Focus Education Kelly King's Melding of Surface and Form

focus Monthly education

Kelly King’s melding of surface and form focus education

March 2008 $7.50 (Can$9, E6.50) www.ceramicartsdaily.org

Ceramics Monthly March 2008 1 Monthly

Publisher Charles Spahr Editorial [email protected] telephone: (614) 895-4213 fax: (614) 891-8960 editor Sherman Hall associate editor Jennifer Poellot Harnetty assistant editor Brandy Agnew technical editor Dave Finkelnburg editorial interns Tim Danko, Jason Lippincott Advertising/Classifieds [email protected] telephone: (614) 794-5834 fax: (614) 891-8960 classifi[email protected] telephone: (614) 794-5843 advertising manager Mona Thiel advertising services Jan Moloney Marketing telephone: (614) 794-5809 marketing manager Steve Hecker Subscriptions/Circulation customer service: (800) 342-3594 [email protected] Design/Production production editor Cynthia Conklin design Paula John Editorial and advertising offices 600 N. 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 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 subsidiary of The American Ceramic Society, 600 N. Cleveland Ave., Suite 210, Westerville, Ohio 43082; www.ceramics.org. Periodicals 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 2107, Marion, OH 43306-8207. contributors: Writing and photographic guidelines are available online at www.ceramicsmonthly.org. indexing: Visit the Ceramics Monthly website at 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 N. Cleveland Ave., Suite 210, Westerville, Ohio 43082, USA. postmaster: Send address changes to Ceramics Monthly, P.O. Box 2107, Marion, OH 43306-8207. Form 3579 requested. Copyright © 2008, The Ceramic Publications Company; a subsidiary of American Ceramic Society. All rights reserved.

www.ceramicartsdaily.org Ceramics Monthly March 2008 2 Ceramics Monthly March 2008 3 Ceramics Monthly March 2008 4 March 2008 / Volume 56 Number 3

Monthly focus education

32 From Average to Excellent by Marc Leuthold, with Sarah G. Wilkins An educator and an artist discuss qualitative issues in art and the rewards of learning the art of critique. with Three Criteria for Grading and Coil and Carve Project features

39 Angelo Garzio 1922–2008 40 Nestle, Nuzzle, Run for Cover Kelly King’s Untamable Subconscious by Jennifer Graff Functional forms are infused with personal content, resulting in a strong body of work that is both accessible and unsettling. monthly methods Draw, Paint, Fire, Repeat by Kelly King

46 Jeffry Mitchell: Once Over Lightly by Matthew Kangas Concerned more with ideas than craftsmanship, an artist mixes traditional ceramic forms and satire to address contemporary issues.

50 Patience is Still a Virtue by Leigh Somerville With a keen eye and gentle precision, Charlie Tefft crafts and recrafts his work until it is just right, proving that patience is, indeed, still a virtue. monthly methods Cutting, Folding and Paddling by Charlie Tefft 54 Fukumoto Fuku: Between Tradition and Objet by Glen R. Brown Considering both personal and traditional aesthetics, an artist fnds an “asymmetrical” balance between the two.

58 Hunt Prothro: Surface Tension by Susan Chappelear An artist studies ancient drawings in an effort to bring the same qualities of line and content to his work. monthly methods Mixing it Up

62 Kleckner Pottery: The Ripple Effect by Judy Seckler A potter is attracted to the profession by the lifestyle, but is successful because of his ability to maintain his voice and a balanced business. 62 monthly methods Application, Application, Application! by Jeff Kleckner

cover: “Navigate,” 15 in. (38 cm) in height, slab-built Cone 10 porcelain, fired to Cone 6, China paints, 2006, by Kelly King, Tifton, Georgia; 58 page 40. Photo: Walker Montgomery. 50

Ceramics Monthly March 2008 5 departments

8 from the editor

10 letters from readers

12 answers from the CM technical staff

16 suggestions from readers 16 Tip of the Month: Don’t Sweat the Drying

18 upfront reviews, news and exhibitions 30 click and collect pay a virtual visit to the galleries in this issue 66 call for entries 66 International Exhibitions 66 United States Exhibitions 68 Regional Exhibitions 68 Fairs and Festivals 72 new books 78 calendar 78 Conferences 78 Solo Exhibitions 80 Group Ceramics Exhibitions 88 Ceramics in Multimedia Exhibitions 90 Fairs, Festivals and Sales 92 Workshops 98 International Events 102 classiﬁed advertising 103 index to advertisers 104 comment Which One is Best? by Dick Lehman

online www.ceramicartsdaily.org 24 information and inspiration from inside the artist’s studio Education Full listings of colleges, classes, guilds, workshops and residencies. Galleries Full listing of museums and galleries that showcase ceramic art, plus artist gallery pages. Bookstore Complete line of ceramic arts books to inspire, inform and instruct. Free Gifts Handy downloadable resources for the studio, including recipes, projects and more! Magazines Select features, exhibitions, article index and archived content

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Ceramics Monthly March 2008 6 Ceramics Monthly March 2008 7 from the editor by Sherman Hall

Recently, I fired three kilns in a row that and glazed the entire load with just one It’s been a few weeks since that firing, I considered to be full of tests. Of course, glaze. Don’t get me wrong, I really like this and I now realize that what got me so ex- at the time, they were full of pots that were glaze. It’s a lovely buttery tan/yellow glaze cited about it, and what reminded me of supposed to turn out as gems. In hind site, formulated with a mixture of fireplace ash, school, was the backwards way I ended up they were clearly just tests—and random indigenous clay from my backyard and a giving myself an assignment—a very specific, tests at that. It was as if I was grasping in nice stable satin matt I made in college. But directed assignment—with the purpose of several different directions, waiting for one still, it was just one glaze. discovering something about my work and of those mythical “happy kiln accidents” to Then, with all other things being equal, my aesthetic. I have not been that uncom- show me the way to my next studio fascina- I proceeded to test one other surface treat- fortable working in the studio since college, tion. I came into the house after unloading ment on each piece. Here it was a layered but I’ve also not learned that much in such a each of those firings and my fiancée asked, glaze, there it was a brushed stain decora- short period of time in the studio either. “How is it?” My answer each time—with a tion, and so on. It was a terribly uncom- I plan to keep giving myself studio as- smirk, a shrug and a raised eyebrow—was, fortable exercise in many ways, because signments like this, and I would recom- “Well, I learned a lot.” This is not without it felt restrictive and restrained—not free mend it to anyone who feels a bit stuck merit, but I would then proceed to sort the and creative—but what I discovered upon or stale in his or her work. There is also a pots into three categories: those for further opening the kiln is that I now had more forming assignment on page 38 from Marc testing, those to be refired and those in need information about what this one glaze will Leuthold that I’m going to try. It’s not really of the hammer treatment. I think you know and will not do than I had gleaned from my normal approach, but that seems to be which category was the largest. those three previous firings put together. I the point, right? Get out of your comfort So, after the third such firing, I de- was truly excited about these results, be- zone a bit and explore what you may never cided to do what I’ve always told myself cause they were specific and precise. I knew have considered. I needed to do, what I’ve always believed exactly what treatment caused which ef- I always keep that hammer within arm’s in but have never done: severely limit the fect. As a bonus, there were actually several reach of the kiln, but I also keep an empty variables; study only one particular aspect gems in that firing, and I was as excited spot in the front of my cupboard for that of a problem at a time. I chose one clay (a about getting back in the studio as I had next gem. brown Cone 6 throwing body), one form been in college (some weeks I practically (mug) and then I summoned every ounce lived in the basement of Ohio State’s Hop- of self-control and restraint I could muster kins Hall).

Ceramics Monthly March 2008 8 Why 2 women in remote Montana have fired only Paragon kilns since 1972 Pioneer Pottery near Roscoe, Montana is so isolated that bears come right up to the studio and smudge the windowpanes with nose prints. The sound of the East Rosebud River flowing past the red two-story building breaks the silence. Janet Hero Dodge and Julie Dickinson began Pioneer Pottery in 1972. They converted a horse stable built in 1910 into their busy pottery studio. Janet and Julie planned to fire with propane; in the meantime, they bought a Paragon square K-6H electric kiln. But they were so satisfied with the Paragon that they never converted to propane firing. Over the years they just bought more Para- gons and have been firing them ever since. “The glazes I developed for the electric firings had the softness and subtlety I had hoped for with propane,” said Janet Hero Dodge. “So I never quite got around to building that gas kiln. “In 1978 we added a Paragon K-6HS square kiln so we could glaze fire back to back when nec- essary. This allowed us to move pots steadily through the firing cycle and fill special orders quickly. In 1980 we added a square Paragon K-6A to our kiln collection. All the kilns are still functional.” Janet and Julie fire their glazes to a flattened cone 9. At this temperature, their matte glazes soften and absorb iron from the clay. “Some of Julie Dickinson and Janet Hero Dodge. Pioneer Pottery the glazes are quite bright for electric firing,” said has been firing Paragon kilns since the studio opened in 1972. Janet. “We’ve been real happy with our Paragons. They’ve held up well and produced good results.” We offer a wide selection of top and front Have they been reliable? “Quite.” loading kilns. Call 800-876-4328 or visit www.paragonweb.com for a free catalog and the “You can’t deny that gas firing is exciting,” name of the Paragon dealer near you. said Janet. “But as a production potter who also does my own specialty pieces, I need the reliability The Paragon Dragon of electric, which is more reliable than gas be- front-loading kiln is becom- cause you have fewer variables. And I like the fast ing a favorite with Potters. It is easy to load, heavily insu- turnover I can have with the electric kilns. If I get a lated, and designed for special order that I have to get out fast, I don’t cone 10. have to wait to fill up a big gas kiln. “I use a copper barium glaze,” Janet said, “and part of the reason I started doing that is I had less control over it. So I get some of that same ‘I wonder what I’m going to get when I open it’ feeling.” The Paragon kilns of today are built with the 2011 South Town East Blvd. same dependability as the kilns Janet and Julie are Mesquite, Texas 75149-1122 using. Since their Paragon kilns have worked The switch box on most 800-876-4328 / 972-288-7557 Paragon top-loading kilns Toll Free Fax 888-222-6450 faithfully for so many decades, imagine what your hinges at the bottom for next Paragon will do for you. easy access. www.paragonweb.com [email protected]

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

Talc News 1948, it has become a relatively small part Trish, thank you for pointing this out. In The editors discovered shortly after running of the company’s operations overall—rep- looking back through the original manuscript “Talc and Asbestos: What We Know and What resenting less than 7% of total revenue for this article, it is clear that this was an We Don’t,” by Jeff Zamek, in the February in 2007. The production volume of talc error in editing, and not an omission by the issue, that R.T. Vanderbilt Company, Inc., at the company’s Gouverneur facility has author or Gary Holt (the subject of the ar- announced its decision to discontinue its dropped from over 200,000 tons in 1988 ticle). Mention of Ase’s research and his book ® ® NYTAL and CERAMITALC product to approximately 80,000 tons today. was made, and we regret our oversight in not line and to cease talc production at its Gouver- “To allow our customers adequate including it. While this book has been out of neur Talc Division in Gouverneur, New York, time to reformulate their products we print for quite some time, it may be avilable by the end of 2008. The following is excerpted made the decision to maintain production through your local library.—Eds. from a release dated January 10, 2008: through 2008; and we will be provid- “The decision to discontinue pro- ing technical assistance to them as well,” Isn’t it Iron(ic) duction of this product line was a very stated Roger K. Price, president and chief Regarding “Answers,” on page 14 of the difficult one for all of us,” said Hugh B. operating officer. February 2008 issue: It seems that you got Vanderbilt, Jr., chairman and chief execu- ferric and ferrous oxides mixed up. FeO is tive officer. “My father, my grandfather Credit Where Credit Is Due ferrous oxide. Fe2O3 is ferric oxide. and I all believed strongly in this busi- In the recent January 2008 issue, Ce- Lou Turner, The Woodlands TX ness; but the market for this product line ramics Monthly published an article called has dropped steadily over the years while “Salts of the Earth,” by Diane Chin Lui. Thank you, Lou, for your accurate, de- business costs have continued to increase. Are you aware that Arne Ase published a tailed reading. You are indeed correct. Read- In the end, we ran out of options. We book in 1989 about this process? The book ers should understand, however, that this does sincerely regret the impact this will have is titled Water Colour on Porcelain (Norwe- not alter the explanation of the fired results on the affected employees and on the com- gian University Press, ISBN #820006524). for these two versions of iron oxide. Because munity,” he concluded. I feel that it would be appropriate to credit the oxygen will burn off in the firing, the While R.T. Vanderbilt Company has him for his research. color will be quite similar, but ferrous oxide been processing talc at Gouverneur since Trish Limbaugh, Frostburg, Maryland will have slightly more iron by weight.—Eds.

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

Q When I fire larger pots to Cone 06 Let’s consider your clay first. If your clay Now let’s talk about the ware you are firing. (bisque) I use the slow firing cycle, which I is a porcelain body, it is relatively open. How thick is the thickest part of your work? assume will take more energy than the fast Porcelain bodies are about 50% clay and How wide, and how heavy, is your work? The or medium cycle. To save energy, at what 50% silica and feldspar, which are much lighter and thinner your work, the faster you temperature could I switch over to the fast coarser than clay. You can fire porcelain can fire it. Small commercial tile is routinely cycle (when will all water have disappeared) relatively rapidly to bisque temperature fired from bone dry to Cone 06 in well un- without taking the risk of losing my pots. without problems. der one hour! Almost no studio artists have Any and all information would be appreci- Stoneware or terra cotta without grog, on electric kilns capable of firing fast enough to ated.—C. W. the other hand, can be relatively tight and damage light, thin bone-dry ware. However, resistant to migration of water vapor out as your ware becomes larger and consequently The short answer to your question is that of the clay. Stoneware bodies are typically thicker, slower firings are required. Only you you should fire quite slowly until about 180° 80–95% clay. You may want to be more can judge the rate that is suitable. F (82° C). That will drive off all the free conservative in how fast you dry and fire Finally, you need to consider the design of water in the clay and assure you have bone such bodies. This is because, even after your kiln, and its source of heat. It is easy to dry ware in the kiln. To be conservative, you have driven off the free water, there is fire a gas kiln too fast early in the firing. This fire at about 150° F (67° C) per hour up to still water of hydration chemically bound is seldom a problem in an electric kiln. approximately 1000° F (550° C). This will to the kaolinite. Kaolinite is the primary Is the kiln vented? Gas kilns with plenty drive off any chemically bound water in the clay mineral in virtually all our clay bod- of excess air used in the bisque firing produce clay and also burn off any organic material ies except for the halloysite bodies like very clean bisque firings, because they are that may cause problems later. Above that Southern Ice porcelain. Kaolinite contains effectively self-venting. On the other hand, temperature, how rapidly you can safely fire about 14% by weight of water of hydra- an electric kiln which is unvented, or which will depend on three things: your clay, your tion. Relatively speaking, that’s quite a bit is stacked too tightly, will tend to produce ware and your kiln. of water to drive off. dirty bisque ware from a fast firing. You will

Ceramics Monthly March 2008 12 Ceramics Monthly March 2008 13 answers

see the result as glaze faults such as blisters. Stoneware or bodies with a lot of ball clay are more problematic in this respect than white firing bodies, because of the presence of larger amounts of organic matter in the clay. The reason commercial firings are so rapid is because commercial companies continually run tests in which they push the limits until they find out how fast is too fast to fire their particular work. I know of almost no studio artists who do this sort of testing, though we certainly could benefit from this sort of attention to efficiency. Here’s what you can do to really save energy in your kiln: Make a series of test tiles from thinner than the thinnest work you make to thicker than the thickest work you make. Design these tiles so they stand up, or put them in the kiln propped up against some kiln furniture, so they aren’t laying flat. This will imitate the work you actually ordinarily load into the kiln. Then, with nothing more in the kiln, fire these tiles until they are bone dry. At this point, take a deep breath, write down the time and temperature, and turn all the switches to high. Let the kiln fire to Cone 06 and record the time again. Then, after the kiln has cooled, examine the results. If the firing fails, do it again at a slower rate. I am certain you will be surprised to find that your clay body will stand up to a much faster firing than you expect. By the way, a kiln loaded with nothing but a few test tiles will fire like a rocket, so this will really be a rugged test of the clay. A fully loaded kiln will certainly fire more slowly, unless your kiln has a lot of extra power. Virtually all of us have had a wet pot blow up in a first firing. Yes, my face is red, but I will admit that I know what it’s like to vacuum the bits of clay out of the kiln elements so the elements wouldn’t burn in two in subsequent firings because of the clay keeping them too hot. This sort of failure makes us unreasonably conservative, so we fire more slowly than we really need to. As a result, we pay a lot higher gas or electric bill for our kiln than we need to. You are definitely on the right track to firing your bisque as fast and as safely possible. Dave Finkelnburg, Pocatello, ID Technical Editor, Ceramics Monthly Ceramics Monthly March 2008 14 Ceramics Monthly March 2008 15 suggestions e-mail suggestions to [email protected]

