4 Ceramics Monthly Ceramics Monthly Volume 29, Number 1 January 1981

Features Angelo Garzio by Sandra B. Ernst ...... 28 Glazing with Mount Saint Helens Ash by Michael McDowell...... 34 American Porcelain ...... 38 Nino Caruso: Recent Sculpture...... 41 A Karen Karnes Workshop by Michael Boylen...... 45 Selecting and Designing a Studio by Ric Swenson ...... 49 The Scripps Ceramic Annual by Elaine Levin...... 54 Throwing a Pot from Both Ends by Wayne R. Anderson...... 58 Lukman Glasgow’s Clouds ...... 59 Modify a Cement Mixer for Processing Clay by Ray Bub and Susan Nykiel...... 60 Introductions ’80 ...... 62 Functional Potters...... 63 Selecting a Potter’s Financial Adviser by Bernard B. Eder...... 67

Departments Letters to the Editor...... 9 Where to Show...... 11 Answers to Questions...... 13 Itinerary ...... 17 Suggestions ...... 27 News & Retrospect ...... 71 Technical: Zinc Borate and the Bristol Glaze by Walt Diffley...... 95 New Books...... 98 Index to Advertisers...... 98

Cover Earthenware tea bowl, approximately 4 inches in height, glazed on the interior, with partial exterior glaze over a stained body with brushwork and incising, by Nancy Selvin, Berkeley, California. Photo: Charles Frizzell. January 1981 5

Ceramics Monthly Magazine

Spencer L. Davis...... Publisher and Acting Editor William C. Hunt...... Managing Editor Robert L. Creager...... Art Director Barbara Harmer Tipton ...... Copy Editor Carol Lefebvre Hagelee...... Asst. Editor Ruth C. Butler...... Asst. Copy Editor Mary Rushley...... Circulation Manager Connie Belcher ...... Advertising Manager

Editorial, Advertising and Circulation Offices 1609 Northwest Boulevard, Box 12448, Columbus, Ohio 43212 (614) 488-8236

West Coast Advertising Representative: Joseph Mervish Associates, 12512 Chandler Boulevard, No. 202, North Hollywood, California 91607 (213) 877-7556

Ceramics Monthly (ISSN 009-0328) is published monthly except July and August by Profes­ sional Publications, Inc. — S. L. Davis, Pres.; P. S. Emery, Sec.: 1609 Northwest Blvd., Co­ lumbus, Ohio 43212. Correspondence con­ cerning subscriptions, renewals and change of address should be mailed to the Circulation Department, Ceramics Monthly, Box 12448, Columbus, Ohio 43212. Second Class postage paid at Athens, Ohio, U.S.A. Subscriptions: One year $14; Two years $26; Three years $35. Add $3 per year for subscriptions out­ side the U.S.A. Articles in each issue ofCeramics Monthly are indexed in the Art Index. Microfische, 16mm and 35mm microfilm copies, and xerographic reprints are available to subscribers from Uni­ versity Microfilms, 300 N. Zeeb Rd., Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106. Manuscripts, photographs, color separa­ tions, color transparencies (including 35mm slides), graphic illustrations and news releases dealing with ceramic art are welcome and will be considered for publication. A booklet de­ scribing procedures for the preparation and submission of a manuscript is available with­ out cost to potential authors. Send manuscripts and correspondence about them to The Editor,Ceramics Monthly, Box 12448, Columbus, Ohio 43212. Copyright © 1981 Professional Publications, Inc. All rights reserved January 1981 7 8 Ceramics Monthly Letters NEA Reaction Continues Subscribers’ Comments the rest of the magazine, and possibly a I am sympathetic to the opinion ex­ I hate to see your space being used to tear-out section that could be copied and pressed by Ronan Adzul in the October show crazy, fun, clay constructions. How distributed to students, be considered as an CM regarding National Endowment for about more serious and artistic forms? addition to the regular magazine? the Arts grants. However, there is a para­ Esther Maher Trudy Van Lente dox. On one hand, many of the nationally Great Bend, Kans. Quaker Hill, Conn. recognized teachers and master potters re­ ceiving NEA grants are those who have I try to encourage my high school stu­ Share your thoughts with other readers. been innovative enough to open doors with dents to look through and read my copies All letters must be signed , but names new ideas and approaches. They have pro­ of CM, but they are for some reason will be withheld on request. Address: The vided new directions for expression with “turned-off” by it. Could a “youth section” Editor, Ceramics Monthly, Box 12448, ceramics. They are usually the ones who not too childish but less formidable than Columbus, Ohio 43212. have the time, materials and equipment and the financial independence to devote to experimentation. On the other hand, the fact that they are front-runners in receiving repeated grants is limiting to the NEA’s purpose. The last of their grant application forms I saw asked no ques­ tions concerning how the grant funds were to be used. I suggest that it is up to us and our art organizations to encourage an approach in NEA procedures which seeks out new talent, much of which can be found out­ side the environs of a university. Like CM, the NEA is a tastemaker—both a blessing and a danger. As a teacher, I consider it professionally responsible to aid my most talented stu­ dents in obtaining grants rather than seeking more recognition myself. Perhaps a difference exists between the seeker after fame and the person who has the grace to let it happen—a dilemma. Rick Sherman San Jose, Calif. Mary Rich I was delighted to find an article on Mary Rich of Penwerris Pottery, in the October issue, [having] purchased some of her miniatures in 1976. [However] many other articles have been in greater depth and surely this one could have been. Having lived in England for a year, and from what I have seen, there is a larger percentage of working potters who seem to be living on their craft in Britain than in our country. Larry Jelf Ingram, Texas Toshiko’s Kiln In the November issue Toshiko Takae- zu’s kiln is supposed to be 270 cubic feet. This can only be true if the accompanying photos were of someone else’s kiln. The photos indicate a 131-cubic-foot glaze chamber size. Picky, picky, picky but there are rookies laying in the weeds. Nice design ideas by Dick Hay, but.... Richard Csavoy Waukesha, Wis. We reach the same conclusion (assum­ ing a brick size of 9x4 1/.2x2/2 inches). The glaze chamber floor as Shown is 4/2 feet square, the interior height is approximately 5 4/5 feet plus a door entry of 131/± cubic feet. We apologize for this error.—Ed. January 1981 9

Where to Show exhibitions, fairs, festivals and sales Send announcements of juried, exhibitions, 11. Contact: Craft Alliance, Liturgical 24th annual “Guilford Handcrafts Exposi­ fairs, festivals and sales at least four Objects, 6640 Delmar Blvd., Saint Louis tion” is open to craftsmen. Fees: $10 entry, months before the entry deadline to The 63130, or call: (314) 725-1151. $125 booth. Juried by 5 slides. Entry dead­ Editor, Ceramics Monthly, Box 12448, line: January 30. Contact: Guilford Hand­ New Hampshire, Manchester June 20- crafts Center, Box 221, Guilford 06437. Columbus, Ohio 43212; or phone (614) September 7 “Jubilee 50” is open to 488-8236. United States craftsmen. Juried by slides. Florida, Boynton BeachMarch 7-8 “Boyn­ Entry fee: $10; maximum 3 entries per ton Beach 7th Annual Festival of the artist. Entry deadline: February 6. Con­ Arts.” Open to artists and craftsmen. Jur­ tact: Director, League of New Hampshire ied by 3 slides. Entry fees: $20 for profes­ Exhibitions Craftsmen, 205 North Main Street, Con­ sionals; $15, amateurs. Cash awards. Entry Arizona, ScottsdaleNovember 1-30 “Earth­ cord, N.H. 03301, or call: (603) 224-3375. deadline: February 15. For additional in­ enware: New Directions U.S.A.” Juried by formation contact: Eleanor Krusell, Boyn­ slides; include prices, resume and self- New York, New YorkMarch 21-April 18 ton Beach Civic Center, 128 East Ocean addressed, stamped envelope. Entry dead­ “New York State—New Clay Talent.” Avenue, Boynton Beach 33435, or call: line: February 1. Contact: The Hand and Open to former and current New York (305) 734-8120, ext. 432. the Spirit, 4200 North Marshall Way, State residents who have not exhibited Scottsdale 85251, or call: (602) 946-4529. widely in clay. Juried by 3 slides and a Illinois, EvanstonMay 30-31 “Midwest resume. Deadline: February 14. Contact: Craft Festival.” Open to craftsmen from California, DowneyJune 20-July 25 The James Walsh, Clayworks Studio, 4 Great Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michi­ “Westwood Clay National 1981” is open Jones Street, New York 10012. gan, Missouri and Wisconsin. Juried by to ceramists. Juried by slides. Entry dead­ slides. Entry deadline: February 4. Con­ line: April 6. Entry fee: $5 per entry. North Dakota, Valley CityMarch 31- tact: North Shore Art League, 620 Lincoln Juror: Richard Shaw. Contact: Westwood April 24 The 12th biennial “National Art Avenue, Winnetka, 111. 60093, or call: Clay National 1981, Downey Museum ofExhibition” is open to ceramists. Juried. (312) 446-2870. Art, 10419 South Rives Avenue, Downey Entry fee: $5, maximum two entries per 90241, or call: (213) 861-0419. artist. Entry deadline: February 28. Con­ Indiana, Indianapolis June 6-7 “Talbot tact: Mrs. Riley Rogers, 2nd Crossing Street Art Fair.” Open to all media. Juried Colorado, GoldenMay 10-June 9 “North Gallery, Box 1319, Valley City State Col­ by 3 slides. Entry fee: $15 for members of American Sculpture Exhibition.” Open to lege, Valley City 58072; or Mrs. Barry Indiana Artist-Craftsmen, $30, nonmem­ sculptors working in a hard, permanent Bjornson, 1409 Third Avenue Northeast, bers; membership available to current and medium. Juried by up to 3 photographs Valley City 58072. former residents of Indiana at $5 per year. per entry; maximum 3 entries per artist. Entry deadline: March 1. Contact: Joan Fee: $10 per entry. Entry deadline: March Ohio, ClevelandApril 5-26 “Function: Kisner, 630 N. Washington St., Danville, 18. Contact: Foothills Art Center, 809 Contemporary Viewpoints.” Open to cur­ Ind. 46122. Fifteenth St., Golden 80401, or call (303) rent and former Ohio residents (except 279-3922. students). Juried by 1-3 slides. Open to Pennsylvania, State CollegeJuly 9-12 all media. Deadline: February 18. Con­ The 15th annual “Central Pennsylvania Idaho, Sun ValleyApril 1-30 “Trucks, tact: Joyce Porcelli, New Organization for Festival of the Arts Sidewalk Sale” is open Truckers, Trucking” is open to U.S. crafts­ the Visual Arts, 1 Playhouse Square, No. to all media. Juried by 3 slides; includea men in all media. Juried by slides. Entry 106, 1375 Euclid Ave., Cleveland 44115. self-addressed, stamped envelope. Entry deadline: February 14. Entry fee: $10, deadline: March 10. Contact: CPFA Side­ limited to 3 entries. Purchase awards. Con­ Ohio, Marietta April 4-May 10 “Marietta walk Sale, Box 1023, State College 16801. tact: Lynn McGeever, Sun Valley Center National ’81” is open to sculptors. Entry Art Gallery, Box 656, Sun Valley 83353, fee: $10. Commission: 25%. Entry dead­ Wisconsin, Milwaukee March 13-15 The or call: (208) 622-9371. “6th Craft Fair U.S.A.” is open to crafts­ line: February 7. Contact: Arthur Howard men 18 years or older. Juried by 5 slides; Winer, Marietta College, Marietta 45750, include a resume and self-addressed, Illinois, Springfield November 7-January or call: (614) 373-4643. stamped envelope. Entry fee: $70 for 3, 1982 “Fibers, Fabrics, Clay and Glass” 10- xl0-foot space. No commission. Entry is juried by 3 slides. Entry deadline: South Carolina, Hilton Head IslandMarch deadline: February 1. March 15. 1-31 “Primary Art II” is open to all artists April 25-26 The “19th Wisconsin Festival January 9, 1982-February 28, 1982 The 18 years or older. Juried by slides. Entry of Arts” is open to craftsmen 18 years or first national “Landscape in Art Exhibi­ fee: $10. Deadline: February 1. Contact: older. Juried by 5 slides; include a current tion” is open to any artist using a land­ Artistic Sass, Box 6005, Hilton Head resume and self-addressed, stamped enve­ scape motif as subject matter. Juried by Island 29938, or call: (803) 785-8442. lope. Entry fee: $75 for 10-x 10-foot space. 3 slides; include a resume and self- No commission. Entry deadline: April 1. addressed, stamped envelope. Entry dead­ Texas, Corpus ChristiMarch 29-April 30 For both events contact: Dennis R. Hill, line: April 30. For both events contact: “National Drawing and Small Sculpture 1655 South 68 Street, West Allis, Wis. Springfield Art Association Gallery, 700 Exhibition.” Open to U.S. artists. Fee: 53214, or call: (414) 475-1213. North Fourth Street, Springfield 62702, $10. Cash and purchase awards totaling June 19-21 “Lakefront Festival of Arts.” or call: (217) 523-2631. $3000. Juror: Ivan Karp. Juried by slides. Open to all U.S. artists. Juried by 6 slides; Minnesota, Duluth June 27-August 9 Entry deadline for sculptors: February 1. include a resume and self-addressed, “Lake Superior Crafts Exhibition.” Open Contact: Joseph A. Cain, Art Dept., stamped envelope. $7500 in cash awards. to all craft media. Juried by slides. Juror: Del Mar College, Corpus Christi 78404. Entry deadline: February 2. Entry fee: Ruth Kohler. Entry deadline: March 15. $10. Contact: Lakefront Festival of Arts, Entry fee: $10. Awards totaling $3000. Milwaukee Art Museum, 750 North Lin­ Contact: Lake Superior Crafts Exhibition, Fairs, Festivals and Sales coln Memorial Drive, Milwaukee 53202. Duluth Art Institute, 506 W. Michigan St., Arizona, Tucson April 11-12 “Tucson Duluth 55802, or call: (218) 727-8013. Festival of the Arts—Arts and Crafts Fair.” Juried. Entry fee: $75. Cash awards. Entry International Missouri, Saint LouisAugust 2-26 “Litur­ deadline: February 1. For additional infor­ Canada, Ontario, TorontoJuly 16-19 gical and Ceremonial Objects” is open to mation contact: Tucson Festival Society, Harbourfront Craft Fair.” Juried by slides. Missouri residents and Illinois residents 8 West Paseo Redondo, Tucson 85705, or Awards. Entry deadline: March i. Con­ living within 200 miles of Saint Louis. call: (602) 622-6911. tact: Jean Johnson, Harbourfront Craft Juried. Cash awards. Entry fee: $10 for Studio, 417 Queen’s Quay West, Toronto up to 3 entries. Entry deadline: July 10- Connecticut, Guilford July 16-18 The M5V 1A2, or call: (416) 364-7127. January 1981 11 12 Ceramics Monthly Questions Answered by the CM Technical Staff I have been researching the origins of photo ceramics and the particle size, the lower the temperature at which the batch wish to know who did the first such work and in what will melt. year.—M.P. Rocks do not tend to blow up in the kiln, as is widely believed, The earliest recorded photo ceramics were produced in France except when they contain sufficient water to produce steam. The by Lafon de Camarac. Amazingly detailed, these black on white same is true for a pot. If the rocks are sufficiently dry and the images were first produced in 1855. potter avoids overloading the kiln floor, this should be enough precaution. Ceramists who live in regions where rocks might I am making stoneware bottles with cork stoppers and wish contain large quantities of boron or lead may wish to test small they could be made to fit better. Is there a good way other samples before firing large batches; such materials may flux than turning them on a lathe? —T.H. significantly even in a bisque firing. In most regions worldwide, The grinder found in most studios for smoothing foot rims, or this is not a concern. removing a glaze drip, makes a great cork shaper for custom fitting the stopper to a bottle neck. I can't figure out why the kiln sitter in my electric kiln does not shut off whenever a shelf is horizontally aligned with it, We live near a large stream which is littered with smooth even though there appears to be sufficient space between the granite stones ranging in size from three to ten inches in shelf and the sitter before firing. Do you have any information diameter. I have often thought about making glaze from such about this?—S.K. rock but it would take forever to break it up. I am aware that jaw crushers and hammermills are available for potters, but heavy Mike Vukovich, of the Edward Orton, Jr., Foundation, com­ machinery is not my style. Is there any simple way I can turn a ments that this is not an uncommon problem with kiln sitters, little granite into a little glaze? —K.P. and recommends the shelf be placed no closer than one inch Hammermills and crushers have their place in the potter’s above or below the kiln sitter bar. The cause of your problem is repertoire of equipment, as do slab rollers and potter’s wheels, thermal expansion of the shelf, which can be sizeable—sufficient but are not required for turning rock into glaze. Your kiln is an to close the gap in question—thus preventing the bar above the excellent processing tool: granite can simply be bisque fired, ren­ cone from tripping the shut-off switch. dering it so completely fractured that the rocks can even be broken up with the hands. A small sledge hammer will further Subscribers’ inquiries are welcome and those of general interest break down the now soft rock to sufficiently screen it to the will be answered in this column. Send questions to: Technical desired mesh (generally from sixty to two hundred) ; the smaller Staff, Ceramics Monthly,Box 12448, Columbus, Ohio 43212.

