Akiko Hirai Clay Culture: National Clay Week Tech: Crackle Glaze Contamination “I’D Rather Switch Than Fight.”

Cover: Akiko Hirai Clay Culture: National Clay Week Tech: Crackle Glaze Contamination “I’d rather switch than fight.”

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PH: (800) 970-1970 • Fax: (905) 695-8354 2 november 2018 www.ceramicsmonthly.org [email protected] www.ceramicsmonthly.org november 2018 3 #countonconeart Ryan J. Greenheck is an esteemed studio potter MONTHLY and educator based in Philadelphia. His CV is Executive Director Charles Spahr impressive to say the least, and his inspiring work Publisher Bill Janeri can be seen in galleries throughout the country. Editorial [email protected] telephone: 614-794-5869 fax: 614-891-8960 Ryan uses the Cone Art BX4227D oval in his studio editor Jessica Knapp and has been a strong advocate for the features associate editor Holly Goring editorial coordinator Katie Sleyman and benefits of our kilns. editorial assistant Kaitlynne Phillips editorial support Emily Arbogast technical editor Dave Finkelnburg Advertising/Classifieds [email protected] telephone: 614-794-5834 fax: 614-891-8960 classiﬁ[email protected] telephone: 614-794-5826 national sales director Mona Thiel advertising services Pam Wilson Marketing telephone: 614-794-5809 audience development manager Sandy Moening Subscriptions/Circulation customer service: 800-342-3594 [email protected] Design/Production production artist Kerry Burgdorfer design Boismier John Design senior graphic designer Melissa Bury Editorial and advertising offices 550 Polaris Pkwy., Suite 510 Westerville, Ohio 43082 Editorial Advisory Board Scott Bennett; Sculptor, Birmingham, Alabama Meira Mathison; Director, Metchosin Art School, Canada Phil Rogers; Potter and Author, Wales Jan Schachter; Potter, California Mark Shapiro; Worthington, Massachusetts Michael Strand; Fargo, North Dakota Susan York; Santa Fe, New Mexico

Ceramics Monthly (ISSN 0009-0328) is published monthly, except July and August, by The American Ceramic Society, 550 Polaris Pkwy., Suite 510, Westerville, Ohio 43082; www.ceramics.org. Periodicals postage paid at Westerville, Ohio, and additional mailing ofﬁces. GST#:RT0001; BN: 12399 4618. Opinions expressed are those of the contributors and do not necessarily represent those of the editors or The American Ceramic Society. The publisher makes no claim as to the food safety of published glaze recipes. Readers should refer to MSDS (material safety data sheets) for all raw materials, and should take all appropriate recommended safety measures, according to toxicity ratings. Ryan can regularly be found subscription rates: One year $34.99, two years $63.94, three years $89.91. Canada: One year $49, two years $89, three on social media and in years $130. [plus applicable GST and PST] International: One year $60, two years $99, three years $145. studios extolling the virtues back issues: When available, back issues are $7.50 each, plus $3 shipping/handling; $8 for expedited shipping (UPS 2-day air); and of a Cone Art kiln. $9 for shipping outside North America. Allow 4–6 weeks for delivery. When we asked several change of address: Please give us four weeks advance Ryan J. Greenheck notice. Send the magazine address label as well as your new address customers what sold them to: Ceramics Monthly, PO Box 8556, Big Sandy TX 75755-9799 ryanjgreenheck.com contributors: Writing and photographic guidelines on a Cone Art kiln, it wasn’t are available online at www.ceramicsmonthly.org. indexing: Visit the Ceramics Monthly website at “what”...it was “who?”: www.ceramicsmonthly.org to search an index of article titles and Ryan J. Greenheck. artists’ names. Feature articles are also indexed in the Art Index, daai (design and applied arts index). copies: Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use beyond the limits of Sections 107 or 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law is granted by The American Ceramic Society, ISSN 0009-0328, provided that the appropriate fee is paid directly to Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Dr., Danvers, MA 01923, USA; 978-750-8400; www.copyright.com. Prior to photocopying items for classroom use, please contact Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. This consent does not extend to copying items for general Tucker's Cone Art Kilns distribution, or for advertising or promotional purposes, or to republishing items in whole or in part in any work in any format. Tel: 905.889.7705 | 800.304.6185 Please direct republication or special copying permission requests [email protected] to the Publisher, The American Ceramic Society, 550 Polaris Pkwy., Suite 510, Westerville, Ohio 43082, USA. www.coneartkilns.com postmaster: Send address changes to Ceramics Monthly, PO Box 8556, Big Sandy TX 75755-9799. Form 3579 requested. Copyright © 2018, The American Ceramic Society. All rights reserved. Cone Art Kilns @Cone.Art.Kilns @ConeArtKilns www.ceramicsmonthly.org

4 november 2018 www.ceramicsmonthly.org Velvet Underglazes: the monoprint process.

Slip trail the Velvets onto newsprint.

The painted newsprint is then pressed and transferred to the clay surface. This method results in a diverse, somewhat weathered representation of my drawings ... I choose Amaco Velvet Underglazes because they transfer cleanly and vividly in combination with the colored slips I use.

to learn more about the most versatile underglaze visit, www.amaco.com/velvets

www.ceramicsmonthly.org november 2018 5 contentsnovember 2018 volume 66, number 9

editorial

8 From the Editor Jessica Knapp quick tip 10 Preventing Excess Glaze in a Teapot Spout by Caleb Zouhary exposure 12 Images from Current and Upcoming Exhibitions techno file

58 Dirty Dishes by Ryan Coppage, PhD with Ruhan Farsin and Laura Runyen-Janecky, PhD Taking test tiles to the lab and checking for food safety on a microscopic level, Ryan Coppage and a group of scientists have gathered results on crazed versus non-crazed glaze surfaces. tips and tools

60 Firing Fee Calculator by Carrie Wiederhold Learn how one studio owner devised a simple, visual way to calculate firing costs for individual pieces made by studio members. recipes

62 Mid-Range to High-Fire Glazes by Joe Molinaro, Elena Renker, and Caleb Zouhary resources 69 Call for Entries Information on submitting work for exhibitions, fairs, and festivals. 70 Classifieds Looking to buy? Looking to sell? Look no further. 71 Index to Advertisers spotlight 72 Installation Insight Italian artist Giorgio di Palma describes making contemporary ceramic installations in a historic pottery town.

6 november 2018 www.ceramicsmonthly.org clay culture

18 National Clay Week by Amanda Barr For three years, the founders of National Clay Week have provided a platform for artists and organizations to connect with the wider clay community online, in real time.

20 Peace is . . . Coexistence by Shoko Aono When asked to participate in a UN event promoting peace, Ippodo Gallery responded by staging a tea ceremony with handmade ceramics, performed in a portable tea room.

24 Phoenix City Guide by Garth Johnson Now is the perfect time to plan a ceramics-focused trip to Phoenix, Arizona, where ceramics has been a prominent part of the local culture for over 1000 years. studio visit 28 James Simon, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania James Simon has transformed a 4500-square-foot, three-story building formerly used as a junk yard into his studio space. The Gist Street Studio also serves as a gathering place for creative people and community events. features

32 Akiko Hirai: Forming Connections by Jessica Cabe A move from Japan to London marked the beginning of a career in ceramics for Akiko Hirai. Her background in psychology and a desire for engagement make her work resonant and interactive. monthly method Akiko Hirai’s (Non)Traditional Moon Jars

37 Elena Renker: New Zealand Studio Potter by Andrew Buck, EdD German-born, New Zealand potter Elena Renker makes her work and fires it in the wood kiln located on her 20-acre farm. Her aesthetic is a blend of Eastern and Western sensibilities, investigations into shino glazes, and a commitment to functional work. monthly method The Making of a Wood-Fired Teabowl 44 Roger Law: Polymath and Unreconstructed Subversive by Angela Youngman Combining a background in satire, travels to ecologically rich areas, and collaboration with craftsmen, Roger Law makes ceramics that are as sharp in technique as they are in wit.

48 Making an International Move by Joe Molinaro Joe Molinaro shares why and how he relocated to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, for the next phase of his life—retirement. Complete with a timeline, recommended reading, and information on his (newly) local arts resources, this feature will have you considering the possibilities. 53 The Art of Everyday Storytelling: Hermannsburg Pottery by Heidi McKenzie A dedicated group of women, the potters of Hermannsburg, Australia, make work that pushes expectations of storytelling on clay.

44 cover: Akiko Hirai’s moon jar, 22 in. (55 cm) in height, stoneware, glaze.

www.ceramicsmonthly.org november 2018 7 from the editor respond to [email protected]

Global Perspectives Akiko Hirai has lived in the UK for 20 years, but Travel helps you to understand and respect different cultures while is originally from Ja- simultaneously making you better equipped to examine your own pan. In addition to culture, your place in it, and how it has helped to shape you. Liv- making functional ing in another region or a different country certainly deepens this tableware as a dual effect. way to commu- While I’ve lived in Columbus, Ohio, for 10 years, I am originally nicate with peo- from the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, region and have lived in Virginia, ple, Hirai has Colorado, California, and Germany. Through everyday exchanges created a series and routines—like grocery shopping or commuting to the studio of non-traditional or to work—I became acutely aware of the ways that the regional moon jars, a form geography, climate, man-made and natural environment, culture, that originated in economy, and demographics contributed to shaping the outlook of Korea, that incorpo- individuals living in all of these locations. The experiences also made rates the Japanese idea me think about how living in specific places has informed my own of engaging viewers by development, perspective, and creativity. allowing them to complete Many of the artists in this issue are native to one country, but and balance an imperfect or 2 now live and work in another. Their ways of thinking and aesthetics broken form in their own mind. are an intriguing blend of their observations and experiences in the Joe Molinaro is a US-born artist areas where they live now, with elements of the places where they who spent most of his career as an artist living and teaching in Ken- spent their formative years. tucky, while doing research in South America. He recently moved to James Simon travelled the world, learning various trades and skills Mexico, and shares with us the process involved, along with his think- before settling down in his hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to ing of how his new surroundings will affect his outlook and his work. create a studio and community-arts hub. He pulls inspiration from Shoko Aono, originally from Japan, lives in New York, New York, various aspects of his different careers to make his sculptures, and to where she owns Ippodo Gallery. In addition to regularly introducing be an active member of a creative community. a US audience to Japanese made art, Aono had the opportunity to Elena Renker is a German-born artist who emigrated to New further cross-cultural exchange by staging a traditional tea ceremony, Zealand with her family as a child, and she continues to live and complete with handmade Japanese ceramics, at the UN General work there today. During her formative years, she spent time learning Assembly building in New York. ceramics in India and Germany. After returning to New Zealand, The Hermannsburg Aranda potters, who are among the indig- and later to clay, her studies through university courses, residencies, enous people of Australia, have adapted painting techniques passed and workshops led her to a looser, yet still structured, aesthetic and down to them by an elder, Albert Namatjira, who learned from a to an in depth study of Japanese shino glazes. Melbourne-based artist, Rex Battarbee. They now use these adapted Roger Law, known for illustrations, puppets, and ceramics that techniques to record their own stories, experiences, and environment. are satirical caricatures of the rich, famous, and powerful, hails I highly recommend broadening your point of view by immersing from (and currently lives in) the UK, but also lived in Australia yourself in a different culture. It can help you to probe the complex for a number of years and influences that motivate your studio practice, lead to insights, and collaborated with artists ex- spark creativity. tensively in China. He has consistently reflected on the nuances of the places and cultures surrounding him in his work, as well as blending imagery referencing the flora and fauna from one region 1 Elena Renker’s faceted teabowl, 5 in. (12.5 cm) in length, black with ceramic techniques stoneware clay, shino glaze, fired to cone 10 in a wood kiln. 2 Akiko 1 from another. Hirai’s The Moon, 22 in. (55 cm) in height, stoneware, 2017.

8 november 2018 www.ceramicsmonthly.org NIDEC-SHIMPO’s Holiday Gift to you… November 1, 2018 through December 31, 2018

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www.ceramicsmonthly.org november 2018 9 quick tip

Preventing Excess Glaze in a Teapot Spout by Caleb Zouhary The next time you’re preparing to glaze teapots, stop by your local hardware store RECIPES

62 on your way to the studio and pick up some foam earplugs. Before dipping your teapot in the exterior glaze, plug the tip of the spout with a deflated earplug to prevent it from filling with glaze. Simply roll the earplug between your fingers to compress the foam, and then insert it into the spout (1). The earplug will expand and snugly fill the opening. Dip your teapot as usual (2). After the glaze has dried, remove the earplug, and you will have a perfectly glazed teapot spout (3).

1 2 3

10 november 2018 www.ceramicsmonthly.org www.ceramicsmonthly.org november 2018 11 exposure for complete calendar listings see www.ceramicsmonthly.org

1 Robert Long’s oil can teapot and funnel, salt-fired stoneware, fired to cone 10, 2018. 2 Andrew McIntyre’s jar and stand, porcelain, soda fired to cone 11, 2018. “FunctionFest,” at Clay Center of New Orleans (www.nolaclay.org) 2 in New Orleans, Louisiana, through December 1. 3 Steve Loucks’ Double Combo Bowl on Cones, 18 in. (46 cm) in length, wheel-thrown and assembled white stoneware, multiple layered glazes, fired to cone 10 in reduction, 2018. “Steve Loucks,” at The Kiln Studio Gallery (www.thekilnstudio.com) in Fairhope, Alabama, through November 1.

12 november 2018 www.ceramicsmonthly.org 4 6

4 Karin Kraemer’s Rooster Mug, 5 in. (13 cm) in width, earthenware, majolica. 5 Yoko Sekino- Bové’s Red Poppy Tumbler, 6 in. (15 cm) in height, porcelain, sgraffito, glaze painting. 6 Wesley Harvey’s mug, 5 in. (13 cm) in width, earthenware, terra sigillata, underglaze, glaze, commercial decals, luster. 7 Eric Botbyl’s Crackled Scraggler, 4½ in. (11 cm) in height, stoneware, slip, glazes. 8 Senta Achée’s In Full Bloom Tumbler, 4½ in. (11 cm) in height, porcelain, underglaze, sgraffito. 9 Chris Chaney’s Dazzle Yunomi, 3½ in. (9 cm) in height, wood- and soda-fired porcelaneous stoneware. 10 En Iwamura’s Businessman Cup, 5 in. (13 cm) in width, stoneware. Photos: Charlie Cummings Gallery. “Cup: The Intimate Object XIV,” at Charlie Cummings Gallery (www.charliecummingsgallery.com) in Gainesville, Florida, through November 30. 7 8

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www.ceramicsmonthly.org november 2018 13 exposure

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1 Kanika Sircar’s Red Tide 1, 6½ in. (17 cm) in height, handbuilt porcelain, slips, underglazes, glaze, decals, fired to cone 6 in oxidation, 2018. 2 Kanika Sircar’s Opheliad 1, 7½ in. (19 cm) in height, thrown, altered, and handbuilt porcelain, slips, underglazes, underglaze tissue transfers, glaze, laser and overglaze decals, fired to cone 6 in oxidation, 2018. “Drowning,” at Waverly Street Gallery (www.waverlystreetgallery.com) in Bethesda, Maryland, through November 3. 3 Lisa York’s pitcher, 11 in. (28 cm) in height, wheel-thrown and altered soda-fired ceramics, wax resist. “Eccentricity,” at James May Gallery (www.jamesmaygallery.com) in Algoma, Wisconsin, through December 27. 4 Hiroe Hanazono’s Brunch Set, porcelain, 2017. 5 Pedro Ramirez’s Festuca, ceramic, clay, grass, 2015. “In House,” at Jane Hartsook Gallery at Greenwich House Pottery (www.greenwichhousepottery.org) in New York, New York, through December 10. 6 Steven Hansen’s Brockton Team, 15 in. (38 cm) in length, stoneware, 2008. Photo: Dean Powell. 7 Richard Shaw’s House of Pencils on a Band Wheel, 13 in. (33 cm) in length, porcelain, glaze, overglaze transfers, 2014. “Tricks of the Trade: Illusions in Craft-Based Media,” at Fuller Craft Museum (http://fullercraft.org) in Brockton, Massachusetts, through November 18.

14 november 2018 www.ceramicsmonthly.org Reclaiming Splendor: Ceramic Design by Chunmao Huang Featuring the First Lady of China’s Banquet Ware Alfred University 1 Saxon Drive, Alfred, NY 14802 ceramicsmuseum.alfred.edu 607-871-2421

Photograph by Rick McLay www.ceramicsmonthly.org november 2018 15 exposure

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1 Babs Haenen’s vessel, 10 in. (25 cm) in height, porcelain, 1983. Courtesy of the Diane and Igal Silber Collection. 2 Kevin Snipes’ Sweet Birdies Vase, 10 in. (25 cm) in height, porcelain, underglaze, overglaze enamel, 2009. Courtesy of the Richard Oelschlaeger Collection. 3 Gareth Mason’s large vessel, 20½ in. (52 cm) in height, porcelain, 2009. Courtesy of the Judy and Richard Jacobs Collection. Photo: Eric Stoner. 4 Viola Frey’s Venus and the Rooster, 14 in. (36 cm) in height, earthenware, glaze, china paint, 1976. Courtesy of the Gloria and Sonny Kamm Collection. 5 Duncan Ayscough’s long-necked vase, 13 in. (33 cm) in height, earthenware, 2009. Courtesy of the Judy and Richard Jacobs Collection. 6 Jaguar Effigy Vessel, 14¼ in. (36 cm) in height, earthenware, burnished pigment, 1200–1550 CE. Courtesy of the MAW Collection of Pre-Columbian Art. 7 Hector Javier Martinez Mendez’s The Artists of Mexico, 16 in. (41 cm) in height, earthenware, 2017. Courtesy of the Julie and David Armstrong Collection. Photos: Eric Stoner. “Living with Clay: California Ceramics Collections,” at California State University, Fullerton, Begovich Gallery (www.fullerton.edu/arts/art/galleries/begovich_gallery) in Fullerton, California, through November 17.

16 november 2018 www.ceramicsmonthly.org Cosmic Tea Dust Cosmic Tea Iron Yellow Iron glazes CONE 5/6

for a reduction look a reduction for in five pphire Floatpphire Sa Aventurine

www.ceramicsmonthly.org november 2018 17 CLAY CULTURE national clay week by Amanda Barr

For the past three years, National Clay Week has coordinated with artists and organizations to schedule online and in-person events during a one-week period to bring together the wider ceramics community.

