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William Hunt............................................Editor
Ruth C. Butler..........................Associate Editor
Robert L. Creager............................ Art Director
Kim S. Nagorski.......................Assistant Editor
Mary Rushley.................. Circulation Manager
MaryE. Beaver.................Circulation Assistant
Connie Belcher................ Advertising Manager
Spencer L. Davis.................................Publisher
Editorial, Advertising
and Circulation Offices
1609 Northwest Boulevard
Box 12448, Columbus, Ohio 43212
(614) 488-8236
FAX (614) 488-4561
Ceramics Monthly (ISSN 0009-0328) is pub­
lished monthly except July and August by
Professional Publications, Inc., 1609 North­
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Copyright © 1992
Professional Publications, Inc.
All rights reserved
2 Ceramics Monthly
May 1992
3
4 Ceramics Monthly
Volume 40, Number 5 • May 1992
Feature Articles
Fred Stodder by Anne Telford, ................................................................................ 27
Without Laws by Paul Soldner ............................................................................... 30
Ron Kovatch a review by Michael Madonick ......................................................... 32
Table Settings by Catherine White ......................................................................... 34
Coconut Grove For northern potters like
Cheryl Husby, getting ready for a February
show can mean digging an outdoor kiln
out of drifted snow. But the task is psycho­
logically easier when the pots are destined
for a fair such as the “Coconut Grove Arts
Festival” in Miami, where warm weather
and retail sales can provide a successful
“working vacation.” Participants point out
pros and cons beginning on page 43.
Without Laws Paul Soldner discusses the
pitfalls of heeding or needing critiques
and “expert” opinions; turn to page 30.
American Wood Fire by George Lowe ................................................................... 35
with No Ideas but in Things by Jack Troy ............................................................... 36
Coconut Grove
with reports by Ed Risak, Bob and Cheryl Husby, Robert Briscoe,
Rick Foris, Steve Howell and Peter Saenger........................................................... 43
Portfolio:
Sandy Brown and Takeshi Yasuda by Tony Birks ....................................... 49
Displays that Sell by Ernest Fair ........................................................................... 80
Geyser Bottle Performance Raku by Jerry Crimmins ........................................ 82
Wood Ash in Glazes: Economical and Ecological by Art Grupe................... 84
Up Front
Ron Nagle..................................................... 14
California Clay............................................. 18
Contemporary Clay at Sotheby’s................. 14
Robert Harrison Workshop.......................... 20
Mexican Folk Ceramics............................... 14
Fred Stodder Attributes of music and
architecture are reflected in the colorful
low-fire sculpture of this San Francisco
artist; see page 27.
Geyser Bottle Performance Raku Dan­
gerous but fun—pots “spout off” when
quenched in water; page 82.
The cover Both Sandy Brown (shown in
her studio in South Molton, Devon, En­
gland) and husband Takeshi Yasuda “came
to pottery largely by accident ” yet now they
produce “some of the most vital ceramic
work in Britain today,” says author Tony
Birks; their profile begins on page 49.
Kevin Kautenburger.................................... 20
Marvin Sweet............................................... 16
Northern Musings
by Deborah McWatters........................... 20
Clay on Walls............................................... 18
A Vase for Flowers...................................... 22
Departments
Letters......................................... 8
New Books.................................. 78
Call for Entries ...........................58
Comment:
Suggestions................................. 64
Politically Correct Pots
by Brad Sondahl.................................... 86
Calendar .....................................66
Classified Advertising................ 86
Questions.................................... 76
Index to Advertisers ...................88
May 1992
5
Letters
Hair Sculpture Response Continues
Regarding “Hair Sculpture and Its
Roots” [February 1992], I wonder at the
difference between what I call art and
what is portrayed in Ceramics Monthly.
Even though I often disagree with what
potters or ceramists are producing, they
make me think. But CM’s article on hair
sculpture was bizarre, to say the least. I do
believe in freedom of expression, but if I
want to see “body decoration in primitive
cultures,” I’ll watch Wilma Flintstone.
The boundaries of art haven’t been
stretched; they’ve been snapped. Just my
opinion. Keep the weird articles coming.
Don Edwards
Whitecourt, Alberta
In “Hair Sculpture and Its Roots,” the
pictures alone brought many thoughts to
my “head.” But the article didn’t recom­
mend how high to fire this art.
Thinking of “coneheads” (since they
aren’t on TV anymore), one wonders,
“with blurred boundaries,” how high did
the artist fry her own head and when?
I hope that Ceramics Monthly is showing
me the difference between sculpture,
fashion, performance art and garbage.
Carol Leworthy
Scarborough, Ontario
Every month, just when you think
you’ve seen it all, CM proves you haven’t.
Nice going!
Micheline Likas
Oakville, Ontario
March Critique
There are times when I feel a msyor
value of Ceramics Monthly is in the use of
the glossy cover as a pot wrap for low-fire
salting. The March issue is a case in point.
I fail to see value in the detailed recount­
ing of the London auction, Elizabeth
MacDonald’s life history or the “Confes­
sions of a Collector.”
On the other hand, I was disappointed
in the limited coverage given Ruth
Duckworth and her work—certainly de­
serving of a Ceramics Monthly portfolio.
I did appreciate the presentation on
Steve Davis-Rosenbaum, as well as the
lengthy, detailed article “Crystalline
Glazes: A Precise Method.” Even though I
am not interested in the subject now, I am
confident that it could become of real
8 CERAMICS MONTHLY
value to me or one of my students some­
time in the future.
My real complaint is with the Ceramics
Monthly technical staff and the answer to
the questions relative to ceramic magnets.
Considering the readership of Ceramics
Monthly, I would guess that a far simpler
answer would have been sufficient. I won­
der how many readers give a hoot about
the technicalities of ceramic magnets or
would ever make any use at all of the
information presented.
Second, the answer to the question on
‘jiggering” and ‘jolleying” was not clearly
written for novice potters. Both terms are
correct only if used properly. It would
have been clearer if CM had said that
jolleying is the term for “forming a pot by
using a spinning mold, usually of plaster,
which shapes the outside of the pot,” and
where the inside of the pot is formed first
by pressing clay against the inside of the
spinning mold, then by drawing a metal
template on a pivoted arm down into the
hollow of the mold to form the inside of
the pot—usually a cup or bowl.
Jiggering makes use of a spinning
mold that defines the inside of the form.
Clay is placed on the plaster form, then
the outside of the piece is formed by a
metal template “fastened to a pivoted arm,
...brought down onto the mold” shaping
the piece—usually a plate or platter.
The quotes are from Frank Hamer’s
book The Potter’s Dictionary of Materials and
Techniques, first edition. It would have
been a whole lot clearer and easier if CM
would have gotten permission from the
publisher to reprint [Hamer’s] diagrams
of a jigger and jolley.
Finally, the CM answer states that
‘jolleying is the proper term for produc­
ing flatware.” I would guess that most
people would think of flatware as dining
utensils, such as knives, forks and spoons,
more readily than plates and platters. It
would have been clearer had CM simply
said plates and platters.
Kurt Wild
River Falls, Wis.
Hot for “How To”
I know why CM foists the functional
versus nonfunctional issue on us every
month. It is to hide the fact that the gen­
eral writing in the magazine along with its
poor photography is going down rapidly.
The February 1992 issue had a cover
story about [Christine Federighi] making
6-foot-tall [sculptures], placing them in a
6-foot-tall kiln [in a room] with an 8-foot
ceiling. CM almost always leaves out the
“how do they do it” part of an article.
I know that “how-to” articles are be­
neath CM’s editorial prowess, but some of
us would like to know how it was done.
In the March issue, the cover story had
nice words, nice generalities, but not one
fact—besides MacDonald using a slab
roller. Questions I would like answered
are: What kind of slab roller? How does
she dry tiles to keep them from warping?
How does she adhere tiles to the wall?
Does she grout the tiles, and with what?
The March technical article [“Crystal­
line Glazes: A Precise Method”] was writ­
ten by a mad scientist reinventing the
wheel. With the hundreds of kilns avail­
able all inspected by UL, why waste our
time with what must have made Mr. Norkin’s life insurance agent cancel his policy
upon reading the article?
The March issue had some very good
photographic illustrations. The Third
World articles CM runs seem to be accom­
panied by photographs taken with Third
World cameras equipped with pin-hole
lenses, as they are so out of focus.
Please improve the magazine with
“how-to” articles or, at the very minimum,
answer the obvious questions potters want
to know the answers to.
Edward Higgins
Pittsboro, N.C.
Keep It Coming
I love CM as it is. Just keep it coming.
Bodil Andersen
Humble
Denmark
Cultural Fantasy
Intrigued by the photographs of Gail
Kendall’s glazed earthenware tureens in
February’s Ceramics Monthly, I read her
article, expecting it to illuminate her
work. Unfortunately, the article is built
upon one ridiculous statement after an­
other. The further I read, the more ap­
palled I became.
Ms. Kendall subsumes all of the Afri­
can continent’s diverse cultures into one,
claiming that it lacks a category called art
(even as recently as 1989). Although she
deems the hollow categorization of ob­
jects as “art” to be beneath Africans, she
pigeonholes all the non-art they create to
be of a utilitarian or religious nature. Her
culturally acute observations continue
with how all Africans uniformly appre­
hend the non-art that surrounds them.
How do millions of people overnight
assimilate all their cultures into one
non-art art loving consensus? Has the CIA
infiltrated and brainwashed the continent
into a terrifying Group Think? No, even
May 1992
9
Letters
more horrible, it turns out that Africans
group think non-thought about non-art
art that surrounds them; they accept that
objects “simply are what they are.”
Did Ms. Kendall leave her eyeglasses
and hearing aids back in Nebraska or lose
them during her voyage? I’m thankful she
was able to avoid using the words dark,
exotic and rhythmic during her descrip­
tion. I can’t imagine even the continent of
Australia receiving such a limited cultural
depiction, and it only has one country.
Ms. Kendall claims she went to Africa
in search of how to make art more mean­
ingful to the average person, to close the
gap between the “cultural elite” and the
“uninitiated.” This can indeed be done
quickly when the significance of art is
reduced to beer commercial slogans (“it’s
it and that’s that” so “why ask why”). Un­
fortunately (especially since she teaches),
Ms. Kendall’s false forays into African life
seem to have stemmed from her desire to
escape rigorous thought (the “dense
theories” of her own culture’s art). She
sought a culture that would reaffirm her
belief that art and intellect are as compat­
ible as vinegar and water.
I’m amused she appears to think that
before modernism the art world dutifully
served the public, knew its culturally sig­
nificant place and, by God, never strayed
onto the path of personal whimsy and
money. The disparity between the “cul­
tural elite” and “the uninitiated” is centu­
ries old; patrons and collectors didn’t just
crop up. It used to be that the public at
large wasn’t even given a chance to see
art, much less judge it as culturally rele­
vant. Now we are lucky enough to have
museums allowing us the opportunity to
chastise art for not being decipherable at
first glance.
I do want art to be more prevalent in
American society, but I wish this because
of the sense of mystery and discovery that
it can offer. Immediately perceptible
meanings don’t promote discovery; they
annihilate it. What’s wrong with being
required to use your mind when viewing
an artwork? Art appreciation is not inher­
ent. Newborns don’t look at the foot of a
pot and automatically goo in pleasure. If
the average person is taught how to read
art and unearth its layers of meaning, the
gap between the “cultural elite” and the
“uninitiated” would be greatly reduced
without any art abasement.
However, a mindless approach to art
isn’t the least of Ms. Kendall’s worries.
10 CERAMICS MONTHLY
She’s bored of art museums that display
work by the same artists (collective
thought might be admirable in Africans
but a no-no for curators). It seems bring­
ing as many of the best artists as possible
for the local viewing public, rather than
specializing their collections for museum
hoppers like herself, might result in the
loss of some entrance fees (which turns
out not to be such a bad thing).
I have no qualms with questioning
what falls into the category of best art
(women and minorities are too under­
represented not to question who’s “in”),
I just don’t find it logical that museum
curators should enter into art speculation
rather than representing art world trends.
So much name repetition turns artists
into upscale, mass-market, fashion design­
ers (Good lord, not another Picasso.
Could that man produce or what?). Does
she produce the designer analogy to
shame museums for collecting the four
particular artists she mentions? (Appar­
ently she hasn’t seen enough Kiefers to
know how to spell his name correctly.) For
jumping on the current art-scene band­
wagon too soon? Or is she equally bored
of all Chagalls, Kandinskys and Monets
scattered about the U.S.? I was previously
under the impression that snobbery was a
trait based on intellect, not lack thereof. I
personally can hardly wait for the day
Kiefers come to K-Mart; I’ll be pacing the
aisles expectantly, ears cocked for the blue
light special of my dreams.
While Ms. Kendall gives museums low
originality points for their “high” art
collections, all is not lost. Luckily their
decorative art collections have grown
wonderfully unique over the years of
financial and curatorial neglect. No prob­
lem of having to wade through Levi
Leaches, Reebok Robineaus and Movado
Morrises. Neglect sounds like the best
thing that could ever happen to a mu­
seum. I should thank my lucky stars Michi­
gan drastically cut funding to the arts; the
DIA [Detroit Institute of Arts] will soon be
very unique, perhaps even saved from the
brink of disaster. I hope Ms. Kendall
remembers to include it in her guide to
America’s most underfunded/unique
museums (though it might come up
against some pretty tough competition
over the next few years).
Those of you who return to Ms.
Kendall’s article will notice that most of
the outrageous statements that I mention,
Ms. Kendall presents more subtly. This
subtlety makes me unsure of whether her
negligence results from inaccurate com­
prehension or sloppy presentation. I hope
May 1992
11
Letters
poor content is the result of lousy writing.
But whichever the case, she deserves to be
chastised. Craftspeople need to pay atten­
tion to the accuracy of their writing as well
as the astuteness of their perception. And
bad articles don’t deserve to be published.
I wish CM editors would start address­
ing their skills toward content as well as
layout. A well-written magazine should be
founded on more than luck.
Emily Severance
Ann Arbor, Mich.
Tatsuzo Shimaoka
With great interest we always read the
latest issue of Ceramics Monthly, but with
special interest we read the autobiography
of Tatsuzo Shimaoka in the January and
February 1992 issues.
We highly appreciate that CM allotted
so much space to these richly illustrated
and very personal statements, which are
nevertheless of great general interest.
Karl and Ursula Scheid
Budingen
Germany
I found it interesting that someone
wrote to clarify the difference between
mishima and zougan. [See Celina Clavijo’s letter in the February issue.] I have
asked several people here [in Japan] what,
if any, difference there is between the two.
The majority said they are the same.
When I was interviewing Tatsuzo Shi­
maoka, I asked him what the difference
was. He brought out a Korean bowl of the
classic mishima type. It was made from an
iron-rich clay, and impressed with flower
stamps and maybe some kind of jumping
tool. I don’t know if the slip was brushed
or poured on, or if the piece was dipped.
All seem to be ways of doing slip inlay.
[When the Japanese do differentiate,]
what they refer to as mishima is the classic
Korean design, which was given the name
mishima after the old Japanese calendar; I
was told the calendar was decorated or
looked somewhat like the Korean bowls. I
get the impression that mishima is a littleused term here and that, stylistically,
zougan covers a broader meaning—in
other words, it can mean just about any­
thing that is decorated with an inlaying
technique.
For the record, a lot of Shimaoka’s
work is either dipped in slip, or slip is
poured into the recessed areas to ensure
an even coating, particularly on forms like
plates.
12 CERAMICS MONTHLY
I don’t know if an exact definition can
be made of either term. Perhaps, in order
to avoid any more semantic confusion,
such work should just be called “inlay.”
Darice Veri
Motegi
Japan
Casting Mileage
Let’s see more about casting technol­
ogy and process. It is truly an answer for
artists-potters who like spending a lot of
time on one piece, but also need to get
some mileage out of their efforts.
Bruce Loivry
Millstadt, 111.
Prices Appreciated
I really appreciate it when Ceramics
Monthly includes the sale price of an ob­
ject/artwork in the caption to a picture. It
helps me (as a businessperson) to see
where my prices stand with other selling
artists/craftspeople. Thanks for a great
magazine!
Patricia Broum
Whittier, Calif.
Ad-miration
CM’s advertisements...have taught me
as much about pottery (as a commercial
venture) as any of the books I’ve read.
Ray Pacquette
Alamo, Tex.
Not Time to Give Up
After 35 years teaching junior high and
elementary classes, I decided it was not
time to “give up.” I’d taken an education
course during my sabbatical year and it
highlighted daywork. Our instructor was
Tom Smith, a well-known potter in New
Brunswick; I was “bitten.” I was so de­
lighted to be allowed to take three years
clay study at the New Brunswick College
of Craft and Design here in Fredericton.
My “pottery shed” is nearly complete,
equipment-wise. I work there daily experi­
menting with glazes and firing stoneware
to Cones 8 and 9 in an electrical kiln. Life
has never been so good!
I eagerly await every issue of Ceramics
Monthly. I read and re-read them with
pleasure, deriving many useful ideas and
answers to my conundrums.
Liese O’Hara
Fredericton, New Brunswick
Share your thoughts with other readers. All letters
must be signed, but names mill be xvithheld on
request. Mail to The Editor, Ceramics Monthly,
Box 12448, Columbus, Ohio 43212; or fax to
(614) 488-4561.
Up Front
Ron Nagle’s “Incense Burner V,” 41/4 inches in length; at Michael Himovitz Gallery, Sacramento, California.
Ron Nagle
Works by Ron Nagle (faculty artist at Mills College in
Oakland) were featured recently in an exhibition at
Michael Himovitz Gallery, Sacramento, California. While
continuing his investigation of the cup, Nagle has ex­
panded on this form in a variety of ways, as in the incense
burner shown here. For both the cups and these new
forms, he uses a layered glazing technique—firing and
reglazing each piece as many as 30 times.
Contemporary Clay at Sotheby’s
In mid March, Sotheby’s New York followed the lead of
rival auction houses at home and abroad (see “Contem­
porary Ceramics at Christie’s” in the April 1989 CM and
“A Hot London Summer” in the October 1991 issue) with
its first sale devoted solely to works by contemporary
artists working in craft media. Drawn from various sources
(individuals, galleries, museum deaccessions), the offer­
ing was basically a hodgepodge, rather than a significant
You are invited to send news and photos about people, places or events
of interest. We will be pleased to consider them for publication in this
column. Mail submissions to Up Front, Ceramics Monthly, Box
12448, Columbus, Ohio 43212.
14 CERAMICS MONTHLY
collection, which may help account for the fact that
nearly 40% of the 102 lots remained unsold by the close
of the auction.
Statistically speaking, however, clay did better than the
other so-called craft media (fiber, glass, metal and wood).
Of the 31 ceramic lots in this sale, only 10 were “bought
in” (not sold) to protect their reserve prices (minimum
sale prices set by the seller). And several of the sold lots
went for well above their catalog estimates. For example,
a Viola Frey bricolage plate, estimated to sell for between
$3500 and $4000, brought $5000; a Peter Voulkos pierced
platter, estimated at $4500-$5500, brought $6500; and a
Betty Woodman pillow pitcher, estimated at $6000-$8000,
brought $10,000. A 10% buyer’s premium was added to
each winning bid listed here.
Mexican Folk Ceramics
“Mexican Folk Ceramics,” an exhibition of 20th-century
works by Mexican artists, was shown recently at Pewabic
Pottery in Detroit. Curated by photographer/educator/
museum director Van Deren Coke, the exhibition pre­
sented diverse wares from 14 different villages. While
domestic pots (large water jars, loop-handled bowls and
three-legged vessels designed for open-hearth cooking)
May 1992
15
heal or to perform feats of magic, to sanctify marriage
and ensure fertility, to promote rainfall and ample crops,
to drive off evil spirits, venerate the dead or guard and
sustain the living—in short, to ensure success in life.
“In many instances, reality was not only expressed by
art, but determined by it. Art forms were allowed to serve
as the controlling agent over the things people could not
control or understand. A sculpted figure became the
focus of a ritual and provided the feeling of protection.”
For works in this exhibition, Sweet “intertwined the
figure with the vessel, as the human form and the vessel
are analogous byway of their component parts (i.e., foot,
body, shoulder, neck, lip). And in a metaphoric sense,
they both serve as a vehicle of the physical and conduit of
the spiritual.
“I have not prescribed a specific function to any of
these vessels. Their use and meaning should remain a
matter of continuous conjecture. While this ambiguity
leaves their meaning obscure,” Sweet concluded, “what
should remain clear is their continuity with the past and
Teodora Blanco’s “embroidered” figure, handbuilt, unglazed
terra cotta, approximately 28 inches in height; at Pewabic
Pottery in Detroit.
have changed little in the past century, sculptural works
(figures and elaborate candelabra made for religious and
national holidays) reflect modern influences, with some
forms having been developed in direct response to tourist
and gallery interest.
Some of the most respected Mexican ceramists of this
century were represented in the Pewabic show, including
Candelario Medrano of Jalisco, Heron Martum Mendoza
of Puebla, and the late Teodora Blanco of Oaxaca.
Marvin Sweet
Sculptural vessels by Marvin Sweet (faculty artist at Brad­
ford College in Maine) were exhibited recently at the
Society of Arts and Crafts in Boston. Coil built and raku
fired, the forms are then sandblasted to achieve a surface
suggesting the effect of natural forces.
Historically, “figures made in clay have provided us
with the visual reminders of cultures and religions,” Sweet
commented. “People would assign clay forms a power to
16 CERAMICS MONTHLY
Marvin Swee,,s
„Earth Bjrth;, coj| bui|t sandb,astedi 28 inches
in height; at the Society of Arts and Crafts in Boston.