January 1981 13

16 Ceramics Monthly Itinerary events, exhibitions, fairs, festivals, sales and workshops Send announcements of events, exhibitions, at Jacqueline Anhalt Gallery, 748 North both events at the Arkansas Arts Center, workshops, or juried fairs, festivals and La Cienega Boulevard. MacArthur Park. sales at least seven weeks before the month January 8-February 15 “Gallery Six: of opening to The Editor, Ceramics Elaine Carhartt,” an exhibition of ceramic California, Los Angelesthrough January 9 Monthly, Box 12448, Columbus, Ohio figures; at the Los Angeles County Mu­ A multimedia exhibition which includes 43212; or phone (614) 488-8236. seum of Art, 5905 Wilshire Boulevard. ceramic and mixed-media sculpture by Cynthia Bartlett; at the Mandell Gallery, California, San DiegoJanuary 26-Febru- 472 North Robertson Boulevard. ary 6 “Different Facets,” an exhibition of through January 11 “Introductions,” a Events clay and glass by Sherry Karver Fein; at multimedia exhibition, includes ceramics. California, Los Angeles January 15 A the Master’s Gallery, San Diego State January 27-April 12 “Made in Los An- question-and-answer session, with ceramist University. geles/Contemporary Crafts ’81,” includes Elaine Carhartt and modern art curator works by 22 ceramic artists; both events at Maurice Tuchman, held in conjunction D.C., Washington through March 1 “An the Craft and Folk Art Museum, 5814 with the exhibition “Gallery Six: Elaine Interior Decorated: Joyce Kozloff,” in­ Wilshire Boulevard. Carhartt.” 12 noon; at the Los Angeles cludes a 14-xl0½-foot ceramic floor piece; County Museum of Art, 5905 Wilshire at the Smithsonian Institution’s Renwick Boulevard, Contemporary Art Galleries. Gallery, Pennsylvania Ave. at 17 St. N.W. California, MoragaJanuary 11-March 4 January 25-31 Nerikomi porcelain by A multimedia exhibition, includes bur­ California, San FranciscoFebruary 26-28 Thomas Hoadley; at the Jackie Chalkley nished clay by Mariam Licht; at the The annual meeting of the College Art Gallery, 3301 New Mexico Avenue N.W. Hearst Art Gallery, Saint Mary’s College. Association includes sessions on art history and studio art. A placement service is California, San Franciscothrough Janu­ provided for those interested in college Illinois, Arlington Heights January 9- ary 3 “L.A. Industrial Pots”; at Quay teaching, art administration and related February 6 An exhibition of carved ce­ Gallery, 254 Sutter Street. fields. For further information contact: ramic containers by Rick Abbott; at through January 31 “Continental and En­ College Art Association of America, 16 Countryside Art Gallery, 408 North Vail. glish Ceramics, 1725-1850”; at the Cali­ East 52 Street, New York, New York fornia Palace of the Legion of Honor, 10022, or call: (212) 755-3532. Illinois, Chicago January 31-March 8 Lincoln Park. “Sonia Delaunay: A Retrospective,” in­ through March 31 “Egyptian Art from Illinois, Chicago April 2-4 The American cludes ceramics; at the Art Institute of the Lowie Museum,” includes pottery; at College of Toxicology’s first annual con­ Chicago, Michigan Avenue at Adams St. the M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, ference, “Health Risks in Arts, Crafts and Golden Gate Park. Trades,” is open to artists and craftsmen. New York, New Yorkthrough January 9 Contact: Health Risks in the Arts, Crafts “British Pottery ’80,” an exhibition of California, Santa Barbara through Janu­ and Trade Conference, American College works by Geoffrey Swindell; at Graham ary 4 “Holiday Exhibition”; at the Eliza­ of Toxicology, 2405 Bond Street, Park Gallery, 1014 Madison Avenue. beth Fortner Gallery, 1114 State Street, Forest, South, 111. 60466, or call (312) January 10-February 3 “Ceramic Sculp­ 534-1770. ture,” an exhibition by Rina Peleg; at the Studio 9, LaArcada Court. April 10-15 The National Art Education Theo Portnoy Gallery, 56 West 57th St. Association’s annual convention; at the January 13-February 7 “Harriet Bellows: Colorado,Denver through January 11 Chicago Marriott. Contact: National Art Clay,” and “Harvey Sadow: Clay Ves­ “American Indian Miniatures,” includes Education Association, 1916 Association sels”; both events at the Elements Gal­ Yuma pottery dolls; at the Denver Art Drive, Reston, Virginia 22091. lery, 766 Madison Avenue. Museum, 100 West 14th Avenue Parkway. January 27-February 14 “Art of the Kansas, Wichita March 25-28 The an­ Glazer,” an exhibition of stoneware and Connecticut, Greenwich through January nual conference of the National Council porcelain by Albert Green; at Greenwich 3 “Group Miniature Show,” a multimedia on Education for the Ceramic Arts House Pottery, 16 Jones Street. exhibition by 20 artists; at the Elements (NCECA) ; at Wichita State University. Gallery, 14 Liberty Way. Contact: Don Gauthier, Wichita State Ohio, Findlay January 12-February 6 University, Studio Arts Department, Wich­ “Mike Evans: Ceramics and Photo­ Delaware, Wilmington through January 18 ita 67208, or call: (316) 689-3560. graphs”; at the Egner Fine Arts Center “The 23rd Contemporary Crafts Exhibi­ Gallery, Findlay College. tion”; at the Delaware Art Museum, 2301 Ohio, ColumbusFebruary 28 A sympo­ Kentmere Parkway. sium held in conjunction with the “Beaux Oregon, CorvallisJanuary 1-31 An exhi­ Arts Designer-Craftsmen’s Update Exhibi­ bition of ceramics by Ellen Currans; at D.C., Washington, through January 31 tion,” includes an address by Helen Drutt Corvallis Arts Center, 700 S.W. Madison. “Ceramics as Historical Evidence” shows on the crafts movement from 1960-1980. how the study of ceramics unlocks infor­ 1:00 P.M. Fee: $5 for museum members, mation about the past; at the Smithsonian $6.50 for nonmembers; at the Columbus Pennsylvania, Philadelphia January 31- Institution’s National Museum of History Museum of Art, 480 E. Broad Street. February 28 “Frances Riecken’s Kitchen,” and Technology, 12th Street at Madison an exhibition of ceramics; at Sign of the Drive Northwest. Swan Gallery, 8433 Germantown Avenue. through April 5 “The Search for Alexan­ Solo Exhibitions der,” an exhibition of Greek art from 356- Arizona, PhoenixJanuary 16-February 23 323 B.C., includes terra-cotta sculpture; at “Elena Karina: A Sense of the Sea,” an Group Exhibitions the National Gallery of Art, Fourth Street exhibition of porcelain vessels and draw­ Arizona, Tucson through January 11 at Constitution Avenue Northwest. ings; at the Phoenix Art Museum, 1625 “Rookwood Pottery: One Hundred Years”; through August 23 “American Porcelain: North Central Avenue. at the Tucson Museum of Art, 140 North New Expressions in an Ancient Art,” in­ Main Avenue. cludes approximately 108 works; at the Arizona, ScottsdaleJanuary 1-31 “Ameri­ Smithsonian Institution’s Renwick Gallery, can Porcelain Features: Dick Studley”; at Arkansas, Little Rock through January 4 Pennsylvania Avenue at 17th Street NW. the Hand and the Spirit, 4200 North Mar­ “Toys Designed by Artists Exhibition.” January 18-24 “Making It in Clay 4 shall Way. January 9-February 10 “Sixth AAC/ Invitational Show”; at the American UALR Biennial,” an exhibition by faculty Hand, 2904 M Street Northwest. California, Los Angeles through January members of the University of Arkansas at 6 “Transformation Series,” an exhibition Little Rock and the Arkansas Arts Center Illinois, Champaign January 18-February in porcelain and china painting by Bruria; Education Department, includes ceramics; 15 “The First 4000 Years: The Ratner January 1981 17

at the R. W. Norton Gallery, 4747 Cres- ceramics by Albert Green; at the Mont­ Itinerary well Avenue. clair Art Museum, 3 South Mountain Ave. Collection of Judaen Antiquities”; at the Krannert Art Museum, 500 Peabody Dr. Massachusetts, Framingham through Jan­ New Jersey, Newark through June 30 uary 18 “Combinations,” an exhibition of “New Jersey Belleek: A Gift of the 1880s,” Indiana, Columbus through January 12 works made from two or more materials, an exhibition of porcelains manufactured “The Miller Creche Collection,” includes created by a collaboration of two or more in Trenton. stoneware and porcelain; at the Visitor’s artists, or designed to function in two or January 20-March 15 “Sculpture in Clay Center, Fifth and Franklin Streets. more ways; at the Danforth Museum, 123 from Puerto Rico,” an exhibition by mem­ Union Avenue. bers of the artists’ collective Grupo Manos; Indiana, Indianapolis through January 14 both events at the Newark Museum, 49 “Clayfest ’80,” an exhibition by Indiana Michigan, Birmingham January 17-Feb­ Washington Street. ceramists; at the Herron Gallery, Herron ruary 14 An exhibition of sculptural clay School of Art, Indiana University, Indian­ by Rafael Duran and Thomas Phardel; at New York, Brooklynthrough February 8 apolis, 1707 North Pennsylvania St. Robert L. Kidd Associates/Galleries, 107 “Twentieth Century American Design: through January 18 “The Manufacture of Townsend Street From the Permanent Collection,” includes Tz’u-chou Type Wares,” a display which ceramics; at the Brooklyn Museum, East­ focuses on the processes involved in their Michigan, Detroit through January 4 ern Parkway. manufacture, includes maps, charts, photo­ “Annual Christmas and New Year’s Dis­ graphs of kiln sites, and step-by-step play and Sale.” New York, Great Neck through January 8 models. January 11-February 7 An exhibition by A multimedia show by members of the through January 18 “Freedom of Clay Byron Temple and Joe Zajac; both events Long Island Craftsman’s Guild; at the and Brush through Seven Centuries in at Pewabic Pottery, Michigan State Uni­ Great Neck Public Library, Bayview Ave­ Northern China: Tz’u-chou Type Wares, versity, 10125 East Jefferson. nue and Grist Mill Road. A.D. 960-1600,” an exhibition of ceramic wares; both events at the Indianapolis Missouri, Saint Louisthrough January 11 New York, MaloneJanuary 12-25 “Craft Museum of Art, 1200 West 38th Street. A multimedia exhibition which includes Exhibition 1980,” a national show by high January 6-February 21 An exhibition of ceramics by Irv Tepper. school artists; at Ballard Mill, Ballard stoneware and porcelain containers and through March 1 “Later Chinese Porce­ Park. wall pieces by Alan Patrick; at Artifacts lains from the Collection,” from the Qing Gallery, 6418 North Carrollton Avenue. Dynasty, 1644-1910; both events at the New York, New York through January 4 January 13-February 1 “Potters Guild Saint Louis Art Museum, Forest Park. “Fifth Annual Christmas Crafts Festival”; Show”; at the Alliance Museum Shop, at Nine Artisans Gallery, 142 Seventh Indianapolis Museum of Art, 1200 West Montana, DillonJanuary 1-31 “Ceramic Avenue South. 38th Street. Traditions”; at Western Montana College, through January 10 “Holiday Boxes,” a Western Art Gallery. multimedia exhibition; at the Elements Louisiana, ShreveportJanuary 17-March Gallery, 766 Madison Avenue. 1 “Sevres Porcelain,” an historical exhibi­ New Jersey, Montclairthrough January 11 through January 18 “The Dinner Party,” tion of works from the 18th-20th centuries; A multimedia exhibition which includes Continued

January 1981 19 20 Ceramics Monthly at the Southeastern Center for Contem­ Oklahoma, Tulsa through January 25 Itinerary porary Art, 750 Marguerite Drive. “The Icon,” an exhibition of contemporary conceived by Judy Chicago, traces the icons, includes ceramics by members of history of women in Western civilization Ohio, Cincinnati through January 4 “Arts Tulsa Designer Craftsmen. “A Century of through ceramic plates, tiles and other of Imperial Japan,” an exhibition of works Ceramics in the United States: 1878- multimedia art Work; at the Brooklyn Mu­ from the Meiji Era (1868-1912), includes 1978”; both events at the Philbrook Art seum, Eastern Parkway and Washington ceramics; at the Cincinnati Art Museum, Center, 2727 South Rockford Road. Avenue. Eden Park. through January 26 “The Animal King­ Pennsylvania, HaverfordJanuary 18-Feb­ dom,” an exhibition of contemporary ruary 6 “Award Show for Nonprofession­ American art which includes ceramics; at Ohio, ClevelandJanuary 30-Fehruary 20 als,” includes ceramics; at the Main Line BFM Gallery, at Philip Daniel, 150 East “The Ohio Ceramics Sculpture Show”; at Center of the Arts, Old Buck Road and 58th Street. the Cleveland State University Gallery. Lancaster Avenue. January 10-March 15 “5000 Years of Korean Art”; at the Metropolitan Mu­ Ohio, Columbusthrough January 15 A Pennsylvania, PittsburghJanuary 26-Feb- seum of Art, 5th Avenue and 82nd Street. multimedia exhibition by art faculty mem­ ruary 19 “Craftsmen’s Guild of Pittsburgh January 15-March 1 “Invited Artiste Pro­ bers of the Cuyahoga Community College Invitational—Clay”; at the Clay Place gram—Fall 1980,” includes new works by District, includes ceramics by Bette Drake; Gallery, 5600 Walnut Street. Sherron Francis, Carl Glicko, Ann Igels- at the Ohio Board of Regents Offices, 30 rude, Joyce Kozloff, Kikuo Saito, James East Broad Street. Texas, Fort Worththrough February 18 Walsh, James Wolfe and Betty Woodman; “The Great Bronze Age, of China: An at Clayworks Studio Workshop, 4 Great Ohio, Toledothrough January 25 “The Exhibition from the People’s Republic of Jones Street. American Collections, New Views,” in­ China,” includes terra-cotta figures from cludes ceramics; at the Toledo Museum of the buried army of Qin Shihuangdi, the New York, Utica through February 1 Art, Monroe Street at Scottwood Avenue. First Emperor of China; at the Kimbell “The Masonic Tradition in the Decorative Art Museum, Will Rogers Road West. Arts,” includes ceramics; at the Munson- Ohio, YoungstownJanuary 4-February 22 Williams-Proctor Institute, 310 Genesee “33rd Annual Ohio Ceramic, Sculpture Virginia, Richmond through January 10 Street, Fountain Elms. and Craft Show”; at the Butler Institute “Crafts for the Elegant ’80s”; at Cary- of American Art, 524 Wick Avenue. Windsor Gallery, 2924 West Cary Street. North Carolina, Chapel HillJanuary 17- Washington, Seattle January 15-March 1 Fehruary 22 “The Traditional Pottery of Oklahoma, Oklahoma Citythrough Janu­ “Contemporary Ceramics: A Response to North Carolina,” includes 19th and 20th ary 3 “Oklahoma Designer Craftsmen Wedgwood,” includes works by 85 ceram­ century redware, salt- and alkaline-glazed Juried Exhibition”; at the Arts-Annex, ists; at the Seattle Art Museum, 14th East works; at the Ackland Art Museum, Uni­ 3113 Pershing Boulevard. and East Prospect. versity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. January 18-February 13 “Kevin Byrnes: Majolica Ceramics,” part of a multimedia Wisconsin, Madisonthrough January 11 North Carolina, Winston-Salemthrough exhibition; at Artsplace II, 115 Park “Five Decades: Recent Works by Alumni January 25 “Earth Art: Sand and Clay”; Avenue. Continued

January 1981 21 January 31-February 1 “Byron Temple: New York, White Plains January 10-Feb- Itinerary Potter” with Byron Temple. ruary 7 Westchester County Department of the Art Department,” an exhibition of February 14-15 “The Varsatile Potter” of Parks and Recreation plans a variety of approximately 68 works which includes with Kenneth Ferguson. ceramics workshops with Eddie Davis and ceramics; at the Elvehjem Museum of Art, March 7-8 “To Decorate” with Bennett Connie Sherman. For information contact: 800 University Avenue. Bean. Westchester Art Workshop, County Center March 14-15 “Porcelain” with Gerry Wil­ Building, Tarrytown Road and Central liams; “Photographing Your Work” with Avenue, White Plains 10607, or call: Bob Hanson. (914) 682-2481. Fairs, Festivals and Sales March 28-29 “Ceramics and Drawing Arizona, Tubac January 31-February 8 Workshop” with David Middlebrook. Con­ North Carolina, Charlotte January 22-24 The 22nd annual “Tubac Festival of the tact: Greenwood Gallery, 2014 P Street “Visual Arts Symposium ’81” includes a Arts”; throughout the village. Northwest, Washington, D.C. 20036, or 2-day workshop in ceramic sculpture with call: (202) 463-4888. Elsbeth Woody, a 2-day session in aes­ Texas, McAllen January 31-February 1 thetics and critique with Wayne Higby; a “Fiesta on the Border”; at the McAllen Georgia, Atlanta February 6-8 “Richard 1-day discussion on personal metaphor and Civic Center. Hirsch: Raku,” a 3-day lecture/demon- the creative experience with James Surls. stration workshop which will include an For additional information contact: Gar­ overview of Japanese techniques, American land Henderson, Spirit Square, 110 East variations, and the work of Richard Hirsch. Seventh Street, Charlotte 28202. Workshops Contact: Glenn Dair, Callanwolde Fine D.C., Washington through May 3 “Mak­ Arts Center, 980 Briarcliff Road North­ ing It in Clay 4,” a series of 2-day lec­ east, Atlanta 30306. Ohio, Wooster April 23-25 “Functional tures/demonstrations which will conclude Ceramics Workshop,” includes sessions for with a 1-week exhibition of the artist’s New Hampshire, Concord January 18-23 the potter. Contact: Phyllis Clark, the Col­ work, includes the following: “The Making and Use of Porcelain,” a lege of Wooster, Wooster 44691, or call: March 6-8 Airbrushed and faceted work 6-day workshop with Tom Turner. Con­ (216) 264-1234, ext. 388. by David Nelson. tact: Merle D. Walker, League of New April 3-5 Slip-cast canvases by Tom Hampshire Craftsmen, 205 N. Main St., Oregon, Corvallis February 7 A session Spleth. Concord 03301, or call: (603) 224-3375. on studio practices and functional stone­ May 1-3 Cone 05 earthenware by Mineo ware-forming techniques. Fee: $5 for Mizuno. All events at the Corcoran School New Mexico, Albuquerque February 7-8 Willamette Ceramics Guild members, $10 of Art. Fees for each event: Friday night, A workshop with Tom Coleman; at the nonmembers. Contact: Nancy Kendall, $5; Saturday, $30; Sunday, free and open University of Albuquerque. Room and Willamette Ceramics Guild, Route 2, Box to the public. Contact: Eagle Ceramics, board will be available. Fee: $25 for 412, Alsea, Ore. 97324. 12266 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, Mary­ members of the New Mexico Potters Asso­ land 20852, or call: (301) 881-2253. ciation, $30 nonmembers. Contact: New Oregon, Portland March 23 A lecture/ January 31-March 29 Greenwood Gallery Mexico Potters Association, Box 26811, demonstration in tile making with Sara is planning the following workshops: Albuquerque 87125. Please Turn to Page 76

