focus Monthly food and pots

Euan Craig The Art of Function, the Function of Art focus food and pots

December 2008 $7.50 (Can$9) www.ceramicsmonthly.org

Ceramics Monthly December 2008 1 Publisher Charles Spahr The Editorial [email protected] telephone: (614) 794-5895 fax: (614) 891-8960 editor Sherman Hall Ceramic assistant editor Holly Goring assistant editor Jessica Knapp technical editor Dave Finkelnburg online editor Jennifer Poellot Harnetty Advertising/Classifieds Arts [email protected] telephone: (614) 794-5834 fax: (614) 891-8960 classifi[email protected] telephone: (614) 794-5843 advertising manager Mona Thiel Handbook Only advertising services Jan Moloney Marketing telephone: (614) 794-5809 marketing manager Steve Hecker Series $29.95 each Subscriptions/Circulation customer service: (800) 342-3594 [email protected] Design/Production Electric Firing: production editor Cynthia Griffith Glazes & Glazing: design Paula John Creative Techniques Finishing Techniques Editorial and advertising offices 600 Cleveland Ave., Suite 210 Westerville, Ohio 43082 Editorial Advisory Board Linda Arbuckle; Professor, Ceramics, Univ. of Florida Scott Bennett; Sculptor, Birmingham, Alabama Tom Coleman; Studio Potter, Nevada Val Cushing; Studio Potter, New York Dick Lehman; Studio Potter, Indiana Meira Mathison; Director, Metchosin Art School, Canada Bernard Pucker; Director, Pucker Gallery, Boston Phil Rogers; Potter and Author, Wales Jan Schachter; Potter, California Mark Shapiro; Worthington, Massachusetts Susan York; Santa Fe, New Mexico Ceramics Monthly (ISSN 0009-0328) is published monthly, except July and August, by Ceramic Publications Company; a Surface Decoration: Extruder, Mold & Tile: subsidiary of The American Ceramic Society, 600 Cleveland Ave., Suite 210, Westerville, Ohio 43082; www.ceramics.org. Periodicals Finishing Techniques Forming Techniques postage paid at Westerville, Ohio, and additional mailing offices. 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 recom- mended safety measures, according to toxicity ratings. subscription rates: One year $34.95, two years $59.95. Canada: One year $40, two years $75. International: One year $60, two years $99. back issues: When available, back issues are $7.50 each, plus $3 shipping/handling; $8 for expedited shipping (UPS 2-day air); and $6 for shipping outside North America. Allow 4–6 weeks for delivery. change of address: Please give us four weeks advance notice. Send the magazine address label as well as your new address to: Ceramics Monthly, Circulation Department, P.O. Box 662, Mt. Morris, IL 61054-9662. contributors: Writing and photographic guidelines Raku, Pit & Barrel: Throwing & Handbuilding: are available online at www.ceramicsmonthly.org. indexing: Visit the Ceramics Monthly website at Firing Techniques Forming Techniques www.ceramicsmonthly.org to search an index of article titles and 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 distribution, or for advertising or promotional purposes, or to republishing items in whole or in part in any work in any format. Please direct republication or special copying permission requests to the Publisher, The Ceramic Publications Company; a subsidiary of American Ceramic Society, 600 Cleveland Ave., Suite 210, Westerville, Ohio 43082, USA. ceramicartsdaily.org/books postmaster: Send address changes to Ceramics Monthly, P.O. Box 662, Mt. Morris, IL 61054-9662. Form 3579 requested. Copyright © 2008, The Ceramic Publications Company; a subsidiary 866-721-3322 of American Ceramic Society. All rights reserved. www.ceramicsmonthly.org Ceramics Monthly December 2008 2 Ceramics Monthly December 2008 3 Ceramics Monthly December 2008 4 december 2008 / Volume 56 Number 10

Monthly focus food and pots

26 The Art of Function and the Function of Art by Euan Craig An Australian–born potter living in Japan discusses his collaborations with chefs to create ware specifcally designed for the presentation and enjoyment of food. 30 Cooking with Clay for Slow Food and a Healthy World by Robbie Lobell A potter establishes a line of ware to reflect her social values regarding how food is produced and consumed. with Connections through Cooking by Deborah Bernstein features

34 Kirk Mangus: The Crystalline Moment by Glen R. Brown Employing ancient forms and primitive processes of surface decoration, an artist pursues an understanding of the human condition. 38 In Search of Sanctuary: The Work of Giselle Hicks by Mary K. Cloonan An artist explores ideas of memory, home, comfort and shelter through iconic structural forms in porcelain.

42 Ashley Howard: In Tune with Color by Helen Bevis Using transfers and enamels, a functional potter embraces decoration and color to enhance forms meant for ceremonies both spiritual and domestic. monthly methods Having Fun for Now by Ashley Howard 46 The MFA Factor: Bowling Green State University A small department packs a powerful punch in this graduate program profle.

48 Walter Dexter by Brian Grison A cavalier attitude toward craftsmanship and a narrow focus on bottle forms provides for limitless exploration. 48

cover: Detail of Nana sun sankaku zara, triangular plate, 7 in. (18 cm) each side, cut from a 21cm thrown plate, porcelain with tenmoku glaze and Igusa hidasuki straw markings, wood fired, 2007. Cuisine by Chef Touru Hashimoto, Kappo Toyoda, Nihombashi, Tokyo; page 26. Photo: Akira Okada. 34 38 30

Ceramics Monthly December 2008 5 departments

8 from the editor

10 letters from readers

12 answers from the CM technical staff

14 suggestions from readers 14 Tip of the Month: catching runny glazes

16 upfront reviews, news and exhibitions 52 call for entries 52 International Exhibitions 54 United States Exhibitions 56 Regional Exhibitions 56 Fairs and Festivals 58 new books Craft Perception and Practice edited by Paula Gustafson, Nïsse Gustafson and Amy Gogarty 60 calendar 60 Conferences 60 Solo Exhibitions 62 Group Ceramics Exhibitions 66 Ceramics in Multimedia Exhibitions 68 Fairs, Festivals and Sales 70 Workshops 74 International Events 78 classified advertising 79 index to advertisers 80 comment The Piece You Wish You Made by Larry M. Brow

online www.ceramicartsdaily.org information and inspiration from inside the artist’s studio 18 Features Tips, techniques, profles and more—delivered to your inbox. Education Listings of colleges, classes, guilds, workshops and residencies. Galleries Artist gallery pages, plus our comprehensive listing of museums and galleries that showcase ceramic art. Bookstore Complete line of ceramic art books to inspire, inform and instruct. Free Gifts Handy downloadable resources for the studio, including projects, recipes, our annual Buyer’s Guide and more! Magazines Current and archived features, exhibition reviews, article index.

20 18

Ceramics Monthly December 2008 6 Ceramics Monthly December 2008 7 from the editor by Sherman Hall free summer When you are a teenage boy (and by you of identity. It reminds me that bad pots I mean me) and girls praise you for some- are not always bad pots—especially when I workshop listings thing—anything—you will likely do more consider that the pot in question somehow of whatever it is they praise you for. With- possessed the mystical power of creating In our April 2009 issue, we will be out getting too far into adolescent social real conversation between awkward high- publishing our annual listing of sum- dynamics and my opinion that they are school girls and an awkward high-school mer workshops. Institutions and venues largely in place (in one form or another) boy. That is some serious mojo. presenting workshops between June 1 throughout adulthood, I will simply say I did not realize at the time that hand- and August 31, 2009, are encouraged to that girls are the reason I initially decided made items of utility have always been submit their workshop information for to pursue ceramics. Sure, my family rein- conversations between maker and user. It is listing free of charge (regularly scheduled forced my artistic efforts, instructors pro- the unspoken communication of use. The classes are not eligible). Simply go to vided great guidance, and I like to think maker, of course, is not actually present at www.ceramicsmonthly.org and click on there was some natural ability at work, the table, but their design and execution of the “Submit a Workshop Listing” link but compliments from members of the the objects being used can affect the ex- on the right side of the page. opposite sex who would otherwise never perience of those present. In this month’s We also encourage you to submit im- speak to me was really why I kept working focus on food and pots, Euan Craig (p. 26) ages from previous workshops. We accept in clay through high school. At this point, and Robbie Lobell (p. 30) share their per- high school is far enough in the past for spective as the makers in this conversation. professional-quality digital images (300 me to not feel ashamed in admitting that. And I’m happy to say that neither of their ppi resolution on CD), plus a color print Of course, the first pot I made (which stories involve adolescence or bad pots. of each image. Mail to Summer Work- I still have) is like most first pots; its value shops Images, Ceramics Monthly, 600 N. doesn’t exactly reside in its physical, aes- Cleveland Ave., Suite 210, Westerville, thetic or functional characteristics. It is OH 43082. klunky, poorly proportioned and sloppy in its details—but it symbolizes my first suc- Listing and image arrival deadline: cessful efforts as a quiet kid communicat- January 30, 2009. ing with people as me, from my own sense e-mail letters to [email protected]

Ceramics Monthly December 2008 8 Ceramics Monthly December 2008 9 letters e-mail letters to [email protected]

Reversal of Expectations way in which the backsplash succeeds in its message: Learn what your work is and I applaud Matthew Kangas for writing manipulating reversals and disintegrations do it, even when the whole process seems about Malcolm Smith’s work [“Malcolm of real and implied space, creating a tight to be a depressing, pointless waste of time Mobutu Smith: Hip Hop Art Pottery,” visual connection and thus becoming an and energy. The periods of frustration are October 2008 CM], but his citation of integral part of the work. Also, my article part of the process; face them down calmly my Critical Ceramics review in his article was written and published in 2006, not and firmly. misrepresents the nuance of my commen- 2008 as cited by Kangas. When I get into those dark moods, I tary on Smith’s works. To clarify, I am not Respectfully, remember the advice and forge on, and “skeptical” of Smith’s use of backsplashes, Laura O’Donnell, Urbana, IL it has worked well for me. I also make but rather, I handbuilt bottles—a simple form that can believe they Getting Over the Fear convey almost anything. Good luck, Gail. are an es- I read with interest the letter in the Octo- Frank Carsey, Bremerton, WA sential part ber 2008 CM from Gail Stryker [Getting of the work Over It, p. 12]. I believe there are many Legacies and Fingerprints and serve boomers, and older people like me, in the I just read Jack Troy’s “Inheriting Legacy” to further entry stages of all art and craft areas, like [November 2008 CM] a second time the reversals ceramics. We have both the confidence of and fell in love again with of expectations of two-dimensional and experience and the anxiety of beginning. America’s stoneware legacy. three-dimensional space in his work, a In fact, among the greatest American clay must move formal element connecting it to the way joys is that of becoming, forward, but we must always in which graffiti appears to lift off a wall. of experiencing growth, remember our clay roots. Following the statement quoted by Kan- but it does bring fear and There is something very gas, I state, “In others, the juxtaposition is doubt. I recommend to Gail soothing about holding an old stoneware extremely effective, creating a tight visual (and others) the book Art crock. It gives us a sense of time and place. context in which the backsplash becomes and Fear: Observations on the Perils (and These vessels are records of our past. Each an integral part of the work.” Angular Rewards) of Artmaking, by David Bayles crock provides a fingerprint of Americana. Distopia (see image above) exemplifies the and Ted Orland. I think I can summarize Tom Turnquist, Denver, CO

Ceramics Monthly December 2008 10 Ceramics Monthly December 2008 11 answers From the CM Technical Staff e-mail technical questions to [email protected]

Q My husband and I are hobbyists and have the ware is heated. When the handle on a cup and divide the result by the dry weight. Then been offered some premixed clay from a studio that has been in a microwave is hot, moisture multiply the answer by 100 to obtain absorption that did cone 10 reduction glaze firing. We only is almost always the problem. as a percent by weight of the fired clay. do cone 6 oxidation. We’ve been told that if However, some very well-formulated clay According to Canadian potter and ceramics we use cone 6 oxidation glazes on this clay the bodies are capable of being adequately vitrified consultant Ron Roy, if this value is less than pieces won’t be usable; the clay body won’t over a wide firing range, such as from cone 6 3% for a stoneware clay body or less than 1.5% vitrify and functional pieces won’t be good for to cone 10. Before you conclude that the cone for a porcelain clay body, then functional ware microwave use, since they will become too hot 10 clay body you have been offered will not be made from it will likely be suitable for use. to handle. We know we can do raku with the vitrified in a cone 6 firing, you may want to fire Some potters like to have lower absorption, so clay but don’t know if we want to make that a tile of this clay to test its vitrification. Make consider those numbers a rule of thumb only. much raku work at this time. Is heat conductiv- and fire a tile in your usual glaze firing. Warm I like stoneware with less than 2% absorption ity the only issue, or are there other functional/ the tile in an oven or other heat source to insure and have seen porcelains that commonly have structural issues if we use this clay body with it is totally dry (taking it right from the kiln is less than 0.5% absorption. our cone 6 glazes?—S.S. best). Weigh the tile as accurately as possible Ware which is not highly vitrified is more You have obviously investigated this, and using a gram scale if you have one. Record this resistant to thermal shock. That’s why the cone you are correct that the cone 10 clay body will as the dry weight. Next, soak the tile in water 10 body is so good for raku, a process that probably be underfired at cone 6. If it is un- overnight or else boil it for a couple of hours subjects the ware to extreme thermal shock. If derfired and you use it for functional ware, the and then allow the water to cool. Remove the your cone 10 test tile has a very high absorp- problem you describe of heating in a microwave tile from the water, pat it dry with a paper towel tion, then you will probably want to restrict it is virtually certain to occur. The reason for this or cotton cloth, and weigh it accurately again. to use for raku in your situation. is that moisture, either actual liquid or moisture Record this as the wet weight. Dave Finkelnburg from the air, can get into the pores of an open To calculate the percent absorption of water, Ceramics Monthly Technical Editor clay body. It will then heat up and expand when subtract the dry weight from the wet weight Pocatello, Idaho

Ceramics Monthly December 2008 12 Ceramics Monthly December 2008 13 suggestions e-mail suggestions to [email protected]

No-Stick Plastic Support There are no damp boxes at the studio tip of the month where I work, so I have to cover my pots with plastic. I like to do slip decoration, but the plastic ruins the surface if it touches the pot. I Catching Runny Glazes Some of our glazes can be very runny The sheets and pots are placed in the kiln and we need to have something to put under and the excess sheet is cut away between the them to protect our kiln shelves. We keep pieces. For some of our pots, we also use a thin, dry paper-clay sheets on hand to cut wadding made of equal parts sand and ball for placing under the pieces. A quick brush- clay. It is crumbly enough to grind away easily. ing of kiln wash makes them slightly pliable Between the two, we don’t have much trouble and lay flat. with glaze on our kiln shelves.

Left: The paper-clay sheets can be trimmed directly on the kiln shelf to avoid breakage. Below: A glaze run stopped by the paper-clay sheet and wadding combination.

Bend ends of banding strap to 90°, and secure to the bat with a binder clip got some metal banding strips from a lumber yard (where they are considered trash). I cut them to length with tin snips, then bent the ends Congratulations to Samantha Hen- under the bat and secured them with binder neke and Bruce Gholson of Seagrove, clips. I use one or two as needed to hold the North Carolina. Your subscription has plastic away from the surface of the pot as it been extended by one year! dries.—Connie Knudtson, Joplin, MO

A Texas potter makes 1,300 pound quilts with her Paragon Dragon As a child, Earline Green made hand-stitched quilts with her grandmother Mama Freddie. Earline spent more time quilting with the older ladies than she did playing with chil- dren her own age. Her early experiences with the lively quilters taught her a life-long love of artwork. Earline’s other grandmother, Mama Ginger, taught her advanced quilting patterns. Later this influenced the design of Earline’s stoneware quilt tile mosaics displayed in the en- Earline Green with her Paragon Dragon front-loading kiln. This kiln is be- trance of the Paul Laurence Dunbar Lancaster-Kiest Library coming a favorite with potters. It is easy to load, heavily insulated, and de- in Dallas, Texas. For that project, Earline fired 284 white signed to reach cone 10 with power to spare. stoneware tiles—all in her faithful Paragon Dragon. “During tile production, I fired my Dragon two or three “The Dragon's design and controls are perfect for firing times a week for four to six weeks at a time. I expected and re- large flat pieces,” said Earline. “The digital programming con- ceived excellent results with each firing.” trols provide a consistent firing environment that eliminated Contact us today for more information on the exciting cracks and warpage in this project. Dragon kiln. Ask about the new easy-open switch box hinged Earline Green’s at the bottom. Call us for the name of your local Paragon dis- clay spirit quilts tributor. on display in the Dunbar Lancaster-Kiest Branch Library Better 2011 South Town East Blvd., in Dallas, Designed Mesquite, Texas 75149-1122 Texas. Kilns 800-876-4328 / 972-288-7557 Toll Free Fax 888-222-6450 www.paragonweb.com [email protected]

Ceramics Monthly December 2008 14 Ceramics Monthly December 2008 15 David Hicks New work by David Hicks will be on view through December 31 at cross mackenzie ceramic upfront arts (www.crossmackenzie.com) in Washington, D.C. exhibitions and reviews

exhibitions: 16 David Hicks cross mackenzie ceramic arts, Washington, D.C. 16 Lillstreet International 2008 Lillstreet Art Center, Chicago, Illinois 17 Beauty Sandwich: Martin, Chung, Martin Santa Fe Clay, Santa Fe, New Mexico 17 The View from Denmark Lacoste Gallery, Concord, Massachusetts

18 Claudia Alvarez David Hicks’ Still Life 2007, 83 in. (211 cm) in length, terra cotta, stoneware, glaze, bronze, wood, steel, multi- El Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Yucatán, fired terra sigillata, luster, 2007; at cross mackenzie ceramic arts, Washington, D.C. Mérida, Mexico 18 Rebekah Bogard: Twilight E.L. Wiegand Gallery, Oats Park Art Center, “Hicks’ compelling and original ceramic wall installations hover in the air, between the natural and Fallon, Nevada the artificial—the imagery is hard to pin down,” said gallery director, Rebecca Cross. “His clay 20 Ted Neal and Charity Davis-Woodard Robert T. Wright Gallery, College of Lake County, surfaces contrast the organic raw and tactile with the machine polish, pairing rough hand formed Grayslake, Illinois terra-cotta objects with industrial steel cable. In the most recent piece, the artist glazes slip cast ele- 20 Stories from the Earth: Voices of ments in highly reflective bronze lusters, then suspends them with a natural fiber twine. Meticulously Contemporary Ceramic Artists Baron and Ellin Gordon Art Galleries, Old Dominion executed, Hicks creates installations of layered units of enigmatic origin. At times, the units seem University, Norfolk, Virginia seedpod like and other times like fishermen’s sinkers or encrusted floating buoys. The viewer glimpses reviews: human anatomy morphing into factory made stacks of unfamiliar vessels. Hicks studies the moment of transition from one state to another—he is interested in the potential of the seed not yet mature 22 Matthew Allison by Matthew Kangas and the decaying fruit, beyond ripe, about to drop. Each element is like a stilled pendulum, caught Northwest Craft Center & Gallery, Seattle, Washington in the moment between swings; the fragility of the unsupported material adds to the tension.” 24 The Scholar’s Eye: Contemporary Ceramics from Garth Clark and Mark Del Vecchio’s Collection by Diana Lyn Roberts Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston, Texas Lillstreet International 2008 The first annual “Lillstreet International: Functional Porcelain” was on view recently at Lill- street Art Center (www.lillstreet.com) in Chicago, Illinois. Sam Chung, who juried the exhibition stated, “It was an honor to jury the first annual Lillstreet International exhibi- tion. As I first went through the images, I felt humbled to have the opportunity to select from such a creative pool of ce- ramic work. The diverse representation was refreshing, and it was inspiring to see conventional perspectives on func- tion presented with new voices. Many pieces impressed me with their luscious surfaces or remarkable craftsmanship.

Yet many others left me curiously Michael Helke’s Cups; at Lillstreet Art Center, intrigued—not knowing what to think Chicago, Illinois.

