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2 Ceramics Monthly
William C. Hunt....................................... Editor
Barbara Tipton...................... Associate Editor
Robert L. Creager........................ Art Director
Ruth C. Butler............................. Copy Editor
Valentina Rojo...................... Editorial Assistant
Mary Rushley.............. Circulation Manager
Connie Belcher . . . . Advertising Manager
Spencer L. Davis................................. Publisher
Editorial, Advertising
and Circulation Offices
1609 Northwest Boulevard,
Box 12448, Columbus, Ohio 43212
(614) 488-8236
Ceramics Monthly (ISSN 0009-0329) is
published monthly except July and August
by Professional Publications, Inc.—S. L.
Davis, Pres.; P. S. Emery, Sec.: 1609 North
west Blvd., Columbus, Ohio 43212. Second
class postage paid at Columbus, Ohio.
Subscription Rates: One year SI6, two years
$30, three years $40. Add $5 per year for
subscriptions outside the U.S.A.
Change of Address: Please give us four weeks
advance notice. Send both the magazine
wrapper label and your new address to
Ceramics Monthly, Circulation Office, Box
12448, Columbus, Ohio 43212.
Contributors: Manuscripts, photographs,
color separations, color transparencies (in
cluding 35mm slides), graphic illustrations,
texts and news releases dealing with ceramic
art are welcome and will be considered for
publication. A booklet describing procedures
for the preparation and submission of a man
uscript is available upon request. Send man
uscripts and correspondence about them to
The Editor, Ceramics Monthly, Box 12448,
Columbus, Ohio 43212.
Indexing: Articles in each issue of Ceramics
Monthly are indexed in the Art Index. A
20-year subject index (1953-1972) covering
Ceramics Monthly feature articles, Sugges
tions and Questions columns is available for
$1.50, postpaid from the Ceramics Monthly
Book Department, Box 12448, Columbus,
Ohio 43212. Additionally, each year’s arti
cles are indexed in the December issue.
Copies and Reprints: Microfiche, 16mm and
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prints are available to subscribers from Uni
versity Microfilms, 300 N. Zeeb Road, Ann
Arbor, Michigan 48106. Copies in micro
fiche are also available from Bell & Howell,
Micro Photo Division, Old Mansfield Road,
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Back Issues: Back issues, when available,
are $3 each, postpaid. Write for a list.
Postmaster: Please send address changes to
Ceramics Monthly, Box 12448, Columbus,
Ohio 43212.
Copyright © 1984
Professional Publications, Inc.
All rights reserved
March 1984
3
4 Ceramics Monthly
Ceramics Monthly
Volume 32, Number 3
March 1984
Feature Articles
Collaboration................................................................... 29
Portfolio: Henry Varnum Poor..................................... 31
Boston Mills Ceramics Fair
by William Hunt......................................................... 42
Yosuke Haruta
by Pegram Harrison.................................................. 45
Legitimizing the Ashtray
by Ron Klein............................................................... 46
British Salt Glaze
by Barley Roscoe........................................................ 49
French Clay Expression................................................. 51
Soup Tureens
by Victoria Donohoe.................................................. 52
Hobart Cowles White Glazes
by Lili Krakowski....................................................... 60
Departments
Letters...............................................................................
7
Where to Show................................................................ 13
Suggestions....................................................................... 17
Questions ......................................................................... 19
Itinerary........................................................................... 21
Comment: Letter to a Young Potter
by Dennis Parks.......................................................... 25
News & Retrospect.......................................................... 65
Classified Advertising..................................................... 86
Index to Advertisers
88
The Cover
“Soup in Sandwich,” 19 inches in height, entirely con
structed of white earthenware, with low-fire com
mercial glazes, by David Gilhooly, Fort Bragg, Cal
ifornia. A completely functional tureen, the top slice
of “bread” may be lifted to reveal a smoothly glazed
interior, while the protruding “stalk of celery” is the
handle for a metal ladle. For a look at additional
contemporary approaches to serving soup, turn to the
article beginning on page 52.
March 1984
5
O ULKAM1US 1V1U1N 1HLY
Letters
pH and Plasticity
I was glad to see Angela Fina’s article
(January) about adjusting the pH of clay
bodies to improve plasticity. Living in the
Southwest where many of the springs pro
duce soda water, I’ve discovered the same thing.
[Though] I don’t approach it in the same
calculated manner (more like about ½ cup
of vinegar per 100 pounds dry materials) it
has become an important ingredient in all
my clay bodies.
The pH of the water in clay and glazes
has other effects. Clay, even though mixed
in a “too soft” consistency, will get hard while
aging in the bags if the water is too basic.
Many glazes settle rapidly to the bottom of
the container in a dry, hard mass when mixed
in alkaline water. I’ve found that about an
ounce of vinegar added to 4 gallons of liquid
keeps glazes suspended.
I would like to underscore Angela Fina’s
final statement that clay manufacturers
everywhere should pay close attention to this
phenomenon. Potters who buy premixed
bodies should have superior clay to work with.
Clyde Tullis
Colorado Springs
The Golden Pot Award for 1984 should
go to Angela Fina for her recent article, “Im
proving Plasticity.” How nice to know that
I was not alone with a slumping body that
soaked up and retained more water than a
good natural sponge. But ah, the wonder of
vitamins! My body has come alive. It stands
taller and straighter than ever before. As An
gela pointed out, vitamins are an expensive
way to go, but, after all, my body is worth
it. Thank you, Angela, for a new lease on
life.
Lynne Melchior Rothman
North Little Rock, Ark.
What a pleasure to read Angela Fina’s
clear and no-nonsense article on pH in clays!
This sort of explanation and lucid delinea
tion of a problem (that I’m sure has plagued
many potters and for which they often get
no explanation in their schooling) is of value
to everyone. It is a pleasure to read that sort
of thing in CM. A great magazine.
Warren MacKenzie
Stillwater, Minn.
Angela Fina is right in going to a dry acid,
but there are other organic acids which are
not nearly so expensive. In a 1982-83 chem
ical company catalog, ascorbic acid runs
$21.85 per half kilogram, citric acid is $10.30
per kilogram and fumaric acid is $8.75 per
kilogram. These are laboratory-grade prices;
if you can accept technical-grade material,
which is often just as pure but not overly
analyzed (which is what raises the cost), the
price per 50-pound bag comes down dra
matically. This may be more than many pot
ters wish to pay, but if the user has a large
operation, it will probably be worth it in the
long run. Kept in tightly closed plastic con
tainers, away from water, these acids will last
indefinitely.
I am a chemist at a small supply company
and can’t help but heed a call for help. Gla
cial acetic acid is not a nice thing to have
around even if you do have a good exhaust
fan.
Glen Lewis
Fort Worth
not clay artists but all artists. There needs
to be a new, fresh approach to the business
of running a gallery. A craft shop is not a
fine arts gallery and you would not see some
one of Price’s stature in a shop that sells and
thinks $35 casseroles.
In an age when Billy Idol is more popular
than Price or Pete Voulkos it is time for a
change and for the beginning of a more so
phisticated attitude toward the arts by every
one.
Jens Morrison
Oceanside, Calif.
Ken Price at Castelli’s
I am delighted that Ken Price is making Fair It Isn’t
After reading Comment by Ersatz Sou
it big (January) and I commend CM for
publishing the selling prices of his work. It briquet (who could fail to read anything un
has a monumental quality so the sizes, too, der that pen name?) in the January issue—
who needs the New Yorker?
were a great surprise.
John G. Grace
Jessie D. Wetzel
Mokelumne Hill, Calif.
Tucson
The article by R. Clayton Baker in the
January issue made me squirm. About 90—
no 95%—of most who write about ceramics
(underdog of the fine arts and champion of
the crafts) seem to approach the subject the
same way, with the same old philosophy, with
the same whimpering, “Let’s hear it for the
beaten clay art syndrome,” with the same old,
boring attitude that, “God love Ken Price for
helping ‘our’ cause. Thank you (snivel) for
working in ceramics.”
The genius of Leo Castelli is not that he
actually exhibited ceramic work by Ken Price
but rather that he saw art. He did not see
clay. The medium was transcended. Ken Price
has been around for a very long time. Since
Otis with Voulkos, since all those “eggs” and
painted, nonutilitarian objects, since lizard
cups and small nonmacho works of art, since
“Happy’s Curios” and hot little color com
bos, since the days of not so long ago when
Ken Price did porno plates and made cups
art. Ken has always been an artist not caught
up in the absurdity—crafts and arts. His suc
cess, both then and now, lies in his ability to
not lock into ceramics as art but rather to
choose the medium and then make art.
Of course it is a very positive thing that
work sold. Of course we are all happy. Of
course we are delighted that an artist is re
ceiving deserved recognition. But I am mostly
wondering why it took Castelli so long to
show Price. I am wondering why it will take
a lot longer to show more clay sculpture. I
am wondering why pottery is so prevalent in
so many galleries and why nonutilitarian ob
jects sell so poorly. I am wondering why Leo
Castelli didn’t flinch showing Price’s work
although they were not vessels. (Would it have
helped sell more work if the works had had
holes in them?)
I think it is high time that crafts gallery
directors and fine arts gallery directors re
evaluate their positions relative to artists—
Continued discussion of ceramics aesthet
ics and criticism is very important. The
Western potter has received very little atten
tion from art historians and critics. We need
to clarify and articulate an aesthetic philos
ophy to help place the potter/ceramic artist
in the broader field of the visual arts.
Wayne Cardinalli
Stirling, Ont.
A picture is worth a thousand words: more
pictures of pots, less words. No matter what
is said about a potter or his work (the proof
is in the pudding) let us see for ourselves.
Marie Dunn
Biscoe, N. C.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Objection
I read the article on carpal tunnel syn
drome in the December issue, and my ob
jection is that it mentions acupuncture only
slightly and last. The physician used as a
reference is obviously an M.D. and not thor
oughly trained in traditional Chinese med
icine. A true acupuncturist has such training
and would stress that acupuncture is very
effective with carpal tunnel as well as potters’
other ills (low back pain, stiff knees, shoulder
and neck arthritis). The key is to find a heal
er trained in Oriental medicine. Their phi
losophy is vast and very different from that
of western M.D.’s.
Katy Cauker
Jacksonville, Ore.
CTS Surgery Seldom Successful
I did “submit to the knife” and had the
operation a year ago, followed by six weeks
in a cast and a month of therapy. Less than
a year later, the same problem has recurred.
Doctors gave no guarantee that surgery was
a solution, and repeating the surgery is no
answer. I have been told that surgery is selContinued
March 1984
7
8 CERAMICS MONTHLY
Letters
‘in-depth’ (just the pictures and how they did
it).” This kind of attitude indicates these peo
dom successful. I have found new ways of ple still consider ceramics to be a nice, com
working by using different hand and wrist fortable little craft, and they find pictures and
positions, especially where applying pressure articles about works that go beyond this to
be highly threatening and somehow insult
is involved. Change positions frequently.
Currently I am awaiting the arrival of my ing. Maybe it’s threatening because it might
new de-airing pugmill. I am in hopes that force reexamination of their narrow concept
eliminating hand mixing and wedging will of what clay is, or can be. A person can read
something and not agree with it, or dislike
be helpful.
Gail Kristensen it, but does that mean it should not be shown?
Sedona, Ariz. This smacks of moral-majority-type censor
ship—ban it, remove it from the shelves—
I must be the world’s greatest authority instead of letting people decide for them
on carpal tunnel syndrome. I was awake at
nights for over nine months with numb hands
and pains up to the shoulders. I hated to quit
throwing, but realized it was time to see a
doctor. He immediately diagnosed CTS, and
recommended surgery. I had both hands op
erated on at the same time. I was only in the
.hospital three days, and stitches were out in
six. Rehabilitation therapy? The potter’s
wheel. Constricting the clay to center, and
using the fingers to pull up the walls were
perfect therapy with only baseball-size pieces
of clay at first, then on to larger ones. It was
fantastic. Mind you, it was a little inconven
ient having both hands fixed at the same time,
but if you have CTS, don’t mess around with
diets, etc. Have the surgery and get it over
with. I heartily disagree with Rogier Donker, who places the blame on wrong throwing
habits. I had CTS long before I became a
potter, but didn’t realize it.
Martha Gillespie
Fort Worth
selves. It seems to me that CM’s editorial
choices try to reflect the range of things going
on in ceramic art today. It can’t go back to
being cutesy crafts anymore.
Bette Drake
Cleveland
Ceramic Portraiture
I am a graduating student from California
State University, Chico, and was extremely
pleased to find the article by Beverly Mayeri
in the December issue. Figurative clay sculp
ture is more and more in demand and it is
Continued
Maybe It’s Not CTS!
In following the ongoing discussions about
CTS I have seen no reference to the malady
to which I am susceptible. As a potter/teacher I was panicked two years ago when I de
veloped severe pain and loss of strength in
my left hand and wrist. I thought I was head
ed for surgery. Following diagnostic X-rays
it was determined that I had a cyst on the
bone. With use of a leather wrist brace, mod
ification of my diet (no caffeine or chocolate),
and a variable throwing schedule, I have been
able to control the condition.
Potters should be aware that carpal tunnel
syndrome may not be the only diagnosis for
that “pain in the wrist.”
Sue Robinson
Hanson, Mass.
Moral-Majority-Type Censorship
The article on carpal tunnel syndrome
contains much useful information. I started
having problems with this two years ago, af
ter about 20 years of potting, and know now
there are many others in the same boat. Any
further information on it will be greatly ap
preciated. Who knows, it could become the
year’s most fashionable disease.
I’m amazed by the number of letters say
ing, “don’t print this, don’t show pictures of
that, rewrite the articles and leave out the
March 1984
9
1U UERAMICS MONTHLY
Letters
reassuring to see that the magazine is keep
ing up with present work.
We are all hungering for more articles by
figurative artists or about figurative work out
here in northern California.
Linda C. Allred
Chico, Calif.
Mayer Shacter
The Mayer Shacter article in the Novem
ber CM was one of the best I have seen in
the magazine yet. I hope CM will have more
like this in the future. Mayer is obviously
one of the greats in ceramics today.
Minucha Colburn
Mendocino, Calif.
this most of the time, while giving this some cestuous group of teacher (academic)-begatstimes-isolated studio potter some nourishing student-becomes-teacher
(academic)-begatsfood for thought.
student—ad infinitum. I would like to hear
Barbara Kelso more from the realists, the people who are
Abington, Mass. making a living from clay. Are they too busy
making a living to write?
Bob McKay
I would like to see more examples of grad
Arthur, Ont.
uate or student work.
Gwendolyn Evans
Louisville Share your thoughts with other readers. All
letters must be signed, but names will be
Incestuous Academics
withheld on request. Address: The Editor,
Sometimes articles are too esoteric, be Ceramics Monthly, Box 12448, Columbus,
cause they are usually written by that in Ohio 43212.
December Portfolio
Walter Ostrom? What the hell! There have
been a few potters in the world who have
done a better job in glaze decoration.
Steven H. Roberts
Harrogate, Tenn.
Lonely?
Pottery must be the loneliest craft. We seem
to isolate ourselves to totally concentrate on
our work. Thanks for all the information and
interesting views. It all helps give a reason
why.
Maureen Boyd
Fall City, Wash.
Have a Fit
I think that the highlights in CM are the
letters in which everyone has a fit about the
types of art work, profiles, comments, de
scriptions presented. Controversy has its
place in the art world. It makes us more
aware, makes us grow artistically.
Suzan de Lambily
Island Heights, N.J.
Blessed
Information and sharing of ideas, as well
as techniques, unify all who create into a
simple, blessed group. The transportation
matters less than the destination.
Sylvia Caplan
Houston
Article Balance
I am a recent subscriber, and though I
enjoy the articles on potters and the various
stories on ceramics in other countries, why
are all the artists so avant-garde?
Merana Cadorette
Milton, Vt.
More articles about Scandinavian potters.
The U.S.A. isn’t the whole world.
Pirjo Polari-Khan
Milpitas, Calif.
I enjoy a balance between the absurd and
the sublime, and CM seems to accomplish
March 1984
11
12 Ceramics Monthly
Where to Show
exhibitions, fairs, festivals and sales
Send announcements of juried exhibitions, fairs,
festivals and sales at least four months before the
entry deadline to: The Editor, Ceramics Monthly,
Box 12448, Columbus, Ohio 43212; or call: (614)
488-8236. Add one month for listings in July and
two months for those in August.
International Exhibitions
April 10 entry deadline
Golden, Colorado Sixth annual “North Amer
ican Sculpture Exhibition” (June 3-July 3) is open
to residents of Canada, Mexico and the U.S.A.
Juried from 8x10 glossy, black-and-white, profes
sional quality photographs of up to 3 entries. Ju
rors: John W. Cavanaugh and Edward J. Fraughton. $6000 in awards. Fee: $12.50 per entry. Send
self-addressed, stamped envelope to: The Foothills
Art Center, 809 Fifteenth St., Golden 80401; or
call: (303) 279-3922.
National Exhibitions
March 16 entry deadline
Guilford, Connecticut “Dreams and Other Il
lusions,” a multimedia show, (May 6-27) is juried
from 3 to 5 slides. Awards. Fee: $10. Send selfaddressed, stamped envelope to : Dreams, Guilford
Handcrafts, Box 221, Guilford 06437; or call: (203)
453-5947.
Las Vegas, Nevada “Las Vegas Small Sculp
ture National” (May 6-30) is juried from a min
imum of 3 slides per entry. Juror: Mike Mc
Collum. Work should not exceed 18 inches in any
direction. Fee: $15 for up to 3 entries. Awards.
Send self-addressed, stamped envelope to: Las Ve
gas Art Museum, 3333 YV. Washington Ave., Las
Vegas 89107; or call: (702) 647-4300.
Kalispell, Montana “Fish: An Exhibit” (May
18-June 30) is juried from slides of up to 3 entries.
Work must approach fish as subject matter. Awards.
Fee: $5 per entry. Contact: Hockaday Center for
the Arts, Box 83, Kalispell 59901; or call: (406)
755-5268.
State College, Pennsylvania “18th Annual Ju
ried Crafts Exhibition” (July 8-August 31) is ju
ried from slides of up to 2 entries. $2000 in awards.
Entry fee: $5; exhibition fee: $15. Send self-ad
dressed, stamped, business envelope to: Joyce Ann
Hagen, 230 Burnside St., Bellefonte, Pennsylvania
16823; or call: (814) 355-4013.
Buffalo, New York “Created by Hand Exhi
bition” (June 9-July 5) is juried from slides of 2
works. Fee: $15. Jurors: Nancy Belfer and Jack
Jauquet. Cash awards. Send self-addressed,stamped
envelope to: Patti Brown/Joan Dobrin, Associated
Art Organizations Gallery, 698 Main St., Buffalo
14202.