22 Ceramics Monthly January 1981 23 24 Ceramics Monthly January 1981 25 26C eramics Monthly Suggestions from our readers Ignition Briquette Many potters use homemade burners or weed burners without a safety pilot, particularly when firing a raku kiln. This may require turning up the burner slowly and watching the flame carefully so it does not blow out in the early stages of firing. A glowing brick directly in the flame path (called an ignition brick) will keep the burner lit eventually, when sufficiently hot. But by placing one or two charcoal briquettes at the base of the ignition brick, the flame may be turned up much faster, prevent­ ing flameout. It takes only a few minutes for the briquettes to ignite. They last long enough to keep the flame lit until the ignition brick gets red hot and takes over. —Kurt Wild, River Falls, Wis. Pop Suggestion Sugar-sweetened soft drinks sprayed over airbrushed colors on pots keep the colors from smearing; they also protect oxide and slip applications when glazing once-fire work. Additionally, car­ bonated beverages break up hardened glazes easier than water. -—Bob Clark, Lancaster, Ohio Needling Idea Pottery needle tools that cost a dollar or more in art stores can be bought as biology dissecting needles for as little as five cents in school supply stores. —Larry Bock, Crown Point, Ind. Avoid Throwing Backache Placing two bricks on the floor under your left foot when throwing on a portable electric wheel raises the left knee to hip level and reduces strain on the back. -—Rya Levitt, Toronto Grinding Wheel Any electric wheel with a Masonite or particleboard bat-and- pin system can be a heavy-duty grinder for cleaning kiln wash off pot bottoms. Car body sanding disks can be purchased cheaply in many sizes or grades, and glued with contact cement onto a bat, which can then be put on the wheel as needed. If the disk gets clogged, a toothbrush will clean it while spinning. —Brad Sondahl, Chelan, Wash. Portable Clay Storage An old, portable dishwasher with the working parts removed makes an excellent, airtight cabinet for clay storage. Simply cover any holes with duct tape. The top-loading models work better; they are on casters and the top affords a good working surface. —W. Daniel Baxley, Bonner Springs, Kans. A Grog Substitute An inexpensive and universally available grog for low-tempera- ture (up to Cone 04) ware for raku or sawdust firing is industrial oil absorbent—a sweeping compound obtainable from automotive supply houses. —F. Matthew Blaine, Laurel, Del. Storage Idea When storing plastic clay, place pieces of strong plastic between layers of the body. Later, these sections may be easily removed in chunks instead of in handfuls. —Trevi Terrell, Painesville, Ohio Bat Drier For an efficient way to dry bats and molds, especially in humid weather, separate the bats with wood slats near the intake of a dehumidifier and cover both with a plastic drop cloth. —Bob Clark, Lancaster, Ohio Dollars for Your Ideas Ceramics Monthly pays $5 for each suggestion used; submis­ sions are welcome individually or in quantity. Send your ideas to CM, Box 12448, Columbus, Ohio 43212. Sorry, but we can't acknowledge or return unused items. January 1981 27

Angelo Garzio by Sandra B. Ernst

Angelo Garzio is as likely to be seen with sawdust on his wood-firing is often the norm. At Kansas State University, hands and an armload of wood as he is with clay on his where he is a professor, the studios are equipped with two fingers and an armload of pots. While he still uses gas large gas-burning kilns and eight electric kilns of various and electric kilns, he is fascinated by the character of a sizes, but Angelo finds increasing interest among his stu­ wood-fired piece. “Wood firing produces a unique visual dents in the four wood-burning kilns even though the and sensual appearance,” he observes. The difference can firing may take up to forty hours. come from the length of the firing and the type of wood According to Angelo, the real value of the wood-fired burned. The ash, basically a glaze, is pulled through the kiln is the learning process: “When it is necessary to stoke kiln by the air drafts and deposited on pots. Ordinarily constantly, you are much more cognizant of the firing some shade of green is produced because of the presence process. You’re more closely attuned to this tool and the of small amounts of iron. “This is how the early celadons product you’re creating.” were achieved, a fact discovered by the Chinese shortly The areas around the kilns are filled with scrap wood after the time of Christ,” Angelo explained. “The Chinese gathered from lumber yards and construction sites. Fre­ used clay in their glazes and the iron in the clay would quently during the day, students with trucks and trailers revert to its basic color of green.” While the texture of a drive up to the door with another load of wood for their wood-fired pot may be coarse or mottled, the ash may firings. “After all, wood is the only naturally replenishing tend to make the glaze runnier, lending a streaked effect. fuel,” Angelo says, but someone has to do the replenishing. In his work, Angelo employs such glazes as these: “The energy question for potters is a very real one,” he Volcanic Ash Matt Glaze (Cone 8-10, reduction) adds. “It seems very likely that in a matter of only a few Volcanic Ash ...... 26.9% years, ceramists may not have access to natural gas, which Colemanite ...... 7.5 has been our main fuel source for some time.” Currently, Angelo and his students are experimenting with a variety Magnesium Carbonate ...... 7.5 of kiln designs, varying stoking schedules, particularly Nepheline Syenite ...... 19.4 noting the effect of weather conditions on firing. “We Whiting...... 16.1 found that working with wood-burning kilns can be tre­ Kaolin ...... 17.2 mendously frustrating at first. You don’t know if you are Flint ...... 5.4 gaining or losing heat.” 100.0% In addition to concerns for energy, Angelo expresses Applied thinly, this glaze is a buff red color; applied concern for his students: “I worry about what happens to thickly, it is yellow-green. them after they finish. We don’t play the numbers game Semigloss Transparent Glaze (Cone 8-9, reduction) and simply accept students to keep the enrollment up. Dolomite ...... 7.8% I want them to be competent and to be able to support Soda Ash...... 4.3 themselves after graduation. I have a policy that when­ Whiting...... 7.6 ever I accept graduate students, I will try my darndest to Kona F-4 Feldspar ...... 47.5 get them their first job.” Kaolin ...... 7.3 Such considerations in part exemplify what Angelo Flint ...... 25.5 learned from the two men whom he credits with having major influence on his work. “I was at Iowa when Glenn 100.0% Nelson came to work on a degree in sculpture and wound This glaze is good over slips and stains, particularly with up establishing a program in ceramics. He got me into heavy red iron oxide stain for rust reds. the field, and is a fantastic teacher.” Angelo Garzio’s interest in wood-burning kilns perhaps The other ceramist who has influenced Angelo is stems from the time he spent studying in the Orient where Robert Turner, professor emeritus at Alfred University. “I met Bob in the mid-1950s and worked with him briefly Left Angelo Garzio: “I am excited by some of the work in his studio at Alfred; that was one of the most pleasant of ceramists today who are experimenting with and eventful experiences of my life. Bob is a Quaker and commonplace objects in entirely unexpected contexts ” it’s reflected in his pottery—it’s calm, very peaceful and January 1981 29 Above Stoneware wheel-thrown lidded form, 14 inches in height, abbreviated coil handles, yellow wood ash glaze with areas of blue and orange, fired to Cone 9 reduction. Opposite page Wheel-thrown stoneware lidded jam pot, 7 inches in height, local Kansas slip glaze of celadon green breaking to yellow, by Angelo Garzio. Left Stoneware casserole, 15 inches in diameter, iron and copper stains stippled in incising, semimatt transparent glaze, fired in a woodburning kiln to Cone 9.

30 Ceramics Monthly Photos: Gene Guerrant, the artist and courtesy of Arabia

self-assured. I admire that style, but I guess I’m too much are experimenting with commonplace objects in entirely of a Latin to achieve it myself.” unexpected contexts. What we are trying to do with the Angelo first touched clay when he was 32. He has educational program at Kansas State is expose students worked as a professional musician, as a railroader, a to many facets of experience.” Angelo believes a potter librarian and even spent some time as a crew chief and should not be isolated among wheels and kilns, and so engineer on a B-26 in the Air Force. After graduation, encourages students to take a broad liberal arts program Angelo was invited to work as a visiting artist at Arabia and includes in his courses such topics as geology, eco­ pottery in Helsinki, Finland. In one of the world’s largest nomics, taxes, marketing, salesmanship, interior design, commercial plants, he was employed to experiment and display, retailing and small business management. “Many develop new techniques on the cutting edge of innovative of my students feel that money is crass. If they don’t ceramics. “The company gave us a totally free environ­ understand economic reality, they will find themselves ment with little obligation—except to create.” completely frustrated and bewildered when they gradu­ In 1973 he received a Fulbright-Hays Senior Scholar­ ate.” For a time Angelo supported himself as a potter; ship to teach and study at Hong Ik University in Seoul. he feels all ceramics teachers should have this experience In 1977 he traveled to Zaire, Nigeria, to teach at Ahmadu before they teach others. As he explained, “Pottery is Bello University, returning a year later by way of South more than making something beautiful from mud. There America where he studied pre-Columbian pottery. is an identity between man and clay. Man has always used Even though Angelo Garzio’s pots are traditional, he clay to serve his needs as well as delight his eye.” recognizes that the field is in a state of flux. “I’m not limited to just the traditional view. I am excited by some The author Sandra B. Ernst is on the journalism faculty of the work of the more avant-garde ceramists today who at the University of Kansas, Lawrence. January 1981 31 Each successive year brought forth more and more Garzio: Viewpoint of these presumptuous ego-centered pots that had little if any spiritual ring to them. And to what avail? As I look around the world of ceramics, both at my Indeed, more was much, much less! peers who came up in the field at about the same The field of ceramics in America has run the time I did and those who came somewhat later, I gamut from the traditional to the abstract expres­ continue to be astonished at the ease with which sionist: Op, Pop, minimal, super-real, trompe l’oeil, many wall jump on stylistic or cultural bandwagons etc. There are very strong signals evident, however, because that style or movement happens to be in that the pendulum of emphasis is swinging (and has vogue. I am very much aware of this sort of thing been for the past several years) toward more tradi­ because as I review my own work from the time I tional, functional pots. One can conjecture as to the hit my stride in the late 1950s to the present day, 1 reasons for this shift: Fewer teaching positions and do not detect all that much major innovation. Cer­ therefore less secure income sources are forcing young tainly there are perceptual changes such as in the would-be ceramists to consider the more practical, manner I work surfaces and, to a more limited more realistic possibilities of studio production pottery degree, forms that inwardly may hark back to other as a means of involvement with clay. The need to cultures which have interested me. The tripod cook­ come to grips with the existing social environment has ing vessel came about in its execution and surface enabled many young potters to realize the enticing embellishment because of a construction technique excitement of the challenge in becoming full-time learned in northern Nigeria a couple of years ago. studio potters, earning their living chiefly through My year’s stay in Korea particularly influenced stone­ the sale of well-designed, modestly priced forms that ware designs: The small jug with a pulled handle are in daily use, thereby encouraging a larger market. resembles a wine pot I saw in the National Museum I must admit to not being at all disappointed in in Seoul, and the slab and wheel-thrown lidded form this change. From the very beginning, the traditional with volcanic ash glaze was an aftereffect of my pots with their quiet, simple, unassuming character having worked in a Korean kimchi pottery. were my strongest loves. I still drool over a fine In terms of outside influence, these pots make me Tz’u-chou or celadon pot from Sung dynasty China, feel good and offer a basis for my criticism of the the exciting and adventurous Korean early Silla bandwagon syndrome. They contain, in their essence, dynasty perforated forms, the robust, unobtrusive salt- the spirit and not the letter of my outside influences. glazed ware of 18th and 19th century America as well Again, to me they have an integrity of feeling in that as the lovely, colorful, decorated surfaces of early they were born in a prescribed period of incubation— Persian or Italian tin-glazed pottery. Who can pos­ not stillborn or spoiled because of too much attention. sibly deny the inherent genius of the nameless potters At this point in time, I sense that my ideas and who gave pots—that have lived to our day—to their goals have about come full circle. I remember vividly communities for the daily amenities, from the ware of my first exposure to clay in Glenn C. Nelson’s class Southwest Indians, the awesome monolithic goblets at the University of Iowa in the mid-1950s. At a time of the Mayan culture, to the great skill and sensitivity when not much was known of the skills and techno­ portrayed in the sculptural pots of the Mochica and logical know-how that are taken for granted today, the more stylized forms of the neighboring Nazca. the explorative exhilaration was profound and af­ As valuable as these objects are for us today, they fected most of the young students just getting into should also serve as springboards of inspiration and clay. For me it was not an ego trip as much as a hope to the young potters who are presently coming sudden revelation that this malleable substance could on the scene and getting ready to make their contri­ be a way to achieve purpose in life. The competitive butions. The past is man’s greatest inspiring mentor, factor only became important as the fifties surged but students should be encouraged to try their wings into the sixties when ceramic competitions of state, in areas of the unfamiliar, with the known factors as regional and national scale mushroomed. A growing havens for rest or meditation. I do not adhere to the awareness of other fledgling potters “out there” made sink or swim theory. For most humans, the daily these yearly affairs focal points for innovative ideas, ingesting, digesting and slow absorption into the emo­ technological advancement and aesthetic goals. Such tional-spiritual system of the creative act is undoubt­ periodicals and publications as Ceramics Monthly edly the best form of evolving cultural roles. The and Craft Horizons, plus Bernard Leach’s and Daniel gradual assimilation into the daily habits and routines Rhodes’s books were quite influential in this dissemi­ of a people are the ultimate source and summation of nation. that culture’s traditions. This process cannot be There were negative results as well, which are still rushed. If pushed to the point of noncontrol as in an visible in the field today. The huge pot, the overdone act of revolutionary change, mutations will come ornate object, tortured contortions and agonized con­ about which all too often destroy the healthy orga­ volutions were all too often executed for the sake of nism. The process must then begin anew, contending drawing the juror’s attention for possible inclusion in with the consequent time factor. the show and, even more important, to merit a prize. I cannot help but think back on my most recent

32 Ceramics Monthly experiences in Africa, and have certain doubts re­ cal point of this situation is that the majority of garding the merits of craftsmen coming from more Nigerians who purchase pottery for home use (one industrialized countries to the Third World nations must not forget that this is a largely agrarian society, and of the effects of these foreign ideas and technol­ still living in small villages) cannot possibly use ogies on local crafts industries. stoneware pots as cooking vessels over an open fire. At this stage, I am not at all sure how valid my Additionally, the cost of stoneware is prohibitive to arguments may sound to those of you out there— the majority of the natives. The result of this ridicu­ namely that too much of this cultural intercourse and lous situation is that the main purchasing source of the consequent results, the offsprings in the guise of these Westernized pots is the white community in the hollow shells with no spiritual body, will cause this guise of tourists or imported teachers who remain total tradition to disintegrate and to become an only a few years. The Abuja Pottery developed by insipid reflection of the white man’s ideals. From my Michael Cardew and another countryman of his is vantage point all I can see is a man like the Nigerian now run by a Nigerian. The initial impetus for this potter, Mallam Garba. His life is a full cycle of activ­ experiment was to develop Western technological ex­ ities in a setting that is natural, unhurried and unso­ pertise to encourage export commodities. The ven­ phisticated. In his role as potter, what he does with ture, from what I observed, is on its way out, clay is beautiful and expressive of the guileless nature primarily because the native potters are not doing of the man. Methodology, traditional forms and the anything but what their white teachers taught them end results all speak of love and respect for the in the way of forms and glazes. The production is material, with great skill evidenced in the processes principally a carte blanche repetition of pots made in that have been honed by daily repetition. The likeli­ the early 1960s. hood that this may go down the tube because younger Native Nigerian potters like Mallam Garba who leaders in his society feel they must get “in step” with were born and reared in the environment, knowing the big boys is most probable. full well the needs of the community, are able to I noted in the “Letters” section of the January satisfy these requirements with pots made simply, 1980 CM a statement by Charles Counts, wherein he swiftly and with few intricate or costly tools; the hopes for a continuance of strong African contacts, firings are inexpensive and take only a few hours. especially for the exchange of craftspeople between The resulting pottery is within the price range of the several cultures. As healthy as this aspiration may nearly everyone. Now who is trying to fool whom? be in the short run, ultimately what might the end What we in America so admire in these people are results be? A metamorphosis may come about with their centuries-old work habits and their products few if any of the strengths of either culture due in made in a locale much less industrialized than ours. great part to a lack of knowledge and understanding It brings to mind the 18th-century concept of the of deep, inherent factors which make up the tradition “noble savage.” Unfortunately, the noble and well- of the group. intentioned aim of exchanging craftspeople and stu­ A case in point is the Nigerian potter who is trained dents back and forth to get to know, to expose to, in the Western manner to use a potter’s wheel as the and therefore to conserve for posterity, is a self- chief means of production and taught a smattering of defeating goal. A conservationist, Aldo Leopold clay, glaze and high firing kiln technology. This also clearly hit the nail on the head in his very moving necessitates the importation of fairly complex (and book, A Sand County Almanac: “All conservation of expensive) machinery from Western nations to pre­ wildness is self-defeating, for to cherish we must see pare the clays and glazes, to make the pots and to and fondle, and when enough have seen and fondled, construct the large fuel-burning kilns. The paradoxi­ there is no wilderness left to cherish.” Amen!

Stoneware jug, 8 inches Lidded form, 5 inches in height, Handbuilt tripod cooking in height, reduction fired to combed decoration with applied vessel, 12 inches in height, Cone 9, by Angelo Garzio. clay, Cone 8 volcanic ash glaze. glazed, Cone 8 reduction.