Ceramics Monthly December 2008 16 The View from Denmark “The View from Denmark: Contemporary Danish Ceramics,” a group exhibition, was on view recently at Lacoste Gallery (www.lacostegallery.com) in Concord, Massachusetts. The exhibi- tion featured works by thirteen leading Danish ceramists. “The Danes have a long history of ceramics going back to the founding of Royal Copenhagen in 1775. Fostered by artists’

Frank Martin’s Teapot, 11 in. (28 cm) in height, porcelain, 2008; at Santa Fe Clay, Santa Fe, New Mexico. Beauty Sandwich: Martin, Chung, Martin “Beauty Sandwich: Martin, Chung, Martin,” a group exhibition of work by Andrew Martin, Sam Chung and Frank Martin, was on view recently at Santa Fe Clay (www.santafeclay.com) in Santa Fe, New Mexico. “In a clearly playful frame of mind, the artists came up with Beauty Sandwich, an apt title given the artists’ names and the work,” said Peg Rivard, Gallery Sales Manager. “Like many of the accomplished potters in their field, Andrew Martin, Sam Chung and Frank Martin make reference to the thousands of years of Barbro Åberg’s Time Yarn, 14 in. (36 cm) in height, clay with perlite and paper fibers, 2008. history attached to ceramic art in their forms and their treatment of the surface. Each of the three artists address the particular studios there and at Bing and Grondahl, as well as other potter- challenges raised by clay in their own unique way. ies such as Saxbo, the country had a serious dedication to studio “Frank Martin has experimented with materials, designs and pottery going back to the early 20th century,” said Lucy Lacoste, styles. Yet his natural surroundings remained the touchstone of gallery director. “The Danish treated the vessel as an art form his work. Known for his bold use of color, as well as for disas- from the begin- sembling and then piecing together his forms, Martin challenges ning, with their the viewer’s idea of function, while creating a beautifully realized formal sense of and functional form.” abstraction plac- ing the container on a sculptural plane. They also reacted to the at first glance. These works had to be revisited, and became increas- material, with ingly interesting. I realized the effect that time had on my attempt to the textural understand certain pieces of work. Not all pots are created with the quality of the same hand, and so not all pots can be understood in a standardized Danish clay be- time frame. I tried to be as thoughtful as I could in my decisions and ing an impor- asked several questions with each entry: How was this made? How is tant element. surface working with form? How is function addressed? What is truly “Barbro unique about this work? One must also realize that these decisions Alev Ebüzziya Siesbye’s Turquoise Vessel, 9 in. (23 cm) in height, stoneware, 2008; at Lacoste Åberg, working are based on a 4×3–inch jpeg. A clear disadvantage was not having Gallery, Concord, Massachusetts. with clay aug- the ability to touch these pots. mented by volca- “As a potter, I am all too familiar with applying to juried exhibi- nic ash and paper, creates extraordinary forms with titles like Wave tions, so I understand the elation and disappointment in hearing and Time Yarn that resemble fluid archetypes of ancient symbols and the results. Unfortunately, all work cannot be included. This is, after myth. . . .[while] Alev Ebüzziya Siesbye claims her Turkish heritage all, what makes it a competition. I congratulate those who were while being identified as Danish. Her minimalist forms are all about selected, and encourage those who were not to keep working hard and to never lose sight of your ultimate goals. You can’t go wrong the perfect line of a bowl, how it passes imperceptibly from curve following your passion.” to a flat surface at its base, and about the purity of color, as in her brilliant turquoise works.”

Ceramics Monthly December 2008 17 exhibitions

Claudia Alvarez A solo exhibition of new work created by Claudia Alvarez during a residency at the Gerber Jez Foundation in Cholul, Mexico was on display recently at El Mu- seo de Arte Contemporáneo de Yucatán (www.macay.org) in Mérida, Mexico. María Teresa Mézquita Mendez, who wrote about the exhibition stated that, “The motivation for Alvarez was working with chil- dren in a Sacramento hospital, the immediate revelation of the little figures awakes in the viewer the annoyance of sadness and vulner- ability, of human fragility, greater when that human being is a little one—their immature anatomy, still in progress, is even more fragile, more ephemeral. The faces, looking up, hope for an absent answer, drowned in time, con- veying uncertainty, a question with no answer. These children with no arms are not allowed Claudia Alvarez’ The Silence of Water, figures 26-28 in. (70–71 cm) in height, earthenware, mixed media, to hug anyone, not even to hold on to life. 2008; at El Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Yucatán, Mérida, Mexico. This is how this installation undresses itself, raw in its absolute simplicity. The exhibition is made up of seven child-sized figures. The only character that actually has arms lies on the floor, rolled up like a fetus, more like a corpse than a living being. And the viewer’s annoyance begins precisely with the subject because it seems that when it comes to childhood (since the Gerber baby), everything has to be happiness and smiles.

Rebekah Bogard: Twilight “Twilight,” a solo exhibition of new work by Rebekah Bogard, was on view recently at E.L. Wiegand Gallery, Oats Park Art Center (www.churchillarts.org) in Fallon, Nevada. “I find myself increasingly nostal- gic,” said Bogard. “I long for warm summer nights, the feel of grass under my bare feet and sleeping under the stars. Twilight is a magical time of day that signifies things are about to

Rebekah Bogard’s Dead Weight, 18 in. (46 cm) in height, earthenware, underglaze, plastic eyes, acrylic paint, 2007; at E.L. Wiegand Gallery, Oats Park Art Center, Fallon, Nevada.

change. It turns night into day and day into night. It is both the beginning and the end. As if in a dream, the lines of reality become blurred. As sleep overtakes me, interior becomes exterior and exterior becomes interior. ‘Twilight’ is a place where I lost my love and faith, but gained renewed passion and abundance in conviction.” Ceramics Monthly December 2008 18 Ceramics Monthly December 2008 19 exhibitions

Ted Neal and Charity Davis-Woodard New works by Ted Neal and Charity Davis-Woodard were recently on view at the Robert T. Wright Gallery (http://gallery.clcillinois.edu/) at the College of Lake County in Grayslake, Illinois. Neal, as assistant art professor at Ball State University, deals with the proliferation of the objects of industry and mass production reformatted into ceramic vessels. Davis-Woodard creates utilitarian ceramic pieces using organic forms and bright contrasting colors. Neal states that, in addition to industry, the themes that dominate his work include, “the modern social need for portability, and the veneration of the common place. Of particular interest to me are objects that are often discarded or have simply become part of the back- ground of our daily life; industrial forms that have traveled the road from useful object to garbage and in many instances back again. I enjoy looking at our mechanical wasteland for structures that I can reformat around the ceramic vessel. The objects that I select are of inter- est to me because of a subconscious affinity I have with them. There is little doubt in my mind that my personal experiences have drawn me to- ward these intuitive selections that serve to express my ideas.”

Charity Davis-Woodard’s pitcher with bridged spout, “I can trace my 11 in. (28 cm) in height, wood-fired white stoneware, aesthetic sensibilities copper saturated glaze, 2008. back to the rustic con- temporary home in the woods where I grew up,” said Davis-Woodard. “Constructed of wood, glass and brick, it was filled with primitive antique furniture, old tools, crockery, stringed musical instruments, an eclectic mix of china, pewter and glassware, and shelves overflowing with books. The rough and refined elements of the house and its contents combined into a sim- Ted Neal’s Indestructo, 9 in. (23 cm) in height, high-iron stoneware, mering stew of influences which now filters down into my work, in both strong and steel, 2008; at Robert T. Wright Gallery, College of Lake County, subtle ways, as I seek forms and surfaces that reflect these aesthetic instincts.” Grayslake, Illinois.

Stories from the Earth: Voices of Contemporary Ceramic Artists “Stories from the Earth: Voices of Contemporary Ceramic Artists,” a group exhibition of narrative works, was on view recently at Old Dominion University’s Baron and Ellin Gordon Art Galleries (http://al.odu.edu/art/Gallery/gallery.shtml) in Norfolk, Virginia. Curated by Richard Nickel, the exhibition included works by Erin Furimsky, Carrianne Hen- drickson, Marlene Jack, Lori Mills, Beth Lo, Virginia Scotchie, Carol Schwartz, Michaeline Walsh, Jenny Mendes and Anna Freeman. Each artist, using a wide variety of storytelling, explores personal views on a variety of topics from relationships between significant others to childhood memories. Personal symbols, carved, molded, painted and thrown onto each form, invite the viewer to relate their experiences with those present in the works. Beth Lo describes her work as “revolving primarily around issues of family and my Asian-American background. I commemorate major events in my family’s history, the day to day challenges of par- enting and my own childhood memories of being raised in a minority culture in the United States. I also enjoy investigating, celebrating and sometimes satirizing traditional Asian aesthetics; I often make visual reference to calligraphy, origami, scrolls, Socialist Realist artwork, mahjong, as well as the many rich traditions of Chinese pottery and Tang and Han dynasty figurines.” Beth Lo’s Then and Now, 26 in. (66 cm) in height, porcelain, epoxy, paper, acrylic, 2008; at Old Dominion University’s Baron and Ellin Gordon Art Galleries, Norfolk, Virginia.

Ceramics Monthly December 2008 20 Ceramics Monthly December 2008 21 reviews

Clockwise from top left: Red-and-White Envelope Form, 6½ in. (16 cm) in height, stoneware with slip, fired to cone 6, 2008. White Altered Figurative Form, 23 in. (58 cm) in height, porcelaneous stoneware, slips and feldspar glaze, fired to cone 6, 2008. Black-and-White Bell Form, 12 in. (30 cm) in height, stoneware and slips, fired to cone 6, 2008. Red-and-Black Figurative Form, 14 in. (36 cm) in height, stoneware with slip and feldspar glaze, cone 6, 2008.

Matthew Allison by Matthew Kangas Matthew Allison’s exhibition at Northwest Craft Center & Gal- I wonder if this sounds better translated into Japanese? Allison’s lery (www.northwestcraftcenter.com) in Seattle, Washington, was ceramic studies and teaching at Tokyo National University of Fine shared with veteran production potters John Benn and Reid Ozaki. Art and Music between 2001 and 2006 might seem to be a bigger Unlike his colleagues, however, Allison’s individual thrown or or at least equal influence on the look of his pots than his road hand-built pots and vessels take on quasi-sculptural qualities. trips. Since he could never be fully accepted in Japan as a non– Even with the holes in their tops, there are other reasons why Japanese ceramic artist, coming up with the intensely “American” Allison’s work is not exactly sculpture: it’s too small; it has no subject matter probably made good sense (although this never mass or volume. Maybe we need to go along with craft-friendly art stopped Rick Hirsch or others from delving more deeply into critic John Perreault’s special categories of craft art that is hollow: Asian appearances in their works). it becomes a hybrid art form that celebrates its own unique status Allison’s 84 cups, vases, lidded boxes, bottles, jars and sake without needing to kowtow to the art world. sets have to be set into the context of the Japanese potter-worker. That said, what is it about these Seattle clay artists (such as Ben Industrious to be sure, the creativity and artistic qualities of the Waterman [see CM, J/J/A 2008, pg. 22–23]) who are always alluding potter-worker become secondary afterthoughts, overly proud pre- to their road trips as primal inspirations for their clay imagery? Is tensions sure to be cut down to size, like the old Japanese proverb, Seattle so far afield that, unless they come here, they never see the rest “The shiny nail is the first to be hit.” of America in between Wisconsin, Illinois and Washington State? No “shiny nails” here, but a brief survey of a few of Allison’s Allison noted in one of his two mercifully short artist’s statements, more individual works gives a clearer idea of his aesthetic: primar- “The imagery in this work is largely the result of countless road trips ily Japanese, indirectly American. An astute student of Japanese across America’s western states, which left me with powerful images ceramic history, 37-year-old Allison narrows his palette to colors of the land and the western myth—distant, desolate vistas, jutting that work within and over the red, white or brown clay bodies, edifices of rock and the stratified layers of earth lifted into view over integrating color and surface texture onto the stoneware support the course of hundreds of millions of years . . . .” rather than crisply separating them. Red-and-White Envelope Form

Ceramics Monthly December 2008 22 Clockwise from top left: Lidded Jar, 20 in. (51 cm) in height, stoneware, slips and feldspar glaze, fired to cone 6, 2008. Black-and-White Envelope Form, 10 in. (25 cm) in height, stoneware with slip, fired to cone 6, 2008. Black-and-White Altered Jar, 19 in. (48 cm) in height, stoneware, slips and feldspar glaze, fired to cone 6, 2008. Red-and-Cream Bell Form, 11 in. (28 cm) in height, stoneware with slips, fired to cone 6, 2008. Images courtesy of Northwest Craft Center & Gallery, Seattle, Washington. All works by Matthew Allison. Photos: Tom Holt.

stresses Japanese asymmetry; its top hole is set off to the upper near its base. The flattened forms better allow for such allusions left side. It emulates the repeated wave patterns one often sees than do the more uniformly thrown works. on Japanese textiles. The waves are more generously spaced and In Black-and-White Altered Jar, premonitions of future work may separated on Black-and-White Envelope Form. With the flattened have a heartening appearance. Scratched throughout, like a knife front-and-back format, Allison is able to make the slip covering through skin, this work’s surface lets the white show through the more prominent with little recourse to pictorialism—or glaze. black and treats the black as a filmy under-covering with a greater Even with an all-white clay body of porcelaneous stoneware in blend of mark making than any of the other pieces. Varieties of White Altered Figurative Form, subtle surface variants occur like a marks, plus stepping back from landscape pictorialism, push Allison dimple, a possible mountain range half way up the side of the form, toward a new calligraphic, abstract surface decoration. Vernacular and cracked, vertically striated lines. For such a big show with such Japanese covered rice pots as well as humbler Korean serving bowls a narrow palette, no single piece was the same as any other and come to mind. several had fully developed surface imagery. Lidded Jar has light Considering such an impressive range of treatments within orange drips at its base over a warmer brown tone. More explicit such a tight set of forms suggests there might not be anything mountain ranges are topped by white-tinged clouds above. These Allison cannot pull off. One question remains: how can Allison are quiet effects that only emerge after contemplation. gain greater recognition and art-world respect without increasing Black-and-White Bell Form and Red-and-Cream Bell Form take the size of the pots, let alone the spectrum of colors? The answer another shape—a rocking, scoop-topped vase—and add compa- is bound to be worth watching. rably dried-earth-looking decoration. In the former, chalk white slip has been combed over a chocolate-colored surface rising to a the author Matthew Kangas, a frequent contributor to CM, also writes deep brown ring beneath the vase’s opening. The latter intensifies for Art in America, Sculpture and Art Ltd. His full-length study of a the Utah or Wyoming State Park look with its red band above a Seattle ceramic sculptor, potter and filmmaker,Robert Sperry: Bright white “sky,” jagged “mountain range,” and wavy, crackled lines Abyss, is available now from University of Washington Press.

Ceramics Monthly December 2008 23 reviews

Clockwise from top left: Lucio Fontana’s Concetto Spaziale and Spatial Concept, 17 in. (45 cm) in height, porcelain, 1968. Jean-Pierre Larocque’s Untitled (head), 40 in. (102 cm) in height, stoneware, 1996. Georges Jeanclos’ Kamakura, 20 in. (51 cm) in height, earthenware, 1995. John Mason’s X Plate, 9¾ in. (25 cm) in height, stoneware, 1956. All images courtesy of The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Garth Clark and Mark Del Vecchio Collection.

The Scholar’s Eye: Contemporary Ceramics from Garth Clark and Mark Del Vecchio’s Collection by Diana Lyn Roberts It’s a museum curator’s dream: a well-known scholar and collector ap- the diversity of the works on display. For those who know about ceram- proaches your institution, offering a major gift of works from their private ics, it’s a sort of a ‘Who’s Who’.” The exhibition labels are coherent and collection that not only fills the gaps in your current holdings, it gives informative, providing context for some of the major trends within an your museum one of the leading exhibit and research collections in the artist’s work or within the broader trajectory of ceramic art. country. The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (www.mfah.org) found itself In some cases, multiple works by an artist are on display to emphasize in this enviable position last year, except the collection they received was the depth of the collection. Four works from Ron Nagle, ranging from hand-selected by not one, but two of the ceramic world’s leading scholars, 1980 to 2001, show various aspects of the artist’s exclusive use of the cup collectors and gallerists: Garth Clark and Mark Del Vecchio. The MFAH to explore multiple facets of form and surface design. Three works by exhibition, “The Scholar’s Eye,” was on view recently and showcases some Peter Voulkos show his transition from the fairly traditional Green and of the masterworks included in this remarkable gift. With 40 or so works White Bottle of 1950 to the less traditional Chalice of 1953 and the fully on display, the show merely hints at the breadth, depth and quality of a sculptural, classic Voulkos Stack of 1973. collection that now exceeds 400 pieces. The breadth of the collection is also displayed. From the technique Focusing on modern and contemporary ceramic art from the 1940s intensive, self-referential “ceramic-ness” of Adrian Saxe to Richard to the present, the MFAH Garth Clark and Mark Del Vecchio Collec- Devore’s elemental Vessel, John Mason’s X Plate and Ruth Duckworth’s tion ranges from functional ware to narrative and fully abstract sculptural Platter, The Scholar’s Eye reveals some fundamental concerns of artists pieces. The Scholar’s Eye presents only a fragment of the entire collec- focused on a single medium and the myriad ways they deal with those tion, but includes works by major innovators and practitioners in the issues. For example, the ultra-clean lines of Bodil Manz’ quintessentially field of ceramic art: Peter Voulkos, Ron Nagle, Richard Devore, Ruth Scandinavian, design-oriented fine porcelain Cylinder No. 3 with Black Duckworth, John Mason and many others. It also features works by and Black Lines is juxtaposed with Andrew Lord’s installation of Six Mexi- contemporary artists not typically associated with the medium, such as can Pieces, Biting. The work is comprised of six oversized, over-decorated, Sir Anthony Caro, Lucio Fontana and Roy Lichtenstein. intentionally awkward, broken and repaired non-functional forms based Cindi Strauss, MFAH curator of modern and contemporary decora- very loosely on Mexican folk ceramics. Whatever “concern” these artists tive arts and design, says she selected the show as “an introduction to the address is glibly undermined by Lichtenstein’s commercially produced riches of this collection. I wanted it to work on multiple levels, so that if place setting, featuring his famous Pop Art cartoon style on the surface you knew nothing about contemporary ceramics, you’d still appreciate of bland, every day, mass produced dishes. Ceramics Monthly December 2008 24 Clockwise from left: Peter Voulkos’ Untitled Vase/Stack, 40½ in. (103 cm) in height, stoneware, 1969–71. Richard DeVore’s Vessel, 11¾ in. (30 cm) in height, porcelain, 1981. Sir Anthony Caro’s The Achaians-Xanthos from the series Trojan War, 69¼ in. (176 cm) in height, stoneware, steel, 1993–94. Claudi Casanovas’ Plate, 32 in. (81 cm) in diameter, ceramic, 1994; at The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston, Texas.