Small Waves, Big Results When you need three more pieces to start tip of the month a bisque firing, or have to do a throwing and trimming demo in two hours, you can “zap” wet Don’t Sweat the Drying pieces in a microwave to release the moisture. I I am a part-time teacher and ceramics artist, and part-time homemaker (or as I put pieces in for very short periods of time; a like to think, “domestic goddess”). Sometimes when I have the time to work and minute for a mug, ten seconds for a handle or need to trim, but my pots aren’t dry enough, I will set them on the sweater shelf of spout, or fifteen seconds for a lid. I then let it sit my clothes dryer and allow the warm air to circulate around the pots until they are in the air to steam. After the piece has cooled, I check the condition and repeat the cycle until the leather hard. This usually only takes 10–15 minutes and works perfectly! It results piece is ready to be trimmed. It works better to in nice, even drying, and the only limitation is the size of your dryer. repeat the short cycles than one long shot, since I’ve shared this what you are doing is boiling the water in the wet tip with several pot- clay.— Yoko Sekino-Bove, Washington, PA ters and they all love it. Most dryers now Broken Bisque Bits come with these Over the years I have tried to repair bisqued shelves (mine is fif- pieces that had sprigging accidently broken. I teen years old!). Hope usually glued the piece on and prayed that the it helps others with glaze would do the job (which rarely happened). home studios. Recently I discovered that using a small amount of paper clay with a drop of white glue mixed Congratulations to Peggy Breidenbach of in works like magic. I’ve done this three times, Indianapolis, Indiana. and I can’t tell the pieces were broken. I would Your subscription has hesitate to do this with a heavy piece—though been extended by I just might try it for fun.—Carmela Coleman, one year! Rehoboth Beach, DE

Ceramics Monthly March 2008 16 Ceramics Monthly March 2008 17 upfront reviews, news and exhibitions

18 Kensuke Yamada by Matthew Kangas Catherine Person Gallery, Seattle, Washington 20 Recollection: An Obsession with Collection and Craftsmanship by Scott Meyer Pittsburgh Glass Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 22 Exquisite Pots: Six Degrees of Collaboration Northern Clay Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota 22 Watershed Winter Residents 2007–2008 Clay Art Center, Port Chester, New York 24 From Dust to Decadence Boehm Gallery, Palomar College, San Marcos, California 26 Intimate and Universal Stories Lacoste Gallery, Concord, Massachusetts 26 Shadows of Collected Memories Olin Art Gallery, Washington and Jefferson College, Washington, Pennsylvania 28 The Greatest Show on Earth Three Rivers Arts Festival Gallery, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 28 Edge of Innocence: Louise Hindsgavl Drud and Køppe Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark 28 Ceramic Abstraction: Exploration and Evidence Creative Arts Workshop, New Haven, Connecticut

Clockwise from top left: “Boy on the Ground No. 2,” 22 in. (56 cm) in height, low-fire earthenware with colored slips and copper oxides, Cone 04, 2007. “Self- Portrait,” 26 in. (66 cm) in height, low-fire earthenware with colored slips and copper oxides, Cone 04, 2007. “Once Upon a Time,” 24 in. (61 cm) in height, low-fire earthenware with colored slips and copper oxides, Cone 04, 2007. “Kensuke Yamada: Yamadaville,” installation view at Catherine Person Gallery, 2007. Photo: Jenny Jenkins. “Boy on the Ground No. 1,” 22 in. (56 cm) in height, low-fire earthenware with colored slips and copper oxides, Cone 04, 2007. “Cinderella,” 37 in. (94 cm) in height, low-fire earthenware with colored slips and copper oxides, Cone 04, 2007. All works by Kensuke Yamada. All photos by Catherine Person Gallery unless noted.

Ceramics Monthly March 2008 18 “Super Hero No. 2,” 12 ½ in. (32 cm) in height, low-fire earthenware with colored slips and copper oxides, Cone 04, 2007; at Catherine Person Gallery, Seattle, Washington. review: Kensuke Yamada by Matthew Kangas

It’s rare that a graduate student has a solo gallery debut while in an interview the influence of the Cartoon Network, available still in school, but, then, ceramics graduate students are older on television in Japan when he was a child. these days. At 28, Japanese-born Kensuke Yamada is finishing To be fair, many of Yamada’s figures are not standing. Some up his first year under Beth Lo at University of Montana. After a are seated. Others, like “Super Hero No. 2” are reclining, like the group show at Catherine Person Gallery giant Buddha statues in India and (www.catherinepersongallery.com) in Japan. “Zoo Rider” is seated atop a Seattle, Washington, he was invited for blue elephant. “Boy on the Ground a single-artist survey of figurative work No. 2” has his hands on his knees he began last year. The results are prom- in a praying or supplication pose. ising, if strongly derivative of another By developing positioning of the artist, Akio Takamori. Yamada has met figures, he can distinguish himself the University of Washington profes- from Takamori even further. sor and visited his studio. Yamada took The clothing on the standing Takamori’s village-people idea, set them figures builds on Takamori’s allu- in groupings on raised platforms (like sions to Japanese textiles by playing Takamori’s), gave them more individual up colorfully patterned peasant facial features than Takamori’s, and lent clothing much more. Lots of hori- them colors, patterns and clothing of his zontal stripes (“Boy: Hello, Miss own palette. It is important to remem- Sunshine;” “Girl No. 1”) mix with ber that classical Asian art has never dots and dashes. Others sport polka been about originality or individuality; dots and diagonal stripes. These are copying the masters has always mattered not anthropologically correct outfits; and taken precedence. they are part of the artist’s fertile That said, given Yamada’s lifting imagination and memory. so much from Master Takamori, the “Boy Crossing Arms” has a eighteen sculptures were surprising poignant, defensive pose, as does and pleasingly different. Less stark “Boy on the Ground No. 1,” with than Takamori, they convey hopeful “Boy: Hello, Miss Sunshine,” 36 ½ in. (93 cm) in height, low-fire his arms crossed over his knees. His exuberance and facial expressions that earthenware with colored slips and copper oxides, Cone 04, 2007. eyes are closed in a sad reverie. “Girl border on the sad or sentimental. In a No. 2” stoops forward, laughing. In way Takamori never approaches, Yamada’s figures, because of “Heroes,” a child is carried on the figure’s back. That’s more their smaller scale, are almost cute. compelling than the figures with animal attachments, like “Girl: As such, they point up a dangerous dividing line between Chicken for Tonight” and “Everyday Thing.” Can a ceramic figurative ceramic sculpture and diminutive knick-knacks. When knick-knack be three feet high? Patti Warashina reduced the scale of her whiteware figures in the The promise and danger of the knick-knack summons up the early to mid-1980s, she undercut any cuteness with her violent, fate of another Montana artist, Ben Sams. The only ex-student scary subject matter. Even Yamada’s animal figures, like “Red Wild Rudy Autio was reluctant to acknowledge in lectures, Sams Cat,” “Blue Rabbit,” and “Wild Dog” have human faces, stretch- headed for a long spate of critters and kooky, cutesy figures in ing toward the province of cute even more. Yamada mentioned the 1970s. Garishly colored, they built on Autio’s worst faults

Ceramics Monthly March 2008 19 upfront and avoided the teacher’s strengths. Although Yamada has never studied with Takamori, the vulgarizing potential is there. Perhaps he would do better to emulate Professor Lo’s poetic treatment of her family heritage. Meanwhile, if Yamada can balance his flair for muted yet colorful surfaces with his gift for the figures’ expressive hand gesture and facial expressions, he may avoid Sams’ fate. Graduate school is one time, of course, when it’s okay to copy anybody. The marvel and miracle is that Yamada began by emulating Takamori and is now struggling for his own fully, individual artistic vision. With the mixed blessing of a sell-out show, Yamada is not home yet. However, he is launched on what could become a successful career. Move beyond the doll or potential knick-knack scale. Play down the cute, deepen the emotions, and all will be well. the author Matthew Kangas is a Seattle-based independent art critic who has written extensively about ceramics.

Recollection: An Obsession with Collecting Michael Rogers and Richard Hirsch’s “Grounded,” and Craftsmanship 23 in. (58 cm) in height, by Scott Meyer glass, ceramic, 2007; at Great conversations between individuals owe their quality to the Pittsburgh Glass Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. several key attributes. Of primary importance is the shared supposi- tion that a truth can be reached between participants, insight not accessible to the solitary individual. For over a year, ceramics artist Richard Hirsch and glass artist Michael Rogers have been involved in an extraordinary exchange, a Gestalt almost completely impossible to imagine when considering each artist’s personal path. On the surface, enough common ground for useful exchange between these two sensibilities might not have been anticipated. For- tunately, for both artists, surface is not skin-deep. What lies beneath, each object’s specific history, is evidenced in its rich and rustic shell. For both, the wear of time makes significance possible. The Japanese word wabi (a Zen Bhuddist philosophy reflecting a simple, somber, solitary beauty) is most applicable, providing for the artists a shared language. At the heart of their exchange is their obsession with collecting things. While the character of their treasures differs, once sought and salvaged, they are positioned carefully, loved, lived and savored again. These are the icons of other cultures, bygone utility and natural formation. From countless riches they are encouraged to speak, suggest, question and to mingle histories that were once separate. It is of no small importance that the artists share a “craft medium” heritage. Both clay and glass have their roots in utility and place a high value on process and careful manipulation. Though the interface between their contributions appears as a spontaneous jam session, the time for play, speculation and “productive disso- nance” is post-ceded by compromise, strategy and painstaking execution. It bears saying that the cornerstones

Michael Rogers and Richard Hirsch’s “Peek-a-Boo,” 24 in. (60 cm) of this music are trust, maturity and in height, glass, ceramic, 2007. gentle humor. continued

Ceramics Monthly March 2008 20 continued

Ceramics Monthly March 2008 21 upfront

If these artifacts are musical notes, Rogers and Hirsch have taken the stage together for the purpose of making jazz. They speak about their process like musicians. At the apex of full, rich careers, each is in thorough command of his instrument, secure within and therefore able to delight in the other’s assertions. The text of their interaction is a rhythmic question and answer, the substance and meaning of each piece is as much about the journey as it is about reaching accord. In fact, viewed in this first major exhibition of their collaboration, each piece feels like the consummation of one phrase, a momentary resting place that is stirred to further action by the next. Recollection: An Obsession with Collecting and Craftsmanship, the first major collaborative mixed-media exhibition by Michael Rogers and Richard Hirsch, will be on view through March 30 at the Pittsburgh Glass Center (www.pittsburghglasscenter.org) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Exquisite Pots: Six Degrees of Collaboration Margaret Bohl’s mug, Deb Schwartzkopf’s glazing and firing, 5 in. (12 cm) in height, porcelain, 2007. “Exquisite Pots: Six Degrees of Collaboration” will be on display through April 28 at the Northern Clay Center (www.northernclaycenter.org) in which each successive collaborator built on the preceding work without fully knowing what had come before,” said Kloppmann. “The process, based on an old game, celebrated unpredictable, chancy and occasionally startling results. It expanded the idea of collaboration from its usual consciously cooperative mode to an unconscious, ac- cidental level.” “For the past eight months, six artists who work in porcelain have been shipping bisque ware to one another, forms that are distinctive and representative of their individual work. Their collaborators have then glazed and fired the work in their particular glaze palettes. While the potters in this exhibition were able to see the forms they were finishing, the instruction to complete the pots in their own styles has resulted in a combination of forms and finishes that is occasionally as startling as a surrealist collage. “The resulting pots prompt us to think more carefully about the relationship between form and finish, and about the idea of collaboration—and finally about the aesthetic ‘ownership’ of a piece: Is it a Sam Chung teapot because of its distinctive form or has it become an Andrew Martin teapot because of the equally distinctive glazing?”

Watershed Winter Residents 2007–2008 “Watershed Winter Residents 2007–2008,” an annual exhibition featuring new works by recent resident artists at Watershed Center for

Top: Andrew Martin’s teapot, Maren Kloppmann’s glazing and firing, 12 in. (30 cm) in height, porcelain, 2007. Bottom: Sam Chung’s teapot, Andrew Martin’s glazing and firing, 8 in. (20 cm) in height, porcelain, 2007; at the Northern Clay Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Minneapolis, Minnesota. The exhibition includes collaborative works by Margaret Bohls, Andy Brayman, Sam Chung and Deborah Schwartz- kopf, as well as co-curators Maren Kloppmann and Andrew Martin.

“In the 1920’s, the Surrealists invented a technique for adding to Daniel Ricardo Teran’s “Condom Box,” 3 ½ in. (9 cm) in height, thrown Grolleg and completing compositions—in words, drawings and collages—in porcelain, underglaze, underglaze pencil, cobalt/iron oxide, silver luster.

Ceramics Monthly March 2008 22 Ceramics Monthly March 2008 23 upfront

Ceramic Art (www.watershedceramics.org) in Newcastle, Maine, will be on view March 1–22 at the Clay Art Center (www.clayartcenter.org) in Port Chester, New York. The artists will be exhibiting new work made during their residencies at Watershed. “Each year the Clay Art Center takes the opportunity to showcase the emerging talents coming out of the Watershed Winter Residency program,” said Clay Art Center program director Leigh Taylor Mick-

Rain Harris’ “ Bliss,” 13 ½ in. (34 cm) in height, porcelain, plexiglass, luster, glass, 2006.

College’s Boehm Gallery (www.palomar.edu/art/boehmgallery.html) in San Marcos, California. “Ceramics is one of humankind’s most basic materials, allowing man the power not only to create but to record,” said Reibstein. “We have used clay as one of the primary means to unearth information about how primitive societies lived through the vessels they used or sculptures they left behind. What will future generations be able to

Misty Gamble’s “Maddy Matches,” 32 in. (81 cm) in height, hollow built, multi-fired stoneware, underglaze, oxides, stains; at Clay Art Center, Port Chester, New York. elson. “This year’s exhibition will feature Misty Gamble, Monica Leap, Krisaya Luenganantakul, Elisavet Papatheodorou, Daniel Ricardo Teran and Adero Willard. Watershed is a residency/retreat that provides artists with time and space to create in clay. They serve artists from across the country and abroad. Watershed’s unique niche grows out of its small and intimate communal approach to a non-hierarchi- cal, process-oriented environment for experimentation, exploration, collaboration and growth. “Watershed’s approach to freedom in art-making is evident in this year’s artists chosen for winter residency. The exhibition will feature everything from abstract wall works and installations, to compelling figurative sculpture, to provocative vessels and functional pottery. Every year this exhibition offers a wide array of visual and mental stimulation, and every year we look forward to what might arrive.”

From Dust to Decadence

“From Dust to Decadence,” an invitational exhibition curated by Peter Pincus’ Lidded Jar, 17 in. (43 cm) in height, Sasha K. Reibstein, will be on view through March 4 at Palomar white stoneware, Cone 5 oxidation, 2007.

Ceramics Monthly March 2008 24 Ceramics Monthly March 2008 25 upfront deduce about our lifestyles from the ceramic objects we are now creating? In selecting artists for this exhibition, I wanted to reflect on the answer to that question.” “Exhibiting artists’ works explore objects and their perception, relationships, identity, intimacy, humor, environmental hierarchy, politics and our strained relationship with nature and ourselves. “Artists Peter Pincus, Rain Harris and Charlie Cummings are working traditionally by creating vessels but giving their own unique perspective on the object, form and its function. Peter Pincus’ pots

Margaret Keelan’s “Swan,” 26 in. (66 cm) in height, clay, glaze, stains; at Lacoste Gallery, Concord, Massachusetts.

out the trajectory of our lives...Keelan’s surface treatment, which em- bodies this metaphor, is a key element of her powerful imagery. With patience and skill, she fuses fragmented clay shards to the surface of her sculpture and layers ceramic glazes, slips and oxides to achieve an antiqued and decaying wood-like surface that disconnects her figures from time and place. And, set with snakes, birds, animals and babies, her figures hint at natural and magical forces.”

Shadows of Collected Memories “Shadows of Collected Memories,” a solo exhibition of new work by Ilena Finocchi, will be on view March 7–April 6 at the Olin Art

Charlie Cumming’s “Frenzy,” 15 in. (38 cm) in height, earthenware, screenprinted decals, 2007; at Palomar College’s Boehm Gallery, San Marcos, California. address fashion and relationships, the pinstripe suit and polka dot skirt. Charlie Cumming’s retro futuristic vessels reflect on modern proclivities with decaled garbage flies, enormous ants and candy-colored kiss mark icons covering their brightly glazed surfaces.”