Celebrate, Connect, Educate Topics and Themes, Day by Day The founders of National Clay Week (NCW) had a vision—to create For the first year (2016), National Clay Week established five topics, an online framework where the ceramics community could engage one for each day. Within these topics, projects and hashtags were in a celebration of all facets of clay. Every March we gather in a city created that both provide content and encourage audience participa- in the US and attend lectures, watch demos, talk to vendors and tion. The second year (2017), an overarching theme of community institutions, as well as attend shows and connect as a community was chosen, and each day’s topic involved a community-driven for the annual National Council project that engaged both the on Education for the Ceramic greater ceramics world and local Arts (NCECA) conference. There communities. This year, National is no reason, in the digital age, Clay Week (October 8–14, 2018) this has to be limited to once a explored the theme of industry, year. Just as learning is a life-long from discussions with artists who journey, the community in clay, use industrial processes to going the opportunities for growth, and behind the scenes in manufactur- the connections we make should ing operations. be sustained. National Clay Week • Monday: “Using Handmade” hopes to facilitate just that. Using in 2016 saw Canadian ceram- social media platforms, NCW is ics organization Make and Do able to provide diverse content for hosting the @nationalclayweek free, globally, and accessible to any- social media with the hashtags one with an internet connection. #mondaymorningmaker highlight- No borders, no expensive flights. ing works in progress, #ncwmugshot, Teachers can bring the experience and #secondlifehandmade, tell- into their classrooms, artists can ing the stories of re-used objects

take part from their studios, and 1 in art and life. In 2017, NCW we can all share our passion, imagi- celebrated Canadian Thanksgiv- Matt Fiske’s oil-spot glazes under the scanning electron nation, and love for this material microscope at Utah State University, #ncwnutsandbolts, 2016. ing, partnering with Carole Epp that brings us together. again to publish The Crafted Dish: A Canadian Ceramics Cookbook, Building a Team (available @thecrafteddish), featuring recipes photgraphed on dishes National Clay Week began as an idea in 2015 between two friends made by Canadian artists. For 2018, National Clay Week teamed up and ceramic artists, Stephen Creech and Lindsay Oesterritter, with with Heath Ceramics to take a look inside their design and innova- the ambition of uniting and supporting communities, furthering tion studio where their artists create new forms and glazes for their education, and celebrating ceramics in all its forms. After creating production lines. the foundations, they reached out to me. I was formerly social media • Tuesday: “Clay Conversations” #ncwconversations began as director for NCECA, and they asked me to lead the social media a partnership with ArtAxis for a day of live conversations with communications. They then turned to several prominent educators, members of ArtAxis’ network. In 2016, these conversations were artists, and organizations to help create content and curate engaging hosted on the app, Periscope; questions were collected from the projects for the week. The first year included teams led by Carole public beforehand on artaxis.org, as well as live on Periscope. In Epp, Brian Harper, Melissa Yungbluth, Brett Kern, Jeni Hansen 2017, for the community theme, these conversations went global, Gard and members of the Socially Engaged Craft Collective, and with 24 artists hosting 12 hours of live conversations on Facebook partnerships with Make and Do and ArtAxis; subsequent years have from 16 different countries. This year, ArtAxis once more hosted seen more partnerships with artists, studios, non-profits, and compa- conversations with members who use industrial processes and who nies. Hopefully this will continue to grow as the audience expands. have collaborated with industry in their careers. This included Mac

18 november 2018 www.ceramicsmonthly.org McCusker, Adam Chau, Ashwini Phat, Christina Erives, Daniel Bare, Paul Donnelly, and Adam Shiver- decker, among others. • Wednesday: “Collaborations” In 2016, the day was spent talking to 15 artists and artist groups who work collaboratively, also on Peri- scope for live, interactive conversations. In 2017, NCW partnered 2 3 with Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild (MCG) Youth & Arts for a look 2 The National Clay Week team at NCECA 2017, from left to right: into their after-school programming founders Stephen Creech and with at-risk youth and Clementine Lindsay Oesetrritter, with then Porcelain shared their Plate Project, social media director Amanda Barr. 3 A design student at MCG raising money for the Backpack Youth & Arts, Khai, works on a Program that provides meals for collaborative ceramics project as part of #ncwcollaborations in 2017. students who experience food 4 A page from The Crafted Dish, scarcity. They both live-streamed featuring artist Krystal Speck, from on Instagram, and Clementine 4 #ncwusinghandmade in 2017. held a live plate auction. In 2018, NCW officially partnered with NCECA, alongside 92nd Street Y, to co-host the second annual Carter and based on the Australian Ceramic Association’s annual #GlobalDayofClay, encouraging a worldwide celebration and con- event. Open Studios is a nationwide, and even global, event that nection of the broader world of clay, beyond the studio and gallery celebrates clay, community, and creativity. Participating studios and into every facet of clay. open their doors and host events centered around clay to welcome • Thursday: “Nuts and Bolts” This is the day for techniques and their communities into their spaces and practice and share the joy details. In 2016, there were virtual tours of Standard Ceramic’s clay of our medium. NCW provides a press packet, logo, signage, press manufacturing process; a tour and live demonstration from the West releases, and other materials to participating studios, and promotes Virginia University production studio; a live, interactive Periscope the events on social media and the website. demo with Brett Kern on making master rubber molds, then with In 2018, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday again celebrate NCW Todd Hayes on DIY trimming tools (complete with PDF); finishing Open Studios, back for its second iteration to connect studios across with looking at glazes under a scanning electron microscope with the country and encourage the development of a larger audience Matt Fiske. In 2017, NCW visited The Pottery Workshop in China within communities. Visit www.nationalclayweek.org to sign up to through their partnership with West Virginia University. Artists from host or to find the event nearest you. both programs participated in livestreams, roundtable discussions, and demonstrations, streamed from historic Jingdezhen’s porcelain The Future workshops. In 2018, John Michael Kohler Arts Center shared a In the future, National Clay Week hopes to partner with more indi- series of videos about the manufacturing process and former artists- viduals and organizations that further their mission to celebrate, con- in-residence spoke about their work and time at Kohler. Featured nect, and educate on a variety of topics surrounding clay. NCW wants artists included Michelle Grabner, Mary Anne Kluth, Ghada Amer, to be part of classrooms, studios, businesses or non-profits, and help and Edra Soto. artists engage with a broader audience. This year, NCW was joined • Friday: “Social Engagement” and “Open Studios” In 2016, this by a new group of volunteers and interns as it continues to grow and day was hosted by the Socially Engaged Craft Collective (SECC). expand. Follow the blog (www.nationalclayweek.org/our-progress), There were several projects, starting with Project Canary, that shared sign up for the email list, and make sure to follow along on stories of real life repercussions of politics through ceramic objects. Facebook (www.facebook.com/nationalclayweek) and Instagram Cups of Conversations involved 50 artists in 50 states. The Social (www.instagram.com/nationalclayweek). Craft Marathon Live was on YouTube hosted by the SECC. Finally, there was the jurying of the Community Outreach and Social En- the author Amanda Barr is an artist and educator currently working gagement Project Award, funded by Amaco and awarded to Gina on her MFA in ceramics and her MA in art history at the University Tibbot for her Ancient Kiln Project. of Montana in Missoula. A habitual nomad, she has lived in six states Friday’s Social Engagement theme morphed in 2017 into the and four countries in the past 15 years; most recently she enjoyed several weekend-long National Clay Week Open Studios, hosted by Ben years in Seattle. To learn more, visit www.amandambarr.com.

www.ceramicsmonthly.org november 2018 19 CLAY CULTURE peace is coexistence by Shoko Aono To foster cross-cultural exchange and understanding, an architect and a gallery owner constructed a portable tea room for an event at the UN General Assembly building in New York, New York.

“Peace is . . .” is a project organized by the Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations that highlights peace and togetherness through a series of events focusing on culture and art that are scheduled periodically throughout the year. Hajime (Jimmy) Kishimori of the Permanent Mission invited me to be one of the organizers and producers of the seventh event in the series, titled “Peace is . . . Co- existence,” held at the UN General Assembly building. Kishimori recognized Ippodo Gallery’s activities as a cultural bridge between Japan and the US through the innovation and introduction of traditional Japanese art and craftsmanship. When Kishimori extended the offer to be a part of the “Peace is . . .” project, I wanted my interpretation to reflect the meaning of coexistence. As a Japanese 1 woman and the owner of Ippodo Gallery, I have known and worked with Kuniji Tsubaki, an architect of traditional Japanese authentic tea houses, for a while now. When Tsubaki designed and produced ZEN-An, a portable tearoom in a suitcase, in August 2017, the gallery quickly became a distributor. Zen-An refers to the ability to meditate and experience Zen through the tea ceremony in a limited space. Tsubaki says, “I would like to convey our Japanese culture and authentic craftsmanship globally through the Zen-An.” By incorporating a tea ceremony housed in the Zen-An portable tea house with audience participation at the “Peace is . . . Coexistence” event, I hoped to synthesize coexistence and innovation. Making Space

2 I admire the UN for its ability to connect people and ideals across nations, and, above all, for the work it does for the chance to have universal peace. Working with ZEN-An, I, too, hoped to convey the power of coexistence. By entering a world removed from the pains of poverty and war, no matter how small, together we can aspire to find common ground. As Tsubaki states, “I believe the tea room symbolizes Japanese culture, and I want people to experience this peaceful space.” As a gallery owner, I am always witnessing the power of art. Beauty is a life force and can provide a bridge between diverse cultures and different values. The history of the tea ceremony and its lineage has always been a source of pride. As early as the 16th century, samurai warriors were obliged to leave their swords outside the tea house, focusing instead on the meditative reflections associated with the ceremony, sharing a bowl of tea in peace and equality in the same space and time. It is my ongoing wish to share this experience around the world. Here in New 3 York, I have been blessed to find curious, respectful people from all cultures to share in this serenity with Tsubaki and myself through ZEN-An, as well as to cul- tivate an appreciation of tea ceremony wares lovingly crafted by Japanese artists. Peace is . . . Coexistence Tea Ceremony Tsubaki assembled the ZEN-An tea house in front of the audience while the orchestra and singer Mai Fujisawa performed. It created a certain harmony and meditative environment. It takes 15 minutes to set up the Zen-An, the same length of time it takes to burn a stick of incense.

1–4 Architect Kuniji Tsubaki constructing the Zen-An tea room at the UN General Assembly 4 building in New York, New York. The structure is stored in a suitcase, uses traditional Japanese joinery techniques, and takes 15 minutes to set up. Photos: Tokio Kuniyoshi.

20 november 2018 www.ceramicsmonthly.org CMGasPatRobinsonSept18a.qxp 7/18/2018 6:09 PM Page 1

Consistently Beautiful Firings

Pat Robison Two Fish Gallery, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin

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5 Kuniji Tsubaki serving tea to Sword Master Kyo Kasumi who represented a traditional samurai in the tea ceremony performance. Photo: Tokio Kuniyoshi. 6 Shoko Aono (foreground, right) and Tsubaki (background, center) speaking to participants learning to make matcha and sencha tea. Photo: Douglas Dubler. 7 An audience member learning to make matcha tea, using a teabowl made by Nobuo Nishida. Photo: Tokio Kuniyoshi. 8 Attendee whisking matcha tea in a teabowl made by Yui Tsujimura. Photo: Tokio Kuniyoshi. 9 Cups, bowls, and utensils needed for making and serving tea. The teabowl in the foreground was made by Kohei Nakamura. Photo: Douglas Dubler.

The samurai performer entered the tea house and demonstrated that it was “impressive to have music as a way to showcase peace and the symbolic ritual of leaving the sword outside. unity, along with the tea, as well.” Attendees also shared that they We chose about ten ceramic artists’ teabowls for the event felt that Japanese culture was tied into the craftsmanship and tradi- (Noriyuki Furutani, Ryoji Koie, Kohei Nakamura, Akio Niisato, tions flawlessly. This tranquility is something every soul could use. Nobuo Nishida, Mokichi Otsuka, Ruri Takeuchi, Kai Tsujimura, I have been blessed to remain committed to respecting serenity Shiro Tsujimura, and Yui Tsujimura). The participants really enjoyed through the forms of Japanese craftsmanship. The ZEN-An tea the authentic teabowls and quality of ceramic work. One said that room, the calligraphy on the tea room’s hanging scrolls displaying through the teabowl she felt omotenashi, which means to wholeheart- the characters for the word coexistence, and the teabowls used in the edly look after guests, and is the heart of Japanese culture. tea ceremony and by the audience express contemporary awareness Speakers explained the process and symbolism to the participants. through the innovation of traditional Japanese arts. Rona Tison of ITO EN Green Tea Products demonstrated the method To see video of the tea ceremony at the UN with audience com- for making the teas. The audience was led through making two tradi- ments, visit https://vimeo.com/275645426. For a video of the tea tional Japanese teas, whisking matcha and brewing sencha. After the ceremony held at Central Park, visit https://vimeo.com/256639810. demonstration, the audience took part in learning to make the tea. With 250 people in attendance at this event, there were many the author Shoko Aono is a Japanese artist and art dealer in New thoughts and responses on how coexistence was showcased. Many York. She is also the owner of the Ippodo Gallery. To learn more, visit felt it was a tranquil, elegant, and special experience. One person felt https://ippodogallery.com.

22 november 2018 www.ceramicsmonthly.org Tiles were fired to Cone 6. Cone to fired were Tiles PC-60 Salt Buff over PC-61 Textured Amber Textured PC-61 PC-60 Saltover Buff PC-43 Toasted Sage over PC-61 Textured Amber Textured PC-61 Sage over Toasted PC-43 PC-37 Smoked Sienna over PC-61 Textured Amber Textured PC-61 Sienna over PC-37 Smoked e choic layering PC-42 Seaweed over PC-61 Textured Amber Textured PC-61 over PC-42 Seaweed PC-28 Frosted Turquoise over PC-61 Textured Amber Textured PC-61 over Turquoise PC-28 Frosted PC-52 Deep Sienna Speckle over PC-61 Textured Amber Textured PC-61 PC-52 Deep Sienna Speckle over PC-37 Smoked Sienna over PC-61 Textured Amber on Amber Textured PC-61 PC-37 Smoked Sienna over Clay Stoneware 46-M Buff AMACO Cone 5/6 Cone PC-61 Textured Amber Textured Explore the possibilities at Explore LayeringAmacoGlazes.com

www.ceramicsmonthly.org november 2018 23 CLAY CULTURE Phoenix city guide by Garth Johnson Whether you’re planning to visit (or move to) the Southwest to avoid the winter in colder climes or you’re looking for a ceramics-focused travel adventure, Phoenix, Arizona, should be at the top of your list.

Top Attractions Your visit will likely start at Sky Harbor Airport (3400 E. Sky Harbor

19 14 Blvd., Phoenix, AZ 85034, www.skyharbor.com), which is one of the busiest airports in the country. The airport is home to an accredited museum with nearly 1000 pieces in its permanent collection, which is on view throughout 3 the terminals. The rental car terminal also boasts an impressive collection of Dangos by Jun Kaneko. 9 For over 1000 years, ceramics has been a prominent part of culture in the Valley of the Sun. From early Ho’Hokum settlements to the proliferation of 10 potters in present-day Phoenix, ceramics has been central to daily life. The 17 Phoenix area is filled with inspiration for ceramic artists.

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Chief among them is the Arizona State University (ASU) Art Museum Ceramics Research Center in Tempe (Brickyard Engineering, 699 S. Mill Ave. #108, Tempe, AZ 85281, https://asuartmuseum.asu. edu/visit/ceramics-research-center). With a collection of close to 4000 masterpieces (with nearly 700 on view) by artists like Robert Arneson, Lucie Rie, and Toshiko Takaezu, ASU has one of the most comprehen- sive contemporary ceramics collections in the US. The center’s extensive research archives lure researchers from around the world. The Heard Museum in Phoenix (2301 N. Central Ave., Phoe- nix, AZ 85004, https://heard.org) has one of the best collections 3 of pottery and material culture from the Southwestern pueblos. 1 Outside view of the Lisa Sette Gallery. Photo: Courtesy of Lisa Sette Gallery, Phoenix. 2 Heard Museum entrance with Allan Houser sculpture, They also feature a wide range of works by contemporary Na- Earth Song, 1978. Photo: Craig Smith. 3 Tony Jojola and Rosemary tive American artists. Lonewolf’s Artfence, 30 ft. (9 m) in length, glass, clay. Photo: Craig Smith, Heard Museum. The Desert Botanical Garden (1201 N. Galvin Pkwy., Phoenix, AZ 85008, www.dbg.org) provides endless visual inspiration for artists of all stripes. They have over 21,000 plants, including over 1300 varieties of cactus alone. The work of Jun Kaneko is featured during the Garden’s 2017–18 season.