May 15 entry deadline
Radford, Virginia “Clay U.S.A., 1984” an
nual ceramic competition (June 29-July 28) is
juried from slides of up to 2 works. Juror: Val
Cushing. Awards. Fee: $10. Send self-addressed,
stamped envelope to: Ed Baldwin, Radford Uni
versity, Department of Fine Arts, Radford 24141;
or call: (703) 731-5475.
Regional Exhibitions
Hobbs, New Mexico “May Festival ’84—
NMJC/LEAA Juried Six State All Media Ex
hibition of Arts and Crafts” (May 3-25) is open
to residents of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico,
Oklahoma, Texas and Utah. Juried from slides of
up to 3 entries. Fee: $5 per entry. Jurors: Elizabeth
Sasser and Hugh Gibbons. Contact: May Festival
’84 Art Coordinator, Community Development Of
fice, New Mexico Junior College, Lovington
Highway, Hobbs 88240.
Topeka, Kansas “Topeka Crafts Competition
8” (April 1-30) is open to residents of Kansas and
the Saint Joseph/Kansas City, Missouri areas. Ju
ried from works. Fee: $10. Contact: Gallery of
Fine Arts, Topeka Public Library, 1515 W. Tenth,
Topeka 66604; or call: (913) 233-2040.
Charlotte, North Carolina “Clay Matters ’84/
Open Competition” (May 1-30) is open to resi
dents of North and South Carolina. Juried from
slides and works. Juror: Lida Lowry. Awards. Fee:
$10 for up to 3 entries. Contact: Clay Matters of
Charlotte, 110 E. Seventh St., Charlotte 28202; or
call: (704) 372-9664.
Kingston, Rhode Island “South County Art
Association Open Exhibition” (April 12-27) is open
to residents of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts,
New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. Ju
ried from works. Fee: $4 per entry, up to 3 entries.
Contact: Linda Wilke O’Malley, SCAA, Helme
House, Rte. 138, Kingston 02881; or call: (401)
783-2195.
Toledo, Ohio “66th Annual Toledo Area Art
ists’ Exhibition” (June 17-July 8) is open to res
idents of northwestern Ohio and southeastern
Michigan. Juried from works, up to 3 entries. Fee:
$10. Contact: Toledo Museum of Art, Box 1013,
Toledo 43697; or call: (419) 255-8000.
Moorestown, New Jersey “Clay ’84 at Per
kins” (September 21-30) is juried from slides or
works. Jurors: Paula Winokur and Larry Don
ahue. Commission: 20%. Awards. Work must be
hand-delivered. Send self-addressed, stamped en
velope to: Clay ’84 at Perkins, Perkins Center for
the Arts, Kings Hwy. and Camden Ave., Moores
town 08057; or call: Peg Krolak, (609) 461-2051.
June 15 entry deadline
Great Falls, Montana “Centennial Great Falls:
A Missouri River Meeting” (November 5-December 29) is open to current and former residents of
Montana. Juried from slides of up to 2 entries.
Fee: $15. Awards totaling $2500. Contact: Paris
Gibson Square, 1400 First Ave., N., Great Falls
59401; or call: (406) 727-8255.
Fairs, Festivals and Sales
State College, Pennsylvania “The 18th An
nual Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts”
(July 12-15) is juried from 4 slides, 1 of display.
Entry fee: $10. Booth fee: $140. Send self-addressed, stamped envelope to: Lurene Frantz, Box
1023, State College 16804; or call: (814) 237-3682.
San Francisco, California “ACC Craftfair at
San Francisco” (August 8-12) is juried from 5
slides. Entry fee: $10. Booth fees: $300-$650. Con
tact: American Craft Enterprises, Box 10, New
Paltz, New York 12561; or call: (914) 255-0039.
Croton-on-Hudson, New York “7th Annual
Great Hudson River Revival” (June 16-17) is ju
ried from 5 slides. Fee: $50. Contact: Penny Co
hen, Great Hudson River Revival, R.D. 1, Box
175, Putnam Valley, New York 10579.
Oakland, California “Festival at the Lake Craft
Market” (June 1-3) is juried from slides. $2500
in awards. Entry fee: $5. Booth fee: $100 for a
1 Ox 10-foot space. Contact: Festival Craft Market,
Goodfellow Catalog, Box 4520, Berkeley, Cali
fornia 94704; or call: (415) 428-0142.
Rochester; Minnesota “35th Annual Festival
of the Arts” (June 3) is juried from slides. Awards.
Fee: $20 for an 8x 10-foot space. Contact: Linda
Frie, Rochester Art Center, 320 E. Center St.,
Rochester 55904; or call: (507) 282-8629. *
New Paltz, New York “Woodstock—New Paltz
Art and Craft Fair/Spring Show” (May 25-28)
is juried from 5 slides. Entry fee: $5; booth fees:
$ 195—$225 for a lOx 10-foot space. Send self-ad
dressed, stamped envelope to: Scott and Neil Rub
instein, Quail Hollow Events, Box 825, Woodstock, New York 12498; or call: (914) 679-8087.
New Paltz, New York “Woodstock—New Paltz
Art and Crafts Fair/Fall Show” (August 31September 3) is juried from slides. Entry fee: $5;
booth fees: $195—S225. Send self-addressed, stamped
envelope to: Scott and Neil Rubinstein, Quail Hol
low Events, Box 825, Woodstock, New York 12498;
or call: (914) 679-8087.
Salt Lake City, Utah “Utah Arts Festival” (June
27-July 1) is juried from slides. Fee: $200. Con
tact: Olivette Trotter, Utah Arts Festival Foun
dation, Suite 12, 445 E. 200, S., Salt Lake City
84111; or call: (801) 322-2428.
Madison, Wisconsin “26th Annual Art Fair
on the Square” (July 7-8) is juried from 4 slides,
1 of display. Entry fee: $5. Booth fee: $150 for an
8x 10-foot space. Contact: Art Fair on the Square,
Madison Art Center, 211 State St., Madison 53703;
or call: (608) 257-0158.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin “Morning Glory Craft
Fair” (August 11-12) is juried from 5 slides. Fees:
$30 for members of Wisconsin Designer Crafts
men; $40 for nonmembers. Contact: Dina Leib,
Morning Glory Fair, Charles Allis Art Museum,
1630 E. Royall Place, Milwaukee 53202; or call:
(414) 278-8295.
Albany, Georgia “The Albany Arts Festival”
(April 14-15) is juried from 3 slides or photos.
Fee: $40. Contact: Suzanne Heath, Albany Mu
seum of Art, Box 571, Albany 31707; or call: (912)
435-0977.
New York, New York Eighth annual “Amer
ican Crafts Festival at the Lincoln Center” (June
30-July 1 and July 7-8) is juried from 5 slides.
Ceramic juror: Laney Oxman. Entry fee: $7. Booth
fee: $200-$250 for one weekend. Send self-ad
dressed, stamped envelope to: Brenda Brigham,
American Concern for Artistry and Craftsman
ship, Box 3221, Upton Station, Hoboken, New
Jersey 07030; or call: (201) 798-0220.
New York, New York “Autumn Crafts Festival
at Lincoln Center” (August 31-September 2 and
September 7-9) is juried from 5 slides. Ceramic
juror: Laney Oxman. Entry fee: $7; booth fee:
$220 for one weekend. Send self-addressed, stamped
envelope to Brenda Brigham, American Concern
for Artistry and Craftsmanship, Box 3221, Upton
Station, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030; or call: (201)
798-0220.
Tucson, Arizona “Festival of the Arts” (April
7-8) is juried from 5 slides. Contact: Jarvis Harriman, Tucson Festival Society, 8 W. Paseo Re
dondo, Tucson 85705; or call: (602) 622-6911.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania The 25th annual
“Three Rivers Arts Festival” (June 8-24) is open
to artists in Washington, D.C., Maryland, New
York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Send
self-addressed, stamped envelope to: Three Rivers
Arts Festival, 4400 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh 15213.
Deland, Florida “19th Annual Deland Out
door Art Festival” (March 31-April 1) is juried
from 3 slides or photos. Fee: $25 for a 1 Ox 12-foot
space. Send self-addressed, stamped envelope to
Harriet Bolin, Deland Outdoor Art Festival, 215
Continued
March 1984
13
Where to Show
W. Minnesota Ave., Deland 32720; or call: (904)
736-0884.
Pendleton, South Carolina “Historic Pendle
ton Spring Jubilee” (April 7-8) is juried from 3
slides or photos. Fee: $25 for an 8x 10-foot space.
Contact: Patricia Porter, Pendleton District His
torical and Recreational Commission, Box 234,
Pendleton 29670; or call: (803) 646-3782.
Mountain View, Arkansas “The Ozark Foot
hills Craft Guild 22nd Annual Spring Show and
Sale” (April 20-22) is juried from 5 slides. Ap
plication fee: $5; booth fee: $20. Commission: 15%
retail, 5% wholesale. Contact: Ozark Foothills Craft
Guild, Box 800, Mountain View 72360; or call:
(501) 269-3896.
Baltimore, Maryland “Artscape ’84” (July
13-15) is open to residents of Washington, D.C.,
Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York,
Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. Juried
from slides. Send self-addressed, stamped envelope
to: Crafts—Artscape ’84, c/o Mayor’s Advisory
Committee on Art and Culture, 21 S. Eutaw St.,
Baltimore 21201; or call: (301) 396-4575.
White Plains, New York “Westchester Art
Workshop 6th Annual Craft Fair” (April 28-29)
is juried from 5 slides. Booth fee: $70. Contact
Wayne Kartzinel or Rose Petersons, Westchester
County Center Building, White Plains 10607; or
call: (914) 683-3986.
Oconomowoc, Wisconsin “Oconomowoc Fes
tival of the Arts” (August 18-19) is juried from 6
slides and resume. Entry fee: $3. Booth fees:
$45-$60. Send self-addressed, stamped envelope
to: Oconomowoc Festival of the Arts, Box 524,
Oconomowoc 53066.
Salina, Kansas “Smoky Hill River Festival”
(June 8-10) is juried from 5 slides. Awards. Entry
fee: $3. Booth fee: $40 plus an example of work.
Contact: Lana Jordan, Salina Arts Commission,
Box 685, Salina 67402; or call: (913) 827-4640.
Rome, New York “Rome Arts/Crafts Festival”
(June 2-3) is juried from 4 slides. Entry fee: $2.
Booth fees: $40-$50. Contact: Selena Abbey, Rome
Art & Community Center, 308 W. Bloomfield St.,
Rome 13440; or call: (315) 336-1040.
Dayton, Ohio The 17th annual “Art in the
Park” (May 26-27) is juried from 3 slides. Con
tact: Sharon Partlow, Art in the Park, Riverbend
Art Center, 142 Riverbend Dr., Dayton 45405; or
call: DeEarnest McLemore, (513) 228-1115.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin “Wisconsin Festival of
Art” (April 14-15) is juried from 5 slides or photos
and resume. Fee: $80. Send self-addressed, stamped
envelope to: Dennis Hill, Wisconsin Festival of
Art, 3233 S. Villa Circle, West Allis, Wisconsin
53227; or call: (414) 321-4566.
Park City, Utah “15th Annual Park City Art
Festival” (August 4-5) is juried from 5 slides. En
try fee: $10. Booth fees: $150-$250. Send selfaddressed, stamped envelope to: Festival Office,
Kimball Art Center, Box 1880, Park City 84060;
or call: (801) 649-8882.
Evanston, Illinois “Fountain Square Arts Fes
tival” (June 30-July 1) is juried from slides. $3000
in awards plus purchase prizes. Contact: Evanston
Chamber of Commerce, 807 Davis St., Evanston
60201; or call: (312) 328-1500.
Russellville, Arkansas “Arkansas Valley Arts
and Crafts Fair and Sale” (November 9-11) is
juried from slides or photos. Fee: $25. Contact:
Lester Wright, Arkansas Valley Arts & Crafts Club,
Box 1122, Russellville 72801.
Coffeyville, Kansas “New Beginning Festival”
(April 27-28) is juried from 3 slides. Fee: $20-$30
for an 8X20-foot space. Contact: Earlene Wheeler,
Arts & Crafts Committee, Box 816, Coffeyville
67337; or call: (316) 251-2258.
Muskegon, Michigan “Celebration 84 Seaway
Arts Fair” (June 29-July 1) is juried from 3 slides.
Fee: $45. Contact: P. A. Dollslager, West Mich
igan Seaway Festival, 470 W. Western Ave., Mu
skegon 49440; or call: (616) 722-6520.
Margate, New Jersey “Craft Concepts 84”
(June 9-13) is juried from 5 slides and resume.
Jurors: Albert Green, Pamela Scheinman and Paul
Stankard. Send self-addressed, stamped envelope
to: Craft Concepts, Jewish Community Center,
501 N. Jerome Ave., Margate 08402; or call: (609)
822-1167.
Indiana, Pennsylvania “New Growth Arts
Festival” (July 21-22) is juried from slides or pho
tos. Fee: $50. Contact: Cecilia Maljan, Indiana
Arts Council, Box 563, Indiana 15701; or call:
(412) 357-2787.
Dubuque, Iowa “DubuqueFest ’84 Art Fair”
(May 19-20) is juried from 3 slides or color pho
tographs. Fee: $50 for a 1 Ox 10-foot space. Send
self-addressed, stamped envelope to: Dubuque
Artists Guild, 422 Loras Blvd., Dubuque 52001;
or call: (319) 583-6201.
Murrells Inlet, South Carolina “12th Annual
Murrells Inlet Outdoor Arts & Crafts Festival”
(April 27-29) is juried from 2 slides or photos.
Awards. Fee: $60 for a 1 Ox 10-foot space. Contact:
Wilma Martin, Magnolia Park, Box 231, Mur
rells Inlet 29576; or call: (803) 651-7555.
Golden, Colorado “Arts on the Commons” (June
9) is juried from 3 to 5 slides. Entry fee: $10; booth
fee: $30 for a 1 Ox 10-foot space. Send self-addressed, stamped envelope to: Foothills Art Center,
809 Fifteenth St., Golden 80401; or call: (303)
279-3922.
Chicago, Illinois “Beverly Art Center Art Fair
& Festival” (June 16-17) is juried from 5 slides.
Entry fee: $10. Booth fee: $17.50 for a 10X 10foot space. Contact: Pat McGrail, Beverly Art
Center, 2153 W. Ill St., Chicago 60643; or call:
(312) 445-3838.
Saratoga Springs, New York Fifth annual “Craft
Fair at the Kool Jazz Festival” (June 30-July 1)
is juried from slides. Entry fee: $5. Booth fee: $150
for an 8 X 10-foot space. Contact: Charles Dooley,
Craftproducers Markets, R.D. 1, Box 323, Grand
Isle, Vermont 05458; or call: (802) 372-4747.
Burlington, Vermont Third annual “Church
Street Festival of the Arts” (July 20-23) is juried
from slides. Entry fee: $5. Booth fee: $175 for an
8 X 10-foot space. Contact: Charles Dooley, Craft
producers Markets, R.D. 1, Box 323, Grand Isle,
Vermont 05458; or call: (802) 372-4747.
Manchester, Vermont Fifth annual “Southern
Vermont Craft Fair” (August 4-6) is juried from
slides. Entry fee: $5. Booth fee: $175 for an 8x 10foot space. Contact: Charles Dooley, Craftpro
ducers Markets, R.D. 1, Box 323, Grand Isle,
Vermont 05458; or call (802) 372-4747.
Baton Rouge, Louisiana “Craftworks Trade
Show” (August 3-5), in conjunction with the World’s
Fair in New Orleans, is juried from 6 slides, 1 of
display. Entry fee: $8. Booth fees: $150-$425.
Contact: Jennifer Martin, Craftworks, Rte. 4, Box
688, Gonzales, Louisiana 70737; or call: (504) 6734002.
Newport News, Virginia “2nd Annual Hilton
Villagefest” (May 11-12) is juried from slides or
photos, 1 of display. Fee: $50 for a 1 Ox 10-foot
space. Contact: Sandra Meadows, Promotional
Activities Art Shows, 6 Conway Rd., Newport News
23606; or call: (804) 898-4210.
Occoquan, Virginia “15th Annual Occoquan
Craft Show” (September 29-30) is juried from slides.
Fee: $100. Contact: LaVerne Carson, Occoquan
Merchants Association, Drawer T, 404 Mill St.,
Occoquan 22125; or call: (703) 494-2848.
Carbondale, Colorado “13th Annual Carbondale Mountain Fair” (July 27-29) is juried from
slides. Fee: $45 plus $10 damage deposit for a
1 Ox 10-foot space. Contact: Gay la Duckowitz,
Carbondale Mountain Fair, Box 174, Carbondale
81623; or call: (303) 963-1680.
Rockford, Illinois “36th Annual Greenwich
Village Art Fair” (September 15-16) is juried from
4 slides. Entry fee: $5. Booth fee: $60 for a 10x15foot space. Contact: Patricia Schueller, Rockford
Art Association, 737 N. Main St.. Rockford 61103;
or call: (815) 965-3131.
Chautauqua, New York “Chautauqua Crafts
Festivals ’84” (July 6-8 and August 10-12) is ju
ried from 4 slides. Entry fee: $5. Booth fee: $70
per show. Send self-addressed, stamped envelope
to: Donald D. Dowling, Chautauqua Crafts Fes
tivals ’84, R.D. 2, Portage Hill Rd., Westfield,
New York 14787.
Croton-on-Hudson, New York “10th Annual
Croton Craft Fair” (September 15-16) is juried
from 4 slides of work, 1 of display. Fee: $70 for a
12x12-foot space. Contact: Monya Brown, 33
Lexington Dr., Croton-on-Hudson 10520; or call:
(914) 271-5302.
Newport, Rhode Island “Newport ’84 Arts &
Crafts Expo” (July 13-15) is juried from 5 slides.
Entry fee: $10. Booth fee: $200 for a lOx 10-foot
space. Contact: Brian McCartney, Mil Produc
tions, Box 93, Vernon, Connecticut 06066; or call:
(203) 871-7914.
Roanoke, Virginia “14th Annual Roanoke Craft
Festival” (November 16-18) is juried from 5 slides.
Entry fee: $5. Booth fees: $70-$140. Contact:
Roanoke Museum of Fine Arts, Center in the
Square, 1 Market Square, Roanoke 24011; or call:
(703) 342-8945.
Syracuse, New York “The 14th Annual
Downtown Syracuse Arts & Crafts Festival” (July
13-15) is juried from 5 slides. Entry fee: $5. Booth
fee: $55. No commission. Awards. Contact: Down
town Committee of Syracuse, 1900 State Tower
Bldg., Syracuse 13202; or call: (315) 422-8284.
Marietta, Ohio “Indian Summer Arts & Crafts
Festival” (September 14-16) is juried from 5 slides.
