liambesaw

If you know anything at all about Native American culture, you know that a 19 year old white girl running around Coachella in a feathered headdress is like dressing up as a "sexy decorated war veteran" and going to a Remembrance Day ceremony. It's super disrespectful, and it's in really bad taste. There's always going to be someone who says "hey, I don't mind looking at that," or "what's the big deal? It was meant as a compliment!" but if it's your culture and your tradition, you know more about it than an outsider. If someone says "hey, the way you're doing that is not okay!" as an outsider to that culture, you need to heed that. You don't get to tell someone else what they should or shouldn't be offended by if you have less knowledge on the subject. As an outsider to a culture, you may be well meaning as an individual, but many things have been done with good intentions that had catastrophic outcomes for the people on the receiving end.
There are some really big holdover attitudes from British colonialism to just assume that another culture's artworks, religion and traditions all carry equal weight within that culture, or that the weight placed on those things are somehow analogous to how we behave in our own. In a lot of cases, it's not true, and I think that's where white folks tend to get frustrated and confused. We lack important, accurate information, and it's a serious effort to track that information down because there's a lot less in depth information recorded about other cultures than the dominant one. So we do dumb things in the name of trying to learn about something that wind up being hurtful.
But what about artistic growth and cross-cultural influence? What about all the cross pollination that happened between China, Japan and Korea in terms of celadon development? What about blue and white ware's influence on middle Eastern ceramics? How about a more modern phenomena of European Christian missionaries going to Japan and teaching the locals about knitting, a handcraft they hadn't developed themselves yet? Japanese knitting patterns are now some of the most interesting and challenging out there, and the colours used in the yarn choices of Japanese knitting designers definitely shows a distinct sensibility from European choices.
That kind of cultural borrowing is totally okay, because no one places a religious or spiritual value on knitting. There are some interesting cultural traditions around knitting design, but the motifs that are traditional in different areas generally don't have a deeply emotional/spiritual significance attached to them. There is an active conversation being had between the two cultures. Or, in the ceramic cases above, there were some shared cultural points (Zen Buddhism throughout Asia) where people were starting from, and then taking the techniques in their own directions. 
So I suppose I think cultural inspiration is possible to do responsibly, but you have to be willing to put a LOT of work into the research and learning part in order to be properly informed. I think it's best to had some direct, meaningful contact with that culture. It ought to mean something to you personally, and not just be a cool subject you learned about in school or in a book. I think you also have to not look at the specific motifs or techniques that are being used, but look at what the artists that use them are looking at and being inspired by. You have to be able to continue the conversation that's being had in that area with your own voice and contribute something intelligent to that conversation.
Otherwise, it's like Liam says and you're just profiting off someone else's ideas, which isn't cool.

Oh great, there's no hope for me, I'm gonna have to do this til I die to catch up

That's not what I meant by beautiful.  If you are intentionally exploiting a culture to simply make money, that is bad intent even if it's something beautiful, maybe I used the wrong word there.  A better word would be pure?  There is a big difference of intent between inspiration and exploitation.  
A huge problem is you can't infer intent from looking at something.  There has to be context, and most of the time context is missing, especially on the internet.  

I feel like most cultures beyond american view this as flattery.  I know that the Japanese and Korean do.  I'm generally speaking here, but it's tourism culture in Japan to wear a kimono or participate in a tea ceremony.  I feel like it's the same thing.  Think about if you had to adhere to a certain American culture in your pottery because you're beholden to your culture.  I think it would be pretty boring and close minded.  I have seen italian videos of majolica demonstrations where they are happy to share their method and culture.  
I feel like the culture wars that are popular right now involve a vocal minority and dont truly represent popular opinion.  That said, appropriating culture is a hot issue right now, and my thoughts are all about intent.  If you're making something to purposely shortchange a culture or profit specifically on that, I don't think that's appropriate.  However if you're developing a personal style that draws inspiration from a culture, I don't think that is the same.  Basically if your intent is exploitation, bad.  If your intent is to create beautiful things, how can it be wrong.

Oh great, there's no hope for me, I'm gonna have to do this til I die to catch up

Oh great, there's no hope for me, I'm gonna have to do this til I die to catch up

I've been throwing for 26 years, and I'm still getting better.

Beautiful bowls!

Got some jars and lids thrown, I was going to trim the ones I threw over the weekend but with typical Seattle 95% humidity and a light drizzle, nothing has hardened up one iota.  Not even hard enough to alter the forms or decorate.  Hate this time of year, everything gets put on slow mo.  Gonna try to clear out some shelves so I can at least carefully free up some bats.

Hey pres, sounds like learning to throw has taken you about 47 years so far.  I think that's the name of the game really.  I hope I never feel like I've learned to throw, the mistakes and challenges are what keep me involved just as much as the successes.  Now if only I had someone to come over and dry/wedge all of this reclaim...