Favorite Places to Visit Arizona is also home to artist James Turrell’s Roden Crater, Cosanti (6433 E. Doubletree Ranch Rd., Paradise Valley, AZ, (Coconino County, Arizona, http://rodencrater.com) which is 85253, www.cosanti.com) was the home studio of architect and located 180 miles north of Phoenix. Although Roden Crater is not visionary Paolo Soleri, who also founded Arcosanti, an experimental yet open to the public, Phoenix has several major Turrell Sky Spaces, community 80 miles north of Phoenix. Cosanti, which is located including one at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary in Paradise Valley, consists mainly of concrete structures created Art (7374 E. 2nd St., Scottsdale, AZ 85251, https://smoca.org/ through building and carving mounds of earth, then covering them architecture/turrell-skyspace). Another, Air Apparent, at ASU with concrete shells. When the structures hardened, the earth was (Rural and Terrace Rds., Tempe, AZ 85287, https://skyspace.asu. removed, leaving low-profile buildings that are energy-efficient in the edu), is best viewed at sunrise and sunset. brutal Arizona summers. Although Paolo Soleri passed away in 2013, his acolytes still continue his work, and continue to produce a line Artist Studios of ceramic and bronze bells that Soleri began producing in 1956. For better or worse, Phoenix is a sprawling, thriving metropolis. The Speaking of architecture, Scottsdale was home to Frank Lloyd area rates as one of the most affordable areas for artists to live in. The Wright and his Talisen West studio. Major Wright buildings dot cost of living here is relatively low, and the community of artists is the valley, including the Biltmore Hotel (2400 E. Missouri well-developed. Young artists can afford to experiment and develop Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85016, www.arizonabiltmore.com), ASU’s their portfolios with relatively little pressure. There are countless Gammage Auditorium (1200 S. Forest Ave., Tempe, AZ 85281, opportunities for shared studios and affordable industrial space. www.asugammage.com), and perhaps best of all, the David and Consequently, there are thousands of ceramic artists spread Gladys Wright House (4505 N. Rubicon Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85018, throughout the valley, taking and teaching classes at arts centers, http://davidwrighthouse.org), a masterpiece built for his son out of community colleges, commercial studios, and universities. Their cinder blocks, which were the specialty of David Wright’s business. studios range from elaborate setups in the retirement community

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4 View of the Tempe Center for the Arts at dusk. Photo: Grant Brummett Photography. 5 Garth Johnson and his daughter enjoying the Tempe Center for the Arts ceramics exhibition. 6 Patricia Sannit walking through the clay at her exhibition, Time Stands Still, 6 at Gerbert Contemporary Gallery, February 2016. 7 At the Bentley Gallery, works by Chris Gustin and Udo Noger. Photo: Bentley Gallery and Clutch Photos.

of Sun City to those in the historical districts of Phoenix to the Bentley Gallery, (215 E. Grant St., Phoenix, AZ 85004, https:// rapidly-growing East Valley cities of Mesa and Gilbert. bentleygallery.com) Galleries and Museums Lisa Sette Gallery (210 E. Catalina Dr., Phoenix, AZ 85012, The ASU Art Museum (51 E. 10th St., Tempe, AZ 85281, https://lisasettegallery.com) https://asuartmuseum.asu.edu) is housed in an impressive 1991 Gebert Contemporary (7160 Main St., Scottsdale, AZ 85251, building by architect Antoine Predock. The museum shows contem- https://gebertartaz.com) porary work and often highlights Latin American and Southwestern One of the most spectacular museums in the valley is artists who interact with the university community through its Scottsdale’s Musical Instrument Museum (4725 E. Mayo Blvd., extensive residency program. Phoenix, AZ 85050, https://mim.org), which was founded by The Phoenix Art Museum (1625 N. Central Ave., Phoenix, AZ Robert J. Ulrich, a former CEO of Target. A truly interactive ex- 85004, www.phxart.org) has a massive reclining Viola Frey sculpture perience, the museum provides visitors with wireless headphones on permanent display. that play streaming audio from instruments and exhibits as they Locations 10–13 are all craft-positive community art centers and view them. frequently host ceramic exhibitions. Arts Funding Mesa Arts Center, (1 E. Main St., Mesa, AZ 85201, Arizona’s state arts funding is lean. That said, the Arizona Com- www.mesaartscenter.com) mission on the Arts has an excellent track record of providing The Tempe Arts Center, (700 W. Rio Salado, Tempe, AZ modest grants to artists to help provide seed money for projects 85281, www.tempecenterforthearts.com) and professional development. Phoenix public art is some of the The Shemer Art Center (5005 E. Camelback Rd., Phoenix, most robust in the nation, connecting local artists with immense AZ 85018, https://shemerartcenter.org) opportunities. The cities of Tempe, Scottsdale, and Mesa all have Locations 13–15 are all contemporary galleries that have ceramic solid public art programs that link artists with economic develop- artists in their stables. ment as well.

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8 Outside view of the Mesa Arts Center campus studios. 9 Sergei Isupov’s sculptures on view in the Mesa Arts Center Gallery. Photos: Mesa Arts Center.

Ceramic Events and Suppliers Mesa Community College (1833 W. Southern Ave., Mesa, AZ The biannual Tempe Arts Festival (310 S. Mill Ave., Suite 85202, www.mesacc.edu) A-201, Tempe, AZ 85281, www.tempefestivalofthearts.com) draws South Mountain Community College (7050 S. 24th St., nearly 225,000 visitors each December and April. Phoenix, AZ 85042, www.southmountaincc.edu) Every February, the ASU Art Museum (see 2) hosts the ASU Paradise Valley Community College (18401 N. 32nd St., Art Museum Ceramic Studio Tour (https://asuartmuseum.asu.edu). Phoenix, AZ 85032, www.paradisevalley.edu) Each year, more than fifteen artists throughout the valley open their studios and host dozens of other artists from across the state. Shared Wood-kiln Space Marjon Ceramics (3434 W. Earll Dr., Phoenix, AZ 85017, There are productive connections between the Phoenix area and www.marjonceramics.com), the area’s largest ceramic supply com- northern Arizona, which is home to most of the state’s wood- pany, hosts an annual “Clay Olympics” that draws artists from firing community. across the valley to participate in events that balance education and For decades, Don Reitz’ studio in Clarkdale (2724 Sullivan tomfoolery in equal measures. Ranch Rd., Clarkdale, AZ 86324, https://reitzranch.org) served There are also multiple Empty Bowls events throughout the the wood-firing community. His ranch was recently purchased by area that provide an important connection between artists and artist Sheryl Leigh-Davault, who is reviving the kilns and keeping food activism. Don Reitz’ legacy alive. Collector Base and Support Network Northern Arizona University (S. San Francisco St., Flagstaff, AZ 86011, https://nau.edu) in Flagstaff remains a major hub for There is a long history of support for ceramics in the valley with wood firing in Arizona. both affluent and modest homeowners decorating their homes with handmade ceramics, as well as a network of ambitious art collectors Industrial Ceramic Companies across all media. In the 1950s and 60s, Scottsdale, along with Santa Fe, Mission Building Products (4850 W. Buckeye Rd., Phoenix, was one of the nation’s leading hubs for craft galleries. Major galleries AZ 85043, http://missionclay.com) is a Phoenix company that like the Hand and the Spirit/Joanne Rapp Gallery drew a national produces over 15,000 tons of vitrified clay pipe (VCP) annually audience of collectors. that is used mainly in the sewage industry. Since 1979, Mission Educational Opportunities Clay has been opening its factory to a diverse range of artists like Don Reitz, Jun Kaneko, Lauren Mabry, and John Toki. Mission Arizona State University (see 2) has competitive undergraduate and Clay’s owner, Bryan Vansell, is an unflagging supporter of the graduate programs that are run by three full-time faculty members, field. Recently, the ASU Art Museum Ceramics Research Center Kurt Weiser, Susan Beiner, and Sam Chung. In 2016, US News and exhibited clay pipes decorated by Bay Area artist Tom Franco, and World Report ranked ASU’s graduate program 7th in the nation. his brother, actor James Franco. The ASU Art Museum Ceramics Research Center also provides students with an incomparable resource when it comes to research, the author Garth Johnson, is the Paul Phillips and Sharon Sul- exhibitions, and internships. livan Curator of Ceramics at the Everson Museum of Art in Syra- Most community colleges in the Phoenix area have strong ce- cuse, New York. He was formerly the curator at the Arizona State ramics programs. University Ceramics Research Center. He also served as the artistic Phoenix College (1202 W. Thomas Rd., Phoenix, AZ 85013, director at The Clay Studio in Philadelphia, and was an associate www.phoenixcollege.edu) professor at College of the Redwoods in Eureka, California.

www.ceramicsmonthly.org november 2018 27 STUDIO VISIT

James Simon Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Just the Facts Studio Clay My studio on Gist Street was love at first site. My friend Rick and I were driving around stoneware sculpture clay with lots Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, neighborhoods, checking out interesting buildings and there it of grog was. Formerly a junkyard, the building is 4500 square feet, three stories, and made from red Primary forming method brick. It has wooden floors, large wood beams and rafters, high ceilings, and lots of windows. slab building In the beginning, it was a rough raw space, jam-packed with junk from the previous owner. Primary firing temperature I cleaned it out, changed the windows, insulated the ceilings, ran water and gas lines, and put mid-range electric and cone 5 gas in a gas furnace—pretty much on a do-it-yourself, shoe-string budget. It has a big backyard Favorite surface treatment (2500 square feet) surrounded by 15-foot tall fences. I planted bamboo, fruit trees, and added pressing decorative shapes into the clay water features, which provide an oasis of privacy in the middle of a gritty urban environment. Favorite tools I purchased the building in 2000 in the city’s Uptown neighborhood to use as my sculpture butcher knife and mosaic studios; however, it has served as much more than that. The studio on Gist Street, Studio Playlist and Gist Street itself, has become a cultural hub for grass-roots revitalization and change in all kinds of podcasts, as well as a a blighted neighborhood. large world music playlist I envisioned creating a stimulating and intellectual community in the space. Something Wishlist similar to the warm and sharing collaborative work space lifestyle I had experienced while a large gas kiln living in Brazil and Mexico. Through small public art projects on the street and events in my space, like the popular Gist Street Reading Series, music, dance, and film events, and most recently a show with the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA)

28 november 2018 www.ceramicsmonthly.org conference, I have brought, and am continuing to introduce, a space. I also host a variety of events here such as literary readings, diverse range of folks to the neighborhood. movie screenings, and live music performances. The main front area of the ground floor is where I do most What I love about my studio is the friendly, industrial openness of my dirty and dusty work, including building large ceramic that is created by the combination of wood and brick. I have been sculptures and sometimes mold making and casting. There is a influenced by Spanish architecture and tropical Latin American narrow garage-type space, which once served as the scale area for living spaces, often lush, open, and colorful. The large outside area the junkyard, where my kilns live. In the back, I have built on an gives me the sense that I am in a tropical land far away from the addition that has large windows and high ceilings overlooking my hustle and bustle, yet the location is central to all the commercial bamboo jungle. A glass garage door is open to the yard for most and entertainment districts of Pittsburgh. of the summer months. I do most of my mosaics here, as well as sculpture. There is also a small inground swimming pool, which I Paying Dues (and Bills) made out of a large baptismal pool that a church had put on the Ed Kosowitce (Mr. K) introduced me to clay. He was my inspirational street for garbage day. ceramics art teacher at Peabody High School in Pittsburgh. He showed The 2nd floor is a live-in artists’ space that I rent to fellow artist me all the basics and the joy of creativity. I then went on a hitchhiking friends, and the 3rd floor is a 1400-square-foot open loft space with and freight-train jumping traveling spree that lasted a good 15 years. In a (functioning) bathtub right smack in the middle of the floor. The those years, I picked up many skills, including woodworking, construc- third floor has a wonderful view of downtown Pittsburgh and the tion, and stained-glass window making. I eventually apprenticed for surrounding hills. It serves as my living space, office, and design four years with master luthier Andrew Dipper in Oxford, England, and

www.ceramicsmonthly.org november 2018 29 worked as a professional violin maker. One day, I decided to return to The help I receive in my studio has proven to be another means the clay I had loved in high school. I spent three years taking ceramics of creating learning opportunities and community engagement. classes offered to the community by George Kokis at the University I regularly have interns from the local universities helping me. of Oregon. While there, I developed my skills to create large ceramic They receive school credits and usually come to the studio for 3 sculptures. Today, my process still includes creating sculptures in wet or 4 hours a day. The interns learn through hands-on work, help- clay; sometimes the larger ones are cast in concrete using plaster throwing with all aspects of creating large-scale sculptures and mosaics, away molds. I make all the molds in my studio and it’s a big mess. including creating steel armatures, building plaster molds, clay Combining my violin making skills, my ceramic explorations, sculpting (often on scaffolding), casting in concrete, and ceramic and my years of travel, I have many stories to tell, and I like telling tile making and glazing for my mosaics. For larger projects I also them through clay. My public artwork often embraces the history have paid assistants as needed. I do all installation myself, some- of a community as well as its contemporary life. times with the site contractors depending on the scale of the job I work full time as a public artist, creating sculpture and mosaics and the contract budget details. for the streets of different cities. This involves working in my studio I give artist talks mostly regionally at local universities such every day, as well as applying for opportunities and grants from as Carnegie Mellon, and often in the high schools where I offer online lists and promoting my work through websites, conventions, residency programs. talks, and word of mouth. I am also a teaching artist and participate in residency programs in high schools and with community youth Inspiration organizations, where I teach the kids about clay and mosaics, and we I’m interested in culture, history, and all the incredible and diverse then create public art for their communities. people and art, architecture, food, music, and wildlife that exist in

30 november 2018 www.ceramicsmonthly.org this wonderful, mysterious world. All of these influences feed my artwork, both composition-wise and spiritually. I have been particularly attracted to Chinese and Tibetan meditations, and have practiced Tai Chi Chuan for most of my adult life. I like to read both fiction and non-fiction, as well as poetry. This month I have been reading a fascinating biography of Tolstoy and a book about the great gypsy guitar player Django Reinhart. My 98-year-old Hungarian virtuoso violinist friend, Kato Havas, always said, “It’s the music that creates the technique, not the technique that creates the music.” I have always found that to be true with all the arts: if we are true to our own originality and work hard, the magic will come.

www.simonsculpture.com facebook: james simon instagram: @jamessimonsculpture

www.ceramicsmonthly.org november 2018 31 Akiko Hirai FORMING CONNECTIONS by Jessica Cabe

32 november 2018 www.ceramicsmonthly.org Akiko Hirai has spent a lot of time thinking about how people appear on the surface versus what they’re like on the inside. Perhaps this is because sharing with the world what’s inside her own self has never come easily. The Japanese artist who has lived in London for almost 20 years describes herself as an introvert (“I’m not very good at going to par- ties and making friends immediately,” she says with a laugh), but through making pottery, she has found a way to connect to people. Art creates a realm where she’s comfortable making conversation and getting to know others; it’s why she’s chosen to set up her studio at the Chocolate Factory, an artist collective in London, and why she taught for more than a decade at Kensington and Chelsea College, even though at first she was sure teaching wasn’t for her. Even her work itself reflects her interest in humanity and forming connections with people: pouring white slip over black clay creates layers that refer back to the idea of a person’s outer self and inner self. The imperfections and asymmetry in her forms relate 1 to the imperfections of people. And though she creates functional vessels, she draws inspiration from human posture and movement when forming her work. To Hirai, the true beauty of functional ceramics comes out when human beings interact with these pieces. How a person chooses to arrange food on a plate or flowers in a vase is just as much a part of the art of pottery as the work she does to make her vessels. “People are very important to me, but to be honest, I’m not very good at communicating with them,” she says. “So I think over the years, by doing ceramics, I’ve also learned how to com- municate with people.”

A Winding Road to Clay Hirai was born and raised in Shizuoka, Japan, home of Mount Fuji. She grew up surrounded by handmade pottery because of a cultural appreciation for the artform, but she says it never occurred to her that she could be one of its makers. 2

“We love pottery, naturally; we’re surrounded by it,” she says. Opposite The Moon Jar, Blue Moon, 22 in. (55 cm) in height, stoneware, “But you never think that you have an opportunity to make it 2012. 1 Vases, 7¾ in. (20 cm) in height, stoneware, 2015. 2 Plate, 14½ in. yourself. It’s always something somebody else made, and you just (37 cm) in diameter, stoneware, 2013. All photos: Toshiko Hirai. buy it and use it.” Before she began making pottery, Hirai studied cognitive psy- Japan, especially in my hometown, I can only see Japanese people. chology at Aichi Gakuin University in Nagoya, Japan. She earned I enjoyed the mixture of all different nationalities in England, her bachelor’s degree from the Department of Psychology there especially in London.” in 1993, but instead of continuing her studies in psychology, she She may have fallen for London, but her first year there took began working in Japan and traveling internationally. In 1996, she a toll on her. Working in a hostel for the homeless was stressful went to London for the first time to visit her younger sister. She she says, especially because she didn’t speak English at the time. ended up staying for one year and studying English while doing When her work day wrapped up, she turned to pottery as a way work helping people facing homelessness. to relieve some of that stress. Hirai loved London right away because of the diversity she “Studying pottery was my relaxation,” she says. “That was the saw—a stark contrast to her life in Japan. “I liked that environ- beginning. I liked using my hands, and I liked making things. In ment, that rich cultural environment in the UK,” she says. “In my first pottery course, I wasn’t actually taught anything; we were

www.ceramicsmonthly.org november 2018 33 just given the clay and told to do anything we liked, so I was just technique called kohiki, which is working with a dark clay body making pots. That’s my starting point, and actually I find there’s and applying white slip on top, creating a layered, organic look. nothing wrong with just finding your own way to make things. Her runny, imperfect application of slip complements her forms, Of course decoration, firing, materials, you will have to know, but which are also marked by imperfections and a lack of completeness. with the clay or making a form, you can just guess, you can just All of this creates an element of humanity in her pieces. do it and make the shape you want.” “My work is like people; something is hidden underneath [the After one year in the UK, Hirai returned to Japan for a short surface],” she says. “You can actually see through to the darkness time before moving to England in 2000 and never looking back. underneath, and that is quite ambiguous, and you can imagine all During this time, she considered going back to school for psychol- sorts of things from that layering.” ogy, but she eventually shifted her focus to ceramics. She studied at Hirai loves to make the viewer use his or her imagination. In the University of Westminster for her first two years before trans- addition to the light-dark dichotomy of her surface decoration, ferring and finishing her degree at the London Institute Central she also breaks the symmetry of her work by removing chunks of Saint Martins School of Graphics and Industrial Design in 2003. clay and forcing the viewer to fill in the gaps. In university, Hirai made tableware, and that hasn’t changed “Complete symmetry is a static state; it doesn’t have any move- much in the 15 years since. She was drawn to functional pottery ment,” she says. “But if it’s asymmetrical, people have something because of her own experience interacting with handmade objects to do with it. If they see something imperfect, or something a bit growing up. broken, people try to complete it in their imagination to make it “I like the nature of tableware that can be used,” she says. “It more balanced. I discovered that imperfection has to work in a can be very beautiful, it can be quite sculptural, but you use it balance of wholeness of the object.” every day, so you grow a special attachment to it. The beauty of This idea of allowing the viewer to complete an imperfect work tableware is not the tableware itself, but the interaction with an in his or her mind comes from traditional Japanese pottery, and object or food or the people you use it for.” in addition to drawing more engagement out of viewers, it also speaks to the relationship between an object and its surroundings, Humanity as well as how that object came to be. The inspiration for Hirai’s functional pottery has remained the “In Japanese tradition, the thing doesn’t exist on its own; it’s a same for the 20 years that she’s been making work. She uses a balance between the environment and the object and the object

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3 Industrial bowl, 19½ in. (50 cm) in diameter, stoneware, 2014. 4 Dry kohiki mug, 3 in. (8 cm) in diameter, stoneware, 2010. 5 The Moon Jar, White, 22 in. (55 cm) in height, stoneware, 2013. 6 Dry kohiki cereal bowl, 4¾ in. (12 cm) in diameter, stoneware, 2010. 3–6 Photos: Toshiko Hirai.

and you,” she says. “So seeing the process of making and how an In addition to surrounding herself with artists in her studio object was formed is very important.” space at the Chocolate Factory, Hirai made connections with others Given all the ways Hirai’s work exists to draw connections be- through teaching for ten years prior to becoming a full-time studio tween the ceramic object and people, it should come as no surprise artist. Her time in education was far more fulfilling than she ever that she has turned to art and making for developing relationships. could have expected at first. Hirai first started working as a technician at Kensington and Artful Interactions Chelsea College in London in 2004 as a way to make money at For shy or introverted people like Hirai, sometimes what starts out the start of her career as an artist. A few years later, she was of- as a hobby turns into a method for forming friendships as well as fered a teaching position there and was surprised by how much a profession. Ceramics can offer a solitary lifestyle, but Hirai has she loved it. made a few choices that force her out of her shell and have resulted “If you’re just working in your own studio, your knowledge is in important relationships. very limited,” she says. “But I have learned a lot from teaching, First, her studio is not tucked away in the countryside like some and also I enjoyed the interactions with a variety of people. My artists tend to opt for; instead, in 2003, she found the Chocolate students came from all different backgrounds, different nationali- Factory in London and established a studio there. The Chocolate ties, and they went on to get different jobs. By teaching, I have a Factory is an artist collective with the resources Hirai needs to lot of interaction with the outside world.” make her work—namely a gas kiln. Hirai served as the head of the ceramics department at Kens- “I have never moved,” she says. “Number one, the landlord is ington and Chelsea College from 2013–15 before leaving to very nice; he’s a painter, but he used to be a potter, and he appreci- work as a full-time studio artist. Making work in the Chocolate ates pottery a lot. Number two is the people who are here. There Factory ensures she continues to learn and be inspired by people, are 20 other artists here, including painters and installation artists, and therefore the alluring humanity in her work will remain as photographers, jewelers, and typographical artists. If you want to prominent as ever. be left on your own, you can just stay in your room. But if you want to talk to someone, you can always visit other people’s studios the author Jessica Cabe studied arts journalism at Syracuse University and have a discussion about their artwork. So I can be influenced and has been a clay hobbyist for two years. She lives in Chicago, and by other things and other people.” works as a freelance journalist.

www.ceramicsmonthly.org november 2018 35 Akiko Hirai’s (Non)Traditional Moon Jars by Jessica Cabe Akiko Hirai begins by throwing half of the moon jar form that mix in layers to the pot with a brush and her hands (4), then coil building the rest (1). She says traditional moon balancing between dark and light slip. jars are made in two bowl forms, but she prefers coiling When she’s done decorating her pot, Hirai puts it to form the top to give a more uplifting effect. Her bases through a bisque firing. She usually lifts the base and are substantial, to withstand the weight of the top of the puts three props underneath so the trapped moisture form and the layers of texture she adds later. After making can escape. a symmetrical rim, Hirai gently “crushes” it to encourage Next, she applies thick white glaze to the moon jar.

