum Tiendschuur Tegelen, Kasteellaan 8.
South Korea, Gyeongsangnam-do through
October 1 “International Architectural Ceramic Exhibition”; at Clayarch Gimhae Museum, 358, Songjeong-ri
Jillye-myeon, Gimhae-si.
Spain, Argentona (Barcelona) August 4–6 “International Ceramics and Pottery Fair”; at Museu de
Cántir D’Argentona, Plaça de l’Església 9.
Switzerland, Geneva through August 20 “The
Fascination of Ceramics—Contemporary Japanese
Ceramic Masterpieces of the Gisela Freudenberg Collection”; at Collections Baur, Art Museum of the Far
East, 8 rue Muier-Romilly.
through October 1 Betty Woodman, “Théâtres”;
at Musée Ariana, 10 ave. de la Paix.
Turkey, Istanbul, Cappadocia, Ankara September
14–October 5 “Turkey 2006 Excursion,” hands-on
workshop including handbuilding, colored porcelain
and decals with Mehmet Kutlu, then hands-on workshop with Erdogan Gulec, tours, and studio visits. Fee:
CAN$4685 (US$3975), includes airfare, lodging, breakfast; without airfare, CAN$2935 (US$2500). Contact
Denys James, Discovery Art Travel, 182 Welbury Dr.,
Salt Spring Island, British Columbia V8K 2L8 Canada;
www.denysjames.com; tel (250) 537-4906.
U.S. Virgin Islands, St. Thomas October 20–November 9 “Fireworks”; at Mango Tango Gallery, 6501
Red Hook Plaze, Ste. 201.
For a free listing, submit announcements at least two months
before the month of opening. Add one month for listings in July
and one month for listings in September. Submit listings online
at www.ceramicsmonthly.org; mail to Calendar, Ceramics
Monthly, 735 Ceramic Pl., Suite 100, Westerville, OH 43081; e-mail
[email protected]; or fax (614) 891-8960.
GEIL KILNS
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Ceramics Monthly welcomes classifieds in the following categories: Buy/Sell, Employment, Events, Opportunities, Personals, Publications/Videos, Real Estate, Rentals, Services, Travel. Accepted advertisements will be inserted into the
first available print issue, and posted on our website (www.ceramicsmonthly.org) for 30 days at no additional charge!
See www.ceramicsmonthly.org/classifieds.asp for details.
buy/sell
Clay and casting shops—pugmills, mullers,
ribbon blenders, constant feeder, dust collector,
pneumatic clay cutter, packing table, taping
and stapling machines, automatic carton taping
machine, stainless casting tanks, lightning mixers, production vibrating sieve for slip or glaze,
glaze mixer, small ball mills. Cheap. All or part.
Jack D. Wolfe Co. (718) 495-2065.
Retiring. Ceramic inventory must go. Gerstley
borate in original bags, huge variety of frits. Expensive zircopaxes, cheap! Kiln shelves and posts
galore, tons of ceramic stains, old time porcelain
enamels and findings, sponges—sea wool, cosmetic, mediterranean flatheads, more. Kilns, new
and used. Decorating wheels. Tools. Professional
rolling pins, plaster modeling tools, brick. More.
First come, first served. (718) 495-2065.
For sale: Olympic 7-cubic-foot gas kiln: updraft—
never used—includes shelving and post, $1100.
Axner wheels: 2 available, great wheels—used
only a handful of times—with splash pan, $475
each. Contact Sean at (740) 816-5242. Columbus,
Ohio, area.
Ceramic art tile business for sale. Well-established, 18 years, national distribution. Three
full decorative lines well developed with fields
and decorative tiles. Ceramic relief, glass and
mosaic. Equipment includes 60-ton Ram press,
dies, extruder, 500-gallon slip casters, extensive
glazes and much more. Owner retiring. Call for
details, (773) 368-4978.
Wanted: Laguna Pro V glaze spray booth. Call
(505) 737-9640.