Figurative works show an equally diverse range. Viola Frey’s there are plans to create a full catalog and a more complete exhibition kitschy, intentionally tacky earthenware tableau Esther Williams of the Clark-Del Vecchio Collection in the future, but the current show and Deborah Kerr at the Pool is contrasted by Jean-Pierre Larocque’s would benefit from more focus and a few additional works to complete primordial Untitled (head) and Georges Jeanclos’ reverential, almost the thoughts just barely addressed in the present selection. spiritually spare Kamakura. Still, there’s something to be said for access. Garth Clark and Mark Equally elegant and reverentially spare, Lucio Fontana’s Concetto Del Vecchio are arguably the most important gallery dealers in modern Spaziale is one of the most elemental works in the show. More well- and contemporary ceramics. Since opening their first gallery in Los known for his assertively yet elegantly slashed canvas wall pieces and Angeles in 1981 and their famous New York venue in 1983, they’ve constructions of the same generic title, Fontana effectively translates established firm footing in a fine art market that typically excluded ce- his abstract formal concerns into two lozenge-shaped porcelain objects, ramics. Independently, Clark and Del Vecchio have produced scholarly, one black and one white, with the characteristic “slashes” expressed as art historical texts that helped establish academic credentials for the field. engraved lines and gashes in the surface of the clay. Arman’s Four Stages In effect, their efforts and their choices have helped create a currency of Conversation, featuring slip-cast white earthenware teapots cut in for fine art ceramics. Most important, they possess an unmatched com- half and stacked on a white wooden shelf, and Anthony Caro’s steel mitment to ceramic artists and a propensity to collect. frame with roughly modeled clay elements in The Achaians-Xanthos With the recent announcement that Garth Clark Gallery would show how sculptors more well known for other materials have ap- be closing its physical location and moving online, they are also propriated clay as an effective sculptural medium. showing their generosity. The Clark-Del Vecchio gift also includes an The Scholar’s Eye presents some exceptional works and introduces artist archive with bios, images and correspondence, and a resource a range of styles, trends and undercurrents in contemporary ceramic library of around 1000 items ranging from exhibition catalogs to art. Yet, as an exhibition, it isn’t particularly satisfying. The cursory artist monographs, catalogs of major ceramic collections, scholarly overview doesn’t offer much coherence, and some of the works seem texts and other research materials, which are available to the public more representative of trends rather than being masterworks in their through the MFAH Hirsch Library. own right. Perhaps it’s just the knowledge that there’s so much more to both the collection and the field than can be encompassed in 40 works. the author Diana Lyn Roberts is a Texas-based independent art critic To be fair, it isn’t the point of this show to be comprehensive. Strauss says and a frequent contributor to CM. Ceramics Monthly December 2008 25 The Art of function by Euan Craig

Ceramics Monthly December 2008 26 focus food and pots function and the Function of Art Pottery is a conversation between friends, between the potter and the clay, between the maker and the user, between the vessel and the meal. It helps us find the common ground between apparently different cultures and teaches us about the beauty of nature and the joy of simply living. It’s all about food, really, though too often we take it for granted. Food, you see, is a basic necessity, whereas cuisine is not. But just eating to survive is not what makes us human; what makes us different from other animals is our passion for flavor, fragrance, texture and color; in short, our joy in the sensual experience of dining. And the art of the potter is to enhance that sensual experience and make even the best of food better. I sat on the front porch this morning with my wife, as a cool breeze blew across the rice paddies, and enjoyed a cup of coffee with her before breakfast. The fragrance of the coffee as I ground it from fresh beans, different from the aroma as I poured hot water through the grounds in one of my coffee drippers and coffee pot, different again as we drank it through frothed milk in my wood-fired mugs. A dash of vanilla, a sprinkling of cinnamon, the feel of the handle within my grasp and the texture of the rim as it touched my lips. All of this incidental as we enjoyed the morning light over the garden. On the terraced field in front of our home, beyond the mint and the persimmon trees, is our vegetable gar- den. No chemicals have been used on this land for thirty years, and the soil is rich and fertile. The potatoes are ready to harvest, and the tomato plants are laden with fruit, as are the cucumbers and aubergine. Surrounding the vegetables are a variety of herbs: basil, fennel, garlic chives, stevia, dill, parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme. Herbs for fragrance, herbs for flavor, herbs for color. In different seasons we have other delicacies to enjoy. Come autumn the pumpkins and carrots will be ripe, the chestnuts and persimmons ready to harvest, the saffron blossoming across the lawn. The autumn harvest will last through the cold months, and winter will see Chinese cabbage and brussels sprouts. Come spring again and the native herbs will burgeon forth, along with asparagus, onions and garlic. Year round there is a feast in the fields, as long as we husband it well. It takes care, toil and understanding to keep these crops throughout the year, rotating the plantings and storing the harvest. But with four small children to raise, surely no endeavor is more worthwhile. Save, perhaps, the serving of this feast? The children are stirring in the house, so Mika and I go inside and round them up. Faces washed, hair combed, fresh clothes. I baked bread

Left: Go sun sara thrown dessert plate, 6 in. (15 cm) in diameter, porcelain with slip trailing and tenmoku glaze, 2007. Cuisine by Chef Morishige at restaurant La butte boisée. Above: The author trimming goblets in his studio in Mashiko, Japan.

Ceramics MonthlyCeramics December Monthly 2008 December 2008 27 27 this morning and I add home-made butter and yuzu marmalade potter, I found it offensive that galleries would use plastic cups or from Laura Inoue’s pottery in Nagano, milk from Oki’s dairy farm paper plates for an opening reception when they were trying to down the road, and breakfast is served. Here is where the root of convince the public of the benefits of using handcrafted ceramics, the potter’s craft is set, on the top of your own dining table. It is so from the very outset, the owner Miyake san and I decided that not enough to tear a lump of bread from the loaf, smear it with we would use only my vessels at the opening. A nearby restaurant, dollops of butter and marmalade with you bare hands and shove Kappo Toyoda, agreed to provide the food for the opening on my it unceremoniously into your gob (though my three year old may platters, and so a new tradition began. sometimes disagree). The plates must be chosen to hold the bread, There is, of course, an intrinsic difference in the perception of a the butter must be served in an appropriate vessel, the marmalade vessel between Japan and the West, in that a vessel in the West is a deserves a bowl of its own and the milk must be served in cups small canvas on which to display your culinary artistry, whereas in Japan, enough to fit a growing hand and in volume large enough to fill a the vessel is an environment in which your cuisine exists, each in- growing thirst! Form follows function, as the adage goes, and it is terdependent on the other. The owner chef at Toyoda, Hashimoto the potter’s craft to enhance the enjoyment of the eating experience Touru, is a fifth generation Japanese chef and had just returned from by creating vessels that epitomize the essential four Ts: Stability, being the head chef at the Japanese embassy in Germany when I had Durability, Functionality and Beauty. my first exhibition at Ebiya. We have since become fast friends and After breakfast, I go out to the studio (a matter of seconds as each year we have discussed the design, shape, color and texture of it is in the room beside the kitchen), and Mika takes the children the work in order to bring out the best in the cuisine. outside to harvest today’s crop. For my part, I have orders to fill and You see, I enjoy cooking, and I like to claim cooking as my hobby. exhibitions for which to prepare. However, my first order of the day In order to make pots well, one must know how to use them well. is dinner plates as part of a dinner setting for a French restaurant in But there is a limit. Whether I am a master potter or not may be Tokyo. It’s a long story, but if you’ll bear with me… moot, but I am most certainly not a master chef. To pretend to be For the last fifteen years, I have been exhibiting at the Ebiya so would be naïve at best. No, I am a professional potter, a profes- Bijutsuten Gallery in Nihombashi, Tokyo. It is one of nine busi- sional maker of pots, as opposed to a professional chef, who is a nesses that came to Tokyo with the Meiji emperor in 1868 from professional user of pots. It became blatantly clear that, if I were to Kyoto by appointment to the Imperial Household. As a functional ever make functional pots of a truly professional level, I must do so in collaboration with professional chefs. So, in 2004, Touru san O k a d agreed to collaborate with me on a signature dinner.

Photos: Akir a Photos: We spent a day at the Tokyo Dome Table Ware Festival (at which I have exhibited for the last few years), discussing vessel sizes, shapes and color in relation to the food, the season and the method of eating. At a restaurant, there is a particularly limited amount of table space on which to serve various meals, and a balance of proportion between the size and presence of a vessel and the food that is served upon it. The shape of a vessel, its size and color must relate to the food, and in Japan, where the vessel is often held in the hand, the size and comfort of the vessel must also be taken into account. In the West, it is important for a dinner plate to be smooth and flat, for a rough surface would make the knife and fork screech and clatter and Nana sun hira zara, 8 in. (21 cm) in diameter, mino porcelain, shigaraki nami clay blend, tenmoku glaze, 2007. Cuisine by make cutting unpleasantly diffi- Touru Hashimoto, Toyoda, Nihombashi, Tokyo. cult. In Japan, however, the food

Ceramics Monthly December 2008 28 focus food and pots may be cut into bite size morsels by the chef and the diner need only lift them from the surface with their chopsticks, so throwing rings and a more textured surface are perfectly acceptable. Over a period of months, we discussed what was necessary to cre- ate an ideal table setting for a full course Japanese kaiseki ryori meal, and I made a kiln load of prototypes, which were then critiqued. We came to a final decision and I returned to the studio to produce a restaurant’s worth of vessels for a sig- nature dinner. Each eve- ning during my annual exhibition, Touru san and I hosted a full course meal Clockwise from top left: Lidded rice bowl, 5 in. (12.5 cm) in diameter, tenmoku glaze. Chawan mushi lidded vessel for savory steamed at Kappo Toyoda. custard, 3¹⁄8 in. (8cm) in height, tenmoku glaze. Go sun kaku zara square plate, 5 in. (12.5 cm) in width, chattered decoration under With the chef prepar- celadon glaze. Ogigata bachi fan-shaped bowl, 6 in. (15 cm) in length. All works wood-fired porcelain. Cuisine by Touru Hashimoto, ing and serving the food Toyoda, Nihombashi, Tokyo. in front of the guests, we were able to explain the process by which the vessels were designed and the user and allow them to complete the conversation. If not, we are made for each course and the important points about the functional talking to ourselves at best, and preaching at worst. collaboration. The guests, in turn, being the final user of the vessels, My current order is for a French restaurant and wine bar in Ni- were able to give their feelings and opinions of the work throughout hombashi, Tokyo, called G’drop. They intend to use only my vessels the meal. Each guest was given a limited edition yunomi (teacup) in a for the winter menu from December until February. As I write this, signed wooden box to commemorate the evening. Since the inaugural it is still August, and time is on my side. I finish the plates by lunch- dinner in 2005, it has become an annual event, though we try to change time. By now the children have harvested the potatoes, the tomatoes, the season each year. It has proven to be an invaluable resource for cucumbers and capsicums. I make a salad from the tomatoes, some design development and a testing ground for new work. home-made cottage cheese, basil, olive oil and balsamico. Served on But why stop at Japanese? Yes, of course, there is already a predilec- a black glaze, the colors come to life. Pasta with a cream sauce, some tion in Japanese cuisine for vessels that interact with the food, but surely parsley for garnish, on a celadon chattered plate. Western cuisine could benefit from a similar perspective. In 2006, The children are ecstatic that the food they have harvested should Isaka san of Gallery St. Ives in Tokyo proposed a signature dinner at be served to them for lunch. They help with the preparation and the La butte boisee French restaurant in Jiyugaoka, Tokyo. Once again a serving. They boast to each other about the part they have played in long series of discussions about season, menu and function ensued. this grand meal. Mika and I smile and open a bottle of wine. When The result was an amazing fusion of ceramics and cuisine. it comes right down to it, this is why I pot. It is a conversation with Since that time, I have worked with numerous restaurants, bistros the people I love, a collaboration between the beauty of nature and and cafés to create ceramics specifically designed for their particular the beauty that I have derived from nature. By this collaboration with cuisine. You see, it is the food that comes first, not the vessel. Too many nature in the wood fire, my work goes beyond my ability and becomes potters, even here in Japan, say, “I have made a vessel that is beautiful something new, then becomes a part of our life on the dining table. and complete. Now it is the challenge of the chef to bring out the best Pottery is about food, it is about love and life and the joy of simply in it!” If it is complete, the addition of food will do nothing but detract living. And it’s still only lunchtime! from it, no matter how skilled a chef may be. I am not that egotisti- cal. A vessel needs to need the food, for a true vessel is not complete the author Euan Craig is an Australian-born potter living and working until it is in use. A potter must surrender their work into the hands of in Mashiko, Japan. Check out his blog at http://euancraig.blogspot.com.

Ceramics Monthly December 2008 29 Cooking with Clay for slow food and a healthy world

by Robbie Lobell

I make my flameware pots for slow food aficionados, lovers of fine as they are properly proportioned, round-bottomed pots. I make cas- food, appreciators of quality kitchen tools, cooks, chefs and all of us seroles, broilers, bakers, roasters, teakettles, soup pots, skillets, sauce concerned with the industrialization of our food systems. I make my pots, oven/pizza stones, woodstove humidifiers and trivets. flameware pots to encourage the ideas of using handmade objects to Part of my interest in making flameproof cookware comes from prepare and present locally grown vegetables, fruits and meats from my concerns in cooking food safely. The flameware clay and glazes our gardens, barnyards and nearby farms. I make my flameware pots provide a safe cooking surface, removing a potential environmental because I am convinced cooking and serving in handmade pottery hazard from our kitchens. My recipes came from Karen Karnes, Mary brings connection and beauty to the simple act of sitting down to a Caroline Richards, Ann Stannard and Mikhail Zakin, though I know mindfully-prepared meal with family, friends and neighbors. And so, others were involved over the years in developing flameware clay bod- in a sense, my commitment to making cooking pots is a dedication to ies and glazes to fit with a very low co-efficient of expansion. a way of life that goes hand-in-hand with working in clay. In adopting What I focus on is the forming of the pots—the distribution of flameware and making flameproof pots as my signature work at this weight in the pot; careful glaze application for preventing dunting and point in my career, I have joined a traditional life-style of working cracking; the attention to details both functional and aesthetic such as quietly, daily, rigorously that reflects the rhythm of a studio life and edges, rims, lid fit, handles, smooth glass-like bottoms, and creating all that supports it. (through much scraping and ribbing) a tactile intimacy that would What is flameware, anyway? Why do you use it? Why does it draw in the user. I make my pots the way I do because I use them work? Can you use it in a microwave oven? How does it clean up, is and receive feedback from others who use them. This feedback allows it dishwasher safe? Can we use it on the grill or under the broiler? me to refine the function without giving up my ideas for sculptural Do I have to heat the pot with the oven? Why is it different? Can integrity, elegance and beauty. I put it on the stove? I have heard these questions many times as I Breaking many of the edicts for working in flameware, I have have introduced people to my flameware cooking pots over the past sought to work the forms for the absolute essentials to express interior several years at shows, in shops and galleries, during my studio sales volume and a taut, yet soft exterior “skin.” I soda fire my pots and use and at my own table. wood to accomplish body reduction in my propane-fueled kiln. I use I was introduced to flameware clay in the winter of 2000/2001 a very light application of soda and just a bit of wood for subtle flame during a six-week residency in the studio of Karen Karnes. Over action. Many of the pots are left unglazed on the exterior, or “naked” the next several years, I found that with this new material and my as I refer to them, which can lead to dunting if the interior glaze is ideas of cooking in clay pots, a new language of function and form applied too thickly. However, I believe I have finessed the proper ap- evolved as I explored the needs and aesthetics of a pot that is used plications of glazes and consistent weight distribution in the structure from the stove to the table to the refrigerator and back into the oven. of the pots, and I now feel confident that my pots may be well used Working within this very limited functional/utilitarian vocabulary without worry. In addition, I do not wad the flameware pots (though has allowed me to distill my sculptural ideas for pots within these set I do wad my stoneware pots). Firing to a hot cone 10, the flameware parameters. Moreover, this, in turn, began to define me as a potter, clay becomes very soft, and I have found that the wads create dents designer and artist. on the bottoms of the pots which promote cracking under high heat. My cookware is made with a “flameproof” clay body formulated to So now, I use a wax mixture heavily laden with alumina and put the withstand thermal shock when heated. Many other types of clay can pots directly on the shelves. also be used in the oven, but pots made from flameware clay can be In order to test my pots, I put them through a series of extreme placed into a very hot preheated oven as well as on a stovetop as long temperature changes. I poured rapidly boiling water into the pots,

Ceramics Monthly December 2008 30 focus food and pots

Top: Nesting square baker/roasters, up to 12 in. (30 cm) in length, naked and glazed exterior, 2008. Bottom: Oval roaster/server, 12 in. (30 cm) in length, glazed and naked exterior, 2008.

Ceramics Monthly December 2008 31 recipes

Flameware Clay Body (Cone 10) Spodumene...... 30 G-200 Feldspar ...... 10 Pyrax (HS)...... 10 Ball Clay (OM4) ...... 25 Fire Clay (Hawthorne)...... 25 100 % Add: Grog (48 mesh)...... 5 Red Iron Oxide ...... 1 .75–2 % Note: No guarantee is made by the author or Ceramics Monthly regarding this recipe . All individuals must test materials and maintain quality control to ensure proper performance of any clay body—particularly flameware .

Interior Glaze Ann’s Kaki (Ann Stannard) (Cone 10) Bone Ash...... 9 .2 Red Iron Oxide...... 9 .7 Talc ...... 5 .6 Whiting...... 6 .6 Custer Feldspar ...... 43 .9 EPK Kaolin...... 5 .6 Silica (Flint) ...... 19 .4 100 .0 % Bentonite...... 2 .0 %

Exterior Glaze—Robbie’s Y Glaze (Cone 10) Whiting...... 28 .00 % Custer Feldspar ...... 48 .37 EPK Kaolin...... 10. .74 Silica (Flint)...... 12. .89 100 .00 % Add: Titanium Dioxide...... 8 .60 % Bentonite...... 2 .15 % This has been altered from Karen’s Y Glaze, which uses G-200 feldspar instead of Custer feldspar and rutile instead of titanium dioxide . All percentage weight amounts are the same . Gray/Black Add: Manganese ...... 6–8 % Gold Add: Titanium Dioxide...... 5–8 % Blue Add: Cobalt Carbonate ...... 0 .625 % Green Add: Copper Carbonate...... 3 % Gray/Green Add: Copper Carbonate...... 1 % Nickel...... 2 % Blue/Green Top: Long baker/roaster, 20 in. (51 cm) in length, glazed and naked exterior, 2008. Add: Cobalt Carbonate ...... 0 .625 % Middle: Oval roaster/server, 3 in. (8 cm) in height, glazed and naked exterior, 2008. Titanium Dioxide ...... 4 % Bottom: Ovenware set with casserole/covered pot, 9 in. (23 cm) in height, glazed and naked exterior, Copper Carbonate...... 5 % 2008; by Robbie Lobell, Coupeville, Washington.

Ceramics Monthly December 2008 32 focus food and pots

Connections through Cooking by Deborah Bernstein

The choice of cookware is very personal for a cook. Ask anyone who enjoys cooking and they will tell you that they return to certain pots or knives over and over. Those pieces perform well, they feel good in the hand, their dimensions make sense, they are intelligently designed. Perhaps, in addition, there is meaning or memory connected to them (an heirloom, something received as a gift, or something made by someone who is admired). These things are true of Robbie’s flameware pots. It is my belief that an intimate farm-to-table connection is an important part of taking good care of ourselves and our planet. This includes making pots and using pots made by potters I have During a firing workshop last summer at Lobell’s studio, this plum cake recipe met—maintaining a personal connection with the person who was created using plums from the artist’s tree and a flameware oval roaster. makes the pots in which I cook and serve food. I choose Robbie’s pots because they are beautiful, solid and can go from refrigerator I developed the plum cake recipe (pictured above) on site last to oven to table and back to refrigerator. Like any high performance summer during a firing workshop at Robbie’s studio. The tree that cookware, the surfaces release well, which makes serving and bore the plums was just a few feet away from the studio door. cleaning a pleasure. I reach for them to bake or roast casseroles For me, it was an opportunity to explore the intimacy between and gratins, lasagna, pizzas, cakes, breads, pies and crisps. They local, seasonal food and cooking in a vessel that was made by are ideal for slow cooking, but they are at their most dazzling hand (by the person who grew the food). for searing and high roasting simultaneously. It is not necessary to alter recipes for mid- or low-range baking or roasting in flameware; the differences between flameware, metal, glass and stoneware (and other bakeware like silicone) exist, but are not usually extreme enough to make procedural or quantity changes mandatory. The only true caveat, which is true with any vessel used for baking, is that dimensions must be roughly equivalent for a recipe to work well, or adjustments will have to be made in quantity and/or timing. Flameware will brown foods well, even at mid-range temperatures. In this way, it performs more like glass or Pyrex than like metal. And it will continue to hold heat for quite a while after it comes out of the oven. So, if a recipe specifies using metal for baking, it might be wise to begin checking for doneness early.

then put them directly into the freezer. I allowed the pots to stay in the flames and the burner grate. It appears that I am using a true the freezer overnight, where they froze into solid blocks of ice and flameproof clay body. then put them directly into a pre-heated 450˚F (232˚C) oven. The I have learned much during my time working in flameware and ice slowly melted and began to boil again. In his book, Clay and have developed a line of cookware that has caught the attention of Glazes for the Potter, Daniel Rhodes suggests the following: “To test people who love food and cooking. People who appreciate and are a body for resistance to flame, a small flat dish is made about seven committed to what the culture of slow food offers—using local and inches in diameter, with a rim one inch high. Water is placed in this sustainable products, using handmade pots and other handmade and it is put on an electric hot plate and heated until the water has objects in the kitchen and on the table, and gathering at dining boiled off. After five minutes of further heating, the dish is plunged tables with family, neighbors and friends for meals prepared with into cold water. If a body survives this heating and cooling for several intention and love and an eye to beauty. cycles, it may be considered flameproof” (1973 edition, page 57). I did this test too, though with one of my forms, and on a gas flame, the author Robbie Lobell offers workshops on flameware at her studio which is a bit harder on the pot because of inconsistent heat between in Coupeville, Washington. See www.robbielobell.com.