MONTHLY METHOD viewers to complete the form with their imagination (2). She also applies wood ash and potassium-rich slip to give It also makes the pot more imaginative because the viewer the end result a more organic texture. During the glaze can see the evidence of events that have happened to the firing (5), she starts reduction around 1742°F (950°C). She pot. Just like life, Hirai’s pots become more interesting as operates the burner somewhat unevenly so that part of they become less perfect. the kiln gets slightly cooler to make a diverse surface. Next, Hirai adds various materials to a base slip to Sometimes she heavily reduces the kiln to the end of decorate her form (3). Her mixtures induce a chemical the firing, and sometimes she lightly oxidizes the kiln reaction in the reduction firing and give specific colors atmosphere at the end, depending on her desired outcome. and textures to the pot. Some of the added materials are Hirai says the final result may appear to be completely organic substances that burn away after the firing, some spontaneous, and though her intentions may not be overt, are metals and minerals that change their properties and the finished pots represent her inner self and reveal her react in the high heat and reduction process. She applies making process (6).

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36 november 2018 www.ceramicsmonthly.org 1 Elena Renker NEW ZEALAND STUDIO POTTER by Andrew Buck, EdD

To understand Elena Renker, an adept studio potter, it is helpful Originally from Germany, Renker emigrated in the 1980s when to develop a picture of the habitat, history, and culture of New her family applied for permanent residency in New Zealand. They Zealand where she lives. New Zealand is comprised of North Is- welcomed new ventures in life and sought a less troubled place on land, South Island, and a string of smaller islands. It is bound by the globe in which to live. the Tasman Sea on the west and the South Pacific Ocean on the east. The landscape encompasses mountain ranges, lush forests, and The Homestead beaches, all of which rest on an expansive volcanic plateau. Portions Renker currently lives on a small 20-acre farm with cattle, chickens, of The Hobbit were filmed there.1 New Zealand is unique in world and a large garden. She is a mother of five. Several of her adult history. It has only been inhabited since the late 13th century when children and their respective mates live on the family property. Polynesian islanders first discovered it. They became known as the Her role as a mother takes precedence over being a potter, but, Maori, an indigenous people with ancestral land rights.2 as she notes, making pottery is simply integrated into her life. During the contentious 1800s, the island peoples aligned them- She may get up in the morning to throw pots, then weed selves with the British, who had settled as traders during the colo- the substantial garden, have lunch with her adult children, 3 62 nial era. As we fast forward through time, the British population and trim pots in the late afternoon. Her lifestyle exemplifies RECIPES grew, outpacing the Maori tribes. Western ideas and technology what we might consider the back-to-the-land movement and came to dominate New Zealand culture. Despite New Zealand’s the realization of an idealized life of a studio potter. Renker, like current modernization, its remote geographic location in the South many New Zealanders, tends to be very self-sufficient. She was a Pacific keeps it isolated. I would venture to guess, too, that it is DIY maker long before the term became fashionable. For example, somewhat saner than the rest of the world, primarily because it is she used to make some of her children’s clothes and an occasional not crowded or over-developed. People who live there tend to be handmade toy. She sees her pottery-making as a natural exten- self-sustaining out of necessity, and rely on each other because it is sion of this nurturing, motherly role. It is not uncommon for her so isolated. Renker fits well into this survivalist landscape of New visiting children to stop by the studio and ask for cups, bowls, or Zealand, a country of immigrants and descendants of immigrants. plates they might need or want for their kitchens. Of course, she

www.ceramicsmonthly.org november 2018 37 gives to them unselfishly. Renker also exhibits work in galleries and shows her work in local and national annual ceramic exhibits. For the past six years, she has enjoyed an annual open studio sale day where she scrubs down the studio, washes the windows, puts out her wares and opens her studio to guests and customers. Her children chip in to help by setting up displays, wrapping wares, and answering questions for patrons. Her daughter, who studied baking in Paris, sets up a refreshment stand with an assortment of home baked goods. Her annual open studio sale has grown in popularity and is an event that many people are eager to attend. Renker’s personal disposition, a strong and self-taught style of learning, and diverse international experiences with pottery-making form the substrate upon which her passion for pottery rests. Her activities of throwing, trimming, glazing and firing transpire with 2 apparent ease or effortlessness, like the rising and setting of the sun. When the time is right, making pots is what she does. Having a home studio and a wood-fired kiln in the backyard are part of the conditions that make this possible. The endless possibilities inherent in the process of making ceramics sustain her personal interest and appetite for producing pottery. The caliber of her work has attracted the attention of patrons internationally through her shop on Etsy.

A Later-in-Life Return to Pottery As a teenager in the late 1970s, Renker was fortunate to have three formative experiences that laid the ground work for her return to pottery later in life. She attended a very intimate, alternative high school outside of Woodstock, New York, where she was strongly 3 encouraged by her teachers to pursue art. She also studied ceramics

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1 Three faceted shino boxes, 4 in. (10 cm) in height, wood-fired stoneware, fired to cone 10, 2017. 2 Elena Renker in her studio with some of her fired ceramic pieces. 3 Interior view of the studio. 4 View of Renker’s studio from the vegetable garden. 5 Four faceted shino vases, to 11 in. (28 cm) in height, wood-fired stoneware, fired to cone 10, 2017. briefly at Golden Bridge Pottery in India when she was 18.4 In her figures out what she needs to know in order to make what she wanderlust years, she spent a year in Bavaria, Germany, serving as wants. Like most studio potters, she produces a broad array of an intern with a Canadian potter who ran a production pottery. wheel-thrown functional ware. However, over the past ten years she According to Renker, the potter was very strict. The young Renker has become particularly fond of making teabowls. Her particular was not allowed to fire any pots for the first 6 months. Instead, fascination with the loosely formed, free-spirited teabowl comes she had to cut each and every pot that she threw on the potter’s out of a few key events in her life as a potter: the influence of her wheel in half. The strict discipline of the production studio was teacher, her direct experience with wood firing, advance studies of tough, but it provided Renker with a very strong foundation for shino glazing, and her participation in a Korean teabowl festival. her wheel-throwing skills. As Renker entered her 20s, she went When Renker returned to making pottery as a mature adult in to Munich, Germany, to study commercial graphic art. However, New Zealand, she studied with Campbell Hegan at the outstanding life came to her in unexpected ways. It was around this time that facilities of the Auckland Studio Potters, a community-based ceram- she got married and had her first child. A few years later, she and ics center.6 He helped loosen up her approach to throwing, which, her husband moved to New Zealand. She spent the next fourteen in combination with wood firing at Auckland Studio Potters, years of her life raising her children and taking care of family. changed the direction of her aesthetic. Setting up a home studio was Renker returned to pottery making in 1998 as an avocation after a natural progression after taking classes at the community-based her youngest child began attending school.5 ceramic center. While she set up her home studio, Otago Polytech- nic launched a distance degree program in ceramic arts in which International Influences and Learning she enrolled. Hegan served as her local primary tutor. The late Len After seeing her pots, I was surprised to learn that Renker never Castle, one of the superstars of New Zealand pottery, also served studied extensively with a Japanese teabowl master. It seems rather as her tutor. Renker worked slowly and methodically, completing that, as a self-directed learner, she absorbs information easily and the two-year program over four years. She took an extra year to

www.ceramicsmonthly.org november 2018 39 obtain an advanced certificate for which she conducted an in-depth After the first firing, she was on her own. In recent years, -Ma investigation of Japanese shino glazes. This thread of interest in sakazu Kusakabe, an experienced Japanese kiln-builder, helped her shino continues in the present. For example, Renker undertook a rebuild the fire box using a bourry fire box design. Wood firing one-month residency at The Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park in itself is an art form and requires a nuanced understanding of many Japan in 2015.7 She conducted numerous glaze tests and visited variables. It is a very fluid process that is not easily controlled. For local feldspar mines there to better appreciate and understand the example, the color of glazes and raw clay changes dramatically with one-of-a-kind feldspars used in Japanese shino glazes. the type of wood used. Renker notes that New Zealand pine burns very hot and clean with a long flame. When she uses reclaimed Building a Wood Kiln wood pallets to fire her kiln, she adds one type of local tree or plant In 2009, a couple of years after Renker completed her formal stud- such as eucalyptus or rhododendron. This can dramatically impact ies, she decided to build her own wood kiln. She said, “I have the the effects of firing on her pots. space. I have the trees. Why not? It just seemed to make sense.” Once she decided to build a wood kiln, she went to the Auckland The Spirit of the Teabowl Studio Potters and asked if anyone had any plans for a good one. Renker first attended the Mungyeong Traditional Tea Bowl (Cha- One of the members, Peter Lange, knew a potter in Italy who sabal) Festival in Korea as a presenter in 2009.8 She returned to had a good design. Lange guided and advised her from a distance the Tea Bowl Festival for five consecutive years thereafter, enjoying in the kiln construction. Basically, Renker collected fire bricks the camaraderie with fellow potters who were more than happy to from hither and yon, took them home, and built the kiln in her share tips and tricks of the trade. The recurrent experience deep- backyard from scratch. She would take pictures each step of the ened within her an appreciation for the subtle design of teabowls. way and then show the photos to the Auckland Studio Potters. She migrated toward a rustic Eastern aesthetic where the forming Lange and a few others would look closely at the progress of her process was visibly celebrated, as opposed to being masked, hid- work. They provided advice and feedback about what she needed den, or erased. Her involvement in the teabowl festival also opened to keep doing or to change and make differently. In the end, the the door to an international network of friends and fellow potters. kiln, designed with a Dutch-oven fire box, was a bit rickety, but She took advantage of these contacts and continues to seek out it worked very well. workshops around the globe that match her interests. For example,

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6 Teabowl, 5½ in. (14 cm) in diameter, stoneware, gray/black decoration, gas fired to cone 10. 7 Two faceted shino teabowls, 4¾ in. (12 cm) in width, wood-fired stoneware, fired to cone 10, 2017. 8 Faceted shino lidded jar, 8¾ in. (22 cm) in height, wood-fired stoneware, fired to cone 10, 2017. 9 Faceted shino lidded jar, 6¼ in. (16 cm) in length, wood-fired black clay, fired to cone 10, 2017. 10 Faceted shino sake cups, 2½ in. (6 cm) in width, stoneware, gas fired for 48 hours to cone 8, 2015. Photos: Kurt Renker.

40 november 2018 www.ceramicsmonthly.org in 2011, she participated in a workshop with Rizu Takahashi, a Japanese teabowl master, in Devon, England, while at a workshop organized by Lisa Hammond.9 While she did not return home to begin making faceted teabowls immediately after the workshop, she noticed these ideas emerging in her teabowls a few years later. She truly enjoys learning as much about making pottery as she can and surrounds herself with like-minded artists who share her interests. During this past summer, Renker came to the US and produced some new work that she then fired in an anagama wood kiln with Jack Troy. Renker successfully weaves together multiple processes, including organically crafting vessels, shino glazing with its idiosyncratic behavior, spontaneously brushing or flicking oxide underglaze designs, and wood firing with its random qualities and unpredictable glaze results. These improvisational and spontaneous processes work harmoniously together to create unpredictable 9 outcomes. Her Western roots come out in discuss- ing her approach to underglaze mark making. “I read a book on Robert Motherwell. In it he said, ‘You know, you make a mark and stand by it. This is your mark. This mark is you.’ I think that is important.” She doesn’t fuss with her work. Her actions with clay are very gestural. It is as if Renker channels her life force into this formative dynamic. Her understandings of Eastern and Western ceramic culture, years of devoted learning and pragmatic practice, coupled with a down-to-earth, matter-of-fact way of being result in clarity and decisiveness in her work. As Renker continues her work as a potter, while tending to her farm and family in the bucolic landscape of New Zealand, she grows in becoming a master 10 studio potter, queen of wood firing, and maker of things useful and beautiful.

Challenges To see more of Elena Renker’s work and learn more about her While readers might be inclined to think that I have painted an process, see page 42, and visit her website, www.elenarenker.com idyllic version of Renker’s journey and practice as a potter, none of and her Etsy page, www.etsy.com/shop/elenarenker. this comes easy. Some kiln firings are complete disappointments. Interestingly enough, one of the primary material problems that the author Andrew Buck, EdD is an artist and arts writer who Renker faces, along with all other potters in New Zealand, is the enjoys contributing to Ceramics Monthly. To learn more, please supply of clay bodies. Almost all clay bodies are imported. When visit http://andrew-buck.net. manufactured clay bodies or raw materials for clay bodies run out and are no longer available, she and the other potters have to start 1 www.newzealand.com/au/feature/new-zealand-geography-and-geology all over again figuring out how new clay bodies behave and interact 2 https://teara.govt.nz/en/history/page-1 with glazes during firing. One of Renker’s strategic responses is 3 www.britannica.com/topic/Maori; www.maori.com 4 www.raymeeker.com/index.php to wedge together clay bodies from three different countries. Her 5 www.elenarenker.com/Info/Info/About.html vessels are truly international in form and spirit. This is testimony 6 http://ceramics.co.nz 7 www.sccp.jp/e to the creative, inventive spirit of Renker and the resourcefulness 8 www.sabal21.com/home of the ceramic arts community in New Zealand. 9 http://elenarenker.blogspot.com.br/2011/11/rizu-takahashi-workshop-in-devon.html

www.ceramicsmonthly.org november 2018 41 Elena Renker: Making a Wood-Fired Teabowl by Andrew Buck, EdD

Elena Renker’s approach to making wood-fired teabowls (1300°C). According to Renker, “The wood has to be dry follows traditional practices but allows room for creativity enough. If it contains too much moisture, then too much and innovation. The process is demarcated by three major energy is used to get it to burn, and the temperature will processes: shaping the clay form, glazing the bisque clay not rise past a certain point. If it is too dry, it does not have body, and wood firing the final work. Renker’s way of enough energy left in it and again, the high temperature will working the raw clay tends to emphasize the gestural and not be achieved. Too much stoking can choke the kiln, too immediate. For example, in the forming process, she may little can starve it. Careful control between the amount of MONTHLY METHOD cut faceted edges, make indentations with a throwing stick, wood, air, and kiln draft are necessary. It requires watching or use a butter board to paddle the form into a desired the flames carefully as they flow like water through the shape. Hand carving the interior and exterior creates a rustic kiln up and out the chimney, and listening to the sound appearance to her smoothly wrought teabowls. Renker’s way of the flames in the kiln, that particular roar after giving of glazing tends toward simplicity. She uses rapidly drawn it a good stoke.” At the maturation point, glazes flux and brush marks of red iron oxide with flicks and splatters to fuse with the clay body; it is a dance of science and art leave painterly marks on her work. After glazing the interior, melding together in magic. The flow of wood ash through she pours shino glaze onto selected exterior areas of each the kiln, and how it is deposited on each piece where it is piece, which creates a contrasting surface for future ash then transformed into glaze, varies with each firing. This deposits in the wood firing. process ensures that each piece is one of a kind. Renker Wood firing is by far the most indirect formative process has learned not to judge pieces too quickly when they first to which Renker surrenders her work. The art of kiln firing come out of the kiln. She has found that some pieces change involves controlling the amount of air, fuel, and oxygen slightly in color and grow on her gradually, revealing their available to achieve mature firing temperatures of 2372°F beauty over time.

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1 Begin by faceting the sides of the teabowl. 2 Having completed the faceting, create indents and shape the bowl by hitting it with a piece of wood. 3 Create an opening in the bowl by pushing down into the center with a dowel. 4 With the opening created, carve some clay out, leaving about ½ in. (1.5 cm) thick walls. 5 Shape the bowl again, this time using a paddle.

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6 Continue shaping the bowl, until the form is where you would like it to be. 7 With the main form created, begin carving the foot of the bowl. 8 The last step before drying is shaping the rim. 9 When the bowl is dry, sand the inside of the bowl to smooth out some of the carving marks. 10 Decorate the bowl with red iron oxide slip. 11 Glaze the outside of the bowl by pouring a shino glaze over sections of the surface. 12 The glazed bowl is now ready for firing. 1–12 Photos: Kurt Renker. 13 View of the kiln being loaded with work propped up on wadding and seashells. 14 This is a view of the flames during firing. 15 This is the kiln chamber after firing.13–15 Photos: Malayka Yoseph.

www.ceramicsmonthly.org november 2018 43 Roger Law Polymath and Unreconstructed Subversive

by Angela Youngman

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Opposite Roger Law’s Jesus Bird Plate, 2016. Photo: John Lawrence Jones. 1 Roger Law and Peter Fluck with their caricature ceramics, 1980. Photo: Peter Moody Meyer. 2 Mrs T-pot and the Reagan Coffee Pot. Photo: Spitting Image Workshop.