For sale: Bluebird stainless model 24S clay
mixer. Used only one year. An older model but in
excellent shape. $1900. Western Massachusetts.
Contact Patrick, [email protected].
Home and studio for sale. Quitting business.
2000-square-foot home with 1000-square-foot
apartment and 1100-square-foot fully equipped
studio. New carport attached to studio. $330,000 for
all. E-mail [email protected] for photos.
employment
Studio manager/instructor: The Art Association
of Jackson Hole is seeking a creative individual
whose primary responsibilities include managing
all aspects of a busy community ceramics studio,
teaching ceramics classes, managing other art
studios within the facility, assisting with gallery.
College degree minimum, M.F.A. preferred. For
more information, visit www.artassociation.org.
Production potters: full-time, year-round positions
for skilled potters who are serious about throwing salt-glazed production ware. Benefits. Send
résumé to Salmon Falls Stoneware, PO Box 452,
Dover, NH 03821-0452; or [email protected].
We’re located 90 minutes north of Boston.
Excellent opportunity for exploring wood firing
in a natural Ozark forest setting. Studio assistant
desired in exchange for room, board, small stipend, studio space and kiln space—anagama,
noborigama. For details, contact Joe Bruhin
(870) 363-4264.
events
Pottery course Spain: Seth Cardew and Simon
Leach team up to teach from the wheel. Great
Spanish experience! Also at the pottery, a fully
furnished 4-bedroom house is available to rent
by the week. www.cardew-spain.com; or e-mail
[email protected] for details.
Workshop—Jayne Shatz Pottery: “Positive Approaches to Marketing Your Art,” August 12, $100.
[email protected]; www.jayneshatzpottery.com
“First Annual Illinois Regional Potters Exhibition, Part 1—Northwest.” Featuring functional
pottery by the “Twenty Dirty Hands Group”: Ken
Bichell, Paul Eshelman, Charles Fach, Bill Farrell,
Delores Fortuna, Ron Hahlen, Kent Henderson,
Doug Reynolds, Adrienne Seagraves and Stephanie O’Shaughnessy. August 28–September 30,
2006. Northern Illinois University Art Museum.
www.vpa.niu.edu/museum; (815) 753-1936.
Kilnbuilding workshop, November 2006, Pottery
West, Las Vegas, Nevada. Tom Coleman and Don
Bendel will build a train wood-fire kiln. Contact
Amy at (702) 987-3023 for complete details.
Pat Horsley workshop, September 23 and 24.
Pottery West, Las Vegas, Nevada. Contact Amy
Kline at (702) 987-3023 for complete details.
Wood-fire workshop—3-chamber Noborigama.
Loading October 13–15. For more information,
www.cubcreek.org; or (434) 248-5074.
Anagama firing with John Rezner and Mark Rigsby
at Rezner Pottery in Fairhope, Alabama. September 1–4. Loading August 30–31. Unload September 11. $150 for 10 cubic feet. (251) 928-6406;
www.groundhogkiln.com; www.facejugs.com.
“Fireworks” group show on St. Thomas in the
U.S. Virgin Islands. October 20–November 9 at
Mango Tango Art Gallery. Potters include Kimberly Young, Lynn Paccassi-Berry and Mandy
Thody among others. www.clayfireworks.com;
or [email protected].
opportunities
Resident position. Available in January,
spring and fall. Large new facilities, wood, salt,
gas and electric kilns. Ongoing application.
www.cubcreek.org; or (434) 248-5074.
BLUEGRASSCLAYNATIONAL (November
4–December 30, 2006). Deadline for entries,
September 1. Juror: John Utgaard. Fee: $25 for
up to 5 slides. $1500 in awards. For prospectus,
send SASE to BLUE CLAY, Yeiser Art Center,
200 Broadway St., Paducah, KY 42001; or visit
www.yeiserartcenter.org.