Fee: $60 for a 1 Ox 10-foot space. Contact: Susan
Kern, Indian Summer Festival, Box 266, Marietta
45750; or call: (614) 374-7146.
Sapphire, North Carolina “High Country Art
and Craft Show” (June 29-July 1) is juried from
slides or photos. Fee: $65. Send self-addressed,
stamped, business envelope to: Virginia Smith, High
Country Crafters, 29 Haywood St., Asheville, North
Carolina 28801; or call: (704) 254-0070.
Scaly Mountain, North Carolina “High
Country Art and Craft Show” (July 6-8) is juried
from slides or photos. Fee: $65. Send self-ad
dressed, stamped, business envelope to: Virginia
Smith, High Country Crafters, 29 Haywood St.,
Asheville, North Carolina 28801; or call: (704)
254-0070.
Richmond, Virginia “9th Annual Richmond
Craft Fair” (November 8-11) is juried from 5 slides.
$6000 in awards. Fee: $10. Contact: Jan Detter,
Hand Workshop, 1001 E. Clay St., Richmond
23219; or call: (804) 649-0674.
Sapphire, North Carolina “High Country Art
and Craft Show” (July 20-22) is juried from slides
or photos. Fee: $65. Send self-addressed, stamped,
business envelope to: Virginia Smith, High Coun
try Crafters, 29 Haywood St., Asheville, North
Carolina 28801; or call: (704) 254-0070.
Saratoga Springs, New York Ninth annual
“Adirondack Green Mountain Craft Fair” (Sep
tember 14-16) is juried from slides. Entry fee: $5.
Booth fee: $150. Contact: Charles Dooley, Craft
producers Markets, R.D. 1, Box 323, Grand Isle,
Vermont 05458; or call: (802) 372-4747.
Killington, Vermont “The Killington Foliage
Craft Fair” (September 28-30) is juried from slides.
Entry fee: $5. Booth fee: $175 for an 8x 10-foot
space. Contact: Charles Dooley, Craftproducers
Markets, R.D. 1, Box 323, Grand Isle, Vermont
05458; or call: (802) 372-4747.
March 1984
15
16 Ceramics Monthly
Suggestions
from our readers
Decorating Tool
Wedge-shaped sponges on short-handled rollers are sold in hard
ware and paint stores for rolling paint into angles where walls and
ceilings meet. They are wonderful for glaze-on-glaze decoration.
Just pour a little glaze into a shallow bowl, run the roller edge
through it, and then over the surface you want to decorate. You can
get line variety by just changing the pressure, and it’s a great tool
for production potters who like quick, spontaneous decorative effects.
—Jo Claire, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Efficient, Hand-Operated Glaze Mixer
A device commonly used for mixing by British plasterers may be
adapted to large batches of glaze or slip. Use a long, large-headed
screw to attach a broomstick to a small bicycle wheel rim. An ad
justable metal ring clamp (known here as a jubilee clip) near the
broomstick base will keep the handle from splitting when the screw
is driven in. The wheel not only completely mixes the glaze but the
rim naturally scrapes dried glaze off the sides and bottom of the
container. The broomstick can be cut down, but by leaving it full
length one can stand upright and prevent back strain.
—A. H. Bolton, Bedingham, Norfolk, England
Rib Source
Thin, flexible ribs can be made from aluminum plates that are
used to print newspapers and magazines. The plates could also be
cut into narrow strips and used much like a chamois, producing a
flawless, glassy-smooth surface.
—Darrel L. Bowman, New Auburn, Wis.
Plate Racks
Any potter who can pull a handle can make a very simple and
effective plate rack. First pull a large handle—about the size for a
good, hefty pitcher. Stretch it out on any handy surface, preferably
canvas and, starting at the small end, cut the handle in half length
wise, about two-thirds of the way up its length. Carefully spread
the ends a few inches apart, and then set the handle up and shape
it so that the main part forms a high loop. Next curl the two small
ends back toward the loop, cut the base so that it lies flat; then dry,
glaze and fire. —Jo Claire, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Dollars for Your Ideas
Ceramics Monthly pays $10 for each suggestion published; submis
sions are welcome individually or in quantity. Include an illustration
or photo to accompany your suggestion and we will pay $10 more
if we use it. Send your ideas to CM, Box 12448, Columbus, Ohio
43212. Sorry, but we can't acknowledge or return unused items.
March 1984
17
18 Ceramics Monthly
Questions
Answered by the CM Technical Staff
Q I am a professional potter, and am contemplating making a gift
of one of the pots I have made to our local art museum. I have sold
similar pots for $500, but the cost of the materials used in making
the pot have amounted to no more than $5. Can I get a charitable
deduction for my gift, and if so, how do I determine the amount of
my deduction?—E.M.
While we cannot offer specific tax advice, here are some general
guidelines that apply to you and other potters.
Whether you are a professional potter or amateur, you will be
subject to certain limitations on the deductibility of contributions of
property to charitable organizations. It is generally true that the
fair market value of property which is the subject of a charitable
gift is the beginning point for determining the amount of a charitable
deduction. However, the deduction for a charitable contribution of
a work of art by its creator, or of other property which would produce
ordinary income if sold, is limited to the donor’s tax basis in the
property, generally the donor’s out-of-pocket expenses which have
not been previously deducted. In your case, assuming you have not
previously deducted the cost of your materials, your charitable de
duction would be limited to 85.
You should realize that there are factors in addition to those
discussed here which would affect the amount of a deduction for a
charitable contribution. For example, not all charitable organiza
tions are recognized under the Internal Revenue Code as proper
recipients of deductible gifts, and for each taxpayer there are lim
itations on the amount of a deduction for charitable gifts in any one
year. You should consult your own tax advisor concerning the specific
tax consequences of your proposed gift, as should any other artist
contemplating a similar donation.
61 We have been extruding flower vases, then slab rolling bases, but
find the process of cutting and adding slab bottoms both time con
suming and less than creative. Have you any ideas for a more efficient
method that doesn’t involve our slab roller which we’d rather use
for other production purposes?—C.A.
There are many solutions to your problem including cutting an
extrusion so that a section of the wall can be flattened to form the
bottom, removing the center piece from your extrusion die and wirecutting bottom slabs of exactly the right diameter, or extruding a
ribbon from which bottoms can be cut and applied. But perhaps
the most efficient method for adding bottoms to extruded forms is
to set the tubes upright on a plaster slab, then pour casting slip (a
related recipe) as thick as the desired bottom into the extrusion.
The plaster draws out excess water, and the forms can be quickly
removed from the plaster bat and set aside with little need for
additional finishing. You may have to experiment with various com
positions in order to get the shrinkage and water content right for
a minimum of cracked pieces, but once these technicalities are worked
out for your own clay body, the process is extremely fast.
Subscribers’ inquiries are welcome and those of general interest will
be answered in this column. Due to volume, letters may not be
answered personally. Send questions to: Technical Staff, Ceramics
Monthly, Box 12448, Columbus, Ohio 43212.
March 1984
19
20 Ceramics Monthly
Itinerary
conferences, exhibitions, workshops, fairs and other events to attend
Send announcements of conferences, exhibitions,
\workshops, juried fairs and other events at least
seven weeks before the month of opening to: The
Editor, Ceramics Monthly, Box 12448, Columbus,
Ohio 43212; or call: (614) 488-8236. Add one
month for listings in July and two months for those
in August.
International Conferences
Massachusetts, Boston April 5-6 The annual
conference of the International Academy of Ce
ramics. For details, consult CM February Itin
erary. Contact: David Davison, Ceramics De
partment, Museum School, 230 The Fenway,
Boston 02115.
Canada, Alberta, Banff May 7-11 “Canadian
Clay Conference ’84,” at the Banff Centre School,
will address topics from education to aesthetics and
criticism in a national context. Contact: Leslie
Manning, The Banff Centre of Fine Arts, Box
1020, Banff, Alberta TOL OCO.
Conferences
Iowa, Ames March 22-25 “Women in Clay:
The Ongoing Tradition,” a symposium and ex
hibition. For details, consult CM February Itin
erary. Contact: Women in Clay, The Octagon Cen
ter for the Arts, Fifth and Douglas, Ames 50010;
or call: (515) 232-5331.
Massachusetts, Boston April 9-12 The an
nual conference of the National Council on Ed
ucation for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) at Boston
University, Massachusetts College of Art and the
School of the Museum of Fine Arts. For details,
consult CM January Itinerary. Contact: David
Davison, Federal Furnace Pottery, Hardy Street,
Dunstable, Massachusetts 01827.
New Jersey, Montclair June 29-July 1 “Mid
Atlantic States Craft Conference: Making Con
nections,” at Montclair State College. For details,
consult CM February Itinerary. April 6 registra
tion deadline. Contact: Hortense Green, Crafts
Coordinator, New Jersey State Council on the Arts,
109 W. State St., CN 306, Trenton 08625; or call:
(609) 292-6130.
Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh April 30-May 1 The
American Ceramic Society’s annual meeting will
focus on “History and Prehistory of Ceramic Art,
Science and Technology.” Registration fee: $30.
Contact: American Ceramic Society, 65 Ceramic
Dr., Columbus, Ohio 43214; or call: (614) 2688645.
Solo Exhibitions
Arkansas, Russellville March 1-31 Janet
Donnangelo, stoneware pottery; at Russellville Art
Center, 1008 W. Main St.
California, Encinitas March 1-15 Gwenn
Truax, “Setting Pretty,” tableware with engobe
and sgraffito decoration; at Offtrack Gallery, 510
N. Hwy. 101.
California, Santa Barbara through March 15
Ann Mallory Stearns, salt-glazed stoneware; at
Arlington Gallery, 1324 State St.
Indiana, Indianapolis March 6-31 Beth
Changstrom, porcelain vases and platters; at the
Indianapolis Museum of Art, 1200 W. 38 St.
Maryland, Baltimore March 2-23 Vera Baney, sculpture; at the Gallery, 800 S. Rolling Rd.
Minnesota, Minneapolis through March 30
Christine Federighi, sculpture; at By Design,
Lumber Exchange, 10 S. Fifth St.
New Mexico, Santa Fe March 24-April 21
Avra Leodas, stoneware vessels and wall reliefs;
at the Art Gallery, Saint John’s College, Camino
Cruz Blanca.
New York, New York March 4-24 James
Lawton, “Controlling Raku—New Forms, New
Imagery.” March 31-April 26 Wayne Higby;
at Greenwich House Pottery, 16 Jones St.
North Carolina, Charlotte through April 15
Oscar Louis Bachelder, pottery produced from 1916
to 1935 in the “Omar Khayyam Pottery”; at the
Mint Museum of History, 3500 Shamrock Dr.
Oregon, Portland March 22-April 21 Frank
Boyden, ceramics and lithographs; at Contempo
rary Crafts Gallery, 3934 S.W. Corbett Ave.
Rhode Island, Providence March 21-April
20 Allison Newsome, sculpture; at Solomon Hatch
Gallery, 118 N. Main St.
Group Exhibitions
Alabama, Birmingham through March 13 “Tra
ditional Pottery of Alabama”; at the Birmingham
Museum of Art, 2000 Eighth Ave., N.
Arizona, Mesa March 12-30 “6th Annual
Vahki Competition,” regional multimedia exhi
bition; at Galeria Mesa, 155 N. Center St.
Arizona, Phoenix through March 11 “Mimbres
Pottery: Ancient Art of the American Southwest”;
at the Heard Museum, 22 E. Monte Vista Rd.
California, Claremont March 4-April 1 “The
Scripps Clay Connection,” works by former stu
dents and faculty; at Scripps College.
California, Los Angeles through March 17
“Earthforms ’84”; at Loyola Marymount Uni
versity’s Art Gallery, Loyola Blvd. at W. 80 St.
California, Oakland through March 5 An ex
hibition of ceramic vessels and sculpture by the
Association of San Francisco Potters; at Holy Names
College, 3500 Mountain Blvd.
California, Redding through March 25 Chris
Yates, thrown and handbuilt porcelain; at Redding
Museum and Art Center, Caldwell Park.
California, San Diego through March 25 An
nual juried “San Diego Artists Guild All-Media
Membership Exhibition”; at the San Diego Mu
seum of Art, Balboa Park.
California, San Francisco through March 7 A
dual exhibition with Dick Studley, Egyptian paste
vessels; at American Artforms Gallery at NeimanMarcus, 150 Stockton St.
through March 15 A dual exhibition with Rob
ert Arneson, sculpture; at Fuller Goldeen Gallery,
228 Grant Ave.
California, Sunnyvale March 16-April 14 An
exhibition by the Association of San Francisco Pot
ters; at Creative Arts Center Gallery, 550 E. Rem
ington.
California, Westlake Village through March 30
A dual exhibition with Patrick Crabb, vessels; at
the Retreat Gallery, 3865 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd.
Colorado, Golden through March 27 “Col
orado Clay Exhibition”; at the Foothills Art Cen
ter, 809 Fifteenth St.
Colorado, Grand Junction March 3-April 8
Sixth annual “WomanArt West”; at Western Col
orado Center for the Arts, 1803 N. Seventh St.
Connecticut, Greenwich March 21-April 21 A
trimedia exhibition with Nick Bernard; at the Ele
ments Gallery, 14 Liberty Way.
Connecticut, New Haven through March 18 A
dual show with Chris Richard, pottery; at the Cre
ative Arts Workshop, 80 Audubon St.
D.C., Washington through April 1 “Art of Az
tec Mexico: Treasures of Tenochtitlan”; at Na
tional Gallery of Art, Fourth St. at Constitution
Ave.
through June 17 “Clay for Walls: Surface Reliefs
by American Artists”; at Renwick Gallery, Penn
sylvania Ave. at 17th St., NW.
March 10-31 A multimedia exhibition with Dick
Studley, Egyptian paste vessels; at Jackie Chalkley, Foxhall Square, 3301 New Mexico Ave., NW.
March 11-30 Jean Cohen and Tim Mather; at
the American Hand, 2906 M Street, NW.
Florida, Belleair March 23-April 22 “Ce
ramics: Southeast” juried exhibition; at the Florida
Gulf Coast Art Center, 222 Ponce de Leon Blvd.
Florida, Miami March 16-April 9 “Ceramic
League 34th Annual Members Exhibition,” juried
show; at Barbara Gillman Gallery II, 3886 Biscayne Blvd.
Florida, Pensacola March 9-30 “Pensacola
National Portrait Exhibition,” juried competition;
at Pensacola Junior College Visual Arts Gallery,
1000 College Blvd.
Florida, South Miami March 23-April 30
“Florida Artists,” includes works by Shiiko Alex
ander; at Netsky Gallery, 5759 Sunset Dr.
Georgia, La Grange March 9-31 “La Grange
National IX” juried exhibition; at Lamar Dodd
Art Center, La Grange College.
Idaho, Pocatello March 2-30 “Biennial Crafts
III” juried exhibition; at Davis Gallery, Idaho State
University.
Illinois, Chicago March 16-April 20 “Mid
west/Southwest Exchange,” New Mexico ce
ramics; at Lill Street Gallery, 1021 W. Lill St.
Illinois, Highland Park through March 29
Linda Schusterman and Alan Willoughby, highfired polychrome porcelain. March 31-May
2 “The Cup Invitational,”; at Martha Schneider
Gallery, 124 S. Deere Park Dr.
Iowa, Ames March 22-April 29 “Women in
Clay: The Ongoing Tradition” exhibition and
symposium includes “Six Over Sixty” with Laura
Andreson, Ruth Duckworth, Vivika Heino, Lucy
Lewis, Santana Martinez and Beatrice Wood; and
“The Continuum” with Christina Bertoni, Jamie
Fine, Karen Karnes, Sally Bowen Prange and Elsa
Rady; plus historical works; at the Octagon Center
for the Arts, Fifth and Douglas.
Iowa, Iowa City March 31-May 6 “Medieval
and Renaissance Ceramics from the Kassebaum
Collection,” 60 examples of glazed earthenware;
at the University of Iowa Museum of Art, Riv
erside Dr.
Louisiana, Hammond through March 16 “Lou
isiana Crafts Council’s 17th Annual Craft Com
petition”; at the Clark Hall Art Gallery, South
eastern Louisiana University.
Louisiana, New Orleans through March 25
“Auspicious Spirits,” Korean folk paintings and
related objects; at the New Orleans Museum of
Art, City Park, Lelong Ave.
Massachusetts, Boston through June 3 “Di
rections in Contemporary American Ceramics,”
approximately 50 works by 15 artists; at the Mu
seum of Fine Arts, 465 Huntington Ave.
March 1-May 30 “Ban Chiang: Discovery of a
Lost Bronze Age” (see CM November 1983); at
the Museum of Sciences, Science Park.
March 23-April 14 “Massachusetts Clay,” works
by Harriet Goodwin, John Heller, Thomas Hoadley, Judy Motzkin, Dick Studley and Robert Woo;
at Signature, Dock Square, North St.
Massachusetts, Hyannis March 23-April 14
“Massachusetts Clay,” works by Harriet Goodwin,
John Heller, Thomas Hoadley, Judy Motzkin, Dick
Studley and Robert Woo; at Signature, the Village
Market Place, Stevens St.
Massachusetts, Lexington through September 9
“Unearthing New England’s Past: The Ceramic
Evidence,” shards and whole objects from the 17th
to 19th centuries found in archaeological excava
tions; at the Museum of Our National Heritage,
33 Marret Rd.
Massachusetts, Milton through April 22 “The
Manner of Making Porcelain: The Dimsdale
Gouaches,” 24 paintings illustrating porcelain
production; at the China Trade Museum, 215 Ad
ams St.
Michigan, Dearborn through March 9 A dual
Continued
March 1984
21
22 CERAMICS MONTHLY
Itinerary
exhibition with Elizabeth Lurie, porcelain; at the
Fine Arts Gallery, Henry Ford Community Col
lege, 5101 Evergreen Rd.
Michigan, Detroit through March 6 John and
Susanne Stephenson, works from 1963 to 1984; at
Pewabic Pottery, 10125 E. Jefferson Ave.
through March 24 “Wealth of the Ancient World:
The Nelson Bunker Hunt and William Herbert
Hunt Collections,” includes 15 Greek and Roman
vases; at the Detroit Institute of Arts, 5200 Wood
ward Ave.
Michigan, Lathrup Village March 10-31 A
dual exhibition with Rick Foris, raku; at Venture
Gallery, 28235 Southfield Rd.
Mississippi, Jackson through March 11 “An
cient
Inspirations/Contemporary
Interpreta
tions”; at the Mississippi Museum of Art, Pascogoula at Lamar.
Missouri, Saint Louis through May 20 “Amer
ican Folk Art from Missouri Collections”; at the
Saint Louis Art Museum, Forest Park.