Ceramics Monthly December 2008 33 Kirk Mangus The Crystalline Moment by Glen R. Brown

Gouged into surfaces with the apparent rapidity and informality of an instinctual act, the rough images that Kirk Mangus imposes on his sculptural vessels seem to boil up from an obscure inner resource. At first glance, the marks composing these images suggest unalterable chains of events, as if once unleashed, the energies that produced them would have suffered no restraint before entirely spending themselves. One easily envisions his pots as prehistoric earth in which a finger, driven by the tensions of a brutish existence, scratches out the earliest traces of human emo- tion in pictorial form. His images seem to bear the mysterious primeval scrawl of unconscious drives, and therefore to emerge with a kind of inevitability. To all appearances, Mangus’s work is the epitome of impassioned expression. Despite these first impressions however, Mangus participates in a contemporary rhetoric in which the apparent marks of pri- mal communication are in fact generated quite consciously, even strategically. The raw awkwardness of his images is tendentious rather than consequential, signifying the idea of naïve expres- sion rather than issuing from it. This could hardly be otherwise, since Mangus is no outsider artist. Knowledge of the history of art permeates his vessels as a key aspect of their meaning. His forms deliberately echo the profiles of volute kraters and ancient amphorae, and he carefully constructs historical allusions through both the style and content of his imagery. These allusions are never offhand, nor does Mangus employ them as a means of freeing himself from rational demands as a maker. Despite the restlessness, intractability and raw energy conveyed by his l’art brut imagery, there is ultimately no contradiction to his asser- tion that his work constitutes an “intellectual pursuit” that is “all about control.” This control involves constant attention to balancing the physical and conceptual aspects of making through a style that

Carved Crowd, 36 in. (91 cm) in height, red earthenware painted with engobes and stains, with knife cut images, fired to cone 3 in oxidation with salt, 1992.

Ceramics Monthly December 2008 34 has been carefully forged over the years. Today one of the foremost profoundly visceral and simplistic but baroque at the same time. exponents of a variety of neo-primitive figuration that emerged some For every mark that I’ve laid down, I’ve met all those people, and I four decades ago in American ceramics, Mangus began exploring think about the grocery store and the disco. Then ash flies through the genre of expressionistic drawing during his student days. After the kiln and lands on the pot and makes it look a million years old, earning a B.F.A. at the Rhode Island School of Design in 1975, even though it’s this highly contemporary thing sitting there on the he headed west to pursue a graduate degree. Through friend and table staring back at you.” mentor Jun Kaneko, he had already become acquainted with the Artificial signs of age are intriguing to Mangus, who speaks face- gritty figural ceramics of Patrick Siler, a professor at Washington tiously of his plans to find “a house with a pond in the yard so that State University. Siler’s vigorous method of drawing on pots was I can push all my work into it and then pull it out when it starts provocative, and in it Mangus encoun- looking old.” The artful illusion of age—a tered an ideal antidote to the coolly trompe l’œil trickery—is not in itself the detached Minimalist aesthetic that was objective to which Mangus alludes. Rather, then dominating art on the East Coast as a neo-primitivist he is interested in the way [see “Patrick Siler: The Times and the that feigned age serves, within the experience Timeless,” May 2008 CM]. of art, to convey the impression of universal- In the M.F.A. program at Washing- For every mark that I’ve laid ity. When contemporary content—something ton State, Mangus found himself sur- down, I’ve met all those people. Mangus deliberately seeks to absorb from his rounded by students who were taking reading of Vanity Fair and Vogue magazines as their cues from maverick West Coast well as his experiences of everyday events—is artists such as Joan Brown, Roy De For- est, William T. Wiley, Robert Arneson and WSU’s own Gaylen Hansen. “I stood back from that for awhile,” Mangus remembers, “because I was from the East. But I did want to draw on my pots, and I wanted to work on the figure.” Finding an effective way to do so required some time and experimentation. Beginning with a phase in which he gradually approached the hu- man form through a curious personification of insects, Mangus eventually achieved the rudiments of the neo-primitive figural style for which he is known today. It should be emphasized that Mangus’ style is a style in the very best sense: which is to say that the look of his work is fundamen- tally tied to the content that he investigates rather than merely ap- plied superficially as a means of distinguishing his pieces from the products of anyone else. Too often in contemporary ceramics, style is perceived as an end rather than a means, especially by younger ceramists eager to establish a professional identity for themselves (or to convince an M.F.A. committee that an original contribution has been made to the field). This error is the inverse of the misconcep- tion that profound content assures successful work, even when style fails to rise above mediocrity. Mangus cannot be accused of either of these shortcomings, since the integral relationship of style and content is one of the implicit themes of his work. If he eschews a refined touch, it is because the subjects that Man- gus represents through his deliberately awkward figural imagery are themselves inherently raw—with the contradictions of brashness and uncertainty, timidity and aggression, vanity and self-deprecation, compulsiveness and maddening unpredictability and a thousand other inconsistencies, large and small. In short, they are human. To Mangus, human beings are an endless source of inspiration in which the extraordinary mingles with the banal on a daily basis. As a consequence, he says his work is a means, “of treating something Perfume Bottle, 16 in. (41 cm) in height, thrown, with white slip, wood fired, 1999.

Ceramics Monthly December 2008 35 grafted onto the signifiers of the past, a certain effect of timelessness inevitably results: the impres- sion that art of the past can whisper its messages of unchanging truth faintly but coherently into the ear of the present. By clothing his representations of humanity in primitive style, by fashioning the vessels inhabited by these figures in forms derived from the ancient past, and by firing his work in the ash-laced and artificially aging environment of a wood-fired kiln, Mangus engages in a neo-primitive manipulation of ostensibly primal signs: a rhetoric that investigates the signifying role of art in the perception of a time- less and universal human nature. His work is, in this sense, self-reflective, focusing on its own means of constructing messages as well as on the desires that it embodies for discovery of something essen- tial and eternal about humanity. More intriguingly, it seems to be about epiphany, or the sudden and fleeting impression that one has actually grasped the universal condition of one’s being in the world: the experience of a flash of insight that Mangus refers to as the “crystalline moment.” In the raw environment inhabited by Mangus’ figures, this experience of insightful self-reflection involves realization of the tragedy inherent in the human condition: a coming to terms with the stain of mortality that ultimately checks the soul’s aspirations to the infinite. Confrontation of the eternal tragic—which receives some of its earliest representation in the myths of the ancient world— is epitomized by Mangus’ images of anguished soldiers clad in the armor of classical antiquity. “I was originally thinking of the Judgment of Paris and what it means to be a loser,” he recalls. “Everyone has those moments when you come to grips with the reality of your situation. Everyone has that crystalline moment, whether it’s writing at 5 o’clock in the morning or it’s that moment when you’re sitting there watching a fly crawl across the edge of your spear.” With this content as its objective, Mangus’ work naturally embodies a degree of pessimism, although this element is invariably balanced by a potentially redemptive aspect: a hope of sorts, though it amounts to only the prospect of a vicari- ous immortality. As in the paintings of Georges Rouault—a primitivizing modern artist who con-

Warrior Bottle, 18 in. (46 cm) in height, carved red clay with cone 1 glaze, 2007; by Kirk Magnus, Kent, Ohio.

Ceramics Monthly December 2008 36 Family Tree Basket, 6 in. (15 cm) in height, thrown red clay with cone 1 glaze, 2008.

jured the somber spirit of the Middle Ages through his distinctive use of style, Mangus seeks to conjure the inevitable tragedy of exis- style of dense shadow and filtered light—the visual characteristics tence, to be sure, but at the same time to imply its value as a bond of Mangus’ work convey a fundamental unity of sadness and beauty. between all those who have ever lived and all those who ever will. This convergence derives principally from reflection on the condi- For anyone tempted to dismiss these aspirations as too grandiose tion that the ancients expressed most succinctly in the phrase ars for the content of pots, the echoes of ancient kraters and amphorae longa, vita brevis (life is short, the art long). “Pottery is something in Mangus’ forms should give pause. This is not the first time that that is going to last a really long time,” Mangus observes, “but I’m pots have been vehicles for such rumination. The crystalline mo- going to die. Isn’t it beautiful though? I mean, everyone else did.” ment after all, like the condition upon which it reflects, is as old Perhaps for Mangus this is the true gist of the crystalline mo- as humanity itself. ment: not the acknowledgement of one’s mortality but its acceptance both as part of the natural order of things and as the sole guarantor the author A frequent contributor to CM, Glen R. Brown is professor of the universality of the human condition. Through his strategic of art history at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas.

Ceramics Monthly December 2008 37 In Search of Sanctuary The Work of Giselle Hicks

Veil, 18 in. (46 cm) in height, vitreous china with stain and glaze, fired to cone 6 oxidation, then sandblasted, 2006.

Ceramics Monthly December 2008 38 BY MARY K. CLOONAN

Home is a dense and complex word. It is where the heart is, but can also be where it is hardest. Layers of meaning entangled with love, regret, John P olak photos: fear and comfort, laden with peril and possibilities. Giselle Hicks is an artist who explores the facets inherent in such a space using symbolic combinations of the common accessories found within. Pillows, quilts and nests reference home but become less commonplace as a result of her skill and attention. Her narrative use of these objects transforms her personal story into one more universal. The work explores home as a structure, as a sanctuary, as a community of people or as a foreign landscape that becomes familiar. Growing up in sunny Laguna Niguel, California, she has since chosen some snowy locales to reside in, attending Syracuse Uni- Above: Delicate Wait, 8 in. (20 cm) in height, 2007. Left: Lean, versity in New York for her undergraduate 10 in. (25 cm) in height, 2006. degree and then going west to Colorado to Both are porcelain with glaze, the Anderson Ranch Arts Center. In 2005 fired to cone 6 in oxidation, then she was a resident in the Arts and Industry sandblasted, with acrylic. Program at the John Michael Kohler Art Center in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, where she gained mold-making skills that al- objects are glaze-fired to cone lowed her to build on a larger scale. Hicks six, then additional surface recently worked in the Project Art Studios embellishments are applied in Cummington, Massachusetts, and was a with china paints. Occasion- part-time assistant at Ferrin Gallery in Pitts- ally, Hicks sandblasts the glaze, field, Massachusetts. She is currently in the an added irony, as this allows graduate program at New York State College the hard material to mimic the of Ceramics at Alfred University. softness of fabric and obscures In between these chilly settlements, the patterns, similar to the way Hicks has done extensive traveling to a memory fades through time. Italy, Jamaica, Myanmar, Japan, China and Her working process is an Chile, allowing her to see her home from a intimate and labor intensive new perspective. While she enjoys these travels, each uprooting or affair, a metaphor for the narrative propelling the work; time and suitcase check provokes an apprehension until those foreign places care invested in a relationship. According to Hicks, this work fosters, grow to hold pieces of home. To ease her adjustment, she works on, “an awareness of how the mind functions, perceives, creates, ebbs “paying attention to the process of evolution, of finding a sense of and flows. To be tuned into the intuition and impulses . . . of your home in a place—how your relationship to place evolves over time body’s rhythms and cycles. Then understanding how these things as you becomes familiar with its character. I began to recognize the manifest in your health, behavior and interactions with and attitudes energy, time, patience and effort it takes to build these ‘intimate’ towards the outside world.” As the repetition of making becomes connections to a place or person.” Witnessing new landscapes en- a mantra of these defining habits, the finished work serves as a sort gages all of her senses and offers insight and clarity into who she is of diary or a milestone for the journey taken. and where she is headed. Hicks is concerned with the physical and emotional embodiment In order to express these experiences in her work, she employs of home; the skills and tools needed to build a structure or relation- handbuilding, slip casting and mishima (inlay) techniques. The sur- ship, or the dividing line between stranger and friend. Her stark faces of her porcelain forms are carefully prepared and sanded smooth. palette resonates an eloquent solitude and recalls a carefully com- Next, patterns are intricately inscribed and inlaid with colored slip, posed still life. It can also reference black and white photography, then scraped so the lines are flush with the surface. The inscribed with the bright and bare porcelain complemented by a rich, black designs, which reveal the narrative intent, can enhance or disguise a glaze. Occasionally, vibrant blue punctuates the works, evoking the form, contrasting a geometric shape with an organic line. exuberance and spiritual overtones of Islamic ceramic art. The physical act of applying the designs mirrors ingrained be- Hicks’ imagery revolves around the common accessories that havioral patterns, the actions that keep us focused and determined, provide comfort or support in our homes. Pillows are objects of as well as those that undermine our resolve. After bisque firing, the rest and repositories for dreams, occupying a place of intimacy, a

Ceramics Monthly December 2008 39 Untitled pillows, 17 in. (43 cm) in height, porcelain, fired to cone 6 in oxidation, with plaster and acrylic, 2008.

Ceramics Monthly December 2008 40 Winter’s Bed, 13 in. (33 cm) in height, vitreous china with stain and glaze, fired to cone 6 in oxidation, sandblasted, 2008. private place where vulnerability is allowed. Her pillows have a slight the attention necessary to forge a friendship or relationship. Twigs impression; they carry an echo of a past inhabitant. When stacked, and twine become the gestures and words that build and maintain they imply companionship and dependency; with potent objects our connection with another person. enthroned at the top of the stack. A strong, quiet piece is Delicate Wait, a stacked equation con- There is historical precedence for ceramic pillows. In China, sisting of pillow, nest and egg. The porcelain pillow is etched by elaborately decorated examples were created as funerary offerings, as using the shellac-resist technique, resulting in a cloud-like pattern well as for use by the living. The pillow forms served as a headrest, whose color is derived from the shadows cast. On top sits a whorl rather than a downy prop, and more importantly they worked as a of graphite-black glazed twigs with a feathered egg ensconced. The safe. Valuables were stored under a dreaming head; therefore nothing details are astonishing, causing one to hold his/her breath in the could be taken without disturbing the owner. Reflecting on this, presence of the implied fragility. By having the feathers coating the ceramic pillow is transformed from an empty container into a the egg, literally turned inside-out, it becomes a premonition of Pandora’s box of secrets and hope. the potential within, alluding to the tender patience and resulting While referencing this history, Hicks’ pillows multiply and ex- anticipation when cultivating a new endeavor. pand into a quilt formation displayed on the wall. The series, a hom- Breaking from the traditional nest, in Lean, the bowl-construct age to the traditional woman’s handicraft of resourceful recycling of morphs into a cairn formation with a pair of oblong piles cantile- bold patterns, also allows the viewer to experience the work with vered towards each other in a hesitant attraction. There is a palpable their whole body. The quilt is the epitome of warmth and comfort, yearning between them, as when iron filings are manipulated by a of late Sunday mornings when you let the sun have the head start. magnet. Protected and hidden inside are two white blossoms, each Hicks explains that she is working with the connotations of the with their Fibonacci swirl of petals amidst the chaos of the twigs. object, such as, “a quilt . . . as having some sort of imprint of our The subtle textures of nature are meticulously rendered, as each bodies, dreams, conversations—these things that contribute to our twig, feather and petal is handbuilt and attached, reliant on their sense of identity and hover in our periphery as memories.” neighbor. Implied is the contradiction in our natures, the desire to The large wall piece Veil, is composed of twelve pillows. The main be with another while fearing vulnerability. pattern is a floral diamond of fine lines. Interspersed are oval and circular The elegant porcelain sculptures of Giselle Hicks exist at the windows of darker floral-scroll designs, giving the effect of another realm intersection of memory and reality, between desire and actual need. beyond the curtain of precision and angles. The diagonal netting and Nostalgia, derived from the Greek, means a longing for or returning blue floral curls become a subtle tattoo on the pristine porcelain. to home. Her work illustrates the emotional shift of a house becoming The nest is another potent and important symbolic object for a home, when a mere structure becomes a sanctuary. She navigates Hicks. Like a quilt, it is a structure that is more than the sum of its parallel themes: how the patient skill needed to build a physical shelter parts. It is made from humble and fragile materials that together reflects those needed to create an emotional one. Her art celebrates create enough strength to shelter a fledgling. Nests are the opposite the realization of when we find a home in another; that their offering of destruction. They are instead constructs of intimacy, security and of a sense of self often reveals that we were already home. ingenuity. The spaces between hold shards of the sky, crisscrossing memories, tangled faith and intertwined lives. Hicks selected the the author Mary K. Cloonan lives in Baltimore, Maryland, and is the nest for her work as it is a result of careful craftsmanship reflecting Exhibitions Director at Baltimore Clayworks.

Ceramics Monthly December 2008 41 Ashley Howard: In Tune with Color by Helen Bevis

Right: Ceremonial urn (Winchester Cathedral), 31 in. (80 cm) in height, thrown and altered porcelain. The idea of the urn has always fascinated Howard. In the case of the ceremonial urns, he was deliberately looking for a form that would stand solidly and defiantly, much like the architectural setting in which they were placed. Below: Detail of the urn’s deeply recessed lid. Bound up with the treatment of the clay and the small lid are notions of memory and guarded access.

Ceramics Monthly December 2008 42 Tea set, 10 in. (25 cm) in height, thrown and altered porcelain with enamel collage.

When one talks to Ashley Howard there are words that recur: Phase two of the potter’s life; post RCA. His work still carries celebrate; play; music; ceremony. In many ways these few words that same celebration of the wheel but it’s now unveiled, with the encapsulate the characteristics of the potter and the pot. Here is a translucently glazed clay enhanced and enlivened with color and maker who is passionate about ceramics. Whether making pots for transfers. It’s as if the burden of youth was shrugged off during those function or ceremony or shaping the path of emerging potters, he years at the RCA and clarity of vision and clay emerged. Whilst the has an unfailing belief in the presence and future of clay. period of blue pots showed a prodigious confidence, the work of the A maker in his early 40s, he commands a certain degree of re- last few years is a remarkable rhapsody of color and sculptural form. spect from his students whilst, in the ceramics world, also seeming It’s the time-honored combination of confidence and wisdom. comparatively young. The fire of youth gives force to his work as a Howard’s work purposefully falls into two domains. He loves potter and teacher. But there’s also the bravura of youth that encour- function in ceramics, remarking that, “I will always work with func- aged his own return to student life for a M.A. at London’s renowned tion and against it!” Function comes in many guises. There are the Royal College of Art (RCA). A leap of faith made fourteen years after pots that work on a simple domestic level and those whose purpose finishing his Higher National Diploma (HND) at Kent Institute of is to come alive within the hallowed framework of ecclesiastical cer- Art and Design, England and after carving out a sensible career as a emony. Yet ownership of even the seemingly most humble handmade well-respected potter and fully qualified ceramics teacher. mug, cup or domestic vessel is redolent of ceremony, even more so Before this retro-step into education, Howard’s work was already given the rarity of these objects in our lives. Each time a handmade iconic. His earlier work (pre-2003 and the RCA) was well known for object is used, the user is acknowledging a debt to past lives and the striking, signature use of copper blue slip-glaze. Underneath this snubbing the contemporary industrial banality of objects. thick glaze was his characteristically physical throwing, a fresh use Color is a crucial counterpoint to the form and it is here where of clay that was somewhat masked by its coat. The pots felt slightly we see the musicality of Howard’s work. The thrown and altered pot suffocated within the confines of materials and techniques. His stint is the perfect stave to the notes of color composed about the pot. at the RCA gave him the space to relax, explore and open up. He Small pots are littered with energy and color giving them a sense of says of that time that he abandoned technically related literature scale beyond the reality. Prints, collage and enamel brushwork are and found his way forward by exploring his personal creative vision. part of a color composition, where the spaces are as important as the Ceramics became part of an artistic journey, albeit the focus, but notes. Howard cites the music of Philip Glass as a strong influence. nonetheless a voyage that took in other avenues. Music, painting Glass described himself as a composer of music with minimalist and literature entered the exploration. structures, where melodic fragments are woven in and out of an

Ceramics Monthly December 2008 43 aural tapestry. Listening to Glass’ music there is the sense that we are undulating surfaces. The second keynote color is gold. It’s a response being immersed in a quiet tornado of sound. Howard’s pots subject to the traditional use of gold as a decorative tool, particularly on us to the same emotional response; the quiet cool of porcelain is the juicily ornate Satsuma pots. There’s a keen sense of playfulness embroidered with succinct notes of color. Howard describes them in Howard’s use of gold, there is a hint of childlike exuberance, as “plinks of sound,” where each hue has a direct relationship to the but each drop falls at just the right point in relation to the other. other but has its own place in the rhythm. The sparse musicality leaves little to chance, there’s a great skill in There are key colors that hold it all together. Howard considers appearing skilless. that “black is crucial;” it helps locate and highlight the other colors. Decoration is, as he says, “not a word to be afraid of.” Decoration Black gives form to the pots. The black transfers he uses seem to enhances the underlying form, and brings in other aspects of How- melt into the glaze, deeper than others, giving a rich density to the ard’s creative journey. His “basic” range of functional tableware, with

Bowl, 5 in. (12 cm) in height, thrown and altered stoneware with multiple slip and glaze layers; by Ashley Howard, Kent, England.