Intimate and Universal Stories “Intimate and Universal Stories,” was recently on view at Lacoste Gallery (www.lacostegallery.com) in Concord, Massachusetts. The exhibition featured works by ceramics artist Margaret Keelan and mixed-media artist Dawn Southworth. “Margaret Keelan’s small figurative ceramic sculptures reference nineteenth and twentieth century children’s dolls and colonial ‘santos’ Ilena Finocchi’s “Tricycle Memories,” 24 in. (61 cm) in height, translucent slipcast figures from Mexico and Central America,” said Lucy Lacoste. “They porcelain, wood, electrical lighting; at Olin Art Gallery, Olin Center for the Arts, speak of the beauty and inevitability of the aging process, mapping Washington and Jefferson College, Washington, Pennsylvania.

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Gallery at Washington and Jefferson College (www.washjeff.edu) in Washington, Pennsylvania. “I will be creating an environment through the use of installation and ceramic sculpture,” said Finocchi. “All the work blends as a cohesive body based upon the ideas of shadows. Half of the exhibition will feature installation of lighted porcelain bottles that reflect memories of my dad, who passed away in the summer of 2006. “The other portion of the work will be utilizing monochromatic sculptural pieces. Meticulously carved bones, tools and other objects will cast shadows on multiple levels, carved surfaces, objects created out of multiples of other objects and the shadows they create in their environment.”

The Greatest Show on Earth “The Greatest Show on Earth” will be on view March 17–22 at the Three Rivers Arts Festival Gallery (www.artsfestival.net) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Louise Hindsgavl’s “Who Believes in Miracles,” 12 in. (31 cm) in height, porcelain, 2007 ; at Drud & Køppe Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark. and distasteful because the substance of these creatures is tortured and twisted by another creature, in a physical, psychological power- game. Hindsgavl parades the paradoxes, the madness, the stupidity and the horrors of modern civilization without being judgmental or supercilious. In her figures, the dynamic and sculptural scenes, combined with the subtlety of her titles, playfully allow the viewer an opportunity to either laugh or cry, at the same time. And that is Left: Brendan Tang’s “Gookie Jar,” 10 ½ in. (26 cm) in height, white earthenware, a rare artistic quality. wood, fortune cookies, 2005. Right: Ben Ahlvers’ “Victor Ahlvers,” 18 in. (46 cm) in height, terra cotta, glaze, wire, 2007; at the Three Rivers Arts Festival Gallery, “The bases have changed over the years, from being a simple Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. dais, to become a much more actively integral part of the narrative and the interaction between the creatures. Together the animated The Greatest Show on Earth is a themed exhibition about the figures and their bases constitute their universes. The bases there- circus and the carnival, celebrating the history of the outcast in society. fore enhance the significance beyond being simply a dais, ora The show will feature a wide range of functional, sculptural and instal- stage being merely a platform. In this exhibition, Hindsgavl also lation ceramic works by emerging and nationally recognized artists. incorporates other materials and color glazes that further underlines This show was organized by a small group of former residents of The the innocent whiteness of the porcelain. Something new and yet Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts in Helena, Montana. traditional is going on.”

The Edge of Innocence: Louise Hindsgavl Ceramic Abstraction: “The Edge of Innocence,” a solo exhibition of new work by Lou- Exploration and Evidence ise Hindsgavl, was recently on display at Drud & Køppe Gallery “Ceramic Abstraction: Exploration and Evidence,” a juried exhibi- (www.drud-koppe.com) in Copenhagen, Denmark. tion featuring the work of Nicholas Kripal, Judit Varga and Nicho- “Louise Hindsgavl has been doing it for years, now...working in a tradition of porcelain figurines, or conversation pieces that are indeed both extremely eye-catching and conversational, inviting reflection or perhaps even some introspective musings,” said gallery owner Birgitte Drud. “She challenges the tradition of figurines with these cute, nasty, vulgar, alarming, disgusting and absurd scenarios. Light and delicate, due to their smallness and the white porcelain, they underscore the uplifting sense of an increased social standing through the very pres- Nicholas Wood’s “Water Story #8,” 13 in. (33 cm) in height, clays, resins, ence of this quality material. Her storytelling pieces are nauseating colorants, wood.

Ceramics Monthly March 2008 28 Ceramics Monthly March 2008 29 upfront las Wood, was on display recently at the Creative Arts Workshop Varga works more (www.creativeartsworkshop.org) in New Haven, Connecticut. Juror with the clay material Paula Winokur chose works that exemplify the clay material as an itself. “My work has a elemental substance inherently capable of abstraction. The material strong connection with is not only explored in the traditional sense—using a variety of clays, nature and its organic glazes and firing temperatures—but also by the concepts and ideas structures, which is beyond the ordinary. built upon,” said Varga. Wood’s “Tablet” series are compositions adapted from his draw- “I’m not interested in ings and expressed in sculptural terms. “With a background as a simply copying the painter prior to my involvement in sculptural media, I find my work forms and textures. frequently manifests itself in hybrid forms with its relationship to Rather, I wish to un- painting and sculpture,” said Wood. “I have always been intrigued derstand the reasons by the dimensional, spatially interactive nature of sculptural form, and relations which lay yet also drawn to the frontal, illusionistic quality which painting’s beneath the surface of a shiny pod or a weather- worn shell.This collection of works is Judit Varga’s “Collection of Small Objects,” 25 in. (63 cm) in height, high-fired colored clay; at a record of my long Creative Arts Workshop, New Haven, Connecticut. journey with the clay to create delicate multilayered surfaces; shells with textures and patterns; paper thin porcelain skins with rigid structures.”

Submissions to the Upfront column are welcome. We would be pleased to consider press releases, artists’ statements and images in conjunction with exhibitions or other events of interest for publication. Images should be high-resolution digital on CD, or original (not duplicate) slides or transparencies. Mail to Ceramics Monthly, 600 N. Cleveland Ave., Suite 210, Westerville, OH 43082.

click and collect pay a virtual visit to the galleries in this issue

American Museum of Ceramic Art, Pomona, California www.ceramicmuseum.org Armstrong’s Gallery, Pomona, California www.armstronggallery.net Boehm Gallery, Palomar College, San Marcos, California www.palomar.edu/art/boehmgallery.html Catherine Person Gallery, Seattle, Washington www.catherinepersongallery.com Clay Art Center, Port Chester, New York Nicholas Kripal’s “Pool Labyrinth,” 52 in. (132 cm) in diameter, terracotta. www.clayartcenter.org surfaces yield...While the initial choices of imagery and composition Creative Arts Workshop, New Haven, Connecticut www.creativeartsworkshop.org are conceptually established, the work is structurally open enough to Drud and Køppe Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark pose a variety of interpretations. It is about presenting multiple layers www.drud-koppe.com and readings and, for me, floats in a state that, like abstraction itself, Icheon World Ceramic Center, Icheon, South Korea esteems ambiguity and discovery.” www.wocef.com Kripal will create an installation specifically to react to the Creative Lacoste Gallery, Concord, Massachusetts Art Workshop’s gallery space. “Specifically—but not exclusively—I www.lacostegallery.com have created sculptural installations within sacred spaces,” said Kripal. Northern Clay Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota “I am interested in the history of the site, the religious rites that take www.northernclaycenter.org place within there, and the architectural iconography of the site. The Olin Art Gallery, Washington and Jefferson College, Washington, Pennsylvania last is of particular interest as it operates as a signifier for the other www.washjeff.edu two. Unlike traditional exhibitions in white box gallery spaces, these Pittsburgh Glass Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania sited installations involve interaction with the site’s congregation, www.pittsburghglasscenter.org and extensive research and development for preliminary proposals Three Rivers Arts Festival Gallery, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that describe and negotiate the conceptual and aesthetic integration www.artsfestival.net of the sculpture to the site.”

Ceramics Monthly March 2008 30 Ceramics Monthly March 2008 31 From Average to Excellent by Marc Leuthold, with Sarah G. Wilkins

During the Renaissance, artists and their aristocratic patrons had strong ideas about quality in art. Michelangelo’s story of patronage by the Medici family illustrates how people in Florence and Rome responded to great art in the sixteenth century. When his “David” was unveiled, its excellence was so obvious that citizens papered the site of the statue with flowers and notes exclaiming, “You have given us our self respect…We are proud to be Florentines…Bravo!” Lorenzo de Medici’s daughter gushed, “Everything my father hoped to accomplish for Florence is expressed in your David.” Today it is hard for us to imagine the impact of this singular work. Floren- tine citizens literally began to record the timing of events relative to “The Unveiling.” Historians attributed a subsequent flowering of trade and culture directly to this magnificent sculpture. In Japan, great ceramics are similarly revered. Most houses and apartments have small spaces for a treasured ceramic vessel holding a

This piece was created by Ceramics 3 student Chantel Torrey. The focus of Ceramics 2 and 3 courses is on traditional and nontraditional solutions to functional and nonfunctional forms generated on the potter’s wheel.

Ceramics Monthly March 2008 32 “Wall Service,” 60 in. (152 cm) in width, glazed earthenware, mixed media, by Mary Wilmart, tutorial student. At SUNY Potsdam, tutorial courses focus on the development of a personal artistic voice.

flower arrangement. At some museums, visitors can have tea served I have never felt comfortable giving high praise or high marks in a bowl selected from the teahouse collection. One New Year’s merely because I happen to “like” a student’s project. That seems Day ritual centers around a great pot which may contain tea with unfair to students and undermines their goal of finding an indi- flecks of real gold leaf floating on the surface. vidual artistic voice. Haven’t we all seen student work that looks Japanese ceramics have long been part of Western collections. too much like their instructor’s? In addition to qualitative issues, From the early twentieth century onward, Japanese pottery tech- helping students avoid making derivative work is a priority. How niques and aesthetics, promoted by Bernard Leach and others, have can I teach them to know when their work is original and above profoundly influenced the arts. Today the worldwide reverence average, and when it falls below the mark? for Japanese ceramics is unquestioned. The quality is visible. You Young people taking introductory college courses typically can see it. Or you can learn to see it, with guidance. However, don’t know when they are making good work. Earlier in their lives discernment is not an easy thing to teach. educators have taught from the perspective that judgment inhibits It is especially difficult to teach this in our culture, which holds student creativity. While appropriate then, I believe that the op- that the value and quality of art is a matter of personal opinion; that posite is true later on. At the college level, educators have a duty it’s entirely subjective. How do you educate young people to make to instill critical criteria to give adult students the tools for making art when many have never been to a museum and the majority grow good judgments. Critiques are essential to the process. up without original art in their homes? And, of course, students in Future artists first need to learn to balance the brainstorming, college classes expect the results of their diverse artistic efforts to execution and resolution stages of the creative process. Then they equate to single letter grades. This is the challenge to educators. submit their efforts to the court of public opinion. The moment

Ceramics Monthly March 2008 33 of having work judged can be stressful. When their projects are critiqued students Three criteria for grading learn to balance the opinions of others with their own. Eventually they begin to value critique as a useful feedback loop, rather Interpretation and Focus than becoming dependent on approval or Does the presented piece solve the problem? If we are working on a crushed by disapproval. slab construction with autobiographical overtones and someone does pinch When students can finally trust their own technique with political themes, it does not solve the given problem, no viewpoint, then they have developed a more matter how brilliant. Sometimes I have to say, “If you write a perfect sonnet on a calculus test, would you expect to get credit for it?” So students learn critical and objective eye. They have gradu- to respond in a relevant way. ated to higher states of artistic freedom. But throughout their lives as artists they will Craftsmanship need to be receptive to other opinions. After Is the piece well made or is it shoddily put together? Does it appear all, art is a form of communication of ideas, to be finished? I compare the students to building contractors completing as well as personal expression. every item on a customer’s punch list. While some may see this as obsessive, For beginning ceramics students, my the attention to final detail is essential to creating work that is resolved approach to critiques is formally structured. and confident. When projects are presented to the group, Often students feel that art should be judged only on the basis of effort. But in other academic courses, do students who provide inaccurate students pair up with a partner and are as- answers to problems receive full credit just because they worked hard? In signed two pieces to analyze. They examine ceramics, if a student puts in a lot of effort, it should be obvious in terms the work, take notes and plan a brief presen- of craftsmanship. Strong craftsmanship can elevate a piece from average to tation to share with the class. The identity of above-average. But it is still no guarantee of overall excellence. the makers is temporarily withheld. When I start talking about these issues in Ceramics 1, students are In presenting their ideas, the pair is asked usually working with earthenware that they made themselves two days to assess strengths and weaknesses with an earlier. We all know how unruly new clay can be with cracks developing at every moment. Perhaps as a result, students equate smooth surfaces emphasis on aesthetics and ideas rather than with good craftsmanship, so it is important to show examples of great technique. They decide whether the work is works with a variety of textures to illustrate that they can move beyond nonobjective, representational or abstract. this simplistic idea. They also interpret content, exploring what they think the work means, as well as func- Engaging the Viewer tion, determining how it is used. This is the important one. This one goes deeper. Engaging the viewer is In this style of formal critique, the class the most difficult goal. As a group, we talk about “creating a memorable evaluates the work using three primary crite- viewing experience.” If artists create something that is remembered, then ria: solving the problem, craftsmanship and they have succeeded. How do we create objects that people will want to protect and cherish engaging the viewer. (These criteria are the rather than set out on the curb to be hauled away? Why do we remember same that I use in giving grades to individu- these pieces? What characteristics constitute “aesthetic qualities” in con- als for projects and for the course). temporary ceramics? What draws us into the work? Although a structured format may seem We all remember “David,” “Starry Night” and the “Mona Lisa.” If quality tedious, there are numerous advantages. in art is entirely subjective, then why do students remember these same First, all students participate. All the work works of art? If quality is so debatable, then how can museums exist? How is discussed. Plus, less-confident students would anyone decide what should be in the collections? In response to these ideas, some people say that students mention gain experience in speaking publicly and the Van Goghs, the Rembrandts, and the Michelangelos because they are sharing valuable ideas that would otherwise programmed to view these artists’ works as icons. And so students readily remain unavailable to the class. Finally, the supply them as examples of great art when asked. I believe that if students instructor facilitates rather than dominates were not moved by these pieces, they would not remember them and the class discussion. certainly would not be able to recall them by title and artist. These artists I often ask students in critiques to pick one created a memorable viewing experience—all the more remarkable since piece that “pops” for them; the one that jumps students usually only see a reproduction of the artworks. People seldom out. Students pick the piece that they notice remember things after the exam unless there is an impact. first, rather than their favorite. During the crit, I encourage them to express their views in more objective language so that constructive criticism focuses on the artwork, not the maker.

Ceramics Monthly March 2008 34 focus education

Humor

Personal Narrative

Some artists make literal statements with universal appeal. Laura Jean What engages us initially McLaughlin’s figurative could be the humor or irony sculptures take advan- in the work. Robert Arne- tage of handbuilt clay’s son’s (shown) and Clayton natural tendency to turn Bailey’s wickedly comical whimsical and down- bombastic heads come to right funky when shaped mind. Can anyone forget by a personal narrative. Bailey’s “anthropological Jack Earl’s (shown) find,” the Cyclops skull? epic characters—the adventurous “Bill” and hapless “Sackman”—are unforgettable.

Sculptural Energy

The viewer may be attracted by a raw expressionist quality, as in the direct handbuilding of Peter Voulkos and the brazen, splashed-on glazing of sculptor Xavier Toubes. Ken Vavrek (shown) and Margie Hughto use a clay collage technique that appears casual and spontaneous despite careful construction.

Ceramics Monthly March 2008 35 Surface Features Visually rich surfaces always excite the senses. Kurt Weiser’s densely decorated vessels are feats of painting on porcelain. We marvel at James Makins’ (shown) uniquely expressive throwing rings. Linda Sikora’s complex glaze patterns transform her porcelain pottery into high-energy optical fields of color.

reaction like that, I do recognize quality when I see it and I believe this sensibility can be imparted to others. It is not enough to teach technique at university level. Students must also come to appreciate qualitative issues in order to grow as artists. This happens through the group critique process and through the instructor’s ver- bal and written feedback to students. Intermediate and advanced students also benefit from individual review sessions during the semester. At the end it is obvious to all of us which pieces are the most Encouraging a critical perspective can be problematic for a successfully resolved. Invariably students are drawn to the few teacher—especially in a culture that promotes the idea that a stu- that are most visually engaging, and they can identify one or two standouts that deserve a rating of unqualified excellence. After a few of these critiques, students start to understand Level of Detail and trust their judgment about quality. They develop their intuition—an essential tool for creating art. This process of evaluation is a neglected dimension of our art education system. Without an awareness of how and why successful pieces work, it is much more difficult to create engaging art. The strategies I use to sharpen students’ thinking skills developed over a period of time. When I first started teaching ceramics twenty years ago, I graded more subjectively, more intuitively. I didn’t realize that I could offer more to my students. Later, I began to consciously teach students to understand qualitative issues in art through a more collaborative and interactive approach. A colleague of mine says that when she sees an exciting work of art the hairs on her arms stand up. While I don’t have a physical

Sometimes the sheer complexity of detail fascinates, as in Matt Nolen’s large boldly painted installations. Adrian Saxe’s extravagant mixed media assemblages of pan-cultural historical reference challenge the viewer’s knowledge of history and powers of association. In a more abstract vein, David MacDonald’s (shown) quiet works seduce the viewer with intricately carved African- inspired patterns.