New Hampshire, Manchester March 17-April
26 “Third New Hampshire Crafts Biennial” ju
ried exhibition; at the Manchester Institute of Arts
and Sciences, 148 Concord St.
New Jersey, East Hanover through March 28
Selected works by the New Jersey State Council
on the Arts 1984 fellowship winners; at Nabisco
Gallery, 100 Deforest Ave.
New Jersey, Trenton through April 15 “The
Diversions of Keramos”; at the New Jersey State
Museum, 205 W. State St.
New Mexico, Albuquerque March 4-30
“Clay, Fiber and Wood ’84”; at the Fine Arts Gal
lery, New Mexico State Fairgrounds.
New York, New York through March 10 A
dual exhibition with George Timock, double-walled
bowls. March 15-April 7 Ted Randall, largescale vessels; and Nancy Selvin, teabowls; at Ele
ments Gallery, 90 Hudson St.
through May 12 “Silk Roads/China Ships,” ap
proximately 400 objects illustrating 2000 years of
commerce between Asia and the West; at the
American Museum of Natural History, Central
Park W. at 79th St.
through September 5 “New Yorkers’ Taste:
Chinese Export Porcelain, 1750-1865,” ware cus
tom-made for prominent New York families; at
the Museum of the City of New York, Fifth Ave.
at 103rd St.
New York, Rochester March 17-April 28 “Introspectives” national juried exhibition of works
by women artists; at Pyramid Arts Center, 163
Saint Paul St.
New York, White Plains March 10-28 Mamaroneck Artists Guild “Annual Open Juried Ex
hibition”; at the Community Unitarian Church,
Rosedale Ave.
Ohio, Cleveland through June 3 “Highlights
of the Rococo: Norweb Ceramics and Related Arts”;
at the Cleveland Museum of Art, 11150 East Blvd.
Oregon, Portland through March 17 “In
ternational Teaparty” juried exhibition of func
tional and nonfunctional teapots and service in all
media; at Contemporary Crafts, 3934 S.W. Cor
bett Ave.
Pennsylvania, Bethlehem March 15-April 28
“Soup Soup Beautiful Soup” juried exhibition of
tureens; at Historic Bethlehem, 501 Main St.
Pennsylvania, Lancaster March 3-25 “Gallery
Show ’84,” third annual statewide competition; at
the Market House Craft Center, Queen and Vine
Streets.
Pennsylvania, Philadelphia March 18-May 13
“Dutch Tiles,” approximately 1500 tiles from 1570
to 1850; at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Park
way at 26th St.
Rhode Island, Providence March 20-April 15
“Innovations in Clay and Glass 1984” invitational
exhibition; at Bannister Gallery, Rhode Island
College, 600 Mt. Pleasant Ave.
March 30-June 24 Chris Gustin, Andrew Lord,
Philip Maberry, Mark Pharis, Adrian Saxe, Ian
Symons and Arnie Zimmerman, “RISD Clay In
vitational”; at the Museum of Art, Rhode Island
School of Design, 224 Benefit St.
Tennessee, Gatlinburg March 2-April 21
“Surface Enrichment: Color and Pattern” invita
tional exhibition, includes work by Curt and Suzan Benzie, Rick Foris, Susan Icove and Karen
Koblitz; at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts.
Tennessee, Murfreesboro March 5-April 6
“Currents ’84” biennial crafts competition; at the
Art Barn Gallery, Middle Tennessee State Uni
versity.
Texas, Corpus Christi through March 10
“Contemporary Ceramics,” works by Rick Dil
lingham, Wayne Higby, Greg Reuter, Bill Wilhelmi and Betty Woodman; at Carancahua Gal
lery, 525 S. Carancahua.
Texas, Houston March 16-July 9 “Treasures
from the Shanghai Museum: 6000 Years of Chinese
Art” (see CM January features); at the Museum
of Fine Arts, 1001 Bissonnet.
Texas, San Angelo through March 16 “Ceramic
Competition ’84,” six-state regional show; at the
Houston Harte Center Gallery, Angelo State Uni
versity.
Texas, San Marcos March 20-April 13 Robert
Lyon and W. Steve Rucker, sculpture; at the
Southwest Texas State University Gallery.
Utah, Ogden through March 9 “Tenth An
nual Ceramics Invitational”; at the Department of
Art Gallery, Weber State College.
Virginia, Charlottesville through April 20
“Dynamic Dimensions,” includes Gene Kleinsmith, platters and sculpture; at Gallery II R.S.VP.,
218 W. Main St.
Fairs, Festivals and Sales
Arizona, Scottsdale March 30-April 1 “Scotts
dale Center for the Arts Festival 15”; at Scottsdale
Center for the Arts, 7383 Scottsdale Mall.
Florida, Tampa March 3-4 The 14th annual
“Gasparilla Sidewalk Art Festival”; at Doyle Carl
ton Dr., downtown.
Georgia, Atlanta March 17-20 “Craft Fair
Atlanta ’84”; at the Atlanta Market Center.
Michigan, Traverse City March 10-11 “In
vitational Fine Art Fair”; at Park Place Dome,
300 E. State St.
New York, New York March 9, April 6 and 27
“The Fourth International Clay Film Festival”; at
the Greenwich House Pottery, 16 Jones St.
Pennsylvania, Harrisburg March 9-11 “Penn
sylvania National Arts and Crafts Show”; at State
Farm Show Building.
Texas, Houston March 24-April 1 “The
Houston Festival,” 13th annual juried art and craft
fair; at Sam Houston Park, downtown.
Texas, McAllen March 17-18 The Ceramics
International Association’s 11th annual “Fiesta on
the Border”; at the McAllen Civic Center.
Workshops
California, Berkeley March 24-25 Catharine
Hiersoux, porcelain workshop with emphasis on
wheel throwing, design and decoration. Fee: $65,
includes lunch. Limited registration. Contact: Ca
tharine Hiersoux, 437 Colusa Ave., Berkeley 94707;
or call: (415) 524-8005.
California, Mendocino March 17-18 Beth
Changstrom, “Pottery Surface Enrichment,” dem
onstrations on airbrushing, stenciling and draw
ing, plus slide lecture. Fee: $45. Contact: Tony
Marsh, Mendocino Art Center, Box 765, Men
docino 95460; or call: (707) 937-5818 or 937-0946.
California, Santa Cruz March 31-April 1 Al
Johnsen, “Slab Building and the Extruder as a
Design Tool,” hands-on experience. Fee: $85, in
cludes clay. April 28-29 “Teapot Workshop,”
techniques for form and function. Fee: $85, in
cludes clay. Contact: Adrianne Van Gelder, Uni
versity of California, Extension Office, Santa Cruz
95064; or call: (408) 429-2971.
California, Sunnyvale March 31 Mayer
Shacter, slide lecture and demonstration. Contact:
Libby Page, Sunnyvale Community Center, Box
60607, Sunnyvale 94088; or call: (408) 738-5521.
California, Walnut Creek April 7 Eunice
Prieto, “Salt Glaze Workshop.” April 14-15
Juta Savage and Kuzuye Suyematsu, “Porcelain
Decoration Workshop.” Contact: Mark Mc
Kinnon, 1313 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek 94596;
or call: (415) 943-5848.
Colorado, Denver April 7-8 Kurt Weiser
workshop in conjunction with the exhibition “En
vironments.” Contact: Cohen Gallery, 665 S. Pearl
St., Denver 80209; or call: (303) 431-3080.
Connecticut, Brookfield March 31-April 1
Bill Van Gilder, “Press Molding for Table
ware.” April 6 Cynthia Bringle, “Special
Workshop for Potters.” Maximum: 30 partici
pants. April 7-8 Marvin Bjurlin, “Coil
Throwing and Double-Walled Vessels.” Contact:
Brookfield Craft Center, Box 122, Brookfield 06804;
or call (203) 775-4526.
Connecticut, New Haven March 17-18 Chris
Richard, “Throwing and Constructing Large Scale
Forms with Stoneware.” Fee: $45. Contact: The
Creative Arts Workshop, 80 Audubon St., New
Haven 06511; or call: (203) 562-4927.
Illinois, Palos Hills April 7 William Farrell,
wheel throwing demonstration and slide lecture.
Fee: $20, includes lunch. Contact: Moraine Valley
Community College, 10900 S. 88 Ave., 1300 Bldg.,
Palos Hills 60465; or call: (312) 974-4300.
Kansas, Wichita March 20-21 John Dyas,
“Working with Porcelain and Zinc Crystalline
Glazes,” participatory workshop. Contact: Dee
Connett, Art Department, Friends University, 2100
University, Wichita 67213; or call: (316) 264-9661.
Massachusetts, Boston March 28 Garth Clark,
Doug Heller and Bernice Wolman, “Economics
and Aesthetics in Contemporary Crafts,” panel
discussion. Contact: Program in Artisanry, Boston
University, 620 Commonwealth Ave., Boston 02215;
or call: (617) 353-2022.
Massachusetts, Worcester April 28-29 Bar
bara Knutson, “Slab Construction,” demonstration
and hands-on experience. Fee: $55 for members;
$65, nonmembers. Contact: Worcester Craft Cen
ter, 25 Sagamore Rd., Worcester 01605.
New York, East Islip March 24-25 John Fink,
a two-day session on design, construction, painting
and airbrush decoration. Fee: $40. Up to 20 par
ticipants. Contact: Islip Art Museum, 50 Irish Lane,
East Islip 11730; or call: (516) 224-5402.
New York, New York April 1 and 8 Elisa
D’Arrigo, “Treatment of Ceramic Form Surfaces.”
Contact: Janet Bryant, 92nd Street Y, 1395 Lex
ington Ave., New York 10128; or call: (212) 4276000, ext. 162.
March 23-24 James Lawton, slide lecture and
demonstration. Contact: Greenwich House Pot
tery, 16 Jones St., New York 10014; or call: (212)
242-4106.
New York, Scarsdale April 29 Mikhail Zak
in, “Raku,” a hands-on session; 4 medium-sized,
bisqued forms required. Maximum: 8 partici
pants. Fee: $40. Contact: YM-YWHA of MidWestchester, 999 Wilmot Rd., Scarsdale 10583; or
call: (914) 472-3300.
Ohio, Wooster April 5-7 “Functional Ce
ramics Workshop,” with panelists Val Cushing,
Tim Mather and Barbara Diduk, will include
demonstrations, discussions and slide lectures.
Contact: Phyllis Blair Clark, The College of
Wooster, Wooster 44691; or call: (216) 263-2388.
Pennsylvania, Lancaster March 24 and 31
Juan Quezada, coil building, burnishing and openair dung firing; 15 participants maximum. Fee:
$45, includes materials. Send self-addressed,
stamped business envelope to: Terri Willner, Mar
ket House Craft Center, Box 552, Lancaster 17604;
or call: (717) 295-1500 or 392-7797.
Tennessee, Gatlinburg March 12-16 Walter
Hyleck, “Color and the Porcelain Surface.”
March 26-30 Karl Borgeson, “Raku.” Contact:
Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Box 567,
Gatlinburg 37738; or call: (615) 436-5860.
Texas, Amarillo March 10-11 David Shaner,
Please Turn to Page 88
March 1984
23
24 C eramics M onthly
Comment
Letter to a Young Potter by Dennis Parks
“How CAN I make a living from ce
ramics?” Yes, you’re right, it’s a familiar
question. And you would think by now
I’d have a ready answer. I don’t, though
my first teacher Robert Howard did: “Try
to starve to death in America. They’ll
haul you off to a hospital, tie you down
and force feed you. Don’t you know it’s
against the law to starve?” His answer
helped because it was ironic, it made me
smile, and that was a beginning—but I
know it’s not the answer you’re looking
for.
Last year, in an Australian craft shop,
I overheard a local potter lamenting, “All
the prices are too low. I can’t live off
these. It’s the cegg-money potters.’ They’re
going to kill us off.” He was referring
to those potters who don’t rely entirely
on sales for their livelihood. They’ll sell
low in order to have a high turnover.
Many are primarily interested in cov
ering studio expenses and hoping to have
a little extra.
Low prices are a major problem. I
agree. Figuring with the inflated dollar,
retail prices for utilitarian ceramics are
about the same today as they were 20
years ago. But it’s difficult for me to
condemn outright the egg-money potter.
How many potters support themselves
completely from the sale of their work?
How many more of us fall somewhere
in the egg-money category?
Each time I become better acquainted
with a renowned potter (whom I’d as
sumed was living comfortably from sales)
I soon learn of a part-time job or a full
time professorship with a light teaching
load; or I’m introduced to a spouse with
a dedication to working 9 to 5; or I’m
told of a small family legacy that helps
out. I’ve never met a serious potter who
supports the family with a single source
of income. The answer may be that one
must diversify in order to survive.
That isn’t, I realize, a very specific
answer to your “How can I make a liv
ing?” question. There have to be a lot
of ways. Most of my generation teach.
In academe there are of course the timeconsuming aggravations of faculty meet
ings, committee meetings, office hours
and students, but the campus offers a
steady, middle-class income, summer va
cations, etc. And for the tenured few, a
professorship assures security to the grave.
When I was granted an M.F.A. in the
mid ’60s, there were teaching positions
to choose from. You could pick an in
stitution that had the climate you liked
best. Now, in the 1980s, there are fewer
students who in turn need fewer instruc
tors. The fresh graduate today may fall
into a teaching job, but you can’t real
istically make it your goal. A few potters
edit magazines or manufacture pottery
equipment. Very few!
Marry well is an ancient solution.
Marry money or a spouse who loves to
work. The option may sound facetious
or crass, but it’s definitely the oldest and
most certain resolution for financial in
security.
Live cheaply. We Americans are
spoiled. When you wring your hands
about making a living, you’ve more in
mind than a roof over your head, a dry
floor and a table set for one. By lowering
my expectations I’ve discovered that a
lot of my “basic needs” have become
merely delightful, occasional extrava
gances. Much literature exists on studio
efficiency and economies. When prac
ticed within reason many of these howto-save hints are prudent. Lowering ba
sic costs definitely reduces the demand
for income.
There’s nothing any of us would like
Continued
March 1984
25
26 CERAMICS MONTHLY
Comment
years, out of restlessness, we moved to
California. I set up a studio near Mon
terey and wholesaled my ware. Julie got
a job in another hospital. Still we needed
more cash. I worked part time as a clerk
in a gallery, as a gardener watering or
chids, as a substitute junior high teacher
and as a paper grader at the high school.
This wasn’t doing what I wanted to
do. I decided to try the college teaching
game. Though I’d been reared on the
dictum “Those who can, do; those who
can’t, teach,” I resolved to try joining the
club without really becoming “one of the
boys.” I applied to graduate school, and
Julie applied for a job at a nearby hos
pital. Subsequently I taught six years at
two different colleges, and received pro
motions, faculty grants and a tenure of
fer. Julie continued to work, as it seemed
impossible to live on just a teacher’s sal
ary (and the more infrequent sale of my
work). I was given a sabbatical for a
semester, then I requested a year’s leave
of absence. Finally I resigned. That was
12 years ago.
How do I make a living now? I’m
puzzled by forms like a passport appli
cation with the short blank space for oc
cupation. Should I write potter, teacher,
lecturer, writer, vegetable gardener, rab
bit breeder, deer hunter, trout fisher
man? Or maybe just the single job clas
sification “potter” implies all the rest.
Today Julie and I live in a modestly
comfortable fashion in the boondocks.
No mortgages; no plastic cards. Julie re
tired her R.N. at the time I packed away
my M.F.A.
Luck may be what keeps us going.
Curious that you never find the word
“luck” in any definition of security. Was
my biggest stroke of luck a boom in the
real estate market just when I sold my
home in California? If the predicted
earthquake doesn’t drop Los Angeles
County into the ocean, I can depend on
a monthly mortgage check until Feb
ruary 2013. Or was my luck in marrying
well: a working wife who tolerated a
husband with no economic ambitions?
Lots of unanticipated good fortune came
along the way. For me answers are hard
er to find than luck.
I heard a quote attributed to baseball
figure Branch Rickey: “Luck is the res
idue of design.” That might be an an
swer.
to do so much as sell well. Make what
our inner vision urges (what we like),
sell to an eager public (at a respectable
price) and make a living (at the level
we’re accustomed to). This is the path
most young potters look for. I must ad
mit that I’ve glanced at this road and
have never seen a soul on it. I’ve met
potters who believe they have found the
map. They developed skills for produc
ing rapidly and efficiently; they make a
large volume of well-crafted, finished and
popular items; they refocus with changes
in public taste (bright colors when they’re
in vogue, raku if it goes well, porcelain
or salt glaze, vessels or objet d’art). In
terior design galleries and living room
art collectors help them.
This is realistic, but then you prob
ably want to be a romantic about it. “How
can I make a living (doing what I want
to do)?” I know the parenthetical phrase
is always there. Otherwise why would
intelligent, college-educated folks be
come entangled in such an insecure, un
profitable occupation? Look around.
There are no rich and famous potters.
The rules in economics are that others
pay for services that they can’t or don’t
want to do, and purchase what they need
and/or like. Sometimes what the potter
wants to make and what the public wants
to buy will coincide. Sometimes not. To
follow the public too closely will not lead
to doing what you want to do.
I know your next question. Every time
I’ve reached this point in similar dis
cussions I am challenged rather petu
lantly with “Well, how did you make it?”
Not bravely, cleanly, consistently nor
quickly—but satisfactorily. I began
making pots to support myself as a poet.
Not a brilliantly thought-out nor wellresearched scheme. These are certainly
two of the least valued and rewarded
occupations. It would have made more
common sense to become a poet/pharmacist or poet/C.P.A., but at 23 I was
concocting what I thought might grow
into a well-balanced, nutritious life.
It was not long before I noticed that
I was no longer sitting down to write.
All my time was devoted to scratching
out a potter’s living. My wife Julie was
employed off and on as a full-time reg
istered nurse. In rapid succession we had
two sons. This was at my first studio in
Washington, D.C., where I sold retail The author Dennis Parks maintains
from my gallery and taught adult edu a studio and pottery school in Tuscarora,
cation classes nights. After a couple of Nevada.
March 1984
27
28 Ceramics Monthly
Collaboration
COLLABORATIVE raku and salt-fired River. Until 1982 their collaborations
vessels were among the works recently were raku fired, then they built a kiln
shown by New York ceramists Nancee to salt glaze the ware for greater “visual
Meeker and Jane Hollenberg at Ten clarity of surface and form.” The new
Arrow Gallery in Cambridge, Massa salt-glazed “joint efforts” combine Nan
chusetts. Jane has shared studio and kiln cee’s thrown classical forms with Jane’s
space with Nancee since 1973; they now handbuilt animalistic and figurative em
work at Nancee’s farm on the Hudson
bellishments.