May 1992
17
Up Front
their ability to sensitize audiences to respond to the
memory of our collective experience”
Clay on Walls
“Clay on Walls,” an exhibition of works by northern Ohio
artists, was presented recently at the Great Northern
Corporate Center in Cleveland. The goal of the show, as
stated by curator George Woideck, was to document a
recent trend toward wall work among northern Ohio
ceramic artists.
“For millennia, clay in the form of tile, mosaic and
relief wall sculpture (constructed of shaped brick) long
enhanced secular and religious life,” he noted. “In more
recent history, unfortunately, it became a medium locked
in tradition, used all but exclusively in imitative architec­
tural components.”
This show, which belies that fact, included works by
Woideck, David Alban, David Batz, Paula Dubaniewicz,
Hans Tegebo’s “Cutter,” 70 inches in diameter, Cone 03
earthenware saggar fired to Cone 05, $3000; at the Artery,
Davis, California.
juried by Robert Brady (ceramic and wood artist, and
instructor at the California State University, Sacramento).
From the 280 slide entries to the “California Clay Compe­
tition,” Brady selected 38 works for exhibition.
From those, four were chosen by Brady to receive cash
awards of $1000 each, with one receiving an additional
$100 award donated by Alpha Ceramics in Sacramento.
Three of the cash prizes were awarded to Kit Davenport,
David Alban untitled mural, 84 inches in height, carved,
unglazed bricks, $4000; at the Great Northern Corporate
Center, Cleveland.
Angelica Pozo and Andrea Serafino, all of Cleveland;
Steve and Debra Bures, Peninsula; Nancy Finesilver,
Bedford Heights; Bonnie Gordon, Seville; and Claudia
Zeber, Akron.
After opening in Cleveland, “Clay on Walls” then
traveled to the Mansfield (Ohio) Art Center.
California Clay
The Artery, home of the Artists’ Cooperative of Davis,
California, recently presented a statewide competition
18 CERAMICS MONTHLY
John Slavonic, “Queen,” 41 inches in height, Lincoln fireclay
and sand, with kiln wash, slip and copper carbonate, fired to
Cone 6 reduction, $1200; winner of a $1000 prize and the
$100 Alpha Award in the “California Clay Competition.”
May 1992
19
Up Front
Oakland, for “The Curl”; Randy Grimmel, Modesto, for
“Three of You”; and Judy Hiromoto, San Francisco, for
“Tibet on My Mind” The fourth cash prize went to John
Slavonic, Grass Valley, who also received the additional
$100 Alpha Award, for his fireclay sculpture “Queen”
(shown on page 18).
Robert Harrison Workshop
Architectural artist Robert Harrison (Helena, Montana),
who works in a variety of media including ceramics,
completed a site-specific sculpture during a 1991 work­
shop at the University of Arizona, Tucson. Graduate and
undergraduate students at the university and several
members of Southern Arizona Clay Artists assisted in the
construction of “Tucsonarch,” a 9-foot-high adobe and
steel pipe arch, reinforced and secured by a rebar infra­
structure set in cement foundations.
Harrison arrived with a yellow-green enameled, spiral
culvert pipe strapped to the top of his car. This became
one of the arch supports. The other support was con­
structed by packing a 12-inch-diameter cardboard tube
(the kind used for casting concrete columns) with adobe,
then pressing glazed shards (donated by local ceramists)
into its wall. Next, a wooden arch support was hoisted
into position, secured on scaffolding and filled with
adobe. Against the adobe column, an adobe buttress was
similarly constructed, and the surface carved into a spiral
relief. All the plain adobe surfaces were then coated with
terra-cotta red, blue and white stucco.
The arch’s form and surface reference the work of
Antonio Gaudi, Southwest architecture and the saguaro
cactus of the Sonora Desert. It was also sited to echo the
architecture of the UA. ceramics studio, built in 1942 as
an adobe revival church.
Kevin Kautenburger
A solo exhibition featuring recent sculpture by resident
artist Kevin Kautenburger was presented earlier this year
in the Arcadia Gallery of the Clay Studio in Philadelphia.
Memory and subconscious played a key role in this work.
“I spend much of my time as an artist trying to summon
fragments of reverie,” Kautenburger commented.
To him it seems that “making art is starting from
behind at the beginning, with clues fading fast and these
Kevin Kautenburger earthenware sculpture, 3 feet in height,
handbuilt, painted with oils; at the Clay Studio, Philadelphia.
being evasive themselves. My forms may almost have to be
formless themselves ” Kautenburger noted, “as it seems
futile to try to make ghosts tangible ”
Northern Musings
by Deborah McWatters
Robert Harrison’s “Tucsonarch,” 9 feet in height, adobe with
shards and stucco, and painted steel culvert pipe; site-specific
sculpture at the University of Arizona, Tucson.
20 CERAMICS MONTHLY
In the north country, heavily influenced as we are by our
neighbors from, say, Lake Wobegon, we do our thinking
kind of slow, over a cup of coffee or during a walk with
our jackets zipped up over our ears “to keep the brains
May 1992 21
Up Front
warm.” One such walk got me started thinking (slowly, of
course) about “Dual Function: Ceramics for the Tabletop
and the Eye,” a show on view recently at the Northern
Clay Center in Saint Paul. This exhibition, which in­
cluded pots by Joseph Bennion, Malcolm Davis, Kathey
Ervin, John Glick, Woody Hughes, Paul Kotula, Diana
Kulisek, Jeff Oestreich and Susanne Stephenson, was
curated by ceramist Michael Padgett (whose own work is
sculptural, but who trained as a functional potter).
Having some awareness of the curator’s work (i.e., his
limited emphasis on producing pots in the past decade), I
felt compelled to muse on the rationale he applied to
putting together what proved to be an impressive exhibi­
tion, reflecting a variety of approaches to contemporary
pot making. I added tq my musings a talk with Padgett
and recalled, as I walked, that he had stressed his particu­
lar interest was in the sincerity and integrity of the “pur­
pose” of those artists he’d asked to participate, rather
than his having a consuming hunger for production
pottery and a commitment to functionalism.
Since Padgett’s motivation in agreeing to put together
this exhibition had everything to do with his respect for
the work of participants and very little to do with fascina­
tion with the history of functional ceramics, it seemed
only right that musings on the “why” of this show center
around the role of “art” in pot making. Archaeologists
have discovered that the earliest clay creations were not,
as one might expect, bowls, plates or cups, but were
artifacts representing some human or spiritual presence
or belief, objects with no function except to remind,
contemplate or protect. Ultimately, of course, these
artifacts served to adorn the camps and caves of their
creators or recipients. Discoveries were made about the
durability and malleability of clay, and it has served as a
medium for plates, cups, bowls, etc., ever since.
Musing on, I made an attempt to tie my thoughts
together into the context of history, contemporary clay
artists and the Northern Clay Center. I thought about clay
as a medium for function, fine art, creative expression,
industry and business. Clearly, collecting is about decora­
tion, uniqueness and the very human desire to remem­
ber, to reflect, to hold dear an object made with great
care, integrity and sincerity. I thought further how clay as
fine art and decoration, and clay as functional object
have, truly, always run parallel.
In our society it often seems that making anything is
mostly about making a living and has a heck of a lot to do
with supply and demand. Every artist-potter is confronted
with the livelihood dilemma, causing questions about the
utility of what she/he is spending time doing, perhaps
wondering “Am I being selfish to want to spend my life
making things, expressing myself?” On the other hand, is
the artist terribly materialistic to think the work should
sell and provide a significant source of income?
So, we have these potters showing at the Northern Clay
Center, and their answer to this dilemma was to make, not
from a spirit of greedy materialism or egoism, but, as I see
22 CERAMICS MONTHLY
Jeff Oestreich stoneware pitcher, 10 inches in height,
wheel thrown and altered; at the Northern Clay Center in
Saint Paul, Minnesota.
it, from a spirit of truth telling and generosity. It all comes
down to that same old question—sure it’s a pot, but is it
worthy of our attention as art? In the case of this particu­
lar show, the answer is “Yes ”
The reason I decided to impose my musings on a
reading audience is that I wanted to stress the importance
of pot making as a way of truth telling, generous expres­
sion, even treasuring. I want to share that there is as much
validity in making pots in our modern world of consumer­
ism and materialism as there was the day the first potter
picked up some mud, squeezed it, dropped it (by acci­
dent) into the fire and later, when the fire went out,
discovered what looked like the spittin’ image of a par­
ticularly influential spirit; what’s more, it was hollow so
anyone could drink from it, and it was quite decorative on
that particular shelf in the cave.
A Vase for Flowers
The invitational exhibition “A Vase for Flowers” at Green­
wich House Pottery in New York City featured works by 14
ceramists known for their vase forms. A few of the works
on view were not vases, but all were connected to the
floral motif—as can be seen in Linda Arbuckle’s teapot
“Overview,” below, handbuilt terra cotta, decorated with
brushed majolica flowers.
Vases on display were filled weekly with fresh flower
arrangements designed by local floral artists.
Linda Arbuckle’s “Overview,” 20 inches long, terra cotta with
majolica glaze; at Greenwich House Pottery, New York City.
May 1992
23
26 Ceramics Monthly
Fred Stodder
by Anne Telford
California artist Fred Stodder wants
to get inside his sculpture. “Instead of
looking around the piece, like a lot of
sculpture, I was thinking ‘What if I cut
into the space?”’ he said.
To create spaces that echo passage­
ways or windows, he consciously in­
corporates architectural elements into
his free-standing ceramic sculpture.
Simple shapes are broken up into
planes and carefully delineated by col­
orful glazes.
Stodder might spend three weeks
sketching and thinking out the form
before creating a foam prototype. “I’m
pretty meticulous about every idea,”
he remarked.
He chose foam because of famil­
iarity. “I used to make surfboards when
I was in high school in Laguna Beach.
This is like a higher density form of
the same thing. I’ve used foam off
and on for maybe 12 years. It’s expen­
sive, but it’s the ultimate material for
what I’m doing.”
Wood is harder to shape and the
grain can translate into the mold. Plus
the foam won’t absorb water or mois­
ture because it’s a plastic. From the
foam prototype, he then casts a plas­
ter mold.
Stodder cites Frank Stella’s paint­
ings, David Smith’s metal sculptures
and Ken Price’s ceramics as inspira­
tional, but is influenced most by mu­
sic. “I’m really inspired byjazz. I’d like
my sculptures to radiate in a musical
way,” he said.
An average day in his San Fran­
cisco studio involves playing the key­
board for an hour or two before he
begins work on the latest series of
sculptures. And music accompanies
him throughout the day as he plays
selections from a sprawling collection
of cassettes.
Although Stodder works with
molds, they do not expedite the pro­
cess. “When you cast clay with plaster
molds, completely negative shapes
have to be cut off, then cast separately
In his tightly
packed,
convertedwarehouse
studio, San
Francisco artist
Fred Stodder has
been developing
a series of
architectural
ceramic forms.
May 1992
27
and put back together while they’re
wet,” he explained.
Still, the molds allow freedom to
“go almost anywhere with the form.
With slab construction [which he used
to do], it takes so long just to do one
piece, it would be impractical.”
Stodder will do multiples of one
sculptural form, but finish each dif­
ferently with commercial low-fire
glazes. He doesn’t use overglazes. A
perfectionist, Stodder insists on the
colors being right the first time.
Glazes are applied so that color
edges are knife sharp. Sometimes he
incorporates texture into the surface,
and will contrast gloss and matt glazes;
these combinations of color and tex­
ture add illusionistic dimension.
“I see colors as very similar to har­
mony; you do have to have dissonance
along with consonance,” he said. “If
you don’t, they’re really going to be
boring, just like a major triad chord.
“Architectural pieces are fun in that
they lend themselves to a little more
freedom with surface; somehow that
association with architecture—with
flat finishes and texture—makes more
sense,” Stodder said. “I’m able to play
with the colors in a painterly way.
“I like to work with these bright
colors and somehow try to make them
not look cheap. That’s the goal, [al­
though] it’s hard,” he added. “I try to
pop as much color in there as I can
without making it look like a circus.”
Stodder’s ceramic sculptures shown
recently at Viewpoint Gallery in
Carmel, California, evoke classic forms
of architecture—a skyline in a city of
the imagination. A
Several weeks of sketching may precede
the cutting and assembling ofhighdensity foam prototypes.
Foam forms are divided into separate
elements, molds made of them and clay
castings reassembled still wet.
Masking with tape allows Stodder to
airbrush or brush areas of glaze with
edges that are knife sharp.
Though forms are cast in multiples,
each is individualized with a different
combination of underglazes and glazes,
Stodder’s glazing goal is “to pop as
much color in there as I can without
making it look like a circus”
Sometimes underglaze or glaze is
airbrushed on adjoining planes at the
edge to produce a softer line.
28 CERAMICS MONTHLY
Untitled sculpture, 22 inches in height,
slip-cast and assembled whiteware,
with low-fire underglazes and glazes.
Whiteware sculpture, 22 ½ inches in
height, cast and assembled, brushed and
sprayed with underglazes and glazes.
right Low-fire
sculpture, 22½ inches
high, with textured matt and gloss
glazes, by Fred Stodder, San Francisco.
May 1992 29
Without Laws
by Paul Soldner
A leader is best
When people barely know he exists
Not so good when people obey and acclaim him,
Worse when they despise him.
“Fail to honor people,
They fail to honor you’.’
But of a good leader, who talks little,
When his work is done, his aim fulfilled,
They will say, “We did this ourselves
—Lao Tzu
A few years ago, I was doing a work­
shop at a school with a strong clay
program. When my session was fin­
ished, one of the students asked me
to critique his work. I responded with
my usual question, “What difference
should it make?” As expected, he said
it would help him know if he was do­
ing it right! Again I asked, “What dif­
ference should it make?” This time he
gave me a quizzical smile and said
that since I was the expert, I should
know more than he did.
This same reliance on what others
think about art has led to a commonly
held precept that outside opinion is
important...and correct! Both students
and teachers rely on it. We foster this
attitude when looking at exhibitions,
for example. Almost without excep­
tion, friends ask, “Do you like it?” Or
they offer a defensive, “I don’t like it.”
Other critical declarations reflecting
their own tastes are stated with an
absolute authority that suggests their
judgment is important. What differ­
ence should it make?
On the way to my flight, the previ­
ously mentioned student wanted to
talk more about my refusal to analyze
his work. I explained that making art
was different than other academic
courses in that the object or concept
was a solitary, unique manifestation
of each artist’s inventive vision, and as
far as I was concerned that included
students. Of course, we are influenced
by other art and artists. Historical ex­
amples abound in books, magazines,
museums, schools, and more recently
in film and video. But, unlike the study
of other subjects that depend on us­
ing laws of physics, laws of grammar,
laws of medicine, laws of math, laws of
the law and laws of almost everything,
the making of fine art today should
be without laws. What difference
should it make?
Making art, as a profession, is a
creative act not unlike scientific in­
vention. It is about the discovery of
things not known (or seen) before. At
its best, it adds to history instead of
repeating history. Put simply, creativ­
ity is an individual inventive/creative
process. Therefore, if artists rely on
the judgment of others, they are not
being creative. They may be involved
with the field of art, may enjoy mak­
ing it, but it’s as different as being the
composer of music or a performer of
music. Both are important in their
own way, but the composer created
the original.
Such inventive work may not be
easy or immediately accepted. Keep
in mind the problems of Vincent Van
Gogh. He wasn’t accepted by the art
community, galleries or collectors, and
sold only one painting in his lifetime.
Nevertheless, because his work was so
special, his place in history is now as­
sured. His skill, drive and vision caused
the work to be collected, protected,
documented and appreciated, mak­
ing it undeniably important in the
world of Art.
If art is essentially a one-person in­
vestigation, why then is there the need
to critique or be critiqued? One rea­
son seems to be a desire to speed up
one’s career, to become rich and fa­
mous as soon as possible. At the gradu­
ate school level, such achievement
sometimes seems to be the ultimate
goal. Along with learning the politics
of Art, students are led to believe there
are people and ways that really do
hasten the process. And so we look to
them for guidance. We long to be
told what is good and bad. Given this
desire, it’s easy to become dependent
on, even addicted to, their opinion
and even easier to offer an opinion.
Thus we elevate the role of teachers,
art historians, art critics, reviewers,
museum directors, gallery owners,
even collectors, as artistic experts.
Because of the power inherent in
these roles and our desire for success,
is it any wonder we think critiquing
should make a difference? At its best,
it can. But that requires a very mature
(or
mad)
student,
independent
enough not to need it, as well as opin­
ion givers secure enough in themselves
to withhold personal bias and judg­
mental pronouncements.
Through the years, I found one
way to avoid falling into the critiquing
trap. When students ask for a critique,
I ask that they assemble a body of
work, not just one or two pieces. Also,
that a number of faculty, fellow stu­
dents and even friends outside the
field come and look at it in the re­
laxed atmosphere of a small party. By
the time they have put the work to­
gether, they often don’t need outside
advice. They have been able to cri­
tique themselves!
I’m sure there are other ways to
avoid playing Artistic God, but real
problems arise if grades are affected
by a critique. Giving grades on artistic
effort seems contradictory. On one
hand we expect the students to be
original, self-motivated and inventive,
but then we judge their success or
failure by personal feelings. Such pres­
sure can result in emotional stress,
misunderstandings and unfairness.
As a student at the Los Angeles Art
Institute, I was fortunate to have Peter
Voulkos as my mentor. In the two years
I was there, I cannot remember hav­
“Creativity is an individual inventive/creative process. Therefore, if artists rely on
the judgment of others, they are not being creative.”
30 Ceramics Monthly
ing an official critique by Pete. Yet we
students gained self-confidence to cri­
tique our own work without feeling
defensive or the need to please him.
Nevertheless, we learned to read Pete’s
body language, which “told us” what
he was feeling. For example, if he
smoked his cigarette with an impa­
tient draw, the work could be of bet­
ter quality. If instead he exhaled with
a slow, easy release, then he approved.
I’ll never forget one kiln opening.
I had great admiration for Pete’s sur­
face embellishment and had tried to
duplicate his calligraphy on one of
my pots. I must have missed by a mile
because as I removed the piece, he
gently said, “You don’t need to deco­
rate unless you have a reason.” He
then added quietly, “More good pots
are ruined by bad decoration than
bad pots are made good. But if you
really want to try it, do it on your
‘dogs.’ You might make them better.”
And the young man who wanted
me to critique his work? As I was board­
ing the plane, he laughed and said, “I
had six different people ask to cri­
tique that piece in four days. Thanks
for not doing it again.”
Editor’s note: Marking the close of his
30-year teaching career at Scripps Col­
lege in Claremont, California, “Paul Soldner: A Retrospective” opened at Lang
Gallery of Scripps College, and will travel
to 11 other sites during the next three
years; the exhibition features 75 works
from the late 1950s through the 1980s.
Presented concurrently with the retro­
spective’s premier showing was an exhibi­
tion of Paul Soldner’s current work,
low-temperature-salt sculpture, at the
Louis Newman Galleries in Beverly Hills.
“Pedestal Piece #9026,” low-fire clay
with slip, salt vapor fired, 28V2 inches
high, by Paul Soldner, Aspen, Colorado.
above “Pedestal
Piece #9112,” slab
built, with white terra sigillata, lowtemperature salt, 23¾ inches in height;
at Louis Newman Galleries in Beverly
Hills, California.
May 1992
31
Ron Kovatch
a review by Michael Madonick
Baudelaire spoke of the genius of the child. Artists con­
stantly strive for that freedom of hand, that innocence of
spirit, the naivete that reflects a child’s freshness and
surprise. As with the art of many successful neoexpressionists, Ron Kovatch’s new work (shown at Gallery
Nine in Champaign, Illinois) evidences a childlike sense
in his use of color, form and scale. Additionally, his work
in all its forms (drawings, reliquary cups, architectural
altar pieces) integrates the delight and magnanimity of a
child’s spirit with the disappointments and successes of an
adult mind. These sculptures have a spirit that asserts and
doubts, one that can view the world of material things and
beliefs with a measure of humor and seriousness that
magnifies and penetrates human experience.
Though Kovatch’s early struggle with Catholicism is
clearly the dominant theme in these works, one does not
sense an overbearing self-consciousness or myopic view of
the world. The altar pieces establish the cross as a huge
architectural form, towering and sometimes teetering over
a staircase that is surely meant to imply the sacrificial
elements of church and that resembles in form and color
“Homage to Gauguin ,” 22 inches in
height, residual-salt-glazed porcelain,
with enamels and gold luster, $1500.
32 CERAMICS MONTHLY
the Aztec or Mayan temples of a pre-Columbian land­
scape. While sometimes clearly humorous, almost Monty
Pythonesque, they can be as poignant and probing as the
knife driven through the heart of a human sacrifice in
those primal jungles.
Kovatch, it seems, offers his own heart to us on these
porcelain shrines, which are assertions of intellectual doubt
and aesthetic strength. It is on this primal level, the force­
ful expression of doubt, that we find his childlike genius
moving freely. The slabs of porcelain seem at once to be
dominant structures, but also appear imbued with their
own destruction. Something always is not quite right; the
shrines are cracked, unstable, trying to convince them­
selves, their own parishioners, of a confidence that their
structure seems to lack. Kovatch has brought each piece
to the precarious edge of its own demise.
