LeeU
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Posts posted by LeeU
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Working on a kiln load-I am likeing the direction I am heading-a bit larger, a bit more mainstream, trying to refine glaze combinations. This tile (to fit as a top for an old black iron ash tray stand I picked up) is commercial dark Gold, Ivory Crystal, and Orion. Should be interesting--we'll see.
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34 minutes ago, Min said:
misrepresentation in the marketing of....in a manner that falsely suggests....
I think this (deliberate misrepresentation/falsely suggesting etc.) is the key regarding the notion of "cultural theft". As Liam (hope I got that right) noted, intent is the primary factor. Without the ability for people around the world to appreciate the creative expressions of various cultures, including those held to be sacred, I think we would be impoverished to the point of spiritual starvation. Whether rigid boundaries are protective, obstructive, or aggressive, I think we lose part of our humanity by petitioning off aspects of ourselves. I find it joyful and uplifiting to learn from other cultures, including more about my own. I was especially thrilled when, in art school, I was essentially chastized by a few instructors for making art that was "derivitive" of some famous painter or sculptor. It really tickled my fancy because I had never heard of these artists nor ever seen their work. So, all the critique did was validate my own impulse to keep on doing what I was doing and the heck with the imposition of limits without foundation. I also subscribe to Jung's notions of the "collective unconscious" and think that it is a vital life force in the expression of art, in all cultures.
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5 hours ago, liambesaw said:
I hope I never feel like I've learned to throw
Well, throwing well is not something I need to worry about...'cuz it sure ain't happenin'. I used to be quite proficient (after 3 years of high quality formal training specific to ceramics.) I threw lovely bowls, fitted lids, mugs w/great handles. pitchers, platters, etc. That was decades ago--now, the simmering deficits beginning to riddle my brain overide much of the muscle memory & the essential knowledge about how to throw well, consistently. The memory aspect seems to render my motivation to press on (practice/practice; fall/get up, fall/get up) fairly diluted. I will keep at it--I don't give up until/unless that is the only survival move left to make. I have a great wheel and every once in a while I crank out a nice piece on it. I just won't be making myself miserable by confronting the times that I really "can't" pull it off. What's important is that I love what I am doing at this time, exploring certain hand building dynamics, and simply enjoying other people's thrown work.
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Pres, I throw like that as well. Can't do clockwise unless I am using it for a particular effect. My "bad habit" is a deep aversion to taking notes. I prefer the surprise and do not get too hung up on not being able to duplicate something, even when it is wonderful. Of course I have come to regret that bad habit more than once! The note-taking, whether by hand on paper or in the Pottery Logbook app or whatever is just too much minutia for my brain to handle-I lose steam fairly quickly. I've had to turn that lack of patience/sustained attention into an asset in terms of my style, which does seem to serve me well overall. I am making an effort to put more glaze detail into the Logbook, but have not attained any really useful consistency yet.
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8 hours ago, Gabby said:
new kinds of shapes
The lower left above is a small tray just stacked on top of a business card holder laying on it's back LOL--both for a pending raku fire. The vessels in the attached pic are for the anagama firing in the spring (I missed the fall fire.) The one on the left is a smoker, for Amazonian wood used in meditation; the one on the right is a box with a "fluid" lid. Both are quite tactile. I have high hopes for the wood fire effects!
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The significance of this worktable is that it is a second one (someone has been busy/finally)-the main one is inside, this is on the porch-the "spill over" items are a bisqued mix for raku this weekend, a mid fire electric later, and a future angama wood fire.
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I deleted my post-too esoteric even for me. Probably the hardest question there is---is it art? Or, what is art?
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My house is unashamedly peppered throughout with my own work. Some is non-functional, like my "excavation" series of shelf pieces and my Hidden Mask series of wall pieces. My practical day-to-day ware includes tea light holders, rakued tiles that I use as large coasters, cone incense burners (my favorites are a heavy piece glazed in a beautiful silvery Palladium and one in a clear gloss-glazed super white porcelain), unique spoon rests, catchy catch-alls, free-form card/letter holders, tiny herb/spice spoons, small vessels and vases, and 2 favorite mugs.
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I avoid juried groups and exhibits and try not to succumb to doing local art shows. It's just not for me. I was exposed to the "art scene" in NYC and VA and there is nothing about the whole milieu that I care for, especially the lifestyle that can come with it in some places, if one gets caught up in that.