Photos: courtesy of Ten Arrow Gallery
Nancee Meeker unbricks the salt-kiln door
at her studio on an old farm near the
Hudson River, New York. The kiln shed
(which opens on all sides) was designed
for flexibility in ventilation and wind
control.
March 1984
29
Above Raku-fired vase, 20 inches in
height, thrown by Nancee Meeker, with fish
handles by Jane Hollenberg.
Left Jane Hollenberg adjusts a
figurative maquette on one oj Nancee's
thrown forms. Their collaborative works
are either raku fired or salt glazed.
30 CERAMICS MONTHLY
A Ceramics Monthly Portfolio
T E X T
B Y
H E N R Y
V A R N U M
P O O R
( 1 8 8 7 - 1 9 7 0 )
Henry Varnum Poor holding an unfinished lamp base for the Rockefeller
Center; 1932. He was among the first modern American studio potters.
Overleaf Self-Portrait Plate * thrown, 8½ inches in diameter;
earthenware with incised slip, 1940.
No author is needed to speak for or
about Henry Varnum Poor. He wrote
with eloquence and his words have met
the test of time. Rooted in the great
American prairieland, Poor studied at
the same source as Bernard Leach—the
Slade School of Art, London. After fur
ther training in Paris, he returned to the
United States, first to teach painting at
Stanford University and at the San
Francisco Art Association, then moving
to New York in 1919 to launch a presti
gious studio career in ceramics. Ed.
—
In art there is no perfection, nor even a
universal image of perfection. Individuals
have set images of perfection for them
selves, but the images come to an end
with that individual. And wherever an
image of perfection did dominate the
whole production of a people or a school,
the result was a sterility like that of the
late Greek periods, as shown both in
their sculpture and their pottery. Art is
continually reborn and revivified, and can
build on inherited knowledge and tradi
tion only to a limited extent. Even the
painting of Cezanne, which seemed so
reasonable, so reasoned, so much a lad
der leading to greater perfection, has not
truly served as a ladder, for what was
continued in its image became dead.
Science, on the other hand, sets a
goal—the perfection of knowledge, the
all-knowing. The oceanographer hopes
eventually to find out all there is to know
about the floor of the ocean. The chemist
hopes to make the perfect substance. The
perfect porcelain is the goal of the indus
trial porcelain factory.
Thus the so-called fine arts must al
ways stay close to the crafts, where ob
viously the material is of first impor
tance. Perhaps the distinction between
fine arts and applied arts could be made
on some rough ratio between spirit and
material. Certainly much painting and
sculpture is pure exercise in craftsman
ship, while many simple objects of clay
and wood and metal reveal the most lofty
spirit.
Pottery is earth begotten; but the most
powerful of all catalysts, heat, frees it
from being earthbound. After the potter
has done his best with his material, heat
works its miracles until the results far
transcend the creator. I know of no other
art, no other technique, where this is
true. Heat and growth and equally mirac
ulous forces have conspired to produce
the stone and wood, metals and colors
that are the materials of all the arts.
When man has done his best with them,
he carefully protects the result. Only the
potter trusts his completed work to God
or the Devil for its final perfection or de
struction.
In the arts of all primitive people there
are astonishing similarities, and particu
larly so in pottery. If the way of life and
the materials at hand were in close corre
spondence, then the natives of the Congo,
the Indians of Mexico and Peru, the ear
ly Cretans and Persians, and the prehis
toric Chinese, all did work that was
much more alike, much more akin in
both outward form and inner spirit, than
is the work of two different artists who
might be showing simultaneously in New
York’s 57th Street galleries today, al
though these two painters might be of
the same age, live in the same building,
read the same books and newspapers, and
buy their paint and canvas from the
same shop. The likenesses in work sepa
rated by thousands of years and by un
known continents certainly show that
men were so alike in physical and spiritu
al needs that they evolved the same
forms and the same decorations and
much the same symbolic imagery.
The present-day differences result from
many and complicated disruptive forces.
Conformity in our lives leads to a false
emphasis upon differences and originality
as an assertion of freedom. From an
imagined retrospective view of 3000
years hence, similarities which now we do
not see will probably appear much great
er. At any rate, the paintings will be on
much the same canvas and with much
the same paints and will have been paint
ed with much the same self-conscious
motivation, the same lack of unity with
our everyday life. But I don’t think 3000
years can bring forward much similarity
between a realistically modeled marble
nude and a welded abstract construction
in sheet iron, which might today be in
cluded in the same exhibition of Contem
porary Art.
In the arts based on clay transmuted
by fire—the ceramic arts—the materials
at hand and the techniques involved have
played a leading part in forming tradi
tion. The Chinese had kaolin and whiteburning clays and feldspar, and what
they did with these became a tradition
that profoundly influenced the art of ce
ramics throughout the world. The Etrus
cans knew and loved their red clay, the
slippery mud that oozed up between their
bare toes; and they learned to build im
ages of it and depict their whole life
through it. They were laid away in cas
kets made of it, with images of them
selves lying in immortal state over their
own mortal flesh. They delighted in the
mystery of firing this red mud and ma
nipulating the fire to get a glossy
black: the Bucchero ware which still de
fies science to duplicate it. So they made
a terra-cotta civilization. The Persians,
imitating the Chinese whiteware, used
their own coarse sandy clays overlaid
with a white slip, and decorated their
pots with such brilliance under fat soda
and potash glazes that they give us a de
light of an entirely different sort. Italian
and Moorish majolica, Delft enameled
ware, early English earthenware and
stoneware and slipware—all the ceramic
things we most love—speak of a time, a
place, a people, a way of life.
For us, now, what is our tradition? In
our homes, as much as we can, we live
with things we love from all places and
all times. If we cannot own them (and
generally we cannot), we gloat over them
as reproduced in books and in museums.
We inherit all traditions and are part of
what? When we go to buy cups and
plates and bowls—the things we use and
spend our lives with, the common
things—we get sanitary, cold, mechani
cally perfect machine-made objects, per
haps well designed by some efficient in
dustrial designer. Must we accept this as
our tradition? In all honesty it is the
American tradition in ceramics—good,
even perfect, sanitary hotel china. This is
the voice of our way of life, and it speaks
in precise, cold, impersonal tones of fac
tories, machines and mass production.
We must face the fact that this is our
common voice, and if we are not in tune
and are not content to be in tune, our
problem becomes one of finding quiet
and detachment to develop and perfect
our own little voices. And how escape the
self-conscious individualism, the un
healthy too-long-indulged introspection,
which has become the role of the artist?
Sophisticated primitivism is a very tricky
role for the artist to play in his attempt
to recapture the singleness of other sim
pler civilizations. In pottery, the return
must be made through closer, warmer
touch with our materials. But in our
shops we have all materials; in our
schools and textbooks and workshops we
have command of all techniques. We can
buy any and all perfect glazes to fit any
perfect body, put them into an electric
kiln, turn a switch, and fire them to ex
actly the right temperature. So all that is
lacking is good design and there are
many books and teachers to tell what
good design is—so, where is the perfect
pottery?
It would seem that the living quality of
a piece of pottery hangs on a delicate
balance. Technical perfection cannot give
life to dead forms and dry design. Only
love can create a living thing; knowledge
is not enough. To know exactly how a
clay acts and what its qualities are is not
the same by any means as loving it into
life and nursing it through the mysteries
and uncertainties of firing.
One of my great loves when I started
doing pottery was Persian pottery, and
the technique of working on a white slip,
which I took from the Persians, has re
mained, through various modifications,
my greatest love. It offers the freest and
richest medium of expression for informal
draftsmanship and pictorial decoration;
and since I was most in love with paint
ing and drawing, I started doing pottery
for the pleasure of decorating it.
In the pottery of the Persians it is the
universality of the tradition, the very
commonness of the work, which plays an
essential part in forming its fresh, vigor
ous character. This attitude toward their
work on the part of the potters charmed
me. I valued the three scars of the stilts
on even the most beautiful plates and
bowls, showing they were stacked in tiers,
as a finer trademark than an artist’s sig
nature. My first ambition was to produce
beautiful, common and anonymous ware,
and to sell it cheaply. I wanted to flood
the market with it so that people would
rush to buy, knowing only that it came
from “that pottery up the Hudson near
Haverstraw.” The body of this ware
would be that blue clay of the Hudson
Valley, where were made the common
red bricks with which early New York
City was built.
This ideal has been abandoned, and
largely through economic pressure—the
poison that destroys more ideals than any
other killer. I had named my house and
pottery “Crowhouse”; had cut out a
stamp for a trademark. ^
Inever
signed my work, but with my first ven
ture into taking orders by the dozens
from the Belle Maison Gallery at Wanamaker’s, I realized I must either become
a small factory and have helpers, or stick
to my solitude and ask higher prices. The
latter is what happened.
But that original ideal has remained
extremely important in my work. When I
work at pottery, I do it always with a
feeling for quantity production. I turn it
out rapidly instead of lingering over each
piece. I decorate a dozen plates at one
stretch, and as I pick up each plate I
have no idea of what is going on it, ex
cept that it must be a free expression of
something I believe in. I stack plates and
tiles and bowls densely in tiers in the
kiln, with little shelving; nothing to in
sure against warping or being scarred by
the stilts.
All of this is, I recognize, perhaps a
futile attempt to combat the sterile preciousness of the “artist potter”—a hateful
term. Since there is no tradition, I want
ed to create one of my own and work in
it in community with the great traditions
of the past.
To make your own valid tradition I
think you must have, above all, the har
dihood to establish and maintain a way
of life, and this must involve a closer,
warmer relation to your materials and, as
an image maker, a life lived in close con
tact with the things from which you want
to evolve symbols and images. The bird
you may evolve to fit a pot may be very
like a Persian bird; but if you have ar
rived at it through your own knowledge
of birds, through your own drawings and
attempts to summarize what you know
and see, its differences from an adapted
Persian bird mark the difference between
something trite and something alive.
Character, a quality beyond words or
analysis, is the very first quality in good
design, and any design that sacrifices
character to any imagined rightness, any
conformity to law, is no longer good de
sign.
From the land back of my pottery in
Rockland County, New York, I dug earth
from about 6 inches below the surface to
get it fairly free from roots, leaf mold
and other obvious organic substances. It
was a yellow, rather sandy soil, not claylike or plastic in feeling. I put some of it
through a ½-inch-mesh sieve and mea
sured out 1 gallon of this earth which
had been separated from its biggest peb
bles. This gallon of earth I stirred into 3
gallons of water, making a thin, yellow
soup, which I poured through a ½-inchmesh sieve. About one pint of pebbles re
mained on the sieve. On a '/16-inch-mesh
sieve rather more than a pint of sharp
clean sand remained. Through a 40-mesh
sieve about half of the remaining soup
passed. This I allowed to settle overnight;
then I siphoned off the clear water and
poured the heavy creamy remainder into
a plaster bat. This process resulted in a
clay that was plastic enough to be thrown
into simple forms on the wheel. At Cone
05 it made a pleasant, sandy-textured,
terra-cotta red body, perfectly strong and
durable. It was rich and glossy under a
simple raw glaze. It would make fine
kitchen casseroles for baking.
I am not a geologist, nor am I interest
ed in mapping out clay distribution, but
wherever I drive and find clay exposed in
roadside cuts I gather it, carry it home
and, when I find time, make some simple
bowls. Then in my imagination I can see
the beautiful and useful things which
could come from that region, could
uniquely characterize the place through
its deviations from the accepted and stan
dardized products of industrial ceramic
plants. This sort of regionalism we have
unfortunately left behind, and in doing so
have lost more than we have gained.
Who with a sense of taste would not
gladly exchange our packaged and uni
versally marketed bread, properly “vita
min enriched,” for the loaves from ovens
of any French or Italian town, made from
the villagers’ own wheat?
Art is an expression of each person’s
rediscovery of the universe. To produce a
living and vital art this discovery must
begin close to the beginning, or the result
is only a synthetic art. The beginning for
pottery is clay.
Earth I am, it is most true
Disdain me not, for so are you.
This motto on an old English plate ex
presses the spirit which motivated a
whole national period of pot making in
England. And although later English ce
ramic products, such as Wedgwood, Toft,
Staffordshire, Chelsea, and Bow, became
famous the world over for perfection of
technique and distinctive style, this work
never soared so high into realms of pure
and expressive form as did the rugged
pots of those early English potters.
So the love of clay, through as personal
an experience as may still be possible in
this nervous, rushing, industrialized, pres
ent-day America, is the most important
starting point for everyone who has the
urge to make pottery. This is why I tell
of digging it up in my own back yard. I
like to call it mud to emphasize its uni
versality and to emphasize that the most
common may be the richest materials
from which to make rare and beautiful
objects. You can go to a supply house
and buy clay, dug, refined, tested and
ready for use. You will know that thou
sands of others are using that same clay,
and that it is safe; and if this is comfort
ing, reflect too that thousands of others
in their standardized kilns are going to
turn out very much the same standard
ized product as you are. Then ask your
self, do you really want to do this? If the
answer is no, please explore your own
neighborhood for beds of clay, dig it, and
subject yourself to the experience of
knowing that it is earth and not a syn
thetic paste or powder made up of God
knows what.
And for your clay, character again is
much more important than any supposed
perfection. Clays are like wines, in that
part of their flavor comes from the wine
maker’s knowledge of the hillsides and
vineyards that grew the grapes. So if you
can’t dig clay in your own back yard, try
to get it locally. It does not have to be
perfect—its limitations and imperfections
may help you. As for techniques, try to
master one and use it with invention and
skill; you may find that it will keep you
going all your life.
The simplicity we need is not the ineptness of amateurism. It is a technical
simplicity which puts the chief emphasis
upon fine form, skilled craftsmanship and
living, expressive design. Of the accumu
lation of the art of all ages with which
we live, the multiplicity of techniques
and materials, you must be content to
leave a great deal alone. It will be a long
time, perhaps never again, before this
complex pattern of life becomes clear
and single. The directions you follow
must be your own, and the work you do
may be incomplete and fragmentary. But
it will give you endless pleasure in doing,
and it may live, if you can be true to
your own lump of clay and to the fire
that makes it immortal.
Henry Varnum Poor's self-built studio, New City>,
New York. Images in this article are from the retro
spective exhibition, “Henry Varnum Poor, 1887—1970,
which originated at the Pennsylvania State University,
and is currently traveling.
I
I
Ceramic tile bathroom for the American
Designers’ Gallery exhibition, 1928, later
installed in the artist's home. The nude
reflected in the mirror is one wall of a shower
stall; light fixtures are of pierced tile.
Top left “Plate with Dogs,” approximately
9 inches in diameter; 1933. All Henry Varnum
Poor's ceramic works are earthenware (in most
cases, local clays from the vicinity of the
artist's home) coated with white slip, then
completed with sgraffito, colored slips and
lead glaze. Top center “Plate with Landscape,”
approximately 9 inches in diameter; 1923.
Top right “Plate with Grapes ,” 10 inches in
diameter,; thrown, 1970. At one show earlier in
his career; Poor “enraged potters by showing
warped and even kiln-cracked plates because [he]
considered them works of art. ” Above Scenes
of Academy Life,” tile mural, Hillson Memorial
Gallery, Deerfield Academy, Massachusetts, 1955.
Top left “Sports,” ceramic tile mural for
the Athletic Club of the Hotel Shelton, New York
City, 1927 (since destroyed during renovation).
Top center wElements of a Dining Alcove”
included a pierced-tile radiator cover, wall
tile flower plaques, and an earthenware luncheon
set, in addition to the handbuilt table and
paneling, by Henry Varnum Poor; 1929.
Top right “Standing Crib Tiles,” 37 inches
in height, chestnut with earthenware, for the
artist’s son, 1926. Above left *Plate with
Chrysanthemums and Pitcher” thrown, approximately
10 inches in diameter, 1921-24. Above "Plate
with Melon and Squash,” 8 inches in diameter,
lead-glazed earthenware, 1921-24.
1. “Bowl with Wolves Chasing Bull ,” 1957,
wheel-thrown earthenware, slip with manganese
sand, 4½ inches in diameter. 2. “Vase with
Bathers ” 10½ inches in height, 1927, by Henry
Varnum Poor. 3. “Jardiniere,” 14 inches
in diameter, 1929, earthenware. 4. “Crow House,”
earthenware knob from the front door of Poor's
Hudson River Valley home. Though primarily
a painter and ceramist, he designed and built his
own house, as well as about a dozen others for
friends and acquaintances. Poor's ceramic skills
came into play in decorating windowsills,
bathrooms, fireplaces and even smaller elements.
Above “Nude with Alligator” 20½ inches in
height, earthenware fountain, 1936.
1. “Plate with Bridge ,” 13 inches in diameter,
1955, earthenware. 2. “Plate with.Still Life of
Pitcher and Melon,” 13 inches in diameter, 1931,
3. “Plate with Still Life of Decanter and Fruit,”
1931, glazed earthenware, 13 inches in diameter.
4. “Ten Nights in a Bar Room,” 20 inches in
height, 1932, miniature stage set depicting a scene in
a classic 19th-century temperance melodrama. Though
he is best known for his pottery, Henry Varnum
Poor constructed ceramic sculpture and reliefs,
as well as a series of earthenware portrait busts.
5. “Plate with Sunflowers,” 8 inches in diameter,
1921-24, earthenware. 6. “Plate with Poseidon
Slaying Serpent,” 8 inches in diameter, with
slip, sgraffito, lead glaze, 1951.
Top left “Compote with Anniversary
Commemoration ,” 14½ inches in diameter, 1932.
The inscription reads uLove & Faith & Sometimes
Even Clay Can Be as Golden as Purest Gold. ”
Top center “Plate with Portrait of a Woman,”
8 inches in diameter, sandy local earthenware,
1922. Top right aPortrait Plate, Woman,”
11½ inches in diameter, wheel-thrown
earthenware, slip, sgraffito, lead glaze, 1930.
Above Relief tiles and pierced tile grill,
underglaze painted earthenware, lead glaze, 1935.
For this panel above the dining room fireplace
in the home Henry Varnum Poor designed and built
for Maxwell Anderson, the artist depicted himself
(left) working and the Andersons sunbathing.
Boston Mills Ceramics Fair
POTTERS and clay sculptors from 15
states converged on the Boston Mills Ski
Resort (Peninsula, Ohio) this past Sep
tember to participate in an art fair with
a new twist. Instead of limiting the per
centage of ceramists allowed (as many
current fairs do), the Boston Mills Fair
consisted entirely of ceramists—97 in all.
The concept of a media-specialized fair
was developed by Peninsula, Ohio, artist
Don Getz, who has directed the event
both years of its existence.