Call for artists: Valdosta State University Fine
Arts Gallery accepting proposals for 2007–08
season. Deadline September 15, 2006. All media, insurance, no sales commission. Send 20
slides/jpgs, résumé, artist statement, letter, SASE
to VSU Fine Arts Gallery, Department of Art, 1500
N. Patterson St., Valdosta, GA 31698-0105; e-mail
[email protected].
Multiaward-winning Australian manufacturer
of gravity-fed stoneware water purifiers looking
for small number of franchise or license arrangements with overseas potteries. Million dollar
opportunity even for a small operation. Southern
Cross Pottery, 14 Caba Close, Boambee, NSW
2450 Australia; phone/fax +61 (0) 2 6658-1110;
e-mail [email protected]; website
www.southerncrosspottery.com.au.
Production potter—full time, must have skills in
throwing, mold making, glazing and firing. E-mail
résumé to [email protected] or
send résumé to Sheepscot River Pottery, 34 Rt.
1, Edgecomb, ME 04556.
Graduated from college with a clay degree?
What now? Stretch Gallery & Studios is looking
for you. Located in Charlotte, North Carolina, I
am searching for a part-time weekend person
to help with all aspects of ceramics including
teaching, gallery, studio assistant and basically be a studio “rat.” Are you dependable,
flexible, professional and usually sober? Let’s
talk, [email protected].
Potter’s retreat.Tucson, Arizona. Furnished cottages for rent on a private estate. Share a large
ceramics studio, kilns, pool and spa. The Hummingbird House. Call (520) 742-3969; or toll free (877)
HUMMING; www.hummingbirdhouse.com.
Study with master potter Tom Turner in a oneto-one teaching and learning experience. Information is available at www.tomturnerporcelain.
com; e-mail [email protected]; phone
(828) 689-9430.
products
Ceramics/bisque, going out of business sale.
Everything must go, building sold! Approximately
$60,000 in inventory—pennies on the $. Approximately 8000 molds—$1 each. Auburndale,
Florida. Phone (863) 207-2509.
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NEW RELEASE
This book is about a truly remarkable transformation: how the simplest of materials—clay or mud—
can be used to make tools for producing one of the
most complex human expressions—music. With a
history reaching back to ancient times, creating
ceramic musical instruments is a vibrant pursuit for
many innovative artists today. This book explores
the vast array of ceramic musical instruments, from
their historical traditions in world cultures to their
modern variations and innovations. Hundreds of
color photos present the work of artists from
around the world spanning the last three millennia,
from ancient Peruvian water whistles and
Mesopotamian rattles to contemporary seven-
chambered ocarinas and ceramic bagpipes. Indepth profiles explore a number of today’s artists,
their work, and their inspirations.
All instrument families are represented: percussion, winds, strings, and even unique hybrids. For
each type of instrument, special construction techniques specific to clay are explained. In addition,
there’s a chapter providing detailed, step-by-step
instructions showing how to build several ceramic
instruments. A companion audio CD contains 43
diverse tracks of ceramic instrumental music ranging from the refined melodic strains of Vivaldi and List Price: . . . . . . . . . . . . . $59.95
Tchaikovsky to the earthy, primal wailings of bizarre INTRODUCTORY PRICE: $48.00
pre-Columbian wind instruments.
Order Code: . . . . . . . . . . . . CA30
Whether you are a musician, ceramist, or just a fan of art and music, you’re
invited to embark on an incredible journey . . . from mud to music!
93
To Order, go to www.ceramics.org/music
Albany slip. It’s the real thing! The last load
from the original mine. Make those great Albany
slip glazes again, from Cone 6 to 11. At Cone
10–11, it fires a deep glossy brown. For further
information, contact the Great American Wheel
Works, in New York, at (518) 756-2368; e-mail
[email protected].
pubs/videos
Taking the Macho Out of Bigware. New video by
Tony Clennell. Bigger Pots Made Easy! See review
in June CM 2005! Cost is $39.95 plus $5.00 S/H. To
order, phone (905) 563-9382; fax (905) 563-9383;
e-mail [email protected].