The shrine as an entity takes on a frailness, a humanity
that begins to evidence Kovatch’s own faith—one that
rises from doubt, a faith in human frailty, a holistic canon
that seeks to embrace even the unsavory elements of
human nature and of disparate beliefs. ▲
Untitled shrine, 12 inches high, residual
salt glazed at Cone 10, then enameled,
lustered and sandblasted, $1200.
Residual-salt-glazed porcelain shrine,
14 inches in height, with enamels and
gold luster, sandblasted, $1200.
Ron Kovatch untitled shrine, 24 inches in height, handbuilt porcelain,
residual salt glazed at Cone 10, brushed with enamels, low fired and
sandblasted, $1500; shown at Gallery Nine in Champaign, Illinois.
May 1992
33
Table
Settings
by Catherine White
Though pottery must stand on its own,
it need not stand alone. Ideally, pot­
tery is part of a table setting that is a
well-tuned grouping of accoutre­
ments, food, people and occasion. The
viewer is induced to imagine a table
setting in use, but it is the actual user
who can create a complete aesthetic
performance, one in which the pot­
ter plays a partial role. The context
within which pottery appears is the
essence of its power to affect us.
A recent focus on place settings
led me to create ensembles of pottery
and tablecloths. The tablecloths
evolved from a series of unfolding
boxes, each of which held a single
cup. Drawings of the cup in use are
seen as the box is opened to a flat
position. Like the cup boxes, the table­
cloths allude to the contexts in which
I imagine my pots to be used—a din­
ner table, breakfast nook or elsewhere.
For example, “Picnic” provides the
beginnings of a table setting for an
imagined “ideal” picnic. The center­
piece is a six-pack of ceramic bottles
for serving the thirst quenchers of
choice. These bottles are a reminder
of the fact that all too often the ob­
jects around us are taken for granted.
The pairing of wood-fired plates and
cups with glazed, gas-fired botdes aims
to emphasize the value of contrasting
rather than identically matching com­
ponents.
For “Ceremonial Coffee,” an imag­
ined performance art piece, mysteri­
ous simple boxes initially would be
encountered. People would select
closed boxes from a tray; as each is
opened, the cup in which the partici­
pant would be served coffee is re­
vealed. These boxes seek to impart
34 CERAMICS MONTHLY
“Picnic ” wood-fired stoneware plates and cups with gas-fired porcelain six-pack,
7½ inches in height, on tablecloth painted with acrylic washes.
top “Red
Cup Box”3¾ inches high, wood-fired stoneware cup, in unfolding
board-and-cloth box with acrylic and India ink images of the cup in use.
greater “weight” and a broader sense
of setting (or context) to cups that
might otherwise get short shrift. This
is an active encounter, requiring the
box to be unfolded, the drawings to
be interpreted, related to the cup, and
finally, the coffee to be drunk in cele­
bration of the rituals/occasions in
which coffee is used.
Pottery that can be made for table
settings is limitless, as is the aesthetic
experience that awaits participants
who collaboratively create a significant
occasion. The life of pottery lies within
its creative use, a use that the potter
must consider and empower through
her or his aesthetic vision.
The author Studio potter Catherine
White resides in Warrenton, Virginia.
“Platter, Sorting Out the Pieces” 30 inches in diameter, 200 glazed and unglazed
stoneware chunks, wood fired, by George Lowe, Gainesville, Florida.
A recent conference at the University of
Iowa focused on wood firing in America.
It was planned by Chuck Hindes, head of
the ceramics department at the univer­
sity; he became interested in wood firing
in the late 1960s when the process was
“rediscovered” by American potters. Since
then, the popularity of wood firing has
increased dramatically.
Randy Johnston [see the October 1991
CM] provided the conference keynote
address. He spoke about the relevancy of
wood firing in the 1990s, its historical
roots and why potters choose to fire with
wood in a technically advanced culture.
“We seek the accidents of the fire more
than we need the warmth. Firing with
wood, we surrender control and the acci­
dents give our pots nuance and life.”
The keynote was followed by the open­
ing of an invitational and juried exhibi­
tion at the university’s museum; selections
from slide entries were made by studio
potters Karen Karnes and David Shaner.
“American Woodfire” included works by
57 artists to provide a comprehensive view
of the movement in America.
Hindes said he was “encouraged by
the diversity of the work, especially the
conceptual diversity. Without a doubt,
there is still a strong Japanese influence;
however, there are clear signs of move­
ment away from that primary element,
toward a conceptual integration of the
medium. The challenge is for us to take
this inspiration and make it an American
aesthetic.”
Philip Rawson, author of Ceramics, be­
gan the second day of the conference
with an overview in which he identified
the wood-firing movement as a “true-cult”
rejection of the totally new and commer­
cially beautiful in favor of the seriously
old. Rawson senses a genuine romanti­
cism in the wood-firing trend that con­
nects us to the roots of ceramic value. He
reminded the audience that Greek and
pre-Columbian pots were also wood fired,
and wondered why more potters didn’t
explore the possibilities of wood firing at
lower temperatures.
Rawson also acknowledged the ele­
ment of chance, inherent to the woodfiring process, which enables one to
produce truly unique, artistically valuable
works. But he cautioned against allowing
the process’ arbitrary effects (flashing and
ash buildup) to overshadow the pot.
Next, Charles Zug, author of Turners
and Burners, provided a glimpse into the
unpretentious nature of the southeastern
folk potters during the 1800s; they dug
their own clay, fired wood-burning
groundhog kilns, then sold their ware for
ten cents a gallon, no matter what the
shape or decoration. He went on to ex­
plain how southeastern folk pottery tradi­
tions have continued, with minor changes
in character, over the years. A series of
slides showed how North Carolina folk
potter Burlon Craig loads and fires his
groundhog kiln in much the same man­
ner as previous generations.
That evening, Louise Cort, curator at
the Freer Gallery in Washington, D.C.,
presented a slide lecture on wood firing
in Thailand. This view of ancient firing
techniques still in use by large-scale pro­
duction potteries demonstrates that for
Thai folk potters, wood as a fuel reflects
necessity rather than aesthetic preference.
A day was devoted to defining and
addressing issues of the wood-fired aes­
thetic with panels led by various potters,
art critic Janet Koplos and Philip Rawson.
It became obvious that the wood-fired
aesthetic currently revolves around a pref­
erence for stoneware temperatures at
which the wood ash melts and becomes
an integral part of the surface. A
May 1992
35
No Ideas but in Things
by Jack Troy
What, if anything, is American about
wood firing? The exhibition “Ameri­
can Woodfire” answers the question
better than any critic can—in accor­
dance with William Carlos Williams’
dictum used here as this article’s title.
With all the gusto and curiosity that
characterized investigations of raku
and salt glazing more than 20 years
ago, many potters and sculptors have
turned to wood firing as their process
of choice. Peripatetic questing, more
than any other characteristic or qual­
ity, seems to compel the creators and
to inhabit the work itself.
Several approaches, each at vari­
ance with the others, characterize the
Americanization of wood firing, if
there is such a thing: (1) that of the
faction of neo-Nippons who emulate
and, to whatever degree, cultivate an
East Asian connoisseurship in the U.S.
or Japan (A subgroup of this category
includes ceramic artists whose inspi­
ration from Asia is less direct, deriv­
ing from books, exhibitions and
contact with those who have lived and
worked in Japan.); (2) that of those
who regard this approach as a skele­
ton in the closet and work purposely
to avoid any association with Japanese
values, real or imagined; and (3) that
of still others who give little thought
to historical precedent outside the
U.S., preferring to follow the only con­
tinuing tradition of high firing with
wood in this country—using ground­
hog kilns of Staffordshire origin.
Ubiquitous and eclectic, wood fir­
ing in North America has gained pop­
ularity because its enthusiasts have
decided that their work demands the
effects of the process. The genre has
had virtually no critical support. If any­
thing, contemporary authors have ig­
nored wood-fired ceramics; one in
particular, Garth Clark, in comment­
ing on Peter Voulkos’ anagama-fired
work, has written: “In 1979, Voulkos
began to fire the plates in a Japanesestyle, wood-fired anagama and pro­
duced a few masterpieces, but these
pieces were generally retrogressive in
their aesthetic, too dependent on the
generosity of the kiln, and too imita­
36 CERAMICS MONTHLY
tive of Bizen, Seto and other tradi­
tional Japanese kilns.” Clark’s book,
American Ceramics, contains 240 illus­
trations, only one of which is of a
wood-fired object. Elaine Levin’s His­
tory of American Ceramics contains 352
illustrations, two of which depict pots
identified as having been wood fired.
No other genre of daywork is so con­
sistently ignored.
Despite the lack of critical sawy by
contemporary ceramic historians, the
movement has proceeded on level ter­
rain, with neither a verbal headwind
nor a boost from comprehending and
appreciative writers who might have
advanced the climate of acceptance
for this type of work by the public at
large. The result is that those ceram­
ists who fire with wood are themselves
the most reliable and articulate speak­
ers for the movement, at present. As
always, the work itself is the best state­
ment about why wood firing contin­
ues to grow in popularity among its
practitioners and connoisseurs.
Regardless of one’s experience with
the wood-firing process, this exhibi­
tion offered a panoramic vista of what
is happening in this country today.
The extremes of approach call to mind
Robert Frost’s statement about the two
kinds of potato farmers, one of whom
holds out his potato with earth cling­
ing to the root hairs, as if to say, “Here’s
a real potato!” Frost, like the second
type he mentioned, preferred his po­
tatoes (and poems) brushed clean.
Among wood firers, the choice of how
autobiographical a pot should be—
how much fire-genesis it should re­
veal—is an important concern.
Paul Chaleff often solicits the highrisk areas of his anagama-type kiln for
effects impossible to achieve by other
measure up, aesthetically. (So much
for the “generosity” of the kiln.)
The Chaleff jar in this exhibition
typifies the quiet strength of his best
work, pots that hover on their feet
like hot-air balloons about to rise, tense
with that last volume-defining pull.
This jar is a real survivor, document­
ing the border zone where conscious
intent and serendipity mingle. In its
presence we are reminded of cultural
inhibitions that may have prevented
many of us from experiencing such a
pot as “beautiful.”
Chaleff s work often embodies val­
ues that confront established norms
in our culture, that test the elasticity
of our perspective. For example, must
“beautiful roughness” always be an
oxymoron when it comes to judging
ceramics? Must the artist display whiteknuckle control over every square
centimeter of an object for it to be
considered a success? (Is anything else
simply luck?) Will anyone dare to ad­
mit that an artist’s handling of mate­
rials can reveal the materials
themselves to contain tactile and vi­
sual expressiveness? Has status hun­
ger made ceramics a medium to be
done increasingly from the neck up
rather than from the heart out?
That fire can express delicate,
painterly qualities, as well as the surflike pounding of an anagama firebox,
could be seen in the work of Barbara
Diduk, whose four gravity-flirting
pieces made us hope Iowa City was
not earthquake-prone. Their under­
stated color modulations have visual
depth appearing to grow out of the
clay rather than having been applied.
Occasionally, one gets a sense of
cosmic blessing emanating from woodfired work—the feeling that every­
means. Exposure to violent heat in or thing and everyone was at the right
near the firebox subjects clay to great place at the right time, and the only
stress; objects made with this firing way to prove this improbable conjunc­
space in mind must be from a clay tion is the existence of the work itself.
whose refractory qualities will be ap­
Encounters between matter and spirit;
propriate for such a tumultuous zone, the linking of human with nonhuman
yet sensitive enough to capture the forces; the interface between con­
fire’s visual/tactile statement. Even sciousness and chance—all are evident
then, a very small percentage will sur­
in works in this exhibition, particu­
vive and, among those, fewer still will larly in those reflecting concern in
“Chimney Pot ,” I5V2 inches in height, wood-fired porcelaneous stoneware, by David Shaner,
Big Fork, Montana. Surface patterning/glazing results from natural ash fall during firing.
“Winged Vessel”20V2 inches in length, thrown and assembled “Double Bump,” 22 inches in length, handbuilt stoneware,
stoneware, by Karen Karnes, Morgan, Vermont.
wood fired, by Eva Kwong, Kent, Ohio.
May 1992
37
the selection of clays with great poten­
tial for color variation when fired, so
as to document nuances in atmo­
spheric variation.
Certain other works eschew the vo­
luptuous surface, revealing a kind of
Spartan astringency. Highly refractory
clays when lightly salt glazed some­
times have the texture of a mild case
of goose bumps, which came to mind
when I handled Linda Christianson’s
squat, ascetic teapot; it bears a re­
semblance to armored vehicles—pro­
tective of its contents. This nakedness
twits with conventional preferences for
“pretty” surfaces. It’s impossible to
imagine such work being made in the
tropics; somehow there’s a presence
of winter, that underfired season, in
these pots.
To their credit, some pieces in the
exhibition seemed out of place—
Vernon Owens’ salt-glazed jug, for ex­
ample. They say “home” so clearly, a
corner of the gallery should have been
set up to look as if people actually
lived there. These pots manifest quali­
ties that will always make the best writ­
ers sound pretentious. Complete clay
statements first and foremost, they
were made by potters whose life work,
if arranged chronologically pot by pot,
might line both sides of the Iowa River
as it passes through the campus. That
kind of confident making can’t be
bought at any price; years of daily com­
mitment live in such pots.
This was one of the best exhibi­
tions of wood-fired ceramics ever as­
sembled in the U.S. It was surely the
most comprehensive. The work of
many other deserving ceramists could
not be accommodated, but there is a
sense that all are involved in a vital
search for information. Nearly every
day of the week, somewhere in this
country, a wood kiln is being fired.
The quest is ongoing.
Wood firing in the U.S. is not nearly
so well integrated into the ceramics
milieu as it is in England, Australia
and New Zealand—to name three
countries outside Japan where the pro­
cess has developed and prospered. No
doubt there are some who wish it
would become just another way to fire;
still others would have it no other
way—for all its laboriousness, devilish
variables and exasperations, wood fir­
ing offers unique rewards.
“Bamboo Jar ” 6 inches in height, wheel-thrown porcelain,
wood fired to 2370°F, by Byron Temple, Louisville, Kentucky.
38 CERAMICS MONTHLY
In an attempt to eliminate the un­
predictable and to bolster the notion
of “mastering materials,” the dominant
influences in our ceramic heritage
have weaned heat from fire. Enlisting
flame as an ally in the firing process
engages a vast palette of potentially
discordant or harmonious values. Suc­
cess often lies in the willingness to
court risk as a catalyst between the
rational and the intuitive.
Trust, rather than fear, character­
izes the wood firer’s approach to the
unpredictable, for, in the words of
Louis Pasteur, “chance favors only the
prepared mind.” The very fire that
can ruin our best work can also bless
it beyond our best intentions. Whether
we choose wood firing for purely prac­
tical or for more esoteric reasons, the
wish to participate in an ancient dia­
logue with materials characterizes
much of what this exhibition was
about. The ghostly counterparts to
these pieces lie in shard piles across
the country. It is humbling to note
that they could well fill the gallery
from floor to ceiling as a perverse
endorsement of electric kilns and their
heated but unfired wares.
“Figure #3,” 34 inches in height, slab-built stoneware,
by David Dyche, Logan, Utah.
“Four Sculptures,” to approximately 24 inches in height,
stoneware, by Barbara Diduk, Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
Wood-fired porcelain pitcher, 8 inches in height,
by Peg Malloy, Edwards, Colorado.
Jar, MV2 inches in height, thrown porcelaneous stoneware
with natural ash glaze, by Paul Chaleff, Pine Plains, New York.
May 1992
39
“Tea-Mate,” to 11 inches in height, wood-fired local stoneware/protoporcelain,
by Richard Bresnahan, Avon, Minnesota.
“Jar with Bronze Lid,” 8V2 inches in height, thrown stoneware with
Shino glaze, by Robert Archambeau, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
40
CERAMICS MONTHLY
Stoneware covered jar with brushed slips, 8V2 inches in height,
by Douglass Rankin and Will Ruggles, Bakersville, North Carolina.
May 1992
41
Thrown stoneware vase,
12 inches in height, by Richard
Macatee, Athens, Ohio.
Salt-glazed jug, IOV2 inches high,
fired in a groundhog kiln, by Vernon
Owens, Seagrove, North Carolina.
Thrown and glazed stoneware coffeepot, 7 inches in height,
wood fired, by McKenzie Smith, Miami Beach, Florida.
42 CERAMICS MONTHLY
Teapot, 12 inches in length, thrown
and altered, by Linda Christianson,
Lindstrom, Minnesota.
Coconut Grove
Crowds estimated near 800,000 attended
the 29th annual “Coconut Grove Arts Fes­
tival” in Miami. A retail fair, “the Grove”
draws applicants from across the U.S. It is
also the first show of the year for many.
Views on the Grove, as well as craft
fairs in general, and issues of retail/whole­
sale selling and economic survival are dis­
cussed in the following reports by a
representative 7 of the 40+ clay exhibitors
who were juried into this year’s show:
EdRisak
As the cold winds of November blew, I
walked to the mailbox with anticipation
and anxiety. The letter from Coconut
Grove was too thin to contain the dreaded
“returned slides” of rejection; it may still
have contained the awful indecision of
being “wait listed.” This year the accep­
tance letter was there and elation set in.
“The Coconut Grove Arts Festival” is
one of the first major art fairs of the year.
Inclusion means the possibility of begin­
ning the season with financial success, as
well as giving a warm start to someone
The fair takes place at a waterfront site
in Miami.
coming from the frozen north. This marks
the initiation of an extremely busy sched­
ule. Selecting from all the available shows,
I try to begin with the most predictable,
profitable show possible. This has tradi­
tionally been the Grove for me.
It’s an unusual show in that it runs
three days, Saturday through Monday, in
mid February. Sales are strong each day.
Crowds are always enormous; even when it
rains (which is rare), people turn out in
full force either to see or to be seen. They
include buyers, browsers, bargain hunt­
ers, exhibitors and exhibitionists in a wild
regalia of costumes, jewelry and bizarre
hairstyles. Here, crowd watching can be a
cheap form of entertainment.
Fortunately, bikes, skateboards, skates
and dogs have all been banned from the
show. This is a great relief to artists, as dogs
never bought anything anyway. The secu­
rity has also been beefed up and that helps
provide a more relaxed sales environment.
I sell a lot of work through wholesale
markets, so I find that the Grove is a per­
fect testing ground to try out new forms
and color combinations. Demographically
speaking, there is a good cross section of
Southern and East Coast buyers. I make a
lot of sales to vacationers from the Eastern
Seaboard as well as to local patrons. The
new best sellers can then be presented to
wholesale clients with a marketability seal
of approval.
In the first nonrecession of the early
1980s, I observed a drop in wholesale or­
ders, so I focused on selling retail. Oddly,
Terra-cotta box, 7 inches high, with burnished terra sigillata and copper foil, $700, by Sang Roberson, Ormond Beach, Florida.
May 1992
43
my mid- to upper-range pieces sold best
during this period. In this second
nonrecession, I have used the same strat­
egy, focusing on selling mid- to upperrange pieces through retail shows. So far,
it’s been working for the early 1990s.
Bob and Cheryl Husby
We were firing our salt kiln Halloween
night and it started to snow. We reached
temperature about midnight. The next
morning and 39 inches of snowfall later,
the kiln was cooling and totally drifted
over. We were glad that the pots in this
firing were earmarked for a series of Flor­
ida shows. When you are making pots in
Duluth, Minnesota, selling in the tropics
sounds pretty appealing.
Getting ready for the shows actually
starts with taking good slides, sending for
applications and projecting a schedule.
This is especially important for Florida
shows. Most ask for the booth fee in ad­
vance; acceptance into the show is an im­
mediate contract. This can mean a tre­
mendous outlay of money, with no return
for three to six months. Not getting into
consecutive shows can cause an expensive
two-week break with no income at all, but
double booking can cost you one booth
fee. We applied to seven, were rejected
from one, wait listed for another (which
we got into) and accepted to five.
Playing the waiting game with applica­
tions is not the only disadvantage in mar­
keting through art fairs. It is expensive to
travel (food, motels, gas). There is also
potential damage to work and display
equipment from dirt, winds and rain. Sit­
ting with the work for hours with no inter­
ested buyers may convince you that
wholesale is a much neater and more profit­
able way to sell, even at half price.
But at this time, we still see advantages
in doing good art fairs: It’s fun to travel and
you do get retail prices for the pots. You
also get customer feedback on prices. We
have made price adjustments (up and
down) from comments, watching hesitant
buyers and some work selling just too fast.
There is something to be said for selling
your own work directly to the public.
We had tried a few Florida art fairs
before, but never Coconut Grove. We had
heard stories about “buying frenzies,” art­
ists running out of stock before the show
was over, the high quality of the work, etc.
So we were excited about getting in and
experiencing it first hand.
It was evident from the beginning this
was a well-run show that considered the
needs of exhibiting artists. The advance
information was clear and thorough. It
was very easy to unload and load our dis­
play. We were provided with T-shirts, cof­
fee and an air-conditioned hospitality
house with free beer, soft drinks, fruit and
cookies. Most importantly, the show at­
tracted large crowds for three days. Collec­
Raku vessel, 8 inches high, with white crackle glaze and acrylics, $375, by Rick Foris, Amherst Junction, Wisconsin,
44 CERAMICS MONTHLY
tors previewed the show by tram and there
was easy access for all customers.
Art fairs usually represent 50% of our
yearly income and the Grove sales look
like they may constitute 10%. We were not
disappointed and are definitely looking
forward to applying next year.
Robert Briscoe
I am a professional functional potter
who has marketed primarily through art
fairs. In the late 1970s, when the Midwest­
ern economy began to soften, I needed
markets outside the agricultural and in­
dustrial focus of the Great Lakes region, so
I began to seek opportunities elsewhere.