The most valuable learning I got from my formal education (a state school) in ceramics was being taught the necessity and practice of critical thinking, and vetting for myself any assertions before buying into something, (like the mass mis-perception that Picasso is a great and revolutionary artist-sorry, couldn't resist). The first time I heard an excellent art history presentation on what was beyond the surface in a 15th century painting, where the fly on the pretty piece of fruit was actually a socio-economic commentary on the deterioration of the culture at the time, I realized that art is often about more than "what you see is what you get " or what I like or don't like--that formal education about art--making it, understanding it, and appreciating it--is important.
When I learned how to center and throw, I also learned about the great potters throughout the centuries, and clay artists working with non-functional objects. This was amazing to me, and without the BFA degree program I doubt I'd ever be enlightened about the depth of possibilities for making things of clay and other materials, or the impact of art on the world. That is not to say that probably a high percentage of the learning could be acquired outside of a formal educational process, with free lectures, Youtube videos, decent local studio classes, local guilds etc. , and maybe easier to handle cost-wise , assuming there is a drive to make self-education a priority. I often say something is not either-or, it is yes-and, and I thin k the viewpoints in this thread fit that perfectly--great discussion!
3 hours after I wrote the above, this popped up on my FB feed: ""The true purpose of arts education is not necessarily to create more professional dancers or artists. It's to create more complete human beings who are critical thinkers, who have curious minds, who can lead productive lives." -- Kelly Pollock
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Bins and sticky notes are my salvation.
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17 hours ago, yappystudent said:
Those who've got their piece of paper justify their good luck by assuming those who don't have one are lazy or misguided or stupid.
I think that painting everyone with the same brush is inherently inaccurate. I submit there are many people who do not justify their good fortune in earning a degree by assuming negative things about others who did not/were not able to go the same route. Just because someone is educated and has a degree, that does not automatically tell anybody anything about their life, their values, their struggles, their pain (or joy), their economic status (good or bad) or their politics/philosophy/world view.
I always wanted to study art and the creative process as expressed in this and other cultures, now and in history. The value of formal education in developing my skills in ceramics is worth 1000xs the price, for many reasons, and it is still paying off to this day. As someone who earned a BFA from an esteemed art school, while on welfare and struggling mightily as a single parent with a toddler in tow, and 20 years older than the other students, in deep poverty, at times homeless, with many other crippling hardships, plus the add-on of student loans, I must assert how enriching, valuable, freeing, and supportive of my creative expression and drive, and my very survival, the experience was.
What I got was a sterling education from the best faculty of knowledgible, competant, and skilled artists/instructors one could ever want. I have carried and used the benefits of that excellent education throughout all aspects of my life, not just in art interactions, but in ctitical thinking, world-view, career, understanding people and cultures, and many other areas of functioning. My formal training was invaluable and has enhanced my creative expression and appreciation of crafts & art. It took nothing away from my innate creative drive, my ideas, my self-concept/identity, or my preferences for working with my materials. When someone is being derisive and dismissive of that "piece of paper" Old Lady's line comes to mind: "putting you down does not raise me up." Or rather, putting me down does not raise you up.
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When I first was learning to load my electric kiln (vs. the wonderfully huge gas kiln at college) I realized it wasn't as easy to plan the space as I thought. All it took was one time of getting the thing almost loaded and then finding I had to disassemble it and redo it becasue there were some time sensitive pieces to be fired, which of course were the last ones and wouldn't fit. So I made myself mock shelves out of foam core. I was able to quickly plan out the load on the work table, accounting for height, and after a couple of times doing that, I pretty much get it done w/o the assist. The missing corner on the foam core is courtesy of the rat that moved in while I was on vacation. He ate my good woodfire gloves, the trim on my best boots, chewed a hole in the wall to/from the outside , and would not leave until I took drastic measures. For stuffers, I use the smallest of the smalls (incense cone holders/spoons) to fill the little spaces. No baked rodent, tempting as it was.
- Rae Reich, Babs and yappystudent
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Oh dear---I apologize for writing "publically" (on impulse, when I was mad, of course) on the personal disability-related accomodations issue I referenced in this thread. I should not have named the group--that is just as unfair as posting negatives about a named supplier when they aren't present to respond.
I am ernestly requesting that anyone who has quoted from it (where the organization is named) would (please!) do me a personal courtesy and delete those as well.
This was just not the way or the place for me to grouse about a specific entity--I should have framed it in general, non-identifying, language. I would not want to spread negativity or do any harm to the group, which I like and support. I will deal with the issue-this just isn't where I should be discussing it.
(I really am just mortified...foot in mouth dis-ease!!)
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Deleted original content (poor wording/inappropriate) -- the general issue was reasonable accomodation for disability among service organizations.