Ceramics Monthly March 2008 36 focus education

Refinement The opposite aesthetic quality may be seen in a level of refinement that is quite elegant and seductive. Mag- dalena Odundo’s black terracotta sculptures are pure minimalist abstraction. Hans Coper (shown) takes the vessel to transcendent heights.

Social Message/Cultural Critique

Occasionally there is an overriding social message intended, as in Neil Tetkowski’s (shown) “World Mandala” at the UN, a symbol of harmony incorporating clay from every country in the world. Paul Mathieu Scale mines traditional ceramic idioms to address issues of contemporary art, crafts and culture, intending to confuse viewer response to conventions.

The scale of the work can be the most arresting feature. Steven Montgomery (shown) combines several clay techniques in large sculptures with industrial references. Lawson Oyekan hand builds with piles of small clay patties to make freestanding sculptures so large they require oversized kilns.

Ceramics Monthly March 2008 37 dent is a customer rather than a scholar. This consumerist model does not serve students Coil and Carve Project well if they truly want to learn and grow. The fact is, one cannot buy an education. Rather, paying tuition affords the opportunity to earn an education. Helping students understand qualitative issues in art allows us to focus on growth rather than grades during the course. How- ever in the current academic system grades are a reality, so I use the criteria previously mentioned for this form of evaluation (see sidebar on page 34). The goal of an artist is to create a memorable visual and emotional experience for others while at the same time expressing something meaningful and important from within. After all, creating art and sharing it

The two works above are coil and carve project creations. with others is what artists do. The piece on the left is by Christine Ely and the piece on the right is by Colden McClurg. Art that is not memorable is forgotten. Art that is not inspiring goes to the landﬁll. I sometimes think of Mississippi “outsider Using thick coils (2½ inches in diameter) create a form that is hollow artist” George Ohr, who made gorgeous and at least 15 inches high. The bottom may be open or closed. Coils pots with lyrical folds and handles that need to be scored and slipped when they are attached. Blend the coils people in his own time were unwilling to together so that they are invisible. You cannot build your form in one appreciate because he was from a rural area work session because the clay is too soft at this stage. Build in phases, and had a somewhat conceited, defensive allowing the form to firm up as you go. Build the walls at least 2 inches personality. Thankfully he knew he was thick. Please measure your walls because 2 inches is a lot thicker than on to something and packed hundreds of most people realize. his “mud babies” away. When an antique After you have built your basic form, dry it slowly until leather hard. car dealer from New Jersey came looking Then carve the walls down until they are 1 inch thick or less. Maximize for vintage autos, he discovered Ohr’s pots the possibilities at this stage with deep sculptural carving, undercuts instead. This smart man knew the pots were and pierced voids. great art and this paved the way for the You may subtract from the inside, the outside, or some combination rediscovery of Ohr. I often use this example of both. Your knife and trimming tools will be a big help but feel free to to inspire students to “make something improvise. With 2-inch-thick walls you will have a lot of room to carve. that viewers will appreciate for centuries Think about negative space. Consider the relationship between interior to come.” and exterior spaces. Think about the top, bottom and all other areas When students, and perhaps a larger of your object. Consider all areas as an opportunity to create interest. audience, are acquainted with these criteria, You can slice and reattach any part of your piece to another portion they see that assessing art is not just subjec- of the sculpture. This will enable you to generate more complex forms. tive. Quality is a phenomenon in scientiﬁc Remember to score and slip thoroughly. research, in literature, in design and in all The content/subject matter of this work is open. You can explore the disciplines. Why not in art as well? pattern, abstraction, representational imagery and function. Relief work Educators can teach—and students can is an option. Think about what forms are easiest to make using coil con- learn to discern—quality in art. struction and how you can avoid those forms so that your piece is more original. You can turn your sculpture at any time so that the bottom is the authors Marc Leuthold teaches Ceramics the top and so on. This will open up all sorts of possibilities. and Foundations at the State University of New York at Potsdam. Sarah G. Wilkins is a painter and writer based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Ceramics Monthly March 2008 38 Angelo Garzio, professor emeri- Garzio showed his work in om Barr tus of ceramics at Kansas State T more than ffty national and University, passed away in Man- international solo exhibitions hattan, Kansas, on January 20, Photo: and presented lectures and 2008. A master potter and inno- workshops across the nation vator in glaze formulas, Garzio and in Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, built an international reputation Nigeria and Spain. A writer as for his work in incised and re- well as a potter, he authored sist-decorated stoneware. Often more than twenty essays for Ce- incorporating animal imagery, ramics Monthly, American Craft, in particular single fish drawn in Korea Journal, New Zealand profile, his designs are abstractly Potter, Cerámica, and Bolletino rendered in wiry contours and del Museo Internozionale della energetic dashes of line. Ceramiche di Faenza. He also Born in 1922 in Mirabello regularly reviewed books on Sannitico, Italy, Garzio im- ceramics for Choice: Current migrated with his family to Reviews for Academic Libraries. Syracuse, New York, at the age Garzio was a member of the of seven. In his early twenties Mid-West Designer Craftsmen, during World War II, he served the Kansas Designer/Craftsmen for four years in the Pacific flying in a U. S. Army Air Force B-26 Association and the Phi Mu Alpha Music Honorary. Examples of bomber. Later, under the G.I. Bill, he attended Syracuse University, his pottery are housed in the collections of the Museum of Arts & where he earned dual bachelor’s degrees in 1949 in Library Science and Design, New York City, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, in Music, Art and Literature. He worked briefly as a reference librarian Washington, DC. at Syracuse University and played the French horn profes- sionally with the symphony orchestras of Syracuse, Utica and Rochester, New York as well as Bridgeport, Connecticut. Garzio’s interests were diverse, and in 1950 he earned a Diploma de Proffito in Art History at the University of Florence. Returning to the United States, he studied briefly at the University of Chicago and then at the University of Iowa, where he earned an M.A. in Art History in 1954 and an M.F.A. in Ceramics in 1955 under the mentorship of Glen Nelson. Receiving an invitation to spend the following year as an artist-potter at the famous Arabia factory, Garzio traveled to Helsinki, Finland. Then in 1957 he was hired as an assistant professor of ceramics at Kansas State University, where he would teach for more than thirty years. He received tenure and promotion to associate professor in 1962 and was promoted to full professor in 1966. In 1972, he was the first representative of the humanities to receive the university’s Distinguished Graduate Faculty Award. Over the course of his career he received four Fulbright Senior Lectureships to teach as a visiting Lidded Jar, 7½ in. (19 cm) in height; Pitcher 7 in. (18 cm) in height; professor or lecturer at universities in Lahore, Pakistan; Seoul, and Soup Bowls, 3 in. (8 cm) in height, all stoneware, 2006, by Angelo Garzio. Korea; Zaria, Nigeria and Obera, Argentina. Photo: courtesy Strecker-Nelson Gallery, Manhattan, Kansas.

Ceramics Monthly March 2008 39

Kelly King’s Untamable Subconscious

by Jennifer Graff

Ceramics Monthly March 2008 40 Kelly King is an artist concerned with fusing unique functional forms with personal content. Her recent covered jars, platters and other vessels serve as familiar utilitarian objects as well as canvases for her innermost ideas. Images of dogs, bundles of birds and sinewy intestines intermingle on the surfaces and ask us to unravel their technical and symbolic mysteries. King’s utilitarian forms are reminiscent of traditional works in clay, yet they achieve a personal and contemporary sense of design. Though the forms initially read as functional pitchers, vases and covered jars, they also easily refer to architectural elements due to their slab construction and vertically stacked components. The forms become metaphors themselves as they gently make reference to the dwellings of the figures and animals that inhabit them. For example, a covered jar can suggest a house for the dogs pictured on the pot while a platter can suggest a nest for a bird. Though often architectural, King’s slab work remains fluid as she lets the forms slightly shift where they want to. She is at ease with clay as she allows her building process to be revealed. The pots show seams, slight imperfections and the presence of her hands. King’s carefully crafted slab vessels are made with a creamy white Cone 10 porcelain clay body. They are intentionally under fired to Cone 6 in an electric kiln. The clay is not brought to vitrification in order to achieve a stonier clay surface, which provides contrast to the glossy glazes. This process also allows for multiple firings and prevents the porcelain from warping. Being able to fire repeatedly is “Nestle, Nuzzle, Run for Cover,” 9 in. (23 cm) in height, important to King because she will often spontaneously draw or add glaze around slab-built Cone 10 porcelain, fired to Cone 6, china components of previously fired pieces. paints, 2006. The delicate and calligraphic images of dogs, birds and bones are born out of a love for drawing. King’s style of line is confident yet relaxed, as if she were drawing privately in a sketchbook no one would ever see. In addition to linear drawings, King uses the technique of stippling. This employs the use of a small brush that places hundreds of dots in a given space. What is interesting about King’s use of the technique is that she creates the positive shapes, or the focal areas, with the absence of dots. These stippled surfaces create an amazing sense of energy. The drawings of various images are imposed on the surface with a black “ink” made of cobalt-free Mason stain and flux. King uses this on the bare clay surface as well as on a satin white glaze (see recipe on page 45). The black drawings on white clay read like words on a page, but just as importantly, strategic splashes of glossy red, mustard yellow and olive green commercial glazes vibrate on the surface. The glazes, along with the “ink,” are fired to Cone 6. China paints and gold luster are used in later low-temperature firings for more intense areas of color. King credits her subconscious for the mix of imagery on her pots. She is an intuitive artist who has developed the ability to let go and allow what is in her subconscious to come to the surface. She doesn’t question where the work is coming from, she just makes it. This uncommon ability allows for a truly personal point of view in her work. Images of dogs, birds, figures, intestines and bones appear because they have real meaning for her; they live in her subconscious. King believes she has come to understand the meaning in the images by processing them long after making them. Dogs have frequently appeared in King’s work throughout the years. She has a deep reverence for dogs and has kept them as pets her entire life. Canines were first used in the work out of a general fascination for their bodies. She was preoccupied with their postures and how this emphasized their joints. Over time, the dogs would transform from mere anatomical studies into wolfike creatures that symbolized the subconscious. King learned that the presence of dogs insinuates that there is something untamable and inherently wild in all of us.

Ceramics Monthly March 2008 41 Birds are another type of animal that grace the surfaces of King’s work. They are ever present in many of the pieces although they are often small, obscured and drawn in convoluted clusters. This serves to make them subordinate to other drawings and to appear as decorative elements. Birds have become sym- bols of beauty and domesticity for King as they have strong associations with the home and childbearing. She is the mother of two small children and describes the presence of birds as the archetypal wren; a small nonpredatory songbird that primarily nests and feeds. The images are not exclusive to dogs and birds and often include other domesticated animals and animals that are raised primarily for consumption. They are all found interact- ing with the occasional figure, which may only be introduced in the form of a bending arm or the bust of an ambiguous female. However, there are subtle questions raised about the relationship of animals to humans. The cast of characters curiously pose with images of intestines, repetitions of cell-like forms, and oozing patches of glaze. These almost grotesque elements, juxtaposed against the exquisitely drawn animals, metaphorically speak about King’s idea of beauty; that the beauty of a rose could not exist without the rotten compost from which it grows. Pre- senting both the beautiful and the horrible at once is a quality that King wants in her work. She says in the end, the opposite forces become a metaphor for the self. King credits all things baroque in influencing the architectural style of the slab-built forms, as well as the decorative nature of the surfaces. In both architecture and painting, the Baroque era was everything dynamic, ornate, theatrical and extravagant. She was greatly affected by once stumbling upon a book of Baroque knives and dag- gers where carvings of animals were woven into the handles of the weapons. King feels motherhood is a strong influence in the work as well, because the pots became more utilitarian and intimate after the arrival of her children. King initially focused on drawing as a student in the art-education program at the University of Georgia in Athens. Being “Dig and Drag,” 12 in. (30 cm) in height, slab-built Cone 10 porcelain, fired to Cone 6, china paints, 2007. around the likes of Ron Meyers, Michael Si-

Ceramics Monthly March 2008 42 “Bounty,” 15 in. (38 cm) in width, slab-built Cone 10 porcelain, fired to Cone 6, china paints, 2007.

Ceramics Monthly March 2008 43 “Birds and Bones,” 7 in. (18 cm) in height, slab-built Cone 10 porcelain, fired to Cone 6, china paints, 2006, by Kelly King, Tifton, Georgia.

Ceramics Monthly March 2008 44 recipe

Val Cushing Satin White (Cone 6) Talc ...... 9 % Whiting...... 16 Frit 3124 ...... 9 Custer Feldspar ...... 40 EPK Kaolin...... 10 Silica (Flint)...... 16 100 % Add: Bentonite...... 1 %

mon, Ted Saupe and Andy Nasisse prompted King to take a ceramics course near the end of her program. King would soon complete her art-education degree, but as any clay enthusiast would understand, she instantly connected with the material of clay. Her immediate facility with the material gained her acceptance into the University of Georgia’s graduate program in ceramics the next year. She completed her M.F.A. in 2003. King currently works as an independent artist in Tifton, Georgia, where she lives with her Draw, Paint, Fire, repeat husband and two children. King’s work is interesting and pertinent by Kelly King contemporary ceramic art. It inspires us to I use various techniques that combine painterly surfaces with more interact with it because it is not oppressively tightly rendered images and designs. With each firing, the composition strange, nor is it so ordinarily beautiful that is slowly built upon. it becomes incidental. We embrace the pots I begin by drawing on leather-hard clay with black mason stain because they are accessible forms. We are using a fine-tipped brush.I find that drawing on the clay at this stage challenged by the pots because they carry so- allows for a more fluid, calligraphic line. After the bisque, a palette phisticated content. The work draws familiar of several commercial glazes that combine well with Satin White is parallels to every human life, and therefore applied in layers. These glazes are applied using a flat soft brush for it becomes eternal. The rare gift of this work wider coverage and a round bamboo brush to create more of a linear monthly metho d s is that it completes a cycle of creativity be- effect and spontaneous drips. I often scrape away exterior layers to tween artist and viewer. The artist gives us a reveal areas of pure color before firing the piece to Cone 6. The glazing unique vision that we bring to life by truly process may be repeated, depending upon the desired effect. seeing it. I consider the drips and splatters that occur in both the glazing Kelly King is represented by galleries in the and firing processes to be an opportunity for further drawing. Using southeastern United States including the Signature low-fire china paints (Hobby Colorobbia ThirdF iring Color) and very Shop and Gallery (www.thesignatureshop.com) small round brush, I apply tiny dots to create both the linear designs in Atlanta, Georgia. and the stippled areas. I initially used this linear stippling technique as a solution to creating a solid line with water-based china paints, which tend to clump and separate. The Third Firing Color “medium” is also helpful in achieving a more uniform consistency with china Above right: King begins the drawing process on one of her pots. She uses Mason stains, commercial glazes paints, especially when painting broader areas. Finally, the piece is and china paints to create her dynamic surfaces. fired to cone 015.