Common wisdom then was that sales
were good in the Sunbelt, particularly in
Florida where there were two distinct kinds
of shows. Those with “reputation,” which
included the Grove, were believed to offer
outstanding sales opportunities; the lesser
shows were thought to be more of agamble.
I first applied to the Grove in 1982, but
wasn’t accepted until 1986. Since then,
I’ve been accepted on average every other
year. The competition is fierce—over 2000
applicants for 350 spaces—about like the
currentjob market. On receipt of that first
acceptance, I was ecstatic. I had had some
success at smaller shows in Florida, but
now I was headed to the “biggie.” Excite­
ment at getting in helped me produce the
quantity of work I thought was needed.
The show was excellent, although it didn’t
match my naive expectations. In the years
since, it has remained one of my top events,
but has never matched that first year.
Occasionally I explore alternative mar­
keting techniques. I currently sell work
through a few galleries, but 70% to 85% of
my income is from retail sales. After 20
years of selling at art fairs, being an itiner­
ant potter has become a large part of who
I am. I now know there is not much differ­
ence in net income between selling whole­
sale or retail: the costs of going on the road
eat up the additional money received.
Art fairs are a strange way to make a
living and I accept that. I also accept that
marketing through art fairs requires many
days away from the studio. But all forms of
marketing are expensive; moderating these
costs is how you survive. My wife thinks I
market through fairs because I am a “risk
junkie.” I admit loving the unpredictability
of acceptance, weather, travel and chang­
ing tastes. This lack of security creates an
edginess that I try to use in my work.
The chief benefit from art fairs is the
freedom to change at will, to create work I
want to make rather than having to dupli­
cate work from a brochure that may have
been published six months or a year ago.
Art fairs also offer the opportunity to inter­
act directly with potential customers, to
observe their reactions and to have a dia­
logue about the work. I especially enjoy
hearing how people have used my pots in
Porcelain vessel, 15V2 inches high, $400,
by Andrea Joseph, Ypsilanti, Michigan.
“Cosmic Offering Wall Platter ,”
22 inches in diameter, straw fired,
accented with paints, $395, by Christine
Colombarini, Dowelltown, Tennessee.
top
Low-fired wall plaque, 12 inches high, $165, by Toni Mann, Lake Worth, Florida.
May 1992
45
Cast porcelain tea service with Cone 5 oxidation glaze, 8 inches in height, $300, by Peter Saenger, Newark, Delaware.
their homes (a piece I thought I sold as a
vase somehow became a favorite chili pot).
RickForis
I work alone in a studio behind my
home in rural Wisconsin. There are few
other artists in the area with whom to get
together and share ideas, problems and
gripes on a regular basis, so I often feel
isolated from the rest of the craft scene.
When February rolls around I’m ready to
escape for a week or two, renew contacts
with the real world, hit a few good restau­
rants and take in a little sun.
Coconut Grove provides an opportu­
nity to get an immediate critique on the
work I’ve been doing for the past months.
After looking at a studio full of my own
work for so long, it gets to the point where
I’m not able to see it objectively. It’s re­
freshing to see how my work fits within the
context of a quality national show. Be­
cause I only do a few art fairs each year, the
volume of images is a creative stimulation
rather than a sensory overload. After be­
ing in such close contact with my work, I’m
able to step back and view what I’ve done
in a new light. Often I can see the next
logical step to take much more clearly
46 CERAMICS MONTHLY
than I would had I not left the confines of
my studio. The most important aspect of
doing this show is feedback (both positive
and, even more so, negative) that I get
from other artists, gallery owners and the
average person on the street.
I try to bring pieces in a range of prices,
but don’t necessarily make work primarily
because I think it will sell. That’s one of the
nicest aspects of doing an art fair like this.
All parameters disappear and I can con­
centrate on new ideas and not worry too
much about the inevitable mistakes that a
new direction brings. There are no spe­
cific pieces being ordered (as in much of
my gallery wholesale business) so there’s
freedom to make whatever I please. There
is no pressure to insure that all of the
special orders survive the work cycle. Any­
one working in raku, with its high losses,
certainly knows the feeling of having to
produce multiples of a particular piece to
make sure one turns out successfully.
I’ve noticed in the last few years that
with the increasing glut of wholesale trade
and gift shows, featuring the same
craftspeople and work year after year, that
more gallery owners have gone back to
street shows to seek out fresh and innova­
tive work. It’s not unusual for me to make
several gallery contacts at this show. The
international flavor of the Miami area also
draws dealers and collectors from around
the world. Collectors like the possibility of
“discovering” new talent as well as the
renewal of personal contact with artists
already in their collections.
Of course, traveling halfway across the
country to do an outdoor show can have its
downside. It’s an expensive proposition
just keeping your vehicle and display in
working and presentable condition. Hotel
bills and meals add up a lot faster than you
can imagine. The vagaries of inclement
weather, crowds of would-be customers
not in tune with your particular vision, and
time away from production add to the
already high stress level. To offset the
financial risk involved, I try to schedule
two or three shows in south Florida for the
weekends following the Grove.
It’s a lifestyle full of question marks, but
I’m still here after 17 years. I must be doing
something right.
Steve Howell
I
do six to eight of what I call “varsity
team” sidewalk shows each year. That’s
“Vessel with Pedestal,” 16 inches long, with sprayed stains, Cone 06 oxidation fired, $450, by Ed Risak, Marquette, Michigan.
Footed bowl, 4Vi inches in height, stoneware, with ash glaze over slip, $60, by Robert Briscoe, Harris, Minnesota.
May 1992
47
PHOTOS: ALLEN BRYAN, J. BRIAN KING, BILL LEMKE, DAVID MARTEENY, JON MCDOWELL, WAYNE TORBORG AND COURTESY OF THE ARTISTS
Burnished and saggar-fired porcelain vases, 5 to 11 inches high, $125 to $600, by Scott Tubby, Georgetown, Connecticut.
plenty. I have many friends who do be­
tween 20 and 30 such shows each year. I get
tired at just the thought of being on the
road that much.
Coconut Grove is a perfect example of
a varsity team show. It has a paid perma­
nent staff who are interested, friendly and
attentive. The show has good access and
room for setting up and loading after­
ward. It has good parking, reasonable secur­
ity and most importantly a well-established
reputation for showing quality work.
People come expecting to see excellence
and they are prepared to pay for it.
The Grove was good this year. I have
gone there five consecutive years and this
was my best. There were two reasons for
such a good show: 1) my highest total sales
yet, and 2) sales were good across the
entire price spectrum. In 1991 my sales
were limited to $50 items and a few $750$1000 pieces. This year I had numerous
sales in the $250-$450 range along with
purchases of the lower- and higher-priced
pieces too. And—this is important—it was
an easy sell. There was no gnashing of
teeth over spending $200, as there was in
’91.1 found many other craftspeople had
the same sort of response to their work.
48 CERAMICS MONTHLY
The crowd was awake and buying. I wish all
shows could be so easy.
Peter Saenger
When the desserts were good, I de­
flected my sibling’s interest with words—
hoping to hoard the sweets for myself.
Now writing about Coconut Grove, I’m
tempted to do the same. The show works
for me. I’ve had my most successful days
here, and this year was close to my best, in
spite of the trickling-down economics.
The pros of the Grove are: Attendance
is huge, hundreds of thousands, some say
a million. I’ve met U.S. and international
tourists, as well as a “bah-zillion” south
Floridians. They have contemporary tastes
and are enthusiastic patrons. The mid
February dates are perfect, far enough
past the December holidays to allow some
recovery, yet right in the middle of the
winter doldrums. And it is a pleasant expe­
rience to receive full price for one’s work.
Another very important element is the
direct contact with people who buy the
work, and those who don’t. The show’s
energy—all the faces, the whirling inten­
sity, giggling Lycra and gushing buyers—is
both an immense reconnection with the
object-appreciating world and my most
exhausting week of the year. I enjoy the
rapid-fire, direct connections with buyers,
who really like to meet artists and ask
about the work. Some visit for only a few
seconds, others come every day and many
return year after year.
The downside of this show includes
long days, beginning before the sun rises
and ending at twilight; contingency plans
for weather hazards; nightly packing of all
the wares into the truck, while the display
stays in place; the 2500-mile roundtrip in
the old van; and each year I seem to be
included in that elite group of exhibitors
who are awarded one bogus purchase by
the “stolen credit cards scam committee.”
It’s an award I could do without, butit’s the
price one pays for dropping one’s guard.
Thankfully they are few and far between.
The lasting images of the Grove are
tropical skyscapes with cloud castles on the
horizon; noisy flocks of green parrots rap­
idly diving in and out of view; and the
occasional pair of neon macaws casually
flying overhead, underwhelmed by the
mayhem below. I can still see and hear
them clearly, and I hope to be with them
again next year.
Sandy
Brown
and
Takeshi
Yasuda
by Tony Birks
A Ceramics
Monthly Portfolio
Sandy
Brown
and
Takeshi
Yasuda
by Tony Birks
PORTFOLIO COVER
Sandy Brown and
Takeshi Yasuda in
their separate studios,
South Molton,
England.
Some of the most vital ceramic work in Brit­
ain today is being turned out from a single
house in Devon. Sixty-five years ago, with much
less competition around, the same would have
been said about a small studio not too far
away in Saint Ives, Cornwall, where the Leach/
Hamada partnership was forging the famous
East/West amalgam that was first to revitalize
and finally to dog British ceramics until a
decade or so ago.
It seems purely fortuitous that once again
it is an English/Japanese partnership that is
producing the magic mixture, for the Devon
house contains the studios of Sandy Brown,
English (born in Hampshire in 1946); and
Takeshi Yasuda, Japanese (born in Tokyo in
1943). Unlike Leach and Hamada, they work
separately and competitively, but the comple­
mentary nature of their work is striking and I
think the Japanese influence is crucial. I must
declare my own ignorance of Japanese cul­
ture and am ready to be told that I am missing
the point, or misjudging the priorities in Japa­
nese ceramics, yet to eyes trained at an En­
glish art school, it seems that this particular
mixture of vitality and fluency could not have
been engineered in England or even America.
I also believe that critical to the mix is the
absence of art school training for these two
potters. Their masters were country potters of
Mashiko, Japan, not academics of Camber­
well or the Royal College in London. Art school
training can stifle or divert talent and pro­
duce professional conformists or professional
nonconformists who relate, in Britain at least,
to a scrambled-together, 20th-century tradi­
tion of studio ceramics in the absence of much
else. I envy Sandy and Takeshi their good
fortune in having avoided this, while I recog­
nize in them the hard-cutting edge of profes­
sionalism that comes from working in a
commercial “market” environment.
Mashiko, where they trained and met, is a
center of folk pottery in Japan; it is close
enough to Tokyo to keep both standards and
demand high. Competition is high, too, so
the effete or feeble will not survive for long.
And there is a real tradition of domestic pot­
tery widely admired by people of all types for
its aesthetic qualities.
In a sense, what Sandy and Takeshi have
brought from Japan and planted in British
soil is more Japanese than what Leach and
Hamada took to Saint Ives. Leach’s Oriental­
ism was pan-Oriental and intellectual, deliber­
ately and inseparably mixed with Western
techniques—witness
his
slipware
chargers
decorated with Chinese dragons.
If Leach and his followers delighted their
customers with “well-found” pots of aesthetic
and often graphic excellence, then Sandy and
Takeshi differ by designing most of their pot­
tery output as part of a pattern of living. Their
tableware heightens the pleasure of eating or
drinking. The pots themselves look better
when charged with food. Their high quality
of finish ensures that they pass muster in any
company, and their vibrant design makes most
other studio pottery nearby look somnolent
or desiccated.
It is in the comparison between their work
and that of others that their professionalism
and energy set them apart. Although Sandy
makes sculpture (which she carefully segre­
gates from her pots), I would like to focus on
describing the vessels she and Takeshi make
for use, and the very different and comple­
mentary personalities behind them.
Both came to pottery largely by accident.
Both want to make good and spectacular pots
and to be recognized for doing so. Sandy talks
and writes a great deal about her aims and
emotions, and perhaps alienates some read­
ers by the frank way she describes her potmaking activities, relating them to body cycles
and rhythms. Ultimately this is irrelevant, just
as Takeshi’s unnerving, pregnant silences are
irrelevant, for the pots are self-justifying, asser­
tive and will still be there when verbiage spo­
ken and written about them is forgotten.
The years in which they worked in Mashiko
(though not together) have given them both
the assurance in the handling of materials
that comes through trade apprenticeship, not
academic study. They know their materials—
their handling qualities and limitations—ex­
tremely well.
It is an object lesson to other potters to see
their separate, well-ordered, clean, tidy, disci­
plined studios in South Mol ton. Creativity in
their case is born out of order, not out of
chaos. Technical experiment is largely a thing
of the past now, and little is left to chance.
Their creative ability is not hindered by the
unexpected or unpredictable. Each insists on
working alone—they get quite irritable with
one another if their respective territories are
invaded, even if only for a cup of coffee.
Takeshi is a masterly thrower, handling soft
plates and bowls as a baker does dough, allow­
ing natural forces in the freshly thrown pieces
to reassert themselves as they dry, having been
indented, impressed or twisted as they came
off the wheel. The massive, spiral throwing
lines, the added feet, handles and lugs of
twisted and patterned clay, and the organic
Lasagna dish,
approximately
10 inches in length,
stoneware with oxide
decoration trailed over
brushed polychrome
glazes, clear glaze and
white slip, by Sandy
Brown.
above
Slab-built
stoneware lasagna
dish, with brushed
and trailed glaze
decoration,
approximately
10 inches in length,
by Sandy Brown.
left
A Ceramics
Monthly Portfolio
What Sandy
and Takeshi have
broughtfrom
Japan and planted
in British soil is
moreJapanese
than what Leach
and Hamada took
to Saint Ives.
symmetry of the decoration, all relate to the
Japan of his birth. The restriction in his use of
materials and forms indicates his determina­
tion, like a violinist at practice, to do things
again and again until they are just right.
Typically, his work is fired by electricity, the
gray stoneware having been covered by a white
slip and an ample, transparent, shiny glaze.
Occasionally, reduction firing will produce
more colored, colder and less transparent
glazes, but in either case the decoration al­
most always consists of green and brown stain­
ing from manganese and copper carbonate,
linked with the decorative additions to the
forms. This green and brown will flow around
the handles and ridges, and bleed from the
navel-like indentations or sprigging on jugs
and teapots.
His luscious handles make other potters’
handles look stiff, and the unconventional
patterning—sometimes
bamboolike
ridging,
sometimes spirals, sometimes with the regular
patterning of a crustacean or an armadillo—
are important and handsome features, which
make his pots readily recognizable and diffi­
cult to copy.
With the innate sense of balance and har­
mony found in peasant pottery worldwide, he
will raise his elegant platters on tripod feet, or
convert an otherwise unexceptional pedestal
dish into an attention-gripping flower by the
deft manipulation of the rim into a petal form.
I can vouch for the fact that Takeshi’s pots,
in use, enhance food, and vice versa, and
once in the house, they change one’s eating
habits to suit the pottery. He is a perfectionist
who looks long and hard at his pots, and in so
doing develops them.
Takeshi’s wife and partner also owes a debt
tojapan, although “debt” in Sandy’s case seems
hardly the right word. It is rather that her
pottery has grown out of Japan and, though
outwardly iconoclastic, depends on a strict
discipline that is truly Japanese. It also seems
likely that, if she had not become inspired by
the vibrant commercial pottery of Mashiko,
she would never have become a potter at all.
She has never learned or wanted to iron out
emotional hills and valleys in her work.
Sandy, with a natural sense of form, applies
bright and energetic decoration of abstract,
sometimes figurative, design so that the pat­
terns seem to be in a perpetual state of move­
ment around the three-dimensional pot. They
chase one another around the perimeter, as
do Picasso’s brushmarks on the rims of his
platters. Her decoration looks less studied
than, but has much the same sort of energy
as, Hamada’s painting; and we know that it is
only by superlative control and experience
that calligraphic spontaneity in ceramics is
achieved. She uses a fine-nozzle slip trailer
and a house-painter’s brush to produce the
counterpoint and contrasting marks in pink,
dark blue and yellow applied over a white slip
and under a transparent glaze. The luscious
shininess of the glaze is almost as important in
her work as Takeshi’s, and I think the occa­
sional pot that has a matt or semimatt glaze
suffers by comparison with its fellows.
In her case, it is the painted pattern that
dominates, and the pots themselves dominate
their surroundings in a room. Teapots, cande­
labra, dinner plates, deep dishes for lasagna,
are typical of Sandy Brown’s work for the table.
It is all identified with a long, spidery, sliptrailed signature, which is, in itself, quite beau­
tiful and somehow as necessary to the pot as
that of Cocteau.
Like Takeshi, she throws with very soft clay;
she manipulates and augments the precise,
radial symmetry of the wheel-thrown forms
with deep, scarlike throwing lines and other
organic wobbles that would have made Leach
shudder. Her sense of form is put to the test
and triumphs here. It is no less important,
even if less spectacularly evident, in the humpmolded dishes and slab forms for table use,
which, though simple in form, are never dull.
In her well-ordered month, time is care­
fully parceled out for the making of pottery,
sculpture (not ceramic sculpture, but sculp­
ture that happens to be made of fired clay),
drawing and painting. It has to be Henri
Matisse and Georges Braque who come to
mind as her sources, though she herself might
possibly be offended, not by this flattering
comparison, but by the idea that she has any
“sources” at all. The leaping, dancing figures,
the earthbound but flying forms leaning into
the wind, are her own—they are usually the
visual expressions of dreams or fears. Simpli­
fied, stripey, circus-clown forms made of white
clay painted with cobalt are very strong im­
ages indeed.
Sandy Brown is above all an original artist,
with a personal vision that changes the way we
look at the world. Like most originals, she
breaks conventions and proves the irrelevancy
of many accepted methods of working.
The author Tony Birks has written extensively
about modem British potters; his latest book, Ber­
nard Leach, Hamada and Their Circle, was
released in the United States last summer (see the
New Books column in the September 1991 CM).
Wheel-thrown
stoneware dish with
twisted handles,
coated with white slip
and clear glaze,
accented with
manganese and copper
carbonate glazes,
oxidation fired,
approximately
14 inches in diameter,
by Takeshi Yasuda.
above
“Cushion,”
approximately
12 inches in diameter,
glazed stoneware,
by Takeshi Yasuda.
left
A Ceramics
Monthly Portfolio
“Blue Circle
with Splodge,” plate,
approximately
10 inches in diameter,
wheel thrown from
soft stoneware, by
Sandy Brown.
above
aCandelabrum
with Dancing Lady,”
handbuilt stoneware,
approximately
14 inches in height
(without candle),
by Sandy Brown.
right
A Ceramics
Monthly Portfolio
“Fat Rim Dish
on Three Feet ”
approximately
12 inches in diameter,
by Takeshi Yasuda.
left
“Large Platter
with Two Handles,”
wheel-thrown
stoneware with white
slip and three glazes
(clear, manganese
brown and copper
carbonate green),
oxidation fired,
approximately
23 inches in diameter,
by Takeshi Yasuda.
below
“Softly Thrown
Platter with Blue
Circle,” slipped and
glazed stoneware,
approximately
12 inches in diameter,
by Sandy Brown.
right
Glazed
stoneware teapot,
wheel thrown, with
sprigged decoration,
approximately
11 inches in height,
by Takeshi Yasuda.
right
A Ceramics
Monthly Portfolio
May 1992
57
Call for Entries
Exhibitions, Fairs, Festivals and Sales
International Exhibitions
May 31 entry deadline
Mino,Japan “The 3rd International Ceramics
Competition ’92 Mino” (October 25-November
3), judging in 2 categories: ceramics design and
ceramic arts. Juried from up to 3 actual works.
Shipped entries due betweenjuly 1 and 15; handdelivered entries due August 29-30. Entry fee: 1
entry, 3000 yen (approximately US$23); 2 en­
tries, 5000yen (approximatelyUS$40); 3entries,
7000yen (approximatelyUS$54).Jurors, ceram­
ics design: Nino Caruso, Toshiyuki Kita, Kather­
ine McCoy, Masahiro Mori, Timo Sarpaneva,
Karl Scheid and Osamu Suzuki. Jurors, ceramic
arts: Robert Arneson, Garth Clark, Yoshiaki Inui,
Takuo Kato, Kyubei Kiyomizu, Pompeo Pianezzola and Rudolf Schnyder. Awards (per cate­
gory) : grand prize, 3 million yen (approximately
US$23,000), plus a domestic or foreign study
trip; gold award, 1 million yen (approximately
US$7700); 2 silver awards, 500,000 yen (approxi­
mately US$3900); 5 bronze awards, 300,000 yen
(approximately US$2300); and 7 special judges’
awards, 200,000 yen (approximately US$1540).
For application forms, contact International Ce­
ramics Festival ’92 Mino,Japan Organizing Com­
mittee Office, 2-15 Hinode-machi, Tajimi City,
Gifu Pref. 507, Japan.
National Exhibitions
May 13 entry deadline
Cambridge, Massachusetts “Annual Teapot
Show” (June 4—27). Juried from 5-10 slides with
descriptions/retail prices. Contact Cambridge
Artists Cooperative, Attention: Kathleen, 59A
Church Street, Cambridge 02138; or telephone
(617) 868-4434.
May 15 entry deadline
Shelburne, Vermont “Envisioned in a Pastoral
Setting” (September 26-October 12) .Juried from
slides. Entry fee: $15. For prospectus, send sase
to Art Exhibition, Shelburne Farms, 102 Harbor
Road, Shelburne 05482; or telephone (802) 9859585.