A “clay only” fair seems to work well
for all concerned and offers great po
tential for transplanting to other areas
of the country. Getz mixes a number of
other elements with the show to increase
interest among craftsmen: clay seminars
offered each evening after closing will
be presented this year in the morning
before the fair opens, and a juried ex
hibition (with prize money) runs the du
ration of the event. To increase the show’s
visibility, a major newspaper in the re
gion sponsors the fair in conjunction with
a local charity, and a portion of the gate
fee also benefits community services of
the newspaper’s own charity fund. This
combination of public service, charity and
advertising adds to the overall “good guy”
feeling about the event, which conse
quently draws customers from the
northeast Ohio region, including the
nearest major population centers—Ak
ron/Canton and Cleveland.
42 CERAMICS MONTHLY
by William Hunt
The Booth
There is no doubt that the booth en
vironment at any craft fair has some
thing to do with sales, and booth design
is becoming as competitive as clay forms
and prices. The ideal booth exists some
where in the outer reaches along with
Plato’s forms, yet potters constantly strive
to identify the elements that make a booth
better:
A good booth is functional. That means
it can be easily set up and taken down
(weight is an important factor), and looks
good even after a great deal of use. Such
a booth also is flexible enough to accom
modate changes in available space (cor
ner spaces tend to sell better), and allows
for many lights in various positions to
show work at its best sparkle. The booth
may display a lot of work, yet should
look acceptable whenever stock is low.
One of the most important, but un
derrated qualities of a great booth, is
that it creates an environment, a special
place different from the rest of the world.
A good booth allows for comfortable
social interaction (no confined entry, and
can accommodate a variety of people even
when one or two customers are simul
taneously completing a transaction).
Equally important, a successful booth
contains an artist/craftsperson with an
air that she or he is easy to talk to, in
teresting, ready to help, and in a good
mood. Get your eyes as close to eye level
with customers for the most comfortable
interaction. This can be accomplished
with a tall stool, raised platform, etc.
Even the best sales environment can’t
overcome the presence of some works
which are overpriced and tend to poison
the customer’s belief that prices reflect
real values in the various senses of that
word. Matching the quality of the booth
to the quality of the work to the pricing
level is good visual communication which
will increase sales.
A great deal is known about the effect
of color on sales, so don’t forget this im
portant element of booth design. Some
artists even coordinate their clothes colors
with the sales environment. It can’t hurt,
and perhaps it helps.
In short, the same elements that pro
duce a good retail store also produce a
good booth.
After a booth has been around to the
point it begins to nag its owner, it is
probably time to think about change. But
a good booth does not necessarily trans
late into an expensive booth nor into
mimicking successful booths of others.
With the same creativity applied to a
sales environment as is applied to ce
ramic work, a booth can pay for itself
quite quickly and can be another source
of pride for the artist/craftperson.
Opposite page Santa Barbara, California,
potter Tom Shafer designed a low-cost
booth using cardboard file boxes for stock
storage.
Left There is a spacious feeling to Tony
Menzer’s booth, constructed entirely of raw
canvas and modular metal rod framing. A
storage/office space (left background) can
remain open (as shown here) or be
enclosed. The canvas forms a light tent,
softening reflections which might otherwise
interfere with appreciating highly reflective
crystal glazes, and warming the bluish cast
of harsh daylight. This booth creates a
special environment, distinct from the rest
of the booths and from the fair clutter in
general—important characteristics of an
effective booth display.
Marcia Armstrong’s booth is extremely
flexible, accommodating this corner space
(corner booths tend to sell better), or easily
adaptable to any other size or configuration
of display space. (The standard booth is 10
by 10 feet, although some fairs offer
nonstandard sizes, the most common of
which are 8 by 10 and 10 by 12 feet.)
Marcia recognizes the monochromatic
nature of her forms may require some
additional color, so fresh flowers provide
that focal point and add warmth without
detracting from works in the upper range
of fair prices.
Many potters and ceramic sculptors avoid
selling in fairs simply because they don’t
own a suitable display system. But effective
booths can be designed from a variety of
materials, and in a style to suit nearly any
kind of work. Current craft fairs are selling
objects ranging in price from a few dollars
to a few thousand dollars. So now, while
most fairs are out of season, is a good time
to think about booth design, whether you
are entering fairs for the first time or are a
“regular” looking to replace that old, wornout display. The booth of Robert Carlson
(Princeton, Wisconsin) is about as
minimal as sales environments get. A
gallerylike setting can be seen increasingly
at fairs today, particularly when works
shown bear gallery price tags. Such a booth
is a symbol of the preciousness of its pots,
and invites the customer to look more
closely, to investigate what makes these
works special.
March 1984
43
Ninety-seven potters and ceramic sculptors
sold their wares at the Boston Mills
Ceramics Fair held in Peninsula, Ohio, last
September. Rushville, Ohio, ceramists
Lenora Beale (shown) and Kathy
Bachman designed a booth with track
lighting mounted high enough to prevent
glare and best show glazed surfaces of
woven stoneware. Thoughtful lighting can
make the difference between pots looking
ordinary or looking great.
A rustic setting is commonly used for
stoneware, and therefore among the most
difficult booth styles to handle with quality.
Raye Salveson (right) and Sharon Gerbasi
produce a consistently successful booth from
old crates which suit their high-density,
flexible approach to display. Plainly placed
price tags can easily show a bargain,
prompting impulse sales for increased
profit.
Eve Fleck’s straightforward approach of
shelving around three sides of her booth
gives customers easy access to a
surprisingly large quantity of plainly
visible ware. Varnished natural wood
planks are a good contrast to stoneware,
and the former won't show chips and mars
the way painted surfaces do. A good booth
need not be expensive; let materials already
available to you dictate an interesting booth
design in the same way that clay materials
often dictate the design of pots.
44 CERAMICS MONTHLY
Yosuke Haruta
SLAB-BUILT and wheel-thrown stone
ware by Yosuke Haruta was featured
in a recent one-man show at the Gal
lery in Bloomington, Indiana. Born in
Fukuoka, Japan, Haruta moved to the
United States in 1966, and subse
quently established a pottery in Han
over, Michigan, in 1973.
by Pegram Harrison
Although his work does not reflect
any specific Japanese pottery refer
ence, Haruta feels a close association
with the craftsmen of the Momoyama
period (A.D. 1573-1614) and looks to
their traditions for inspiration. Some
of his forms are reminscent of the or
nate helmets of the Japanese warrior.
These angular slab-built objects have
inverted U-shaped bases suggestive of
the once-useful headgear.
The smooth surfaces are colored
with blue and pale-to-white slips
(brushed on greenware), with saturated-iron glaze and with accents of
cobalt blue and copper red glazes.
Legitimizing the Ashtray
There IS a certain kind of freedom in
purposely making an ashtray because the
form has very few historical limitations.
The idea of the ashtray being an “out
cast” intrigued me. I wanted to take this
inherently “low taste” image and elevate
it to a level of sophistication. I hoped
that this would come about by manip
ulating color and form independently
from function and the commonly held
perception of the ashtray.
Actually, ashtrays were the first ce
ramic vessels I (like many people) made—
they constitute an early memory of
working in clay. But the image of “ashtrayness” is tainted by our precepts of
what is “legitimate” or “proper” art.
My influences are from specific pe
riods in art and craft history which I am
inspired by and want to elaborate on. In
my work there are references to futur
ist, Russian constructivist and Chinese
ceramics. I especially respond to the way
Giacomo Balia and Kasimir Malevich
were able to imply motion in their com
positions. There are also some refer
ences to surface qualities I admire on
early 15th-century Ming monochrome
porcelain, as well as colors and designs
from the 1940s and ’50s.
I’ve always been interested in striking
a balance between both formal issues and
personal metaphors. When I started
handbuilding ashtrays four years ago, I
explored several shapes. Originally these
structures were massive, then they evolved
into crisper statements about form. Some
are functional; others function simply as
metaphor.
The relationship of scale to the hand
“ Vertical Black and Green ” handbuilt whiteware
ashtray, 7 inches in height, by Ron Klein.
46 CERAMICS MONTHLY
by Ron Klein
is very important; building an ashtray
of intimate scale seemed to make sense.
Clay has historically predisposed itself
to small containers or receptacles, and
by building these objects at this scale I’ve
found they retain an intrapersonal qual
ity.
The idea of an ashtray is in a sense
a statement on and about our society.
The artist, as an instrument of society,
constantly reacts to the world. By seeing
and “re-presenting” images in new ways
we are sometimes tricked into revealing
our prejudices and hopefully into edu
cating ourselves in the art of eliminating
them.
The author Ron Klein teaches at
Temple University's Tyler School of Art
in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania.
Above *Pool Tray” porcelain, 5 inches in length,
handbuilt, with multifired commercial glazes. Ashtray
shapes in this article are each cut from a single block
of clay with wire or a hacksaw blade. Varying the
number of wires twisted together, or the number of
strands in each wire, creates diverse surface effects.
Below “Motion Multiple " 9 inches in length, wirecut whiteware ashtray. Much of the artist's inspiration
comes from the futurists and their ability to take a
static object and make it appear in motion. “I wanted
to pack a lot of movement in a little space. That’s why
many of the works are so directional.”
March 1984
47
“Jaw 7ray,” 4 inches in length, wire-cut porcelain ashtray. The
jawlike aggressiveness of some of the anvil shapes relates to the
artist’s interest in constructivism and suprematism. “I like the
way Kasimir Malevich (a Russian painter) used simple shapes
in a graphic way: color contrast enabled those shapes to move
through space undisturbed. That’s really important to me.”
‘'Jade Anvil,” handbuilt, wire-cut porcelain ashtray, 7 inches in
length, with multijired commercial glazes. ((Like many artists, Tm
interested in surface qualities and attaining a certain lusciousness
of glaze. Additionally, through an admiration for later Ming
dynasty porcelain, I wanted to make some precious-looking
objects that tied into that history of celadon ”
“Black and Green Anvil,” 3V2 inches in length, handbuilt,
wire-cut porcelain ashtray, with multijired commercial glazes, by Ron Klein.
48 Ceramics Monthly
British Salt Glaze
Although a popular form of pottery
in England during the early 18th cen
tury, salt-glazed stoneware gradually was
superseded by more refined white earth
enware. By the 19th century its use was
restricted almost exclusively to drainage
pipes, tiles and brick. Now large-scale
commercial production has virtually
ceased. But in the last decade salt glaze
has become increasingly used by studio
potters. As Peter Starkey commented,
“Today what is good ‘salting’ is a very
open question . . . and requires potters
. . . to set the standards.” To show the
results with modern salt glaze applica
tions, the Crafts Study Centre in Bath,
England, recently mounted an exhibi
tion of work by 12 British potters.
The majority of the pots, presented in
this first selling exhibition of pottery at
the Crafts Study Centre, were made to
be used. The exhibition coincided with
the Bath Festival, which is a peak time
for visitors to the museum, but this sales
advantage was offset by the possibility
by Barley Roscoe
Covered jar with wire
handle, approximately
13 inches in height,
by Ian Gregory.
that the public would simply assume
purchases impossible. Another potential
detraction was that purchases could not
be taken from the exhibition until the
end of the showing. To overcome this, a
stock area was established at one end of
the exhibition; all contributors were asked
to supply pots that could be sold there
Thrown pitchers, each 7 inches in height, with incising, impressing, slip decoration, by Jane Hamlyn
directly, in addition to the dozen they
put in the exhibition itself.
By the end of the show, however, nearly
two-thirds of all works (approximately
$2500 worth) had been sold. Prices ranged
from about S3 for a small Micky Doh
erty bottle to just over $200 for a large
beer jar by Richard Batterham. Not sur
prisingly, perhaps, more pots were sold
at the lower end of the price range, and
the more traditional forms proved par
ticularly popular. Micky Doherty made
the largest number of sales, while Svend
Bayer was the only one to sell all his
pots from the exhibition. Few of either
of their pots cost more than $30. Al
though Richard Batterham and Mick
Casson included large forms in the show
and their prices were at the higher end
of the range, they were among the most
successful regarding sales. It was Walter
Keeler, however, who led the way in this
respect with his sharply defined, consid
ered functional pots. Interestingly, many
of his sales were to craftspeople.
i
I
I•s
i
i
Above Stoneware pitcher, approximately 12 inches
in height, wheel thrown, incised, with finger wiping
through slip, by Michael Casson.
Left Teapot, approximately 6 inches in height,
thrown stoneware, faceted, by Richard Batterham.
French Clay Expression
Mixed-media sculpture, 10 feet in length,
unfired clay with glass and cord,
by Daniel Pontoreau.
“EXPRESSION Terre,” a provocative
exhibition of work by 12 French ceram
ists, was shown in conjunction with the
41st international ceramics competition
in Faenza, Italy (see “Faenza 1983” in
the December issue). When invited by
the Faenza exhibition organizing com
mittee to present daywork from France,
the French Ministry of Culture called
for “contemporary plastic expression with
clay.” A 15-member international jury
selected ceramic objects and related pho
tography, in order to demonstrate that
the plastic arts all have the same impli
cations in their processes. Gerard Rig-
Environmental installation consisting of
6600 pounds of dry clay in three different
colors, by Marie Pierre Roubin.
nault (president of the “sans titre” design
association and the exhibition’s organ
izer) considered this presentation a con
frontation of artistic disciplines in the
cultural space of everyday life. “Profes
sionals in the plastic arts have overall
responsibility for giving form to our en
vironment,” he commented.
European potters often mention French
ceramists as feeling a certain historically
based supremacy and desire for lead
ership in world ceramics, expressed in
the case of this exhibition through mon
umental works constructed with what
ever unusual form ceramics might take:
from clay powder to mixed media. While
there are various philosophies of claywork in France (as anywhere), the over
all theme of contemporary French ce
ramics is uniquely polarized. In one camp
are those who believe that only wood
fire, porcelain, celadons and copper reds
are reasonable ceramic pursuits; in the
other are those (presented in this show)
who feel the need to shun such traditions
of process and, instead, build on a more
dominant theme of French art through
out the decades: making pure innovation
the core of current work, regardless of
process.
“Hourglass,” a process work, by Jean-Luc Parent.
The artist formed clay spheres daily, adding them
to the installation throughout the exhibition.
March 1984
51
Soup Tureens
The
currently
touring
exhibition
“Soup Soup Beautiful Soup” premiered
last fall at the Campbell Museum in
Camden, New Jersey. Curated by Hel
en Williams Drutt (of Helen Drutt Gal
lery in Philadelphia), the partly invi
tational, partly juried show offers varied
approaches to tureen making.
Its invited section features 35 exam
ples from ten states and Canada, while
the jurors (Metropolitan Museum of Art
curator emeritus Carl Christian Dauterman, Alfred ceramist Wayne Higby
and artist/art historian Burton Wasserman) accepted 29 entries from 14 states
and Canada. Design is an important as
pect of many of these tureens, though
52 CERAMICS MONTHLY
a review by Victoria Donohoe
for others, symbolism is almost equally
important.
What pop-related art is seen, and there
is less of it than in the first Campbell’s
tureen exhibition seven years ago, has
standing behind it a strong element of
surrealism. Such forms have the incon
gruity of a surrealist object, together with
the reality of pop. Moreover, reflected
here too is the fact that we have been
seeing inventive new kinds of styles for
some time now, and subsequently all sorts
of efforts ride those styles toward neosurrealism.
Occasional other works reflect a so
ciety of consumer-oriented affluence. In
some there is the avoidance of any tra
dition or artistic fashion which is a form
of fashion in itself, and there are those
which exalt traditional tureen forms.
Additionally this show focuses atten
tion on the rapprochement between de
signers and industry that occurred spon
taneously at other periods of American
ceramic history, and could occur again.
Left to their own devices, the East Coast
department stores and specialty shops
generally stock up on imported repro
ductions of old tureen designs, expensive
and otherwise, while some others only
take customers’ special orders from Eu
ropean manufacturers who show tur
eens to match specific china patterns.
(Nowadays there is reduced demand for
tureens of the latter type because the
current trend favors mixing of dinnerware patterns, not matching services.)
Repeatedly the biggest seller from the
half-dozen soup tureens that John Wanamaker’s Philadelphia department store
lists in its Christmas catalog year after
year are a Portuguese green cabbage with
ladle and stand ($39.99), and a footed
all-white Portuguese tureen with ladle
and stand (same price) that is slightly
reminiscent of old Nymphenburg tur
eens. On a more elaborate note, the
highlight of Tiffany’s 1983 Christmas
catalog was a very romantic, floral-dec
orated copy of a Nymphenburg tureen
made abroad. Priced at $6000, it was
snapped up immediately but remained
on conspicuous view as a focal point of
the store’s Fifth Avenue pre-Christmas
display.
In a ceramics exhibit like this, there
is implied a strong hope that the long
standing rift between designers and in
dustry could begin to be healed. Tureen
design has always followed the trend of
architecture, albeit at some remove. This
accounts for the subsiding of both the
pop-flavored ideas and the remnants of
the severe international style of the mid
20th century. What we see gradually
taking their place are tureens that (as
painting, sculpture and architecture also
do today) increasingly incorporate his
torical elements into designs that share
the same concerns about space and
structure that would have concerned
modern earlier work. Artists no longer
hesitate to return to classical language
that provides an alternative to the dis
ordered mix of styles rampant today. And
some ceramists do seem more interested
here in playing with geometric forms than
in creating usable tureens. But that trend
is fading. The most interesting tureens
in this exhibition are the ones in which
history (including tureen history) is not
spurned altogether.
The author Victoria Donohoe is art
critic for the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Far left “Pig Tureen ,* 20V2 inches in
height, handbuilt porcelain, with glazes
and lusters, by Lizbeth Stewart,
Philadelphia.
Top left Handbuilt tureen with ladle,
12 inches in length, glazed porcelain, by
Joseph Detwiler, Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Top center “Bird Nest Soup” tureen,
porcelain, with cast additions, 10 inches in
diameter, by Andrea S. Joseph, Portland,
Oregon.
Top right Earthenware tureen, 10 inches
in length, majolica glaze, by Ian Symons,
Alfred, New York.
Photos: courtesy of the Campbell Museum
Left “Casa de Soupa de Tabasco,*
handbuilt earthenware, 14 inches in height,
with underglaze, glaze and slip decoration,
by Jens Morrison, Carlsbad, California.
March 1984
53
<(Campbell Tureen,” handbuilt, 24 inches
in length, by Anne Currier, Louisville,
Colorado.
Wheel-thrown stoneware tureen, 10 inches
in diameter, polychrome brush decoration
over glaze, reduction fired, by John Glick,
Farmington, Michigan.
Stoneware tureen, 10 inches in height,
wheel thrown, reduction fired, by Bruce
Cochrane, Mississauga, Ontario.
“Iceberg Lake,” 13V2 inches in height,
raku-fired earthenware, by Wayne Higby,
Alfred, New York.
54 Ceramics Monthly
Far left "Shark Fin Soup Tureen ”
16V2 inches in height, salt-glazed
stoneware, with slips, blue wood ash glaze,
by Robert Winokur, Horsham,
Pennsylvania.