Clay Whistles . . . the voice of clay
56 pages of clear instructions + illustrations
on making clay whistles, ocarinas, whistle
tools, plus tuning, PROBLEM SOLVING.
30-min. VHS video available.
Book now available in Spanish—72 pages
Silbatos de Arcilla . . . la voz del barro
Clay Whistles book (in English/Spanish) $11.95 +
$3.50 S&H (US Funds) Book + Video $34.95 + $3.50
S&H (US Funds) Canadian orders add $.75
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Dept. CM
www.whistlepress.com
E-mail: [email protected]
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Telephone/Fax:
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EXTRUDE IT! Getting the Most From Your Clay
Extruder, new instructional videos by David
Hendley. Volume I—extrusions as handles, feet
and additions; Volume II—two-part dies for hollow
extrusions; Volume III—the expansion box and
extrusions as building components. $40 each or
$100 for the set (more than four hours of video).
(903) 795-3779; www.farmpots.com.
real estate
Smoky Mountain dream! North Carolina home on
approximately 5 acres. Awesome mountain view
and creek running through property. 3 bedroom/3
bath, large basement with workshop. Great home
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has two lakes, trout streams and hiking galore.
www.southlandrealtync.com. Call Johnna Stewart
(800) 249-2207; or cell (828) 735-2248.
Mountain view home with timber frame studio/gallery: northeast Washington state, 10 acres, 2100
square feet. Panoramic views of mountains. Studio:
832 square feet, fully insulated with exposed
Hammerbeam rafters, tongue and groove ceiling,
arched windows. $299,000. For house website
address with more information and many photos,
e-mail [email protected].
rentals
Brooklyn shared ceramics studio—$395 per
month. Space and equipment ideal for slip
casting, working on the wheel and handbuilding.
Contact [email protected].
NYC studio space available. Well-established
communal ceramic studio in Manhattan offering
a professional and supportive environment. Fully
equipped. Rent $455/month. Call (212) 242-3583;
[email protected].
services
Custom kilnbuilding and repair of electric,
gas, wood and salt kilns. Repairs on all makes
of ceramics and refractory equipment. Welding.
Mold making. Consulting for all ceramics needs.
Serving the Hudson Valley, New Jersey, New
England and beyond. Contact David Alban at
[email protected]; (845) 783-4123.
Ceramics Consulting Services offers technical
information and practical advice on clay/glaze/kiln
faults and corrections, slip casting, clay body/
glaze formulas, salt glazing, product design. Call
or write for details. Jeff Zamek, 6 Glendale Woods
Dr., Southampton, MA 01073; (413) 527-7337;
e-mail [email protected]; or www.fixpots.com.
Accept credit cards in your ceramics retail/
wholesale/home-based/Internet and craftshow business. No application fee. No monthly
minimum. No lease requirement. Retriever/First
of Omaha Merchant Processing. Please call
(888) 549-6424.
Master Kiln Builders. Twenty-one years experience designing and building beautiful, safe, custom kilns for universities, colleges, high schools,
art centers and private clients. Soda/salt kilns,
wood kilns, raku kilns, stoneware kilns, sculpture
burnout kilns, car kilns and specialty electric
kilns. Competitive prices. Donovan. Phone/fax
(612) 250-6208.
travel
Fall 2006 Japan Tour. Travel with Japanese pottery expert and longtime Japan resident/potter to
Kyoto, Bizen, Hagi and Karatsu. Further information at www.robertfornellceramicarts.com.
China ceramics tour, October 11–30, 2006.
Beijing, Xi’an, Jingdezhen, Yellow Mountain,
Yixing and Shanghai. $3200; $2950 if signed up
by August 11, 2006. www.ChineseClayArt.com;
[email protected]; telephone (800)
689-CLAY (2529). PO Box 1733, Cupertino,
CA 95015.