May 29 entry deadline
New York, New York “1992 Grand Exhibition”
(June 27-July 18). Juried from slides or photo­
graphs. Jurors: Victoria Clark, curator, Carnegie
Museum of Art, Pittsburgh; Nina Cohen, artist
and director of the “1992 Grand Exhibition,”
New York; Philip Ginsburg, Aaron Ashley Art
Publishing, New York; and Eric Zafran, associate
curator, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Entry fee:
$6 per slide. Awards: $10,000; with 50 finalists
showing work in a group exhibition. For entry
form, send a postcard with your name and ad­
dress to Art Horizons, Craft Deptartment, 140
Prospect Avenue, Suite 16R, Hackensack, New
Jersey 07601; or telephone (201) 487-7277 or fax
(201) 343-5353.
May 30 entry deadline
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania “Figurative Clay”
(November 6-29). Juried from slides. Send SASE
to the Clay Studio, 139 North Second Street,
Philadelphia 19106; or for information only,
telephone (215) 925-3453.
June 12 entry deadline
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania “Head to Toes: Hats,
Buttons, Belts, Purses and Shoes” (October 3November 8), open to craft media dealing with
body ornamentation/accessories. Juried from
up to 3 slides per work; up to 3 works. Jurors:
Dorothy McCoach, textile conservator, Bethle­
hem; Allison Watson, fiber artist, Jacksonville,
Florida. Cash awards. For further information,
send SASE for prospectus to Luckenbach Mill
Gallery, 459 Old York Road, Bethlehem 18018;
or telephone (215) 691-0603.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin “Not Just Another Fur­
niture Show: More than Just a Fixture” (August
28-October 23). Juried from 5 slides and re­
sume. Entry fee: $10. For further information,
send sase to A. Houberbocken, 230 West Wells
Street, Suite 202, Milwaukee 53203; telephone
(414) 276-6002.
June 19 entry deadline
Chicago, Illinois “Anticipation ’92” (Septem­
ber 17-20, in conjunction with the Chicago In­
ternational New Art Forms Exposition), open to
emerging, unrepresented artists and craftspersons. Juried from 1 slide of each piece, up to
3 works. Entry fee: $20. Awards: $4000. Jurors:
Ron Kuchta, director, Everson Museum of Art,
Syracuse, New York; John McNaughton, artist/
professor, University of Southern Indiana; and
Ann Nathan, owner, Objects Gallery, Chicago.
For further information, send sase to Anticipa­
tion ’92,600 North McClurg Court, Suite 1302A,
Chicago 60611; or telephone (312) 787-6858 or
fax (312) 787-2928.
July 1 entry deadline
New Haven, Connecticut “The Celebration of
American Crafts” (November 9-December 23).
Juried from slides. For prospectus, send sase to
The Celebration, Creative Arts Workshop, 80
Audubon Street, New Haven 06510; or telephone
(203) 562-4927.
July 11 entry deadline
Rockford, Illinois “Lilliputian Landscapes” (Au­
gust 7-September 11), open to all fine arts and
crafts media not over 6 inches in dimension
(excluding frame or pedestal) .Juried from work.
Fee: $15 for up to 3 entries. For prospectus, send
SASE to Gallery Ten, 514 East State Street, Rock­
ford 61104; or telephone (815) 965-1743.
August 3 entry deadline
Mesa, Arizona “Table Trappings” (December
1-23), exhibition of functional/sculptural table­
ware in all media. Juried from slides. Jurors:
Yvette Goldstein, David Pimentel. Awards: $1000.
For further information contact Table Trap­
pings, Galeria Mesa, Box 1466, Mesa 85211; or
telephone (602) 644-2242.
August 15 entry deadline
Rockford, Illinois“Menagerie” (September 25October 30). Juried from slides. Entry fee: $15
for 3 slides. For prospectus, send SASE to Gallery
Ten, 514 East State Street, Rockford 61104; or
telephone (815) 965-1743.
August 31 entry deadline
Northfield, Illinois “Teapots—Pour and Proud
of It” (October 2-31). Juried from slides. Entry
fee: $18-$24. Juror: Harris Deller, professor of
ceramics at Southern Illinois University. Cash
and purchase awards. For prospectus, send legal­
sized sase to Northfield Gallery, 1741 Orchard
Lane, Northfield 60093.
September 4 entry deadline
Tempe, Arizona “Animal, Vegetable, Mineral:
Functional and Nonfunctional Ceramics” (No­
vember 20-January 10, 1993). Juried from a
maximum of 15 slides. Entry fee: $15 for up to 5
works. Awards: $500-$1000 minimum. For pro­
spectus, send sase to Tempe Arts Center, Box
549, Tempe 85280; or telephone (602) 9680888.
Regional Exhibitions
Send announcements of juried exhibitions, fairs, festi­
vals and sales at least four months before the event’s May 7 entry deadline
entry deadline (please add one month for listings inJuly
Kingston, Rhode Island “Earthworks ’92” (May
and two months for those in August) to Call for Entries, 14-25), open to clay artists who are past or
present Rhode Island residents. Juried from handCeramics Monthly, Box 12448, Columbus, Ohio
43212; or telephone (614) 488-8236. Fax announce­ delivered work. Fee: $5 per entry; up to 6 entries.
Awards: $500. Juror: Steven Hill. For prospectus,
ments to (614) 488-4561.
58 CERAMICS MONTHLY
Call for Entries
contact Suzi Caswell, South County Art Associa­
tion, 2587 Kingstown Road, Kingston 02881; or
telephone (401) 783-2195, 1-4 P.M.
May 29 entry deadline
Sioux City, Iowa “51st Annual Juried Compet­
itive Exhibition” (November 7-December 27),
open to artists residing in Illinois, Iowa, Kansas,
Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota,
South Dakota and Wisconsin. Juried from slides.
Fee: $20 for up to 3 entries. For prospectus,
contact the Sioux City Art Center, 513 Nebraska
Street, Sioux City 51101; or telephone (712) 2796272.
June 6 entry deadline
Huntsville, Alabama Contemporary Southern
art exhibition (August 30-November 1), open to
artists residing in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia,
Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Caro­
lina, South Carolina and Tennessee. Juror: Marcia
Yockey Manhart. Entry fee. Awards: $6000. For
prospectus, contact Red Clay Survey Biennial,
Huntsville Museum of Art, 700 Monroe Street,
Southwest, Huntsville 35801; or telephone (205)
535-4350.
Fairs, Festivals and Sales
May 8 entry deadline
Beaver Creek, Colorado “Beaver Creek Arts Fes­
tival” (August 15-16). Juried from 4 slides of work
plus 1 of booth. Entry fee: $15. Booth fee: $100
for a 10x10- or 8x12-foot space. Commission:
10%. Send#10sASE with52£ in stamps to Pamela
Story, Director, Vail Valley Arts Council, Box
1153, Vail, Colorado 81658; or telephone (303)
476-4255.
May 15 entry deadline
Sausalito, California “40th Annual Sausalito
Art Festival” (September 5-7) .Juried from slides.
Entry fee: $20. Exhibition fee: $450. Awards:
$5000. For application, send postcard with name/
address/phone number to Sausalito Art Festival,
Box 566, Sausalito 94966; or telephone (415)
332-0505.
South Norwalk, Connecticut “SoNo Arts Cele­
bration” (August 1-2). Juried from 4 slides of
work plus 1 of booth. Entry fee: $12. Booth fee:
$85, $ 105 or $135. Awards: over $2000. Send sase
to SoNo Arts Celebration, c/o Exhibiting Arts
Committee, Box 2222, Norwalk 06852; or tele­
phone (203) 866-7916.
New York, New York “21st Annual WBAI Holi­
day Crafts Fair” (December 4-6, 11-13 and 1820). Juried from 5 slides. Entry fee: $25. Booth
fee: $800-$850. For further information, send
sase to Matthew Alperin, WBAI Crafts Fair, Box
889, Times Square Station, New York 10108; oi
telephone (212) 279-0707.
Groveport, Ohio “Groveport Festival of the Arts”
(September 26-27). Juried from 3 slides. Entry
fee: $3. Booth fee: $95 for a 10x10-foot, tented
space. Awards: $250, best of show; $125, first
place; $100, second; and $75, third. For further
information, send legal-size SASE to Festival of the
Arts, Village of Groveport, 605 Cherry Street,
Groveport 43125.
May 22 entry deadline
Norman, Oklahoma “A Midsummer Night’s
Fair” (July 10-11). Juried from 4 slides or photos.
Booth fee: $45 for a 10x10-foot space. Send sase
to MSNF Artist Selection Committee, Firehouse
Art Center, 444 South Flood, Norman 73069; or
telephone (405) 329-4523.
June 1 entry deadline
Manitou Springs, Colorado “Second Annual
Clayfest and Mud Ball” (June 20), competition
for amateurs and professionals in throwing and
handbuilding skills. Awards. Send sase to Clayfest,
Sharon Cupit, Box 945, Manitou Springs 80829;
or telephone (719) 685-1982.
Gaithersburg, Maryland “17th Annual National
Craft Fair” (October 16-18). Juried from 5 slides.
May 1992
61
Call for Entries
Entry fee: $10. Booth fee: $250-$375. For further
information contact National Crafts, Noel Clark,
Director, 4845 Rumler Road, Chambersburg,
Pennsylvania 17201; or telephone (717) 3694810.
Granite Falls, Minnesota “Riverwalk” (June 2627). Juried from 5 slides and resume. Entry fee:
$10. Booth fee: $40. Send sase to Riverside Col­
lectors Society, 176 East Highway 212, Granite
Falls 56241; or telephone (612) 564-4770.
Herkimer, New York “17th Annual Herkimer
County Arts and Crafts Fair” (November 14-15).
Juried from 5 slides. Fee: $100, plus $5 nonrefundable. No commission. Awards. Send sase
to Herkimer County Community College Arts
and Crafts Fair, Jacqueline Baggetta, Reservoir
Road, Herkimer 13350.
Richmond, Virginia “17th Annual Richmond
Craft and Design Show” (November 20-22). Ju­
ried from slides. Booth fee: $250 for a 1 Ox 10-foot
space; $375 for a 10x15-foot space; or $500 for a
10x20-foot space. Contact the Hand Workshop,
1812 West Main Street, Richmond 23220; or
telephone (804) 353-0094.
June 15 entry deadline
SanFrancisco, California “Contemporary Crafts
Market” (March 18-21, 1993). Juried from 5
slides or photographs and resume. Entry fee:
$15. Booth fee: ¾294-$735. Contact Roy Helms
or Chris Andrews, 1142 Auahi Street, Suite 2820,
Honolulu, Hawaii 96814; or telephone (808)
422-7362.
Santa Monica, California “Con temporary Crafts
Market” (November 6-8) .Juried from 5 slides or
photographs and resume. Entry fee: $15. Booth
fee: $260-$795. For further information contact
Roy Helms or Chris Andrews, 1142 Auahi Street,
Suite 2820, Honolulu, Hawaii 96814; or tele­
phone (808) 422-7362.
Manitou Springs, Colorado “Commonwheel
Artists 18th Annual Labor Day Arts and Crafts
Festival” (September 5-7). Juried from slides.
Jury fee: $5. Entry fee: $60. Commission: 10%.
For further information contact Commonwheel
Fairs, Box 42, Manitou Springs 80829; or tele­
phone (719) 685-1008.
FairviewHeights, Illinois “Midwest Salute to the
Masters” (September 25-27), open to artists who
have received an award since January 1, 1989.
Juried from 4 slides. Jury fee: $10. Entry fee: $100.
For further information contact Susan Burgess,
Midwest Salute to the Masters, 10025 Bunkum
Road, Fairview Heights 62208; or telephone (618)
397-7743.
Havre de Grace, Maryland “29th Annual Havre
de Grace Art Show” (August 15-16). Juried from
photo or slide. Fee: $50 for 10 feet offence; $100
for 20 feet of fence; students 18 and under, no
fee. Awards: over $1500. Send #10 or larger sase
with 90£ postage to Havre de Grace Arts and
Crafts Show, Box 174, Havre de Grace 21078; or
telephone (410) 879-4404, (410) 939-9427, (410)
939-1155 or (410) 939-3303.
June 27 entry deadline
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania “23rd A Fair in the
Park” (September 11-13). Juried from 5 slides.
Entry fee: $5. Booth fee: $125 for a lOxlO-foot
space. For further information contact A Fair in
the Park, Box 10128, Pittsburgh 15232; or tele­
phone (412) 361-8287.
June 30 entry deadline
Mobile, Alabama “28th Annual Outdoor Arts
and Crafts Fair” (September 26-27). Juried from
slides. Entry fee: $10. Booth fee: $75. Awards: up
to $6500 in purchase, distinction and merit
awards. For further information contact the Fine
Arts Museum of the South, Outdoor Arts and
Crafts Fair, Box 8426, Mobile 36698; or tele­
phone (205) 343-2667.
July 1 entry deadline
Eureka Springs, Arkansas “16th Fall Art Fair”
(October 9-11). Juried from 5 slides. Entry fee:
$10. Booth fee: $65-$95. Awards. For further
information contact Lynn Williams, Uptown Gal­
lery, 123 Spring Street, Eureka Springs 72632; or
telephone (501) 253-8313.
Mason City, Iowa “MacNider Arts Festival”
(August 23). Juried from 5 slides. Cash awards.
For prospectus, contact MacNider Art Museum,
303 Second Street, Southeast, Mason City 50401;
or telephone (515) 421-3666.
July 15 entry deadline
Glastonbury, Connecticut “On the Green” (Sep­
tember 12-13). Juried from slides. Booth fee:
$75. Cash awards. Contact On the Green, Glas­
tonbury Art Guild, 1396 Hebron Avenue, Glas­
tonbury 06033; or telephone (203) 659-1196.
July 31 entry deadline
Augusta, Georgia “Arts in the Heart of Au­
gusta” (September 19-20). Juried from slides.
Cash awards. Contact the Greater Augusta Arts
Council, Box 1776, Augusta 30903; or telephone
(404) 826-4702.
September 8 entry deadline
White Plains, New York “10th Westchester Art
Workshop Fine Art and Craft Fair” (October 31November 1). Juried from 5 slides or photo­
graphs. Booth fee: $200 for an 8x10-foot space or
$240 for a 10x10-foot space. Contact Westchester
Art Workshop/Craft Fair, Westchester County
Center, White Plains 10606; or telephone (914)
684-0094.
September 15 entry deadline
Miami, Florida “Coconut Grove Arts Festival”
(February 13-15, 1993). Juried from 4 slides of
work plus 1 of booth. Entry fee: $20. Booth fee:
$300 for a 12x10-foot space. Awards: $17,250 in
cash and approximately $60,000 in purchase
awards. Contact Coconut Grove Arts Festival,
Box 330757, Coconut Grove 33233; or telephone
(305) 447-0401.
May 1992
63
Suggestions
From Readers
Cut-Off Wire Flotation
To keep track of your cut-off wire when
throwing, simply knot one end, insert it in a
plastic photo film container, then snap on
the lid. The trapped air will always keep the
container afloat and visible in your water
bucket.—Cynthia Bringle, Penland, N.C.
Kiln Mock-up
Before building a kiln, it’s a good idea to
take the time to build a scale model. This
allows the potter to try a number of designs,
make and correct mistakes, and come up
with the best plan in much less time than
going directly to a full-scale kiln.
To build one or more models, cut out
appropriately sized “bricks” (1 inch to 10
inches is a good ratio), using a ruler (as a
guide), a fettling knife and a consistently
thick slab of clay. Be sure to make enough of
all the shapes you plan to use: splits, skews,
straights, etc. You’ll need quite a few, but
they are easy to cut out production style.
After the model bricks have been bisque
fired, they are ready to assemble, and can be
reused again and again. The model kiln can
even be fired in a very fireproof location
using one or more Bunsen burners (or one
or more propane torches) for a test of how
the real kiln might fire.
Even if you decide not to fire the model,
a mock kiln will definitely help you avoid
construction mistakes and will provide an
accurate materials count prior to ordering
refractories.—Anne Bracker, Lawrence, Kans.
Making the Most of Commercial Glazes
You can raku fire commercial crystalline
glazes that contain copper. You can also try
firing them to Cone 6 to achieve a watery
effect. They will run significandy, however,
so leave an inch unglazed at the bottom of
the pot to accommodate drips.—Maryann
Zagieboylo, Franklin, Mass.
64 CERAMICS MONTHLY
one brick hole, under the handle and
through the corresponding brick hole.—
EarlineAllen, Huntington, W.Va.
Free Equipment/Supplies from Industry
At Marshall University, we have benefited
from equipment and supplies donated by a
local industrial plant. Often such businesses
will give used equipment or inventory sur­
plus to schools as tax write-offs. This past
year, we received a very nice test kiln, a
pyrometer, replacement elements and highgrade chemicals.
Other schools and craft centers inter­
ested in obtaining free equipment and sup­
plies should try contacting local industries;
they will probably be happy to keep your
name on file so that they can let you know if
anything becomes available.—Mona Arritt,
Huntington, W.Va.
Ball Mill Jar Rejuvenation
Old ball mill jars can be rejuvenated by
resurfacing. Use fused alumina mixed with
epoxy resin to patch interiors, and apply a
fiber-glass and resin shell to exteriors.—
LukeHaatz, Columbia, Mo.
Flat Slabs
Two methods I use in slab work increase
the probability of flat drying. The first in­
volves the use of a pasta roller (it looks like
a ribbed rolling pin) purchased at an import
store. After flinging or rolling out a large
slab, I turn it over and roll with the ribbed
pin in one direction, then roll perpendicu­
larly to create a checkerboard effect.
After work on the top side is complete,
the slab is laid on a ½-inch-thick layer of sand
to dry. The cross-hatched back promotes
even drying by allowing air to circulate, and
the sand lets the clay shrink without warp­
ing.—Laurie Sylwester, Tuolumne, Calif.
Texture Tools
Like lots of texture? Don’t rely just on
found objects, walls, floors, etc., to create
textured slabs. A trip to a good thrift store
will yield great things. Look in the used
silverware/kitchen utensils sections. For a
few pennies you can find obsolete gadgets
that make wonderful stamps and press
molds.—Ilisa Slavin, Los Angeles
Terra Sigillata Siphoning Aid
To remove the top layer of unwanted
water after allowing terra sigillata to settle,
use an aquarium gravel-cleaning siphon. It
comes equipped with an in-line rubber bulb
that is squeezed in order to start the siphon­
ing process.—-Janice Strawder, Belleair, Fla.
Bookend Lifters
If you need to lift a delicate piece off the
wheel, but don’t have pot lifters, a pair of
metal bookends is a fine substitute.—Quen­
tin Olson, Baltimore
Easy Support
Studio shelving supports are easily made
by inserting dowel rods through the holes of
facing bricks stood on their sides; the bricks
can be spaced up to 28 inches apart.
The dowel rod and brick combination
also works well as a handle support; just
place vertical bricks on either side of the
handled form, then insert the rod through
Dollars for Your Ideas
Ceramics Monthly pays $10 for each suggestion
published; submissions 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. Mail ideas to Suggestions,
Ceramics Monthly, Box 12448, Columbus, Ohio
43212; or fax to (614) 488-4561. Sorry, but we
can ’t acknowledge or return unused items.
May 1992
65
Calendar
Conferences, Exhibitions, Fairs,
Workshops and Other Events to Attend
Conferences
Tennessee, Gatlinburg September 11-12 “Utilitar­
ian Clay: Celebrate the Object” will include pre­
sentations by Linda Arbuckle, Rob Barnard,
Cynthia Bringle, Larry Bush, Patrick Horsley,
Clary Illian, Andy Martin, Jeff Oestreich, Pete
Pinnell, Carol Roorbach, David Shaner, Michael
Simon, Byron Temple and Farley Tobin, plus
panel discussions on the dynamics of useful ob­
jects and how they affect people; the place of
functional ceramics in the schools; and appren­
ticeships, residencies and survival opportunities.
Preconference activities (September 9-10) will
include hands-on presentations. Contact Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Box 567, Gatlin­
burg 37738; or telephone (615) 436-5860.
Washington, Ellensburg October 2-3 “Functional
Pottery: Past, Present, Future.” See the March
issue for specific topics and speakers. Contact
Central Washington University Conference Cen­
ter, Central Washington University, Ellensburg
98926; or telephone (509) 963-1141.
International Conferences
Canada, Ontario, North Bay May 29-31 “North­
ern Exposure,” the Ontario Clay and Glass Asso­
ciation conference, will include lectures, dem­
onstrations and slide presentations by Andrea
Gill and Randy Johnston. Location: Canadore
College. Fee: members, Can$235 (approximately
US$200);
nonmembers,
Can$270
(approxi­
mately US$230) ; students/seniors, Can$180 (ap­
proximately US$153). Contact Elin Racine, Fu­
sion, 140 Yorkville Avenue, Toronto, Ontario
M5R 1C2; or telephone (416) 923-7406.
Finland, Helsinki June 16-18 “Interaction in Ce­
ramics—Art, Design and Research.” For specifics,
see September or October 1991 issue. Contact
the University of Industrial Arts Helsinki (UIAH),
Centre for Advanced Studies, Hameentie 135 C,
SF-00560 Helsinki. Telephone Tuulikki SimilaLehdnen, secretary general (358) 0 7563-344;
Marianne Finnila, press/marketing (358) 0 7563539; orTainaSarvikas, conference secretary (358)
0 7563-234. Or fax (358) 0 7563-537.