Ceramics Monthly March 2008 45 Jeffry Mitchell: Once Over Lightly by Matthew Kangas

For an artist who has been acclaimed by art critics and curators for firing problems, monochrome metallic lusters and powders ruled. putting concept before craft, it’s salutary to note that, in reviewing Despite all these shortcuts, Mitchell’s ceramic sculptures, tableaux, Jeffry Mitchell’s long encounters with ceramics, he might not have functional ware and outdoor public art installations are among had any choice. Seen in hundreds of works of stoneware, earthenware the most clever ceramic artworks of the past decade. He is another and porcelain since his solo debut at a gallery in Nagoya, Japan, in archetype of artist who admires craft without fully controlling it, 1984, Mitchell’s technical power over clay is always trying to catch up a criss-crossover artist (from craft to art and back again) who has with his ideas. This makes him a highly contemporary hybrid artist, used myriad pre-existing ceramic traditions to carry contemporary halfway between craft and concept, forever trying to merge the two. In content. He’s similar to a group of artists critic Donald Kuspit the contemporary art world today, klutziness is a virtue; fully refined called “good-enough artists;” good enough to get the job done; material treatment a fussy no-no. Mitchell fits in perfectly. He’s similar not good enough to merit master craftsman status. to a whole group of artists trying out craft media: Andrew Lord and Depending upon where he has taught or been an artist in Lynda Benglis are in this group, along with Kiki Smith. residence (Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts, Helena, After an undergraduate degree in painting at the University Montana; Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, Rhode of Dallas, Irvine, and before a graduate degree in printmaking at Island; University of Washington, Seattle, Washington; University Tyler School of Art, Temple University, Seattle–born Mitchell was of Colorado, Boulder; Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design, an apprentice to Kato Shuntu, a functional potter in Seto, Japan. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada), Mitchell has undertaken Not able to spend the requisite seven years, Mitchell picked up labor-intensive projects with the help of students and studio as- a little bit of everything while mastering little or nothing. This sistants. His 1995 solo museum debut in New York at the New places him in a twilight world between art and craft, the perfect Museum of Contemporary Art was all white plaster, executed with place for ceramics that reject high finish but aspire to high concepts the help of his students at the Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle of social content, sexuality and satire. where he was teaching at the time. His ceramics were not seen in Material mastery would not be a cool—or possible—strategy New York until the inaugural exhibition at ESSO Gallery in 1994, for a young man in a hurry. When porcelain became too time Mitchell’s solo survey. consuming, white plaster stood in unapologetically. When single- Meanwhile, Mitchell’s approximation of various historical figure ceramic sculpture became too unwieldy or risk-fraught, mul- genres—Colonial pottery, Quaker pickle jars, English Stafford- tiple knickknack figures formed assemblage-like groupings. When shire wares, to name just a few—provides readymade categories more than one glaze other than blue and white presented too many that convey what became increasingly humorous and often ho-

Ceramics Monthly March 2008 46 “Fu Dogs,” (from installation at James Harris Gallery, December 2005) 14 in. (36 cm) in height, low-fire earthenware with Cone 04 metallic glaze, 2005. Background: Installation view of James Harris Gallery exhibition, Seattle, Washington, December 2005. All photos courtesy of James Harris Gallery. All photos by Roger Schreiber (unless otherwise noted).

Ceramics Monthly March 2008 47 tors, as well as contemporary art departments in museums. In his repertoire are cookie jars that recall Pennsylvania brown ware; a set of bookends that suggest humble nineteenth- century animal fgurines; ceramic-and-plaster “Pride Ponies” that refer back to creamy white Meissen fgurines. Wry allusions aside, Mitchell’s figure groupings of men and animals may operate on a more serious metaphorical level. The absurdity of penned-in penguins or twelve white elephants on their hind legs symbolize the confinement of gay men forced into dis- “Hello! Hello!” (diptych) 16½ in. (41 cm) in height, low-fire earthenware with white glaze, 2007. plays of conformity. More complicated, “Fu Dogs” and a set of cylindrical wheel-thrown jars and vessels drenched in cheap-looking dark moerotic subjects. Postmodern in this sense—favoring low rather gold lusters taunt the restraint of more tasteful classical Chinese than high culture, stressing the marginality of ceramics, as well as ceramics. They explode in a riot of added-on animal and floral gay sexuality, and elevating decorative ornament over monumental motifs. Daisies, anchors, turtles, grapes, elephants and bow ties forms—Mitchell has created clay art that fnds its way where few are but a few of the zany images piled onto the sides of each pot. traditional potters dare to tread: museum collections in Seattle and The viewer is free to interpret such gaudy ornament symbolically; Tacoma, Washington. Prints and works on paper are also in museum or subsume it all into a gloriously garish whole. On others, chains, collections in Boston, New York, Honolulu and Philadelphia. tree trunks, tridents and bishop’s crooks vie for attention beneath With their inside references to prior styles, Mitchell’s ceramics what Mitchell calls his “Montana fool’s gold” covering, an inspira- have attracted the attention of decorative arts historians and cura- tion from his residency at the Bray.

“Pride Ponies,” 38 in. (96 cm) in height, low-fire earthenware fired to Cone 04 with cobalt and white glazes, plaster and string, 2000. Photo: Claire Garoutte.

Ceramics Monthly March 2008 48 “Pickle Jar with Silver Elephants,” (front view), 16½ in. (42 cm) in height, low-fire earthenware with platinum luster, 2007.

An important public art commission from the City of Seattle’s In this respect, Mitchell’s ceramics resemble Cy Twombly’s celebrated Art in Public Places Program in 1995 at the City Light sculptures: monochromatic, made up of what is on hand, fresh but Systems Control Building led to a set of outdoor sculptures and inept-looking. As sculptor Martin Puryear once said admiringly of benches made of low-fre earthenware with cobalt-and-white glazes Twombly’s plastered-over assemblages: “They’re so beautiful! Even a overfred to Cone 6. thirteen-year-old could have made them!” More recent works, like the “Hello! Hello!” wall sconces executed Gamely merging craft and concept, the ceramics of Jeffry Mitchell for the Boat Street Café in Seattle (where Mitchell still works to challenge pre-existing notions of materialistic perfection yet cling to support himself) and “Pickle Jar with Silver Elephants,” return to clay as a medium for direct personal and social expression. Whether an all-white state, but with gleaming platinum accents on the lat- dealing with the comic foibles of being middle-aged and gay or the ter. “Fishnet Vases” adapt a Japanese naturalistic surface-covering shopaholic fantasies of gay couples, Mitchell’s art goes beyond subcul- motif. The crude blurring of the linear luster application is typical. ture commentary. Through identifable art-historical references and Remember, craft mastery is not what Mitchell is after. Everything dogged cultivation of clutter more than clarity, Mitchell’s ceramics is once over lightly; good enough to get the job done, but never remain compelling to look at as well as troubling to those obsessed fancy or showy. The objects are kept lively and spontaneous-looking, with technical refnement as the sole means to aesthetic meaning. endearingly klutzy, often confusing thrift-shop kitsch with antique- store glamour. Mitchell’s extensive use of low-fre earthenware and the author Matthew Kangas is an independent art critic and curator, and wet plaster underscore the low-brow chippability of Mitchell’s the author of the essay collection, Craft and Concept: The Rematerialization approach. Durability matters less than desirability; construction of the Art Object (Midmarch Arts). He is also the juror for the recent Texas matters less than complexity. Tech University competition, “Clay on the Wall: 2007 Clay National.”

Ceramics Monthly March 2008 49 Patience is Still a Virtue by Leigh Somerville

With a keen eye and gentle precision, Charlie Tefft crafts and recrafts his work until it is just right, proving that patience is, indeed, still a virtue.

When I met Charlie Tefft several years ago, he worked in a 400- The space may have changed, but the man is the same. As Tefft square-foot backyard studio, which he built with the help of a couple strokes the belly of a recently finished piece, his gentle precision of friends. The walls lay bare, and the mismatched salvaged windows makes clear that the vessel has deep significance. allowed the purity of natural light to illuminate the intimate scene. While the claw-footed pitcher accurately models the Carolina Wren An electric kiln and a couple of space heaters took up several corners that hatched two sets of chicks while living in the artist’s former studio, and stacks of boxed clay huddled under the damp closet. Bubble finding the shape took Tefft several tries. The finished product leaves no wrap crouched on the other side of the room, waiting to transport doubt that the brown speckles, rounded body and perky tail belong to the pots across town to be glazed. the wrens that talked to him encouragingly each day while he worked. Since then, Tefft has moved into a larger home in Greensboro, Tefft is a patient man, and making art requires that skill. With North Carolina, with an attached two-car garage that he uses as the first wren pot, the tail wasn’t perky enough, and it took some his studio. He enjoys being able to raise the garage door to let in study to solve the puzzle: the angles had been cut too sharply. Tefft fresh air and natural light. Even more, he appreciates the fact that took the pot apart, recrafted it and now it sits saucily with others, the temperature never drops too far below 56°F. This garage studio ready to fly from their perches in the damp closet. In fact, Tefft says is a far cry from the former backyard workspace, which he had to the crafting and recrafting process is one of the things he enjoys the constantly heat—even on days he didn’t work—to keep the clay most about what he does. He compares it to his love of playing with from freezing. puzzles when he was a child.

Ceramics Monthly March 2008 50 is Patience “I love cutting up the pots and putting them back together again,” he says. “I enjoy altering the pots. During this process, the pots take on a life of their own. As they do, I am able to find the ones that really work visually and physically.” a Tefft explores certain themes and shapes in his pottery, and Still Virtue these continue to evolve. Often, as in the ancient Chinese and Korean pottery he admires, etched fish or slip-brushed grasses appear to move across the bottom of a series of bowls, each different, yet similar. Rabbits, birds and fish have become prominent themes, sug- gesting movement and energy. “I am interested in the way they create or imply space within the pot, like they are captured from a much larger space, or that they could take off and move beyond the surface,” he said. Motion is a predominant thread in Tefft’s work, and even the bottom of a teapot whirls like the spinning skirt that it models. That unique style of teapot won him admission into the 1999 Ceramics Monthly exhibition at the National Council on Educa- tion for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) conference and a purchase award from Skutt Kilns. The shape has continued to be published and is one of his most famous pieces. The son of a professional watercolor painter, Tefft discovered his own love of art growing up in Columbia, Maryland. He made his first bowl in kindergarten, fell in love with the first wheel he

Above: “Pagoda Jars,” 4 in. (10 cm) in height, thrown and altered white stoneware, with added feet, sprayed with ash glaze and fired to Cone 10 in reduction.

Right: “Night Rabbit,” 14 in. (36 cm) in height, thrown white stoneware, with black stain and glass, sprayed with multiple ash glazes and fired to Cone 10 in reduction.

Ceramics Monthly March 2008 51 clay provides a continuity that he finds invaluable. “It means that I don’t have to re-orient my thoughts when I move from classroom to studio,” he says. “I am always looking at pots, offering solutions to problems and seeing new solutions in my students’ work.” Considering the small minority of graduates with fine arts degrees who are able to support themselves making art, Tefft is living every artist’s dream. He says the emotional support of his wife, Danielle, and of his parents has helped make that dream possible. However, the responsibili- ties of being a husband, teacher and father have limited Tefft’s studio time. “My decreased amount of time in the studio has helped focus my energy, resulting in more pots and more income from my art each year,” he says. Tefft enjoys the interaction with his students. As a teaching method, he trans- ports work from his studio to the Guilford campus. There, in the campus studio, he glazes then fires the work in the gas kiln so students can observe those processes. Some of the pots are dipped in buckets of glaze, while most are decorated with brushwork images and patterns, then glaze is sprayed onto the surface. While his students inspire him with their ideas and help him clarify his own, meeting the people who buy and use his functional art in their everyday lives is also part of the artistic process. He says he enjoys seeing his work in his clients’ homes. Tefft’s professional experience began about ten years ago when he became part “Wren Pitcher,” 9½ in. (24 cm) in height, thrown and altered white stoneware with black stain and oxide wash, of a cooperative of artists in Atlanta and sprayed with ash glaze and fired to Cone 10 in reduction, by Charlie Tefft, Greensboro, North Carolina. was able to take advantage of their gallery connections. When gallery owners came to the co-op to pick up other artists’ saw as a twelve year old, and learned to use one during a three-week work, they discovered Tefft’s subtle earth colors and expressive yet course at Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland, a year later. functional forms. His attention to detail and line was unusual and Tefft says he benefited from the small classes in his Quaker dealers began to buy his work. high school and found that he had an artistic ability because of his After the co-op shut down, Tefft found himself without a kiln. dyslexia. He continued taking advantage of the Quaker educational As luck would have it, he met a potter in Atlanta who needed help system at Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina. He re- rebuilding her studio and learning how to use her new kiln. Tefft’s ceived his B.F.A. from Guilford in 1997, and began teaching pottery experience with the same low-tech weed burner in college allowed there half time two years later. him to barter his skills for the use of the kiln. Today, Tefft is among a very fortunate minority: He does Tefft says the life of a young artist is easier when you can make what he loves, and he’s making a living in the process. His posi- what you need, salvage used and recycled materials and equipment, tion as a Guilford College lecturer, teaching others to work with and ask for help. “I never felt like I had to have the best equipment,

Ceramics Monthly March 2008 52 and I was able to find people who could help me when I needed Most of Tefft’s work has been sold at his two annual home shows: help,” he says. one in Greensboro and the second at his parent’s home in Columbia, During the summer of 2005, Tefft received a Freeman Grant Maryland. He has expanded his presence, exhibiting at major shows and spent three weeks traveling through Japan with fellow faculty across the region. He appears in the Catawba Valley Pottery and Antiques members from Guilford College. There, he was inspired by the Festival in Hickory, North Carolina, and the one-day Farmers Market architecture of the temples and shrines. He visited several potters Pottery Shows in Greensboro, and has work in a number of galleries. In whose work provided a connection to the ancient Asian art that addition, he participates in a group studio tour and sale each May called inspires him. “Wood, Clay, Paper, Paint: The Artist’s Touch” (details on the tour can When he returned home, he spent the first week feeling his way be found on his website www.ctpottery.com). through the process of creating several 4-inch-tall pots. He named Tefft continues to seek new ways to promote his work, includ- them pagoda jars (see page 50), after the Japanese architecture that ing an online “Kiln Opening.” Once a year he unloads his kiln and inspired them. Today, Tefft lovingly crafts his tiny jars, emulating takes pictures of the best work. He then uploads the pictures onto what he first saw in Japan. his website and sends an e-mail advertising the opening. This, he “Their work was very accomplished, and I was struck by the says, “helps me reach people who live outside the North Carolina amount of time they put into refining one piece,” he says. area and can’t make it to a home show.”

Cutting, Folding and Paddling by Charlie Tefft

I throw the pitchers and pull the spouts before placing them in the damp closet to slowly dry. The damp closet dries the pots more evenly than setting them out in the studio to air dry. Once the surface of the clay is no longer tacky and the pot is still soft and malleable, I start the process of cutting, folding and paddling.

When cutting a V, I make sure the sides are equal monthly methods lengths. This ensures that the lip will meet up once the top is folded together. After the seam is worked together, I use a metal rib to smooth the rough area so that the incision is hidden. Where the lip is joined together, there is a sharp angle that will tend to crack in the drying and firing. To reinforce the lip, I add clay and blend it into the lip. Once reinforced, I can start paddling to reshape the seam and soften the two pointed areas created by the fold. Now, I can shape the spout and pouring area. Once the reshaping of the body is done, I put the pitcher(s) back in the damp closet to stiffen up before I add the handle and cut the foot into a triangular shape.

After cutting the V shape (above), Tefft folds the lip together and gently works the seam. Later, he smooths the seam with a metal rib to hide the incision.

Ceramics Monthly March 2008 53 Fukumoto Fuku: Between Tradition and Objet by Glen R. Brown

“Usurahi (Thin Ice),” 118 in. (300 cm) in width, thrown porcelain, 2003.

Home to the revered masters Ninsei and Kenzan, as well as the many Fukumoto Fuku, a studio ceramist and graduate of Kyoto City generations of nameless potters who developed kyoyaki into a ware University of Arts, is, at best, ambivalent about the pervasiveness of synonymous with courtly elegance, Kyoto has long been a city that Kyoto’s history in the work of its contemporary craftspeople. While ranks among the world’s great centers of ceramics production. Its pot- she respects her city’s cultural legacy and even takes civic pride in the tery and porcelain, linked seemingly inseparably to the picturesque products of its established ceramics finesse, she does not succumb capital from which Japan’s emperors ruled for over a thousand years, entirely to the sway of the past in her own work. She has absorbed is still characterized by what Masahiko Sato has called “a feeling of the influence of a distinctly different energy as well: the modernist refinement that seems to grow out of the very environment of Kyoto impulse to challenge ceramics tradition that has circulated in Japan itself—the natural setting of the city, its history and its culture.” since a half century ago, when Yagi Kazuo, Yamada Hikaku and Kyoto, in other words, pervades and sustains the work of its potters Suzuki Osamu formed the avant-garde group Sodeisha. Inspired like a mentor guides a disciple, smoothing uncertainty under the by outsider Isamu Noguchi’s example of subjecting classic forms weight of experience. Secure in its eminence, the city provides an to modernist experimentation, Japanese ceramists of the 1950s ideal environment for the potter who bows to tradition and draws established the model of the objet, or autonomous aesthetic object, daily inspiration from the perfected strains of an ancient craft. that persists as a lingering authority in Japanese schools of art today.