Ceramic artist Roger Law describes himself as a “polymath and Charles, and Margaret Thatcher. The Michael Foot coffee mugs unreconstructed subversive.” It is a very apt description of a man now cost about £800 ($1075) due to the scarcity.” who has created some of the most memorable caricatures of the 20th-century as well the long-running satirical TV series, Spitting Move to the Wetlands and Exotic Wildlife Image in the UK, which has sparked offshoots in countries as far After Spitting Image came to an end in the UK, Law went to live afield as Russia, South Africa, New Zealand, Italy, and Japan with in Australia, attracted by the wetlands and exotic wildlife. He the most recent franchise being licensed by a US company. He produced hundreds of drawings and paintings featuring swim- has been a seminal artist for over four decades, resulting in several ming platypus, creeping frogs, and leaping kangaroos, along with careers being rolled into one. numerous insects and sea creatures. At the same time, he began to gravitate toward Chinese ceramics. Skills Expanding “Australia has lots of cultural exchanges with China and I Having trained as an artist at the Cambridge School of Art in the went on one. I went to Jingdezhen, the city where porcelain was UK, he quickly found his art skills expanding into 3D modeling. perfected 1000 years ago, and was hooked. I started to spend a lot Working with Peter Fluck, he created clay caricature models of per- of my time in China. It was hard to get started working there, as I sonalities like Elvis Presley, President Reagan, and Margaret Thatcher had to find people to work with me. The Chinese [artisans] hated for use within a variety of media, and eventually these became latex working from original drawings; they do copies of copies of copies. Spitting Image puppets. Their unique skill in transforming personal So I had to find some young people who needed the work. It took foibles into political and satirical statements meant that anyone be- about four years to get it right. We started with small brushpots came a target—celebrities, politicians, judges, establishment figures, using drawings made in Australia, and once we realized what could royalty, newspaper magnates, and people in show business. As Law be done, we put the images onto really big pots,” Law said. comments, “we sought targets most worthy of caricature.” His involvement in ceramics goes back many years. “Drawing A New Learning Curve is central to my career,” he explains. “Nothing starts without a It marked a major learning curve for both Law and the Chinese drawing. Fluck and I made ceramics even before Spitting Image. potters. Law was closely involved at every stage of the production. We went to Stoke-on-Trent and played about with the molds to His ceramic works are very much the result of hands-on activity. create coffee pots and teapots caricaturing President Reagan, Prince He draws the designs onto newly made clay pots. Each pot is

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moved across the workshop where Law works directly with the wipe out the nearby drawings. Each image had to be drawn upside carver to cut away background clay, leaving designs in high relief. down. It took three months to cover and carve a pot from start to This has resulted in a new approach to large-scale celadon and finish. We never lost one in the firing. Each pot was bisque fired, flambé-glazed porcelain, allowing traditional Chinese skills to be then glazed, and fired again.” used in new ways. “I love the pot work,” Law explains. “I get more enjoyment “I don’t speak Mandarin, so [I] had to come with a translator.” out of doing the pots to record the landscape and the wondrous Law notes, “Wu San Ming did most of the fine carving. I was animals. Near my studio at Bondi, there was a whole colony of allowed to carve the background.” He adds, “Porcelain gets into leafy sea dragons—Australians ask me if I made them up.” your being.” When describing the steps used to create the surface Color schemes range from blues, whites, and terra-cotta browns drawing and carving process on large pieces, Law says, “You wet to the massive fields of calm, tranquil green celadon shades that down the pot with a big brush. Cover a bit two inches across at a characterize the immense five-foot tall pots. Designs swirl and twirl time, and do the drawing. I had to learn how to do that and not around the pots, making you look closely at every animal or leaf.

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3 Roger Law and Wu Song Ming at work on big pots in Jingdezhen, 2010. Photo: Derek Au. 4 Illustration of the cheerleader crabs before plate application. 5 Roger Law’s Cheerleader Crabs Charger, 2016. 6 Roger Law’s brush pot. 7 Roger Law in his studio, China, 2011. Photo: Michael Coulson. 8 Roger Law’s Paradise Pot. 5, 6, 8 Photos: John Lawrence Jones.

Sea wrack, dozy prawns, and all manner of fish swim around a large There can be little doubt that his designs and concepts are stun- Paradise Pot glazed in celadon, while leaping fish and crayfish adorn ning, leaving visitors to his recent exhibition totally in awe of his a salt-water glazed vase in deep red, whites, and shades of green. immense skill. Having spent several months at the Sainsbury Centre in Norwich, England, the show, titled “Roger Law: From Satire Evolving through Experiences to Ceramics,” moved to the Clydebank Museum and Art Gallery, His initial work focused very much on designs inspired by the Austra- in Glasgow, Scotland. The imposing vases, jars, and cauldrons on lian landscape and wildlife such as chargers adorned with cheerleader display capture the attention of everyone who sees them due to their crabs or platypus with yabbies. He designed bowls that looked like sheer size, beauty, and impressive designs. Numerous drawings and Song Dynasty bowls but with mudfish flying about, brush pots with engaging films demonstrate how these works have been created and wading ostriches, and plates adorned with running emus. show why Law has become one of the foremost ceramic artists in Following his move back to the UK, Law has maintained his the world. His unique vision has resulted in the creation of ceramics links with China, developing designs that are clearly influenced by that are eye-catching, monumental, and distinctive. the East Anglian landscape. His work is adorned with wild flowers like teasel and holly, Norfolk meadows, owls, and marsh hares. His the author Angela Youngman is a freelance journalist and author. She most recent work incorporates Norfolk lobsters, a mackerel shoal, writes for a wide range of publications and websites, and has written and an English rabbit dance. numerous books.

www.ceramicsmonthly.org november 2018 47 1 2

MAKING AN INTERNATIONAL

MOVE by Joe Molinaro Why would you want to do that? That seemed to be the question that funds, we realized that a move like this could be most affordable followed when my wife, Mary, and I announced we were making a compared with the options of living on retirement in the US. move to Mexico. Our answer was a bit nuanced when considering We discovered a website that offered, in real time, a cost of liv- making a move of both our house and studio to another country, ing comparison for those hoping to live in a place outside of the and in our case, the other country being Mexico. Having entered US. This website, www.expatistan.com, allows the user to input retirement after 3 decades of teaching in higher education, which also the city they are leaving and the city abroad they wish to compare included over 25 years doing research in Central and South America, for daily, monthly, or even yearly expenses. It was a great starting and then looking at how to spend the next phase of our lives, it just point for us and helped narrow our sites to several locations within made sense to consider a move that would be adventurous, challeng- Mexico that were both affordable and compatible with our needs ing, and satisfying. Mexico was a natural choice, since we had years and interests. After visiting several places and narrowing the list of experience traveling and working in Latin America. The customs down even further based on criteria including the size of town, and language were familiar, and while most of my research and time strong infrastructure (transportation, medical, food, cultural op- had been spent in South America, the close proximity of Mexico to portunities, etc.), comfortable weather, and safety, we eventually the US seemed easier. We could travel back and forth by air or car, settled on the town of San Miguel de Allende,1 a UNESCO World and getting home to visit family did not present the same logistical Heritage site known for its ideal weather and location (located in difficulties as moving to South America. With the knowledge that an central Mexico, approximately 6500 feet above sea level). With international move would likely present many obstacles, the journey the discovery that the average cost of living is 42% less than our to relocate from the US to Mexico, a nearly three-year process, began current hometown of Lexington, Kentucky, we were well on our in earnest. way to making a commitment to move south of the border.

A Great Starting Point Adventure is Waiting To begin the journey of making a move of this magnitude, we For us, the journey began when our 10-year-old home and stu- quickly discovered a whole world of literature that helped guide dio, one we had built with the idea of it being the final place we us and our thinking. After looking at our finances and retirement would live in long after retirement, soon became affected by local

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1 San Miguel de Allende (SMA) city center with view of the Parrochia. 2 San Miguel de Allende, Mexico—looking toward the Parrochia and city center in the middle ground. 3 Unloading items after shipment from Lexington, Kentucky, to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. 4 Decorated street for an Easter festival in SMA.

industrial development. With an abrupt change such as this, and Hiring a mover (someone from San Miguel de Allende experienced after the initial shock of feeling uprooted, we soon realized it could with moving expats and their belongings) was our next task. This also be liberating by allowing us to entertain other options not was easy since there are several movers in town with experience and previously considered. In short, the world opened up to us and knowledge of border crossings. We quickly made contact and set up a we saw ourselves thinking outside the box, and as a result soon date for them to arrive in Lexington to fill a truck with our possessions. discovered that an adventure awaited us if we were willing to take After putting our house on the market in Lexington, we began some chances. Living in a new country, complete with a different the tedious process of downsizing (the most difficult task of all). language, food, culture, and ideas, all seemed invigorating. It was Sorting out all we wanted to keep against all we needed to let go the perfect time and place to take advantage of our situation and seemed an endless effort that took several months. The difficulty in to seek an adventure in living abroad. facing the emotional ties to all of our material world was probably Subsequent necessary knowledge on how to proceed with our the most challenging part of our adventure. move included learning about Mexican laws for expats purchas- I decided to bring most of the studio equipment and tools that ing property. After researching the rules and submitting our I used on a regular basis. I did not want to find myself needing a paperwork to be approved to buy a home there, we soon found particular tool or piece of equipment (slab roller, extruder, wheel, a house that suited us both in size and cost. After making the etc.), since I already anticipated a slow process in locating clay and purchase and acquiring a Mexican Will (a necessary move for glaze materials. If I had to do it all again, I would still move the those living in Mexico), getting our new home set up with utili- equipment I did since getting these items in Mexico is more expen- ties and furniture became our next focus. It should be noted that sive than shipping them. Selling used equipment in the US would during this time we were regularly traveling back and forth since not cover the expense of replacing these items. Even if I rented space we also had a home in Kentucky that would eventually need to in a community center, there is no guarantee they would have the be emptied and sold. equipment I need (or want). When the sorting was all completed, we had a storage unit full of items that were packed and ready to Downsizing ship to our new home in Mexico. With a house full of furniture in Kentucky and an empty house On a sunny summer day in 2017, the movers arrived, loaded our in Mexico, the initial temptation was to see how we might move goods, and off they went south to the border crossing into Mexico all our belongings south. But, after careful consideration, which at Laredo, Texas. included seeking advice from others (both in person and through With the sale of our house complete and the removal of all the our research), we determined it would be less expensive to limit items we no longer needed, and with our belongings en route to our what we brought down to include only studio tools and equip- new home in Mexico, the feeling of adventure, excitement, and yes, ment, our personal family treasures (mostly photos, files, etc.), fear, permeated our lives. clothes, artworks, and selected books. Furniture is something we could easily replace on site, especially living in a town full Challenges and Setting Up a New Life of craftsmen (including woodworkers, masons, blacksmiths, Setting up in a new country presents all sorts of challenges, com- weavers, etc.). pounded by the fact that a different language, food, and rituals

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5 Bellas Artes building located near the town center in San Miguel. 6 Bellas Artes’ handbuilding studio. 7 Worker decorating pottery at the Castillo Talavera factory in Dolores Hidalgo, Mexico. 8 Open studio space at Alto-Fuego Studio.

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affect your daily decisions. Learning about visa categories for expats (for individuals, San Miguel families, or even cars) and the necessary paperwork for bringing family pets (in our case a dog and two cats) into the country, as well as finding health-related and Clay Centers banking services were all part of our move and the settling-in process. Other local 1 Estudio Paloma San Miguel expats with years of experience, along with many books on the subject, often came Paloma #11, Fracc. La Luz to the rescue in helping to guide us as our questions mounted. San Miguel de Allende, Mexico With time, it became increasingly clear how we were learning to live in and to www.sanmigueldeallendeceramicwork- know Mexico more through our senses than our minds. The colors, smells, sounds, shops.com A local clay studio housing working artists as well as the regular festivals celebrating all aspects of daily Mexican life, were gentle as well as offering high profile ceramic reminders of where we now resided and how our new neighbors lived their lives. workshops from artists both Mexico and The comfort of a steady life in Lexington was now behind us, and a new day in a the US. new country reminded us of the adventure we had hoped for. 2 Barro.Co Clay Studio Sabino #16 Setting up the New Studio Colonial San Antonio Months after relocating and finally feeling settled into our new home, the task of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico setting up a studio awaited me. Having to locate a space and finding local materials www.barro-co.com A local clay studio offering beginning were the first two obstacles I had to overcome. After spending time seeking other and intermediate classes as well as clay artists in the area, I soon discovered several places in town where one could find hosting workshops with artists from both space to work (see left). These clay centers, mostly cooperative in nature, offered Mexico and the US. classes, workshops, and adequate space to rent, complete with varying equipment 3 Altofuego Estudio De Ceramica access. Finding these studios proved instructive in both meeting other artists as Orizaba #43 well as seeing how they were able to work together in a shared space. Having spent Colonial San Antonio a great amount of time in academia, the thought of working with others was ap- San Miguel de Allende, Mexico pealing. In almost every case, the artists I met were generous with their time and [email protected] A local clay studio offering both indi- support as well as being serious clay workers. vidual and group classes. Despite this, since I had my own studio equipment that I had shipped down from Kentucky, my initial efforts were to locate a space near my home where I could set

50 november 2018 www.ceramicsmonthly.org Basic Moving Timeline (2–3 years) Year One: • Research locations, read literature about making this type of move, and seek advice from expats in areas you are considering. • Choose location based on finances, accessibility to the US, and cost-of-living analysis. – For cost comparisons, use the website, www.expatistan.com. – If you are going to be making a living there (not yet retired): – Consider taxes, visa requirements, employment as an expat. – Consult with a local attorney on the legalities of employment. – Refine your options based on site visits: – Considerations include weather, location (coastal, mountains, etc.), local resources (health services, library, social offerings, busses/taxis, shopping, markets, etc.), local economy, cultural amenities, and safety. 9 • Research laws and paperwork required for moving to your chosen country. – Find out what type of visas are required for long-term stays. – Identify paperwork needed to get permission to own property. • Locate a neighborhood and property that is suitable. – Find a local realtor through word of mouth or realtor offices.

Year Two: • Purchase/rent property: – Renting for a year is advised before making a purchase to become familiar with the town’s neighborhoods and services. • Estimate how many possessions will be included in your move: – Don’t try to move everything; you do not need it all. Purchasing locally is often a better, and less expensive, way to proceed. • Downsize over a period of weeks/months: – Base the time needed on how much you need to downsize. We downsized twice: to sell our house and then once it was sold. • Locate your studio options, and network prior to the move: 10 – Once you have decided where you plan to relocate, attend art openings and speak with gallery owners to find others working in the arts, and specifically clay. – Visit artists who have studios in town to connect to the larger art/clay community. Be patient, this takes time!

Year Three: • Make the physical move: – Sell and clear out your house, then determine what items will be moved. Consider furniture, studio supplies and equipment, art books, and any artwork. – Determine how you will travel to your new home (drive, fly) Price our the cost of the trip. • Find movers/shippers: – Make arrangements with international movers. This is critical. You can find these once you have decided on where you plan to relocate. Call several movers to get estimates on the cost. • Set up workspace/renting space: – Once you have made connections with other local clay artists, find cooperative clay spaces or rent something locally. • Locate materials/tools: – Local clay artists offer invaluable help in locating materials. – Don’t purchase materials from the US—shipping makes this cumbersome, slow, and expensive. – Finding local clay sources takes time, but is worth the effort. • Build networks with local artists, and businesses. • Determine and develop options for selling your work: – In our case, and in our town, there are many galleries where artists sell work, and since San Miguel is a popular tourists desti- 11 nation, selling work has great potential. 9 Lexington, Kentucky, storage unit filled with studio equipment, books, – Research the availability of local galleries and the strength of a and personal items ready to be shipped to Mexico. 10 Joe’s SMA local market carefully if selling your art work is a priority. studio. 11 Alternate view of Joe’s SMA studio.

www.ceramicsmonthly.org november 2018 51 12 Barro.Co Clay studio’s general work space in San Miguel. 13 Private studio 12 13 spaces at Estudio Paloma in San Miguel.

up a small studio until later when I might decide to work in one of the studio cooperatives in town. Fortunately, the downstairs of a house on our street was available. It was raw, but spacious and most Books affordable. I quickly rented it in time for our belongings to arrive. 1 Should I Stay or Should I Go?: The truth about moving After unloading our possessions, it was the first time in our new abroad and whether it’s right for you by Paul Allen country that I saw the potential of creating an active clay studio. 2 Retirement Without Borders: How to retire abroad–in Mexico, France, Italy, Spain, Costa Rica, Panama, and Setting up a new work space required finding studio furniture other sunny, foreign places (and the secret to making it (tables, chairs, etc., mostly from a local junk/antique yard), places happen without stress) by Barry Golson to get buckets for clay and glaze, and of course, various ceramic 3 How to Retire Overseas: Everything you need to know to materials and the clay itself. The nearby town of Dolores Hidalgo2 live well (for less) abroad by Kathleen Peddicord is a ceramic center with generations of clay workers still produc- 4 The Expert Expat: Your guide to successful relocation ing pottery today that is mostly colorful slip-cast decorative and abroad by Patricia Linderman functional wares as well as tile work), so local suppliers of raw 5 The International Living Guide to Retiring Overseas on a Budget by Suzan Haskins materials were readily available. Learning about Mexican material 6 Getting Out: Your guide to leaving America by equivalents became the first obstacle to overcome, and testing clays Mark Ehrman and glazes became part of my daily studio work. Once my kilns 7 A Better Life for Half the Price: How to prosper on less were installed and connected, and the wheels, slab roller, tables, money in the cheapest places to live by Tim Leffel and extruder in place, a working studio slowly emerged. 8 Living Abroad: What every expat needs to know by Cathy In the early days, I was besieged with the thought of again be- Tsang-Feign ing in graduate school and simply trying to figure things out. The 9 The Expatriate’s Roadmap to Successfully Moving Over- seas by Cynthia Caughey excitement (and of course, frustration), was everywhere, every day. 10 The Grown-Up’s Guide to Running Away from Home by Fortunately, having spent valuable time working to connect with Rosanne Knorr other ceramic artists in town proved to be most useful. Suggestions 11 101 Ways to Enjoy Living Abroad: Essential tips for easing on where to find materials and supplies, as well as simple cama- the transition to expat life by Karen McCann raderie, proved to be the tonic to cure the frustration of trying to 12 The Happy Expat Family: 8 challenges expat families get a studio up and running. And while I am still in the infancy of face and how to overcome them by Dena Haines starting over again in a new studio, with new materials, in a new 13 The Best How-To Book on Moving to Mexico by Schmidt, country, with new friends, the excitement and challenge that we Hair and Brook 14 Becoming an Expat Mexico: Your guide to moving anticipated have never let us down. abroad by Shannon Enete I cannot say what my work will look like as I begin to make 15 Retire in Mexico–Live Better for Less Money by Dru Pearson decisions based on new materials and influences, but I am not 16 Living or Retiring in Mexico by Leo Buijs afraid of the task. I welcome a new paradigm requiring me to fa- miliarize myself with the unknown and to discover a new voice in clay, one influenced by a Mexican environment and surroundings. The known for me is working in clay, whatever clay that might be,

complete with new glazes, temperatures, processes, and of course, 1 San Miguel de Allende, a colonial-era city in Mexico’s central highlands, approximately 6,500 feet above new ideas inspired by a foreign land. sea level, is known for its baroque Spanish architecture, booming arts scene, music, and many festivals. In the city’s historic center, lined with cobblestone streets, lies the neo-Gothic church Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel, whose towers rise above the main plaza, El Jardín. the author Joe Molinaro, professor emeritus at Eastern Kentucky 2 Dolores Hidalgo is a city in central Mexico, approximately 30 miles from San Miguel de Allende. It University in Richmond, Kentucky, lives and maintains a studio is the birthplace of Mexican independence in the early 1800s. Local priest Miguel Hidalgo uttered the “Cry of Dolores” at the 18th-century Dolores Parish Church, rallying people to rise up. Today Dolores practice in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. To learn more, visit Hidalgo is known primarily for its ceramics industry, started by Father Hidalgo, which provides income http://joemolinaro.com. to well over half the city’s population.