Ceramics Monthly December 2008 44 mugs, lidded pots and teapots in porcelain, are simply decorated Having Fun For Now with transfer prints. With a knowing nod to the world of manu- factured printed crockery and the decorative tea sets throughout by Ashley Howard ceramic history, the decoration adds softening touches of color. The body I use the most is Valentines Royale Porcelain. Yet look closely, these are unique transfers drawn from Howard’s I sometimes add paper pulp, molochite and lumps of own abstract sketches. dry porcelain to it. I no longer weigh my materials; I Howard’s favorite form is the tea bowl, and this shows. Every- just chuck stuff in until it feels right. I used to be a thing is at play in this orchestral form. Color dances about the pathological tester of glazes, formulas and the like. surfaces as the weight sinks into your hands. With this weight, they Thankfully, my instructor at the Royal College of Art take a ceremonial stance regarding the notion of function. Perhaps pointed out that, as I already knew all of that, why they are too heavy too use, or too beautiful, or perhaps we simply bother carrying on? On hearing this, a very liberating sense of release washed over me, which freed me to don’t have the time to properly use these objects, and therefore mont h ly met ods consign them to sit alone as a decorative object. pursue the particular line of inquiry I am now on. With the ceremonial function as an utmost concern, it is only I biscuit fire very slowly over a long period of time logical that Howard is collaborating with Winchester Cathedral, and then use pretty much any transparent glaze that one of Britain’s oldest churches. In March 2009, he will install takes my fancy. All work is glaze fired in oxidation. a series of urn and font forms in response to the architecture, Subsequent enamel firings can be many in number heritage and function of this nearly 1000-year-old building. It and range from 900 to 600 degrees celsius, coming down has played host to countless births, lives and deaths, all played in temperature depending on the colors used. Funnily out within the rules of religious ceremonies. Howard is drawn enough I anticipate a return to a more methodical to these ceremonies, particularly those that unite generations of approach to materials and processes later. the same family around a vessel. Transient generations gather- ing around a timeless object has been a human act since time immemorial. The most primordial of these occasions is the mo- ment of baptism, when a young baby is held above a font and doused with water. Symbolically this moment is poignant, more so when the font is made from clay, resulting in a unification of earth and water. Howard intends his pots to stand alone within the sacred space. The cathedral installation will be site specific but not essentially a literal translation of the physical architecture. The symbolic power of music swirling through the sacred space is more relevant to Howard’s work. His pots, placed around the space, will represent the musicality of a cathedral and the generations of lives and deaths celebrated in the space. Running parallel to Howard’s life as a potter, there is his life in education; neither seems to play second best to the other. He is currently Head of Ceramics at the University College of Creative Arts, Farnham, England, not far from his original college. This is one of the most renowned undergraduate ceramics courses in Britain and not surprisingly so, with Howard at the helm. He has a profound understanding of ceramics and ceramic practice and his grounding in techniques and materials informs his philosophy that “education needs skills.” Future potters need to understand the rules, in order to break them and to play with clay. The ceremony of ceramics, whether the ritual of use or the potter’s dance about the wheel, is played out to the music of life. The musicality of Howard’s work ensures that this continuum will endure. the author A frequent contributor to CM, Helen Bevis writes about Tea bowl, 4 in. (10 cm) in height, thrown and altered porcelain ceramics in France. with enamel collage.

Ceramics Monthly December 2008 45 THE mfa factor We continue our profiles of some of the top graduate-study programs in ceramics this month with Bowling Green State University.

Bowling Green State University The MFA program at Bowling Green State University prepares students to become professional artists and educators. As graduate students explore their ideas, the faculty members serve as guides, helping them navigate the art-making process. Students are encour- aged and challenged; through this process they learn to carefully consider their intentions and develop an honest dialog with their Highlights of the Facilities work. The small size of the ceramics graduate program fosters an • 150 square feet of semi-private studio space for intimate mentoring relationship. Graduates work closely with fac- all graduate students ulty members to develop a strong body of work while honing the • 27-cubic-foot Bailey downdraft car kiln professional skills needed to advance their careers. • 90-cubic-foot downdraft gas kiln • 6 top-loading electric kilns • 16-cubic-foot Fredrickson front-loading electric kiln john balistreri • 175-cubic-foot downdraft salt kiln • 18-foot-long anagama wood kiln • 85-cubic-foot soda kiln • 21-cubic-foot downdraft soda kiln • 8 kick wheels, 8 electric wheels • Hydraulic extruder • Soldner claymixer • Digital pyrometer • Spray booth • Well-equipped woodshop

BGSU[faculty]

John Balistreri holds a B.F.A. from the Kansas City Art Institute and an M.F.A. from Kent State University. He has taught at BGSU since 1996. Balistreri’s work has spanned many subjects; he is currently working on large-scale airplane sculptures. Balistreri has a strong pottery background and continues to produce vessels in conjunction with his sculpture. In addition, he is also conducting research with printing ceramics on a 3D rapid prototyping machine. The project has had positive results leading to several technology grants and patent applications. He is represented by Sherrie Gallerie, Columbus, Ohio, and Sherry Leedy Contemporary Art, Kansas City, Missouri. Left: Wing, 102 in. (259 cm) in height, stoneware with slip and glaze, soda fired, 2007.

Ceramics Monthly December 2008 46 tommy frank BGSU[grad students]

My main reason for attending BGSU was to work with the faculty. I have a lot of respect for them as artists and felt it was an ideal situation to learn from their different types of work and philosophy. I was also attracted by the intimate environment of the studio and the direct interaction with the active undergraduate community. After earning my B.F.A., I took a teaching assistantship at Adrian College in Michigan for a year, where I served as a ceramic technician and taught two community classes. During this time, I focused on refining my work and developing my portfolio. It was ideal for me to be able to work independently on my work outside the structure of a degree program. I have been actively pursuing and participating in exhibitions during graduate school. I believe it is important to focus not only on the development of my work and ideas, but also on all other aspects pertaining to my professional career. Exhibiting is one of these priorities for me; it allows me to gain exposure while receiving feedback about the progression of my work from a larger forum. clay leonard

I took time between undergraduate and graduate school to focus my technical skills and investigate programs. Once I entered graduate school, I wanted to have the ability to translate anything in my head into the material. I participated in residencies and attended the University of Florida as part of their Post-Baccalaureate program. I am actively pursuing an exhibition career while in school. I understand that making art does not happen in a bubble. Balancing studio time, teaching/assistantships and exhibiting will be a life-long goal. Developing those practices starts where I am now.

joseph pintz

Program Details • 2-year program, requiring a small group thesis exhibition. • 20 applicants per year, 1–2 accepted • Technical and Teaching Assistantships avail- able each academic year, include tuition waiver and $6000–8000/year stipend.

Joseph Pintz received his B.A. from Northwestern University and his M.F.A. from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He has taught at BGSU since 2007. Pintz’ sculptural and functional work explores the role that domestic objects play in fulfilling our needs on a physical and emotional level. His forms are based on mundane objects from the domestic realm, referring to traditional pottery and other implements associated with the hand. His work can be seen at Turman • Larison Contemporary, Helena, Montana, and the Museum of Contemporary Craft, Portland, Oregon. Left: Joined Drain Tile, 14 in. (36 cm) in height, earthenware, 2008.

Ceramics Monthly December 2008 47 walter de ter by Brian Grison

Works by Walter Dexter at the exhibition “Tribute,” at the Jonathon Bancroft-Snell Gallery in London, Ontario, Canada, November 2007. Photo: Courtesy Bancroft-Snell.

Ceramics Monthly December 2008 48 Walter Dexter’s November 2007 retrospec- tive exhibition, “Tribute,” at the Jona- thon Bancroft-Snell Gallery in London, Ontario, Canada, which sold out during the opening ceremonies, consisted of two components. The first and most significant was a display of about twenty of Dexter’s bottles, all produced during the previous year. The other section was a retrospec- tive of about eighty pieces borrowed from collectors in southwest Ontario who had purchased the works from his gallery since 2001. Dexter’s exhibition was com- plimented by a display of ceramic works by about twenty-four Canadian potters who, like Dexter, have been recipients of Canada’s most prestigious prize for craft, the $25,000 Bronfman Award. The relationship between high-art craft and high-art aesthetics in Dexter’s current practice is evidence that he is more artist than craftsperson. This thesis encourages a broader discussion of process and aesthetics rather than the more technical discussion that usually plagues the crafts. Dexter’s bottle forms range in height from about eighteen inches to over two feet, and are generally about four inches deep. They are rough, coil-built, rectangular forms from which necks of various lengths and thicknesses rise. Dexter constructs these bottles as wide and high as possible for the size of his kiln. The “torsos” of the bottles are most often flat surfaces that are perpendicular to the table, though often they also taper slightly upward toward the shoulders. Occasionally, they are convex or rounded along the edges. Sometimes, the neck form is extended downward across the body of the bottle as a groove or ridge, suggesting a spine-like structure. The bottle forms refer to the human figure in art in two ways. One is a modernist, idealized and heroic conception of human-ness (in both the physical and metaphysical sense), and the other reminds us of those many so-called primitive figure carvings produced on the cusp between prehistoric and early Mediterranean civilizations. Raku October 1st 1992, 14 in. (36 cm) in height.

Ceramics Monthly December 2008 49 Left to right: Receding Man with Cross, 23 in. (58 cm) in height, 2007; Untitled, 22 (56 cm) in height, 2004; Nightscape, 24 in. (61 cm) in height, 2006.

There are a number of reasons for my claim that Dexter is more time. Though much of the white burned off when he fired the pot, an artist than a craftsperson. The most obvious one to me is his there is enough left to carry the image, much like a gestural figure apparently cavalier attitude toward craft technology and methods. painting by Dubuffet. Artists working with paint and canvas can ignore craft more readily Because it had been fired about seven times, segments of the glaze than a potter. Artists often turn mistakes or other natural disasters on Nightscape were breaking away, and Dexter had to use white glue in their art to their advantage, but a potter is traditionally supposed to keep it intact. Potters compulsively fixated on craft correctness to discard bowls that slump or crack, or glazes that shatter or stick would never risk some of the techniques and solutions that Dexter to the floor of kilns. pushes to extremes in his current work. Most potters would roll their Not so with Dexter. When one of his sculptural works has eyes at his “cheating” with glue. However, in the art world, where structural or aesthetic problems, he will fix it with the kind of ad ideation is more important than craft tradition, or perhaps just less hoc inventions that artists commonly employ. For example, per- tied to craft conventions, such behavior is common. haps because he discovered that he had run out of the appropriate Dexter willingly risks the structural viability of his pots in order white glaze, or perhaps as an early example of his non-traditional to arrive at the desired aesthetic quality. Like a painter who would thinking, he used white latex paint to silhouette a figure on a pot. paint a sky red when he ran out of blue, when Dexter runs out of a I laughed when Dexter told me this; artists use latex paint all the certain color he will use a similar one with only passing attention to

Ceramics Monthly December 2008 50 The surfaces of Dexter’s bottles are generally rather crude. Using his hands, fingers and tools, he works the clay surface with rough, seemingly unconscious, strokes. Sometimes he wraps the form or “collages” layers of clay-saturated burlap onto the sculpted surface. This visceral expressionism is reminiscent of Alberto Giocometti’s “attack” on the wet clay of his sculptures in search of the hidden human form. The final bisque-fired, hypersensitive surface that Dexter achieves could be a subtle balance of rough plaster, thick skin or expressionist impasto color. Dexter works the clay surface as if it was impasto paint in the way that abstract expressionist painting can be thought of as a record of the primitive or transcendental act of applying color to canvas. And the final result of this stage of Dexter’s production is, in fact, only the bisque-fired substrate for his larger intention, to act out the drama of applying color—as slip or glaze—to these primal surfaces. For years, Dexter needed to balance his sculpting and painting interests with the production of functional objects— production pots, as it were—because of economic concerns. Since receiving the Bronfman Award, there have been three developments in his practice. The first is that in response to personal difficulties, including the death of his wife and regain- ing his strength following a stroke, which caused him the loss of his left arm for several months, and with the greater economic security brought by the enthusiastic support of Jonathon Ban- the chemistry, and then when it doesn’t work, he will reglaze and refire croft-Snell (his bottles have tripled in price since 2001), Dexter the pot again—and maybe again and again—until he arrives at the color has decided that he “might as well do what [he] wants.” The he wants, or something equally interesting. second development is that he is slowly abandoning “ordinary” Because Dexter’s bottles are built up from a slab base, these sometimes wheel-thrown production pottery, though, as he explained to separate in the numerous firings they often go through. His solution has me, he occasionally needs to return to working on the wheel been to put the bottle on a new base, using glaze as a glue. However, he to reconnect with his roots. The third development has been recently showed me a different solution. When another work required that his long interest in ceramic sculpture as a surface for glaze a new base, he constructed a flat-bottomed boat form as a base for the as color, which began with his breakthrough experiments with pot. The effect was fascinating. I was reminded that Brancusi’s solution raku, has evolved into a full-time engagement with the aesthetic for the obtrusive plinth beneath his sculpture was to design and sculpt problems that his bottles challenge him with everyday. Sub- bases that were unique to each sculpture. With similar unconventional sequently, while he is well known for his beautiful copper-red visual thinking, Dexter has added a form that functions as a base as well as bowls, drawn and painted portrait and figure plates and his plinth while having the poetic magic of an archetypal “female” boat form exquisite calligraphic touch on elegant raku, it is with his more to carry the “male” pot. Or perhaps it’s a male boat supporting the female recent sculpted and painted bottles that Dexter is making his pot, or an even more contemporary gender-bending myth creation. most important contribution to Canadian art.

Ceramics Monthly December 2008 51 call for entries international exhibitions

December 15 entry deadline New York, Brooklyn “Endangered?” (January 14–February 28, 2009), open to functional and sculp- tural ceramics. Juried from digital or slides. Fee: $35 for three entries. Contact Gloria Kennedy Gallery, 111 Front St. Gallery 222, Brooklyn 11201; [email protected]; www.gkgart.com/pages/submissions.html; (718) 858-5254. January 30, 2009 entry deadline California, Lincoln “Feats of Clay XXII” (April 25– May 24, 2009). Juried from digital or slides. Fee: $30 for three entries. Contact Lincoln Arts, 580 6th St., Lincoln 95648; www.lincolnarts.org; (916) 645-9713. Ohio, Cincinnati “Mythography: An Exploration of Narrative,” open to all media. Juried from digital. Contact Manifest Creative Research Gallery, PO Box 6218, Cincinnati 45206; [email protected]; www.manifestgallery.org. February 1, 2009 entry deadline Kansas, Pittsburg Call for solo, two person or group exhibition proposals. Juried from digital or slides. No fee. Contact Pittsburg State University, 1701 S. Broadway, Pittsburg 66762; [email protected]; www.pittstate.edu/art/exopp.html; (620) 235-4303. February 6, 2009 entry deadline Illinois, Chicago Chiaroscuro Gallery’s “20th Annual Teapot Show” (April 5–May 18, 2009), open to functional or sculptural teapots in all media. Juried from digital or slides. Fee: $25 for two entries. Contact Joan Houlehen, A. Houberbocken, Inc., PO Box 196, Cudahy, WI 53110; [email protected]. February 14, 2009 entry deadline Florida, Tallahassee “The 24th Tallahassee Interna- tional” (August 24–September 27, 2009). Juried from digital. Fee: $20 for two entries. Contact Florida State University Museum of Fine Arts, 530 W. Call St., 250 Fine Arts Bldg., Tallahassee 32306; [email protected]; www. mofa.fsu.edu/pages/participate/tallahasseeinternational. shtml; (850) 644-3906. Soldner Clay Mixers March 13, 2009 entry deadline by Muddy Elbow Manufacturing Ohio, Cincinnati “5th Annual Rites of Passage,” open to undergraduate students. Juried from digital. EASY.Aslowly revolving Contact Manifest Creative Research Gallery, PO Box concrete tub forces clay through 6218, Cincinnati 45206; [email protected]; a stationary plough bar, turning, www.manifestgallery.org. blending and spatulating the March 20, 2009 entry deadline mixture to a throwing Spain, Toledo, Talavera de la Reina “Fourth Inter- consistency in minutes national Biennial of Ceramics ‘Ciudad de Talavera’” (May 12–June 30, 2009). Juried from digital. No entry call or email for a demo video fee. Contact Organismo Autonomo Local de Cultura, 310 W. 4th • Newton, KS • 67114 Plaza del Pan, No. 5, 45600 Talavera de la Reina, Phone/Fax (316) 281-9132 Toledo, Spain. [email protected] April 24, 2009 entry deadline soldnerequipment.com Ohio, Cincinnati “5th Annual Magnitude Seven,” open to all media. Juried from digital. Contact Manifest Creative Research Gallery, PO Box 6218, Cincinnati 45206; [email protected]; www.manifestgallery.org. May 1, 2009 entry deadline Ohio, Cincinnati Call for solo, group and concept- based exhibition proposals for five different exhibition spaces. Juried from digital or slides. Fee: $30. Contact Manifest Gallery, PO Box 6218, Cincinnati 45206; [email protected]; www.manifestgallery.org. May 31, 2009 entry deadline France, Vallauris “Small Art Objects 2009” (July 2009), open to all media. Contact A.I.R. Vallauris, Place Lisnard, 1 BD des Deux Vallons, Vallauris, France 06620; [email protected]; www.air-vallauris.org; (33) 4 93 64 65 50. May 31, 2009 entry deadline Pennsylvania, Philadelphia “Juried Solo Artist Series” (2010–2011 Exhibition Season). Juried from digital. Contact Jeff Guido, The Clay Studio, 139 N. Second St., Philadelphia 19106; [email protected]; www.theclaystudio.org; (215) 925-3453 x18. Ceramics Monthly December 2008 52 Ceramics Monthly December 2008 53 call for entries

June 1, 2009 entry deadline Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Curatorial Call for Entries. Juried from digital. No entry fee. Contact Jeff Guido, The Clay Studio, 139 N. Second St., Philadelphia 19106; [email protected]; www.theclaystudio.org; (215) 925-3453 x18. June 5, 2009 entry deadline Ohio, Cincinnati “3rd Annual Master Pieces,” open to current or recent M.F.A./M.A. students. Juried from digital. Contact Manifest Creative Research Gallery, PO Box 6218, Cincinnati 45206; [email protected]; www.manifestgallery.org.

united states exhibitions

December 15 entry deadline Illinois, Oak Park “1+1” (March 21–April 23, 2009). Juried from digital. Fee: $25 for three entries. Contact Terra Incognito Studios, 246 Chicago Ave., Oak Park 60302; [email protected]; www.terraincognitostudios.com; (708) 383-6228. December 29 entry deadline Colorado, Carbondale Juried exhibition (February 2–March 2, 2009), open to ceramic artwork telling a story or representational of love. Juried from digital. Fee: $25 for three entries. Jurors: K Cesark, Lauren Kearns and Kelly McKibben. Contact Carbondale Clay Center, 135 Main St., Carbondale 81623; [email protected]; www.carbondaleclay.org; (970) 963-2529. December 31 entry deadline Missouri, St. Louis Call for solo/collaborative installa- tion artists proposals. For more information, contact Craft Alliance, Attn: Exhibitions Coordinator, 6640 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis 63130; [email protected]; www.craftalliance.org; (314) 725-1177, ext. 323. January 5, 2009 entry deadline Ohio, Nelsonville “Starbrick Clay National Cup Show” (February 27–April 19, 2009), open to cups, mugs, gob- lets, tea bowls, teacups and tumblers. Juried from digital or slides. Fee: $20 for three entries; $30 for five entries. Contact Starbrick Clay Fine Art Ceramic Gallery, 21 W. Columbus St., Nelsonville 45764; [email protected]; www.starbrick.com; (740) 753-1011. January 8, 2009 entry deadline Tennessee, Cordova “2009 Annual National Juried Exhibition at the Germantown Performing Arts Center” (April 21–May 13, 2009). Juried from slides. Fee: $30 for three entries. Juror: Jan Sitts. Contact Deb Board- man, MGAL National Juried Exhibition, 481 N Ericson, Cordova 38018; [email protected]; www.mgal.org; (901) 378-7542. January 12, 2009 entry deadline Virginia, Norfolk “19th Annual Mid-Atlantic Art Exhi- bition” (March 1–April 17, 2009). Contact d’ART Center, 208 E. Main St., Norfolk 23510; [email protected]; www.d-artcenter.org; (757) 625-4211. January 16, 2009 entry deadline Texas, Midland “Midland Arts Association 2009 Spring Juried Art Show” (March 5–29, 2009). Juried from digital or slides. Fee: $30 for three entries. Juror: David and J.K. Drummond. Contact Norma Binam, Midland Arts Assoc., 5009 Mira Vista Cir., Midland 79705. January 28, 2009 entry deadline Alabama, Fort Payne “Rome Art Coterie 7th National Juried Exhibition” (March 31–May 1, 2009). Juried from digital. Fee: $30 for three entries. Juror: Paul Stevenson. Contact James Green, Rome Area Council for the Arts, 3005 Lynn Dr., Fort Payne 35967; [email protected]. January 30, 2009 entry deadline New York, Rochester “College Clay Collective” (April 3–24, 2009), open to all college students. Juried from digital. Fee: $10. Juror: Susan O’Brien. Contact Genesee Pottery, 713 Monroe Ave., Rochester 14607; [email protected]; (585) 271-5183.