Hey pres, sounds like learning to throw has taken you about 47 years so far.  I think that's the name of the game really.  I hope I never feel like I've learned to throw, the mistakes and challenges are what keep me involved just as much as the successes.  Now if only I had someone to come over and dry/wedge all of this reclaim...

Beautiful bowls!

Beautiful bowls!

Recent post in the QotW question pool by liambesaw: I am a firm believer that no matter how you were taught or got instruction that you develop a personal throwing style, which includes doing things that you know you aren't supposed to do.  Myself, I throw counter clockwise but use my right hand inside the form and lift with my left hand on the outside.  I've tried throwing clockwise and I've also tried switching my hands but something about throwing backwards feels natural to me.  So what is your bad habit that is now just your style?
A long time ago, I found that parts of my body would not do what I wanted them to. When it came to throwing, I used any finger or other area that  that fit to open up(discussed before).  Centering I would use the entire length of my rt arm in position with the rt elbow on the wheel head, and the fist hooked over the top of the cone. Left hand in traditional position. When pulling, I use the index, second and thumb braced together to give me a contact point about the size of a pencil eraser-less drag for me. Left hand in straight down with bent second braced by third.  I shape using my ribs going up and down the form, sometimes with ribs inside, sometimes outside, sometimes both. 
In the long run, I find that it really doesn't matter, so long as you can manipulate your pressure points in the right places inside and outside the form. Centering is a matter of rhythm and power.  Most people if they have the timing right could center by slapping the clay into place, they just quit a little early and take the easy way out with water and pressure. However you do it, makes for interesting demonstration and conversation. If you turn clockwise, counter  clockwise, no problem unless stuck in a situation where you need to use something opposite your usual. . . train to do both.
Yet if you are teaching, that is another thing. I make certain to be able to throw with first knuckle of index finger, pull upside down with the thumb and hands in reversed position, or with the thumb knuckle. All of this to show the student that there are several useful ways to pull, and many variations, but the prime elements of pressure inside higher than outside, gradual lessening of pressure as higher thinner walls, muscling the clay out of the base to keep from too much trimming, and pulling with walls leaning inward until shaped are essential basics that all potters need to follow successfully. 
All of this of course in my humble opinion.
 
best,
Pres 

I am a firm believer that no matter how you were taught or got instruction that you develop a personal throwing style, which includes doing things that you know you aren't supposed to do.  Myself, I throw counter clockwise but use my right hand inside the form and lift with my left hand on the outside.  I've tried throwing clockwise and I've also tried switching my hands but something about throwing backwards feels natural to me.  So what is your bad habit that is now just your style?

Well, lost track of time and blew up half of the lidded jars while candling.  No biggie!  I ended up making some larger bowls and have them drying out by the kiln right now!
 

Merriam-Webster's definition of remarkable is: worthy of being or likely to be noticed especially as being uncommon or extraordinary.
To me, art is remarkable.  It is something you know when you see it because its noticable and uncommon. 
To your point on the separation of "crafts" and "art", crafts are unremarkable.  They blend into the background because you've seen them before, they're uniform, planned and produced by step en masse with no element of thought, creativity or risk. 

I love your results here, particularly the front left.

Put a space heater in the shed overnight and things firmed up enough to trim for the most part.  Got 8 of them trimmed up, probably gonna toss a few where the lids weren't quite matched up.
Tomorrow I'll be wedging and throwing, don't know what yet, something will strike me!

Put a space heater in the shed overnight and things firmed up enough to trim for the most part.  Got 8 of them trimmed up, probably gonna toss a few where the lids weren't quite matched up.
Tomorrow I'll be wedging and throwing, don't know what yet, something will strike me!

Put a space heater in the shed overnight and things firmed up enough to trim for the most part.  Got 8 of them trimmed up, probably gonna toss a few where the lids weren't quite matched up.
Tomorrow I'll be wedging and throwing, don't know what yet, something will strike me!

Put a space heater in the shed overnight and things firmed up enough to trim for the most part.  Got 8 of them trimmed up, probably gonna toss a few where the lids weren't quite matched up.
Tomorrow I'll be wedging and throwing, don't know what yet, something will strike me!

Klamath yellow from SPS, I love this stuff, fires a deep metallic brown, almost black in reduction.  I've been meaning to do some porcelain work but I'd have to give my whole studio a hose down first.

Put a space heater in the shed overnight and things firmed up enough to trim for the most part.  Got 8 of them trimmed up, probably gonna toss a few where the lids weren't quite matched up.
Tomorrow I'll be wedging and throwing, don't know what yet, something will strike me!

Heh, my house is full of the things I've made going all the way back to the first grade.  My kids won't eat out of a bowl unless it's hand made, they're real snobs.  I leave the bottom half of the outside of my bowls unglazed but with heavy texture so they are easy to grip and feel really good in the hand.  I guess I'm a snob because now that I've been eating out of this style of bowl I notice how awkward it is to hold a Corelle bowl.