52 november 2018 www.ceramicsmonthly.org by Heidi McKenzie

Judith Pungkarta Inkamala’s Albert Namatjira, 2017. Photo: Sabbia Gallery.

www.ceramicsmonthly.org november 2018 53 Last November, I found myself driving my hatchback rental car along the nearly-deserted Larapinta Drive, about 50 miles (130 km) south west of Alice Springs. The journey is breathtakingly stunning, nestled within the MacDonell Ranges, deep in the heart of the Northern Territories of Australia. Destination: Hermannsburg Pot- tery. Midway through my three-month artist residency at the Armory in Sydney’s Olympic Park, I had secured a small research grant from the Canadian Consular Of- fice in Sydney, and ambitiously set out to reunite with the Ernabella artists I had met three years previously in Jingdezhen, China. Geography and logistics derailed me. Visiting Hermannsburg was more feasible. When I walked into what was clearly a former one-room school house, I had no expectations. The five hours I subse- 1 quently spent with the women of the Hermannsburg Pottery was a gift—a portal into a world about which I had no understanding previously, and now, can only profess to possess an inkling.

Resisting Type-Casting I think it’s fair to generalize that most Westerners have a preconceived idea that all Aboriginal Australian art is about the Dreaming or creation myth stories, and for the most part are comprised of dot paintings. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The Hermannsburg potters categorically resist this type-casting. Their art showcases the imagination and humor of every individual; it is both narrative and figurative, and it features land as an integral part of life, culture, custom, and spiritual practice. It is the ceramic incarnation of the art of everyday storytelling. Hermannsburg Pottery is an Aboriginal corporation that has been running for 28 years. It was founded in 1990 when Manhattan-raised, Israeli-trained, Jewish pot- 2 ter, Naomi Sharp, presented herself for service. Sharp had a significant influence on shaping the creative direction of the largely women’s collective. In addition to working with the local Aranda women, she travelled weekly to several of the 40 outstations within a 70-kilometer radius of the mission. She set out to ignite the artists’ imaginations by exposing them to imagery of exotic animals, birds, and flowers, the likes of which they had never seen. She also strategically showed them images of Aboriginal women in Papua New Guinea making ceramics, and slowly but surely a group of women came together and formed the cooperative that is now the internationally recognized and collected Hermannsburg Pottery.

Creative Roots Today, Hermannsburg is one of Australia’s smallest municipalities; the last census enumerated just under 3 500 residents. What used to be known as Ntaria began 1 Heidi McKenzie’s demo with Rona Panangka Rubuntja (left) and Hayley Coulthard as a small Lutheran mission in 1877, an offspring of the (right). Photo: Gabrielle Wallington. 2 Outside view of Hermannsburgh Pottery. 3 MacDonnell Ranges in Hermannsburg, Australia. Photo: Jason McCarthy, National original Hermannsburg in Germany whose evangelical Museum of Australia. reach extended to India, Africa, and desert nomadic

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Australia. By 1904, the New Testament had been translated into Aranda, and school children learned English and German, as well as their native tongue. Following Aranda cultural norms, boys were segregated from the girls, a practice that ripples through to present day. While a few men have transited through, the pottery remains largely the domain of the women. However, its creative roots can be attributed to men, and to one man in particular—possibly the most famous Aboriginal man in all of Australia, and the first Aboriginal to be granted citizenship—Albert Namatjira. Most of the Hermannsburg potters can trace their lineage directly or circuitously back to Namatjira, whose tragically brief life (1902–59) impacted so many. Namatjira displayed early aptitude in arts and crafts. When Melbourne-based artist Rex Battarbee ventured into Aranda territory in the 1930s, his express purpose was to impart the fine art of landscape watercolor painting to Aboriginal locals. Namatjira quickly established himself as the Westerner’s most gifted apprentice and camel wrangler, and in 1932 Battarbee arranged Namatjira’s first solo exhibition in Alice Springs to heralded acclaim. Judith Pungkarta Inkamala, current chairperson of the Pottery and Anita Ratara Mbitjana, the senior-most member present on the day I visited, recounted their memories of spending time at the heels of their uncles and the men Namatjira taught, washing their paintbrushes and admiring the men’s work. Little did they know that they were absorbing through osmosis what has become a highly sophisticated practice of narrative, figurative, and landscape painting on clay.

A Practice Through Osmosis The Hermannsburg pots are typically hand-coiled vessels made from commercial terra cotta, burnished and then decorated with underglazes. Each pot has a corresponding lid with a hand-modeled animal or human figurine—quite possibly a throwback to a tradition that was initiated in the 1970s of making figurines for the local 6 tourist market from Alice Springs or nearby King’s Canyon out of 4 Judith Pungarta Inkamala working in the pottery. 5 Rona Panangka plasticine or locally sourced clay. I found each artist working from Rubuntja with figure. 6 Rona Panangka Rubuntja’s Kalporyal Day. a set of 10 to 20 different underglazes arranged in much the same Photo: Sabbia Gallery.

www.ceramicsmonthly.org november 2018 55 Introductions and Long-Standing Relationships The current manager of the Hermannsburg Pottery, Gabrielle Wallington, is employed by the Australian Government and the program is funded through the Department of Communication and the Arts, Indigenous Visual Arts Industry Support program. Wallington is a fresh-faced, calm, and remarkably well-travelled potter. Her pedagogical pedigree began under the tutelage of Janet de Boos and Greg Daly at Australia National University in Canberra, out of which sprang an international semester abroad at Canada’s prestigious Emily Carr University of Art and Design, working with Paul Mathieu. She subsequently plunged into a six-month, wood-firing apprenticeship with Josh Copus in North Carolina, and then worked with Tara Wilson at Red Lodge Clay Center in Red Lodge, Montana, as well as Josh DeWeese at Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana. She found herself working at a pottery in Chile—from which she Skyped in for her job interview with Hermannsburg. Wallington prepared 7 sandwiches for the potters, and after a couple of hours of simply being with the artists, observing and asking them questions about what they were working on over lunch and tea, Wallington introduced me as a potter to the group. Rona Panangka Rubuntja, one of the most prolific potters in the group, initiated a non-verbal, gestural, two-way 20-questions with me as I explained myself and my heritage to the group. Wallington opened the floor for me to demo a new tool I had brought to share. I had intuited that the pottery might not have Surforms, so I had purchased a few at a local hardware store in Sydney and gifted them to the group. Rubuntja and Mbitjana’s daughter Hayley Panangka Coulthard showed great interest in the demo that I ad-libbed. Two days later I was in Adelaide attending Tarnanthi, the biannual festival of contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander 8 indigenous arts. I made the pilgrimage out of town to the Jam Fac-

7 Anita Ratara Mbitjana’s Palm Valley, 3 in. (8 cm) in height. In the tory’s satellite venue in Seppeltsfield to experience “Clay Stories: collection of Heidi McKenzie. 8 Installation view of the “Clay Stories: Contemporary Indigenous Ceramics from Remote Australia,” a Contemporary Indigenous Ceramics from Remote Australia” exhibition at nationally touring exhibition of 23 Aboriginal ceramicists from 5 Jam Factory’s satellite location in Seppeltsfield. Pots by Rahel Kngwarria Ungrwanaka: Tjwanpa (left), Kurrkurrka (Boobook Owl) (right). different arts centers, including works by many of the artists I had just spent time with in Hermannsburg. Today, the Hermannsburg Pottery has recently established representation with Sydney-based way as a painter’s palette. The women’s creations often reverse the Sabbia Gallery, which also has a long-standing relationship with color layering technique of the Namatjira antecedents, riffing with the Ernabella Potters. The Hermannsburg potters’ work has been brightly colored pink or orange mountain ranges and intensely acquired by over 30 galleries, museums, and collectors nationally, surreal skies. The small piece I brought home with me was one and they have completed over a dozen significant mural commis- of Mbitjana’s. At the time, its lid was still in the firing process. It sions including one for Sydney’s Taronga Zoo. What started as quite simply depicts the beauty of Palm Valley, her ancestral land, a training program on a tarp under a tree, has since become an at sunset. Mbitjana’s daughter, niece, and grandson are all part of internationally renowned art movement, lead and sustained by a the collective’s current roster. Much of their work recounts specific dedicated group of women. encounters or friezes of important social gatherings, often with cheeky twists. The vessels are “marvelous hybrids, perfect spheri- the author Heidi McKenzie is an artist, author, and curator living in cal forms wrapped in Namatjira-like landscapes with figurines Toronto, Canada. Learn more at http://heidimckenzie.ca.

and animals seated on their lids, surveying the landscape and all 1 Jennifer Isaacs, Hermannsburg Potters: Aranda Artists of Central Australia (Sydney, Australia: Craftsman 1 who come here.” House, 2000), p.13.

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www.ceramicsmonthly.org november 2018 57 TECHNO FILE

by Ryan Coppage, PhD with Ruhan Farsin and dirty dishes Laura Runyen-Janecky, PhD There is a common misconception in pottery, suggesting that crazed glaze surfaces are not food safe because they retain dangerous pathogens. But, through some mystery of the ages, glazed wares exhibiting crazing have been made and eaten off of for over 1000 years. Here is an explanation of crazing and glaze surfaces, microscopy imaging, and bacterial survival studies of crazed and non- crazed glaze surfaces for comparison.

Define the Terms Crazing Bacterial Colony: A circular region of Crazing most often exists as a difference in COE (coefficient of expansion) between a ceramic visible growth in a petri dish where a surface and a glassy, silicate glaze coating. As a ceramic cools after being fired, differences in bacterial cell has replicated to a visible mass of cells using available nutrients. COE between a clay body and a glaze place substantial pressure on the glaze. A higher glaze COE will result in a glaze cracking to relieve stress, often heard in the sound of soft pings BHI: Brain Heart Infusion agar is a shortly after unloading a kiln. Several days after unloading, you have likely noticed a change nutrient-rich solid medium for growing microorganisms. in the craze patterning and craze segment size. Coefficient of Expansion (COE): The Crazing vs. Non-Crazing rate at which ceramic (or other materials, including glasses, glazes, and metals) For this example, two glaze bases were used: a common celadon base that is known for vibrant expands or contracts as a function of colors (and has high crazing) and the Bubble Base Glaze, which has muted colors and a COE temperature change. more similar to that of clay (1). Note that in the case of the Bubble Base Glaze, a higher clay Dissection Microscope: An optical and borate/whiting content shows more muted color, while also demonstrating an expansion/ microscope that is designed for contraction coefficient that is more similar to that of clay, resulting in effectively no crazing. relatively low magnification imaging with visible light. CELADON BASE BUBBLE BASE Pathogen: A bacterium, virus, or other Cone 6 Oxidation Cone 6 Oxidation harmful entity that can cause disease. Gerstley Borate ...... 14.5 % Gerstley Borate ...... 15.7 % Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM): Whiting...... 10.4 Talc ...... 6.1 An instrument that scans a surface with Nepheline Syenite ...... 54.3 Whiting...... 11.3 an electron beam to generate a profile of the surface at a very high magnification. Silica ...... 20.8 Nepheline Syenite ...... 26.2 100.0 % EPK Kaolin...... 17.4 Add: Bentonite...... 4.0 % Silica ...... 23.3 Copper Carbonate. . . . . 0.5 % 100.0 % Add: Copper Carbonate. . . . . 0.5 % A low-clay celadon A high EPK-kaolin base that allows for base that does high-color saturation, not show crazing but demonstrates on porcelain. aggressive crazing.

The Surfaces of Glazes Though a glaze may look smooth, microscopically, its surface is full of bubbles, defects, fissures, and other features. Imaging using a dissection microscope and SEM of a crazed celadon sample (2), shows a range of cracks and bubbles in the glaze, trapped from off-gassing ingredients like borates or whiting. These bubbles could open at the surface, create a pore, or be trapped just beneath the surface. Additionally, crazed surfaces contain substantial cracks and fissures, which have been argued to retain dangerous pathogens. Testing a Theory To test this, tiles were intentionally contaminated with a bacterial strain of Lactococcus lactis, a common bacteria found in milk and used to make cheese. This bacterial strain could emulate

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C1. Wiped C2. Rinsed C3. Cleaned with C4. Dishwasher N1. Wiped N2. Rinsed N3. Cleaned with N4. Dishwasher and dried with water soap/water cleaned 3 and dried with water soap/water cleaned 5

2 Dissection microscope (center) and SEM images (left) of a tile with a crazed glazed surface, showing craze lines and fissures. 3 Bacterial survival results of increasingly stringent washes on a crazed glaze surface. 4 Dissection microscope (center) and SEM images (left) of a tile with a non-crazed glaze surface, showing surface pores and defects. 5 Bacterial survival results of increasingly stringent washes on a non-crazed glaze surface.

the retention of more harmful bacteria on crazed and non-crazed Results glaze surfaces. To determine bacterial survival on non-crazed surfaces as compared to Liquid cultures of the bacteria were used to inoculate the sample crazed surfaces, the bacterial contamination procedure was repeated tiles, by deposition of 1 mL of the culture (~1 billion bacterial cells) with both a set of 5 crazed and 5 non-crazed tiles (labeled N0–N4) . onto each of four sterilized, crazed test tiles, labeled C1–4 (3). A Interestingly, bacteria were recovered from the non-crazed tiles that fifth tile was pipetted with sterile water to act as a negative control, were only wiped and dried, suggesting that even the non-crazed surfaces and labeled C0. These tiles were then placed in enclosed petri dishes can retain bacteria even after being wiped, dried, and sitting for 24 hours; and kept at room temperature for 24 hours. After this period, the however, all other remaining washing processes of the uncrazed tiles negative control and tile C1 were dried with paper towels. Tile C2 resulted in no bacterial colonies to be observable in culture plates (5). was washed with tap water, tile C3 was washed with warm tap water Note: All bacteria survival studies were repeated in triplicate. Results (107°F (42ºC)) and Alconox-based soap, and tile C4 was washed of all cultures and washes were consistent across all culture plates. in a dishwasher (167°F (75ºC)) with Neodisher LaboClean FLA and The samples N1–N4 (non-crazed) show bacterial survival only for Neodisher Z neutralizer). All the tiles were then dried with paper sample N1, with no survival visible on other samples. towels after the washes. While non-crazed surfaces do demonstrate cleaner results in this Following this, 1 mL of sterile water was pipetted onto each tile survival study, even non-crazed surfaces can retain bacteria on wiped and allowed to rest for 15 minutes. As such, any bacteria retained and dried surfaces. Additionally, the use of heat, soap, and water in the tile could resuspend in the water. Following this, 500 µL of kills or removes bacteria in even crazed surfaces, though they are the water (which potentially contained bacteria) was pipetted from commonly (and mistakenly) thought to be totally non-food safe. each tile and spread onto BHI agar plates, which were placed in Despite the misconception about pathogens being impossible to a 98°F (37°C) incubator for 24 hours. During these 24 hours, any remove from crazed surfaces, it would appear that cleaning your bacterial cell present can replicate, forming more cells in the same precious pottery well (ideally in a dishwasher) is all that needs to spot, which results in the appearance of a visible colony. Afterward, happen. To that end, keep making and using beautiful handmade the plates were removed to observe and photograph any bacterial pottery; just take the time to actually clean it after you use it. growth. Each circle in figure 3 is a culture plate. A dark spot on the plate represents a colony of bacteria that would have grown from All glaze work and firings were performed at Visual Arts Center of cells retained on the tile. Richmond. Bacterial culture work and culture plate photographs The samples C1–C3 retained bacteria through increasingly stringent were obtained by Ruhan Farsin in Dr. Laura Runyen-Janecky’s lab surface cleaning; however, a regular dishwasher run was sufficient at the University of Richmond. Microscope images were obtained to remove or kill any bacteria held in cracks/crazing such that no on a Zeiss Neolumar Dissecting Microscope and JEOL 6360 SEM by colonies were detected. Christie Lacy at the University of Richmond. While the Bubble Base glaze recipe does not result in apparent craze patterning, it does result in suspended bubbles in the clear the author Ryan Coppage, is currently chemistry faculty at the glaze (4). These were imaged via dissecting microscope and SEM. University of Richmond. He teaches a Japanese Ceramics and Glaze Notably, bubbles do form crevices and openings at the surface, visible Design class at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond and is starting to via SEM, which could retain bacteria. make a reasonable number of pots. www.ryancoppage.com.

www.ceramicsmonthly.org november 2018 59 TIPS AND TOOLS firing fee calculator by Carrie Wiederhold Learn one studio owner’s solution to a perennial question for potters who share firings or community studios firing work by numerous students: what should you charge for firing fees?