Ceramics Monthly March 2008 54 Encountering this exemplar as a student, Fukumoto sought a path strive for absolute originality. Fukumoto asserts that her works are distinct from that of the many consummate potters of Kyoto whose not intended to advertise her individuality but, on the contrary, to shops still line the steep ascent to Kiyomizu temple. serve as sites for a kind of reconciliation with tradition in which Although Fukumoto has not surrendered herself to the influence strict precedence is given neither to the paragons of the past nor to of tradition, her work cannot simply be classified as a species of the self in the present. objet, since she has consciously made utility a consideration of her Although Fukumoto works in porcelain, a material that Japanese forms. The utilitarian associations of the vessel are, in fact, a delib- ceramists carried to heights of perfection in the eighteenth century, erate concession to the conventions of the past and, consequently, her approach to the material is anything but conventional. Recog- an effective symbol of Fukumoto’s humility as an artist. Eschew- nizing the impossibility of matching the technical facility of the ing the modernist emphasis on the uniqueness of self-expression contemporary potters of Kyoto—whose adherence to a distribution that is inherent in the doctrine of the objet, Fukumoto has sought of labor has produced masters of throwing, trimming and other instead to diminish the influence of ego, counteracting it through skills—she has sought potential in porcelain that has not yet been deference to the shared forms of a ceramics tradition. If her works explored by centuries of local craftsmen. Her impetus is complemen- are non-traditional in many important respects, they clearly do not tary rather than competitive: her intention is not to rival the work

Ceramics Monthly March 2008 55 of conventional craftsmen but instead to parallel it by discovering and then raising to perfection some of the properties of porcelain that remain untapped in the work of those masters. In practice, this has sometimes meant encouraging the kinds of results that would in a traditional context be rejected as flaws, but Fukumoto does not turn this disregard of propriety into a willful gesture of rebellion. Instead she marks it with hesitancy, the signs of a tentative testing of possibilities rather than a brash disdain for rules. Through asymmetrical balance Fukumoto’s work overtly departs from the canon, and in the process it generates an impression of organic ductility. The thin, imprecise rims of her bowls seem to undu- late with the slow fluidity of a viscous liquid, never settling into the static regularity of a horizon. The surfaces of her vessels—expanses of raw and slightly granular white porcelain—reflect the purity and ephemerality of the clouds or moonlight that are frequently invoked through her titles. Unglazed, they seem soft and tentative in contrast to the hard, glossly self-assurance of traditional vessels in the same medium. Perhaps the most obvious results of Fukumoto’s testing of porcelain’s potential are the stacked sections of fractured rings that appear in the bodies of some of her vessels. Thrown individually, the thin rings are allowed to dry quickly and, as a consequence, to crack at one or two points. Following a bisque firing, Fukumoto joins the fragments to one another and to the main body of the vessel with a green or peacock-colored oxide glaze. During the second firing, the sections of the vessel shift and warp. The austerity of Fukumoto’s vessels—the blank expanses of their walls, sometimes entirely unbroken or only sparsely punctuated by dots and wispy trails of glistening bluish green pigment—suggests a certain reductive impulse. At the same time, Fukumoto cannot be described as a minimalist, since the appearance of reduction is in fact a consequence of the viewer’s focus on only a single vessel: in effect a fragment, since her vessels are ordinarily exhibited in groups. Concerned with filling space, she conceives of each vessel as a facet of a larger arrangement. While this arrangement is not, perhaps, quite the same as an installation in the art-genre sense, it clearly stresses the interrelationship of components. Although the vessels are made individually and are generally acquired separately by collectors who encounter one within the group that, as Fukumoto puts it, specially “calls out” to them, they are not objets. On the contrary, their implicitly communal character links them to the tradition of the functional vessel, paralleling them to the parts of a set dispersed in space through use. The play between individuality and group identity in Fukumoto’s work is not incidental. It reflects a primary concern that is insinuated in her titles through nuances of text that unfortunately disappear

Top: “Usugomo (Stratus),” 18 in (46 cm) in height. Bottom: “Kumo (Cloud),” 11 in. (29 cm) in height. Both pieces are thrown porcelain, 2002.

Ceramics Monthly March 2008 56 in translation to English. Some of the carefully selected words feel archaic to speakers of Japanese and, in fact, date back to the Heian period, an age in which the importation of Chinese religion, art and even Kanji characters to Japan was subtly transformed into a process of reinvention. The emergence of Japanese national character, Fukumoto suggests, involved not so much the construction of an identity as the discovery of a unique mode of orienting within a pre-existing and extraneous tradition. It consisted, in other words, of working through an initially alien tradition as a way of discovering what typifies a particularly Japanese cultural perspective. As a metaphor, the burgeoning sense of national identity of the Heian period sheds light on Fukumoto’s relationship to the long tradition of Kyoto craftsmanship. Through her work, she seeks a fine line between individuality and inherited convention, a personal pathway along the borders of tradition rather than a promontory from which to proclaim the uniqueness of the self. the author Glen R. Brown is a frequent contributor to Ceramics Monthly and a professor of art history at Kansas State Unversity.

Right: “Kumo (Cloud),” 19 in. (49 cm) in height, thrown porcelain, 2002–3, by Fukumoto Fuku, Kyoto, Japan.

“Tukikage (Moonlight),” 18 in. (47 cm) in diameter, thrown porcelain, 2003.

Ceramics Monthly March 2008 57 Hunt Prothro: Surface Tension by Susan Chappelear

When Hunt Prothro speaks about his work there seems to be a clear refrain: clay as metaphor. Color becomes a powerful symbol relating to human states such as tranquility and restlessness. The thrown form becomes subject matter, revealing emotional value as the gently swelling silhouettes suggest an abdomen, a navel. An expressive line encircles the curves and planes, leaving traces of a journey, just as a skier leaves tracks in the fresh snow. The College of Southern Maryland recently presented new work by Hunt Prothro in an exhibition entitled “Sur- face Tension.” Following a gallery talk Prothro treated students and faculty to a demonstration of the decorating techniques employed in the pieces on display (see Mixing It Up, page 61). After obtaining a B.A. in Theology and Literature, Pro- thro was introduced to pottery during the seventies through study with Marguerite Wildenhain at Pond Farm in Sonoma County, California. Prothro attests that the legacy of those summer workshops is a continuing presence in his life and in his work. Wildenhain was influential in mid-century ceramics and is widely regarded for the integrity of craftsmanship

“Tahi vase,” 15 in. (38 cm) in height, thrown porcelain with underglazes, stains and Gerstley borate wash, fired to Cone 10.

Ceramics Monthly March 2008 58 applied to utilitarian vessels and for her unique approach to teaching. She apprenticed at the Bauhaus in Germany with Gerhard Marcks and, in Bauhaus tradition, sought to erase the distinction between artist and craftsman that students may have accepted. Although Prothro rejects her absolutist teaching style, he describes her as having been personally enigmatic and he embraces her integration of life and work. Seduced by early success in marketing thrown ware, Prothro continues to use a kick wheel to make a commodi- fied art form. Using porcelain, he throws platters, bowls and cylinders in preparation for a Cone 10 reduction firing with light reduction. He throws slowly and contempla- tively, developing voluptuous shapes, which will become canvases for studied surface articulation. Referring to early Greek pottery, Prothro explained his preference for vessels with thick rims and shapes echoing the human figure. As a metaphor for the human longing for touch, his bowls

Right: Platter, 20 in. (51 cm) in diameter, porcelain with underglazes, stains and Gerstley borate wash, fired to Cone 6.

“Blue Dot Bowl,” 14 in. (36 cm) in diameter, thrown porcelain with underglazes and stains, fired to Cone 10.

Ceramics Monthly March 2008 59 invite handling. They are deceptively light, as the rims suggest a of the tool markings” and “the line that begins with authority but greater heft. Tension is heightened further by a subtle hesitation in ends in ambiguity” as ancient metaphors. He feels that the poetic, the rim. Additional declarations of resolution are accomplished by lyrical cave paintings he studied helped to inspire a more complex melted fragments of Rolling Rock beer bottles residing in depres- line in his own work. sions within the rim. Glassy run-off occasionally occurs, merging And indeed in The Mind in the Cave, David Lewis-Williams with other directional paths created by incising. writes about the neuropsychological percepts that structure such cave Prefacing the demonstration of his techniques of developing paintings, percepts that Prothro reproduces in his pottery. Dots, grids, surface texture and coloration, Prothro reflected on his travels in zigzags and curves can be experienced without light by all human beings directly from the nervous system. By projecting these percepts onto a visual medium, an artist such as Prothro can reach back into history and reproduce the pre-iconic thought of Upper Paleolithic man. The caves of Lascaux blend these percepts with later-stage thought processes that produce and reproduce icons of that time, most obvi- ously, but not limited to, the animal figures. In turn, modern man sees these animal figures as emblematic of Lascaux without quite noticing the percepts that adorn such figures. Prothro, however, foregrounds these linear percepts in his work, bringing history to his pieces by appropriat- ing ancient artistic techniques. With trimmed leather-hard bowls and jars of Velvet underglazes assembled on a classroom table, Prothro captured the audience as he proceeded to bring life and propor- tionate harmony to the ware. Using a porcupine quill, he created surface tension from linear movements over planes and curves, sometimes horizontally segmenting the cylinders into thirds with deep scarring. Defining planes with a canvas- wrapped paddle created subtle nuances of silhouette. Prothro says that the quality of line can become the content or “subject matter” of the vessel. We watched as a line bit, relaxed and faded into a mass of Round vase, 10 in. (25 cm) in height, thrown porcelain with underglazes, stains and Gerstley Borate wash, fired to Cone 10, by Hunt Prothro, Rohrersville, Maryland. cross-hatched etching. An edge of a shell was rolled across the surface 2006 to southwestern France to study Paleolithic cave sites. His occasionally to add variety to line quality. Referring to the Bauhaus impressions were documented in “Notes from the Paleolithic Project: painter Paul Klee, Prothro moved from a bold, expressive line to Transience and Singularity,” presented at the 2006 National Council deliberate, constructive hatchwork produced by a wire brush. on Education for the Ceramic Arts conference and again for the During the gallery lecture Prothro drew a comparison of his College Art Association in New York City in 2007. Prothro relishes early work to that of William Daley. He dismisses the “d” word, the opportunity to consider the nature of human touch, the “pulse believing that the label “derivative” is unnecessarily feared, as art

Ceramics Monthly March 2008 60 Mixing it up

Although Prothro’s underglazes are poured on a palette, he achieves all of the color mixing on the bisqued pot itself. He follows a sequence to keep all surfaces clean. He applies color to the foot, then the interior and, lastly, the exterior. The inside of the bowls are often painted in counterpoint to the exterior; related, but distinct. He says, “The rim is a third area, a point of transition, and a zone of change with all the attendant hesitations and gestures of finality.” He applies broad strokes of black stain to all

sgraffittoed surfaces, then gently wipes, leaving only the monthly methods inlay to provide sharp contrast to the warm underglazes to follow. Without any masking, he carefully paints and dabs each piece to preserve a grid arrangement. In some of the pieces, figure and ground appear to be on the same plane, as hard-edged regions of color are juxtaposed to create contrasting tonal values and heighten each other’s vital nature. This interplay of shapes and colors, which have no representational associations, take on a painterly quality. In other pieces, he achieves coloration by scumbling layers of translucent washes, some of which he spritzes with water to promote color bleeding and to suggest distant galaxies. He preserves the color effects with a thin, Gerstley borate-based clear glaze and strives to achieve a patina rather than a true glaze.

Top: Prothro brushes stains into incised textures before carefully wiping off the excess. Bottom: Complimentary colors are sponged on to enliven the surface.

is imitation. Occupying one wall was a series of platters decorated glazed with neutral color over a more regular arrangement of marks, primarily in a warm palette with notes of complementary color. suggests equilibrium by the even distribution of linear elements. In His admiration for the American abstract painter Arshille Gorky is contrast, the platters and vases provide more tension and movement evidenced by the painterly passages of color and lyrical line. As in as space in some areas is so compressed that the eye is induced to Gorky’s canvases, the platters are intriguing, with spatial ambiguity follow an expressive directional line. marked by ethereal line. Chiaroscuro, which appears in the bowls When Prothro metaphorically speaks of the “bones of the piece” as sharply defined, adjacent elliptical shapes of light and dark, is, he is referring to life’s physical urges and the dynamic implications however, more atmospheric in the platters. Accents of hard-edged of a work of art. Cause and effect are revealed as his touch pushes shapes provide a focal point as they appear suspended in infinity. back again. Apart from connections we find to Paleolithic grid motifs An oriental landscape can be imagined, or for some the platters may or color passages and intuitive line from Abstract Expressionism, trigger a reference to Western action painting. Prothro’s exhibition, “Surface Tension,” stands as a cohesive body of Other bowls and teapots on exhibit were decorated with deeply work. His sensuous vessels stir our feelings and we see forms whose cut recesses. In these works, Prothro seems to be avoiding pattern, parts are in a harmonious, balanced relationship with surface and preferring to intuitively follow the shape of the pot. Another bowl, structural qualities.

Ceramics Monthly March 2008 61 Kleckner Pottery: The Ripple Effect by Judy Seckler

Cups and saucers, 4 in. (10 cm) in height, thrown porcelain with applied slips and glazes, fired to Cone 10 in reduction.

On a typical city street in Bethlehem, a city in eastern Pennsylva- something he could succeed at. His high school also exposed him nia, once known for its integral role in steel production, there is to a series of highly skilled visiting artists that gave added credibility a converted brick warehouse. The two-story building serves as a to working with clay. studio and home for Jeffrey Kleckner of Kleckner Pottery. Inside, Kleckner went on to earn a B.F.A. at the Cleveland Institute a showroom and an area for storing, mixing and throwing clay can of Art (CIA) in 1977, where he studied under Joe Zeller and Paul be found on the ground floor. A gas kiln, a packing area and the Dresang. He learned the importance of making “strong work” from one-bedroom apartment that Kleckner calls home, are located up- Zeller and began to think of pots as a vehicle for color, line, sur- stairs. The 3000-square-foot live/work space is part of his ongoing face, form and expression. Dresang, who is known for his trompe strategy to keep his expenses low while weathering the vicissitudes l’oeil sculptures that resemble leather objects, also contributed to of being self employed. his growing ceramics vocabulary. Of the many visiting artists that What drew Kleckner to ceramics at the beginning was the studio came to CIA, Warren MacKenzie, who studied with Bernard Leach, potter lifestyle. From the beginning of his ceramics career, he was and Randy Johnson, known for his Asian–inspired pieces, provided greatly attracted to the concept of producing work in a studio, just lasting impressions for the beginner potter. like his various teachers along the way. “I had this romantic idea,” After school, Kleckner returned to Pennsylvania to work as a he says. He knew early on that he wasn’t going to be a professional potter, but it took another sixteen years for his ideas about form athlete or make his living sitting behind a desk. Instead, in high and design to coalesce into his artistic voice. The turning point school, his fascination with the throwing process went hand in came when he was working as a studio assistant to Dan Anderson, hand with the discovery that working with clay was rewarding and now professor emeritus at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

Ceramics Monthly March 2008 62 (SIUE). Anderson encouraged Kleckner to enroll in the three-year floating squares are drawn with slip when the work is leather hard. M.F.A. program at SIUE. This technique has been one of Kleckner’s most rewarding discov- “I grew tremendously [during graduate school],” says Kleckner. eries in his pursuit of complex pots (see Application, Application, The school welcomed many disciplines, and he was exposed to inno- Application, page 65). vative drawing and painting. Beyond that, his work began to express Kleckner aims for luminosity aided by glazes that form rivulets more of his personal aesthetic. He still made functional ceramics, or ripples of color. Similar to ripples that are formed when a stone but now he found himself drawn more to changes in color, pattern is tossed into a stream or lake, Kleckner manipulates the glaze to and surface, and he placed more emphasis on creating complex create a surface tension that’s easy on the eye and achieves a fluid three-dimensional forms. These interests are demonstrated in something as simple as a cup and saucer. “I appreciate them as forms,” he says. “How the pattern flows from the cup to the saucer.” Each piece is wheel thrown and when the clay is still soft, he takes a wooden tool and pushes into it to flute the lips. Using the basic principles of color theory, he chooses complementary colors for the inside and outside of his cups because of their tendency to “pop.” The slips are poured into the cup’s interior, and the cups are then dipped in the complimentary slip to achieve the exterior color and surface. For the dark green teacup, tiny white dots made of oxide combinations are applied with a brush. During the second firing, the dots grow five times in size, re- sembling glowing stars in the sky. With his Asian–style mugs, he’s involved in a different thought process. He starts with a rigid grid as his fundamental design Jars, 3½ in. (9 cm) in height, thrown and faceted porcelain with applied slips and glazes, fired to Cone 10 in reduction. form. The grid is brushed on with slip. Strategically dipped white glaze with a rivulet-like surface is applied before the second firing. “I try to play with opposites,” he says. As a result, the color dances across the surface of the piece. It suggests a lightness while at the same time deconstructs the piece’s mass. Kleckner’s choice of colors borrows from Asian traditions, displaying an abun- dance of atmosphere and drama. Kleckner says that “the rich history and the complex process of ceramics” is what keeps him engaged in making pots. “Gaining inspiration from myriad sources, including the wonderful Oribe pots of the sixteenth-century Japanese Mino period, Kleckner invariably seems to have a knack for finding quirky resources for his inventive pots,” says Anderson. “Whether from history or nature, contemporary periodicals like National Geographic, Smithsonian, Bon Appétit or a kitchen appliance store, Kleckner is constantly and consistently rewarding the user/viewer.” When Kleckner throws his vertical pieces, the work becomes more architectural. Jaunty lids sit majestically on the tops of vessels, recalling pagoda roofs from ancient times. Part of the optical illusion of seemingly glued on mosaic tile is achieved Box, 7 in. (18 cm) in height, handbuilt white stoneware, with applied slips and glazes, by slicing off the sides of the stiff clay in vertical facets. The fired to Cone 10 in reduction.