January 1981 33 Glazing with Mount Saint Helens Ash byM ichael McDowell

ou When Mount Saint Helens erupted on May 18, the said, “y could just blow it off.” After putting one bang was barely audible 500 miles north in Bellingham, fingerprint through a double coat, I carefully placed the Washington, where Robin Reynolds and I operate a tiles in the kiln with unglazed saucers underneath to pottery studio. Newspaper and television reports of a fine protect against running. Fired in two parts of the kiln dust settling in huge quantities over much of eastern (one reached Cone 9, the other about Cone 10), the tiles Washington inevitably led to a great deal of speculation came out the same—with the sheen and general color of among local potters about including the ash in glazes. an Albany slip temmoku glaze, distinguished by a pattern At first most of this talk was purely idle, since it would of red-brown speckles on a black field where applied be a 300-mile round trip to the nearest deposits. About a thickly. There was no evidence of running. Our interest week after the eruption, a motor home coated with a aroused, we planned an ash-gathering expedition. thin layer of fine gray dust pulled into a neighbor’s drive­ The news media had reported plenty of horror stories way. The passengers piled out and began scraping the regarding conditions in the areas of heavy ashfall, so we dust into plastic bags (at this point a few grams of ash embarked south and slightly east, equipped with dust were worth $1 as a souvenir). I managed to talk them masks, and extra air cleaners and a change of oil for the into giving me about 100 grams with which my appren­ car. Two weeks after the eruption, the winds could still tice, Michael Thibault, prepared some tests. raise enough dust to shut down the highways, but a spate After mixing about 50 grams of ash with water and of unseasonably wet weather helped keep the dust from passing the batch through a 60-mesh screen, he applied blowing, and the roads had been cleared. When we first it to test tiles in varying thicknesses with an ear syringe. stopped to examine the ash in the Ellensburg/Yakima The resultant glaze coat was so fragile that, as Michael area, the particle size ranged from very fine to coarse, The author on a street in Ritzville, Washington. Saint Helens volcanic ash piles up like snow —50,000 tons were removed to the city3 s dumps. Even without additions the material makes an excellent Cone 9-11 glaze. Photos: Pyramid Productions and Robin Reynolds

34C eramics Monthly A triaxial blend with 87% ash, 3% bentonite (foreground); 87% ash, 3% bentonite, 10% zinc oxide (upper left) ; and 87% ash, 3% bentonite, 10% titanium dioxide (upper right) ; revealed effects of other materials on the volcanic ash.

Above A line blend with Ultrox produced a lighter- colored glaze. On the left is 97% ash, 3% bentonite; at right is 85% ash } 3% bentonite, 12% Ultrox. Left Miniature bottles by Robin Reynolds. In moderate to light reduction the volcanic ash with 1-3%) bentonite produced red-brown spots on a black background; heavier reduction yielded an overall metallic red-brown. like masonry sand. Since the finest particles settled out following recipes on our work: of the air more slowly, they were deposited farther away from the volcano—so we headed east, stopping Green-Gold Gloss Glaze (Cone 9-11, reduction) about every 20 miles to crudely test the grit by rubbing it Mount Saint Helens Ash...... 98.5% between our fingers. Each time there was a perceptible Titanium Dioxide ...... 1.5 decline in particle size. Soon we entered an area of much Tooo% greater ashfall. Where before the ash had been thinly Add: Zinc Oxide ...... 9.6% sprinkled, it was now a thick crust over every exposed Bentonite ...... 1.0% surface, except for the building roofs which had been swept clean since the weight of the ash threatened col­ Cinnamon Glaze (Cone 9-11, reduction) lapse. In the region of the heaviest fall, the freeway was Mount Saint Helens Ash...... 100% plowed with the ash piled on the shoulders like snow, but Add: Ultrox ...... 13% a test sample was still not fine enough. Just west of Ritz- Bentonite ...... 1% ville we found a lyi-inch crust of acceptably fine ash, Recent tests have turned up promising avenues that get matted down by rain over the previous two weeks from away from the gloss surface: the 3-4 inches that had settled as a dry powder. The town was littered with huge piles of potential glaze—all “prop­ Dark Iron Saturated Glaze (Cone 9-11, reduction) erty of Ritzville” and the mayor wouldn’t release any Mount Saint Helens Ash...... 100.0% until he had a better idea what to charge. When we told Add: Red Iron Oxide ...... 6.5% him why we wanted some, he helped us secure permission Bentonite ...... 1.0% to gather ash in a used car lot. Each car’s hood yielded Matt Black Glaze (Cone 9-11, reduction) about 75 pounds and in ten minutes we had all our car Mount Saint Helens Ash...... 100.0% could carry. We later made arrangements to pick up Add: Cobalt Oxide...... 1.0% another ton from a pile swept off a restaurant roof. Manganese Dioxide ...... 3.3% The mayor estimated his town had about 50,000 tons Red Iron Oxide...... 3.3% of ash in its dumps and that’s a small town. Far greater Bentonite ...... 1.0% amounts must have been accumulated in several pits throughout the area by the state highway department. Buttery Matt Glaze (Cone 9-11, reduction) Experiments with the new supply proved an addition Mount Saint Helens Ash...... 80% of 3% bentonite reduced the fragility of the raw glaze on Talc ...... 20 the ware and fired results were virtually identical to the 100% 100% ash sample. Loaded in a 35-cubic-foot updraft kiln Add: Bentonite...... 2% which varies from Cone 9-11 in a typical firing, the ash- glazed ware yielded no variations due to differences in Although the ash does not melt to a satisfactory glaze temperature. Subsequent firings proved significant varia­ by itself in the midrange temperatures of Cone 4-6, it is tion occurs only with increased reduction. In moderate possible to develop good glazes in this range using 75% reduction the ash produces red-brown spots on a black or more volcanic ash. Bill Swanson, a Seattle potter, has field, but in areas of the kiln subjected to heavier reduc­ done some experimentation in this area, with the follow­ tion, the black background disappears and a uniform ing results: metallic red-brown results. Firing atmosphere may ac­ Sparkle Green Glaze (Cone 5, reduction) count for some of the reported variations in the ash Lithium Carbonate...... 15% deposited in other places, since analyses of ash samples Mount Saint Helens Ash...... 85 from throughout the state are similar. Calcium (CaO) varies from approximately 4-6%, magnesia (MgO) from Too% 1.75-3.75%, soda (Na 20) 4.2-4.6%, potash (K 20) 1-2%, Opaque Sand Glaze (Cone 5, reduction) alumina (A1203) 16.3-19.7%, silica (Si02) 61-66%, iron Mount Saint Helens Ash...... 100.0% (Fe203) 4.5-7%, and titania (Ti0 2) 0.50-0.75%. Add: Zinc Oxide...... 17.6% All volcanic products (basalt, pumice, ash, obsidian) Iron-Red Spotted Glaze (Cone 5, reduction) brought to the surface in any single eruption will have Dolomite ...... 9.9% roughly the same chemical composition, but can vary Mount Saint Helens Ash...... 90.1 widely from eruption to eruption. The Cascade volcanoes are referred to as composite volcanoes because their prod­ 100.0% ucts have varied between high and low silica content over Add: Tin Oxide...... 10.5% their geological histories. When a high-silica flow is Speckled Tan Glaze (Cone 5, reduction) brought to the surface and allowed to cool slowly, obsidian Gerstley Borate ...... 10.5% is formed. By applying Mount Saint Helens ash as a glaze, Mount Saint Helens Ash...... 89.5 conditions are recreated to form in effect a thin layer of Too.o% obsidian on the pots. Add: Zinc Oxide...... 9.9% Besides glazing with “pure” Mount Saint Helens ash, we have been testing the ash in combination with other Other interested potters also tested 10 to 25-pound glazes and glaze materials. We are currently using the samples from our stock. We had been adding 3% bento­

36 Ceramics Monthly nite to counter the fragility of the “pure” ash glaze, but Add: Zinc Oxide ...... 2.1% Vivika Heino, Ojai, California, was satisfied with just Bentonite ...... 1.0% 1%. One property of the ash that especially pleased Vivika is that it can be applied very thickly with no Yellow Matt Glaze (Cone 9, reduction) crawling or running. Magnesium Carbonate...... 4.2% Local studio potter Lou Mideke tried single firing the Mount Saint Helens Ash...... 72.9 ash (brushed on leather-hard porcelain) to Cone 12. Whiting ...... 22.9 Single-fire glazing with volcanic ash necessitates the addi­ 100.0% tion of a fair amount of clay to accommodate shrinkage, Add: Zinc Oxide ...... 4.2% so Lou blended the ash with varying proportions of his Bentonite ...... 2.1% other glazes. A good place to start in incorporating the ash A material of exceptional merit, the ash alone has the into any glaze repertoire, this blending method produced widest firing range of any of our glazes. Its high viscosity attractive results. and low wet to dry shrinkage permits thick application to Pat McCormack, head of the ceramics department at develop depth or “fatness” on the surface. The ash also Western Washington University in Bellingham, fires his combines well with other materials and glazes. When work to Cone 9 in heavy reduction. Since the ware is tested over and under each of our sixteen recipes, the ash bisqued, he was able to apply high proportions of ash, but always was compatible. was not particularly interested in the metallic brown One illuminating test was a triaxial blend with 97% resulting from heavily reduced “pure” ash. With an equal ash, 3% bentonite; 87% ash, 3% bentonite, 10% zinc parts mixture of ash and Albany slip he developed a glaze oxide; and 87% ash, 3% bentonite, 10% titanium diox­ similar in color to lightly reduced ash. Tested on hori­ ide respectively. Although the zinc oxide acted as a flux, zontal tiles, other variations Pat worked out with Mount the glaze did not run; the color was translucent dark Saint Helens ash follow: green with occasional gold flecks. Even small additions of Golden Brown Glaze (Cone 9, reduction) zinc oxide were enough to wash out the red spots in the Mount Saint Helens Ash...... 77.8% “pure” ash, but all tests with 1.3% titanium dioxide Whiting...... 11.1 returned the spotting effect. The greater the amount of Edgar Plastic Kaolin...... 11.1 zinc oxide in the 1.3% titanium dioxide tests, the more 100.0% fluid was the outline of the spot. Tests with 2.66% Add: Titanium Dioxide...... 5.6% titanium dioxide yielded mostly orange-red spots with Zinc Oxide...... 5.6% very little background. Increasing amounts of titanium dioxide (above 2.66%) showed definite increases in matt- Dark Green Glaze (Cone 9, reduction) ness and opacity; the color ranged from orange-brown to Magnesium Carbonate ...... 2.1% green and finally to ocher at 10%. A line blend with Mount Saint Helens Ash...... 61.2 Ultrox produced a lighter colored glaze; additions of Whiting...... 11.2 10-12% Ultrox to the ash yielded a cream color with dark Plastic Vitrox Clay...... 25.5 brown spots. Several tests were inconclusive, but none 100.0% produced effects that were without potential.

Ash for the initial glaze tests was gathered from a used car lot in Ritzville, Washington. Rain had packed the material; each car hood yielded about 75 pounds of ash. January 1981 37 American Porcelain

Teapots, dinnerware sets, vessels, figures and abstract tradition of the figurine from past centuries and [figura­ sculpture are among the forms chosen for exhibition in tive] creations of artists working in porcelain today. The “American Porcelain: New Expressions in an Ancient continuity of porcelain’s tradition depends more on the Art” at the Renwick Gallery (Washington, D.C.), which objects made for domestic use, vessels of various shapes will be shown through August 23. After first-hand jurying and kind, and dinnerware. . . . Functional objects—or at of 130 objects selected from slide entries by 350 artists, least those with an implied function—dominate the pro­ 108 were chosen to represent the range of modern forms duction of the craftspeople surveyed here. Utilitarian and decoration. According to Lloyd Herman, Renwick though they are . . . [they] are more likely to function as Gallery director, “there is little connection between the art objects than serving pieces.” Left “Knee and Fan” 24 inches in height, handbuilt porcelain, glazed, fired to Cone 7, with fabricated basswood and fiber, by Lizbeth Stewart, Philadelphia.

Slip-cast cowboy boots, 14 inches in height, with airbrushed underglazes, glazes, gold luster, by William Wilhelmi, Corpus Christi, Texas.

38 Ceramics Monthly

inches in height, handbuilt 6/2 “Fan Box,” Below and enamel, by Ralph Bacerra, Los Angeles. porcelain with cobalt underglaze, overglaze lusters

Soup bowls, glazed, 3 inches in height, thrown, Soup bowls, glazed, altered, fired to Cone 10 reduction, by Warren Above MacKenzie, Stillwater, Minnesota. of the National Collection of Fine Arts Above Pie dish with ibis, 11 inches in diameter, cast and embossed porcelain, fired to Cone 7 by Lucy and Paul Natkiel, Hill,} New Hampshire. Left “Desert Landscape ” handbuilt porcelain (the tallest figure is 15 inches in height), unglazed fired to Cone 7-8, by Frank Fleming,3 Birmingham.

40 Ceramics Monthly Nino Caruso: Recent Sculpture

Terra-cotta sculpture by Italian ceramist Nino Caruso Cone 09, then sealing the ware along with wood inside a was featured in a recent one-man show at the Temple steel box for firing to Cone 016-014. Basic processes for Gallery in Rome. The forms were slip cast in plaster forming this artist’s ceramics were detailed in “Nino molds taken from designs cut in Styrofoam. For the larger Caruso, Modular Ceramics,” a portfolio published in the objects, 5-10% grog was added to the casting slip. The June 1975C eramics Monthly. natural clay was colored with 3-8% manganese dioxide, iron or copper oxide and fired in oxidation or reduction. Terra-cotta disk, approximately 19 inches in diameter, Black terra-cotta forms were achieved by first bisquing to sculpture slip cast from hot-wire-cut Styrofoam. Above “My old Love Letters Found Again ” 10 inches in width, cast terra cotta. Far left Apprentice Beatrix Oberberger prepares disk molds for slip casting. Left Cast terra-cotta relief sculpture, each module is 19 inches square. 42 Ceramics Monthly Far left Nino Caruso with works from his exhibition in Rome . Left Terra-cotta relief, 9 inches in diameter, cast, decorated with spattered colored slip, fired to Cone 09, Below Terra-cotta disk, 19 inches in diameter, cast, fired to Cone 09. Left Prototype column, approximately 39 inches in height, slipcast in sections, fired to Cone 09. Below The courtyard of the International Center of Ceramics, Rome, with terra-cotta disks by Nino Caruso.

44 Ceramics Monthly A Karen Karnes Workshop byM ichael Boylen

“It makes no difference how you made it. The result— ment with subtle variations. Since much pottery training the pot—is important, not the technique.” In a recent is based on making and shaping a relatively thin cylinder, five-day workshop at the State Craft Center in Middle- Karen urged everyone to be more direct, quick and bury, Karen Karnes defined and demonstrated this way decisive in getting at the form earlier, using enough clay of looking, feeling and thinking to encourage fifteen expe­ and not worrying about thickness. rienced Vermont potters to see their work as basic form. Each day the tables were filled with thrown forms to The first assignment was to make simple pots with contemplate, analyze and discuss. There were frequent rising contours that were essentially one continuous move­ reminders of the importance of beginnings and endings—

Blue and brown salt-glazed bottle, 9 inches in height, wheel-thrown, by Karen Karnes . Photos: Erik Borg of bottoms and rims. Bottoms can be made in many ways followed by pots with more definite changes—emphasiz­ that clearly define, support or float the form. Rims can be ing softness, fluidity, and later, sharply defined geometry. simple, but should be decisive and provide definite termi­ Variations in scale were tried. It became clear that monu­ nation of the form where the inside and outside meet. mental form can be achieved in small objects, but it does The work was cumulative—each day the forms had not necessarily translate to larger size. Increasing scale greater variety and vitality. The first simple shapes were presents new challenges. “When you make bigger things

In conversation and through her pots, Karen conveyed a sense of physical expressiveness and peacefulness in her work. During the five-day workshop she demonstrated and talked with fifteen Vermont potters. Above, from left Various simple forms were thrown by the potters for analysis and discussion. Karen inverts a thick cylinder on a drier form; it is attached and re-thrown. The essential trimming and finishing of the bottoms of pots thrown off the hump. Grolleg, Cedar Heights or coarse fireclay as the predomi­ nant body component. Fine sand in the body gives a shiny, orange-peel surface, while grog produces a softer matt effect. Working with these variations in bodies and the application of slips containing oxides provides a large range of color and surface possibilities that she finds much more satisfying and enjoyable than conventional glazing. Since all of Karen’s ware is single fired, simplicity of glazing is also a major practical advantage. On the third day of throwing, when each had worked with form on individual terms and the cooperative sense of group effort was established, Karen began to demon­ strate at the wheel. She made closed forms that were covered jars and large vertical pots that became pitchers. Looking more at the inside of the form than the outside, she concentrated on a kind of in-and-out relationship that produces both strength and subtlety. As she threw calmly and easily at the kickwheel, Karen reminded everyone that power wheels were useful tools, but not to let the speed dominate the way they work. “I keep my interest in forms by constant variation,” Karen explained. “I try to work with a form, feeling and to treat each piece individually. Live forms are not neces­ sarily relaxed or free and easy. Life doesn’t come from allowing the wheel to take over, but you can have good accidents. I am a kinesthetic person and work more by feeling than by intellectual form decisions. “I am afraid of production pottery. You really have to be good at it and retain sharp judgment so that you don’t get careless. Sometimes under pressure of selling, produc­ tion gets slick, overcontrolled, and both you and the pots Karen alters a bowl shape as a knob joined to the become dead. Don’t let it happen.” lid of a jar. “I try to work with form, feeling, The concurrent exhibition of Karen’s salt-glazed pots and to treat each piece individually.” provided clear examples of her primary concern for form—sometimes soft, in other cases quite taut. The pots are heavy, but there is a rightness and vitality in that you enter another form field, and the bigger it is, the weight. There is no sense of separate body and glaze, of worse it is if it isn’t right,” Karen remarked. specific use. Pots were assembled of two or more parts or by adding As she demonstrated, in her conversation and in her soft thrown sections to stiffer bottom sections, then taking pots, Karen conveyed a sense of physical expressiveness, the form further. This was done even on a very small of peacefulness in her work. A major emphasis in a Karen scale to explore the possibilities of that method, rather Karnes workshop is using the individual work as a pool of than using it just as a way of making large objects. The ideas and inspiration for the group, each person keeping number of elements employed were few; details were a notebook on all the work for later reference. The effect minimized. The potters worked freely and quickly, sketch­ is to avoid preciousness, self-consciousness, competition, ing clay forms with the wheel, trying simple variations and to concentrate on open sharing and helping each from their usual way of working, such as changing the other in the exploration and understanding of form. It speed of the wheel or their speed of throwing. For the established a group sense and communication that hope­ moment there was no concern with utility, or even with fully can be maintained and grow as a potters’ continuum making pots. The group concentrated on the main issues: that has particular value for people otherwise working What is form—the spark of vitality and life? How do you in considerable isolation. recognize it? How do you achieve it? It was an empirical approach, with no rules, based on simple, general exercises The author Michael Boylen maintains a full-time pottery to sharpen the eye and the intuitive perception of form. and glass studio in West Burke, Vermont. Karen spent a great deal of time talking about and looking at pots and books with the group and with indi­ viduals. She described in detail her experience with salt glazing, the great effect it had in simplifying the glazing process, enhancing form, retaining the wet-pot look, and leading her to work with more form contrast and change. She emphasized the variations in salt glaze color and surface achieved by using specific clays such as Jordan,