Left “Stone Soup,” 18 inches in length,
cast and handbuilt porcelain and
earthenware, by Richard L. MacKenzieChilds, King Ferry, New York.
Below Wheel-thrown porcelain tureen,
14 inches in height, with slip decoration,
salt glazed, by Norm Schulman, Columbus.
March 1984
55
“Soup aux Pois” (Pea Soup), 11 inches in
diameter, earthenware and stainless steel,
by Alain Bonneau and Denise Goyer,
Montreal.
“Chicken in Box,” 12 inches in height,
handbuilt stoneware, by N. Craig Hinshaw,
Davison, Michigan.
“The American Dream Supreme Tureen,”
30 inches in length (the tureen is in the
goose), by Nancy E. Lenches, Tucson.
56 Ceramics Monthly
(<Soup Stress,” handbuilt porcelain,
14 inches in length, with glaze, lusters,
by Tom Rippon, Smithville, Tennessee.
Right “ The End of St. Stephan” (the
tureen is inside the targe “rock”), cast and
assembled earthenware, 24 inches in
height, by Mark Burns, Philadelphia.
Far right “Cheshire,” handbuilt, low-jire
clay tureen, 13V2 inches in height, with
glazes, china paint, by Nancy Carman,
San Francisco.
Below “Family Style—Toucans of
Campbell Soup,” 13V2 inches in height,
thrown and handbuilt earthenware with
underglazes, by Ronald Mazanowski,
DeKalb, Illinois.
March 1984
57
“Animal Tureenhandbuilt earthenware,
20 inches in length, by Andrea Gill, Kent.
“Campbell’s Soup Box,” 17 inches in
length, cast and assembled, with glazes, by
Victor Spinski, Newark, Delaware.
Raku tureen with earthenware lid,
15 inches in diameter, thrown, altered,
with handbuilt additions, by Syd
Carpenter, Philadelphia.
58 CERAMICS MONTHLY
Right "Lock Lid Tureen,” thrown and
handbuilt clay, 12 inches in width, with
wood, glaze, paint, by Dan Johnson,
Philadelphia.
Far right "Blue Skyline Tureen,”
13 inches in diameter, salt-glazed stone
ware, thrown, with incising through slip,
by Kirk Mangus, Mercer, Pennsylvania.
Below "The Celebration of the Birth of
Mother Nature,” 15 inches in diameter,
with underglazes, glaze, lusters and gold,
by Stefania Lestier, Philadelphia.
March 1984
59
Hobart Cowles White Glazes
The following white and off-white
glazes were developed by Hobart Cowles
(1923-1980) during his 29-year teach
ing career at the Rochester Institute of
Technology. With the exception of the
Cone 06 Crazed Majolica-type glaze, all
were tested at Cone 5 on a buff clay
body. Results will vary on different bod
ies, in different kilns, with different fir
ing cycles. None were tested with ad
ditional colorants. (Even those containing
rutile remain colorless.) The full range,
therefore, could be tested with and with
out colorants at Cones 4, 5 and 6 to
determine compatibility with studio clays
and firing processes.
Stony Gray-White Glaze
(Cone 5)
Colemanite......................................... 21.3%
Custer Feldspar ................................ 14.5
Frit 3134 (Ferro)............................... 14.9
Spodumene......................................... 11.0
Kaolin................................................. 17.0
Flint .................................................... 21.3
100.0%
Add: Tin Oxide.................................. 5.1%
Stony White Glaze
(Cone 5)
Barium Carbonate............................ 14.2%
Dolomite............................................. 14.3
Talc...................................................... 14.3
Cornwall Stone.................................. 14.3
Spodumene......................................... 14.3
Kaolin................................................. 14.3
Flint .................................................... 14.3
100.0%
Semitransparent White Glaze 1
(Cone 5)
Colemanite......................................... 14.1
Frit P626 (Pemco)............................. 28.7
Petalite....................... ....................... 19.1
Kaolin................................................. 9.5
Flint .................................................... 9.5
100.0%
Add: Opax.......................................... 5.0%
60 CERAMICS MONTHLY
by Lili Krakowski
Cold Snow White Glaze
(Cone 5)
Colemanite......................................... 12.5
Petalite ............................................... 37.5
Kaolin................................................. 12.5
Flint .................................................... 12.5
(Cone 5)
Dolomite............................................. 12.6%
Frit 3124 (Ferro)............................... 18.7
Petalite ............................................... 50.0
Kaolin................................................. 12.5
Flint .................................................... 6.2
Add: Tin Oxide.................................. 3.0%
Add: Zinc Oxide ............................... 12.5%
100.0%
(Cone 5)
Colemanite......................................... 14.3
Talc..................................................... 14.3
Cornwall Stone.................................. 14.3
Spodumene......................................... 14.3
Kaolin................................................. 14.3
Flint .................................................... 14.3
100.0%
Add: Zinc Oxide ............................... 14.3%
Rutile....................................... 3.4%
Vanilla Ice Cream Glaze
(Cone 5)
Dolomite............................................. 17.0%
Kingman Feldspar............................ 34.1
Frit 3134 (Ferro)......................... 14.9
Kaolin................................................. 17.0
Flint .................................................... 17.0
100.0%
Add: Granular Rutile....................... 1.7%
Transparent White Glaze
(Cone 5)
Dolomite............................................. 10.6
Petalite ............................................... 37.2
Kaolin................................................. 11.5
Flint .................................................... 17.7
100.0%
Crazed Majolica-type Glaze
(Cone 06)
Frit 3124 (Ferro)............................... 89.1%
Kaolin................................................. 10.9
100.0%
Add: Opax.......................................... 8.7%
100.0%
Snow White Satin Glaze
(Cone 5)
Colemanite......................................... 17.6
Petalite ............................................... 35.3
Kaolin................................................. 11.8
Flint .................................................... 11.8
100.0%
Add: Tin Oxide.................................. 4.2%
White Frosting Glaze
(Cone 5)
Whiting............................................... 25.2%
Custer Feldspar ................................ 26.7
Flint .................................................... 48.1
100.0%
Add: Magnesium Zirconium
Silicate..................................... 8.0%
Zirconium Spinel .................. 8.0%
Mope White Glaze 1
(Cone 5)
Lithium Carbonate........................... 4.7%
Frit 3134 (Ferro)............................... 52.4
Kaolin................................................. 38.1
Flint .................................................... 4.8
100.0%
Add: Tin Oxide.................................. 7.6%
Mope White Glaze 2
(Cone 5)
Frit 3134 (Ferro)............................... 52.4%
Kaolin................................................. 38.1
Flint .................................................... 9.5
100.0%
Add: Tin Oxide.................................. 7.6%
Colemanite White Glaze
(Cone 5)
Colemanite............................................ 31%
Dolomite ............................................... 14
Kaolin ................................................... 19
Flint........................................................ 36
100%
Gray-White Glaze
(Cone 5)
Dolomite............................................. 15.4%
Frit 3124 (Ferro)............................... 23.1
Petalite .............................................. 61.5
100.0%
Add: Zinc Oxide .............................. 15.4%
Creamy White Glaze
(Cone 5)
Dolomite............................................... 19.2%
Frit P626 (Pemco)............................. 30.8
Petalite .............................................. 19.2
Kaolin................................................. 30.8
100.0%
Add: Tin Oxide..................................................3.8%
Milk White Glaze
(Cone 5)
Dolomite............................................... 17.2%
Custer Feldspar ............................... 20.7
Kaolin................................................. 41.4
Flint ................................................... 20.7
100.0%
Add: Tin Oxide..................................................6.9%
Semimatt White Glaze
(Cone 5)
Barium Carbonate............................... 16.6%
Dolomite.................................................... 16.6
Talc............................................................ 16.7
Spodumene............................................... 16.7
Kaolin........................................................ 16.7
Flint .......................................................... 16.7
100.0%
Add: Zinc Oxide ................................. 16.7%
Rutile......................................... 16.7%
The author Lili Krakow ski is a studio
ceramist in Constableville, New York.
March 1984
61
64 CERAMICS MONTHLY
News & Retrospect
Penn Station Renovation
When Pennsylvania Station in Baltimore
was designed in 1910, New York architect
Kenneth Murchison specified the installation
of Rookwood cream and green tile through
out. But the years following construction were
not kind: coal soot dirtied the tilework, holes
were regularly drilled through it to install
electric outlets for vending machines and il
luminated advertising signs, and even a
Rookwood water fountain was altered for the
installation of a metal water cooler.
Ten years ago the city recognized the im
portance of what had once been a high-style
public building and planned its restoration.
Blue Ridge, Virginia, potter Bob van Kluyve
was hired to renovate the Rookwood wall
tile, sidelights and the cherubic water foun-
boards of United Way, the Advertising Coun
cil, Stoner Broadcasting and the University
of Nebraska Foundation.
In keeping with ACC plans to accelerate
national programs, future board meetings will
be held in various parts of the country (out
side New York City); the board will meet
this spring in Lexington, Kentucky, in con
junction with the ACC Southeast Regional
Assembly.
Incorporating elements of pottery and fur
niture, mixed-media works by Ron Dale,
Oxford, Mississippi, were featured in a solo
exhibition at the Southeastern Center for
Contemporary Art in Winston-Salem, North
Carolina, through December 30,1983. Char-
Bob van Kluyve restoring Rookwood at Penn Station
New ACC Chairman
The American Crafts Council recently an
nounced that Charles D. Peebler; Jr., was
elected chairman of the board, succeeding cochairmen Robert O. Peterson and Sidney Rosoff. Peebler is president and chief executive
officer of Bozell & Jacobs, an advertising and
public relations firm, and also serves on the
It seems natural to spot the piece of sky,
while going through customs, as if it were a
window view. But “Sky with Cumulus” in
Fairbanks International Airport is a trompe
l’oeil ceramic relief mural spanning 17 feet.
Ron Dale
38-inch-high mixed-media “Couple”
tain. As Jacques Kelly noted in the Baltimore
News‘American, “It has been slow work. He
had to do considerable analysis of the old
tile’s composition, then figure a way to make
them graffiti proof.”
Whenever possible, badly damaged tile were
replaced with tile blocks from walls altered
during renovation, but Bob also found a New
Jersey pottery willing to make a batch of
substitutes.
Meanwhile he continued his own studio
production, and a dual exhibition with Bob’s
functional ware, umbrella stands and foun
tains was presented at Craftsmanship gallery
in Baltimore through November 20, 1983.
Photo: Fred G. Kraft, Jr.
Polly Lee
17-foot-long “Sky with Cumulus'
Commissioned under the Alaska One Per
cent for Art Program, it was the first of four
wall works made for state-funded buildings
by Polly Lee, Petersburg, Alaska. High-fired
glazed tiles, 8 inches in width and (random
ly) from 4 to 10 inches in length, were fas
tened to stained fir planks, mounted verti
cally to form a sliced ellipse on the wall.
“I like planning specific things for specific
places,” Polly commented. “It’s a designer’s
instinct, I suppose. I look at the blueprint of
the space, think about who’s using the place
and what their frame of mind will be.”
Polly believes artists should also be in
volved in selecting the site for their work.
“Upon arriving to install the work an artist
may find a large electric clock on the wall,
or a secretary’s files intruding on that space.”
The cloud scene in the airport was installed
only inches above a row of chairs and below
a soffit extending from the ceiling.
Living in a small island town of 3000,
isolated even from neighboring towns, has
given Polly a perspective that “every person
involved in art must respond to the natural
surroundings and must respond in a positive
way.
“Everything in art,” she continued, “stems
from nature even if it is very abstract. You
take an element, a visual impression, out of
its natural context and develop that move
ment into a theme of your own.” Text: Mar
garet D. Smith; photo: Barry Me Wayne.
Ceramic Arsenal Replica
Four tons of miniature clay warheads,
missiles, bombers and submarines repre
acteristic of the forms shown, “Couple” and senting nuclear weapons now in the United
“Washstand” were made with low-fire clay, States arsenal were displayed recently at 373
wood and paint.
Broadway in New York City. Denver cera
mist Barbara Donachy “came up with the
idea about two years ago and began by doing
You are invited to send news and photo
and making wheel-thrown models.
graphs about people, places or events of research
If
people
read that the United States has over
interest. We will be pleased to consider
35,000 nuclear weapons, they understand that
them for publication in this column. Mail
this is an enormous number; however, when
submissions to: News and Retrospect,
they see the display, I hope it will have a
Ceramics Monthly, Box 12448, Colum
clarity
that statistics could never achieve.”
bus, Ohio 43212.
Continued
Ron Dale's “Washstand,” 62 inches in height
March 1984
65
66 Ceramics Monthly
News & Retrospect
Working with molds and 200-pound batches
of casting slip, Barbara and her husband Andy
Bardwell with a variety of helpers were able
to produce replicas of up to 600 warheads,
about 30 missiles, several planes and one or
two 3-foot-long submarines per day. The dry
in these 30,000 warheads, from buff to or
ange to black, inspired the project title “Am
ber Waves of Grain.”
Barbara and Andy have been selling their
work “on a scale of about $1 per SI million
of the actual weapon’s cost”: warheads are
$4, Poseidon missiles, SI5, Trident subma
rines, S2400. Every warhead is numbered,
and each one sold is replaced with an un
numbered piece to preserve the arsenal for
display. “Although this image represents an
“Amber Waves of Grain ”
awesome destructive potential,” Barbara
commented, “it is extremely unpolitical in
that it presents a fact not a viewpoint.”
Barbara Donachy works on a Minuteman II replica
clay warheads were stacked four high, 200
in a 10x 10-inch box; in turn the boxes were
filled with sawdust (and some dogfood) then
loaded in a 100-cubic-foot gas kiln. “We built
a saggar wall out of hard and insulating brick
that completely enclosed the pieces,” Barbara
explained, “and fired to what we approxi
mate was Cone 1 or 2 in pretty heavy re
duction. The large amount of carbon made
Fiber Insulating a Salt Kiln
Because earlier attempts to save fuel through
insulating existing kilns had proven success
ful, I wanted to try to duplicate the results
in an existing salt-glaze kiln. Skidmore Col
lege’s kiln was not fuel efficient because of
the density of the walls: 1 inch of high-alumina castable refractory (94.8% alumina)
plus 3½ inches of dense castable and 4½ inches
of 2300°F firebrick.
First, to determine if fiber insulation could
withstand the deteriorating effects of sodium
vapors, only part of the kiln’s back wall was
replaced with Babcock & Wilcox Kaowool
3000 (Saffil) 2-inch-thick fiber veneering
modules; the fiber is composed of 95% alu
mina and 5% silica. After six salt firings, the
Module removed for inspection after six firings
30,000 warheads were reduction fired to Cone 1 or 2
the cones bubble so we were never quite sure
what the temperature was. We fired about
7000 pieces in each firing.” Color variations
fiber modules remained intact. There was,
however, a little shrinkage around the edges
of the section, which was easily corrected by
filling the cracks with extra Saffil fiber.
The bond of the high-temperature mortar
was also checked to see if the salt vapors had
reached it, but neither the wall section nor
the mortar showed signs of attack. A Zircar
Sali Board, and a Babcock & Wilcox ceramic
pin and locking washer were also tested in
Continued
March 1984
67
68 Ceramics Monthly
News & Retrospect
Salt is packed in paper cups and dropped
into the firebox from above the burners rath
er than being sprayed into the kiln. (Spraying
salt directly onto the fiber may cause its de
terioration.) Approximately 12 pounds of salt
are used per firing—the same amount as be
fore installing the new lining.
Since this is a new application for the
Bonded 30, it has not yet passed the impor
tant test of time. However, the Kaowool 3000
these firings; they, too, resisted the strong ac
tion of the salt vapors. Based on the success
of this test, I planned to line the entire salt
kiln with Saffil veneering modules, installed
with the Babcock & Wilcox pins and wash
ers, and to utilize the Sali Board as a damper.
Then the Carborundum Company began
to manufacture their own polycrystalline
bonded fiber veneering modules. The Bonded
30 module is a blend of high-purity bulk
fiber with polycrystalline mullite (Fibermax): 72% alumina and 28% silica. Mullite
is chemically very stable and thus well suited
for this application. To test the Bonded 30
to see if it would hold up too, modules were
mortared on the roof and side wall; again the
salt vapors did not penetrate behind the mod
ules. After seven firings, only a slight bit of
shrinkage occurred, and these modules also
proved resistant to salt vapors.
As a result of these tests, I recommend
insulating a salt kiln with either of the fol
lowing ceramic fiber module systems: Bab
cock & Wilcox Kaowool 3000 (Saffil) mod
ules, 6 pound per cubic foot density, 2 inches
thick, installed with Unistik A mortar on dense
castable or hardbrick, Unistik C on insulat
ing brick or castable; or Carborundum Bond
ed 30 modules, 7 pound density, 2 inches
thick, installed with Fiberstick veneering
mortar. Any exposed mortar should be coated
with a salt-resistant wash of 85% alumina
hydrate and 15% any white-burning ball clay.
The entire Skidmore kiln was lined with Interior after five salt firings
Carborundum Bonded 30 modules (see “In (Saffil) modules have been in place for over
sulating Existing Kilns” in the September a year and a half (60 or more firings) with
good results.
1983 CM for installation tips). Except for a
Cost Analysis
Skidmore College’s car kiln has 27 cubic
feet of stacking space. The cost for installing
2 inches of Carborundum Bonded 30 insu
lation was:
50 modules at $27.95 each...................$1397.50
150 pounds Fiberstick.......................... 45.00
Total......................................................$1442.50
(The cost for Saffil modules and Unistik would
be exactly the same.)
Firing the salt kiln to Cone 9-10 before
the lining was installed cost approximately
$43 (8200 cubic feet of natural gas); after
ward, the cost was reduced to $25.80 (4920
cubic feet of gas)—a 40% reduction. Esti
mating 40 firings per year, the pay-back pe
riod is a little over two years: cost of lining
($1442.50) divided by the savings (40 X $17.20
= $688).
Veneered kiln interior after 800°F prefiring
few small cracks between modules, the fiber
veneer has held up beautifully and firing time
has been reduced by seven hours on the av
erage.
If the kiln was fired with propane, the pay
back period would be less than a year. Before
the lining was installed, firing to Cone 9-10
with propane cost $91.82 ($1 per gallon). A
40% savings ($36.73) multiplied by 40 firings
would be $1469.20.
The Zircar Sali Board, because it also suc
cessfully resisted corrosive high temperature
Continued
March 1984
69
70 CERAMICS MONTHLY
News & Retrospect
salt vapors, is being used for the salt kiln
damper. Over the previous four years, the
kiln had had three 12x24-inch stainless steel
dampers and two silicon carbide shelf dam
pers. A 12x24xV2-inch Zircar Sali Board
cost $231, but it should be well worth the
investment.