Ceramics Monthly March 2008 63 recipes

porcelain body (Cone 10) Wollastonite...... 3 % G200 Feldspar...... 10 F4 Feldspar...... 7 C&C Ball Clay...... 15 EPK Kaolin...... 15 Pyrax...... 10 6 Tile Kaolin...... 30 Silica (Flint) ...... 10 100 % Add: Bentonite...... 1 %

Willie Hillix (Cone 10) Whiting...... 21 0. % Nepheline Syenite ...... 43 .0 EPK Kaolin...... 12 .0 Silica (Flint)...... 24 .0 100 0. % Add: Copper Carbonate...... 0 .9 % Copper Oxide...... 4 .3 % Bentonite...... 2 .0 %

Val Cushing AA Revised (Cone 10) Dolomite...... 4 % Whiting...... 33 Cornwall Stone ...... 48 EPK Kaolin...... 15 100 % Add: Bentonite...... 2 % Titanium Dioxide...... 4 %

Val Cushing Base Slip (Cone 10) F4 Feldspar...... 15 % 6 Tile Kaolin...... 10 Grolleg Kaolin ...... 30 XX Sagger...... 30 Silica (Flint)...... 15 100 % Add: Bentonite...... 2 % Black Add: Chrome Oxide...... 5 % Colbalt Oxide...... 5 % Red Iron Oxide...... 10 % Manganese Dioxide...... 10 % Gerstley Borate ...... 10 % Blue Add: Colbalt Oxide...... 4 %

Vase, 9½ in. (24 cm) in height, thrown and faceted porcelain, with applied slips and glazes, fired to Cone 10 in reduction. Ceramics Monthly March 2008 64 spontaneity. Friend and fellow potter Terry Application, Application, Application! Gess of Bakersville, North Carolina, says that Kleckner’s use of glazes is tricky and has to by Jeff Kleckner be done very carefully. “When the kiln gets In my mind, glazing is all about application: how you use your glazes to hotter, certain glazes run into one another serve the identity of the objects you are making. It is not about having but he is in control,” Gess explains. “He has the ultimate glaze formulas, but more importantly, having the vision to a very sophisticated sense of pattern and a be able to use your palette of glazes well. subtle sense of color. Part of his sophistica- I like to glaze, but it takes me forever: about four days for a small kiln tion is that he combines unexpected shapes, load. To execute pattern and motif, I use slips on leather-hard clay, as well patterns, colors and motifs.” as oxide combinations on top of raw glaze; sometimes both on the same piece. Masking tape is often applied to bisque to control glaze application Balancing a Business and produce defined edges between glazes. After applying glaze, the tape monthly methods To make pots is one discipline but to is removed and a cold wax resist is applied over the raw glazed area. Then keep a studio running is a delicate balanc- the next glaze is applied and the application process continues. ing act. Kleckner taps into three different income streams. Shows such as the American Craft Council (ACC) Baltimore winter show provide an opportunity to sell to shops and Covered jar, 7 in. (18 cm) in height, thrown and faceted porcelain with applied slips and glazes, galleries on a wholesale basis. The Longs Park fired to Cone 10 in reduction, by Jeff Kleckner, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Art and Craft Festival in Lancaster, Pennsyl- vania, and the ACC give him a chance to do retail sales as well. He also sells pieces out of his studio showroom and participates in a local artisan tour. He advises studio potters to create work that they enjoy building. “Make sure you want to reproduce large quantities [of what you make] with enthusiasm,” he cautions. Teaching is another avenue of reliable income that Kleckner uses to supplement his livelihood. He is an adjunct professor of ceramics and teaches a course during the spring and summer semesters and two courses during the fall semester at Northhampton Community College in Bethlehem. Teach- ing gives him an opportunity to focus on someone else’s needs. “I like being part of something bigger than myself,” he says. At the same time, he maintains a rigorous production schedule in his studio, where he throws one day and finishes off work for two days. But what keeps Kleckner returning to the studio year after year is simply the rhythms he experiences that are like the change in seasons. “The materials, kilns, firings and the rhythm of the studio have become a comfortable part of my life,” he says. the author Judy Seckler is a contributor to Ceramics Monthly and a Los Angeles-based freelancer who writes about art, architecture and design.

Ceramics Monthly March 2008 65 call for entries Deadlines for Exhibitions, Fairs and Festivals Submit online at www.ceramicsmonthly.org

international exhibitions Main St., 2nd Fl., Rock Hill 29730; [email protected]; Center of Estes Park, PO Box 3635, Estes Park 80517; www.galleryup.com; (803) 980-5355. (970) 586-5882. March 1 entry deadline May 3 entry deadline September 19 entry deadline New York, New York “On Faith: Saviors, Prophets New York, New York “That Which Unifies/That Pennsylvania, Wayne “Craft Forms 2008” (December and Magic” (April 17–May 10), open to all me- Which Divides” (August 1–28), open to all me- 5–January 22, 2009), open to contemporary craft. Juried dia. Juried from digital. Fee: $45 for three entries; dia. Juried from digital. Fee: $45 for three entries; from digital and slides. Fee: $40; online submission, $30. Contact Wayne Art Center, 413 Maplewood Ave., Wayne $5 each for additional entries. Contact Rhonda $5 each for additional entries. Contact Rhonda 19087; www.wayneart.org; www.craftforms.com. Schaller Studio, 547 W. 27th St., Suite 529; New Schaller Studio, 547 W. 27th St., Suite 529; New York 10001; [email protected]; York 10001; [email protected]; http://rhondaschallerchelsea.com; (212) 967-1338. http://rhondaschallerchelsea.com; (212) 967-1338. united states exhibitions May 15 entry deadline April 1 entry deadline New York, Poughkeepsie “National Cup Show” March 1 entry deadline New York, New York “The Coexistence of Silence (June 21–August 10), open to all media. Juried from North Carolina, Charlotte “Teapot Forms 2008: A and Dynamism” (May 31–June 21), open to all me- digital and slides. Fee: $30 for three entries; $5 each Juried Exhibition” (June 13–August 13). Juried from dia. Juried from digital. Fee: $45 for three entries; for additional entries. Juror: Leslie Ferrin, co-owner of digital and slides. No entry fee. Contact Heather An- $5 each for additional entries. Contact Rhonda Ferrin Gallery. Contact Barrett Clay Works, Art Studios dreas, Red Sky Gallery, 1244 E. Blvd., Charlotte 28203; Schaller Studio, 547 W. 27th St., Suite 529; New and Galleries, 485 Main St., Poughkeepsie 12601; [email protected]; www.redskygallery.com; (704) York 10001; [email protected]; [email protected]; www.barrettartcenter.org; 377-6400. http://rhondaschallerchelsea.com; (212) 967-1338. (845) 471-2550. March 3 entry deadline April 5 entry deadline June 7 entry deadline Virginia, Norfolk “18th Annual Mid-Atlantic Art New York, New York “Love Scenes: Erotica, Romance New York, New York “Home: The Planet Dreams Exhibition” (April 25–June 8), open to all media. Juried and Other Objects of Desire” (July 24–August 28), open of Survival” (September 5–October 2), open to from digital and slides. Awards: $2400. For prospectus, to all media. Juried from digital. Fee: $45 for three entries; all media. Juried from digital. Fee: $45 for three visit www.d-artcenter.org. Contact d’Art Center, 208 E. $5 each for additional entries. Contact Rhonda Schaller entries; $5 each for additional entries. Contact Main St., Norfolk 23510; (757) 625-4211. Studio, 547 W. 27th St., Suite 529; New York 10001; Rhonda Schaller Studio, 547 W. 27th St., Suite 529; March 7 entry deadline [email protected]; (212) 967-1338. New York 10001; [email protected]; Texas, Houston “Twenty-Fifth Juried Open Exhibition” April 15 entry deadline http://rhondaschallerchelsea.com; (212) 967-1338. (May 1–June 5), open to all media. Juried from digital New York, Huntington “Alpan International 2008” July 7 entry deadline or slides. Fee: $30; members, $25. Juror: Sally Sprout. (August 30–September 26), open to all media. Juried South Carolina, Rock Hill “19th Annual Juried Com- For prospectus, visit www.visualartsalliance.org. Con- from digital, slides or prints. Fee: $30 for three entries; petition” (August 20–September 21). Juried from digital tact Ann McBride, 2807 Triway Ln., Houston 77043; $5 each for additional entries. Juror: Phyllis Braff, or high-quality photographs. Fee: $30. Contact Arts [email protected]; (713) 939-1444. president of the International Association of Art Crit- Council of York County, 121 E. Main St., Rock Hill 29732; Virginia, Waynesboro “Transforming the Elements: ics. Contact Alpan Gallery, 2 W. Carver St., Huntington [email protected]; www.yorkcountyarts.org; Earth, Water, Fire and Air” (May 15–June 25), open 11743; [email protected]; www.alpangallery.org; (803) 328-2787. to all fine craft media that creatively articulates a (631) 423-4433. July 15 entry deadline connection to the elements. Juror: Mark Newport, May 2 entry deadline Colorado, Estes Park “12th Annual Lines into Shapes” Cranbrook Academy of Art. Fee: $25. For prospectus, South Carolina, Rock Hill “30 Small Works” (June (September 19–October 4), open to all media. Juried visit www.artisanscenterofvirginia.org. Contact Artisans 19–July 18). Juried from digital. Fee: $30 for two entries; from digital or slides. Fee: $13/entry. For prospectus, Center of Virginia, PO Box 452, 801 W. Broad St., Waynes- $25 for student entries. Contact Gallery Up, 201 E. visit www.artcenterofestes.com; or send SASE to Art boro 22980; [email protected]; (540) 946-3294.

Ceramics Monthly March 2008 66 Ceramics Monthly March 2008 67 call for entries

March 15 entry deadline ramic sculpture. Juried from digital and slides. Juror: Oestreich. Contact Carbondale Clay Center, 135 Main Oregon, Lake Oswego “Painting with Fire: Wood-Fired Dan Hammett. For prospectus, send SASE to JSCN St., Carbondale 81623; [email protected]; Ceramics” (June 20–22). Jurors: Robert Barron, Hiroshi 2008, M. T. Burton Gallery, 1819 N. Long Beach www.carbondaleclay.org; (970) 963-2529. Ogawa and Tom Rohr. Contact Lakewood Center for Blvd., Surf City 08008; [email protected]; April 5 entry deadline the Arts, Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts, 368 S. State www.mtburtongallery.com. New York, New York “26th Annual Juried Exhibition” St., Lake Oswego 97034; [email protected]; Virginia, Harrisonburg “2008 Juried Multimedia Art (July 10–August 2), open to all media. Juried from digital (503) 636-1060. Exhibition” (June 1–29), open to all media. Juried from or slides. Fee: $40 for three images; $5 each for ad- March 20 entry deadline prints. Fee: $30. Jurors: William Bennett, Jerry Coulter and ditional images. Juror: Joan Young, Associate Curator, North Carolina, Creedmoor “Cedar Creek Gallery James Crable. Contact Anne Finlayson, VMRC Art Exhibi- Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. For application, visit National Teapot Show VII” (June 7–September 7), open tion Director, 1491 Virginia Ave., Harrisonburg 22802; www.pleiadesgallery.com. Contact Pleiades Gallery, 530 to all media. Juried from digital, slides or photographs. [email protected]; www.vmrc.org/artexhibition; (540) W. 25 St., 4th Fl., New York 10001; (646) 230-0056. Awards: $2000. For prospectus, contact Jennifer Dolan, 564-3400. April 15 entry deadline [email protected]; (919) 528-1041. April 1 entry deadline Kent, Ohio “8th Annual Cup Show” (May 13–June March 28 entry deadline Colorado, Carbondale “Carbondale Clay National 7). Fee: $20. Juror: Ted Vogel, Assistant Professor in New Jersey, Surf City “Jersey Shore Clay National IV: National Juried Exhibition” (June 2–30). Juried Art, Lewis and Clark College. Contact Anderson Turner, 2008” (May 24–June 23), open to pottery and ce- from slides. Fee: $30 for three entries. Juror: Jeff Director of Galleries, Kent State University, School of Art, PO Box 5190, Kent 44242; [email protected]; http://dept.kent.edu/art/galleries; (330) 672-1379. April 26 entry deadline New York, New York “2008 National Juried Competi- tion” (June 18–July 12), open to all media. Juror: Esther Adler, Curatorial Assistant, Dept. of Drawings, The Muse- um of Modern Art. Contact Phoenix Gallery, 210 Eleventh Ave., 902, New York 10001; [email protected]; www.phoenix-gallery.com. August 1 entry deadline Montana, Missoula “Soda National IV” (November 7– 28). Juried from digital or slides. Fee: $30 for three entries. Juror: Jim Koudelka. For prospectus, send SASE to Hannah Fisher, The Clay Studio of Missoula, 1106 Hawthorne Unit A, Missoula 59802; [email protected]; www.theclaystudioofmissoula.org. December 31 entry deadline Missouri, St. Louis Call for Solo/Collaborative Instal- lation Artists Proposals. For more information, contact Craft Alliance, Attn: Exhibitions Coordinator, 6640 Del- mar Blvd., St. Louis 63130; [email protected]; www.craftalliance.org; (314) 725-1177, ext. 323. regional exhibitions

March 1 entry deadline Texas, Houston “Craft Texas 2008” (May 24–August 17), open to artists residing in TX working in clay, fiber, glass, metal, wood and found/recycled materials. Apply online at www.callforentry.org. Contact Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, 4848 Main St., Houston 77002. March 3 entry deadline Oregon, Lake Oswego “The Artist’s Vision: A Juried Exhibition” (June 20–22), open to all Northwest artists. Juried from slides. Fee: $15. Juror: Jennifer Zika. Contact Lakewood Center for the Arts, Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts, 368 S. State St., Lake Oswego 97034; [email protected]; (503) 636-1060. April 11 entry deadline Rhode Island, Kingston “Earthworks: Open Juried Clay Annual” (April 17–May 10), open to New Eng- land residents. Juried from hand-delivered work. Fee: $15/entry. Contact South County Art Association, 2587 Kingstown Rd., Kingston 02881; [email protected]; www.southcountyart.org; (410) 783-2195. June 15 entry deadline Colorado, La Veta “Clay Continuum III” (July 29–Au- gust 23), open to artists residing in Southern Colorado and Northern New Mexico. Juried from digital and slides. Fee: $25. Contact Clay Continuum, Attn: Polly’s Pottery, 1849 County Rd. 521, Walsenburg, CO 81080; [email protected]. fairs and festivals

March 1 entry deadline Kansas, Salina “Smoky Hill River Festival Four Rivers Craft Market Show” (June 13–15), open to traditional and contemporary craft and folk art. Awards: $1800. Contact Salina Arts and Humanities Commission, PO Box 2181, Salina 67402; [email protected]; www.riverfestival.com; (785) 309-5770. Kansas, Salina “Smoky Hill River Festival Fine Art/Fine Craft Show” (June 14–15), open to all media. Awards: $7900; $100,000 Art Patron Program. Contact Salina Arts and Humanities Commission, PO Ceramics Monthly March 2008 68 Ceramics Monthly March 2008 69 call for entries