48 Ceramics Monthly Selecting and Designing a Studio by Rig Swenson

Every potter would like unlimited studio space to house It is also advisable to call an insurance agent to check all the equipment necessary for unrestricted work, but few coverages or endorsements necessary for protecting the of us can afford that ideal. Most are forced to find a space homeowner or landlord in case of fire loss, liability for with which they can produce pottery now—a basement customers on the premises and product liability. All the room, spare bedroom, garage, covered patio or the shed insurance companies I approached sell homeowner’s out back. In considering studio design, the individual’s policies; some will cover a studio with kilns at no addi­ needs constitute the backbone of a plan with a realistic tional cost, some require an endorsement rider with a “ideal” according to the situation. small yearly fee, and others simply will not insure houses Whether the potter decides to use an existing space at that have kilns. My insurance agent asked reasonable his home, build, rent or lease a studio, some legal aspects questions about firing, then was satisfied the studio was should be considered. With a studio in the residence, adja­ safe. cent or nearby on the same land, zoning rules may affect Some physical elements of the studio should be con­ the plans, especially if a combustion kiln is proposed. sidered carefully. Among the various possible floorings for Zoning ordinances may limit studio size or require the a pottery, the best is a smooth-finished, poured cement structure to resemble the residence architecturally. slab floor with no tile or vinyl covering. Easily cleaned After renting space in another potter’s studio, I located and a smooth ride for pots on ware carts, the only dis­ a house with an attached 32- x 32-foot building in a resi­ advantages of this floor are the cost and the “slippery- dential area that suited my family and professional needs. when-wet” dangers. The second best is a rough-finished When I checked with my local zoning board, the only concrete floor. A strong case can be made for a floor restrictions were that no business sign larger than one drain system so that a hose can be used to clean the square foot could be in front of the house and no direct studio, but the sloped floor may have to be compensated sales could be made from the studio on a regular basis for in leveling kilns, shelves and potter’s wheels. Wood can (because subdivisions do not provide for customer park­ be a fine floor, but it is harder to clean and must be ing) . Small variances are usually accepted by neighbors, if protected from kiln heat. A layer of noncombustible ma­ they know the firings are safe and the studio area is neat. terial and generous distance from flammable surfaces are Renting or leasing a studio involves other business con­ musts for kilns set on wooden floors. Firing electric kilns siderations. Usually a lease agreement is preferable since on the metal stand provided will assure the needed air the rent cannot be raised except by renegotiating the space underneath, but concrete block or asbestos board contract, and the agreement assures that the potter will will help keep combustible flooring from charring or not invest in remodeling, then suddenly lose the space at discoloring. If a gas kiln is placed outside, it should be set the owner’s whim. Permanent improvements, such as gas on a level concrete slab or compacted gravel with shelter lines or additional wiring made to a rented or leased from the wind (walls or a shed), and a safety valve in studio, may become the property of the landlord. An case the flame blows out. agreement, in writing, between the two parties should Ceiling height can be a factor if a fuel-burning kiln is include a real understanding of the function and use of placed inside a studio with combustible roofing materials; the space, length of time covered by the contract, and an insulated exhaust hood and stack vent may be needed. who pays for and retains improvements. In the long run Because a fire marshal must approve an indoor fuel- it is wise to have a lawyer read the agreement to suggest burning kiln in some areas, it’s a good idea to check local contingencies a potter might never imagine. regulations before initiating plans. There seem to be no The author's 1024-square-foot studio (left) and residence in Alaska. The workspace is equivalent to a 3-car garage,

January 1981 49 1. While an ideal studio might include extras such as television and comforts like an in-studio water closet, nearly anyone can have a functional studio simply by setting aside space for creative work.

Floor plan for the author’s studio. Numbered arrows show the position and direction from which photos in this article were taken. Good studio layout presents a rational flow from raw materials into freshly formed ware, to adequate drying space, sufficient glazing and firing facilities, and provides for the associated services of the studio business.

50 Ceramics Monthly 2. Much of the contents of the studio can be built by the potter or obtained used to keep costs low,

universal guidelines for inspection except for electric space on the floor and ran the gas line from the meter to kilns; I have seen some very expensive safeguards around a regulator set at 12 column inches, and through the wall and above kilns because a fire marshal insisted on elabo­ to the kiln site. Keeping any kiln a reasonable distance rate protection. from the wall is not only safe, but also handy for repairs. Although each potter will have different utility require­ The size of the kiln, purchased or built, should be deter­ ments based on speed and method of production, everyone mined mainly by the production speed of the potter(s) certainly needs some water source, whether it is hand working in the studio, the dimensions of the ware in carried in a bucket or from a large double sink with a general and how often the potter wishes to fire. I ordered drain trap, and hot and cold taps. Electrical wiring should a frame and insulating brick for a 24-cubic-foot updraft include adequate 110-volt power for lights, wheels, pug natural gas kiln because of dependability, reasonable cost mill and glaze mixer. Service necessary for the majority of and the economy of fuel prices in my area. standard electric kilns involves three phase, 208- or While waiting for kiln materials to arrive, I spent my 240-volt/25- to 55-ampere wiring. Such kilns will draw “spare” time setting up the studio to function efficiently. 4,000-12,000 watts, depending on size, and should be First, I sketched various plans, trying out ware-flow pat­ connected through a breaker or fuse with copper, not terns on paper. The next step was designing ware shelves aluminum, wiring. For a natural gas kiln, pressure and with ample storage space, adjustable for different pot volume must be sufficient. Usually the utility companysizes, and centrally located to “work” from all sides and will be helpful in advising on the size of pipe and pressure avoid blocking light from the windows. Extending from needed to provide the required Btu’s per hour. Codes floor to ceiling, the frame was constructed from 4x4-inch vary for gas lines; some areas specify installation by a fir uprights, drilled with 1^8-inch holes centered every 4 licensed and bonded plumber, some require building inches. The fir verticals were then lag bolted to two- checks by city or county inspectors and others ask the gas by-fours, which in turn were bolted to ceiling joists. company to examine all new lines. Three-foot lengths of 1 5/16-inch doweling were inserted Regardless of inspection status, the tightness of pipe through the matching holes to support two-by-fours connections should be pressure tested. For liquid petro­ underlying the shelves. Ware boards (1x4 feet) were cut leum gas (L.P.G.) kilns, connections should be checked from ^-inch-thick plywood and waterproofed with var­ just as carefully; soapy water painted on joints can help nish on one side. locate leaks. Also consider tank accessibility and loca­ My wheel is situated at one end of the shelving system tion, since L.P.G. may cease to flow with sufficient volume for easy access—with a view of the mountains. A large, at extremely low temperatures in the winer. angled mirror set 3 feet in front of the wheel allows me After determining my kiln should be indoors for con­ to see the shape of the developing pots. A small bench venience and appearance, I taped out an appropriate supports several ware boards at the left of the wheel; January 1981 51 3. Shelves are easier on the back when stored at hip level on this home-built cart which rolls to the kiln for loading and unloading.

Three variations within a common studio building: the two-car garage (20 feet square). Each of the designs centers around a shelving system like that shown (right). Work surfaces are y^-inch plywood, cut and laminated to a ll/2-inch thickness. Top, a basic electric firing layout, expandable to reduction when a fuel-burning kiln is added outside on a poured concrete slab with footer. The ware cart can roll on wheels throughout the studio and because the doorjamb is flush with the floor, the cart will roll smoothly to and from the kiln patio. Center, a single-firing reduction studio, production oriented for slab and wheel work. Garage doors should be open for ventilation during firing. Above, a self-contained 4. A central shelf system allows ware to be conveniently reduction studio with 16-cubic-foot natural stored at all stages of production. Consisting of 4x4 posts gas or propane kiln (updraft), an electric kiln for drilled with iy%-inch holes every 4 inches to accept closet bisque firing and vented glaze spraying facilities. doweling (1 5/16 inch) ; across the doweling, 2x4s support Ys-inch plywood ware boards.

52 Ceramics Monthly while throwing off the hump, successive boards may be Smaller low level carts also were made for moving moist easily filled and shelved. Larger pots, thrown on pinned clay into and around the studio. A ball mill powered by Masonite bats, fit four to a ware board. Removed from a used 1750-rpm motor with a 12-inch washing machine the shelves for trimming, the boards are refilled and pulley, a matching 5-inch pulley, a V belt, two steel rods reshelved with the damp pots for drying. Since the bisque and some ball-bearing flange assemblies mounted on ply­ kiln is close to the shelving, a board at a time is pulled to wood (and soundproofed), grinds my celadon and Chun rest on the edge of the electric kiln while the pots are blue glazes to a good consistency in about ten hours. loaded. When the kiln materials arrived, I laid the bricks for From the Cone 06 bisque firing, ware is shelved in the floor, walls and sprung arch in twenty-six hours, front of the glazing area. (Glaze chemicals are stored in working alone over a three-day period. After a few more 5-gallon plastic buckets under the bottom shelves, where hours, I had attached the gas plumbing, and air-pressure they stay dry even when the floor is mopped.) To glaze checked the lines for leaks. With the hood in place above large forms, a used spray booth was installed and vented the kiln, I slowly fired to Cone 10 after a two-day warm­ through the wall; when turned off, the exhaust fan’s up period, to permit gradual steam escape, “set” the exterior flapcloses to block winter drafts. After glazing, mortar and monitor the exhaust system. A two-speed, the filled ware boards go back on the shelves and are 20-inch fan placed in a window supplies fresh air when pulled from the opposite side to load the glaze kiln. A the kiln is firing. wheeled cart stores the 30-pound mullite kiln shelves at In setting up my studio it was necessary to call on a hip height for easier lifting. number of experts in natural gas, electricity, carpentry, From materials accumulated for some time, I made a insulation and sheet metal working, who were most wedging table and wood-framed plaster drying bats. An helpful in working out design and construction details. 18-inch-high glaze table was fabricated from an old roll- Although doing most of the work myself saves money and away bed and a 4x6-foot board of ¾-inch plywood, allows a better understanding of the processes and main­ placed on concrete blocks—just the right height for dip­ tenance of the equipment, each potter should consider the ping or pouring glazes without having to bend to the pros and cons of do-it-yourself construction/set-up includ­ floor. A worktable, made from an old plywood picnic ing the cost of losing valuable potting time. table, was attached to a large, low cart on 6-inch-diameter rubber wheels for mobility. The space between the work­ The author A ceramics instructor at the University of table legs holds clay slurry drying bats; these heated Alaska and frequent contributor to CM, Ric Swenson plaster bats make the table sturdier with their weight. maintains his studio in Anchorage.

5. The throwing area of the author's studio, with worktable made from an old plywood picnic table ,

January 1981 53 The Scripps Ceramic Annual Right Covered jar, 15 by Elaine Levin inches in height, thrown, salt glazed, by Sandra Johnstone, Los Altos, California. Far right “Artist’s Hard Hat ” 18 inches in height, handbuilt clay with mixed media, by Carla Rae Johnson, Starkville, Mississippi. Below right “Pinnation,” life-size, painted clay, by Jugo de Vegetales, Chalfont, Pennsylvania.

The “Scripps College Annual Ceramic Exhibition” of the Cleveland Museum of Art established a special in Claremont, California, opened its 36th year as thecategory for ceramic sculpture, this form had challenged record holder for longevity. The previous record had a been group of artists working mainly in the East. The figura­ the venerable Ceramic National Exhibition of Syracuse tive sculptures of Viktor Schreckengost and Paul Bogatay which opened its doors in 1932, expiring in the late 1960s.from the Cleveland group were in the 1947 Scripps show, Other ceramic nationals, such as those in Wichita and along with the whimsical animal forms of Carl Walters Miami, flourished only during the 1950s and ’60s. and the delicate nymphs of Viennese-trained Susi Singer. The Scripps College Annual can attribute its health The Scripps College Annual was not destined to con­ and vitality to an ability to change with the times. In its tinue as a small, intimate group. When Richard Petterson present format, each of the eighteen ceramic artists is came to Scripps in 1947 to teach ceramics and direct the invited to show up to six objects. Wide geographical exhibits, the postwar interest in crafts was beginning to representation and a combination of established profes­ expand college ceramic departments. An example of the sionals along with promising newcomers have been the vitality of that period is the special portfolio Richard exhibit’s trademark over the last ten years. This balance published for the 1955 exhibit. Titled the “Scripps Col­ was initiated in the 1970s by Paul Soldner, the exhibition’s lege Annual Treasury of Ceramic Art,” its extra large director, who presents invitations each year to eleven or photos were planned to be exhibited in classrooms. more “teachers, producing professionals and active art­ Although only thirteen artists had their work pictured, ists” who function as jurors. Each may invite one artist the list of names reads like a Who’s Who of ceramic art: whose work has not been exhibited previously at Scripps, Charles Lakofsky, Harrison McIntosh, Anthony Prieto, someone who, as the invitation states, “is making an im­ Daniel Rhodes, Edwin and Mary Scheier, Robert Turner, portant contribution to ceramics and (is doing) work Peter Voulkos and Frans and Marguerite Wildenhain. which represents the highest level of competence.” Paul (In light of his present work, Voulkos’s Persian-inspired also selects a few participants, often ceramists he meets coffeepot is startling. Most of the other work is in styles during his far-flung workshops. The invited artists are which we now associate with those artists.) free to select what they want to show, and each year the Ten years later, the Scripps College Annual Treasury objects are uncrated by Paul’s ceramics classes in an portfolio held twenty-four artists—four working in glass. atmosphere resembling a surprise party. Except for Paul Soldner, Ruth Duckworth, Patti Wara- Choosing jurors from across the country assures a shina, Marie Woo and James Stephenson, the names are variety of approaches, but variety was not the catchword unfamiliar but the work shows a strong abstract expres­ thirty-six years ago when William Manker, the college’s sionist influence in the forms, construction and surfaces first ceramic teacher chose “ceramic designers of national roughened by gestural slashes in clay or oxides. reputation” as he wrote in the catalog, to exhibit at A summary of over two decades of ceramics was pro­ Scripps. Half of the small group were from California duced by Richard Petterson in 1969 in connection with a and some, such as Laura Andreson, Marguerite Wilden- retrospective exhibit substituting for the Scripps College hain and Gertrud and Otto Natzler, are acknowledged Annual. He spent two years visiting artists around the today as having established a basis for contemporary country to select historically important examples of ware ware. Another influential Californian, Glen Lukens, for “Twenty-Five Years of Clay, U.S.A.” The thirty-two joined these artists in the second show (1947) which objects chosen represent “most of the developments and offered a somewhat wider perspective by including sculp­ achievements that have marked this postwar quarter- ture in clay. Since 1925, when the annual “May Show” century as a period of almost explosive growth and 54 Ceramics Monthly 55

January 1981

Photos: courtesy of the artists and the Scripps Ceramic Annual Left and right “Capitata” and “Canis Triphrenic,” 21 and 15 inches in height respectively, by Jugo de Vege tales. Below “Taste Bud ” 14 inches in height, by Jean Appleby , Erie, Pennsylvania .