Indiana, Indianapolis May 1-30 Cheryl Williams,
pottery; at Alliance Museum Shop, Indianapolis
Museum of Art, 1200 West 38th Street.
Massachusetts, Worcester May 21-June 20 Rosa­
lie Olds, “Soup’s On”; at the Worcester Center
for Crafts, Atrium Gallery, 25 Sagamore Road.
Michigan, Detroit May 1-June 20 Harrison McIn­
tosh; at Pewabic Pottery, 10125 E. Jefferson Ave.
Michigan, Farmington Hills May 23-June 20
George Ohr; at Habatat/Shaw Gallery, 32255
Northwestern Highway, #25.
Michigan, Royal Oak through May 23 Andrea Gill,
vessels. May 30-June 27Judith Salomon; at Swidler Gallery, Washington Square Plaza, 308 West
Fourth Street.
Minnesota, Minneapolis through May 10 Ken
Price retrospective; at the Walker Art Center,
Vineland Place.
Missouri, Saint Louis May 16-June 30 Karen
Karnes. Catherine White; at Pro-Art, 1214 Wash­
ington Avenue.
New York, Alfred through June 14 Charles Fergus
Binns, “A Chair Must Invite the Sitter,” stone­
ware; at the Museum of Ceramic Art at Alfred,
New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred
University, Harder Hall, Fifth Floor.
New York, New York through May I6Jun Kaneko;
at Helen Drutt Gallery, 724 Fifth Ave., Ninth FI.
May 5-June 6 Anne Hirondelle. Babs Haenen.
June9-July 11 Anthony Bennett. Andreas Schneid­
er; at Garth Clark Gallery, 24 West 57th Street.
New York, Roslyn through May 9 Virginia Zohn,
stoneware with overglazed designs. May 16-June
13 Coco Schoenberg; at Gallery Authentique,
1499 Old Northern Boulevard.
Ohio, Columbus through June #Jack Earl; at the
Ohio Designer Craftsmen Gallery, 2164 River­
side Drive.
Pennsylvania, Philadelphia throughFebruary 1993
Arnold Zimmerman, outdoor installation of 4
large-scale sculptures; in Arco Park, next to
Haviland Hall, University of the Arts.
May 1-24 Sally Brogden, juried solo; at the Clay
Studio, 139 North Second Street.
May 20-June 14 Etta Winigrad; at Muse Gallery,
60 North Second Street.
Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh through May 20 Eva
Kwong; at the Clay Place, 5416 Walnut Street.
Tennessee, Smithville May 1-July 7 Junko
Yamanto; at the Appalachian Center for Crafts,
Route 3.
Washington, Seattle May 7-31 Geoffrey Pagen,
wall reliefs; at Foster/White Gallery, 311½ Occi­
dental Avenue, South.
Group Ceramics Exhibitions
Solo Exhibitions
California, Lincoln June 3-27 “Feats of Clay V,”
Alabama, HuntsvilleJune 28-August 16Paul Sold­
juried national; at Gladding, McBean terra cotta
ner retrospective; at the Huntsville Museum of
factory—by reservation only, telephone (916)
Art, 700 Monroe Street, Southwest.
645-9713.
Arizona, Scottsdale May 1-31 Linda Mundwiler;
California, Walnut Creek throughJune 6 Works by
atjoanne Rapp Gallery/The Hand and the Spirit,
Susan Eslick and Cheryl Williams; at Banaker
4222 North Marshall Way.
Gallery, 1373 Locust Street.
California, Los Angeles May 2-June 3 Ralph
D.C., Washington May 3-June 7 “Ceramic Work
Bacerra. June 6-July 8 Richard Notkin; at Garth
by 30 MFA Graduates.” June 14-July 12 “The
Clark Gallery, 170 South La Brea Avenue.
Leach Influence,” includes works by Clary Illian,
California, Palo Alto through May 16 Christine Jeff Larkin, Warren MacKenzie, Jeff Oestreich,
Pendergrass, wall sculpture; at Stanford Univer­
Dave Stannard, Byron Temple and others; at the
sity, Tressider.
Farrell Collection, 2633 Connecticut Ave., NW.
California, Sacramento through May 17 Viola
Florida, Coral Gables May 13-June 11 Works by
Frey, “Figures”; at the Crocker Art Museum, 216
Sherry Jordan and Megan Wolfe, artists-in-resiO Street.
dence; at the University of Miami, New Gallery,
California, San Francisco May 7-29 Ruth Duck­
1300 Campo Sano, Entrance 8, Room 105.
worth. June 4-27 Jack Earl; at Dorothy Weiss
Georgia, Atlanta May 2-June 6 Figurative sculp­
Gallery, 256 Sutter Street.
ture by Doug Jeck and murals by Delia
D.C., Washington June 7-2 7RudyAutio; atMaurSeigenthaler; at Connell Gallery/Great Ameri­
ine Litdeton Gallery, 1667 Wisconsin Ave., NW.
can Gallery, 333 Buckhead Avenue.
Illinois, Carbondale May 12-June 10 “Clay Cup
Send announcements of conferences, exhibitions, ju­ IV”; at the University Museum, Southern Illinois
ried fairs, workshops and other events at least two
University at Carbondale.
months before the month of opening (add one month forIllinois, Chicago through May 6“Art for the Table,”
listings in July and two months for those in August) to works by Stanley Mace Andersen, Val Cushing,
Calendar, Ceramics Monthly, Box 12448, Columbus, Don Reitz and Norman Schulman; at SchneiderOhio 43212; or telephone (614) 488-8236. Fax an­
Bluhm-Loeb Gallery, £30 West Superior Street.
nouncements to (614) 488-4561.
May 8-June 4Jay and Toni Mann, ‘Who Says You
66 Ceramics Monthly
May 1992
67
Calendar
Can’t Teach an Old Dog New Tricks?”; at Chiar­
oscuro, 750 N. Orleans.
June 6-July 5 “The Great Lakes National”; at Lill
Street Gallery, 1021 West Lill Street.
Massachusetts, Ipswich June 6-30“ln and Abound
the Garden,” works by Northshore Clayworks
members; at Ocmulgee Pottery and Gallery, 263
High Street-Route 1A.
Michigan, Detroit June 26-August 8 “Pewabic
Students, Faculty and Staff”; at Pewabic Pottery,
10125 East Jefferson Avenue.
Minnesota, Saint Paul May 8-June 20 Works by
Scott Chamberlain and Robert Turner; at North­
ern Clay Center, 2375 University Avenue, West.
New Jersey, Camden May 22-July 17“Keramion,”
a collection of works from Germany; at the
Campbell Museum, Campbell Place.
New York, New York May 21-July 12 “The Radi­
ance of Jade and the Crystal Clarity of Water:
Korean Ceramics from the Ataka Collection”; at
the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Fifth Avenue at
82nd Street.
North Carolina, Charlotte through June 30 “A
Study of English Pottery”; at the Mint Museum of
Art, 2730 Randolph Road.
Ohio, Cincinnati May 4-15 “Sweet Mud,” sculp­
ture by students; at 840 Gallery, College of De­
sign, Architecture, Art and Planning, University
of Cincinnati.
Pennsylvania, Philadelphia May 1-24 “Clay in
Motion,” works by Robert Bede Clark, Michelle
Coakes, Malcolm Davis, Woody Hughes andjared
Jaffe; at the Clay Studio, 139 North Second Street.
Rhode Island, Kingston May 14-25 “Earthworks
’92”; at the Helme House Gallery, South County
Art Association, 2587 Kingstown Road.
Texas, Lubbock through September 30 “Fire and
Clay”; at the Museum at Texas Tech University.
Texas, San Angelo through May 24 “Seventh An­
nual San Angelo National Ceramic Competi­
tion”; at the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts,
704 Burgess Street.
Virginia, Norfolk through June 30 “Natural Inspi­
rations,” works by the Ceramic Designers Associa­
tion; at Dominion Bank, 999 Waterside Drive.
Washington, Seattle through February 1993Works
by Patty Detzer, John Downs, Margaret Ford,
Larry Halvorsen, John Harris, Anne Hirondelle,
Jim Kraft, Debra Norby, Geoffrey Pagen, David
Shaner and Patti Warashina; at the Sea-Tac Inter­
national Airport, Main Concourse.
Wisconsin, Madison through May 31 “16th- to
19th-Century Porcelains from the Permanent
Collection”; at the Elvehjem Museum of Art, 800
University Avenue.
Ceramics in Multimedia Exhibitions
Alabama, Huntsville through May 31 “Patchwork
of Many Lives: Fourth Annual Fine Arts Exhibi­
tion”; at Huntsville Museum of Art, 700 Monroe
Street, Southwest.
Arkansas, Little Rock May 9-July 5 “Art that
Works”; at the Arkansas Arts Center, MacArthur
Park, Ninth and Commerce Street.
California, Davis June 5-July 26Two-person exhi­
bition with clayworks by David Gilhooly; at John
Natsoulas Gallery, 140 F Street.
California, La Jolla May 2-June 13 “Salt and
Peppery World,” salt and pepper containers in
ceramics, metal, glass and wood; at Gallery Eight,
7464 Girard Avenue.
California, San Diego through May 25 “Te Waka
Toi: Contemporary Maori Art of New Zealand”;
at the San Diego Museum of Man, 1350 El Prado,
Balboa Park.
California, San Francisco May 2-June 28 “Pond
Farm,” works from the artists’ colony, including
ceramics by Marguerite Wildenhain; at San Fran­
cisco Craft and Folk Art Museum, Landmark
Building A, Fort Mason.
California, Sonora June 2-22 “Contours VI—
68 Ceramics Monthly
Expressions in Form”; at Central Sierra Arts
Council, 48 South Washington Street.
Colorado, Golden May 3-June 16 “North Ameri­
can Sculpture Exhibition”; at the Foothills Art
Center, 809 15th Street.
D.C., Washington through August 9 ‘When King­
ship Descended from Heaven: Masterpieces of
Mesopotamian Art from the Louvre”; at Arthur
M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution.
Georgia, Carrollton May 16-June 19 “Ritual and
Myth,’ includes clayworks by Melanie Turner; at
the Carrollton Community Center, Gallery 118,
118 South White Street.
Georgia, LaGrange through May 15 “LaGrange
National XVII”; at the Chattahoochee Valley Art
Museum, 112 Hines Street.
Illinois, Chicago May 8-June 13 Four-person ex­
hibition featuring ceramics by Patrick Horsley
and David Shaner; at Schneider-Bluhm-Loeb
Gallery, 230 West Superior Street.
Illinois, Rockford through May 29 “2x2x2”; at
Gallery Ten, 514 East State Street.
Indiana, Indianapolis through June 6 “Art of the
Americas before Columbus.” through March 14,
1993 “African, South Pacific and Pre-Columbian
Art from Private Indianapolis Collections”; at the
Indianapolis Museum of Art, 1200 W. 38th St.
Kansas, Lenexa June 12-14 “Lenexa’s National
Art Show”; at Sar-Ko-Par Trails Park.
Kentucky, Louisville through May 17 Two-person
exhibition featuring ceramics by Gayle Cerlan; at
Swanson Cralle Gallery, 1377 Bardstown Road.
Maryland, Baltimore June 7-August 2 “Design
1935-1965: What Modern Was”; at the Baltimore
Museum of Art, Art Museum Drive.
Maryland, Rockville June 3-July 13 “The Crafts
Collection 1992”; at Strathmore Hall Arts Cen­
ter, 10701 Rockville Pike.
Massachusetts, Boston May 9-July 11 “Garden
Treasures,” includes works by more than 20 ce­
ramists; at the Society of Arts and Crafts, 175
Newbury Street.
May 13-July 11 “Garden Treasures,” includes
works by more than 20 ceramists; at the Society of
Arts and Crafts, 101 Arch Street.
Massachusetts, Northampton May 2-June 28 “A
Tea Party”; at Ferrin Gallery, 179 Main Street.
Michigan, Detroit through May 15 “Lighten Up,”
exhibition of functional lighting, including ce­
ramics by Curtis and Suzan Benzie, and Janna
Vgone; at the Detroit Gallery of Contemporary
Crafts, 104 Fisher Building.
Michigan, Dexter through May 15 “National Ju­
ried Fine Arts Exhibition”; at Farrington Keith
Creative Arts Center, 8099 Main Street.
Michigan, Midland through May 10 Two-person
exhibition featuring porcelain by Elizabeth Lurie;
at Northwood Gallery, 144 East Main.
Minnesota, Bloomington May 4-29 “Images in
Abstract,” including ceramic sculpture by Attila
Dabasi; at the Norwest Bank, 7900 Xerxes Ave., S.
Missouri, Saint Louis May 16-June 30 “100 Cups”;
at Pro-Art, 1214 Washington Avenue.
New Jersey, Montclair throughJune 7 “Highlights
from the Native American Collection”; at Mont­
clair Museum, 3 South Mountain Avenue.
New Mexico, Los Alamos June 19-July 19 “Bien­
nial Crafts 1992 Exhibition”; at Fuller Lodge Art
Center, 2132 Central Avenue.
New York, Albany through May 31 “The Enduring
Flower,” includes Early American stoneware; at
the New York State Museum, Empire State Plaza.
New York, Brooklyn through December 13 “Biomorphicism and Organic Abstraction in 20thCentury Decorative Arts”; at the Brooklyn Mu­
seum, 200 Eastern Parkway.
New York, New York through May 17 “New Art
Forms from the South,” with ceramics by Kathy
Triplett; at Wheeler-Seidel Gallery, 129 Prince
Street, Soho.
through May 31 Three-person show featuring
ceramics by Barbara Diduk; at Nancy Margolis
Gallery, 121 West 21st Street.
New York, Piermont-on-Hudson May 2-31 Fourperson exhibition featuring ceramics by Dale
Shuffler; at America House, 466 Piermont Ave.
New York, Rochester May 29-July 12 “Rochester-
May 1992
69
Calendar
Finger Lakes Exhibition”; at Memorial Art Gal­
lery, University of Rochester, 500 University Ave.
Ohio, Cleveland through November 8 “Gruener
Collection of Pre-Columbian Art” includes West
Mexican ceramic sculpture; at the Cleveland
Museum of Art, 11150 East Boulevard.
May 8-June 30 “Art in the Garden X”; at Ameri­
can Crafts Gallery, Sylvia Ullman, 13010 Larchmere.
Ohio, Columbus through May 17 “The Best of
1992,” statewide juried exhibition of fine crafts; at
Columbus Cultural Arts Center, 139 W. Main St.
through October 12 ‘Just Naturally Splendid: Ohio
Designer Craftsmen Celebrate Nature”; at Ameriflora ’92, the Franklin Park Conservatory, Grand
Foyer.
Oregon, Portland May 17-June 20 “Garden Exhi­
bition”; at Contemporary Crafts Gallery, 3934
Southwest Corbett Avenue.
Pennsylvania, Bethlehem May 2-June 7 “Re­
awakening: A Celebration of Spring”; at the
Luckenbach Mill Gallery, 459 Old York Road.
Pennsylvania, Doylestown through May 24 “Re­
volving Techniques,” over 60 works in clay, glass,
metal and wood; at James A. Michener Art Mu­
seum, 138 South Pine Street.
Pennsylvania, University Park June 7-July 26
“Crafts National 26”; at Zoller Gallery, 101 Visual
Arts Building, Penn State University.
Tennessee, Gatlinburg through May 16 “Spring
Faculty and Staff Exhibition,” with clayworks by
Mary Barringer, Sandra Blain, Karl Borgeson,
Bill Griffith and Byron Temple. “Everything but
the Kitchen Sink: Artists and the Kitchen, New
Forms, New Functions. ” May 22-August 14 “Sum­
mer Faculty and Staff Exhibition”; at Arrowmont
School of Arts and Crafts, 556 Parkway.
Texas, Beaumont May 9-June 6 “The Art Studio,
Inc., Members Jurored Exhibition”; at the Art
Studio, 700 Orleans at Forsythe.
Texas, San Antonio May 15-June 27 “In House/
Recent Works,” including ceramics by Dennis
Smith; at Southwest Craft Center, 300 Augusta.
Vermont, MiddleburyJune 6-July 19 “In and Out
of the Garden”; at the Vermont State Craft Cen­
ter, Frog Hollow.
Virginia, Richmond May 8-July 31 “Spotlight
’92”; at the Hand Workshop, 1812 W. Main St.
Wisconsin, Milwaukee May 15-June 26 “Vessels”;
at A. Houberbocken, Century Building, 230 West
Wells, Suite 202.
Wisconsin, Racine June 7-September 13 ‘Just Plane
Screwy: Metaphysical and Metaphorical Tools by
Artists”; at Charles A. Wustum Museum of Fine
Arts, 2519 Northwestern Avenue.
Fairs, Festivals and Sales
California, Oxnard May 16-17 “California Straw­
berry Festival”; at Strawberry Meadows, College
Park.
California, Santa Monica May 29-31 “Contem­
porary Crafts Market”; at the Santa Monica Civic
Auditorium, Main Street at Pico Boulevard.
Colorado, Boulder May 7-10 “Boulder Potters
Guild Spring Sale”; at the Armory Building, 4750
North Broadway.
Illinois, Chicago May 15-18 “13th Annual Chi­
cago International Art Exposition”; at Donnelley
International Hall, McCormick Place Complex,
23rd Street and Lake Shore Drive.
Illinois, Winnetka May 23-24 “19th Annual Mid­
west Craft Festival”; at the North Shore Art League,
620 Lincoln Avenue.
Iowa, Clinton May 16-17 “Art in the Park”; at
Four Square Park, Main Avenue.
Kentucky, Louisville July 3-5 “Waterside Art and
Blues Festival”; at the Water Tower, 3005 Upper
River Road.
Maryland, Columbia June 26-28 “Columbia Fes­
tival of the Arts”; on the Kittamaqundi Lakefront.
Maryland, Frederick May 15-17 “18th Annual
70 Ceramics Monthly
Frederick Craft Fair”; at the Frederick Fair­
grounds.
Massachusetts, Lexington May 8-9 “28th Annual
May Pottery Fair”; at the Lexington Arts and
Crafts Society, 130 Waltham Street.
Massachusetts, Worcester May 15-17 “22nd An­
nual May Craft Fair”; at the Worcester Center for
Crafts, 25 Sagamore Road.
Michigan, Midland June 6-7 “Summer Art Fair”;
at the Midland Center for the Arts, 1801 West
Saint Andrews.
North Carolina, Asheville May 23-24 “Guild May
Fair”; at the Folk Art Center, Blue Ridge Parkway.
Ohio, Chagrin Falls June 13-14 “Art by the Falls
’92”; at Riverside Park.
Ohio, Cleveland May 17 “Trinity Celebration of
the Arts”; at Trinity Lutheran Church, Historic
Ohio City, West 30th and Lorain Avenue.
Ohio, Columbus June 5-14 “Columbus Arts Fes­
tival Streetfair”; downtown.
Ohio, Dayton May 23-24 “25th Annual Art in the
Park”; at the Riverbend Art Center, 1301 East
Siebenthaler Avenue.
Ohio, Shaker Heights June 19-21 “Craftfair at
Hathaway Brown”; at Hathaway Brown School.
Ohio, Toledo June 6-7 “1992 Old West End Art
Fair”; across from the Toledo Museum of Art.
Oregon, Portland May 15-17 “Oregon Potters’
Association’s 10th Annual Showcase”; at Memo­
rial Coliseum, Convention Hall.
Washington, Spokane May 29-31 “Artfest: Spo­
kane ’92”; at the Cheney Cowles Museum, West
2316 First Avenue.
Wisconsin, Cambridge June 13-14 “First Annual
Cambridge Pottery Festival”; at West Side Park.
Wisconsin, Milwaukee June 12-14 “Lakefront
Festival of the Arts”; at the Milwaukee Art Mu­
seum, 750 North Lincoln Memorial Drive.
Workshops
Arizona, Prescott July 13-17“Teapots” with Chuck
Hindes. Fee: $425. Campus housing and meals:
$114. Contact 1992 Yavapai Summer Art Insti­
tute, Registrar, Yavapai College, 1100 East Shel­
don Street, Prescott 86301; or telephone (602)
776-2303orfax (602) 776-2193,attention: Regis­
trar. Or telephone Arizona State University Col­
lege of Extended Education, Division of Confer­
ences and Institutes (602) 965-5757.
California, Davis May 23 “Magic Fire—An Over­
view of Primitive Methods of Firing” with Molly
Prier. Fee: $25; seniors/full-time students, $20;
YCAC members, 10% discount. Contact Yolo
County Arts Council, Box 2252, Woodland, Cali­
fornia 95695; or telephone (916) 662-4145 or
(916) 756-CLAY.
California, Mendocino June-August Summer ses­
sions with Robert Harrison, Steven Hill, Torbjom
Kvasbo,Janet Lohr, Tony Marsh, Karen Massaro,
Alleghany Meadows, Bill Walden and Lana Wil­
son. Contact Mendocino Art Center, Depart­
ment 3, Box 765, Mendocino 95460; or tele­
phone Peter Von Wilken Zook (707) 937-5818.
Colorado, Cortez June 28-July 8 “8th Annual
Sand Canyon Primitive Pottery Workshop,” handbuilding, tool making, learning clay processings
and firing Anasazi ceramics, using native materi­
als, tools and techniques of the Mesa Verde
region. Fee: $1000. July 12-24 “From Baskets to
Bee Plant,” studying all periods of Anasazi primi­
tive pottery. Open to ambitious beginners and
advanced students. Fee: $1200. Contact Kelly
Place, 14663 County Road G, McElmo Canyon,
Cortez 81321; or telephone (303) 565-3125.