Ceramics Monthly December 2008 54 Ceramics Monthly December 2008 55 call for entries

January 31, 2009 entry deadline Nebraska, Lincoln Open call for solo, group or curated exhibitions in 2010. Contact Friends of Haydon, Inc., Haydon Art Center, 335 N. 8th St., Ste. A, Lincoln 68508; [email protected]; www.haydonartcenter.org; (402) 475-5421. April 1, 2009 entry deadline San Angelo, Texas “2009 Kiln God National” (April 16–April 18, 2009), open to ceramic artwork under 6x4x4 inches. Juried from actual work. $15 for two entries. Juror: Billy Ray Mangham. Contact Jerry Warnell, Kiln God National, Chicken Farm Art Center, 2505 MLK, San Angelo, TX 76903; www.vickihardin.com/kiln-god-national-09/index.htm.

regional exhibitions

December 5 entry deadline Massachusetts, Lexington “The State of Clay 6th Biennial Exhibition” (March 30–April 25, 2009). Juried from digital. Fee: $30 for three entries. Juror: Jim Lawton. Contact Lexington Arts and Crafts Society, 130 Waltham St., Lexington 02421; [email protected]; www.lexingtonma.org/lacs; (781) 862-9696. December 13 entry deadline California, Pomona “Ink and Clay 35” (March 19–May 2, 2009), open to all Western states including AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, ND, NM, NV, OK, OR, SD, TX, UT, WA AND WY. Juried from digital or slides. Fee: $20 for three entries. Contact Patrick Merrill, Kellogg University Art Gallery, 3801 W. Temple, Pomona 91768; [email protected]; (909) 869-4301. January 23, 2009 entry deadline California, Oakland “Juried Annual 2009” (February 17–March 22, 2009). Juried from digital. Juror: Ali Subotnik. Contact Pro Arts Gallery, 550 2nd St., Oakland 94606; [email protected]; www.proartsgallery.org; (510) 736-4361. February 6, 2009 entry deadline Florida, Fort Walton Beach “17th SE Regional Juried Fine Arts Exhibition,” open to all artists. Juried from digital. Fee: $35 for three entries. Ju- ror: Bernice Steinbaum. Contact Arts and Design Society of Fort Walton Beach, 17 1st St. SE, Fort Walton Beach 32548; [email protected]; www.artsdesignsociety.com; (850) 244-1271. February 15, 2009 entry deadline Pennsylvania, New Castle “Call for solo exhibition proposals for 2010-2011 exhibition schedule,” open to artists in DC, DE, OH, MD, NJ, NY, PA, VA, WV. Ju- ried from digital. Fee: $30. Contact Patricia McLatchy, Hoyt Institute of Fine Arts, 124 E. Leasure Ave., New Castle 16101; [email protected]; www.hoytartcenter.org; (724) 652–2882.

fairs and festivals

January 26, 2009 entry deadline Wisconsin, Cambridge “Cambridge Pottery Fes- tival and U.S. Pottery Games” (June 13–14, 2009). Juried from digital or slides. Jury fee: $25. Booth fee: $275. Contact Wendy Brabender, CPF PO Box 393, Cambridge 53523; [email protected]; www.cambridgepotteryfestival.org; (608) 438–1772. February 10, 2009 entry deadline Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh “Three Rivers Arts Festival” (June 5–21, 2009). Contact Three Rivers Art Festival, 937 Liberty Ave., Pittsburgh 15222; [email protected]; www.artsfestival.net; (412) 281–8723, ext. 26. Ceramics Monthly December 2008 56 Ceramics Monthly December 2008 57 new books

Craft Perception and Practice “new materials” — accompany the essays. Craft A Canadian Discourse, Volume III Perception and Practice includes twenty essays edited by Paula Gustafson, by prominent academics and theorists that Nïsse Gustafson and Amy Gogarty discuss craft in terms of political and social ac- This third and final volume in the Craft tivism, gender theory, semiotics and aesthetics, Perception and Practice series features essays linking traditional methods to contemporary and critical commentaries by several Canadian practice and analyzing the shifting boundaries artists, educators and curators. Numerous color between craft, fine art and design. photographs of works in various craft media — The texts, by authors including Mack- including fiber, glass, ceramics, metal, woodand enzie Frère, Murray Gibson, Paul Matthieu

and Ruth Scheuing, are organized into five sections: “Pattern and Perception,” “Ideas into Actions,” “Laying Foundations,” “Concepts in Form” and “Drawing on the Personal.” Ac- cording to editors Nïsse Gustafson and Amy Gogarty, “Section titles collecting groups of essays are not prescriptive; rather they reflect consistencies and preoccupations intrinsic to the group and they provide a basis for stimulating discussion. “Because there are many ways to approach these essays, we have made a special effort to select essays that invite ongoing conversations. As with any conversation, speakers bring a variety of opinions, and in this case, they do not shrink from expressing their minds. Most, if not all, of our authors are themselves artists who explored the pleasures and frustra- tions of working with materials and shaping ideas into form; their experiences enhance their insight into the work they discuss. As is the case with so much in our world today, definitions of contemporary craft are in flux. Building on the original intent of this series, this volume extends its ‘radar’ to catch many of the new voices in craft in an attempt to chart—if not the future—at least as accurate a picture as possible of the energy, diversity and sheer intellectual challenge posed by those who animate the field today.” 213 pages. 40 color photographs. Hardcover, $75. ISBN 978- 1-55380-052-1. Published by Ronsdale Press, 3350 West 21 Ave., Vancouver, BC, Canada V6S 1G7; www.ronsdalepress.com. Ceramics Monthly December 2008 58 Ceramics Monthly December 2008 59 calendar Conferences, Exhibitions, Workshops, Fairs submit listings at www.ceramicsmonthly.org

conferences solo exhibitions Montana, Red Lodge December 1–31 Steven Hill; at Red Lodge Clay Center, 123 S. Broadway. New York, Binghamton December 5–January Alabama, Huntsville March 13–15, 2009 “Ala- Arizona, Tempe February 14–May 16, 2009 Kurt 30, 2009 Jordon Taylor”; at Orazio Salati Studio and bama Clay Conference,” includes presentations and Weiser “Eden Revisited: The Ceramic Art of Kurt Gallery, 205 State St. panel discussions with Val Cushing, Piero Fencil, Robin Weiser”; at ASU Art Museum Ceramics Research Center, Hopper, Angelica Pozo and Toni Sikes. For more infor- Arizona State University, Mill Ave. and Tenth St. New York, Brooklyn through December 20 Gloria mation, visit www.alclayconference.org. Kennedy, “African Symbols and Motifs”; at Gloria California, Fresno through December 20 Susan Kennedy Gallery, 111 Front St., Gallery 222. Arizona, Phoenix April 8–11, 2009 43rd Annual Clusener, “Recent Work”; at Clay Mix, 1003 N. Abby St. New York, Long Island City through December 7 NCECA Conference “Ceramic Interface: From Dawn California, Rancho Palos Verdes December 5–Jan- Timothy Berg; at Dean Project, 45-43 21st St. to Digital.” Contact NCECA, 77 Erie Village Sq., Ste. uary 3, 2009 Patrick Crabb “Break It Fix It: Shard Series”; New York, New York January 8–February 5, 2009 280, Erie 80216; [email protected]; www.nceca.net; at Helix Art Gallery, 31248 Palos Verdes Dr. W. Jeanne Quinn, “New Work.” February 19–March 14, (866) 266-2322. California, San Francisco through December 1 Liz 2009 Sanam Emami, “New Work”; at Greenwich House California, Davis May 1–3, 2009 “20th Annual Worthy “Light Sweet Crude”; at Ruby’s Clay Studio Pottery - Jane Hartsook Gallery, 16 Jones St. California Conference for the Advancement of Ce- and Gallery, 552A Noe St. New York, Purchase through January 25, 2009 ramic Art,” includes lectures and demonstrations by Colorado, Denver through January 4, 2009 Jean- Hannah Wilke, “Gestures”; at Neuberger Museum of Bill Abright, Clayton Bailey, Jack Earl, Sylvia Hyman, Antoine Houdon, “Houdon from the Louvre”; at Denver Art, 735 Anderson Hill Rd. Louis Marak, Kevin Nierman, Richard Notkin and Judith Art Museum, 100 W. 14th Ave. Pkwy. Ohio, Cincinnati December 19–February 5, 2009 Schwartz. Contact Nancy Resler, John Natsoulas Gal- D.C., Washington through December 31 David Hicks; Michael Angelotti, “Terra Chledent”; at Funke Fired lery, 521 First St., Davis 95616; [email protected]; Arts, 3130 Wasson Rd. at Cross Mackenzie Ceramic Arts, 1054 31st St. www.natsoulas.com; (530) 756-3938. Ohio, Columbus December 5–31 Rain Harris; at Iowa, Iowa City January 23–February 13 2009 North Carolina, Asheboro March 13–15, 2009 Sherrie Gallerie, 694 N. High St. Margaret Bohls, “Recent Ceramics.” Robert Briscoe, “North Carolina Potters Conference–Form and Func- Ohio, Rocky River through December 30 Joseph “Featured Artist”; at AKAR, 257 E. Iowa Ave. tion,” includes lectures and panel discussions with Pintz; at River Gallery, 19046 Old Detroit Rd. Phil Rogers, Mark Pharis and Allegheny Meadows. Massachusetts, Braintree January 8–29, 2009 Ohio, Wooster through December 7 Carrie Olson, For more information, contact the Randolph Arts Marvin Sweet, “A Survey: 25 Years in Ceramics”; “Follies”; at The College of Wooster Art Museum, Ebert Guild, Moring Arts Center, 123 Sunset Ave., PO Box Thayer Art Gallery, 745 Washington St. Art Center, 1220 Beall Ave. 1033, Asheboro 27204-1033; [email protected]; Missouri, Sedalia through December 16 Albert Pennsylvania, Philadelphia January 2–February 1, www.randolphartsguild.com; (336) 629–0399. Pfarr, “Recombinations”; at Daum Museum of Con- 2009 Jeremy Brooks, “New Work.” John Casey, “New Ohio, Cincinnati February 20–22, 2009 “Focus temporary Art, 3201 W. 16th St. Work”; at The Clay Studio, 139 N. Second St. on Function: Traditions and Innovations.” For more Montana, Missoula January 2–27, 2009 Rick Pope Pennsylvania, Philadelphia February 1–28, information, visit www.potterscouncil.org; or call “New Works”; at The Clay Studio of Missoula, 1106 2009 “Jeff Oestrich”; at Snyderman–Works Gallery, (866) 721–3322. Hawthorne St., Unit A. 303 Cherry St.

focus on function

Potters Council Regional Conference cincinnati, ohio • february 20-22, 2009 Wheel-Thrown or Handbuilt, Traditional or Contemporary, Simple or Complex Surfaces — We’ve Got it Covered! Hands-on opportunity Available featured Artists: Mike Baum, Chris Early, Steve Howell, Kelly King, Pam Korte, Laura Ross, Amy Sanders and Gil Stengel. Keynote speakers: Joe Molinaro and Rookwood Pottery Space is Limited - Register Today! Register at www.potterscouncil.org/focusonfunction or call: 866.721.3322

Hosted by Potters council, funke fired Arts, www.funkefiredarts.com and clay Alliance, www.clayalliance.org

Artist: Amy sanders sponsored in part by AMAco/Brent, www.amaco.com Mayco, www.maycocolors.com www.potterscouncil.org

Ceramics Monthly December 2008 60 Ceramics Monthly December 2008 61 calendar solo exhibitions

Texas, Abilene January 29–February 28, 2009 group ceramics exhibitions California, Fresno through December 5 “Califor- Linda Ganstrom, “Extraordinary Characters”; at Mc- nia Clay from ACGA”; at Art Space Gallery, Fresno Murry University, Amy Graves Ryan Fine Arts Gallery, Arizona, Tempe through February 28, 2009 “Mid- City College, 1101 E. University Ave. 14th and Sayles. stream: New Ceramics from the Heartland,” works by California, Hanford through January 30, 2009 Texas, San Antonio through January 11, 2009 Teri Frame, Alex Hibbitt, Liz Zacher; at Arizona State “Generosity in Clay: Modern Japanese Ceramics from “Holly Hanessian: The Poetry of Space”; at Russel Hill University Art Museum’s Ceramic Research Center, the Natalie Fitz-Gerald Collection”; at Clark Center for Rogers Gallery, Navarro Campus, Southwest School 10th St. and Mill Ave. Japanese Art and Culture, 15770 10th Ave. of Art and Craft, 1201 Navarro. California, Berkeley through December 14 Linda California, Pomona through February 14, 2009 Christenson and Charles Jahn; at TRAX Gallery, 1812 Washington, Bellevue through February 8, 2009 “River Through the Valley of Fire: works by Frank Fifth St. “Tip Toland: Melt, The Figure in Clay”; at the Bellevue Boyden and Tom Coleman.” February 28–May 16, California, Clarksburg March 1–April 1, 2009 Arts Museum, 510 Bellevue Way NE. 2009 “Ceramicas de la Terra”; at American Museum “The Remembrance of an Era,” works by George Wisconsin, Racine December 21–March 8, 2009 of Ceramic Art, 340 S. Garey Ave. “Down Home in Ohio: The works of Jack Earl in RAM’s Esquibel and Teiko Sasser; at Schumacher Ceramics, December 6–January 31, 2009 “The Pomona Tea Collection”; at Racine Art Museum, 441 Main St. 36530 Riverview Dr. Party”; at Armstrong’s, 150 E. Third St. California, Sacramento December 5–February 28, 2009 “Contemporary Studio Ceramics-The Dauer Collection”; at California State University, Sacramento Library Gallery, 6000 “J” St. Colorado, Aspen December 13–January 7, 2009 Sam Harvey, Alleghany Meadows and Mark Villareal. January 10–February 11, 2009 “Sam Chung and Christa Assad”; at Harvey/Meadows Gallery, 0133 Prospector Rd., Ste. 4114A, Aspen Highlands Village. Georgia, Atlanta through December 31 Matt Kelleher and Shoko Teruyama; at The Signature Shop and Gallery, 3267 Roswell Rd. NW. Georgia, Decatur through December 23 “Made Here–The MudFire Holiday Show”; at MudFire Gallery, 175 Laredo Dr. Georgia, Sautee Nacoochee through August 31, 2009 “International Folk Pottery Exhibition”; at the Folk Pottery Museum of Northeast Georgia, Georgia Hwy 255, Sautee Nacoochee Center. Illinois, DeKalb through December 6 “Common Ground”; at Northern Illinois University Art Museum, Altgeld Hall, First Fl., W. End. Illinois, Oak Park through December 10 “There Must Be Something in the Water,” works by Silvie Granatelli, Rick Hensley, Donna Polseno, Ellen Shankin. January 10–February 11, 2009 “January Invitational,” works by Xiaosheng Bi, Jenni Brant, Jeff Campana, Kyle Carpenter, Missy McCormick, Tara Wilson; at Terra Incognito Studios and Gallery, 246 Chicago Ave. Indiana, Terre Haute January 15–February 6, 2009 “Clay & Context”; at University Art Gallery, Indiana State University Department of Art, FA108. Iowa, Iowa City through December 5 “30 Potters × 5 Pots”; at AKAR, 257 E. Iowa Ave. Kentucky, Louisville October 15–January 3, 2009 “Wired & Fired: Exploring the Art of the Cof- fee Experience”; at Kaviar Forge & Gallery, 1718 Frankfort Ave. Kentucky, Louisville January 24–March 1, 2009 “DinnerWorks”; at Louisville Visual Art Association, 3005 River Rd. Maine, Portland December 1–31 “Teapots,” works by Jennifer Everett, Tom Huber, Gail Kass, Nan Kilbourn-Tara, Neal Loken, David Orser, Harold Roberts and Barbara Walch; at Maine Potters Market, 376 Fore St. Maryland, Baltimore January 10–February 27, 2009“100 Teapots IV; at Baltimore Clayworks, 5707 Smith Ave. Massachusetts, Boston through January 18, 2009 “Our Cups Runneth Over: Sculptural and Functional Ceramic Cups”; at Society of Arts and Crafts, 175 Newbury St. Massachusetts, Brockton through February 8, 2009 “Fantasy Teapots from the Arthur Goldberg Collection”; at Fuller Craft Museum, 455 Oak St. Ceramics Monthly December 2008 62 Ceramics Monthly December 2008 63 calendar group exhibitions

Massachusetts, Northampton through December 31 “Consider the Cup: Cup and Mug Invitational”; at The Artisan Gallery, 162 Main St. Massachusetts, Pittsfield through December 30 “Studio Pottery Invitational 2008”; at Ferrin Gallery, 437 North St. Minnesota, Bemidji through December 20 “6th Annual It’s Only Clay Exhibit”; at Bemidji Community Art Center and BSU Visual Arts Department, 426 Bemidji Ave. N. Missouri, Labadie through December 5 “Cups Galore”; at Creative Ceramic Concepts, Grand Army Rd. Ga 5-080. Montana, Helena January 31–March 15, 2009 “Beyond the Brickyard, 1st Annual Juried Exhibition”; at Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts, 2915 Country Club Ave. Montana, Missoula February 6–25, 2009 “Inter- national Cup”; at The Clay Studio of Missoula, 1106 Hawthorne, Unit A. Montana, Red Lodge through December 31 “Drawn, 4 Artists - 4 Paths,”works by Charles Timm Ballard, Posey Bacopoulos, Gail Kendall and Kari Rad- asch; at Red Lodge Clay Center, 123 S. Broadway. New Hampshire, Exeter through December 6 “Generations: Works by Jun Kaneko and Toshiko Takaezu”; at Lamont Gallery, Frederick R. Mayer Art Center, Phillips Exeter Academy, 11 Tan Ln. New Jersey, Millville through January 4, 2009 “South Jersey Clay: Bridge to Bridge”; at Clay Col- lege Gallery of Cumberland County College, 108 High St. New Mexico, Santa Fe through December 13 “Reconfigurine,” works by Lisa Clague, Linda Cordell and Debra Fritts. December 19–January 17, 2009 “Floral Explorations,” works by Megan Bogonovich, Kim Dickey, Maria Dondero, Molly Hatch, Kristen Kieffer and Tim Ludwig; at Santa Fe Clay, 1615 Paseo de Peralta. New York Bronxville through December 11 ”Built: Sculptural Trends in Clay,” works by Nikolai Grinchenko, Marc Leuthold, Ian Meares and Jeffrey Mongrain; at Osilas Gallery at Concordia College, 171 White Plains Rd. New York, Katonah through December 19 “A Journey in Majolica: Italian Renaissance to American Contemporary,” works by Liz Quackenbush, Terry Seibert and Rosie Wynkoop; at Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, 149 Girdle Ridge Rd. through January 11, 2009 “Conversations in Clay,” works by Ann Agee, Marek Cecula, Michael Lucero, Sana Musasama, Jeffrey Mongrain, Judy Moonelis, Denise Pelletier, Chalres Simonds, Betty Woodman and Arnold Zimmerman; at the Katonah Museum of Art, 134 Jay St., Rte. 22. New York, New Rochelle through December 4 “The Color of the Tradition: Herencia Milenaria”; at Brother Kenneth Chapman Gallery at Iona College, 665 N. Ave. New York, New York December 11–20 “Resident Artists Exhibition”; at Jane Hartsook Gallery, Greenwich House Pottery, 16 Jones St. through January 3, 2009 “All Fired Up! Salt Wares: 1700’s to 2008”; at the Rye Historical Society, Square House Museum, 1 Purchase St. New York, Peekskill October 4–December 13 “Primordial Considerations: Earth, Mud, Clay”; at Maxwell Fine Arts, 1204 Main St. New York, Somers through January 31, 2009 “The Clay Collections of Caroline Wright Reis of Somers”; at Ceramics Monthly December 2008 64 Ceramic Handbook Series