56 Ceramics Monthly Far left “Ceremonial Cup ” 11 inches in height, raku, with underglazes, metallic oxides, by Richard Hirsch, Boston . Left “Sea Castle Fragment ” 24 inches in height, fired clay on wire, by Art Nelson, Oakland, California. Opposite page, below “The Value of a Variable ” 18 inches square, porcelain and copper, by Robert Milnes, Edinboro, Pennsylvania. change.” Petterson notes that the selection is incomplete of historical importance was the 1978 exhibit from the and hindsight shows that the exhibit barely hinted at the Oakland Museum. Curated by Hazel Bray, “The Potter’s contributions to sculpture by Peter Voulkos and John Art in California: 1885-1955” provided further insights Mason and ignored the advent of Pop Art. into the development of the field with the work of ce­ This exhibit was one of many Petterson introduced to ramic pioneers Manual Jalanovich, Albert King, Fred­ vary the regular Scripps College Annual format. Begin­ erick Rhead, Fred Robertson and others. ning in 1950, he curated an international ceramics ex­ One of the characteristics of Paul Soldner’s present hibit featuring the work of Scandinavian, German and format for the Annual has been its prophetic quality, with Japanese potters, with workshops by some of the partici­ many past participants moving into the forefront of the pants. A postwar interest in ware from other countries field. Also, the show has handled with equanimity the was a trend recognized in a Museum of Modern Art widest spectrum in technique and concept. This year’s exhibit, “Good Design,” in 1949. In 1952, the Annual exhibit ranged from the unfired circular adobe sculptures continued the design emphasis, featuring the use of clay of Joyce Kohl to Dean Smith’s humorous, brightly colored in architectural settings, especially kitchen design. By pod constructions reminiscent of Dr. Seuss creatures. 1956, after national visits by Bernard Leach and Shoji Richard Hirsch’s tripodal space vessels evoke images of Hamada, whose wares emphasized the subtleties of gray ancient Chinese bronze and pre-Columbian ritual vessels, and brown glazes, Petterson’s show was titled “Color in while Joe Bova’s witty combinations of human and ani­ Ceramic Art.” High color had been perfectly acceptable mal heads owe a debt to pre-Columbian figurative sculp­ until Leach and Hamada suggested that restraint in glaze ture. An artichoke substitutes for the head of a woman in color ennobled the ware. The initial reaction against such the surrealistic human/vegetable sculptures of Jugo de a modified palette was shared by Petterson and eighty- Vegetales. Landscape images fill John Harmon’s large eight invitees. platters and inspire Ann Christianson’s fragmented con­ In 1957, Petterson left Scripps to supervise a craft structions. Grids dominate the work of two invitees in the development program for Taiwan under the auspices of form of rough, interwoven strips for Arthur Nelson in the United Nations, returning in 3/2 years to direct the contrast to Robert Milnes’s delicate porcelain tubes sur­ Lang Galleries at Scripps. Paul Soldner, who had begun rounded by gleaming copper tubing. Although the space teaching at Scripps a year previously, took over exhibition for sculpture seemed dominant, vessel concepts held their responsibilities. By the 1960s, the large number of par­ own with David Crane’s monumental, ragged-edged and ticipants in the Annual had made the show quite un- splattered containers. Rick Pope and Sandra Johnstone wieldly. Paul cut the number to twenty-five, selecting displayed tall, salt-glazed jars and jugs with surfaces some newcomers, to provide a forum for young artists varying from glossy to pitted orange peel. Large sheets of without the competition present in regular juried exhibits. plate glass play with illusion and reflection in the work Paul also varied the Annuals with special exhibitions: of Stephen Kafer and Therman Statom. The show also in 1963 when interest in raku techniques was high, he included the work of Jean Appleby, Gregory Federighi, presented a special showing of raku pots; in 1972, when Carla Johnson and Tom Smith. Fred and Mary Marer of Los Angeles donated their col­ If the flexibility of the Scripps College Annual has sus­ lection to the Claremont Colleges, Paul exhibited their tained the exhibit, the present structure has maintained a 200 ceramics as that year’s Annual. The Marers had con­ high standard while presenting a variety of concepts that centrated on the young talent they saw at Otis Art Insti­ continue to surprise and intrigue its viewers. The formula tute in the mid-1950s, recording by their selections a also allows the exhibit to document the contemporary uniquely vital period in ceramic history. Another offering history of clay and its resilience as an art form. January 1981 57 Throwing a PDt from Both Ends byW ayne R. A nderson

For the potter who wants to make forms that beg to be the hands and inverted, and the new bat attached to the suspended, the round-bottomed vessel is particularly ap­ wheel head. Then the vessel is recentered and securely pealing. Throwing hanging pots by pulling the clay from attached to the bat. What is now the upper portion of the both ends eliminates time-consuming trimming and makes pot is shaped by raising the wall and collaring. Although larger and more varied forms possible. the clay should still be damp enough for throwing, lubri­ First, a bottomless cylinder is thrown on a plaster bat cation can be added by misting from a spray bottle with­ to facilitate inverting the wet pot; the lower walls are left out getting the pot too wet. Care must be taken to keep thick, while the upper portion is refined and shaped. After water away from the already partially dry lip. the lip is completed, the top portion can be force-dried When the walls have been sufficiently thinned, a round with a small butane torch or a hair dryer; this leaves the bottom is formed by collaring to a close. A wooden rib is bottom soft and more plastic for pulling. When the top is employed to refine the shape before adding surface deco­ leather hard, a small coil of clay is attached inside the lip ration or attaching handles. The pot is then set aside to for support and to keep the inverted pot from slipping on dry normally. the wheel head. After cutting the form from the bat, another plaster The author Ceramist Wayne R. Anderson attended bat is placed on top of the pot. Slid carefully to the edge graduate school at Brigham Young University, Provo, of the wheel, the pot and plaster bats are clasped between Utah, and presently lives in Conrad, Montana. Photos: Paul Hallgren and the author

1. A form is thrown and quickly 2. The stiffened pot is inverted dried with a torch. on another plaster bat.

3. Attached with clay wads, the 4. The bottom is closed, then The finished pot is foot of the form is thrown. smoothed with a rib. 21 inches in height. 58 Ceramics Monthly Lukman Glasgow’s Clouds

New work by California ceramist Lukman Glasgow was exhibited recently at the Jacqueline Anhalt Gallery, Los Angeles. In a fitting simile for urban California, Lukman developed the images from an abstract concept of tire tracks as clouds. Arranged in groups of three or four to indicate “generations” of the work’s evolution, the con­ cave disks were fired repeatedly. After firing for gold, platinum and copper lusters on the glazed surface, Luk­ man added blue, green, red or yellow iridescent lusters. In reviewing the show, Elaine Levin commented, “The simplification of tire tread patterns into chevrons interests Clay disk, 20 inches in diameter, with lusters; tire Lukman more than the image’s meaning as a footprint of tread units appear to assemble themselves as clouds, a modern civilization. Although his work has turned toward house or other landscape features. abstraction, the familiar streak of pop art humor remains. The tread units appear to assemble themselves into a Clay disk, whiteware, 20 inches in diameter, with childlike drawing of house, ground and cloud.” copper, platinum and colored lusters. Photos: courtesy of Jacqueline Anhalt Gallery at least twice as much as buying the equivalent in dry materials and adding water, so some kind of clay proces­ Modify a Cement Mixer sor makes good business sense. A Sears backyard cement mixer, which sells for $330 for Processing Clay (with motor), can be altered to process clay satisfactorily. It will not mix clay as fast or as thoroughly as the blade byR ay Bub and Susan Nykiel mixers, nor will it efficiently blend clay powder with slip or dried clay chunks, but it does produce good quality clay with vastly less time and effort than hand methods. Pairing this Sears mixer with a pug mill will yield good clay efficiently. (Given the choice, it is wiser to invest in a good pug mill before an expensive clay mixer.) Of As artists we need to control the entire pottery-making course, one doesn’t have to have a pug mill too—it just process, from mixing raw materials to firing the kiln; shortens the time and effort required. as a small business, we want to minimize expenditures. To adapt the cement mixer for clay processing, first Mixing clay from dry materials helps us toward both unbolt and remove the four mortar-mixing blades. (Clay goals. In addition, we can feel secure in knowing that would cake on these and not blend evenly.) Seal the two each batch has been formulated and measured correctly. top holes with nuts, bolts, and washers—they are too close The best clay processing machines commercially avail­ to the mouth of the drum to help in the mixing process. able to the studio potter range from $1500-$2000. These Then bolt three }4-inch, threaded rods through the other blade mixers efficiently blend 250-300 pounds of dry six blade-mounting holes with nuts and washers both materials with water to produce good quality clay, but inside and outside the wall of the drum; tighten the nuts the purchase price is often out of reach, and they do not securely so the rod can’t rub on the drum and enlarge the eliminate the necessity of pugging or wedging to blend hole. The drum will not leak, and we have had to replace and de-air the clay for throwing or handbuilding. Buying only one rod in six years due to breakage. Experiment premixed, pugged clay from a supplier will normally cost with the placement of the rods to find the best pattern for

Above A backyard cement mixer can be altered to ptocess clay satisfactorily. The four mortar-mixing blades are removed and the two top holes sealed with nuts, bolts and washers. Right Three l/±-inch, threaded rods are bolted through the other six blade-mounting holes, with nuts and washers both inside and outside the wall of the drum. The nuts are tightened securely so the rods won't rub on the drum and enlarge the holes. 60 Ceramics Monthly cutting and blending clay lumps as the drum turns. The wall. Replace the dust lid, then immediately start the machine can easily handle a dry measure of 100 pounds motor again and ease the drum to an almost horizontal when processing the following recipe: position for several revolutions. After the clay has tumbled for three minutes (or until it is thoroughly wet), you can Oak Bluffs Stoneware Clay (Cone 11) remove the dust lid to watch the mixing process. Move Custer Feldspar...... 10 pounds the clay mass back and forth over the cutting rods by Cedar Heights Goldart Clay...... 56 raising and lowering the handle as the drum turns. The Georgia Kaolin (6 Tile Clay) ...... 10 longer the wet clay tumbles, the better, but ten minutes PBX Fireclay ...... 10 is normally sufficient for one batch. Soft throwing con­ Tennessee Ball Clay (5) ...... 10 sistency corresponds with the formation of grapefruit­ Flint (200 Mesh) ...... 2 sized or larger balls of clay. If you do not have a pug mill, Grog (20 Mesh to Fine) ...... 2 you will want to mix the batch more thoroughly. 100 pounds Clay can be spilled a bagful at a time directly onto Make a dust lid for the mouth of the drum and wear heavy plastic laid in front of the mixer. We spill the clay a respirator to dry mix the clay. Tumble for three minutes into a garden cart while the drum is turning, then wheel or so, holding the drum at an angle just above that where the cart to the pug mill. Although we immediately pug the batch would spill. Turn off the motor. Tilt the drum the freshly mixed clay to more completely blend the upright so the clay settles in the bottom. Add 25-30 particles and water, hand wedging achieves the same pounds of water (27.5 pounds for a softer-than-throwing result. After pugging or wedging, store the clay in heavy- consistency). The water should be weighed since it won’t duty garbage bags in a warm place for at least a week, or mix in easily after the initial input—mix clay a little wet preferably a month, to age it. The warmth will encourage to aid in the aging process. bacteria to migrate throughout the clay, thus increasing Adding the water correctly is the key to mixing con­ plasticity. secutive batches conveniently without having wet clay caked on the sides of the drum. Pour the water into the The authors Ceramists Ray Bub and Susan Nykiel main­ center of the dry clay, taking care not to wet the metal tain Oak Bluffs Cottage Pottery in Pownal, Vermont.

Above The ingredients are dry mixed for about three minutes with the drum mouth slightly raised. Then the motor is turned off and the drum righted. Water is poured directly into the center of the clay, the motor turned on and the drum eased to an almost horizontal position, mixing for approximately ten minutes. Right Proper consistency is achieved when the clay forms grapefruit-sized balls . January 1981 61 Photos: courtesy of Meyer Breier Weiss Gallery 62 C Introductions ’80 es Gley s at f Itoutos 8, te eighth the ’80,” “Introductions of part as Gallery Weiss nul iywd ehbto o wr b nw aet spon­ talent new by work of sored bytheSanFranciscoArtDealersAssociation. exhibition city-wide annual E ole, ooao ws etrd eety t ee Breier Meyer at recently featured was Colorado, Boulder, arthenware Gallery ownerDorothyWeisscommentedthatoneof eramics M onthly sculpture

y ly rit en Smith, Dean artist clay by f ly n te rwh f aua frs . . h support­ The . . . forms. natural of growth the and clay of h hlo vses ugs a eeal o futie out­ fruitlike or vegetable a suggest g vessels hollow the lump a from object an paral­ of draw to transformation “is the work between Smith’s Dean lels in aims primary the n eeet peet eeecs o nmlsi frs while forms, animalistic to references present elements ing rowth ofananimatedsupportsystem. Above Pod” 14inchesin height, byDeanSmith Flyer” 33inches in 27 inchesinheight. Left “American Far left height. “Caterpillar “Whirlwind ”

. Functional Potters

Six self-supporting Midwest potters were invited recently bisque in an electric kiln and glaze fire in an 80-cubic- to exhibit at the Charles A. Wustum Museum of Fine Arts foot, downdraft, propane kiln. in Racine, Wisconsin. While sharing the commonality of Sandra and Winthrop Byers of Middleton, Wisconsin, studio life, each works and markets in a different manner. wholesale approximately eighty percent of their work to Prior to the opening, exhibitors received black-and-white shops and galleries, and retail the remainder at art fairs; film to photograph home, studio and kiln situations. Five very little is sold at home. Sandy works in porcelain and of these images were selected to represent each studio, Win in stoneware; together they fire in the Madison and were enlarged for display with the exhibition. Potter’s Guild’s 45-cubic-foot, downdraft, gas kiln. Most of the stoneware and porcelain pots produced by Hanover, Michigan, potter Yosuke Haruta works in Patrick Dressier and Mary Weisgram, Ogden, Iowa, are stoneware and fires a 100-cubic-foot, downdraft, propane sold at their home (in biannual sales), but some are mar­ keted at three galleries and approximately eight art fairs Vase, 3 inches in height, wheel-thrown, cut porcelain, (from May through December). They mix their own clay, by Sandra Byers, Middleton, Wisconsin.

January 1981 63 Winthrop Byers adds incised decoration to a stoneware platter in his Middleton, Wisconsin, studio.

For shipping, the Byerses wrap each pot in six paper The pots of Patrick Dressier and Mary Weisgram line sheets, pack the container and float it in another box. the ware racks of their studio in Ogden, Iowa.

Patrick Dressier3s and Mary Weis gram's decorating and glazing tools.

64 Ceramics Monthly Above With potter Donna More, Rosalyn Tyge cuts Below Hanover, Michigan, potter Yosuke Haruta fires gas pipe for her new kiln in Traverse City, Michigan. in a triangular-shelved, 100-cubic-foot, downdraft kiln.

Rosalyn Tyge’s studio is a 28- x 32-foot frame structure with a separate concrete block kiln building.

Yosuke Haruta completes handbuilt additions to a series of wheel-thrown, stoneware vases. January 1981 65 kiln. He sells about one-third of his ware in his shop at home, one-third at art fairs and the rest through museums and galleries. While Rosalyn Tyge, Traverse City, Michigan, sells most of her work at art fairs and a few gallery shows, she also wholesales to shops around the country. Rosalyn throws with a Grolleg kaolin porcelain body, and bisque fires in an electric kiln. Ware is glaze fired once a month to a high Cone 10 in her recently constructed 100-cubic- foot, downdraft gas kiln.

Above Porcelain plate, 14 inches in diameter, thrown, slip trailed, with iron and cobalt brushwork, airbrushed copper carbonate, by Rosalyn Tyge. Left Porcelain vase, 12 inches in height, thrown, with cobalt and iron slip brushwork, by Rosalyn Tyge.

66 Ceramics Monthly Selecting a Potter’s Financial Adviser byB ernard B. Eder

When you decide you need a finan­ quently, it may be difficult to engage proficiencies—company and personal. cial adviser, how do you find one and one to handle the level of work gener­ How are returns prepared, by hand what attributes should you seek? Howated by the average craftsperson. Peo­ or by computer? Does the accountant do you actually employ someone, de­ ple who call themselves “financial “stand in” for clients at IRS exami­ termine fees or services? consultants” usually confer this title nations? Are tax matters handled There are two types of business upon themselves without any stan­ ultra-conservatively to keep the gov­ advisers—specialists and generalists. dard of competence noted. They can ernment off your back or so aggres­ Specialists have mastered one particu­ be very good ... or otherwise. Finan­ sively that you might suffer during an lar phase of business expertise, such as cial help may also be sought from the investigation? Neither extreme would insurance, estate planning, data pro­ Small Business Administration, which be good for your peace of mind. cessing, finance, systems analysis/in­ maintains (within its Service Corps of Also consider technical competence. stallation, various types of engineer­ Retired Executives program) a cadre Does the accountant spend enough ing, advertising, marketing or funds of professionals who are available to time keeping up on the latest develop­ management. These people should be small business ventures. While they ments in business/finance? Does the called upon when a special situation may lack formal advisory training, firm put out any newsletter or other arises, one that demands a very high they can bring a wealth of practical technical data sheet to give you some degree of current knowledge of a experience to bear on many situations. idea of new IRS philosophy, current particular subject. While tax expertise Referrals from one of the specialists changes in financial methods, and falls into this category, it is such a you may already deal with—youruseful tips in handling your records diverse topic that it could be listed banker, insurance agent, lawyer—can (such as when to destroy old rec­ under either category ... as could help you find a qualified adviser. ords) ? Are the recommendations legal counsel. Other potters who are willing to given in problem situations practical The generalists, on the other hand, share their accountant with you are (and legal) ? Vocational competence usually are conversant with all of the perhaps the best source of talent since is as important as any of the attributes above as well as being very adept at you share a common environment, you can require from an adviser. one or two specific subjects; many and once an accountant has covered If an accountant doesn’t broach the accountants qualify for this job. Ac­ the ground with a client, he has that subject of fees, bring it up. Ask about countants, by the way, come in vari­ much more experience at hand when hourly rates for each level of staff. Be ous grades—certified, registered, pub­ taking on another in the same field. assured that you will not pay for a lic—but the grade does not assure And, of course, there are always list­ higher degree of talent than is neces­ proficiency. Usually a certified public ings in the yellow pages. sary for your type of work; routine accountant (CPA) has had the train­ In any event, you should contact work could probably be given to an ing and internship to master many the prospective accountant and ar­ assistant (at a substantially lower areas of knowledge, passed a national range a meeting. Be frank: indicate rate). Try not to pin down a total exam and has been licensed by a state you are looking for an adviser who amount for the job. Most profes­ to perform up to set standards. Non- will devote the necessary time to your sionals pad such an estimate to cover certified accountants may have many affairs. Ask for possible references possible unexpected problems, and or all of the same talents, but have from clients within the same craft. you could wind up paying a higher not qualified for licensing for various Think long and hard before putting bill for routine work just because you reasons. Many also belong to the Na­ your affairs in the hands of an ac­ wanted to set a total. You can ask for tional Society of Public Accountants, countant who works alone; no one a guess with the assurance that you which requires members to meet min­ can be all things to all people. In­ understand the quoted fee is just to imum standards and adhere to rules stead, it may be more advisable to give you some idea of the possible of professional conduct. For most clay look for a partnership or group amount should there be no hitches. business needs, a qualified non-CPA with several practitioners that main­ Also get squared away on how the accountant should suffice, but a certi­tains various grades of staff—junior fee will be billed: once at the com­ fied public accountant should be con­ through senior accountants. You pletion of the job, or monthly for the sidered in critical situations. might also check their computer portion of the job that has been com­ The certified financial planner skills. While data processing may not pleted to date? Or will you receive a (CFP) is another top-flight adviser be necessary in your current circum­“progress billing” of a set amount who also must pass an exam that tests stances, the commercial world will each month (similar to a retainer) expertise in financial matters. How­ probably be completely computerized until the end of the job, when the ever, there are only about 2000 CFPs in the near future. If your adviser hasbill will be adjusted up or down to who have qualified under the rules of the requisite data processing skills, conform to the hours worked? the College for Financial Planning you will not be left behind during When the decision is reached to and they are in demand. Conse­ the conversion period. Probe tax Continued January 1981 67 68 Ceramics Monthly Financial Adviser actually hire someone, ask for an “engagement letter.” While this is not a contract, it does spell out responsi­ bilities and compensation for your on­ going reference. During the tenure of the engage­ ment you must constantly evaluate performance. Is your accountant readily available? If not, does a part­ ner or staff member contact you to offer service? Do telephone calls end up as “call backs” that very seldom materialize on the same day? Expect calls to be returned within a reason­ able time, as well as quick action on proposals. Besides having a good grip on your business affairs, your adviser should be able to counsel you in most of your financial affairs—buying a home, in­ vestments for personal estate (stocks, tax shelters), family gifts/trusts, es­ tate planning, how to best handle such family crises as death, divorce and terminal illness. Can you communicate as friends? When you discuss a specific problem, does your adviser see it in the same context as you? Many accountants have very rigid ideas of how business should be conducted and do not hesi­ tate to foist them on their clients. This makes it easy for the accoun­ tant’s firm to service all clients on a mutual basis, but does not allow for individuality or peculiarity of circum­ stance. Studio potters, for example, can spend a considerable amount of time educating themselves after they are out of school. If the accountant feels that “business” people should not devote so much time to training, such expenditures may be discour­ aged. If you can’t get a sympathetic ear, the whole relationship could fall apart. Your financial adviser should be­ come one of your closest business associates. The time spent employing someone is just as important as that of developing new glazes or mixing clay to the right consistency. The relationship should be ongoing, con­ stantly under review and evaluation. The author A Saint Louis resident, Bernard B. Eder is a certified public accountant in Clayton, Missouri. January 1981 69 70 Ceramics Monthly News 8c Retrospect Maryann Fariello Registration and accommodation infor­ created in the last three years by Rudy “Waiting for the Muse and Other mation may be obtained by writing: Don Autio, Val Cushing, William Daley, Rich­ Pieces,” a solo exhibition of porcelain work Gauthier, NCECA program chairman, ard DeVore, Ken Ferguson, Michael by Tennessee clay artist Maryann Fariello, Wichita State University, Wichita, Kansas Frimkess, John Glick, Karen Karnes, War­ Alexandria, was featured recently at the 67208, or by calling: (316) 689-3560. ren MacKenzie, Jerry Rothman, Paul Centennial Art Center in Nashville. De- Soldner, Rudolph Staffel, Susanne Steph- Rexford Brown Ceramic sculpture by recent M.F.A. graduate Rexford Brown (Glen Echo Heights, Maryland) was exhibited in the “Summer Show” at the Cranbrook Art Academy Museum in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Constructed by forming sewer-