D.C., Washington June 7 Lecture by Rudy Autio
(see workshop listing under Rockville, Mary­
land). Contact James Renwick Alliance, 4414
Klingle St., NW, Washington, D.C. 20016; or
telephone the Renwick Gallery (202) 357-2531.
June 13-14 Workshop (June 13) and lecture
(June 14) with Byron Temple. Fee: $50. Work­
shop location: Hinckley Pottery. Lecture loca­
tion: Renwick Gallery. Contact James Renwick
Alliance, 4414 Klingle St., NW, Washington, D.C.
20016; telephone Shelley Gollust (301) 229-2148.
Florida, Fort Lauderdale May 9-10 “Handbuild-
May 1992
71
Calendar
ing and Decorating Ceramics” with Rudy Autio.
Intermediate. Fee: $65 or $75. Contact Florida
Craftsmen, Broward Community College, Cen­
tral Campus, Davie, 235 Third St., S, Saint Peters­
burg, Florida 33701; telephone (813) 821-7391.
Florida, Oviedo May 11-15 “Architectural Ce­
ramics” with Peter King and Marni Jaime. May
16-17“Finding One’s Way with Clay” with Paulus
Berensohn. Contact Axner Pottery Supply, Box
1484, Oviedo 32765; or telephone (800) 8437057 or (407) 365-2600.
Florida, Saint Petersburg May 9-10 “Handbuilding and Decorating Ceramics” with Rudy Autio.
Fee: $75; Florida Craftsmen or Ceramic League
of Miami member, $65. Contact Florida Crafts­
men, 235 Third Street, South, Saint Petersburg
33701; or telephone (813) 821-7391.
Indiana, Indianapolis May 9 Handbuilding with
Randy Schmidt, plus a slide show of his recent
trip to the former Soviet Union. Location: India­
napolis Art League. Fee: $5; free for Potter’s
Guild of Indiana and Art League members. Con­
tact Marie Harnish, 5141 Lancelot Drive, India­
napolis 46208; or telephone (317) 291-7695.
Indiana, New Harmony June8-july 7(/‘University
of Evansville Ceramics Workshop” with Les Miley,
handbuilding, throwing, salt glazing, raku and
electric low firing. Beginning through advanced.
Live-in accommodations available. Contact Les
Miley, University of Evansville, Department of
Art, 1800 Lincoln Avenue, Evansville 47702; or
telephone (812) 479-2043.
Maryland, Rockville June 6 A session with Rudy
Autio. Fee: $50; Alliance members, $45. Contact
James Renwick Alliance, 4414 Klingle Street,
Northwest, Washington, D.C. 20016; or telephone
Shelley Gollust (301) 229-2148.
72 Ceramics Monthly
Massachusetts, Williamsburg May 8-10 “Clay:
Surfaces, Textures, Saggar Firing” with Elizabeth
MacDonald. Fee: $195. Contact Jane Sinauer,
Horizons, 374 Old Montague Rd., Amherst, Mas­
sachusetts 01002; or telephone (413) 549-4841.
Michigan, Detroit May 9 A session with John
Glick. Registration deadline: May 5.Contact Pe­
wabic Pottery, 10125 EastJefferson, Detroit48214;
or telephone (313) 822-0954.
Michigan, Midland May 16-17 “Form and Sur­
face” with Andrea Gill. Contact the Midland Art
Council, Midland Center for the Arts, 1801 West
Saint Andrews, Midland 48640; or telephone
(517) 631-3250.
Minnesota, Saint Paul May 21 Slide lecture with
Gail Kendall. Contact the Northern Clay Center,
2375 University Avenue, West, Saint Paul 55114;
or telephone (612) 642-1735.
New Jersey, Belvidere August 8-9 Demonstra­
tions, lectures, slide/video presentations with
Rudy Autio, Don Reitz and Peter Voulkos. Fee:
$200/2 days; $125/1 day. Contact Peter Callas,
RD 2, Box 213, Belvidere 07823; or telephone or
fax (908) 475-8907.
New Mexico, Abiquiu May 28-31 “New Sources
for New Directions” with Jim Romberg. Loca­
tion: Ghost Ranch. Fee: $105; New Mexico Pot­
ters Association members, $90. Contact Penne
Roberts, 4530 Bermuda, NE, Albuquerque, New
Mexico 87111; or telephone (505) 293-3107.
New Mexico, Pilar June 27 “Decorate Ceramics”
with S. Kilborn. Fee: $425. Contact Plum Tree,
Box A-l, Pilar 87531; telephone (800) 678-7586.
New York, New York June 1-July 24 Weekly por­
celain workshops with Carmen Soriano, Claire
Weissberg, Bruce Winn and Dave Wright, with
special instruction in glaze techniques for gas
and electric kilns. Workshop with Carmen
Soriano entided “Inspiration from Nature.” In­
struction in English, Spanish and Israeli. All skill
levels. Fee: $160; includes materials, firing and
lodging. Contact Jeff Cox, Director of Ceramics,
92nd Street Y, 1395 Lexington, New York 10128;
or telephone (212) 415-5565.
North Carolina, Brasstown May 3-8 “Primitive
Firing Techniques” with Bob Wagar. May 10-16
“Terra Sigillata” with Barbara Joiner. May 17-23
“Raku” with Obie Clark. Contact John C. Camp­
bell Folk School, Route 1, Box 14-A, Brasstown
28902; or telephone (800) 562-2440.
Pennsylvania, Cheltenham June 1-12 “How to Say
It in Clay.” Fee: $400, includes 75 pounds of clay
and firing. Live-in accommodations: $75. Con­
tact Billie Wish, Director of Events, Cheltenham
Center for the Arts, 439 Ashbourne Road, Chel­
tenham 19012; or telephone (215) 379-4660.
Pennsylvania, Chester Springs May 9 Throwing
demonstration with Chris Staley. Fee: $15; studio
members, $10. Contact Chester Springs Studio,
1668 Art School Rd., Box 329, Chester Springs
19425; telephone (215) 827-7277.
Pennsylvania, State College May 9 “Zen and the
Art of Pottery’’with Ken Beittel. Fee: $65. Contact
the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen, Box 820,
Richboro, Pennsylvania 18954; or telephone
(215) 860-0731.
Rhode Island, Kingston May 10 “Functional Ce­
ramics—Usable Art” with Steven Hill. Fee: $35.
Contact South County Art Association, 2587
Kingstown Road, Kingston 02881; or telephone
(401) 783-2195.
Tennessee, Smithville May 31-June 6 “Raku.”/zz?ze
18-July 3 “Diversity in Raku.” Contact Appala­
chian Center for Crafts, Route 3, Box 430,
Smithville 37166; or telephone (615) 372-3051.
Utah, Logan May 14-15 A session with Robert
Turner. Contact Dept, of Art, Utah State Univer­
sity, Logan 84322; or telephone (801) 750-3460.
International Events
Belgium, Gent May 26-June 28 “Vase in Form,”
ceramics by Heleen Dekkers, Piet Kerkhof, Frans
Ottink, Piet Stockmans and Netty Van Den
May 1992
73
Calendar
Heuvel; at Gallery “Verzameld Werk,” Onderstraat 21.
Canada, B.C., Victoria May 30-31 “On the Patio,”
works in clay; at the Metchosin Community Hall,
Happy Valley and Metchosin Roads.
Canada, Ontario, Brantford through May 10
“Earth, Hand and Fire,” exhibition of works by
the Brantford Potters’ Guild; at the Glenhyrst Art
Gallery of Brant, 20 Ava Road.
Canada, Ontario, Toronto through August 16
“Words under Glaze: Inscribed Medieval Persian
Pottery”; at the Royal Ontario Museum, 100
Queen’s Park.
through August 16 “Of Cabbages and Kings: Natu­
ralistic Ceramics 1700-1850,” tureens shaped like
animals and vegetables; at George R. Gardiner
Museum of Ceramic Art, 111 Queen’s Park.
England, Lewes June 7-July 5 “Dances with Clay,”
ceramic sculpture by Martin Hearne; at Charles­
ton Gallery, Charleston Farmhouse, near Firle.
England, London through May 9 “Lucie Rie 90th
Birthday Exhibition ” May 20-June 26Alev Siesbye;
at Galerie Besson, 15 Royal Arcade, 28 Old Bond
Street.
through May 9 Ceramic sculpture byjill Crowley.
June 19-August 1 “Summer Show Part 1,” featur­
ing clayworks; at Contemporary Applied Arts, 43
Earlham Street, Covent Garden.
England, Sherborne through May 31 Two-person
exhibition featuring pottery by Steve Sheridan.
June 6-July 10 Two-person exhibition featuring
ceramics by Ewen Henderson; at Alpha House
Gallery, South Street.
England, Stamford through October 4 “Ten Years
of Discoveries at Burghley”; at Burghley House.
England, West Dean May 8-12 “Pots and Dishes
for Food and Drink—Table- and Kitchenware”
with John Gunn. May 24-29 “Decorating Tiles”
withjan O’Highway. May 29-31 “Porcelain” with
Alison Sandeman. June 7-11 “General Pottery”
with John Gunn. July 3-5 “Pottery for Beginners”
with John Gunn. Contact West Dean College,
West Dean, Chichester, West Sussex P018 0QZ;
or telephone (243) 63 301 or fax (243) 63 343.
Germany, Hohr-Grenzhausen through May 10
Works by Colin Pearson. May 9-31 “Wendelin
Stahl und seine Schuler”; at Keramikmuseum
Westerwald.
Hungary, Bartoky June 28-July 25 “Szonyi Istvan
Summer School of Fine Arts,” will include ceram­
ics session with Ascher Zoltan. Registration dead­
line: May 30. Contact Szonyi Istvan Summer
School of Fine Arts, 2627 Zebegeny, Bartoky u. 7;
or telephone (27) 70 104.
Italy, Milan through May 10 “11 th Biannual Inter­
national Antiques Fair”; at Milan Fairground, Via
Spinola.
Netherlands, Deventer through May 6 Gerard
Prungnaud, porcelain pipes, through May 25
Clayworks by Brigitte Penicaud and Claude
Varlan. May 10-June 21 Mariet Schmidt, figurative
porcelain sculpture; at Kunstand Keramiek, Korte
Assenstraat 15.
New Zealand, Auckland May 28-June 28 “Fletcher
Challenge Ceramics Award 1992”; at the Auckland
Museum of Art, Private bag.
Scodand, Glasgow May 1-31 Clayworks by Rosann
Cherubini and Baajie Pickard; at Royal Scottish
Academy of Music and Drama, 100 Renfrew St.
Switzerland, Lausanne through May 16Small bowls
by 150 ceramists from around the world; at Galerie
Leonelli, Rue Vuillermet 6.
Switzerland, Nyon June 6-November 1 “Triennale
de la Porcelaine”; at the Historic and Porcelain
Museum, Casde of Nyon.
Wales, Rhayader May 25-30, June 1-6, August 38 and 10-16 Workshops with Phil Rogers, throw­
ing and stoneware reduction firing. All skill lev­
els. Fee: £180 (approximately US$308); includes
materials, firing and lunch. Contact Phil Rogers,
Marston Pottery, Lower Cefn Faes, Rhayader,
Powys LD6 5LT; or telephone (597) 810 875.
74 Ceramics Monthly
May 1992
75
Questions
then one part slammed down on top of the
other). If the clay to be wedged is too dry or
the force integrating the pieces is insuffi­
Answered by the CM Technical Staff
cient, the parts do not blend, which means
the potter then begins work with a mass of
clay that is really many layers just waiting to
crack apart.
Finally, some de-airing pug mills intro­
Q I just had a kiln load of sculpture separate like duce this problem, particularly when clay is
slate does. It didn’t explode; instead, it fell into used directly from the mill. The machine’s
vertical layers. I do large flat sculptures (I call cutting blades (because of their force in
them two-sided reliefs) and would welcome your combination with a vacuum) actually create
comments on why this happened to them.—P.R. a layer of steam during each revolution,
When clay separates from itself during which causes a spiral crack in finished ware.
drying and/or firing, chances are that ad­
While this problem is rare, the only solution
joining segments were not well integrated is a change in pug mill design.
or not attached well enough during con­
struction. There are many causes for this Q I have found a good Cone 04-02 glaze for
problem; the most common is insufficient
terra-cotta coffee mugs, but now I am concerned
working of pieces together. But ineffective
about the safety of this recipe. Can you tell me if
wedging and poor pug mill design may also
drinking coffee from cups glazed with the follow­
be implicated.
ing batch recipe could be harmful?—A.N.
When working two pieces of clay to­
Earthenware Glaze
gether, it’s common to slide one back and
(Cone 04-02)
forth across the other until it is stuck down
Whiting.................................................... 6%
to the other by suction. If the two clay parts
Frit 3124 (Ferro) .................................... 80
are joined properly, the previously mobile
Edgar Plastic Kaolin............................... 14
one virtually cannot be moved any further.
100%
The resulting multipart piece should be
Add: Ultrox.............................................. 12 %
dried slowly to allow equalization of mois­
Black Cofrper Oxide...................... 8%
ture throughout.
Frit 3124 is a leadless frit containing
Improper wedging creates a variety of
layers (particularly with cut-and-slam wedg­
potassium, sodium, calcium, alumina, bo­
ron and silica, with a fusion temperature of
ing where a chunk of clay is sliced in two,
76 CERAMICS MONTHLY
approximately 1600°F when fired alone.
Whiting is calcium carbonate. Edgar Plastic
Kaolin (EPK) can be considered a relatively
pure mix of alumina and silica. Ultrox is a
commercially blended opacifier that can be
considered relatively inert. The only item in
question is black copper oxide, which is a
relatively high percentage of the overall
batch recipe.
Whenever there is a substantial amount
of coloring oxide in a glaze recipe, the
potter should be concerned that this mate­
rial might leach out of an underfired or
insufficiently fired glaze. Nevertheless, in­
gestion of the very small amounts of copper
possible with leaching from this glaze nor­
mally couldn’t be more than that found in a
mineral supplement vitamin pill.
If the glaze is fired properly, we wouldn’t
expect there to be any leaching since the
alumina and silica are appropriate for this
firing range. Thus this recipe seems safe,
theoretically. But only laboratory testing
can confirm the true safety of a glaze. Some
labs that run such tests were listed in the May
1978 article “Frit Formulas” and the May
1986 article “Testing for Barium”; most labs
have a minimum charge of $50 to $150.
Subscribers’ questions are welcome and those of
general interest will be answered in this column.
Due to volume, letters may not be answered person­
ally. Address the Technical Staff Ceramics
Monthly, Box 12448, Columbus, Ohio 43212.
May 1992
77
New Books
pottery was selected
for reissue following
recommendations by
Bruce
Bernstein,
then of the Wheel­
wright Museum in
Santa Fe; and Jona­
Ceramics of the World
than Batkin, then
with the Southwest
From 4000 B.C. to the Present
Museum in Los An­
edited by Lorenzo Camusso and Sandro Bortone
geles. Both agreed it would be of interest to
A “coffee-table” book apparently as­
collectors, dealers, educators and students
sembled with the collector in mind, this of Pueblo pottery. In his foreword to this
history is illustrated by color photographs slighdy revised edition, Bernstein credits
of examples from museums worldwide, but Mera’s work “as the foundation for under­
is decidedly not a comprehensive survey of standing the nomenclature and develop­
ceramics; and there is little doubt that deci­
mental sequence of historic Pueblo potters.”
sions about what to include were heavily
The text begins by identifying the region’s
influenced by bias, ignorance or both.
“five ceramic provinces,” then notes societal
An explanation for the book’s emphasis conditions affecting production during the
on decorated tableware is given in its intro­
Spanish colonial period. Part I goes on to
duction: “The most explain the evolution of shapes, while Part II
spectacular aspect of traces the use of decorative motifs within
the story of ceramics,
each of these geographical areas.
[exciting] the great­
The m^ority of the text is devoted to
est. . .in terest, is that of specific pots, their linear cross sections and
their painted decora­
schematics of the decoration. Accompany­
tion; and the main
ing notes place each example in historical
aim...will be to illus­
context and explain the symbolism of the
trate this.”
design motifs. $29.95, softcover. 165 pages.
The text is basi­
67 plates. Avanyu Publishing, Inc., P. O. Box
cally a collection of 27134, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87125.
individuals’ essays on major periods of ce­
ramic production in the Near East, Egypt Derby Porcelain 1750-1798
and the Mediterranean, ancient Greece and
by Gilbert Bradley
Rome, Islamic countries, Europe, and the
Of interest to collectors, this history of
Orient, with the largest sections devoted to
the Derby Porcelain Factory in England
European majolica and porcelain. However,
includes annotated color photographs of
the illustrations include some baffling selec­
the figures/dinnerware produced during
tions: A cobalt-decorated, salt-glazed stone­
ware pitcher is shown in the midst of the second half of the 18th century. In­
examples of European majolica! Not only is volved in “ye Art of making English China
the pot out of sync in decoration and firing and also in buying and selling all sorts of
range, it is also incorrecdy described as “the Wares belonging to ye Art of making China,”
oldest stoneware jug known from Germany.” the factory competed directly with the Con­
The final puzzle in this odd assortment tinent; owner William Duesbury marketed
of “world ceramics” is the inclusion of a his wares as “the Second Dresden.”
In the beginning, Derby production was
section misleadingly titled “North Ameri­
can Ceramics.” It is actually a well-written inspired by Meissen, but Duesbury liked to
summary of European-inspired ceramics in keep abreast of fashion and often commis­
sioned work from leading painters and de­
the U.S. (with some reference to Canada)
from colonial times to the 1990s. But there signers of the day. Later his son looked to
Sevres to keep up with
is no mention of Native American or Mexi­
changing tastes.
can work. And only two of the illustrations
Much of what is
relate to the book’s stated interest in decora­
known about the fac­
tive tableware; most are of one-of-a-kind
tory was derived from
pots/sculpture by 20th-century studio art­
the Duesbury Papers,
ists. Perhaps these were included in an at­
the collective name
tempt to support the book’s subtitle. 399
given to the numer­
pages, including glossary, bibliography and
ous letters, account
index. 250 color plates; 40 black-and-white
books and miscella­
illustrations. $95. Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 100
neous documents re­
Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10011.
lated to the Duesbury family and its business,
which are now housed in the Local Studies
Style Trends of Pueblo Pottery,
Library in Derby. 182 pages, including bib­
1500-1840
liography and index. 124 color plates. $75.
by H. P. Mera
Thomas Heneage & Company, Limited, Lon­
Originally published in 1939, this guide
don; distributed by Seven Hills Book Distributors,
to historical Southwest Native American
49 Central Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202.
78 CERAMICS MONTHLY
May 1992 79
Displays that Sell
by Ernest Fair
There are several basic principles to
good sales displays that every ceram­
ist should be aware of, whether selling
at a craft fair or from your own studio
shop. There are also a lot of little
extras that make the difference be­
tween modestly successful and highly
profitable merchandising.
When designing a sales area, plan
to give the customer a good clear view
of as much of the area as possible
upon first entering. That will help de­
velop receptiveness to all items on dis-
play-
Try to maintain the same pattern
and style throughout your displays.
Doing so avoids clashes within the
customer’s receptive emotions.
Stick to accepted geometric pat­
terns for displays. These are what cus­
tomers have been oriented to all their
lives. Anything radically different may
prove distracting.
Color choice is also important in
selling. Be certain there are no clash­
ing colors from nearby displays.
Try to erect major displays so that
they face the best light sources. The
smallest shadow can materially reduce
effectiveness of the best display.
Check the lighting two or three
times during the day after a display
has been set up. This is particularly
important where natural sunlight
reaches the work. Glare can adversely
affect even the best display.
Mass or quantity displays that hide
or overpower other merchandise can
actually hamper sales. On occasion,
mass can be a great selling force, but
it is best kept under control.
Mixed displays of items have value
80 CERAMICS MONTHLY
only for bargain tables. It is just an­
other way of creating confusion in cus­
tomers’ minds.
Elaborate displays can be decora­
tive, but not always profitable. The
primary purpose of each display is to
sell merchandise. Avoid permitting a
special display to be solely a creation
of beauty or entertainment. Work with
such qualities, of course, but only as
aids to selling.
If you use dated displays, remove
them as soon as the event has passed.
They are occupying space better used
for something newer and fresher.
Never hesitate to ask customers
what they think about special displays.
Some of your most profitable future
display ideas will be inspired by what
the customers have to say about pres­
ent ones.
Give every item in your inventory a
chance to be sold through display
emphasis at one time or another. One
display expert estimates that 25% of
the average store stock gets 95% of
special display space.
Have a good reason for displaying
each item. Never pass judgment solely
upon how much it is liked personally
or the profit margin entailed. Rapid
turnover is the most important sales
event.
Every item has a best side or plus
feature. Make sure that the customer
sees this first. No customer is going to
stop to look for it.
Carefully display (or even protect)
items with sharp or projecting edges
that might injure a customer or be­
come caught in a garment.
Change items in key display spots
as often as time permits. By leaving
them there too long, they may be­
come so familiar to the customer that
they are ignored.
But there is a limit on frequent
changes within the display area. Most
customers like to know exactly where
they can find favored items, and re­
sent having to search for them when
they are in a hurry.
Post prices where they can be seen
easily by everyone. This reduces han­
dling, and possible damage.
Craft/art has to be neatly presented
every hour of the day. That calls for
constant attention and immediate
sprucing up of any messes that cus­
tomers have made.
Remove a damaged or soiled item
quickly. It acts negatively upon the
average
customer’s
subconscious
mind. Even a single negative impres­
sion from a display is one too many.