Ceramics residency in Ghana. Learn indigenous techniques. Fee of $2350 includes
equipped studio, materials, tours, lodging
and meals for 3 weeks (airfare additional).
www.studiomateceramics.com.
Evanston, Illinois. Work with a small group of
artists in a recently renovated, fully equipped
private studio space. 24/7 access. Darrow Street
Studios (847) 332-1730; [email protected].
Overseas ceramics workshops and tours—Turkey, Istanbul and Cappadocia: 9/14–10/4/06, workshops with Mehmet Kutlu and Erdogan Gulec. Small,
culturally sensitive groups using local translators
and experts. Discovery Art Travel, Denys James,
Canada; (250) 537-4906; www.denysjames.com;
[email protected].
Professional ceramics studio for rent in
beautiful San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
Includes quaint lodging, private bath. Lovely
setting. Walk to Zocolo. Weekly/monthly. E-mail
[email protected].
Craft and folk art tours. Burma, India, Central
Asia, Morocco, Bulgaria, Romania, Maramures
Winter Festival, Mexico. Small, personalized
groups. Craft World Tours, 6776CM Warboys,
Byron, NY 14422; (585) 548-2667.
94
AS 06 062_096.indd 94
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index to advertisers
4th CEBIKO ............................... Cover 2
A.R.T. Studio ..................................... 71
Aardvark Clay & Supplies ................ 91
ACerS Books ........................ 59, 73, 93
Aftosa ................................................ 2
Amaco and Brent .............. 23, Cover 3
Amer. Museum of Ceramic Arts ....... 21
Anderson Ranch............................... 77
Annie’s Mud Pie Shop ...................... 88
Axner Pottery .................................... 17
Bailey Pottery....................... 1, 8, 9, 57
Bamboo Tools ................................... 90
Bennett’s Pottery................................ 7
BigCeramicStore.com ...................... 82
Bluebird Mfg. .................................... 87
Bracker’s Good Earth Clays ............. 80
Brickyard Ceramics & Crafts ............ 76
Carolina Clay Connection................. 84
Ceramic Services ............................. 75
Ceramic Shop, The........................... 94
Ceramic Supply Chicago ................. 80
Ceramic Supply Company ......... 73, 84
Chinese Clay Art............................... 77
Classifieds ........................................ 92
Clay Art Center (NY) ...........................74
Clay Art Center (WA) ........................ 81
Clayworks Supplies .......................... 88
Continental Clay ............................... 12
Cornell Studio Supply ....................... 88
Coyote Clay & Color ......................... 16
Cress Mfg. ........................................ 10
Laguna Clay ................... 15, 60, 83, 89
Larkin Refractory Solutions............... 83
Rascal Ware (Don Pilcher) ............... 29
Runyan Pottery Supply ..................... 86
Davens Ceramic Center ...................
Del Val Potters Supply ......................
Discovery Art Travel .........................
Display Your Art by Glassica ............
Dolan Tools .......................................