“ Winged, Tiles” signed for insetting on a tile or brick wall as groupings or scattered randomly to sug­ gest birds in flight, the “Winged Tiles,” Val Cushing shown, each 4 inches square, were cast enson, Toshiko Takaezu, Robert Turner with deflocculated porcelain and air- and Betty Woodman. brushed with cobalt slip. Photo: Bobby Shown above from the exhibition is Shatz. “Acorn Roll Top Jar,” approximately 12 inches in height, thrown stoneware, by Val NCECA Conference Cushing, Alfred University ceramics pro­ The 1981 National Council on Educa­ fessor. Also shown is a porcelain vase, tion for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) con­ approximately 7 ½ inches in height, by ference will be held at the Century II Sewer-pipe clay sculpture Rudolph Staffel, Tyler School of Art pro­ Convention Center in downtown Wichita, pipe clay around aluminum tubes, the fessor emeritus. Kansas, March 25-28. The group consists works (including bases) range from 9 to “If one could summarize the change in mainly of college ceramic art teachers and 13 feet in height. After removing the pottery that created a new aesthetic,” students, but studio potters, interested ce­ aluminum tubes, the leather-hard clay was commented Garth Clark, “it might be said ramists and those in associated fields are cut or broken into sections. Salt glazed at welcome and encouraged to attend. Cone 1, the sculptures were reassembled Victor Papanek, chairman of the design by sliding the sections over steel rods department, Kansas City Art Institute, anchored in concrete pedestals. will deliver the keynote address. Other lectures will be presented by British studio potter Michael Cardew; J. V. G. Mallet, Contemporary Pots Tour curator of ceramics at the Victoria and “The Contemporary American Potter: Albert Museum (London) ; Robert Stross- New Vessels,” an exhibition of work by ner, curator of New World Art at the artists who helped develop a new pottery Denver Art Museum; and Charles Zug, aesthetic after World War II, began a professor of folklore at the University of two-year national tour at Washington North Carolina. Scheduled to receive hon­ State University in Pullman last fall. Cu­ orary membership awards are Ruth Duck­ rated by ceramic historian Garth Clark worth, Ken Ferguson and John Mason. for the original, larger exhibition at the Included in conference exhibitions are University of Northern Iowa, the show a Cardew retrospective, European majo­ was developed for circulation by the lica, Early American stoneware, pre-Co­ Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibi­ lumbian Costa Rican ceramics and the tion Service (SITES), and traces the ceramics collection of the Wichita Art gamut of functional and nonfunctional Association. Also shown will be work by philosophies, drawing together 54 works past presidents of NCECA, the NCECA Rudy Staffel student invitational, an outdoor ceramic Send news and photos about people, sculpture exhibit and “Interiors-Exteriors,” places or events of interest. We will be that American potters were the first in the a juried exhibition. pleased to consider them for publication West to again learn to trust their bodies. Additional plans include two-day work­ As Peter Voulkos explained: ‘The clay in this column. Send items to: News & moves. One must learn to dance with it.’ shops by studio potters Clary Illian and Retrospect, Ceramics Monthly, P.O. Graham Marks, along with technical pre­ Box 12448, Columbus, Ohio 43212. They introduced a direct physical response sentations and a commercial display. Continued January 1981 71 News & Retrospect and spontaneity of gesture that had been missing from Western ceramics for several centuries. “The maker of functional ware who aspires to be an artist is one of our most vulnerable and valuable creators. It is through the work of these makers that we learn to feel good form with our bodies, and experience the medium in terms of daily intimacy. The functional potter is able to search for the mysteries of expres­ sion which industry must exclude. The potter provides a source of ritual that can awaken our sensitivity to art through use. Good industrial wares have an ease and efficiency — a functionalism — which can make contact with them bland and thoughtless. In ritual pottery, rational de­ sign considerations become irrelevant. This exhibition includes several examples of what might be termed good function, but poor design, at least in the industrial sense. Through the form, the potter creates a new ritual.”Photos: Terry A. Collins. Jan Richardson A solo exhibition of thrown vessels and clay drawings by ceramist Jan Richardson was featured recently at Grand Valley State Colleges in Allendale, Michigan. Slabs for the drawings were made by pour­ ing deflocculated slip into a wood frame on a plaster slab. With fingers, the slip was spread evenly to a *4-inch depth. When dry enough to lift—but still flexible —the slabs were flipped onto a newspaper- covered board. Additional slabs were at­ tached in a collage/constructivist manner and designs were incised. After drying slowly, the clay drawings were stacked on edge (supported by bricks) for bisque firing to Cone 06 in an electric kiln. Com­ mercial stains and colorant oxides were

“Dancing Dreams” applied with an airbrush over masked areas; patterns were also colored with un­ derglaze pencils and crayons, and the forms were fired to Cone 04 in oxidation. Following final touches with colored pen­ cils, the drawings were sprayed with a fixative, then made ready for hanging by attaching a wire with epoxy. Shown from the exhibition is “Dancing Dreams,” 19 inches in width. Also from 72 Ceramics Monthly the exhibition, the stoneware vase, below, 14 inches in height, is one of the artist’s “just this once . . .” cylinder series. Thrown, incised and altered while wet,

Incised, and altered stoneware vessel the vessels were bisqued, then colored with sprayed oxides and stains. Additional de­ signs were applied with underglaze crayons and pencils, and the forms fired from Cone 04 to Cone 8. Photos: Thatcher Studio. Artweek Boston Approximately 500 artists opened their studios last October for “Artweek Boston 1980.” First organized in 1978 to present the diversity and quality of regional arts, the nine-day event was a community effort,

Clay Dragon Studio supported by museums, galleries and arts organizations. Individual studios (Clay Dragon is shown above) were located on maps distributed free throughout the area, listing artists and programs, studio tours,

“Janitor Towels” demonstrations, hands-on workshops and exhibitions. Clay works shown at Gallery NAGA included “Janitor Towels,” 6 feet Continued January 1981 73 News & Retrospect in length, slab-built porcelain with nylon fibers, by Jod Lourie, Cambridge. As a marketing experiment to encour­ age buyers, “Art Money,” a special cur­ rency, was issued prior to the event by Artweek Boston. Purchased at an incentive discount of 20% toward potential sales, unspent Art Money could be counted as a tax deductible contribution to the Artists’ Foundation. Results of the Art Money pro­ gram and its effect on sales are currently inconclusive. Artifacts Shown Pre-Columbian ceramics, acquired by Edward H. Dwight (director emeritus) for the museum’s Proctor collection since 1962, were recently exhibited at the Munson- Williams-Proctor Institute Museum of Art,

Pre-Columbian infant figure Utica, New York. Among the clay artifacts shown was an Olmec seated infant figure, 16 inches in height, dating from 1200- 900 B.C. John Cullen In a recent one-man show at California State University, Los Angeles, sculptor/ painter John Cullen presented 13 stone-

“ Acceptance” ware objects. Equipped with a variety of sticks, canvas-covered boards and dowel rods to roll, pound and push the solid forms, John worked with various clay bodies—usually composed of available

74 Ceramics Monthly scraps and sewer-pipe clay. Shown from the exhibition is “Acceptance,” 12½ inches in height, crude clay pierced with granite. During the three to four weeks of dry­ ing, a light film of soluble salts formed on the surfaces, emphasizing and defining the texture. In this way, the clay became both canvas and paint; color came from within, not from applied oxides or washes. In alternate periods of oxidation and reduc­ tion, the thoroughly dried solid sculptures were single fired for five to seven days to Cone 3-4. By working with natural properties of clay, John strives to capture subconscious reflections, creating personal images of the surrounding world.Text: Tom Akashi. Margaret Keelan Concerned with “expressing the various, often subtle and contradictory, qualities that form human personality,” Margaret Keelan, Oakland artist, presented hand- built porcelain figures in a recent exhibi­ tion at A Gallery-Anna Gardner, Stinson Beach, California. Her work, such as the torso shown, 21 inches in height, depicts women without arms, legs or eyes. “The

Porcelain torso posture is passive but the position of the mouth suggests motion or tension, possibly an attempt to speak,” Margaret com­ mented. To produce effects to translate her ideas, Margaret uses porcelain, sanding the clay before and after firing to achieve “a smooth, cool, flesh- or marble-like qual­ ity. Another effect results from pouring slip over the bone-dry figure; the slip, as it dries, shrinks to form a network of fine Continued January 1981 75 February 15-27 A session in handbuilding Box 1020, Banff T0L 0C0, or call: (403) Itinerary with Norman Schulman. College credits 762-3391. Continued from. Page 22 available for all sessions. Contact: Arrow­ Krohn, includes airbrush techniques, Cone mont School, Box 567, Gatlinburg 37738, Canada, Ontario, St. Catharines January 6 oxidation firing, and solar use. or call: (615) 436-5860. 1-31 “Explorations Within a Lanscape,” April 25-26 “Low Fire Sculptural Ceram­ an exhibition of porcelain works by Robin ics,” a lecture/demonstration in handbuild- Vermont, MiddleburyFebruary 23-27 A Hopper; at Rodman Hall Arts Centre. ing, airbrushing and casting techniques 5-day session for advanced potters with with Patti Warashina. For both events con­ Karen Karnes. For additional information Canada, Ontario, StratfordJanuary 9-30 tact: Oregon School of Arts and Crafts, contact: Vermont State Craft Center at “Fireworks 1980,” an exhibition by mem­ 8245 Southwest Barnes Road, Portland Frog Hollow, Middlebury 05753, or call: bers of the Ontario Potters Association; at 97225, or call: (503) 297-5544. (802) 388-4871. the Gallery. Pennsylvania, Elkins ParkFebruary 10-11 Canada, Quebec, Montreal January 8-31 The Tyler School of Art is offering a 2-day A multimedia exhibition which includes presentation in ceramic art with Amanda International porcelain by Ingrid Nicolai; at the Centre Jaffee and Ken Little. Contact: Robert Australia, SydneyMay 17-23 The 2nd des Arts Visuels, 350 Avenue Victoria. Winokur, Temple University, Tyler School Australian Ceramic Conference for Pot­ England, Bath through February 22 A of Art, Beech and Penrose Ave., Elkins ters; at Seymour Centre and the Univer­ retrospective exhibition of ceramic works Park 19126, or call: (215) 224-7575. sity of Sydney. Michael Cardew will give by Katharine Pleydell-Bouverie; at the the keynote address. Fee: $96. Registration Holburne Museum, University of Bath, Pennsylvania, PhiladelphiaApril 1-2 The deadline: March 31. Contact: The Pot­ Great Pulteney Street. Philadelphia College of Art plans a 2-day ter’s Society of Australia, 48 Burton Street, presentation in ceramic art with Dave Darlinghurst, N.S.W. 2010, or call: (02) England, Oxford January 5-February 4 Nelson and George Timock. Contact: Bill 31 3151. An exhibition of ceramics by Judith Gil- Daley, Philadelphia College of Art, Broad mour; at Oxford Gallery, 23 High Street. and Spruce Streets, Philadelphia 19102, or Canada, Alberta, Banff February 8-28 call: (215) 893-3100. The Banff Centre School of Management The Netherlands, Leeuwarden through is planning a three-week seminar entitled January 4 “Jan Oosterman: A Retrospec­ Tennessee, Gatlinburg January 18-Febru- “Management Development for Arts Ad­ tive Exhibition of His Ceramic Work”; at ary 27 The Arrowmont School of Arts and ministrators.” The session will include in­ the Gemeentelijk Museum Het Princesse- Crafts plans a variety of workshops includ­ structions in management principles, mar­ hof, Grote Kerkstraat 11. ing the following: keting, financial management and control, January 18-23 A session in whiteware with organizational behavior, labor relations and West Germany, Ludwigshafen through Verne Funk. the law. For additional information con­ January 4 An exhibition of ceramics by February 15-20 A porcelain workshop with tact: Peter Greene or Frances Jackson, Gerd Knapper; at the Wilhelm Hack Gerry Williams. The Banff Centre School of Management, Museum.

76 Ceramics Monthly News & Retrospect cracks. For color, acrylic paint rather than glaze is applied after firing the form to Cone 9 to accentuate the complexity of the surface.” Ohio Exhibition Thesis work by six graduating ceramics majors at the Columbus College of Art and Design (Ohio) was exhibited recently at the Columbus Museum of Art. Among

Cheryl Glover the clay objects shown were raku-fired slab forms inlaid with colored clay and slip by Fred Borthwick, nerikomi sling-molded pots by Dick lmber , functional thrown porcelain by Valentina Rojo, and large coil- and slab-built earthenware fountains

Susan Konanz by Randall Schwed. Shown from the exhi­ bition is “Bardo (Zone between Lives— Tibetan)” (top), 6 inches in height, a sawdust-fired mask, byCheryl Glover; and “Vine Platter,” 12 inches in width, a coil construction, bySusan Konanz. Connecticut Architectural Clay “Architectural Crafts,” a multimedia exhibition featuring five clay artists, was recently presented at the Creative Arts Workshop, New Haven, before being selected by Art Resources of Connecticut to tour the state through October 1981. Among the show’s ceramic objects are a porcelain washbasin, matching wall piece and three-dimensional tiles, vacuum- Continued January 1981 77 78 Ceramics Monthly News & Retrospect formed from slabs by Richard and Sandra Farrell, East Killingly. Other sets of tiles were produced by Cherrybrook potters Frances Lee Heminway (unglazed porce­ lain fired to Cone 2) and Katherine Pear­ son (black Albany slip-glazed stoneware fired to Cone 10 for a fireplace setting) of

Katherine Pearson Canton Center. Shown above is Kather­ ine’s black stoneware lamp, approximately 20 inches in diameter, coil built and lightly paddled, then burnished. Also in­ cluded in the exhibition are five raku-fired globe-like vessels arranged on a series of pedestals of varying heights as a room divider by Harvey Sadow, Rockville, Mary­ land. Okanagan Pyramid With the feeling that his work has been, for the most part, misplaced in frame houses, offices, shopping centers and hospi­ tals—locations too transient —Zeljko Ku- jundzic began searching for a means to formulate symbols of permanence. He noted that cultures, past or present, placed high value on artistic achievement; that they built cities congruous with nature, yet it is only in North America that there is such difficulty in integrating art with life and architecture. If only technology and building methods could be integrated to create an edifice, regardless of function, that would cradle art forms: “Since my preference is for a pyramid,” stated Zeljko, “that is what I decided to build. “There were a few bureaucratic hurdles in building a 120-foot-high pyramid in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia (Canada). It is quite lawful to bulldoze land (uprooting all the trees and destroy­ ing natural habitats) without a permit as long as one owns the parcel; such aesthet­ ics or ecology are nobody’s concern. But try to alter the landscape with hand tools, minimally interfering with nature by sav­ ing every tree and bush, and building ;Continued January 1981 79 80 Ceramics Monthly News & Retrospect retaining walls, walkways, sculpture court­ yards and a pyramid on an existing mound —then red tape abounds. Since the pyra­ mid is really a ceramics, stone landscaping project, we quietly began in 1976 to carve

