LeeU

Aw shucks, Glazenerd! Thx.

I am currently just making some personal holiday giftees. Pics are my view out the studio windows after it snows! (Landlord's construction yard, sitting below a ridge-lovely.)

Yep--and for short stints, if you have electric, a small table top ceramic heater or oil-filled radiator are good. Thin thermal gloves help, ear muffs, and really warm socks--makes a big difference. My studio is indoors, but my kiln room and more working space is outside, on a screen porch. It is 12 x 12 and houses my L&L 23s kiln, a 5' work table, spillover studio storage, and all kiln supplies, plus a tiny corner seating area. I close the porch up in the winter with panels of restaurant patio vinyl rated for 40 below. My wonderul landlord had them built and installed. The stuff is clear as glass (see the pic!), durable, and can be cleaned. They only make about a 20 degree difference from the outside temp but with the heater(s) I can actually work out there in the NH winter.

Yesterday someone presented me with an unexpected gift. I'd been driving a friend around for months because his car died with no hope of resurrection, he had no money/no credit, and he only just finally obtained a vehicle. It was a "thank you"--a little red box he picked up at a collectables consignment shop. It has a name in gold on the bottom left, so I looked it up. Imagine my surprise to learn it is a vintage Russian lacquered trinket box. However, reading further, I suspect mine is a product of cultural appropriation, as there is a flaw on the side where the lacquer is slightly split. In this case, I am OK with it being a knock-off, if it is, becasue it's still a cool box, the 'thanks' was nice, and I learned about some art I'd never heard of. Fedoskino Pegockuho Lacquered Jewelry Box, Russian: The Three Sisters "PEGOCKUHO" is the Russian word for "factory". The word "FEDOSKINO" is a village near Moscow, Russia and is the home of the longest standing miniature lacquer trinket box industry. The history of this artwork spans back to the 19th century and is known for its high-quality artistry and craftsmanship. These unique miniature oil paintings gained popularity and stood out with the addition of gold leaf, mother of pearl, and metallic media. Using these components helped to replicate and capture the true beauty of nature on these vintage boxes, constructed by a specialized papier-mâché process (which uses a clay primer-justifying my posting this on a ceramics board LOL/lu). With the opening of Russia in 1990, the art of Russian lacquer miniature painting has gained worldwide appreciation and these small treasures are highly sought after by collectors. As a result, many Russian boxes are now being produced by untrained people using inferior materials such as wood, poured acrylic, or pressed sawdust-board called argalite. These imitation lacquer miniatures are being sold on the streets of Russia and through venues like eBay. Many of these fakes have the name of one of the four villages and even the name of a well-known artist added to fool the uneducated buyer. (Emphasis mine/lu)

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)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

YEP----yep, yep, yep. That, and the underlying intent, the hidden or overt motivation informing the end result. (HMS = Hidden Mask Series)

I deleted my post-too esoteric even for me. Probably the hardest question there is---is it art? Or, what is art?

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.

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

Bins and sticky notes are my salvation.

Happy happy--my helper is tackling this backlog (code, sort & store), which will soon free up my workbench so I can get back to making things!

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.

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.