Master Kiln Builders ......................... 86
Mastering Cone 6 Glazes ...................77
Mid-South Ceramic Supply .............. 64
Mile Hi Ceramics .............................. 74
Minnesota Clay ................................. 87
MKM Pottery Tools ............................ 70
Mudshark.......................................... 88
Mudtools ........................................... 87
Sapir Studio ...................................... 75
Seattle Pottery Supply ...................... 85
Sheffield Pottery ............................... 83
Shimpo ............................................. 27
Skutt Ceramic Products............. Cover 4
Smith-Sharpe Fire Brick Supply ....... 14
Soldner Clay Mixers ......................... 86
Spectrum Glazes .............................. 58
Speedball Art Products ......................63
Standard Ceramic Supply ................ 68
78
86
84
74
78
Echo Ceramics ................................. 90
Euclid’s ............................................. 66
Falcon Company .............................. 84
Flat Rock Studio Clay Supplies ........ 82
Nabertherm ...................................... 79
Nevada Dan’s Pottery Equipment .... 94
New Mexico Clay.............................. 90
92nd St. Y ......................................... 79
North Star Equipment ................. 65, 87
Geil Kilns .......................................... 80
Georgies Ceramic & Clay................. 89
Giffin Tec........................................... 69
GlazeMaster .......................................90
Great Lakes Clay .............................. 72
Olsen Kilns ....................................... 88
Olympic Kilns ................................... 67
Handmade Lampshades.................. 88
Herring Designs/SlabMat ................. 86
Highwater Clays ............................... 25
Paragon Industries ........................... 61
Penland School of Crafts .................. 85
Peter Pugger Mfg. ............................. 3
Piedmont Technical College ............. 66
Potters Council ................................. 95
Potters Shop ..................................... 76
Pottery Making Illustrated ...................91
Pottery Mills ...................................... 78
Pottery Northwest ............................. 75
Pottery West ..................................... 70
PotteryVideos.com ........................... 56
Japan Pottery Tools .......................... 80
Kentucky Mudworks ......................... 89
Kiln Doctor ........................................ 84
L&L Kiln Mfg. ............................... 4, 13
L&R Specialties ................................ 82
Terra Incognito Studios & Gallery .......66
Thomas Stuart Wheels...................... 11
Traditions Mexico................................81
Trinity Ceramic Supply...................... 79
Truro/Castle Hill ................................ 80
Tucker’s Pottery ................................ 89
U.S. Pigment..................................... 81
Univ. of Dallas................................... 94
Univ. of Pennsylvania Press.............. 85
Venco..................................................83
Vent-A-Kiln ..........................................90
Ward Burner Systems .......................
West Coast Kiln ................................
Westerwald Pottery Chemicals.........
Whistle Press ....................................
Wiessman Gallery.............................
Wise Screenprint ..............................
76
90
70
94
91
80
95
AS 06 062_096.indd 95
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Comment
fire the gods
In 1946, I was four years old. My family
lived in southern California where my father was employed by Gladding, McBean,
the maker of the famous line of Franciscan
earthenware patterns known as Desert
Rose and Desert Apple. My father, without
having finished high school, was a glaze
technician at the Los Feliz plant and, in
that capacity, he did a considerable amount
of kiln firing.
Occasionally, a kiln ran late; he would
miss his bus and so my mother and I
would pick him up at work. Holding
her hand, we entered a huge corrugated
metal building that housed a beehive kiln,
nearly as large. The only illumination in
the room came from the many gas burners around the kiln’s perimeter. My father
sat in a corner of the building and we all
waited for the cones to go down.
During those years, with WWII just
over in the Pacific, he would entertain me
with hours of play on the living room carpet.
We enjoyed something like “Victory at Sea,”
with used cone packs serving as destroyers
and battleships. Those with the most cones
down represented the enemy and the others,
with more cones up, the American fleet. It
was not until I took my own children to
watch cones in my own kilns that I connected with the fact that I had become a
potter not entirely by chance.
It’s just a little shocking to realize that I
fired my first kiln 48 years ago. It was a Denver Fire Clay updraft muffle kiln of about 8
cubic feet. It had a counterweight lid and it
sat on the north wall of the ceramic room at
Hoover High School. That kiln was vented
only when we opened a window. Most of our
glazes contained white lead carbonate as the
primary flux and I can’t explain why I’m still
here to recall this. Maybe it was the required
kiln gods we fashioned. We thought they
blessed the firing; perhaps they blessed the
fireman. Or maybe I’m just lucky.
In that day, ignition was provided by
a rolled up newspaper. Gas pressure was
measured by a water gauge. Continued ignition and flame safety were monitored by the
sound of the burners or the smell of raw gas.
by Don Pilcher
In all these years, I only had one kiln blow
up upon ignition. Of course, it happened
when I was demonstrating how to light an
Alpine kiln for my sophomore ceramics
students. I don’t recall the exact sequence
but the door blew open and knocked me on
my ass. I got it going on the second attempt.