Zeljko Kujundzic the terrain little by little, hoping that as the project grows, strong public support will emerge. In fact, the people interested in our progress affectionately call the place “The Temple of the Sun” since solar research will be a part of the project. Visitors have often watched the small workforce (usually two to six people, sel­ dom more than ten) and total strangers have offered their help. “Civilizations have built pyramids as far back as diggings can reveal. The very fact that the technology of building them has been lost, however, seems to add a great deal of mystery to the phenomenon. Actually, enormous weights can be moved without too much effort simply by pivot­ ing. Transferring from one pivot point to another is also possible with some skill and practice, if these points are close enough together so that the balancing act does not require more energy than can be expended by one, or a few people, depending on the size of the load. The initial lifting is achieved by digging under the block or lintel to be raised and supporting it close to the center of gravity, then tilting it by counterweight. Next the weight is sup­ ported with a second pivot point, again close to the center so balancing can be continued to lift or ‘walk’ the object any distance. Moving this weight uphill or down does not take any more effort since the secret is really in keeping the object pinned with gravity to the balancing gear. In this manner at no time is it necessary to have large numbers of people involved in pulling (with brute strength) on rollers and sled in order to move heavy objects any distance. This is probably why his­ torically there is little evidence of any pyramid building implements, except in the imaginations and illustrations of West­ ern writers. “We feel it is time to set new trends in values by erecting, with hand tools only, a nonfunctional structure of ceramic sculp­ ture, cement, rocks and earth that will not only employ innovative/creative design, but test these theories about past tech­ nology. Begun at the top of a hill, the Continued January 1981 81 82 Ceramics Monthly News & Retrospect Okanagan pyramid will continue to take shape down the hillside and should appear as tall as a 12-story building in 15 to 20 years.” Pottery Analysis “Ceramics as Historical Evidence,” an exhibition introducing current research in the analysis of clay objects, is being fea­ tured at the Smithsonian Institution’s Na­ tional Museum of History and Technology, Washington, D.C., through January 31. With examples from the museum’s collec­ tions of American, European and Oriental ceramics, along with pre-Columbian and

16th century Bellarmine jugs Indian pottery, the exhibition examines clay bodies and offers descriptions of glazing and firing techniques adopted by potters at different periods of civilization. Shown are two Bellarmine jugs, 8½ inches in height, salt-glazed stoneware, made in Frechen, Germany, in the mid- 16th century; and a Chinese wine pot, 5½ inches in height, porcelain with styl­ ized animal spout and handles. Visual analysis of the clay object’s sur­ face may reflect the artistic style of the culture and the skill of the artisan, but by

Chinese wine pot examining the ceramic material through samples taken either from a whole vessel or from fragments, the scientific investi­ gators learned more about the potters’ materials and processes employed in glaz- Continued January 1981 83 84 Ceramics Monthly News & Retrospect ing and firing and whether the clay and oxides were native to the area. Such data might be obtained through examination of petrographic photomicrographs (color photo enlargements of sample slivers) in­ cluded in the exhibition to show the mineral structure of the ware as seen through a polarizing microscope. Additional data were provided with an electron microprobe, which aims a con­ trolled and well-defined electron beam on a small sample. Atoms struck by the beam emit X-rays characteristic of specific ele­ ments. These are detected, analyzed and electronically tabulated. One of the more elaborate techniques illustrated in the exhibition was neutron activation analysis. A sample, placed in the nuclear reactor of the National Bureau of Standards, was bombarded with neutrons. The resultant radioactive sample then was measured with a detector which discrimi­ nates among the different radioactive components for a multiple-element analysis. Although art and science may seem widely polarized, the use of sophisticated equipment and scientific procedures put science in the service of art, and will add immensely to the accuracy of the historical record, helping future artists understand the past. Mary Jo Keller Earthenware and porcelain forms by Colorado potter Mary Jo Keller were presented in a September show at the Artisans’ Center in Denver. Inspired by traditional crafts, the artist is particularly interested in surface decoration, deriving most of her designs from floral shapes. Matisse-like earthenware platters were brushed with lines of bright, thick under­ glaze as background for stenciled floral

“Hawaiiana Platter” graphics. Shown from the exhibition is “Hawaiiana Platter,” 18 inches in length, slump molded, with blue, grape, green and rose underglaze. The artist’s functional porcelain ware was splashed (while wet) with slips tinted by adding rutile, chrome, cobalt, copper or iron oxides. Some were carved to reveal the white clay body. After bisque firing, the functional porcelain pots were then glazed and fired to Cone 11. A full-time potter and plant manager of the Denver Potters Guild, Mary Jo feels “it is important to keep the craft heritage Continued January 1981 85 86 Ceramics Monthly News & Retrospect alive in a changing modern world. Art is one of the most important ways we have of looking inward to the human spirit, and of looking outward to enrich our lives and environment.” Text: Kathi Dunn. Technical Innovations Ceramics produced with energy-efficient methods and renewable or alternate energy sources provided the theme for “Technical Innovations in Metal and Clay,” a four- day conference held in conjunction with a juried exhibition of work influenced by these approaches at Rhode Island College, Providence, earlier last year. The event began with a wet firing par­ ticipatory workshop conducted by Gerry Williams, Goffstown, New Hampshire. By adding Kaowool and sand to a raku clay body, Gerry showed that it is possible to fire ware immediately after throwing or construction, but stated that this process will not work if the surface of the pot has dried at all. During the first day, a two-chambered kiln was built: the lower (hotter) cham­ ber was for glaze firing, while the upper

Gerry Williams chamber was for bisquing the wet ware. From a propane burner the flame entered the kiln floor, through an opening near the rear, into the glaze chamber. Proceed­ ing through the kiln in an S-curve, the heat then traveled up the back, into the bisque chamber and finally out the front near the door. Wet pots were placed in the preheated kiln (at approximately 1500°F) and bisque fired in about 15-20 minutes; the object was removed, allowed to cool, Continued January 1981 87 88 Ceramics Monthly News & Retrospect glazed and reinserted in the kiln (when the glaze had dried) for firing up to Cone 5. There are some limitations on the shapes which can be produced since the object must be picked up with tongs while still damp. On the third day of the conference, five kilns were fired with alternative, renew­ able or recycled fuels. Conferees, who had worked with Gerry for two days wet firing ware, continued to produce wet pots for firing in the charcoal-, coke- and oil-fueled raku kilns. The coke-fired kiln was built and fired by Jay LaCouture, Woonsocket, Rhode Is-

Coke-fired kiln land. Constructed on a 32-inch-square concrete block base—dotted lines in the drawing (below) indicate the first layer—

Kiln floor with refractory saggar hardbrick—serves as the kiln floor. Walls were built of insulating firebrick, with four opposing air ports left in the first two courses. A 12-inch-square refractory sag­ gar, open at the front, was placed in the center of the kiln on 4 ½ -inch-high posts

Kiln door positioned at the four saggar corners to promote cross draft. Constructed of five Continued January 1981 89 90 C eramics Monthly News & Retrospect insulating brick (page 89), the door was held under tension between ½-inch angle iron and ¾-inch threaded rod. In the initial stages of firing, flame leaped high as Jay ignited the coke (be­ low) ; then quieted down to a softly burn-

Jay LaCouture, coke firing ing fire that lasted approximately 3 hours without further fuel additions. Kiln shelves, refractory fiber board or metal plate were suggested as kiln roofing materials; a 1½- inch flue opening was left at the top front to route the draft in that direction, thus compensating for heat loss in loading and unloading ware from the saggar. (The flue can be damped down with a few firebrick if necessary.) Pots were preheated around the top edge of the kiln to help lessen the heat shock when placed in the saggar. Once the kiln reached temperature (approxi­ mately one hour) raku firings lasted about 30 minutes each. At the end of the day the kiln was shut down and the air ports were bricked to prevent hot embers or slag from falling out of the firebox. Tom Morrissey, Cranston, Rhode Is­ land, demonstrated firing a raku kiln with waste sump oil (obtained and saved from changing oil in his car) in a simple burner based on a fixative sprayer and compressed air. Former RIC students Dana Tremblay and Lucinda Mellor fired another recy­ cled fuel kiln to Cone 5. Based on the sawdust injection system developed by Lowell Baker (see CM, September 1977), this kiln had a self-feeding mechanism and a larger blower than the one Lowell fires for raku. The firebox was preheated to 1000°F by stoking with wood, then was bricked up around the 4-inch-diameter pipe through which the sawdust was in­ jected. Since the kiln was preheated, the sawdust burned immediately; surplus ash fell on the glazed pots, producing inter­ esting surface effects. With success limited by the amount of available sunlight, a solar kiln was pow­ ered by a 5-foot-diameter parabolic focus­ ing collector. The front surface of the kiln was placed at the focal point; the opening covered with quartz glass (capable of with- Continued January 1981 91 92 Ceramics Monthly News & Retrospect standing temperatures up to 2000°F) helps to maintain heat in the chamber. Concluding the conference, panelists dis­ cussed energy efficiency. While stressing the importance of perfect combustion to realize the fuel’s heat potential, Malcolm Wright, Westboro, Vermont, compared the benefits of firing with burners which have blowers and those which depend on gas pressure for air intake. “Burning carbon to carbon monoxide gives off only 4000 Btu’s per pound; burning carbon com­ pletely to carbon dioxide gives 14000 Btu’s per pound,” he explained. Gerry Williams summarized thoughts on the “energy crisis,” its reality and the need for conservation. He suggested that we stop burning oil; that we think in terms of renewable energy; as well as soft energy— solar, wind, wood, and vegetable (meth­ ane) fuels; that as artists and craftspeople our primary concern should be to develop innovative and intuitive firing processes. Text: Harriet Brisson, Photos: Leonard Hardisty, Tom Morrissey. Duane Ewing Work by California sculptor Duane Ewing, Sebastopol, was featured recently in “Ceramics/Beyond Pottery” at the Glenys Gallery in Santa Rosa. Shown

“Stone Mandala” from the exhibition are two carved white- ware forms: “Stone Mandala,” above, 15 inches in diameter, low-fired with enamels; and “Spiral Galaxy with Surgically Re-

Carved whiteware form moved Portion Missing,” 15 inches in di­ ameter, low-fired with pointillistically ap­ plied underglazes. January 1981 93 94 Ceramics Monthly Technical Zinc Borate and the Bristol Glaze by Wait Diffley

Zinc oxide glazes were originally inves­ thus are usually fritted (to make them tigated in Bristol, England, to replace lead relatively insoluble) before use in glaze which had become a health hazard in the formulations. pottery industry, and to produce middle- Several manufacturers offer frits con­ temperature glazes in the range of Cone 2 taining substantial quantities of zinc oxide (2129°F) to Cone 6 (2246°F). The re­ and B 0 , such as frits P-1A43 and 1-A44 sultant Bristol glaze with zinc oxide as the (Pemco)9 3and frit 3824 (Ferro). principal flux had many desirable proper­ In comparing the cost of zinc borate to ties, such as hardness, improved opacity high-zinc/boron frits containing a number and less crazing. But it also presented the of auxiliary materials such as soda, mag­ drawback of high viscosity when melted, nesia, calcia and flint, zinc borate prices making it subject to crawling, pitting and may be higher. The compound’s cost com­ pinholing. Bristol glazes also gave poor pares most favorably to frits that are pre­ color tone with certain oxides. As a result dominantly zinc and boron. of these limitations and with the improved My investigation of zinc borate as a availability of frits, the primary use of the glaze ingredient included preparation and Bristol glaze has been on commercial tile firing of gloss, matt, clear and opaque and pipe. recipes in the Cone 4-6 range. Additional In 1970, zinc borate (marketed as Fire- tests were made of the color responses of brake ZB) was developed by the U.S. several oxides and blends of oxides when Borax Research Corporation for use in mixed with zinc borate glazes. fire-retardant polymer plastic. Its formula Glazes were fired with zinc borate con­ is 2ZnO • 3B 0 • 5H 0; the material’s tent ranging from 10 to 40%. Satisfactory specifications are: 2 3 2 results were obtained at both of these extremes but it appears that it is not ZnO ...... 37.45% necessary to exceed 20% zinc borate to B2O3 ...... 48.05 obtain a clear gloss Cone 6 glaze, and H26 ...... 14.50 satisfactory Cone 6 matt glazes were for­ 100.00% mulated with as little as 10%. Formula Weight...... 434.66 The following formulations appear to Color ...... White give a good glaze fit on iron-bearing clay Refractive Index ...... 1.58 maturing at Cone 5 and also on a white Particle Size ...... 325 Mesh stoneware body: Clear Gloss Glaze(Cone 5-6) This borate is virtually insoluble in water Dolomite ...... 5.0% below 100°F and is sparingly soluble at Whiting ...... 10.0 higher temperatures. Zinc Borate...... 22.5 From these statistics, it appears zinc Custer Feldspar ...... 30.0 borate has properties that should be useful Calcined Kaolin...... 12.5 in formulating ceramic glazes by providing Flint ...... 20.0 a virtually insoluble source of2O 3 B in a 100.0% refined chemical product. Gaining through Empirical formula: B203 the benefit of an additional flux and 0.11 K 0 0.34 A1 0 2.58 Si0 glass former could add another dimension 0.04 Na2 O 0.51 B 02' 3 2 to the Bristol glaze; other beneficial effects 0.42 CaO2 9 3 from the addition of B 203 include a 0.09 MgO reduction of crazing, control of melting temperatures, and improved flow and gloss. 0.34 ZnO Additionally, the controlled B 0 content Matt White Glaze (Cone 5-6) in zinc borate provides uniformity2 3 not Dolomite ...... 10% usually associated with mined calcium bo­ Whiting ...... 15 rates, such as colemanite and Gerstley Zinc Borate ...... 10 borate which also contain thixotropic clays Custer Feldspar...... 40 that affect glaze viscosity. The most Calcined Kaolin ...... 20 Flint ...... 5 common sources of refined B203—borax [Na2O • 2(B2O3) • 10 H2O] and boric 100% acid (H3B03)—are both water soluble and Continued January 1981 95 96 Ceramics Monthly Technical Empirical formula: 0.12 K 0 0.42 A1 0 2.0 SiO 0.05 Na2 O 0.19 B,0,2 3 2 0.55 CaO2 0.15 MgO 0.13 ZnO Gloss White Glaze (Cone 5-6) Whiting ...... 10% Zinc Borate ...... 25 Custer Feldspar...... 45 Flint ...... 20 100% Empirical formula: 0.27 K2O 0.41 Al2O3 4.5 SiO 2 0.61 ZnO 0.93 B203 0.12 Na20 References in technical literature state that zinc oxide should be used only in oxidation, as reduction can change zinc oxide to zinc metal. (Zinc metal can vola­ tilize at approximately 1700°F, while the melting point of zinc oxide is 3272°F.) Additions of various oxides with the Clear Gloss Glaze and with the Matt White Glaze produced interesting results: 0.5% Cobalt Carbonate ...Medium Blue 3.0% Copper Carbonate ...Bright Green 3.0% Nickel Carbonate ...... Gray-Green 4.0% Rutile...... Tan 8.3% Tin Oxide, 1.7% Chromium Oxide ...... Pink 1.94% Copper Carbonate, 0.24% Cobalt Carbonate, 0.32% Nickel Carbonate ...... Light Blue 1.5% Copper Carbonate, 0.5% R ed Iron Oxide ...... Light Green 3.0% Red Iron Oxide, 2.0% Manganese Dioxide ...... Brown 3.1% Cobalt Carbonate, 0.4% Chromium Oxide, 1.9% Red Iron Oxide, 0.8% Manganese Dioxide, 0.8% Nickel Carbonate ...... Black 5-10% Tin Vanadium Stain...... Yellow In general, copper carbonate, cobalt car­ bonate, chromium oxide, manganese diox­ ide and nickel carbonate with some blends of iron oxide and tin appear to be compat­ ible with the glazes tested, even though high-zinc glazes typically produce muddy colors when iron is employed as a colorant. Preliminary tests indicate that zinc bo­ rate has additional possibilities in crystal­ line glaze formulations because of its lack of alumina, combined with its insolubility. It is hoped that this informal investigation of its application to glaze formulation may be useful to ceramists for experimentation with Bristol-type glazes. The author Walt Diffley was a chemical engineer and plant manager for U.S. Borax and Chemical Corporation for thirty years; since his retirement he has re­ searched glazes in ceramics. January 1981 97 New Books

Japanese Painted Porcelain color plates. $125. John Weatherhill, Inc., 149 Madison Avenue, New York City Modern Masterpieces in Overglaze Enamel 10016. edited by the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo. Introduction to Ceramics by W. D. Kingery, H. K. Bowen and Predominantly pictorial, this oversize vol­ D. R. Uhlmann ume lavishly displays 137 objects (many in For those with highly technical interests, several views) by fourteen of the most this ceramic engineering text provides in­ important 20th century Japanese porcelain formation on ceramic structure at the artists. Approximately forty of the works atomic level and its influence in deter­ are by Kenkichi Tomimoto—he was among mining ceramic properties. The authors, the first contemporary Japanese ceramists all professors of ceramics at Massachusetts to resist his country’s tradition of copying Institute of Technology, feel this approach ceramic masterworks. Instead, he urged “is more useful practically than the alter­ the importance of drawing from observa­ native—trying to learn by rote the charac­ tion, adding, “Many people talk about the teristics of thousands of different mate­ decorative patterns on ceramics, but few of rials.” them discuss the basic form of the vessel For purposes of this text, now in a new itself. Not many realize that the material second edition, ceramics is defined as “the and the basic form correspond to the art and science of making and using solid skeleton of the human body. Glazes and articles which have as their essential com­ decorations are like clothing that must ponent, and are composed in large part of, match the body and enhance the face, but inorganic nonmetallic materials.” In addi­ they are not essential.” tion to pottery, porcelain, glass and refrac­ A short history of overglaze decoration tories, therefore, the book also deals with serves as introduction; commentaries on cements, nonmetallic magnetic materials, each of the color plates include artist, ferroelectrics, manufactured single crystals date of completion, additional descriptive and abrasives—the larger, scientific defi­ information and technical data. Following nition of ceramics. 1032 pages including a section of artists’ biographies, the glos­ index. 147 black-and-white photographs, sary identifies and explains processes, ma­ 557 charts and illustrations. $44.95. John terials and techniques employed in over- Wiley and Sons, Inc., One Wiley Drive, glaze enamel decoration. 245 pages. 189 Somerset, New Jersey 08873.

98 Ceramics Monthly