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There's an emerging discussion on another thread (re: craft/art) that is looking at the value of, or lack of value of, or even the detrimental impact of, schooling (college/training). As someone who earned a degree in fine art (ceramics) at an esteemed art school (while on welfare and struggling mightily as a single parent & who was 20 years older than the other students) I must say how extremely enriching, valuable, freeing, and supportive of my creative expression and drive, the experience was. I have carried and used the benefits of that excellent education throughout all aspects of my life, not just in art interactions, but in ctitical thinking, world-view, career, understanding people and cultures, and many other areas of functioning. To me, formal training-- from competant, knowledgible & skilled instructors--is invaluable and can only enhance one's creative expression and appreciation of crafts & art. What do others think--is formal education/training in ceramics (or any form of art ) stifling/useless/a negative or enriching/useful/a positive?
- Hulk, Gabby and Magnolia Mud Research
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I love my view as well--it's the back end of my landlord's construction business yard, from my little rented trailor-my studio is in my former bedroom-I'm squished into the little spare room now, which is just fine. Kiln is on the back porch.
Workspace today not as pristine as yesterday!
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My bench is clear today, having finished the pieces in prep for the pending anagama fire. I cleaned up my space, and the pile of tools, went and bought some window caddies to hold finishing materials, set up my most-used tools behind my little work slab, and finally got that annoying curtain out of my way--looks tacky, but I was in a hurry and just strung it up with those vegatable ties you get on bok choy--the poor man's Velcro LOL-works great.
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Here's one: tell us about your best handmade/homemade tools. A member just posted about having made a black walnut throwing stick. I felt immediate envy! I did make my own chattering tool at a NH Potters' Guild demo, and that was a blast. It is my only self-made tool so far and I treasure it--it works great--I did a good job with it. Would love to see some pics-homemade brushes, wood tools, metal tools, whatever.
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I'm especially curious about coffee grounds added to glaze (any colors) for cone 6 and cone 10 fires, and as well added to the surface of wet light buff clay and not glazed, for mid and high fires. (Yes, I'll be testing, but a heads-up is nice if it is essentailly a waste of time!
P.S. I have read the current CAN Daily post "Caffienated Texture"...I'm more interested in surface and glaze effects than working it into the body.
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Here's one: There are some posts in the archives about using coffee grounds for texture or glaze effects, and some old Clay Art posts about using everything from crushed walnuts to granite dust. What kinds of organics have you used recently? Did it “work” or not so much? Please specify if fired by electric, gas, wood, or raku, in oxidation or reduction.
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Here's what's on mine today. In progress--carving the outer surface of what will be a lidded container, assuming all goes well. It's for an anagama fire in the fall--the clay is new to me--Sheffield's Z--which John Baymore recommended, and I just love it-can't wait to see how it fires. I can afford maybe a half shelf, and I hope to have enough vertical pieces to get the most out of that type of fire. The kiln, at the NHIA-Sharon Art Center was built by John & his students. I get to join in, provided there is available space, as part of the New Hampshire Institite of Art's public-access Community Education program. Not shown is the banding wheel, a half dozen trimming tools, foam to cushion the upside down lid w/knob, porcupine quill, hole cutter, a Chinese Lucky Cat wving his paw, and a large mug of fresh hot dark roast.
- Min, Gabby, Callie Beller Diesel and 3 others
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I DID...I swear it WAS NOT THERE last night!!!!!!!!! I looked there and in Aesthetics & even Studio (tho I knew it wasn't there.) Thanks---It's a little crazy-making but it's definately there now!
ANYWAY....here are some handles from when I used to do mugs. They're more like a capital C , maybe, than the other types. I like my mugs on the hefty side, with the handles in balance.
- yappystudent, Rae Reich and Gabby
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(I really am just mortified...foot in mouth dis-ease!!)
QotW: How do you feel about culture theft?
in Int'l Ceramic Artists Network (ICAN) Operations and Benefits
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Shawnhar--I understand that many contemporary dreamcatchers are just commercialized cultural rip-offs...but the depth of feeling expressed by your very strong words above makes me think I am really missing something. Could you expand on that? My knowledge of the item and the purposes it is traditionally used for by native peoples, is limited (i.e. Wikipedia level). I have one a neighbor gave me recently--made from a cheap craft kit--and I wanted to refuse the gift because I know it is crap---but I was too chicken to risk hurting her feelings and had no idea what I could say to "justify" a rejection of it. Now I really want to ditch it---give me something to say that I can stand behind if she notices it is gone, other than it's tacky and badly made!! (Thx)