More luck.
My formal instruction in kiln firing
came from two of the very best; Vivika and
Otto Heino. They left nothing to chance.
Every firing was done by visual observa-
Every once in a
while, we create
something beyond
our understanding.
tion, coordinated with warning cones and a
pyrometer. An hourly log noted damper settings, gas pressure and weather conditions.
Detailed note taking recorded the stacking
and unloading. As a rule, every kiln was
unloaded “on the big table” and all work in
the studio came to a halt while Vivika taught
us how to read the results. Application, pinholing, dunting, crawling: you name it, we
studied it. It was a ceramic autopsy.
Yet even with all that methodology, kiln
gods were required. The significance (or
strangeness) of that duality (something like
a preflight check and a prayer) didn’t occur
to me until years later with the arrival of the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA).
Because of the Constitution and its
provisions for a separation of church and
state, I presumed the Feds were not about
to accept the power of kiln gods to protect
potters at work—this in spite of the fact
that kiln gods were used everywhere, almost
religiously. You could tell a lot about people
by their kiln gods. The marginally faithful or
modestly talented kept them pretty simple
but accumulated carbon deposits on the
gods eventually gave them an exotic patina
of respectability. (Black smoke everywhere
was a common sign of reduction firing, the
only kind you wanted.) Other people, more
involved and artful, would festoon their gods
with spent cones and kiln rubble for greater
expression. Talent was never fully hidden in
these figures and, during my time in school,
Ralph Bacerra always made the best.
Fast forwarding to this decade, past catenary kilns, train kilns, envelope kilns, castable refractories and insulating fiber blanket,
we arrive at a bifurcated period regarding
kilns and firing. The first is the stoneage, labor-intensive and endlessly sexy
anagama. The second is the space-age,
digitally controlled microwave in a stainless steel jacket. It seems that the practice
of kiln gods is limited to the former and
unthinkable with the latter.
This morning I loaded my programmable electric kiln and started it with
my own digit, the first one on my right
hand. Program, segments, ramp, temps,
press, press, press—REDI, press and now
it’s on the way to another perfect firing. As
Otto Heino has often said, “Kiln’s working,
I’m resting.”
I still use a little lead carbonate. I still
vent by opening a door, but there is no
adjacent work space, just the horizon all the
way to Indiana. And I don’t use kiln gods,
but not because I don’t believe. On the contrary. I’ve come to see that our faith in kiln
gods works best when their potent repute is
invested in the work itself. That “potent repute” is the heat, all those liberated calories.
They have an ineffable but transformative
power. When we fire, we assume the role of
God in the universe—all elements melting,
all molecules in motion and all of us caught
up in that Adam/atom thing. Every once
in a while we create something beyond our
understanding. It is better to worship that
experience and intensify our participation
than to make some do-da which is parked
outside the kiln. Idolatry can be a diversion.
In the end, that do-da just collects carbon
and then expires as the last detritus of “the
world’s most fascinating hobby.”
96
AS 06 062_096.indd 96
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“We bought our first Brent® wheel In1972.
It still runs perfectly. Now we have 50!”
Bruce Robbins
Lillstreet Art Center
Chicago
“Our Brent® wheels run from 10:00 am to
7:00 pm seven days a week. That's 1,000
students, 8 classes per day, 40 weeks each
year...for over 30 years. However you do
the math, Brent® quality is amazing!”
American Art Clay Co., Inc.
If a Brent® wheel can stand up to this
amount of activity, it will easily handle the
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Technical Support: (800) 374-1600 • www.amaco.com • Email : [email protected]
AS 06 Covers.indd 3
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AS 06 Covers.indd 4
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focus self critique - Ceramic Arts Daily

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