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Ceramics Monthly December 2008 65 calendar group exhibitions

Somers Historical Society, 335 Rte. 202/ Elephant Hotel, North Carolina, Seagrove through January 10, January 2–February 1, 2009 “Non Fiction Design Col- Somers Town Hall. 2009 “Tablewares of Early 20th Century Potters.” “Dan lective: Shakespeare Wooden Minnow”; at The Clay Studio, 139 N. 2nd St. New York, White Plains through December 13 Finch and Students: Creating Pottery Community”; at “Confrontational Ceramics”; at Westchester Arts the North Carolina Pottery Center; at North Carolina December 5–January 17, 2009 “Adrian Arleo, Council, 31 Mamaroneck Ave. Pottery Center, 233 East Ave. Matt Nolan, Richard Shaw and Jindra Vikova”; at Snyderman–Works Gallery, 303 Cherry St. through December 14 “Tell Me a Story: Contempo- Ohio, Nelsonville February 27–April 19, 2009 rary Narrative Ceramics,” works by Lauren Ari, Mary K. “Starbrick Clay National Cup Show”; at Starbrick Clay, Virginia, Williamsburg January 1–December 31, Cloonan, Michael Corney, Max Lehman, David Linger, 21 W. Columbus St. 2009 “Inspiration and Ingenuity: American Stone- Peter Morgan and Janis Mars Wunderlich; at White Oregon, Portland through January 25, 2009 “The ware”; at Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum, Plains Public Library, 100 Martine Ave. Ceramics of Gertrud and Otto Natzler”; at the Museum 325 W. Francis St. New York, Yonkers through January 11, 2009 of Contemporary Craft, 724 NW Davis St. Virginia, Williamsburg January 1–December 31, “Eating on Arcadia: Hudson River Views on Ceramics”; Pennsylvania, Philadelphia through December 28 2009 “Revolution in Taste”; at DeWitt Wallace Decora- at Hudson River Museum, 511 Warburton Ave. “Gifted: The Clay Studio’s Annual Holiday Exhibition.” tive Arts Museum, 325 W. Francis St. Wisconsin, Racine December 21–March 8, 2009 “Down Home in Ohio: The works of Jack Earl in RAM’s Collection”; at Racine Art Museum, 441 Main St.

ceramics in multimedia exhibitions

Alaska, Juneau December 5–28 “Making Waves,” including ceramics by Doris Alcorn and Colette Oliver; at Juneau Arts and Humanities Council, 350 Whittier St. California, Sacramento January 10–February 6, 2009 “The 75th Crocker-Kingsley: California’s Biennial”; at Crocker Art Museum, 216 O St. California, San Diego through April 19, 2009 “India Adorned”; at Mingei International Museum, Balboa Park, 1439 El Prado. Connecticut, Guilford through January 11, 2009 “Artistry 2008”; at Mill Gallery, Guilford Art Center, 411 Church St. Connecticut, Hartford through December 31”At Home with Gustav Stickley: Arts and Crafts from the Stephen Gray Collection”; at Wadsworth Atheneum, 600 Main St. Connecticut, New Canaan through December 23 “Craft USA ‘08”; at Silvermine Guild Arts Center, 1037 Silvermine Rd. Florida, Naples through April 30, 2009 “Cultural Connections,” including ceramics by Margret Chevalier, Alexandra McCurdy, Gabrielle Nappo and Richard W. Rosen; at Rosen Gallery and Studios, N. Line Plaza, 2172 J and C Blvd. Kentucky, Lexington through December 21 “KY7 Bi- ennial”; at Lexington Art League, 209 Castlewood Dr. Kentucky, Louisville through December 31 “Annual Holidazzle Exhibition”; at Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft, 715 W. Main St. Maine, Portland December 1–31 “Teapots,” works by works by Jennifer Everett, Tom Huber, Gail Kass, Nan Kilbourn-Tara, Neal Loken, David Orser, Harold Roberts, Barbara Walch; at Maine Potters Market, 376 Fore St. Louisiana, New Orleans January 3–February 28, 2009 “2nd Annual Gulf South Regional Contemporary Art Exhibition”; at BECA Gallery, 527 St. Joseph St. Maryland, Baltimore through December 3 “Vicki McComas: Fauna”; at Meredith Gallery, 805 N. Charles St. Massachusetts, Pittsfield December 5–30 “Small Works Invitational”; at Ferrin Gallery, 437 N. St. Minnesota, Minneapolis through January 4, 2009 “Transformations: From Ceramics to Paper,” including ceramics by Rob Barnard, Richard Bresnahan and Samuel Johnson; at Northern Clay Center, 2424 Franklin Ave. E. Nebraska, Lincoln through December 23 “Gifts from the Heart”; at Lux Center for the Arts, 2601 N. 48th St. New York Peekskill through July 26, 2009 “Ori- gins”; at Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art, (continued) 1701 Main St. Ceramics Monthly December 2008 66 Ceramic Handbook Series

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New York, New York through February 15, 2009 Ohio, Cincinnati through January 11, 2009 “Brush/Clay/ Everyday Objects”; at Museum of Contemporary Craft, “Permanently MAD: Revealing the Collection,” includ- Wood: The Nancy and Ed Rosenthal Collection of Chinese 724 NW Davis. ing ceramics by Harumi Nakashima; at the Museum of Art”; at Taft Museum of Art, 316 Pike St. January 15–February 22, 2009 “Next Iconoclasts”; at Arts and Design, 40 W. 53rd St. Ohio, Dayton through December 12 “HWD 2008, A Oregon College of Art and Craft Hoffman Gallery, 8245 North Carolina, Asheville through December 31 Regional Juried Sculpture Competition”; at Rosewood Arts S.W. Barnes Rd. “Animal Imagery” works by Cynthia Bringle, Mary Dashiell, Centre, 2655 Olson Dr. Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh through January 11, 2009 Becky Gray, Chris Moses and Ron Myers; at Blue Spiral 1, Ohio, Toledo through January 4, 2009 “Arts of Fire.” “Life on Mars, 55th Carnegie International,” including 38 Biltmore Ave. Through January 4 “Toledo Area Artists Exhibition”; at ceramics by Rosemarie Trockel; at Carnegie Museum of North Carolina, Charlotte through December 31 Toledo Museum of Art, 2445 Monroe St. Art, 4400 Forbes Ave. “The Nature of Being,” works by Melisa Cadell and Sarah Oklahoma, Oklahoma City through January 18, 2009 Faulkner; at RedSky Gallery, 1244 E. Blvd. “Craft in America: Expanding Traditions”; at National Cow- through January 11, 2009 “Inner and Outer Space,” including ceramics by Allison Smith; at the Mattress Factory, North Carolina, Creedmoor through January 11, boy and Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd St. 500 Sampsonia Way. 2009 “The Well Adorned Tree: Handmade Ornaments”; Oregon, Portland through January 4, 2009 at Cedar Creek Gallery, 1150 Fleming Rd. “Manuf®actured: The Conspicuous Transformation of Pennsylvania, Wayne December 5–January 22, 2009 “Craft Forms 2008”; at Wayne Art Center, 413 Maple- wood Ave. Texas, San Antonio through January 11, 2009 “Art for Giving”; at Southwest School of Art and Craft, Gallery Shop and Ursuline Hall Gallery, 300 Augusta. Virginia, Waynesboro through December 31 “A Handmade Season”; at Artisans Center of Virginia, 801 W. Broad St. Washington, Seattle through December 7 “Inspired Simplicity: Contemporary Art from Korea,” including ceram- ics by Park Young-sook and Kim Yik-yung; at Seattle Asian Art Museum, 1400 E. Prospect St. Wisconsin, Racine through December 7 “New, Novel and Never Shown Before 2008: Recent Gifts to the Collec- tion”; at Racine Art Museum, 441 Main St.

fairs, festivals and sales

Arizona, Tempe February 21–22, 2009 “8th Annual Ceramics Studio Tour”; at ASU Art Museum, Ceramics Research Center, 10th and Mill Ave. California, Berkeley December 6–7 and December 13–14 “Berkeley Artisans Holiday Open Studios.” For more information, visit www.berkeleyartisans.com. California, Pomona December 13 “Chili Bowl Sale”; at American Museum of Ceramic Art, 340 S. Garey Ave. December 5–7 “Harvest Festival”; at Fairplex–LA County Fairgrounds, 1101 W. McKinley Ave. California, San Francisco December 6–7 “Celebration of Craftswomen”; at Herbst Pavilion at Fort Mason Center, Buchanan St. and Marina Blvd. Connecticut, South Windsor December 6–7 and 13–14 “Greenleaf Pottery: 33rd Holiday Open Studio”; at 240 Chapel Rd. Florida, Bonita Springs January 10–11, 2009 “Bonita Springs National Art Festival”; at the Promenade at Bonita Bay, 26811 S. Bay Dr. Florida, Miami December 3–5 “Design Miami”; at NE 39th St. and 1st. Ct. December 3–7 “Art Miami 2008”; at The Art Miami Pavilion, The Miami Midtown Arts District, NE 1st Ave. between NE 32nd and NE 31st St. Georgia, Atlanta December 5–7 “Sugarloaf Crafts Fes- tival”; at the Cobb Galleria Center, 2 Galleria Pkwy. SE. Illinois, Chicago December 4–7 “One of a Kind Show and Sale”; at Merchandise Mart, 222 Merchandise Mart Plaza, #470. Maryland, Annapolis December 6–7 “The Holi- day Pottery Studio Tour.” For more information, visit www.mdpotterytour.com. Massachusetts, Boston December 11–14 “Holiday Show and Sale 2008”; at Ceramics Program, Office for the Arts at Harvard, 219 Western Ave. Minnesota, Minneapolis through January 4, 2009 “‘tis a gift...the 18th Holiday Exhibition and Sale”; at Northern Clay Center, 2424 Franklin Ave. E. Ceramics Monthly December 2008 68 Ceramics Monthly December 2008 69 calendar fairs, festivals and sales

Missouri, St. Louis through December 31 “Won- derful Handmade Gifts”; at Craft Alliance in the Loop, 6640 Delmar Blvd. Montana, Helena through December 20 “Archie Bray Foundation Holiday Exhibition and Sale”; at Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts, 2915 Country Club Ave. Montana, Missoula December 5–24 “Holiday Sale”; at The Clay Studio of Missoula, 1106 Haw- thorne, Unit A. New Jersey, Demarest December 5–7 “34th An- nual Pottery Show and Sale”; at The Art School at Old Church, 561 Piermont Rd. New Jersey, Morristown December 5–7 “Holiday Crafts at Morristown”; at the Morristown Armory, 430 Western Ave. New York, New York December 4–7 “Greenwich House Pottery Members Holiday Sale”; at Greenwich House Pottery, 16 Jones St. December 12–14 “Holiday Crafts Park Avenue”; at the Lexington Avenue Armory, Lexington Ave. at 26th St. Ohio, Columbus through December 23 “Gifts of the Craftsmen”; at Ohio Craft Museum, 1665 W. Fifth Ave. December 4–7 “Columbus Winterfair”; at Multi-Pur- pose Bldg., Ohio State Fairgrounds, 717 E. 17th Ave. January 24–25, 2009 “Art Studio Clearance Sale 2009”; at Ohio Expo Center (Ohio State Fairgrounds), 717 E. 17th Ave. Pennsylvania, King of Prussia January 16–18, 2009 “The Designer Craftsmen Show of Philadelphia”; at Valley Forge Convention Center, 1160 1st Ave. Texas, Houston December 6–7 “3rd Annual ClayHouston Festival”; at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, 4848 Main St. Virginia, Chantilly December 12–14 “Sugarloaf Crafts Festival”; at the Dulles Expo Center, 4368 Chantilly Center. Wisconsin, Eau Claire December 4–23 “Holiday Art Fair” at Eau Claire Regional Arts Center Art Gallery, 316 Eau Claire St.

workshops

Arizona, Catalina January 28–February 1, 2009 “China Painting on Tile” with Paul Lewing. Fee: $300. Contact ArtiFacts Studio, 38090 S. Loma Ser- ena Dr., Catalina 85739; [email protected]; http://artifactsstudio.blogspot.com; (520) 825-7807. Colorado, Snowmass Village April 24–May 2, 2009 “Ceramics in Jamaica” with Jan McKeachie-Johnston, Randy Johnston, David Pinto and Doug Casebeer. Fee: $2850. Contact Doug Casebeer, Anderson Ranch Arts Center, 5263 Owl Creek Rd., Snowmass Village 81615; [email protected]; www.andersonranch.org; www.ceramicartsdaily.org (970) 923–3181, ext. 201. Hawaii, Makawao January 26–27, 2009 “Raku/ Saggar Workshop.” Fee: $185; members, $145. Janu- ary 29–30, 2009 “Architectural Ceramics.” Fee: $185; members, $145. February 2–3, 2009 “Raku/Saggar Workshop.” Fee: $185; members, $145. Instructor: Mar- cia Selsor. Contact Hui No’eau Visual Arts Center, 2841 Baldwin Ave., Makawao 96768; [email protected]; www.huinoeau.com; (808) 572-6560, ext. 34. Indiana, Bloomington March 28–29, 2009 “Sandi Pierantozzi.” Fee: $150. Contact Karen Green Stone, Local Clay Potters’ Guild, 3001 E. Bethel Ln., Bloom- ington 47408; [email protected]; www.localclay.net; (812) 333-8085. Ceramics Monthly December 2008 70 Ceramics Monthly December 2008 71 calendar workshops

Maryland, Frederick January 10–11, 2009 Missouri, St. Louis December 13 “Holiday Work- Connell. Fee: $38. Contact Thompson Park Creative “Eastern and Western Techniques in Trimming” shop: Ceramic Beads” with Mary Henderson. Fee: $50. Arts Center, 805 Newman Springs Rd., Lincroft with Joyce Michaud and Kristin Muller. Fee: $175. Contact Craft Alliance; 6640 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis 07738; [email protected]; January 15–18, 2009 “Masters’ Throwing” with Joyce 63130; www.craftalliance.org; (314) 725-1177. www.monmouthcountyparks.com; (732) 842-4000. Michaud. Fee: $300. Contact Hood College Ceram- New Jersey, Demarest December 15–19 “Double New York, Katonah December 14 “Clay ics Program, 401 Rosemont Ave., Frederick 21701; Focus: Salt Glaze Forming and Firing” with Mikhail Silver Jewelry” with David Hughes. Fee: $125. [email protected]; www.hood.edu/academic/art; Zakin. Fee: $250. Contact The Art School at Old Church, Contact Katonah Art Center, 131 Bedford Rd., (301) 696-3456 or (301)696-3626. 561 Piermont Rd., Demarest 07627; [email protected]; Katonah 10536; [email protected]; http://tasoc.org; (201) 767-7160. Masachussets, Boston January 11, 18 and www.katonahartcenter.com; (914) 232–4843. 25, 2009 “Mosaics” with Lisa Houck. Fee: New Jersey, Lincroft January 17–February 21, $100. Contact Shawn Panepinto, Office for the 2009 “Dinnerware Workshop” with Don Bradford. New York, Port Chester January 8–10, 2009 Arts at Harvard Ceramics Program, 219 Western Fee: $126. January 16–February 6, 2009 “Tile Workshop with Peter Pinnell. Fee: $300. Contact Ave., Boston 02134; [email protected]; Making” with Katie Stone. Fee: $60. February 1–8, Leigh Taylor Mickelson, Clay Art Center, 40 Beech www.fas.harvard.edu/ceramics; (617) 495-8680. 2009 “Tribal and Character Mask” with Pete Mac- St., Port Chester 10573; [email protected]; www.clayartcenter.org; (914) 937–2047. North Carolina, Bakersville January 12–16, 2009 “Basic Glaze Chemistry and Raw Materials.” Fee: $500. January 30–February 1, 2009 “Cone 10 Reduction Firing.” Fee: $250. March 9–13, 2009 “Basic Glaze Chemistry and Raw Materials.” Fee: $500. March 27–29, 2009 “Oil Spot Firing.” Fee: $250. Instructor: John Britt. Contact John Britt Pottery, 154 Sparks Rd., Bakersville 28705; [email protected]; www.johnbrittpottery.com/wks.htm; (828) 467-5020. North Carolina, Brasstown December 7–13 “Whimsical, Handbuilt Clay Birdhouses” with Mark Wingertsahn. Fee: $478. January 4–10, 2009 “Variations on Raku” with Steven Forbes-DeSoule. Fee: $562. January 11–17, 2009 “Advanced Wheel Throwing: Following Hunches, Taking Risks” with Kevin Crowe. Fee: $562. January 18–25, 2009 “Big Pots–No Sweat!” with Harry Hearne. Fee: $802. February 1–7, 2009 “Fun and Unusual Forms” with Rob Withrow. February 8–14, 2009 “Taking It to the Next Level” with Ray DelConte. February 22–28, 2009 “Whimsical, Handbuilt Clay Birdhouses” with Mark Wingertsahn. Fee/session (unless noted above): $512. Contact John C. Campbell Folk School, One Folk Rd., Brasstown 28902; [email protected]; www.folkschool.org; (800) 365–5724. North Carolina, Charlotte Febru- ary 7–8, 2009 “Workshop with Hayne Bay- less.” Fee: $115; members, $85. Contact Carolina Clay Matters Pottery Guild, 5008 Glenbrier Dr., Charlotte 28212; [email protected]; www.carolinaclaymatters.org; (740) 394-2529. North Carolina, Indian Trail February 7–8, 2009 “Workshop with Hayne Bayless”. Fee: $115; members, $85. Contact Carolina Clay Matters Pottery Guild, c/o 9901 Mill Grove Rd., Indian Trail 28079; [email protected]; www.carolinaclaymatters.org; (704) 753-4673. North Carolina, West End January 26–30, 2009 “Basic Ceramic Raw Materials, Glaze Chemistry and Firing” with John Britt. Fee: $350. Contact Linda and Jim Dalton, 250 Oakhurst Vista, West End 27376; [email protected]; www.lindadaltonpottery.com; (910) 947-5325. Pennsylvania, Philadelphia December 6 “D-I-Y Make-It-Glow” with Naomi Cleary. Fee: $70; mem- bers, $60. Contact The Clay Studio, 139 N. 2nd St., Philadelphia 19106; [email protected]; www.theclaystudio.org (215) 925–3453. Texas, Abilene January 30–31, 2009 “Extraordi- nary Creatures and How to Make Them” with Linda Ganstrom. Fee: $20. Contact McMurry University, 14th and Sayles, Abilene 79697; [email protected]; www.mcm.edu; (325) 793-4888. Vermont, Bennington January 28–February 1, 2009 “Handbuilding Sculptural Forms” with Vir- ginia Scotchie. “Making, Looking, Using and Mak- ing Again” with Julia Galloway. Fee: $350. Contact Kathy Hanson, North Country Studio Workshops, PO Ceramics Monthly December 2008 72 Ceramics Monthly December 2008 73 calendar workshops