While there are many ways to calculate firing fees for pottery studios, Turn two boards with the gridded insides facing each other and we studio owners and operators seem to struggle with how to charge tape the outside long edges together to create a book cover that our members and students for firing their pieces. There are countless will open to a 90° angle. posts and message boards that pose the same question: How do Place the remaining board (the base) so that the gridded side is you charge for firing in your studio and why do you do it that way? facing one of the taped boards, and tape the outside bottom edge That leads to more and more questions. Should we charge a flat on the short sides. You should now be able to fold the bottom down rate? Should we charge separately for bisque and glaze firings? What and have what looks like the inside of a cube (think geometry). are studio costs for firing? How big are your kilns? The list is endless! Label the inches on each board where they are easily seen. We labeled them at each side and marked off 5-inch increments with Firing Fee Box bolder lines. At my studio, Gailanna Pottery in Macomb, Michigan, I have come Mark the maximum firing height for your kiln (this is the max up with a way to calculate firing fees for students and members that height you are willing to fire inside of your kiln, not your actual kiln are firing outside of the scope of our class and membership prices. height). I also drew the outline of my kiln shelves on the bottom After a lot of reading, suggestions from peers, figuring, and Google board for kiln shelf reference when artists are making pieces with a searches, I came up with our firing box and fee schedule. large circumference. Our firing fee box consists of a three-sided, three-dimensional grid Now that you have your firing fee box, this is how I go about that gives us the cubic inches or cubic feet for each piece. To make measuring pieces and charging for space in the firing. your own, here is what you will need: • 3 standard-sized foam poster boards Measuring and Charging • Tape (a sturdy tape to hold up to studio dust and water) I used Bisque (cone 04) and glaze (cone 6) firings combined with the use blue painters tape because it was what I had here already. of studio glazes is charged at $.06/cubic inch. The $.06/cubic inch is • Permanent marker based on electricity during firings, kiln maintenance and replacement • Yard stick costs, space costs, loading and unloading, as well as glaze costs. Those Mark all three boards with 1 inch lines, both vertical and horizontal, are averaged out per firing/per kiln for a year. There are firing-fee forming a grid. calculators you can use online to determine your base rate.

1 2 3

1 Front view of the cubic-inch box. 2 Top view of the cubic-inch box. 3 Carrie Wiederhold’s chip-and-dip bowl placed properly on the grid. The piece measures 6 inches in height by 9 inches in width by 11 inches in length. The pink octagon and blue circle represent the two kiln-shelf shapes and sizes used at the studio.

60 november 2018 www.ceramicsmonthly.org Here’s an example of how we determine the exact cost of firing a of whether or not they use my glazes or their own. I don’t want to piece: A mug that measures 4 × 3 × 5 = 60 cubic inches. 60 × $.06 keep track of that much. = $3.60 for that piece to be both bisque fired and glaze fired, using Q: What if someone only wants one firing and not both? my studio glazes. A: We will fire bisque at one rate ($.04/cubic inch). Most studios, Artists measure their pieces at the greenware stage. I have a triplicate including mine, will only fire work made in their studio that is made carbon-copy sales ticket booklet that is used to record the name of with clay purchased there as well. the artist, the dimensions of each piece and a description. One copy Q: What if someone wants a third firing? is placed on the pieces, one is kept for their record and once stays A: I will not refire to cone 6, but I will refire a cone 6 piece to a in the book. When you choose to settle up on the fees is up to you. bisque/overglaze temperature for certain reasons (decals, lusters, etc.) In that case, the third bisque firing is charged additionally. Questions Q: Is there a minimum fee? As I developed this system, of course I ran into some questions. Here A: Yes. The minimum firing charge starts at $1.00. We do have a is how I answered them for my studio: bowl that measures 5 × 5 × 4 inches in which to fire smaller items. Q: At what phase do you measure the piece in or do you measure Anything that fits in that bowl, such as beads or charms (nothing for both firings? heaped over or sticking out of those dimensions; we use a ruler placed A: Pieces are measured once at the greenware stage, before straight across the top to check) is charged at one price. (5 × 5 × 4 bisque firing. inches =100, 100 × $.06=$6.00). Q: What if a piece is not exactly in the inch increments? Do you charge quarter/half inches? the author Carrie Wiederhold, owner of Gailanna Pottery in A: If the piece measures anywhere over the inch mark, the Macomb, Michigan, teaches beginner through advanced wheel- measurement is considered to be the next inch. That means, if throwing classes as well as creates her own work for several juried something measures 4.25 inches, it is charged as 5 inches. The reason? art shows and markets. She has been working with clay for 13 years. Exceeding an inch mark may not matter as much in smaller pieces, To learn more, visit www.gailanna.com. but it certainly does when someone wants to fire a piece that is 22.2 inches high and your max height is 22 inches. Send your tip and tool ideas, along with plenty of images, to Q: What if someone uses their own glaze and not yours? [email protected]. If we use your idea, you’ll receive a A: While this will vary for each studio, I charge the same regardless complimentary one-year subscription to CM!

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www.ceramicsmonthly.org november 2018 61 RECIPES ARTICLE 10 cone 6–11 recipes Three potters in vastly different areas of the world share recipes that, in part, help to make their ceramic surfaces unique reflections of their environments. ARTICLE 37 Elena Renker’s Recipes

MINO SHINO (3)

ARTICLE Cone 10 Oxidation/Reduction 48 Nepheline Syenite ...... 60 % Spodumene...... 10 Alumina Hydrate ...... 30 100 % 1 2 Add: Bentonite...... 4 % This is from John Britt’s book, Complete Guide to High-Fire Glazes. This glaze is a bit drier but it has a lovely feel to it.

IRON OXIDE SLIP (3) Cone 10 Oxidation/Reduction Gillespie Borate ...... 50 % Red Iron Oxide...... 50 100 % 3 4 5 I add Sussett (Peptapon #52) to this slip for better brushability. Sussett is an organic gum powder (like CMC Gum) that is mixed with boiling water in a Joe Molinaro’s Recipes ratio of 20g powder to 1 quart (1L) water. It forms a gel that can be mixed with glazes. Add 4tsp. (20 mL) BLACK (1) ROBIN’S EGG (2) of Sussett gel per 1 quart (1 L) of glaze. Cone 6–8 Oxidation Cone 6–8 Oxidation Strontium Carbonate. . . . . 34.44 % Lithium Carbonate...... 0.54 % ASH SLIP (4) Nepheline Syenite ...... 57.78 Strontium Carbonate. . . . . 21.67 Cone 10 Oxidation/Reduction OM 4 Ball Clay...... 7.78 Nepheline Syenite ...... 63.30 Whiting...... 50 % 100.00 % EPK Kaolin...... 6.66 Wood Ash...... 50 100 % Add: Manganese Dioxide . . . . 4.44 % Silica ...... 7.83 Rutile...... 11.11 % 100.00 % This slip has to be applied over the glaze rather than underneath it like the other slip. The base for this glaze can also be used with a Add: Copper Carbonate. . . . 1.00 % variety of colorants or stains. The surface is a bit dry, A nice copper blue with a smooth buttery matte SHINO GLAZE (4) but still feels good to the touch. surface. A wide variety of stains and colorants can Cone 10 Oxidation/Reduction be used effectively with this glaze. Nepheline Syenite ...... 70.0 % Ball Clay...... 7.5 Caleb Zouhary’s Recipes Clay Ceram Kaolin...... 7.5 New Zealand China Clay . . . . 15.0 SUSAN FILLEY’S SAPPHIRE BLUE (5) WHITE SALT (5) 100.0 % Cone 8–11 Oxidation/Reduction Cone 10–11 Oxidation/Reduction Add: Salt...... 3.0 % Whiting...... 24 % Dolomite...... 23.6 % I sometimes add some red clay to this recipe which Custer Feldspar ...... 28 Nepheline Syenite ...... 71.6 I was given from a New Zealand potter living in EPK Kaolin...... 20 OM4 Ball Clay ...... 4.8 Australia. It has a beautiful pinky color; however, it Silica ...... 28 100.0 % is no longer available. I also often add some coarse feldspar. This is a modified recipe by Len Castle. 100 % Add: Zircopax...... 18.8 % Add: Zinc Oxide ...... 3.0 % Rutile...... 1.1 % Chrome Oxide ...... 0.3% Bentonite...... 4.0 % 1 Joe Molinaro’s vessel with Black glaze. 2 Joe Molinaro’s vessel with Robin’s Egg glaze. Cobalt Carbonate. . . . . 1.0 % This recipe is from John Britt’s book, Complete 3 Elena Renker’s faceted teabowl, 5 in. (13 cm) in I use this as the base glaze on my work, and layer Guide to High-Fire Glazes. Make sure to dry mix diameter, black stoneware, Mino Shino glaze, Iron one or two glazes over it, including White Salt. I fire bentonite with other dry ingredients before adding Oxide Slip, wood fired to cone 10.4 Elena Renker’s this glaze to cone 11. it to the liquid. This will keep the bentonite from teabowl, 4¾ in. (12 cm) in diameter, stoneware, clumping up when wet. I layer this glaze over Susan Shino Glaze, Ash Slip, wood fired to cone 10. Filley’s Sapphire Blue. 5 Caleb Zouhary’s teapot with White Salt layered over Susan Filley’s Sapphire Blue glaze.

62 november 2018 www.ceramicsmonthly.org Questions to ask yourself... How much space is in my studio? How large will I be throwing? Will I have a permanent designated space or will I need to move the wheel or wheels? Will I want to alter thrown forms on my wheel after throwing? Will I want to use my wheel to throw standing? Will I want to have a portable wheel for demonstrating or teaching purposes? Will I need a wheel for handicap accessibility? How much money do I want to spend?

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In this video, Jennifer Mecca shares her tech- Playing with Form & Decoration: In this video, S.C. (Steven) Rolf shares niques for throwing and altering vases, bot- Molds & Mishima: Handbuilding Decorating tles, and serving pieces, as well as her love his secrets to staying fresh and motivated Work Flow: for surface decoration. In this video, Julie Wiggins shares techniques in the studio by continually playing with Playing with In this video, you’ll get a glimpse into a for making platters using homemade and form and decoration. day in the studio with Simon Levin as he Here’s a sampling of what you’ll learn: appropriated molds, as well as her Mishima shares his streamlined process of throwing Thrown, Altered, Here’s a sampling of what you’ll learn: surface techniques and glazing process. and trimming pots primarily off the hump. • Simple to Complex Jen warms up • Daily Assignments! Steven keeps himself (as she does most days) with a simple Here’s a sampling of what you’ll learn: challenged by giving himself assignments

Here’s a sampling of what you’ll learn: Throwing & Trimming Off the Hump with Simon Levin Molds & Mishima tumbler, then moves on to more complex such as working with a single form and FORM altered forms. • The Wheel as a Tool! Julie thinks of the creating a wareboard of variations on it. • A fluid practice! Discover how to both Sprigged Sketched • Sketching with Clay! Learn to warm up • A Different Approach to a Casserole wheel as just another tool in her toolbox, & throw and trim pots off the hump, thus & each day by making simple cup “sketch- Many potters make casseroles in two piec- and shows you how to use it to make creating a streamlined flow throughout a HANDBUILDINGes.” Since cups require a small amount es, but Jen’s approach is a little different. custom ring slump molds. Freeday in the studioReport with DECORATION You’ll learn how to throw and attach each • Alter Appropriated Molds! You’ll learn of clay and relatively little effort, you are • From small to large! Learn to make component to ensure crack-free joints! how to adapt a store-bought mold to more likely to experiment and discover with diminutive “tulip bowls,” textured yuno- Jennifer Mecca new forms or surface touches. • Colored Clay Sprigs and Inlaid Sketches be exactly what you need to make your 1 — Cups & Bowls with S.C. Rolf Part mis, rice bowls, pasta bowls, and a mug & DECORATING Discover Jen’s secret to making colored work unique and personal. • Explore Shapes and Surfaces! Steven • The secret to preventing S-cracks! demonstrates multiple variations on cups S.C. Rolf

with Jennifer Mecca clay sprigs that really stick, as well as her • Master Mishima! Julie shares all her tips Throwing off the hump often results in slip inlay process. for using Mishima to create beautiful, crisp and bowls, as well as a variety of decora- onS-cracks. Through Kiln testing and experimen - • Glazing for Depth Learn how Jen max- illustrations on your work. tive techniques! tation, Simon has learned the secret to with• Custom Tools! Julie Wiggins imizes depth in a detailed demonstration • Glazing to Perfection! Get pro glazing Get ideas and tips for

preventing these annoying cracks and with Julie Wiggins pointers to help you achieve perfect results customizing ribs so they are exactly what shares it here of her glazing process! all the time! you need! If you love playing with form and sur- Learn all of this and more with this This video is packed with ideas and face, you’ll be inspired by the plethora These are just a few of the many inter- Ventilationinsightful, inspirational, and easy-to- advice that will help you become more esting and inspiring techniques covered follow presentation! of techniques in this video! successful in the studio! in this presentation.

Simon Levin has been working in clay since 1990, when an elective ceramics course in college changed the direction of his life, leading to an M.A. and an M.F.A from the University of Iowa. He is a fulltime studio potter working Jennifer Mecca was born in upstate New York, and S.C. Rolf lives and works as a studio potter in River Falls, exclusively with wood firing. His work is exhibited inter- moved to South Carolina in her late teens. She earned Wisconsin, creating one-of-a-kind functional pots. He nationally, and appears in several contemporary ceram- her BFA in Interior Design from Virginia Common- holds an MFA from the New York State College of Ce- ics books. Simon is a writer for many ceramics journals, Julie Wiggins is a full-time studio potter in Charlotte, ramics at Alfred University in Alfred, New York, a BFA and in 2013 he traveled to Taiwan as a Senior Fulbright wealth University, then completed a BFA and MFA in North Carolina. Julie graduated from East Carolina from the Kansas City Art Institute, and a BS in Broad scholar researching local materials. He has built wood Ceramics at East Carolina University. Jen now lives in Area Arts from the University of Wisconsin, at River Falls. fired kilns for colleges and universities in the U.S., Tai- Gastonia, North Carolina, where she splits her time University in 2001 with a BFA in Ceramics. In 2005, S. C. Rolf exhibits his work throughout the United States wan and China. His apprenticeship program has trained between teaching and working as a studio potter. she received an honorary degree from the Jingdezhen and has received a number of national awards. He also and influenced 17 young potters since 2005. A resident Mecca is also a member of Thrown Together, a pottery Ceramic Institute in China, where she focused her stud- For test results on OSHA-compliant collective in Charlotte, North Carolina. To learn more ies on traditional Eastern techniques. Her work has been lectures and teaches workshops throughout the country. of Wisconsin for 18 years, Simon has recently moved to His work resides in noted private, national, and interna- Pawnee, Illinois, where he is currently re-establishing his about Jen and see more images of her work, please shown in galleries across the country, including AKAR tional museum collections, as well as numerous kitchen pottery. To learn more about Simon Levin and see more visit www.jenmeccapottery.com. Gallery, Charlie Cummings Gallery, In Tandem Gallery, cupboards. To learn more and see more images of his images of his work, please visit www.simonlevin.com. and Lark & Key. Julie’s work is also part of the perma- work, please visit www.scrolfpotter.com. nent collection at the Mint Museum of Craft + Design. To Total Running Time: Approximately 2 hours, 50 minutes learn more about Julie and see more images of her work, Part 1 please visit www.juliewigginspottery.com. Total Running Time: Approximately 1 hour, 45 minutes Kiln Ventilation, visit our websiteTotal Running Time: Approximately 2 hours, 35 minutes Total Running Time: Approximately 2 hours CUPS

Copyright 2018 The American Ceramic Society BOWLS Copyright 2018 The American Ceramic Society & or call for the report. Copyright 2018 The American Ceramic Society Toll-Free: 877-876-8368 Visit us online to watch video clips and purchase DVDs! www.VentAKiln.com ceramicartsnetwork.org/shop

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working with PORCELAIN with an introduction and insights from Antoinette Badenhorst Edited by Ash Neukamm

In Working with Porcelain, you’ll

WORKING WITH discover the ins SMOOTH ALTERNATIVE TO CANVAS and outs of using

PORCELAIN

In Working with Porcelain, you’ll discover the ins and outs of using porcelain. Compiled from the Ceramics Monthly and Pottery Making porcelain. Compiled Illustrated archives, along with helpful insights and notes from renowned porcelain artist Antoinette Badenhorst, you’ll learn about porcelain’s distinctive qualities and how to successfully create with this always beautiful, but often temperamental clay body.

Working with Porcelain provides invaluable information for truly working with from the Ceramics understanding the characteristics of porcelain and how to use the clay body to its highest potential. You’ll learn ways to test di erent porcelain clay bodies and nd the perfect porcelain for your work. You’ll also nd 21 step-by-step projects with building techniques suited to the tricky material and decorating techniques that enhance Monthly and Pottery the smooth surface. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned pro, Working with Porcelain provides the expert information, instruction, PORCELAINwith an introduction and insights from Antoinette Badenhorst and inspiration you need to achieve success with porcelain. Edited by Ash Neukamm Making Illustrated Antoinette Badenhorst was born and raised in Southern Africa. She moved to the United States with her husband and three children in 1999. A potter for more than 30 years, Badenhorst has shown her work nationally and internationally, and has work in several private and museum collections. She has written extensively about porcelain for both Ceramics Monthly and archives, along with Pottery Making Illustrated, as well as international publications.