Restock, but not totally, as the day
moves along. Missing items suggest to
the customer that others have made
purchases. Full displays sometimes sug­
gest that no one is buying the work.
But excessively empty display areas
are sales killers. Make sure they are
never allowed to exist, particularly
where there is heavy customer traffic.
Never get annoyed with questions
customers ask about items on display.
That is a sure sign a positive impres­
sion has been created and interest
aroused in that merchandise.
Attention given to displaying work
returns worthwhile dividends. Giving
some thought to each of these steps
can make even a modest display a
more valuable selling tool. ▲
May 1992
81
Geyser Bottle Performance Raku
by Jerry Crimmins
Performance raku is the most recent
phase of the raku continuum. First
there was the ancient Korean potter
making roof tiles, then came Chojiro
and the tea ceremony, then Paul Soldner and postfiring reduction, and now
there is the Secret Ceramic Society
with its “geyser bottles.”
This group of ceramists first got
together at California State University-Hayward (CSUH) for barbecues,
primitive music sessions (dominated
by heavy percussion and screams) and
an occasional sale of student works
under the guidance and protection
of professor Clayton Bailey. Then, in
1987, Bailey, Fernando Hernandez,
other Secret Ceramic Society mem­
bers and I began experimenting with
steam-powered pottery—red-hot ob­
jects removed from a kiln, then im­
mersed in water so
that steam jets into
the air or causes bi­
zarre reactions.
The inspiration
for this perfor­
mance was a lec­
ture at CSUH by A1
Tratnick (in 1977)
concerning
the
dangers of quench­
ing narrow-necked
bottles, as they
might emit super­
heated
jets
of
steam or even ex­
plode. Ten years
82 CERAMICS MONTHLY
For a performance in Davis, California,
Clayton Bailey added a secret
ingredient to the water—dish detergent.
later, facing an uninspired advanced
ceramics class, Clayton Bailey pro­
posed a geyser bottle contest. The as­
signment reminded me of the PBS
videos about engineering design con­
tests, and I decided we should invite
the public, make it a performance
and produce a video as a documenta­
tion of the work.
The philosophy behind this type
of work is as varied as the people who
take the risk. Mostly it’s for fun, but
there is an element of competition. I
like it because it makes a mockery of
the function versus nonfunction de­
bate in contemporary ceramics, and
then again I love being on stage.
Clayton Bailey seems to have a good
time, too.
The central function of the ceramic
object is to turn water to steam (al­
though in one case it was to fry eggs).
The objects behave in surprising ways,
sometimes exploding against the
planned function, but this is good too.
Afterward, they have little importance
and are often destroyed by the artist,
who doesn’t really want a bunch of
old clay steam en­
gines cluttering the
garage. My hope is
that all my geyser
bottles will per­
form briefly but
violently, accord­
ing to plan, then
explode with a
loud noise and a
cloud of steam.
In the history of
ceramic arts the
only work that
might
resemble
performance raku
was found in
creased mass of the water versus steam
and the higher muzzle velocity make
a spectacular geyser.
The main difference between the
“Bailey Blaster” and the “Crimmins
Check Ball” is that my design has more
than one hole and is self-regulating (a
clay ball provides a check valve ac­
tion) ; that is, it can be placed in water
and will pretty much operate by itself,
whereas the Bailey design must be
regulated manually with tongs.
Of course, the ceramic object plays
a major part in the staging, but the
actual work of art is the performance
and the associated documentation
that proves the event took place. The
documentation process also allows the
artist to influence the memory of the
event so that it more closely resembles
her/his vision (confabulation and gos­
sip as artists’ tools).
The point is to get people together
to see the performance. There is a
party atmosphere with an element of
shared danger and excitement. Un­
like traditional American-style raku,
there is no toxic smoke pouring from
a bucket to ruin the taste of the wine,
irritate eyes and stink up everyone’s
clothes. This is non toxic, smoke-free
raku that can be done anywhere. ▲
Czechoslovakia. Anthropologists claim
that thousands of fragmented ceramic
figures from the Stone Age (some
26,000 years ago) may have been
tossed in the fire to explode deliber­
ately as sort of a prehistoric fireworks
display.
In fact, Olga Soffer (University of
Illinois) and Pamela Vandiver (Smith­
sonian Institute), along with their
Czech colleagues, claim the Dolni
Vestonice Venus, revered as the oldest
known sculpture, was intended to ex­
plode but failed in that only her feet
blew up! [See “Ice Age Ceramics” in
the February 1992 CM.]
In this high-tech era, Clayton Bai­
ley and I have provided the design
technology required for just this sort
of event. Both of our designs are called
geyser bottles so I will differentiate
between the two with my own labels:
the “Bailey Blaster” and the “Crimmins
Check Ball.”
The overall theory of operation
was deduced by observing ordinary
raku objects being cooled with water
from a hose. Water could be seen en­
tering and exiting from the hollowed
bottoms of sculptures, and obvious
slurping noises indicated hydraulic
forces equalizing the internal pressure.
This was a common and often-talkedabout phenomenon.
The “Bailey Blaster” is made by
throwing a short, wide, narrow-necked
bottle. The neck is cut off, inverted
and reattached so that the neck points
into (instead of away from) the body
of the bottle.
After reaching full raku tempera­
ture, the incandescent bottle, full of
super-heated air/gasses, is removed
from the kiln. It immediately begins
to cool down.
Quickly, the bottle is plunged into
cold water; as it gives up heat, water is
converted to steam. As die botde cools,
the gas inside condenses enough to
allow water pressure to force water
into the bottle. The water that enters
turns to steam. Water converted to
steam has an expansion coefficient of
about 1700 to 1, if conversion is in­
stantaneous, so the steam raises the
gas pressure inside the bottle, and
steam and water come rushing out.
The process is cyclic and continues
until the pot no longer boils water.
The primary source of heat for gener­
ating steam comes from the thick clay
walls. Fluctuating gas pressure inside
the bottle serves to regulate introduc­
tion of water and to propel the con­
tents out the inverted neck, thus
converting heat to mechanical force.
The inverted neck is the real ge­
nius behind Bailey’s bottle. Descend­
ing down so close to the bottom of
the botde, the neck increases the prob­
ability that water will be trapped be­
tween the exit and the pressurized
gas, ensuring that water will be pro­
pelled out the neck and increasing
the gas pressure so that higher exit
velocities will be attained. The in­
An early “Bailey Blaster ” (glazed on
the exterior to decrease the porosity of
the walls) spouting off.
Jerry Crimmins manipulating a “Crimmins Check
Ball” with tongs to encourage an eruption in the
opposite direction. Observers stand well back.
Caution: If you decide to experiment
with geyser bottles, remember you will
be working with potentially explosive
steam. Use common sense, and wear
adequate clothing and eye protection.
May 1992
83
Wood Ash in Glazes:
Economical and Ecological
by Art Grupe
Ever since pre-Han Chinese potters dis­
covered that the shoulders of their ware
were covered with a glassy glaze from ashes
blown through their kilns during the
firing process, wood ash has enjoyed popu­
larity as a glaze ingredient. It’s easy to see
why: ash is available free nearly every­
where; wood ash glazes are easy to fit
(without crazing or crawling) to clay bod­
ies; and a unique “runny” surface texture,
complemented by spontaneous metallic
splashes from iron or other trace ele­
ments, is created when large amounts of
ash are used in a glaze.
There are, of course, some drawbacks:
overfired ash glazes may run onto kiln
shelves, and obtaining consistent results
from one batch of wood ash to another
may be difficult. But these drawbacks can
be easily overcome, making the material
valuable for both aesthetic and economic
reasons.
Depending on its source, wood ash
varies widely in chemical composition,
which makes testing crucial in develop­
ing suitable glaze recipes. The silica con­
tent can vary from 30% to 70%, alumina
content from 10% to 15% and calcium
can reach 30%. Other elements found in
lesser amounts include potassium, so­
dium, iron, magnesium, manganese and
phosphorus. The high calcium content
helps produce, with the proper ratio of
chromium and tin in an oxidation firing,
significant pink and rose tints.
Any wood or vegetable ash can be used
in formulating glazes. In Japan, rice straw
ash is a popular ingredient because of its
abundance there. In the U.S., wood ash
from scrap Douglas fir lumber yields good
glazes.
Ashes from fruit pits and almond or
walnut shells (available from a cannery),
corn cobs, and waste from sawmills or
furniture factories can provide consistent
raw materials. When such sources are un­
with ash glazes, with the fault being in the
recipe or the firing. If the glaze runs too
much, clay can be added to the batch.
Soaking the kiln at the glaze’s maturation
point (or overfiring) should be avoided.
The first step is to collect ash in a large
container, such as a 50-gallon drum. The
ash can then be wet screened into an­
other 50-gallon drum, using a garden hose
with a spray nozzle. For those who plan to
apply glaze by dipping, a coarse lawn such
as an old piece of window screen (18
mesh) will be adequate. However, a 100mesh or finer screen should be used to
prevent clogging of the spray gun or air­
brush if the glaze is intended for spray­
ing. Remember, though, that fired results
will be affected by screening: finer wood
ash particles melt at a lower temperature
than the larger ones.
Care should be taken when handling
wood ash and the water used to wash it.
Always wear a mask to prevent inhalation
of very fine ash particles, and rubber
gloves to protect hands from the sodium
hydroxide (caustic soda) that is the major
soluble ingredient in ash wash water.
Once the water and ash mixture has
settled, which may take as long as over­
night, the caustic water is decanted with a
siphon from the drum. After an addi­
tional drying period in the drum, the pro­
cessed ash can be spread out to dry.
Because heavy particles tend to settle out
of suspension sooner than smaller ones,
I appreciate being able to make
something beautiful and
useful from a material that is
usually discarded.
using the washed wood ash by merely
available, friends with fireplaces or wood- scooping it out of the drum can yield
burning stoves can provide suitable ash if
collected in large enough quantities to
make batch-specific testing practical.
Firing test tiles vertically to determine
runniness of a recipe is a must. Drawing a
line horizontally across the tile with an
underglaze pencil will enable measuring
precisely how much the glaze will run
during firing.
Runniness can be a chronic problem
84 CERAMICS MONTHLY
inconsistent results—ash taken from the
top of the drum would be a finer mesh
than that found at the bottom.
While ash can be screened without
water, then used in a glaze, the potter
must contend with the possibility of skin
irritation on the hands and arms, or worse
if it is splashed into an eye. However, the
more times ash is washed, the less fusible
it will be in glaze.
Ash glazes can be as simple or compli­
cated as the potter wants. The following
simple recipes yield beautiful results:
Jokon Ash Glaze
(Cone 6, oxidation or reduction)
Barium Carbonate................................. 45 %
Washed Wood Ash.................................... 55
100%
Add: Copper Carbonate.......................... 3 %
A dark green, runny matt.
AG19
(Cone 6, reduction)
Washed Wood Ash................................50 %
Red Earthenware Clay.......................... 50
100%
A clear olive-green.
Recycling clay body scraps as glaze ma­
terial appeals to many potters. Clay in a
glaze helps keep it in suspension. The
following base recipe was developed with
those two factors in mind:
AG13 Base Glaze
(Cone 6)
Washed Wood Ash............................... 44%
Whiting.................................................. 21
Potash Feldspar..................................... 21
Clay Body (any) ................................... 14
100%
The clay body I use consists of 100 parts
G-200 feldspar, 100 parts ball clay, 100
parts kaolin and 45 parts flint.
The large amount of calcium in this
base glaze makes it ideal for the produc­
tion of pinks, roses and maroons in oxida­
tion firings. A mixture of 1 part chromium
oxide to 18 parts tin oxide is prepared,
then added in varying amounts accord­
ing to desired effect; 5% (by weight) yields
a medium rose pink in oxidation.
An addition of 2% rutile, 0.5% copper
carbonate and 0.5% cobalt yields a me­
dium blue with a green-gold background
in a reduction firing.
Lowering the firing temperature of
AG13 to Cone 4 produces a shiny, opaque
glaze without the runniness that might
cause glaze accidents on kiln shelves.
A glaze that has fascinated me for years
with its ability to produce subtle shades of
turquoise blue through the use of barium
and lithium is Carlton Ball’s MC 532.
While not an ash glaze, it was the inspira­
tion for the following oxidation glaze:
LBC Turquoise Green Glaze
(Cone 6)
Barium Carbonate........................... 2.11 %
Lithium Carbonate.......................... 2.11
Washed Wood Ash.......................... 44.21
Whiting............................................ 13.68
Potash Feldspar............................... 22.10
Clay Body (any) ............................. 15.79
100.00%
Add: Copper Carbonate................... 5.26 %
Contrary to most ash glazes, which have
a relatively narrow firing range, the fol­
lowing recipe works well over a wide range,
and in both oxidation and reduction
firings:
Honey Yellow Glaze
(Cone 3-6, oxidation or reduction)
Gerstley Borate..................................... 10%
Washed Wood Ash............................... 50
Cedar Heights Redart........................... 40
100%
While wood ash isn’t the primary in­
gredient of the next glaze, it is a good
example of how the material can be used
to “stretch” a recipe:
Penicillin Blue Glaze
(Cone 6)
Barium Carbonate...........................
Spodumene......................................
Washed Wood Ash..........................
Clay Body (any) .............................
48.39 %
27.96
8.60
15.05
100.00 %
Add: Copper Carbonate................... 8.60 %
Applying wood ash glazes to ware can
prove challenging. The glaze coating usu­
ally appears “fuzzy,” making it easy to ap­
ply an ash glaze too thinly. Use of a
hydrometer to measure specific gravity is
highly recommended so the optimum ra­
tio of glaze to water can be determined
precisely for each recipe.
Becoming proficient with ash glazes
yields tremendous satisfaction. I appreci­
ate being able to make something beauti­
ful and useful from a material that is
usually discarded. Ash also offers the po­
tential for glaze recipes that are more
economical to produce than many in stu­
dio use today.
Because of the varying fusion points
of different ash types, recipes listed in this
article should be considered starting
points for each potter’s venture into the
world of ash glazes. ▲
May 1992
85
Comment
Politically Correct Pots
by Brad Sondahl
Is pottery political? Musician Frank
Zappa once said that everything you
wear is your uniform. Stretching the
analogy, if your pottery is apolitical, per­
haps this merely reflects your personal
politics. Has pottery been political? I
think about the ruckus caused by Judy
Chicago’s “Dinner Party,” and know that
it has. Is pottery subject to the current
trend of political correctness? Ponder
lighdy and read on.
Since everything else in life is sub­
ject to standards of political correct­
ness, from grocery bags to dorm room
doors, let’s consider whether pottery
meets today’s high standards of behav­
ior. When I began “doing” pottery in
the early ’70s, there was no question
that it was the right thing to do. After
all, at about that time Ceramics Monthly
began printing in full color. If that’s
not evidence of a mass movement, I
don’t know what is. Pottery was then
clearly a direct counterpoint to the
prevalent military-industrial complex
that afflicted the psyche of our coun­
try. To avoid contracting that disease, I
would retire to a kick wheel and think
peaceful thoughts.
I knew back in college that pottery
was more politically correct than the
other arts, because it didn’t require any
models sitting around naked. This, and
the “elite”-ist tendencies of art, con­
vinced me that art was politically in­
correct, and prompted my final art
production, a happening called “Art as
a Bourgeois Sham.” In the current lan­
guage of -ists and -isms for every occa­
sion, this clearly labels me an “art”-ist
(despite and because of my attempts to
disavow it) and a non-“nude”-ist (as I
am obviously a prudist).
Getting back to my historical critique,
I moved into a chicken coop and tepee
with another potter, and learned how
to live righteously, scraping along with
scrap clay, used kilns and a big garden.
Living close to the earth was synony­
mous with making pottery then, espe­
cially since the pottery studio had a dirt
floor. This was the good life, although
Minnesota winters are justiy famous for
86 CERAMICS MONTHLY
May 1992
87
Even the earthy wood or salt kilns, and
reduction firing in general, represent
greater
environmental
degradation
than sane-but-bland electric kilns. (If I
label them bland, does that make me
an “oxidation”-ist? In this case, no, since
it is my sole firing mode.)
At any rate, environmentalism poses
a quandary for me (as it does to the
world in general), because artists-pot-
and reuse of these materials. Even failed
pots can be put to good use as material
for mosaics, best evidenced by the fan­
ciful architecture of Barcelona’s Anto­
wearing down good-lifers. We lasted sev­
nio Gaudi.
eral years before moving on to other
In that pottery is a product to be
possibilities.
sold, the buyers participate in the craft,
By the eighties, the age of greed took
through their appreciation of pots and
its toll among the ranks of potters who
their support of craftspeople. However,
wanted to have some semblance of
there is a tendency toward exclusivity
financial security in addition to
in catering to the rich, and I per­
their good life and political cor­
sonally affirm craft that can be
By the eighties, the age of greed
rectness. Teaching became an at­
purchased by the less affluent.
tractive second career option, and
Whether as a teacher or a pro­
took its toll among the ranks of potters who
the ones who remained in the
ducer, the potter’s talents can be
ranks split between those empha­
wanted to have some semblance of financial shared with a broad spectrum of
sizing production and those capi­
society through demonstrations
security in addition to their good life and
talizing on artistic quality and
for groups, from preschools to se­
uniqueness. At the same time, liv­
nior centers. This can be consid­
political correctness.
ing close to the earth was begin­
ered self-serving promotion, but
ning to suggest silicosis from
the immediate rewards are appar­
long-term
occupational
exposure. ters tend to use fewer materials than ent (both to the audience and the one
Meanwhile, glaze leachates implied po­
production potters, as more time is de­
presenting) and can help in the most
tential government regulation and skit­ voted to each expensive piece. This con­
politically important part of pottery
tish consumers, while leftover glaze flicts with my own populist-derived making—keeping craftspeople in con­
chemicals and pottery wastes became functional nature. I console myself, tact with the community as a whole.
not so environmentally correct (and though, with the belief that artists-potCaveats aside, pottery is still a very
even glossy pottery magazines posed a ters also tend to use more exotic chemi­
inclusive discipline, for it can be en­
problem for recyclers).
cals and techniques, which have equally joyed at some level by nearly everyone.
In the light of all these environmen­
exotic effects on the environment.
When it comes time to face a ball of
tal considerations (which potters have
So here it is, the nineties, and while clay, we are all wonderfully challenged
tended to know about, but chosen to handmade pottery has gained a per­
by it.
continue anyway), suddenly the politi­
manent niche in the world’s artistic life,
cally correct choice lies in the route of is it still the right thing to do? Of course. The author A frequent contributor to the
less consumption, since materials pro­
But with some reservations. Suppliers Ceramics Monthly Comment column, Brad
cessing and usage both denote (to some and users of ceramic materials must be Sondahl maintains a storefront studio in
degree) environmental degradation.
environmentally responsible in their use Spirit Lake, Idaho.
Comment
Index to Advertisers
A.R.T. Studio.............................11, 19
Aftosa...............................................77
Aim ..................................................12
Amaco.............................................. 57
Amherst Potters................................66
Anderson Ranch...............................58
Arkansas Art Center.........................65
Axner..........................................24, 25
Bailey.....................................1, 6, 7, 9
Banff Centre.....................................65
Bartow History................................ 10
Bennett’s........................................... 3
Bison Studio.....................................10
Bluebird............................................65
Brent.................................................21
Brickyard .........................................68
Ceramic Review...............................67
CeramiCorner...................................71
Ceramics Monthly.............. 17, 60, 75
Classified..........................................86
Clay Factory.....................................70
Clay Studio.......................................68
Contemporary Kilns.........................71
88 Ceramics Monthly
Continental Clay.............................. 85
Cornell..............................................64
Creative Industries........................... 26
Creek Turn....................................... 66
Davens..............................................64
Dawson.............................................71
Del Val............................................. 70
Dolan................................................ 64
Duncan............................................. 59
Duralite.............................................71
Falcon............................................... 12
Flotsam & Jetsam.............................71
Geil................................................... 67
Giffin................................................ 79
Great Lakes Clay..............................73
Handmade Lampshade.....................70
Hartford Art School..........................77
Highwater Clays...............................72
Hood................................................. 74
IMC...................................................58
Kelly Place....................................... 64
Kickwheel ......................................... 4
Kraft Korner..................................... 70
Laguna Clay..................................... 13
Leslie................................................ 71
Marjon ............................................. 71
Mendocino Art Center..................... 69
Miami Clay.......................................74
Miami Cork...................................... 63
Mid-South......................................... 2
Mile-Hi............................................. 78
Miller................................................75
Minnesota Clay................................ 76
Molly’s............................................. 70
Montgomery College ...................... 80
National Artcraft.............................. 78
North Star......................................... 69
Olsen.................................................73
Orton.................................................85
Paragon.............................................58
Peter Pugger..................................... 58
Peters Valley.................................... 78
Polglase............................................ 58
Potters Shop......................................70
Pure & Simple.................................. 70
Ram.................................................. 81
Red Deer College.............................68
Resco.......................................Cover 3
Rings 8c Things............................... 80
Sapir................................................. 77
Scott Creek.......................................62
Sheffield...........................................81
Shimpo.................................... Cover 2
Sierra Nevada College..................... 68
Skutt........................................ Cover 4
Soldner............................................. 23
Standard........................................... 73
Summit............................................. 68
Trinity...............................................61
Tucker’s............................................61
Tuscarora Pottery............................. 70
Venco................................................15
Vent-A-Kiln .................................... 75
West Coast Kilns..............................69
Wise..................................................70
Wolfe................................................ 70
Worcester Center..............................67