Box 180, Deerfield, NH 03037; [email protected]; www.northcountrystudioworkshops.org; (603) 463–7562.

international events

Australia, Adelaide through December 7 “Trades.” December 13–January 25, 2009 “From the Earth: A Survey of Australian Indigenous Ceramics”; at Jam Factory, 19 Morphett St. Australia, Sydney through December 3 Stephen Bowers; at Robin Gibson Gallery, 278 Liverpool St., Darlinghurst. Canada, Ontario, Toronto through December 7 “One of a Kind Christmas Show and Sale”; at Direct Energy Center, Exhibition Pl., 100 Princes Blvd. through January 4, 2009 “Postmodern Porcelain.” through January 18, 2009 “Days of the Dead”; at Gardiner Museum, 111 Queen’s Park. through July 5, 2009 “Wedgwood: Artistry and Inno- vation”; at Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen’s Park. through December 7 “One of a Kind Christmas Show and Sale”; at Direct Energy Center, Exhibition Pl., 100 Princes Blvd. January 25–29, 2009 “Canadian Gift and Tableware Association Gift Show”; at Toronto Congress Centre and Toronto International Centre, 650 Dixon Rd. Canada, Quebec, Westmount through December 18 Claire Salzberg, “Ceramic Sculpture”; at Victoria Hall Gallery, 4626 Sherbrooke St. W. Canada Newfoundland, St. Johns February 1–March 13, 2009 J.C. Bear, “New Heads for Old”; at Craft Council of Newfoundland and Labrador, 59 Duckworth St. England, Leeds through January 17, 2009 “All I Want for Christmas,” including ceramics by Penny Fowler, Kate Schuricht, Kyoto Takahashi, Hanne Westergaard and Zoe Whiteside. January 24–March 30, 2009 “Loving You”; at The Craft Centre and Design Gallery, The City Art Gallery, The Headrow. England, Shipston-on-Stour through January 31, 2009 “Mo Jupp: 70th Birthday Retrospective Exhibi- tion”; at Where I Fell in Love Gallery, The Shambles, Market Place. England, Worcester December 6–16 “The Christ- mas Show,” works by Carolyn Genders and Vivienne Ross; at The Gallery at Bevere, Bevere Ln. France, La Borne through January 5, 2009 “Exposi- tion Noël à La Borne”; at Centre de Création Céramique, 18250 Henrichemont. France, Vallauris December 6 “Ceramic Workshop RAKU.” through December 11 “RAKU exposition”; Contact A.I.R. Vallauris, Place Lisnard, 1 BD des Deux Vallons, Vallauris 06220; [email protected]; www.ceramicartsdaily.org www.air-vallauris.org; 33 4 93 64 65 50. Germany, Berlin through January 26, 2009 “Kera- mik aus den Steingutfabriken Velten-Vordamm”; at Keramik-Museum Berlin, Schustehrusstr. 13. Germany, Frechen through February 2, 2009 “Aus Holtz, Schantzen, Erden und Saltz Gebacken.” Decem- ber 12–February 8, 2009 “Beatrijs van Rheeden”; at Keramion Foundation, Bonnstrasse 12. Laos and Angkor Wat, Cambodia February 16–March 3, 2009 “Village Pottery Experience,” includes work and firings with village potters. Limit 12 people. Contact Denys James, Discovery Art Travel, 182 Welbury Dr., Salt Spring Island, British Ceramics Monthly December 2008 74 Ceramics Monthly December 2008 75 calendar international events

Columbia V8K 2L8 Canada; [email protected]; www.denysjames.com; (250) 537–4906. Lombok and Bali March 2010 “Village Pottery Experience,” includes visits to traditional pottery villages and hands-on experience. Contact Denys James, Discov- ery Art Travel, 182 Welbury Dr., Salt Spring Island, British Columbia V8K 2L8 Canada; [email protected]; www.denysjames.com; (250) 537–4906. Mexico, Oaxaca January 3–11, 2009 “The Oaxacan Clay Workshop.” Fee: $1765. Contact Eric Mindling, Traditions Mexico, 303 Avery St., Ashland, OR 97520, [email protected], www.traditionsmexico.com. March 21–29, 2009 “The Mata Ortiz Pot- tery Workshop” with Michael Wisner and Jorge Quintana. Fee: $1595. Contact Eric Mind- ling, Traditions Mexico, 303 Avery St., Ash- land, OR 97520, [email protected], www.traditionsmexico.com. Morocco, Marakesh, Ouarazate, Zagora, Mer- zouga and Casablanca November 2010 “Ceramics and Cultural Excursion.” Limit 12 people. Contact Denys James, Discovery Art Travel, 182 Welbury Dr., Salt Spring Island, British Columbia V8K 2L8 Canada; [email protected]; www.denysjames.com; (250) 537–4906. Myanmar (Burma), Mandalay, Bagan, Inle Lake, Yangon January 14–30, 2009 “Burma: Ceramics and Cultural Excursion,” includes pottery making and firing in traditional villages. Limit of 12 persons. Contact Denys James, Discovery Art Travel, 182 Welbury Dr., Salt Spring Island, British Columbia V8K 2L8 Canada; [email protected]; www.denysjames.com; (250) 537–4906. Netherlands, Deventer through December 20 “Inke and Uwe Lerch”; at Galerie Carla Koch, Veem- kade 500, 6th Fl. Netherlands, Leeuwarden through March 15, 2009 “A Divine Gift: Asain Highlights in the Neth- erlands.” through March 22, 2009 Caroline Coolen, “North Face”; at Ceramic Museum Princessehof, Grote Kerkstraat 11. Netherlands, Hertogenbosch December 13–Feb- ruary 15, 2009 Wieki Somers “Thinking Hands, Speak- ing Things”; at Stedelijk Museum Hertogenbosch, Magistratenlaan 100. Netherlands, The Hague through March 1, 2009 “Armorial Porcelain: Dutch Family Coats of Arms on Chinese Porcelain.” through March 1, 2009 “Earth- enware in Style. The History of the Kennemerland Pottery (1920–1942)”; at Germeentemuseum Den Haag, Stadhouderslaan 41. South Korea, Gimhae through February 2009 “Architectural Ceramics (Historical)”; at Clayarch Gimhae Museum, Gimhae Foundation for Arts and Culture, 358, Songjeong-ri Jillye-myeon Gimhae-si, Gyeongsangnam-do, 621–883. For more information, visit www.clayarch.org. Turkey, Istanbul, Cappadocia and Ankara September–October 2010 “Turkey Ceramics Ex- cursion” with Mehmet Kutlu and Erdogan Gulec. Limit 12 people. Contact Denys James, Discovery Art Travel, 182 Welbury Dr., Salt Spring Island, British Columbia V8K 2L8 Canada; [email protected]; www.denysjames.com; (250) 537–4906. Wales, Swansea through January 25, 2009 Philip Eglin, “Spiritual Heroes”; at Craft Gallery, Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Alexandra Rd. Ceramics Monthly December 2008 76 Send us your videos! www.ceramicartsdaily.org

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Ceramics Monthly December 2008 77 classified advertising Ceramics Monthly welcomes classifieds in the following categories: Buy/Sell, Employment, Events, Opportunities, Per- CD of 40 images available from Utilitarian sonals, Publications/Videos, Real Estate, Rentals, Services, Travel. Accepted advertisements will be inserted into the Clay V: Celebrate the Object Symposium first available print issue, and posted on our website (www.ceramicsmonthly.org) for 30 days at no additional charge! See www.ceramicsmonthly.org/classifieds.asp for details. and Exhibition held at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts Sept. 10-13, 2008. Includes works of 34 exhibiting artists, three exhibition buy/sell Apprentice/Assistant. Free studio space and four event captures. $15 (includes S&H). and small home at minimal rent on Whidbey Contact (865) 436-5860 ext. 22. For Sale: Bailey MXP 100 De-Airing Mixer- Island in NW Washington in exchange for Pugmill, purchased new in 2006, lightly used 15-20 hours/week assisting professional pot- to process porcelain only. Excellent condition. ter. Studio experience required. Computer PotteryVideos.com – DVD’s with Robin Cost: $3,300 ($7,800 new). Located in New and organizational skills desired. General Hopper, Gordon Hutchens and Graham Orleans, LA. Contact William DePauw; (828) studio and kiln duties, packing and shipping. Sheehan. Video Workshops for Potters at all 773-0302; [email protected]. Photos: Dedicated potter; loves physical work. Send levels of experience. Choose from 21 titles. http://pandora.tcs.tulane.edu/art/PuggerAd.html. statement of interest and goals, 10 digital (800) 668-8040; [email protected]. images of current work (including fact sheet), resumé, contact information to: Robbie Lobell Over 700 Ceramic Molds for Sale. Inventory Pottery, 640 Patmore Rd., Coupeville, WA real estate list available. $500 for all (must take all). Sault 98239; (360) 678-1414; robbie@robbielobell. Sainte Marie, MI. E-mail [email protected] or com; www.robbielobell.com. phone (906) 635-1250. Island Home with separate Ceramic Art Studio. Beautifully maintained, furnished, employment Pottery West in Las Vegas, NV Offers Pot- 3 bedroom, 2 bath home in Port Aransas, tery Classes, Workshops and Residencies. TX. Ready access to art centers and gal- Production Potter Wanted. Full-time, year- The pottery studio is 3000 square feet with 21 leries. $300,000.00. Contact Pat Holt (608) round position. Will consider all levels of ex- potters’ wheels. Classes meet several times a 836-5998. perience. Studio/gallery located near PSU in week and there is studio access 24 hours a Central PA. Experience-based pay plus studio day. The facility includes a 27 cubic foot Geil time and gallery space. Call (814) 883-5167 gas kiln, a 100 cubic foot wood-fire train kiln, a Showroom & Fully Equipped Studio For Sale or send resume to Grandville Hollow Pottery, 50 cubic foot wood/soda kiln, and a 16 cubic in Las Cruces, NM. 3000 square foot building 1090 Railroad Ave., Julian, PA 16844 or e-mail foot electric kiln. We also have a slab roller, & adjoining commercial lot. Turnkey operation [email protected]. wall-mounted extruder, glaze chemical lab, including websites. 250K firm. Principals only. spray booth, bench grinder and audio/video E-mail [email protected]. events equipment. It’s a great place to take classes and continue building your body of work. On-site For sale by owner—5 beautiful acres, house Berkshires “Art of Clay” Festival, Ski housing is available with a full service gourmet and studio in central NC close to Chapel Hill/ Butternut, Great Barrington, MA. July kitchen and an in-ground lap pool. Academic Durham. Woods, pasture, gardens. 2 bedroom, 11&12, 2009. Many opportunities. 75 credit is optional through Alfred University. Visit 2 bath custom built house, possible third bed- booths, themed gallery shows, workshops, www.potterywest.com; or call Amy Kline at (702) room. 1550 square feet, wood and tile floors, demonstrations, guest artists. Indoors, 987-3023 for more information. outdoors, under tents. Applications/details light and open, quality throughout. 750 square feet studio/guesthouse perfect for sales/studio http://americanartmarketing.com. products or rental. Second studio with 50 cubic foot gas car kiln. Fruit trees, grapevines, flowering shrubs Note Cards: Unique cards with close up Tom Turner’s Pottery School. For details, and perennials and organic vegetable garden. images of ceramic sculptures by Maureen see www.tomturnerporcelain.com or call $360,000.00. [email protected]. (828) 689-9430. Burns-Bowie. Rich, textured, dramatic, bold. Blank inside for special message. Make great gifts. UpCloseArt.etsy.com. California Clay Competition 2009, May 1–29, Pottery and Art Gallery established 30+ 2009. Deadline: Feb 13, 2009. Juror: Cathie years includes 30+ consigned artists. Beauti- Duniway. California residents only. Clay - Func- Custom extruder dies fit all 4” North Star fully situated in historic downtown Stuart, FL. tional & Sculptural Prospectus: www.artery. Extruders and 4” Chinese knock-offs from 1,000 sq.ft. showroom plus 700 sq.ft. well- coop; [email protected]; the Artery, 207 G $25 to $45. Also dies for larger extruders and equipped studio. Extensive loyal customer list Street, Davis, CA 95616. other brands. More info and instructions at and e-Commerce website; documented sales www.northstarequipment.com/custom_dies.htm growth; turnkey operation. Health issues force opportunities or call (800) 231-7896. If you can draw it we sale, call (772) 214-5458. can inexpensively make it into a die. Juried Exhibition, “From the Ground Up XXIV”; rentals Las Cruces Museum of Art, eligibility Rocky publications/videos Mountain Region. Deadline: April 10, 2009. Juror: Blair Meerfield. Cash and purchase awards. Tom Turner’s 2-day workshop, 4-disc DVD Wanted to Rent: Studio Space. 4-8 weeks, Prospectus: www.las-cruces.org/public-services/ set. To order, see www.tomturnerporcelain.com; January-February. 30 mile radius of Daytona museums/mfa.shtm; (575) 541-2221 or call (828) 689-9430. Beach, FL. Call Danny at (814) 321-8225.

Ceramics Monthly December 2008 78 services Master Kiln Builders. 26+ years experience Home Stay/Instruction in Maui—North designing and building beautiful, safe, custom Shore with potter Sandy Vitarelli. 15 minutes from Hookipa Beach and nearest town; car a Ceramics Consulting Services offers techni- kilns for universities, colleges, high schools, necessity. $65 per night. Call (808) 572-5945 cal information and practical advice on clay/ art centers and private clients. Soda/salt or e-mail [email protected]. glaze/kiln faults and corrections, slip casting, kilns, wood kilns, raku kilns, stoneware kilns, clay body/glaze formulas, salt glazing, product sculpture burnout kilns, car kilns and specialty electric kilns. Competitive prices. Donovan. design. Call or write for details. Jeff Zamek, 6 Porcelain Workshop in Germany. April 5-13, Phone/fax (612) 250-6208. Glendale Woods Dr., Southampton, MA 01073; 2009. Moni Armbruster teaches throwing por- (413) 527-7337; e-mail [email protected]; or celain in her studio. You’ll learn all the tricks www.fixpots.com. travel you need for that beautiful finished product. Also included: touring to other ceramics Custom Mold Making—Increase your pro- studios, a ceramics museum and beauti- ductivity and profits with quality slip-casting Overseas Ceramic Workshops & Tours— ful sights. [email protected]; molds of your popular designs! Petro Mold BURMA, Myanmar: January 2009 Ancient www.armbruster-porzellan.de. Co. offers a complete range of mold-making potteries; Mandalay; Yangon; Inle Lake; Bagan services, including sculpting and 3-D mod- temples. LAOS & ANGKOR WAT, February Craft & Folk Art Tours—Central Asia, els, master and case molds, and production 2009. OAXACA, MEXICO, November 2009. Burma, India, South Africa, Morocco, SW mold manufacturing to thousands of satisfied BALI and LOMBOK – March 2010. TURKEY, Balkans, Ecuador, Guatemala, Chiapas customers. Visit www.custommolds.net; or call Istanbul and Cappadocia: September 2010 (800) 404-5521 to get started. (Mexico), Oaxaca (Mexico). Small, personal- Workshops with Mehmet Kutlu and Erdogan ized groups. CRAFT WORLD TOURS, 6776CM Gulec. MOROCCO November 2010 Berber Warboys, Byron, NY 14422. (585) 548-2667; Accept credit cards in your ceramics retail/ traditional pottery, adobe architecture, tile art www.craftworldtours.com. wholesale/home-based/Internet and craft- in Southern Morocco. Small, culturally sensitive show business. No application fee. No monthly groups using local translators and experts. minimum. No lease requirement. Retriever/ Discovery Art Travel, Denys James, Canada; First of Omaha Merchant Processing. Please (250) 537-4906; www.denysjames.com, We’re online! There is always something new call (888) 549-6424. [email protected]. happening at www.ceramicartsdaily.org.

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Ceramics Monthly December 2008 79 Comment the piece you wish you made by Larry M. Brow

One of the best assignments I ever came up why. Sometimes, it’s a brilliant use of materi- future work successful in some of the same with for a Ceramics I class required leaving als. Sometimes it’s a combination of ideas and ways. I try to take courage from them as role the ceramics studio completely. The whole elements that play off each other dramati- models, but I don’t make copies, not even of class took time away from the pots to walk cally. Scale, both large and small, can bring my own work. over to the library. Some of my students had me to envy. Technique, particularly the most We can look for challenge and inspira- never actually been in the building before. mysterious combinations of techniques, can tion abroad or within our current work. It’s Even my seniors weren’t very familiar with often catch my eye. Color, texture, form and all bound to help in some way, even if that its layout, and were properly embarrassed harmony all sing their little songs to me. help is often mysterious. What always helps, about that. Second, I ask which work of art would I though, is having a sense of ambition about As a group, we puzzled out the location most like to own—not for its resale value, our future work, wanting it to be terrific in of the ceramics books. I hadn’t taken the but for the pleasure of living with it. Many some way we only get hints of in the work of time beforehand to see what the library had. successful works of art are nonetheless dis- other artists. If you’re just making product, Luckily, they had a good selection—almost turbing and hard to be around for any length just trying to fill the shelves for the next two and a half shelves worth—probably of time. These pieces, though impressive in show, then you’re leaving an important part purchased in earlier decades. their own way, may be part of why museums of your brain—and your heart—out of the The assignment was simple: Browse. Look of contemporary art are often so difficult to fun. You’re just having another day at your at the pictures of pots. Find one that you wish linger in. They communicate in ways that job. And maybe ambition hasn’t been a part you’d made. Bring the book to of the picture for a while. class next week. Show us the Because our shows, port- picture and spend a few min- If you’re just making product, folios and careers are always utes explaining your choice. I based on pieces we’ve already was also very careful to stress just trying to fill the shelves made—last week, last month that this was not a trick. I or last year—we can easily wasn’t then going to require for the next show, then be forced to spend too much that they copy the piece. I time focusing on our own just wanted them to browse you’re leaving an important past work. Terrific or horrible, (without using the internet), promising or unexciting, past to think about a variety of part of your brain—and your efforts should not be what pots, to make value judgments heart—out of the fun. fills the thoughts of a working about those pots, and (most artist. The greatest source of importantly for a beginning emphasis for the artist must al- ceramics class) to talk about a good pot with may be ideal for those with short attention ways be the piece at hand, the piece of greatest the rest of the class. spans, but which ultimately run contrary to suspense, the emotionally charged masterwork In effect, I had created a first “practice” the search for personal harmony. of the near future, the combination of solu- critique in which very few of the comments And third, when price lists are available, tions answering the freshest questions. or questions would be negative and in which of all the pieces in the show has the As an artist, it’s up to you to organize your which each student could remain relatively highest price tag? In other words, which piece life so that today you can spend some time unemotional, because they had no “author- do I think the artist found most successful, working on the piece you wish you’d made ship” stake, and because there were no wrong or most difficult to make? yesterday. There are no guarantees. Your answers to the assignment. As the semester Now some may wonder how often the vision may prove flawed, your techniques progressed, it helped a great deal to have piece I wish I’d made and the piece I most inadequate and your materials defective, but given the students this early time imagin- want to own are different pieces? Quite often, if you’re good at harnessing the unrelenting ing themselves as fully trained professional actually. I have a lot of fascination with, and energy of your ambition, day after day, pot ceramicists making skillful decisions about respect for, skills and visions I don’t personally after pot, you will inevitably improve your beautiful works of art. And, independent want to possess. Also, art in a home creates work and find joy in having made it. of my prodding, it got the students talking a sort of open dialog from piece to piece and Fame and fortune? Those are different about issues of decoration and form, utility from piece to person. I don’t want to live in ambitions entirely. and whimsy, control and serendipity. an internal landscape populated exclusively In my own life, I’ve often played a similar with my own work. That’s too much like game at art galleries, museums or receptions. sitting in a corner talking to myself. Nor am the author Larry M. Brow teaches ceramics at It has two parts, sometimes three. First, I ask I interested in copying the works of other the Lawrence Arts Center and operates Please myself which work of art I wish I’d made, and artists; I try to learn from them and make my Touch Pottery in Lawrence, Kansas.

Ceramics Monthly December 2008 80