The salt kiln, because it is generally con
structed of a dense refractory, offers the high
est potential for fuel reduction as a result of
insulating. I have not yet lined a used hardbrick salt kiln, but I believe that if a disk
sander (equipped with 24-grit tungsten-carbide disks) is used to remove the old kiln
wash from the surface, the module veneering
should insulate equally well. The 2-inch
thickness of the fiber should protect the bond
of the mortar to the wall from deterioration
and revaporization at the interface. Text: Re
gis C. Brodie.
at Meredith Contemporary Art in Baltimore
recently. The extruded and altered white
earthenware forms were often combined with
copper tubing elements, as in “Take Two,”
37 inches in height, bisqued at Cone 02,
Spanish Competition
The 12th “National Ceramic Competi
tion” exhibition was presented at the Mu
nicipal Museum of Manises in Valencia,
Spain, through November 20, 1983. From a
field of 177 works by 97 applicants, 96 func
tional and sculptural objects were selected by
a six-member jury: ceramists Carmen Ballester (winner of the 11th competition), Carlos
Carle, Elena Colmeiro and Angel Garraza;
art critic Roman de la Calle; and chemist Jose
Luis Lahuerta. First place was awarded jointly
37-inch “Take Two*
brushed with commercial underglazes and
studio-mixed textured glazes, Cone 04 fired.
“This is the first time in about ten years that
I have worked with plastic clay,” the artist
commented, “and it’s a nice change from slip
casting all the time—much freer, more ex
pressive.
“I consider myself to be a builder. As such,
I work in a primary manner with concepts,
materials and activities to produce specific
Robert Milnes
effects. The objects I build are both inter
pretations of and additions to the world. As
interpretations, they reflect my thought and
work processes. As objects, they are not about
anything, but are raw data to be interpreted.”
Photos: M. Holt and courtesy of Edinboro
University of Pennsylvania.
18-inch-high "Uovo“ by Cecilia Lopez Dominguez
Visiting Yu Fujiwara
Color these pots bronze and deep chocolate
to Cecilia Lopez Dominguez and Magda brown, mixed with steel gray and blue or
Marti Coll, entitling them both to solo ex streaked with red. The surfaces can be dull
hibitions with the presentation of the 13th or shiny, and are frequently rough, demand
annual competition.
ing extra attention for this wood-fired ware
produced in western fapan during the past
Robert Milnes
1000 years.
Brightly glazed, low-fired, mixed-media
Today there are approximately 40 potters
sculpture by ceramist Robert Milnes (Cam working in Bizen (Imbe), including Yu Fubridge Springs, Pennsylvania) was exhibited
Continued
March 1984
71
72 Ceramics Monthly
News & Retrospect
jiwara. His studio is on the side of a steep
hill overlooking the Inland Sea. The grounds
are kept immaculate and the pines pruned
by elderly gardeners wearing large, conical
hats. Stockpiled behind the studio are tall
piles of the red pine used to fire the multichambered climbing kiln, sheltered in a room
by itself.
Born in 1932, Fujiwara is a stocky, intense
man whose philosophy of art springs from
his Zen Buddhist outlook on life. He recently
received ten American journalists in his stu
dio and as is done in this part of Japan,
served them a frothy, bitter, chartreuse-col-
touch.” Formed on the wheel, it emerges as
sake bottles, cups, vases, bowls and dishes.
As important as the actual shaping of the
pot is its placement in the large climbing kiln
or noborigama. Loading proceeds over sev
eral days, with the flow of heat during firing
in mind. Small cups may be placed over larg
er pots to impart a round design where the
larger form is not exposed to ash and flame.
A speckled goma pattern is the result of ash
deposits. To produce reddish streaks, rice straw
is bound around the pot—a technique called
hidasuki.
The firing of Fujiwara’s kiln is tied to the
Buddhist calendar, with the kindling ignited
on Tai-an day, traditionally a lucky day. The
kiln is warmed for a few days, then fired for
about nine days with 3000 red pine logs.
Temperature is maintained at 2400°F, after
which the kiln is left to cool for more than
a week.
The allure of the wood-fired ware was
perhaps best explained by Yu Fujiwara’s
father: “The beauty of true Bizen ware lies
in its boldness and simplicity. It is direct and
natural. It is strong, plain and honest. It does
not pretend.” Text: Martin Rosenberg.
Allester Dillon
Yu Fujiwara
Woven stoneware vessels by Allester Dil
lon, Mill Valley, California, were presented
at Evergreen Contemporary Craft Gallery in
Guilford, Connecticut, through March 4.
ored tea with sweet, thin wafers and fruit as
he explained what distinguishes the pottery
of Bizen.
First there is the black clay, relatively low
in iron content but rich with organic im
purities. “Bizen clay has great viscosity and
intense elasticity,” Fujiwara says in the book,
Living Treasures in Japan. “It is responsive
to the potter’s fingers, but retains the form
he gives it. It is absolutely superb clay.”
Originally it was dug from the mountain
side, but around 400 years ago the Bizen
potters started using
field clay. Now the
clay is excavated from
10 feet below local rice
paddies in the winter.
Apprentices
then
work the clay to re
move pebbles and
other impurities, and
leave it to age for
years.
Students must
spend much time pre
paring clay before they are allowed to throw
Bizen ware, Fujiwara explained. If their fin 10-inch-high unglazed zuoven coil vase
gers have not developed an intimacy with the Forms, such as this flattened spheroid rubbed
material, their efforts will be wasted and the with black stain, were assembled from sec
world would be polluted with flawed pots. tions made by weaving coils in a mold.
Westerners frequently rebel against Fujiwara’s discipline, unwilling to invest the years John Lely
he considers preparatory to mastering Bizen
Sculpture by Dutch ceramist John Lely
artistry.
was featured recently at Galerie De Sluis in
Fujiwara’s late father once described the Leidschendam, The Netherlands. Characclay of the area as “creamy and silky to the
Continued
March 1984
73
74 Ceramics Monthly
News & Retrospect
teristic of his “Erotische Droom: Bloemen na
de Bom,” this stoneware slab form, approx-
Slab sculpture with brushed turquoise glaze
imately 12 inches in height, was fired at
2300°F (1260°C).
Jim Shrosbree
Low-fire sculptural vessels by Jim Shros
bree, faculty artist at Maharishi Interna
tional University in Fairfield, Iowa, were ex
hibited recently at Great American Gallery
in Atlanta. “The forms are resolutions of op
posite relationships, opposite values in une
qual proportions: edge/volume, volume/flat-
“Triangle Blanket Vessel,” 9½ inches in height
ness, thick/thin, opposing colors, etc.,” Jim
explained. “I usually work in series, some
times on several objects at once. As forms
evolve, I enjoy finding new ways to build the
“Striped Blanket Vessel ” 12 inches in height
same form, alternating between and combin
ing slab construction (soft and leather hard),
Continued
March 1984
75
76 Ceramics Monthly
News & Retrospect
coil, assembled thrown, and assembled ex
truded elements. This continually allows me
a new way to see familiar situations—keep
ing the clay ahead of me and the forms fresh
and lively—while pursuing equilibrium in
each vessel.”
Slips or underglazes are applied on damp
greenware made from the following clay body:
Earthenware Body
(Cone 04)
Talc.......................................................... 12.5 lbs.
Cedar Heights Redart Clay...................150.0
Hawthorne Bonding Clay..................... 50.0
H. C. Spinks Ball Clay......................... 25.0
Sand................................................................ 12.5
250.0 lbs.
After bisquing at Cone 04, “the pots undergo
successive firings at Cones 08 and 06 with
further thick and thin coats of slips and un
derglazes plus glaze sandwiched in between
to build surface texture and translucency,”
Jim explained.
Dry White Slip
(Cone 08-07)
Gerstley Borate.......................................... 14.3%
Kaolin........................................................ 57.1
Flint............................................................ 28.6
100.0%
Soldner Clear Glaze
(Cone 07)
Gerstley Borate............................................. 80%
Kentucky Ball Clay (OM 4)......................... 20
100%
“Art is the expression of life,” he com
mented. “What I am expressing are distil
lations of feelings which, in essence, have to
do with happiness, joy, ideal places—uto
pia.” Photos: Richard Weber.
James C. Watkins
Stoneware platters, vases and covered jars
with multifired surface treatment inspired by
the American Southwest were recently ex
hibited by James C. Watkins, Lubbock, Tex
as, at the Amarillo Art Center. Among the
Platter from “Painted Desert Series”
42 works presented in this one-man show
were two 19-inch platters, thrown, multifired
Continued
March 1984
77
78 Ceramics Monthly
News & Retrospect
at Cone 11, from the “Painted Desert Series.”
“The more I work,” James commented, “the
simpler my approach is becoming. I now only
James C. Watkins's 19-inch platter
use three glazes, but vary their effects by
lacing slips with aggregates such as small bits
of rust and crushed bisqued clays.” Photos:
Priscilla Smith.
Steve Dennis
Covered jars, plates and cylindrical vessels
by Steve Dennis (Priest Lake, Idaho) were
recently shown at the Spotlight Gallery of
Contemporary Crafts in Portland, Oregon.
Saggar-fired covered vessel
Thrown and altered from local terra cotta,
the exhibited works such as this covered ves
sel, above, 14 inches in height, were fired in
saggars; salt and ash from debris packed
around the forms resulted in surface color
variation.
Finland’s Pot Viapori
Located in a former barracks on an 18thcentury fortification island half an hour from
the Helsinki market shore, Pot Viapori is a
Continued
March 1984
79
80 Ceramics Monthly
News & Retrospect
collective studio run by five ceramists and a
weaver. “The association was founded by stu
dents from the University of Industrial Arts
following the ideas of other collective studios
in Scandinavia,” Asa Heilman recalled. “In
1970 the economic crisis at Arabia (the larg
est ceramic factory in Finland) led to the
closure of its art department. This was the
beginning of the crafts revival here. Students
didn’t seek positions in the ceramic industry
anymore, but started their own workshops.”
At first the space didn’t even have running
water, but now the building is completely
restored and everyone has a private studio.
Pot Viapori is housed in former barracks
Members have private work space, share equipment
A $2000 entrance fee entitles each member
to use the association’s equipment and facil
ities; monthly rent is approximately $100,
excluding electricity. Together the members
order a ready-mixed German stoneware (fired
to Cone 9 in oxidation), but each has indi
vidual glazes.
“As a group it is easier to get grants from
government and private sources,” noted Asa.
Asa Heilman decorating 24-inch bowl
“Our last one was for repairing the kiln and
buying a spray booth.
“We are artists, not craftspeople,” she em
phasized. “Mass production is against our
Continued
March 1984
81
82 Ceramics Monthly
News & Retrospect
ideology. The handcraft movement is fairly
new in Finland, if compared with elsewhere
Lustered, thrown stoneware “ Wolf Bowl” by Asa Heilman
in Europe, and one-of-a-kind pottery is not
valued here yet; also ceramic sculpture is to
tally misunderstood. We have to compromise
by teaching part time to make a living.”
Pot Viapori had over 6000 visitors last
summer, and the members also sell work
through group exhibitions and at a cooper
ative art shop in Helsinki. Text: Pirjo PolariKhan.
An Adobe Kiln
As part of a project I’m working on with
Nader Khalili (see “Fired Houses” in the
November 1983 CM) at the Ojai Foundation
in Southern California, I recently built a pro
pane-fueled crossdraft kiln from about 2500
handmade adobe bricks. The arch is cate-
Adobe kiln with fiber refractory door
nary, but constructed Middle-Eastern style
with no support form. The back wall was
built first, then a catenary curve drawn on
it (from a pattern made with a suspended
wet rope). The rest of it was freehand. Once
I realized that this system is based on arcs
that the human body describes rather than
mathematical formulas, I just went at it in
tuitively.
The outside of the kiln was plastered (over
chicken wire) with a clay/sand/cement mix
ture, which cracked enough to release steam
during firing. The door is two layers of 4pound Cerablanket backed by one layer of
Fiberglas insulation on a welded angle-iron
frame. One person can easily lift one of the
Continued
March 1984
83
News & Retrospect
two sections, which simply lean against the
arch opening.
The four burner blowers are solar pow
ered: photovoltaic panel to 12-volt battery to
an inverter for 110 volts A.C. But the first
firing was powered by a gasoline generator
because of some difficulty with the inverter.
The kiln also has a stoking port below the
door so that it can be fired with wood as well.
After a long candling (12 hours), the heat
was turned up gradually until Cone 06 was
reached (24 hours). When the kiln began to
glow red inside, large clouds of steam rose
from the surface.
The bricks appear to have fired about half
their thickness (8 inches) and would prob
ably have done better with a slower firing.
Harder brick would be more resistant to water
erosion.
Since our local clay contains so much lime,
we are still experimenting with a formula to
make a sound building brick; however, we’ll
be using the same basic construction tech
nique for a large dome next year. Text: Jim
Danis ch.
Nancy Mulick
Columbus, Ohio, ceramist Nancy Mulick
recently exhibited two figures from her “Planet
Wanderer” series at the Sarah Doyle Gallery
of Brown University in Providence, Rhode
22-inch-high stoneware “Planet Wanderer”
Island. Handbuilt from stoneware, the forms
were airbrushed with Mason stain/Gerstley
borate glazes in a prismatic gradation from
orange to turquoise.
Cincinnati Cup Invitational
Cup and saucer forms ranging from prim
itive to whimsical contemporary were fea-
84 CERAMICS MONTHLY
tured in a recent invitational at Vertu in Cin
cinnati.
John Stephenson, Ann Arbor, Michigan,
extruded two basic shapes to make this set
of coffee cups, stored on a wall-mounted oak
5-inch-high extruded cups by John Stephenson
peg rack. A cylindrical extrusion was cut to
the appropriate length, dipped in colored slip
and attached to a bricklike extruded base.
For an individual serving from steeped tea
leaves, Mike Imes (New Haven, Kentucky)
designed this cup, saucer and strainer set, 4½
Mike Imes’s “Tea for One”
inches in height, with ash glaze over porce
lain slip, fired to Cone 10. And Barbara Tip
ton, Powell, Ohio, decorated this thrown por
Slip-trailed cup and saucer by Barbara Tipton
celain cup and saucer with slip-trailed faces
on the cup to match slip-trailed male and
female torsos on the saucer. Photos: Dan Bai
ley, Ron Forth.
Jan Eckardt Butler
Porcelain platters and bowls with hand
built animals on the rims and figurative
sculpture by Tulsa ceramist Jan Eckardt
Butler were exhibited at the Oklahoma Art
Center in Oklahoma City through January
3. After bisquing, the forms frequently are
Continued
March 1984
85
86 CERAMICS MONTHLY
News & Retrospect
patterned with stain and glaze dots “to make
the animals move in your eyes.” Because she
ipe) and fired
Martha Friend.
t0
Cone 4 in oxidation. Photo:
Vessel Sculpture
“The Vessel as Sculpture,” featuring ce
ramics by Rick Foris (Marathon City, Wis
consin), Bruce Howdle (Mineral Point, Wis
consin) and Kevin Osborn (Tucson), was
exhibited at Mindscape Gallery in Evanston,
5-inch aDotted Goose Bowlthrown and handbuilt
“could never say it in words,” Jan tells the
viewer with clay “how I feel about the way
cats move, and the way geese make a design
in the air with their necks, the way dogs sniff
and the way rabbits leap.”
New Gallery
/
7-inch-high raku vessel by Rick Foris
Illinois, through January 27. Characteristic
of Rick’s work with matt-surfaced raku is
this thrown form, with handbuilt additions.
After ten years at its Evanston, Illinois, Judy Kepes
Employing a variety of traditional tech
location, Mindscape Gallery has opened a
second space in downtown Chicago. The new niques, but often realigning standard forms,
gallery, the Mindscape Collection, will focus Bay Area clay artist Judy Kepes produces
on sculptural work in various media, in vessel-oriented sculpture. An exhibition of
cluding ceramics, fiber, glass and wood.
Connecticut Annual
Work by approximately 20 ceramists was
featured in the national invitational and ju
ried “Fifteenth Annual Celebration of Amer
ican Crafts” shown at the Creative Arts
Workshop in New Haven, Connecticut,
through December 23, 1983. Among the
Engobe-decorated covered jar by George Boutross
9-inch marbleware vase
thrown functional ware presented by George
Boutross, Somerville, Massachusetts, was this
covered jar, 6 inches in height, brushed with
bright engobes at the dry greenware stage
(interiors glazed with a transparent gloss rec-
her recent work, such as this marbleware
vase, 9 inches in height, with black handles
echoing its shape, was featured at the Quay
Gallery in San Francisco recently. Photo: M.
Lee Fatherree.
March 1984
87
Itinerary
Continued from Page 23
forming and decorating demonstration and slide
lecture. Fee: $25. Contact: Tom Glover, Amarillo
College, Art Department, Box 447, Amarillo 79178;
or call: (806) 376-5111, ext. 2351.
Vermont, Middlebury March 31-April 2
Cynthia Bringle, participatory workshop on form
and decoration, and slide lecture. Fee: $100. Con
tact: Melissa Pope, Frog Hollow Craft Center,
Middlebury 05753; or call: (802) 388-3177.
International Events
Canada, Alberta, Edmonton through March 19
“From the Heart: Folk Art in Canada”; at Ed
monton Art Gallery, 2 Sir Winston Churchill Sq.
Canada, Manitoba, Winnipeg March 4-April
15
“Reflections on Three Plains: Contemporary
Crafts” juried exhibition; at the Winnipeg Art
Gallery, Civic Auditorium, 300 Memorial Blvd.
England, London through March 18 “The
Omega Workshops, 1913-19,” includes ceramics
by Quentin Bell, Angelica Bell and Phyllis Keyes;
at Crafts Council Galleries, 12 Waterloo Place.
March 2-31 Gordon Baldwin, Mick Casson,
Joanna Constantinidis, Ewen Henderson, Walter
Keeler, Gillian Lowndes, Eileen Nisbet and Colin
Pearson; at the British Crafts Centre, 43 Earlham
Street, Covent Garden.
France, Paris through March 13 Pit Nicolas,
sculpture; at Interieurs, 16, rue Dauphine.
Japan, Nagoya March 23-28 Rob Barnard,
120 wood-fired pots; at Meitetsu Department Store,
2-1 Meieki, I-chome, Nakamura-ku.
Wales, Aberystwyth March 31-May 12 Buck
ley Pottery from the 1300s to the 1940s; at Aber
ystwyth Arts Centre, Penglais.
Wales, Swansea through March 10 Buckley
Pottery from the 1300s to the 1940s; at Glynn
Vivian Art Gallery, Alexandra Rd.
West Germany, Dusseldorf through March 18
“Hans Coper, 1920-1981”; at the Hetjens Mu
seum, Schulstrasse 4.
88 CERAMICS MONTHLY

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