Ash Neukamm is the assistant editor of publications for The American Ceramic Society’s Art Books Program. Neukamm holds an MFA in visual arts with an emphasis in ceramics from The Ohio State University, a BFA with a specialization in ceramics and a minor in art history from the University of helpful insights Florida. She maintains a ceramics studio at her home in Columbus, Ohio.

and notes from

The American Ceramic Society CeramicArtsNetwork.org Printed in USA renowned porcelain artist Antoinette .com Badenhorst, you’ll learn about porcelain’s distinctive qualities and how to successfully create with this always beautiful, but often temperamental clay body. ceramicartsnetwork.org/shop

Statement of Ownership, Management, and Circulation Publication Title: CERAMICS MONTHLY. Publication number 0009- 0328. Filing date: October 1, 2018. Published monthly, except July and August; ten times per year. Annual subscription price: $34.99. Office of Publication: 550 Polaris Pkwy., Ste. 510, Westerville, Ohio 43082- 6921. Publisher: Bill Janeri, 550 Polaris Pkwy., Ste. 510, Westerville, Ohio 43082-6921. Editor: Jessica Knapp, 550 Polaris Pkwy., Ste. 510, Westerville, Ohio 43082-6921. Managing Editor: none. Owner: The Ceramic Media Company, 550 Polaris Pkwy., Ste. 510, Westerville, Ohio 43082-6921. Stockholders owning or holding 1% or more of total amount of stock: none. The known bondholders, mortgagees, and other security holders owning or holding 1% or more of total amount of bonds, mortgages or other securities: none. The average number of copies each issue during the preceding 12 months: a) Total number of copies (net press run)...... 17,861 b) Paid/requested circulation 1) Paid/requested mail subscriptions...... 15,871 2) Sales through dealers and carriers, street vendors, counter sales and other non-USPS paid distribution ...... 1,145 c) Total paid/requested circulation ...... 17,061 d) Free distribution by mail, samples, complimentary Clay Tools & Reference Materials and other free copies ...... 300 e) Free distribution outside the mail...... 170 New Book f) Total free distribution...... 470 g) Total distribution ...... 17,486 Figure Sculpting h) Copies not distributed...... 689 Volume 2: Gesture & i) Total ...... 18,175 Drapery Techniques Percent paid /requested circulation...... 97% by P & C Faraut The actual number of copies for single issue nearest filing date: $54.95 + Shipping a) Total number of copies (net press run) ...... 17,556 b) Paid/requested circulation 1) Paid/requested mail subscriptions...... 15,087 PCF 2) Sales through dealers and carriers, street vendors, Studios.com counter sales and other non-USPS paid distribution ...... 1,183 PO Box 722 c) Total paid/requested circulation ...... 16,270 Honeoye, NY 14471 d) Free distribution by mail, 585-229-2976 samples, complimentary and other free copies ...... 301 e) Free distribution outside the mail...... 615 www.philippefaraut.com f) Total free distribution...... 916 g) Total distribution ...... 17,186 h) Copies not distributed...... 750 i) Total ...... 17,936 Percent paid /requested circulation...... 95% Subscribe or renew today at www.ceramicsmonthly.org I certify that the statements made by me above are correct and complete. Bill Janeri, Publisher

68 november 2018 www.ceramicsmonthly.org call for entries deadlines for exhibitions, fairs, and festivals

international $30. Juried from digital. Juror: Brett Kern. bondale, IL 62901; info@carbondalearts. Open to all children, grades 1–12 who at- exhibitions Contact Clay Center of New Orleans, 1001 org; www.carbondalearts.org. tend public, private, and home schools. They S. Broad St., #116, New Orleans, LA 70125; December 1, 2018 entry deadline must be residents of the Kansas City metro November 9, 2018 entry deadline [email protected]; 504-517-3721; www. California, San Rafael “Elements” (Janu- area and surrounding suburban cities. For Montana, Missoula “Small and nolaclay.org. ary 10–February 2, 2019) open to all artists 2D and 3D art. Three entries can be submit- Mighty” (February 1–22, 2019) open to 18 years and older working in various media, ted per artist. Art scholarships, supplies or artists in the US, Mexico, and Canada. united states including clay. Everything we experience as enhancements totaling more than $3000 Small-scale works primarily made of clay. exhibitions matter is made up of elements, substances in value. Fee: $5 per student. Juried from Must measure no more than 12 inches in digital. Juror: TBA. Contact Julie Flanagan, November 5, 2018 entry deadline consisting of a single type of atom. We invite any direction. Fee: $25. Juried from digital. Future of the Arts, 7700 Mission Rd., Prairie Georgia, Valdosta “Valdosta National artists to submit work based on one, some, Juror: Kensuke Yamada. Contact The Clay Village, KS 66208; [email protected]; 2019” (March 1–8, 2019) Open to all artists or all of the 118 elements of the periodic Studio of Missoula, 1106 Hawthorne St., 913710-6804; http://Artspv.org/call/fota. over 18 living in the US. All artwork must table. Each entry must be accompanied by Missoula, MT 59802; director@theclay- have been completed in the last 5 years (no a theme statement. Fee: $45. Juried from December 1, 2018 entry deadline studioofmissoula.org; 406-543-0509; earlier than 2013), original (no giclees or digital. Jurors: Gail Morrison, Betsy Kellas, Missouri, Parkville “100 Miles of Clay” www.theclaystudioofmissoula.org/call- reproductions), and not previously shown in William Torphy, and Christiane Stachl. (January 6–March 3, 2019) open to all for-entries. the VSU Fine Arts Gallery. VSU faculty and Contact Marin Society of Artists, 1515 artists at least 18 years of age who reside November 26, 2018 entry deadline staff are ineligible to apply to the Valdosta Third St., San Rafael, CA 94901; shows@ within a 100-mile radius of Parkville, MO. Nevada, Las Vegas “The Cup Show National 2019. Fee: $35 for three different msartists.org; 415-454-9561; www. Work, both functional and sculptural, must 2019” (January 4–February 24, 2019) open artworks. All accepted entries will be eligible marinsocietyofartists.org. use clay as the primary material. Work to artists 18 years of age or older. Tall, small, must be for sale through the duration of for awards totaling $1500. Juried from December 7, 2018 entry deadline tea bowl, or handle, each cup is a work of the show. No entries larger than 3 feet tall digital. Juror: Michael McFalls. Contact Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh “Food Justice: art created to entice the soul of the drinker. and 3 feet wide. Submit up to 3 entries. Julie Bowland, Dedo Moranville Fine Arts Growing a Healthier Community Through Work submitted must be original, must use Fee: $30. Juried from digital. Juror: TBA. Gallery, 1500 N. Patterson St., Valdosta, Art” (September 13, 2019–March 20, 2020) clay as the primary material, must specify Contact Cathy Kline Art Gallery, 8701 NW GA 31698; [email protected]; 229- open to all artists 18 years and older working firing technique(s) and size, and must have River Park Dr., Parkville, MO 64152; info@ 333-5835; www.valdosta.edu/art/gallery. in various media, including clay. Seeking been completed within the last 2 years. All cathyklineartgallery.com; 913-449-4460; artists whose work reflects an interest in cups must be functional and food safe. Fee: November 9, 2018 entry deadline https://cathyklineartgallery.com. Kentucky, Richmond “The Chautau- topics related to food justice, public policy, $35. Juried from digital. Juror: Katie Bosley. December 6, 2018 entry deadline qua National Juried Exhibition: Truth and advocacy, farming and gardening, race and Contact Clay Arts Vegas, 1511 S. Main California, Roseville “Crocker Kingsly St., Las Vegas, NV 89104; 4information@ Consequences” (January 22–February 15, class awareness, etc. What role can art play 2019) Open to all artists over 18. Open in addressing these issues? No Fee. Juried Exhibition” (January 11–February 23, 2019) clayartsvegas.com; 702-375-4147; www. open to all artists at least 18 years of age to all mediums except video. All entries from digital. Contact Contemporary Craft, clayartsvegas.com. who reside in California. All work must be must be the original work of the artist and 2100 Smallman St., Pittsburgh, PA 15222; November 30, 2018 entry deadline original and completed within the last two not previously shown in the Giles Gallery. [email protected]; 412-261- Louisiana, New Orleans “Clay Bodies” years. Works must not have been previously Maximum size is 55 inches in any direction. 7003; http://contemporarycraft.org. (April 5–27, 2019) open to all artists. Open exhibited at Blue Line Arts. Cash awards are Fee: $35. Cash prizes will be awarded at to ceramic vessels, sculptures and wall- December 15, 2018 entry deadline available to participants. Fee: $45 for three the discretion of the juror. Juried from mounted works that explore the human North Carolina, Seagrove “2019 images. Juried from digital. Juror: David Pa- digital. Juror: James Grubola. Contact figure as a source of form and/or imagery. Art of Clay National Juried Show gel. Contact Blue Line Arts staff, 405 Vernon Esther E. Randall, Director of the Giles All submitted pieces must be original art- at The North Carolina Pottery Cen- St., Roseville, CA 95678; tony@bluelinearts. Gallery, 309 Campbell Building, Eastern works made within the last 3 years, and may ter” (March 3–June 15, 2019) open to all org; 916-783-4117; www.bluelinearts.org. Kentucky University, 521 Lancaster Ave., artists 18 years and older working in clay. not have been previously exhibited at the February 10, 2019 entry deadline Richmond, KY 40475; Esther.Randall@ Pieces must be original. Awards: $1000 Clay Center gallery. Fee: $30. Juried from California, Davis “30th Annual Califor- eku.edu; 859-622-1639; https://art.eku. (1st place), $500 (2nd place), $250 (3rd digital. Juror: TBA. Contact Clay Center nia Clay Competition 2019” (May 3–31, edu/fred-parker-giles-gallery. place and honorable mentions). Must fit of New Orleans, 1001 S. Broad St., #116, 2019) open to functional or sculptural November 28, 2018 entry deadline on a 24×24-inch or 15×15-inch pedestal. New Orleans, LA 70125; [email protected]; pieces by artists residing in California. Clay Georgia, Savannah “Sip: A Ceramic Fee: $35 for three works. Juried from digi- 504-517-3721; www.nolaclay.org. must be the primary medium. Work must Cup Show” (March 1–8, 2019) open to tal. Juror: Douglas Fitch. Contact Lindsey December 5, 2018 entry deadline be for sale and made within the last two artists in the US making drinking vessels: Lambert, North Carolina Pottery Center, Texas, Baytown “12th Annual Interna- years. Work must fit through a standard PO Box 531, 233 East Ave., Seagrove, NC tional Texas Teapot Tournament” (January cups, mugs, yunomis, etc. Works must be door frame and weigh no more than can be 27341; [email protected]; 5–30, 2019) open to CAMEO member/clay functional, have food-safe glazes, and be easily handled by two adults. Fee: $15. Juried 336-873-8430; www.ncpotterycenter.org. artists who are current with dues. Limited to under 8 inches in height and 6 inches in from digital. Juror: Bill Abright. Contact The two teapot entries; work must be original, diameter. Fee: $20. All accepted entries will February 2, 2019 entry deadline Artery of Davis, 207 G St., Davis, CA 95616; represent either functional or sculptural be eligible for Best in Show and People’s Michigan, Ann Arbor “Butter” [email protected]; 530-758-9330; http:// teapots, and completed within last three Choice awards, up to $250 in prizes. Juried (April 6–August 25, 2019) open to all theartery.net/ccc.html. years. Must not exceed 25 pounds or 24 from digital. Juror: Liz Zlot Summerfield. media and artists in the US and Canada. inches in any direction. $1000 Purchase Contact Savannah Clay Community, 1305 Showcasing the best in contemporary din- fairs and festivals Award; $500 Memorial Award. Fee: $45. Barnard St., Savannah, GA 31401; savan- nerware as it relates to the theme “Butter.” January 15, 2019 entry deadline Juried from digital. Juror: Vorakit Chinoo- [email protected]; 724-549- No larger than 18 inches in all dimensions. Oregon, Bend “Oregon Winterfest Fire koswong. Contact Clay Arts Museum and 1867; www.savannahclaycommunity.com. No wall pieces. Work submitted may not Pit and Sculpture Competition” (February Educational Organization, 1366 Ben Mar December 1, 2018 entry deadline include perishable materials. Fee: $35 for 16–18, 2019) open to sculptural pieces by Overlook, Baytown, TX 77523; grants@ Illinois, Carbondale “Plate and Platter: three entries. Juried from digital. Juror: artists residing in Oregon. Dynamic display of artleagueofbaytown.org; 281-303-0279; National Ceramics Exhibition” (January Anne Meszko. Contact Margaret Carney, both functional pieces (fire pit) and imagina- www.cameohouston.org. 16–February 22, 2019) open to all artists 18 International Museum of Dinnerware De- tive use of fire as a medium creating warmth, December 30, 2018 entry deadline years and older. Showcasing functional and sign, 520 N. Main St., Ann Arbor, MI 48104; light and excitement. Submissions must Louisiana, New Orleans “Wit and sculptural ceramic plates and platters with [email protected]; 607- include: drawing of an original piece you Whimsy” (June 7–July 20, 2019) open to innovative surface, form, function, and/or 382-1415; www.dinnerwaremuseum.org. propose to build, 3 images of current work, all ceramic artists 18 and older. Open to ce- concept. Works must measure no more than and artist bio. Fee: $25. Juried from digital. ramic sculptures, vessels and wall-mounted 20 inches in any direction or weigh no more regional exhibitions Awards offered for 1st–3rd place. Contact works that can be described as fanciful, than 50 pounds. Fee: $30. Juried from digital. December 2, 2018 entry deadline Bend Festivals, 704 NW Georgia Ave., Bend, humorous, whimsical, cute, amusing, witty, Juror: Chandra DeBuse. Contact Carbondale Kansas, Prairie Village “Future of the OR 97703; [email protected]; 541- ironic, capricious, droll, or facetious. Fee: Community Arts, 304 W. Walnut St., Car- Arts 2019” (January 2–January 31, 2019) 323-0964; http://oregonwinterfest.com.

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Buy/Sell Clay Arts Museum and Educational Organiza- materials, private session. $2500. www.lisanaples. tion (CAMEO) presents the 12th Annual Texas com/ceramics/shows-and-events. 113-cubic-foot Blaauw Gas Kiln for sale. $45,000. Teapot Tournament, January 5–30, 2019. Venue: Computer operated, reduction or oxidation car kiln. Art League of Baytown Gallery, Baytown, Texas. Natchez Pottery Studios seeking Resident Artist Price includes kiln shelves (worth $15,000 if buying $1000 Purchase Award; $500 Memorial Award. to assist in studio management and teaching. Two shelves new). Kilns are made in Holland, and are top $45/2 entries; deadline is 12/5/2018. Full prospec- year commitment preferred. RA has private studio notch for quality and performance. Email pottery@ tus—www.cameohouston.org. Direct questions to space, free firing, reclaimed clay, glaze materials minot.com for photos and discussion. [email protected]. and access to all studio equipment. Friendly studio and town. Beautiful location overlooking MS Used Electric Kilns for Sale: Used Crucible Kiln Four Month Residential Ceramics Program at River. RA is paid for teaching. Contact Patricia at (Seattle Pottery Supply), Model 25 Oval. 240 volt, Heartwood Mountain Sanctuary: Our campus is [email protected] or call 601-215-5121. 48 amp, 11,500 watts, single phase, max temp located on 200 acres in the mountains of northern 2380°F. Kiln sitter and numerous shelves included. California. George Lea brings his experience as Pottery Studio / Gallery in Apalachicola, Florida. $15,000. All equipment, displays, and tools located 25×37×27-inch interior. $1000. Used Cone Art a ceramicist, educator, and gallery owner to the in 4500-square-foot building with 3 year lease avail- Kiln, Model 4227-10, 208 volt, 75 amp,15.6 KW, classroom. This program has been designed to able. 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Opportunities GREAT HANDBUILDING TEMPLATES! Developed Employment by Sandi Pierantozzi. A set of 24 durable, flexible, 2019 Art of Clay National Juried Show at The templates to create a variety of Circular/Conical Immediate opening for production potters, earn North Carolina Pottery Center. Entry Deadline— Forms. DVD also available. Perfect For Teachers up to $35/hour commensurate with skill level. Also December 15, 2018. Cash awards: $1000 (1st and Potters. www.CircleMatic.com. looking for general studio laborers. Email your place), $500 (2nd place), $250 (3rd place), and resume at [email protected]. Honorable Mentions. Fee: $35 for three works. Real Estate Details and entry process www.ncpotterycenter. Production Potter. Match Stoneware is hiring org/artofclay2019. Ceramic Shop for Sale!! 13,000 square feet could PRODUCTION POTTERS for studio in Los Angeles! be converted to home/shop. $405,000, located Must have: extensive understanding of clay and Artist-in-Residence Opportunity at NC Pottery in San Angelo, TX. Also for sale: 26,000 molds, 3 associated techniques/properties, advanced skill Center, Seagrove, NC. Qualified studio potter/ kilns, shelving, pouring table, paint and supplies. level working with clay—both wheel throwing and ceramic artists. Fully-equipped studio space, two Contact Chuck Rohrbach at 325-227-1025 or Fran hand building. Will be asked to replicate stoneware wood-burning kilns, housing & utilities, 250 lbs Rohrbach at 325-655-1516!! and porcelain designs for in-house designs. Expect clay per month, and $450 monthly stipend. Ap- to use variety of clay bodies/throw a variety of plications are currently being accepted. Details Clay Heaven. Attention Professional Ceramic forms. Production is done ON-SITE. 310-848-8765. and online application available at tinyurl.com/ Artists—Waterfront double lot home South Florida! [email protected]. ncpotterycenter-air. 3/2 newer roof, a/c, water heater, impact windows, renovated kitchen. Detached studio with bisque STUDIO POTTERS WANTED—Farmhouse Pottery, IMMEDIATE OPENINGS for non-paid ceramic electric kiln, shelving and work rack. Two-chambered based in Woodstock, Vermont, is looking for full time studio interns at Canton Clay Works, Canton, CT. atmospheric gas/wood/soda kiln with front chamber studio potters with experience. Competitive hourly Extensive opportunities in multiple firing types of 90 cubic feet and back chamber 38 cubic feet. wage with PTO and 401K. Please email resume/ (two varieties of wood kilns, gas reduction, sag- The kiln is high-alumina fire brick and k26, k23 portfolio to [email protected]. ger, raku and more). Call 860-693-1000 or email insulation brick for second course. 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www.ceramicsmonthly.org november 2018 71 SPOTLIGHT installation insight

Ceramics Monthly: How do the historical ceramic traditions of Grottaglie play into the process and concept of your contemporary ceramic work? Giorgio di Palma: My works are more related to an era than a territory. They bring us back to the 1970s, ‘80s, and ‘90s. Behind the aesthetic and under the glazes hides a strong connection with Grottaglie, my hometown in southern Italy. The city has always been producing functional ceramic items, but in the 1950s plastic—then a synonym for progress—changed our taste and needs, undermining a time-tested system. My choice was to remove the functionality but maintain the typical materials and techniques of my motherland: terra cotta and a low temperature. My challenge is to make art with terra cotta in the ceramic world where the higher the firing temperature, the higher the value of a piece.

CM: What do the local potters you work with think of your (often humorous and cheeky) tromp l’oeil pieces? GP: Grottaglie is an incredible place. The Fame Festival began here several years ago and was the first and one of the first and most important street art festivals in Italy. Thanks to the festival, I could make my first street installation in 2011 in Grottaglie. Nowadays, there are many artisans in Grottaglie who deeply know what I do and actively support it. For example, I do not have the same experience and ability of some local potters who have been throwing on the wheel for many years. They like to work with me as I continually ask for new forms and sizes different from the clay containers they usually create. But, from the other side, there are potters who see pieces of installations and miss the message. It is awful, especially when they recreate some of my sculptures to sell to their customers as the perfect wedding gift, for the sole purpose of earning money.

CM: When you make work and install it in public, you must interact with curious passersby. Are there any reactions to your work you remember in particular? GP: Some of my art installations are in my city, but many others are far away. My work ends when the installation is done and the picture is taken. From that moment on, the work doesn’t belong to me anymore, but to the community. I am always curious to receive news regarding people interacting with my installations. Once, in Sicily, some kids saw my ceramic soccer ball stuck on a lamppost. Helped by an elder, they used a stick to try to bring it down to play with. Of course, they broke it. In Grottaglie, one of my fake surveillance cameras was destroyed by someone who was afraid of having been filmed while they were dumping waste on the street. In any case, I never replace broken work because I think it is an unrepeatable creative event linked to a particular moment and environment over time.

72 november 2018 www.ceramicsmonthly.org

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