Box 2181, Salina 67402; [email protected]; www.riverfestival.com; (785) 309-5770 Michigan, Kalamazoo “57th Annual KIA Art Fair” (June 7). Entry fee: $25. Exhibit fee: $125. For application, visit www.kiaarts.org; or contact Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, 314 S. Park St., Kalamazoo 49007; (269) 349- 7775, ext. 3100. March 15 entry deadline Oregon, Portland “Art In The Pearl Fine Arts and Crafts Festival 2008” (August 30–September 1). Contact Art In The Pearl Festival, PO Box 5906, Portland 97228; [email protected]; www.artinthepearl.com; (503) 722-9017. March 21 entry deadline Arizona, Prescott “22nd Annual Spring Festival of Fine Arts and Fine Crafts” (May 10–11), open to fine arts and crafts. Juried from three photos of work, plus one of booth. Jury fee: $20. Single booth fee: $285. Shared booth fee: $355. Contact Vivian Luc- chesi, Mountain Artists Guild, Inc., 228 N. Alarcon St., Prescott 86301; www.mountainartistsguild.org; (928) 445-2510. April 15 entry deadline Washington, Bellevue “Bellevue Arts Museum ArtFair” (July 25–27). Apply online at www.zapplication.org. Con- tact Bellevue Arts Museum, 510 Bellevue Way NE, Bellevue 98004; www.bellevuearts.org. May 1 entry deadline Illinois, Skokie “Skokie Art Guild 47th Annual Art Fair ‘08” (July 12–13). Juried from slides or photos. Fee: $125; members, $100. For prospectus, e- mail [email protected]. Contact Skokie Art Guild, 6704 N. Trumball Ave., Lincolnwood, IL 60712; www.skokienet.org; (847) 677-8163. New Jersey, Cranford “Spring Nomahegan Park Fine Art and Crafts Show” (May 31–June 1), open to all arts and crafts. Juried from slides/photos of work, plus one of booth. Booth fee: $325 for 10×12-foot space. Contact Rose Squared Productions, Inc., 12 Galaxy Ct., Hillsborough, NJ 08844; www.rosesquared.com; (908) 874-5247. New Jersey, Verona “Fine Arts and Crafts at Verona Park” (May 17–18), open to all arts and crafts. Juried from slides/photos of work, plus one of booth. Booth fee: $325 for 10×12-foot space. Contact Rose Squared Productions, Inc., 12 Galaxy Ct., Hillsborough, NJ 08844; www.rosesquared.com; (908) 874-5247. June 1 entry deadline Manufacturing Bluebird Clay Colorado, Manitou Springs “Commonwheel Art- Processing Equipment ists 34th Annual Labor Day Arts and Crafts Festival” (August 30–September 1), open to fine arts and craft. since 1969. Juried from slides. Contact Commonwheel, 102 Canon Ave., Manitou 80829; [email protected]; ◆ Pugmills ◆ www.commonwheel.com; (719) 577-7700. 3 De-airing Models New Jersey, Montclair “Spring Brookdale Park Fine Art and Crafts Show” (June 14–15), open to all arts 2 Non De-airing Models and crafts. Juried from slides/photos of work, plus De-airing Tile Extruder System one of booth. Booth fee: $325 for 10×12-foot space. ◆ ◆ Contact Rose Squared Productions, Inc., 12 Galaxy Stainless Steel Mixers 1 Ct., Hillsborough, NJ 08844; www.rosesquared.com; /3 HP 40 lbs. dry capacity 1 (908) 874-5247. 1 /2 HP 110 lbs. dry capacity September 1 entry deadline New Jersey, Cranford “Fall Nomahegan Park Fine Manufacturing Art and Crafts Show” (October 4–5), open to all arts and crafts. Juried from slides/photos of work, plus Soldner one of booth. Booth fee: $325 for 10×12-foot space. Contact Rose Squared Productions, Inc., 12 Galaxy Electric Wheels Ct., Hillsborough, NJ 08844; www.rosesquared.com; since 1988. (908) 874-5247. New Jersey, Upper Montclair “Fine Art and Crafts at Portable model 1/6 HP Anderson Park” (September 20–21), open to all arts Studio series 1/6 & ¼ HP and crafts. Juried from slides/photos of work, plus Professional series ¼, ½, & ¾ HP one of booth. Booth fee: $325 for 10×12-foot space. Contact Rose Squared Productions, Inc., 12 Galaxy For pricing/Free catalog Ct., Hillsborough, NJ 08844; www.rosesquared.com; (908) 874-5247. Call toll-free October 1 entry deadline 800-335-0741 New Jersey, Montclair “Fall Brookdale Park Fine Art and Crafts Show” (October 18–19), open to all arts Bluebird Manufacturing, Inc. and crafts. Juried from slides/photos of work, plus PO Box 2307 Fort Collins, CO 80522 one of booth. Booth fee: $325 for 10×12-foot space. Phone 970-484-3243 Fax 970-493-1408 Contact Rose Squared Productions, Inc., 12 Galaxy E-mail [email protected] Ct., Hillsborough, NJ 08844; www.rosesquared.com; www.bluebird-mfg.com (908) 874-5247. Ceramics Monthly March 2008 70 Ceramics Monthly March 2008 71 book review NeoCraft: Modernity and national conference of the same name. the Crafts Edited by Sandra Alfoldy, NSCAD’s edited by Sandra Alfoldy assistant professor of craft history, the Book Review by Diana Roberts book attempts to introduce “an alterna- There’s no debate that the nebulous tive model for assessing craft, where the world of “crafts” has been imbued with diverse interdisciplinary methodologies different definitions, contexts, parameters used to discuss craft are united to work and connotations—not to mention aes- together in solidifying the discourse of thetic and social value—at various points craft history, theory and critical writing.” in history. While contemporary craft in In many ways, the book is successful, in the Western world seems to be as active, other ways not. diverse and economically viable as ever, NeoCraft features some exceptionally there is debate about its relevance vis-à- insightful and informed perspectives. vis the visual arts, ethnographic artifacts, Larry Shiner contributes a balanced, academic scholarship and the increasingly nuanced and much needed review of global nature of post-industrial, post- the historical and contemporary position digital society at large. As many craft of craft “between design and art, rather practitioners, curators and scholars can than the usual art-versus-craft polarity” attest, there’s no coherent, current body in “The Fate of Craft.” Alla Myzelev’s also taken up in Elizabeth Cumming’s of critical theory that addresses it on its history of the Ukrainian Craft Revival and discussion of the Arts & Crafts Move- own terms. its two-way interchange with the Russian ment in Scotland. Enter NeoCraft: Modernity and the avant-garde in the late nineteenth and In general, the book is successful Crafts, an anthology published by the early twentieth centuries dispels certain in bringing together various threads Nova Scotia College of Art and Design myths of Modernism’s supposed animos- of thought relevant to craft discourse: University in conjunction with an inter- ity and mutual exclusivity to craft, an issue anthropology, historical analysis, philo-

Ceramics Monthly March 2008 72 Ceramics Monthly March 2008 73 book review sophical perspectives, social analysis, and Enlightenment philosophy of Emmanuel century. It most certainly does not need to a particularly insightful, provocative and Kant, the “high modernism” of Clement be purposely “obscurantized,” nor should useful section on the use of digital media. Greenberg, and a lingering academic it perpetuate false assumptions or gross While most selections are clear, thoughtful Marxist preoccupation with ideologies generalizations. The defensive position and articulate, others are so riddled with and political economies. More obnoxious put forth in jeweler Bruce Metcalf’s article, postmodern academic double-talk that all is the pervasively esoteric word choices: “Replacing the Myth of Modernism,” is coherence and relevance is lost. In these praxis, binarism and binary spheres, issues that Modernism was and is inimical to few works, and to some extent Alfoldy’s are problematized, and opportunities are craft, a position successfully challenged in section introductions, there’s an obses- potentially operationalized. other articles. Clearly there are prejudices sion with the supposedly “tyrannical” or Yes, craft criticism would benefit from in the art market, but Metcalf’s biased “authoritarian” anti-craft sentiment in the some theoretical structure in the 21st reading of art history (“the demon of Modernism”) and his “logical” extensions are just reactionary. Alfoldy’s five sections seem forced, and the individual writings don’t necessarily illuminate her preconceived categories. Section Two: Global Craft includes a useful article by Grace Cochrane detail- ing the business realities of designers and craft practioners in economically isolated Australia and New Zealand, their participation in foreign markets, and the realities of outsourcing production around the globe. It also, however, includes John Potvin’s analysis of the “Textualities of Touch” in Giorgio Armani’s (highly contested) exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. The reader is asked to accept that the use of ethnic design and fabrics in haute couture “…expands the self’s knowledge of ethnographic distance” and provides “a way to close the gap that marks out self and other on the map of difference.” Of course, for the price of an Armani suit, one could fly to an African market and rub up against every textile in the joint. Despite a stated aspiration to the contrary, the selections are noticeably Anglo- centric. Only two of the articles deal with non-European traditions: one on Filipino pina textile production in the Political Economy section, and anthropologist David Howes’ description of multisensory and cosmological perception imbedded in the basketry among the Desana Indians in Columbia, which opens the section on Craft, the Senses, and New Technology. Other than the Ukraine, the rest cover traditions in the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Not all of the articles are germane. Despite being a good read and a well-re- searched, fascinating piece of social history, Beverly Lemire’s history of women workers Ceramics Monthly March 2008 74 RELEASE EXTRUDER, MOLD A NEW & TILE: FORMING gREA TECHNIQUES t gift

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FREE Shipping when you order online (US Only) ceramicartsdaily.org/books 866-721-3322 Ceramics Monthly March 2008 75 book review in the English ready-made apparel trade from circa.1650–1800 doesn’t shed much light on the modern craft situation. Except for the section on new media, given the title and the underlying theme of modernity, the book is remarkably devoid of discussions about what we typically think of as contemporary craft: the myriad objects one finds at high-end craft fairs, museum shops and craft museums. It doesn’t, in short, address the typical concerns of everyday western practioners of contemporary craft. The book is not without its problems and, perhaps appropriately for such a variegated subject, no concrete “model” ever emerges. Still, by bringing together the writings of anthropologists, historians, philosophers, scholars, critics and others engaged in craft media, Alfoldy presents the range of perspectives that definitely contribute to the goal. Softcover, $39.95. ISBN 978-0-919616-47-9. Published by The Press of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, 5163 Duke St., Halifax, Nova Sco- tia, Canada B3J 3J6; www.nscad.ns.ca/press; or tel (902) 494-8221. new books Ceramics in America 2007 edited by Robert Hunter Ceramics in America is a journal, published annually, that concentrates on the role of historical ceramics in America. This new- est edition focuses on the American China Manufac- tory, America’s first successful porcelain factory founded and operated by Gousse Bonnin and George Anthony Morris in Philadel- phia, Pennsylvania from 1769–1772. The essays cover a wide range of topics, including contemporay views on alchemy and pottery, as well as a reconstruction of the process of creating a Bonnin and Mor- ris Pickle Stand. There is also a catalogue raisonné of the nineteen extant examples of Bonnin and Morris ware, which will be on display this spring at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. 397 color photographs. Hardcover, $65. ISBN 978-0-97673440-6. Published by Chipstone Foundation, 7820 N. Club Circle, Milwaukee, WI 53217; www.chipstone.org. Ceramics Monthly March 2008 76 RELEASENEW SURFACE A DECORATION: gREA FINISHING TECHNIQUES t gift

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FREE Shipping when you order online (US Only) ceramicartsdaily.org/books 866-721-3322 Ceramics Monthly March 2008 77 calendar Conferences, Exhibitions, Workshops, Fairs submit listings at www.ceramicsmonthly.org

conferences North Carolina, Asheboro March 7–9 “21st exhibitions. US fee: $210; students, $145; for full reg- Annual North Carolina Potters Conference: Three istration fees, visit www.nceca.net/conference/2008/. Maine, Deer Isle July 13–17 “The Language of Women, Three Countries, Three Ways of Working Contact NCECA (National Council on Education Craft,” includes lectures and panel discussions with with Clay,” includes presentations with Jane Hamlyn, for the Ceramic Arts), 77 Erie Village Square, Suite Paulus Berensohn, Akiko Busch, Charles Garoian, Mary Law and Robin Best. For more information, visit 280, Erie, CO 80516; [email protected]; (866) Janet Koplos, John McQueen, Margo Mensing, www.randolphartsguild.com. 266-2322. Warren Seelig and Kim Stafford. Fee: $310. Contact Pennsylvania, Philadelphia April 23–27 “Ameri- Virginia, Sweet Briar May 30–June 1 “Community Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, PO Box 518, can Art Pottery Assocation Annual Conference,” of Fire,” includes panels and presentations with Svend Deer Isle 04627; www.haystack-mtn.org. includes presentations, exhibitions, booksignings Beyer, Robert Compton, Kevin Crowe, Stephen Driver, Michigan, Jackson March 14–16 “Jackson’s and bus tours. Contact AAPA, 1519 W. Clifton Victoria Hansen, Mark Hewitt, Micki Schloesingk Three Days of Clay,” includes presentations Blvd., Lakewood, OH 44107; [email protected]; and Jack Troy. Fee: $395; after March, $425. by Bill van Gilder. For more information, visit www.aapa.info; (216) 221-3537. Contact Kevin Crowe; [email protected]; www.ellasharp.org or www.jpcg.org. Contact Ella Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh March 19–22 “NCECA www.kevincrowepottery.com; (434) 263-4065. Sharp Museum of Art and History, 3 Days of Clay, 2008, Confluence: Innovation, Community, Envi- West Virginia, Morgantown March 15–17 3225 Fourth St., Jackson 49203. ronment,” includes lectures, panel discussions and “Bridging the Gap: East Meets West–A Cultural Dia- logue Between Chinese and North American Artists,” includes demonstrations with Liu Pinchang, Li Chao, Joe Zeller, Josh DeWeese, Gong Bai Jai, Martin Tags- eth, Jennifer Allen, Tara Wilson and Yao Yong Kong. For more information, visit http://art.ccarts.wvu. edu/undergrad/ceramics/index.htm. Contact Bob An- derson or Shoji Satake; [email protected]; [email protected]; (304) 293-2140, ext. 3135. solo exhibitions

Arizona, Scottsdale April 3–17 “LuAnn Tafoya: The Red and the Black”; at King Galleries of Scott- sdale, 7100 Main, #1. Arizona, Tempe March 15–August 2 “Synthetic Reality: Susan Beiner”; at Arizona State University Art Museum, 10th St. and Mill Ave. California, Davis March 7–April 18 Linda FitzGib- bon; at Pence Gallery, 212 D St. California, Fullerton through March 30 Vincent Suez; at Muckenthaler Cultural Center, 1201 W. Malvern Ave. California, Pasadena through April 12 Sierra Pecheur, “Dig: An Imagined Archeo-logism”; at Xiem Clay Center, 1563 N. Lake Ave. California, Pomona through March 1 “Don Reitz: Hands on the Goddess”; at Armstrong’s Gallery, 150 E. 3rd St. California, San Francisco through April 5 Nina Lyons, “Narratives”; at Sculpturesite Gallery, 201 3rd St. Florida, St. Petersburg March 7–May 10 Jun Kaneko; at The Arts Center, 719 Central Ave. April 25–May 10 Vai Alandikar, “Mantra”; at Tim Salen Gallery, St. Petersburg Clay Co., 420 22nd St. Georgia, Decatur March 1–29 Kyle Carpenter, “Adorning the Pot”; at MudFire Gallery, 175 Lar- edo Dr. Illinois, Chicago through March 1 Barbara Hashimoto, “Retrospective: 17 Years of Sculpture”; at Dubhe Carreño, 1841 S. Halsted St. Illinois, LaGrange March 8–April 10 Fong Choo, “Re- cent Work”; at Terra Incognito, 35 S. LaGrange Rd. Kansas, Overland Park through March 30 “Re- membering Beauty: The Ceramic Work of Victor Babu”; at Kansas City Jewish Museum Foundation Epsten Gallery, 5500 W. 123rd. Maryland, Westminster through April 4 Cynthia Aldrich, “Bearing Witness: Women as Victims of War”; at Scott Gallery, Carroll Community College, 1601 Washington Rd. Massachusetts, Northampton through March 9 Val Cushing; at The Artisan Gallery, 162 Main St. Minnesota, Minneapolis through April 4 Kelly Connole, “Where the Sky Meets the Earth”; at Augs- burg College, Christensen Center Art Gallery, 2211 Riverside Ave. Missouri, St. Louis through March 29 Laurel Lukaszewski; at the Duane Reed Gallery, 7513 Forsyth Blvd. Ceramics Monthly March 2008 78 RELEASENEW A raku, pit gREA

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Ceramics Monthly March 2008 79 calendar solo exhibitions

Montana, Missoula March 7–25 Kicki Masthem. April 4–29 Jack Troy; at The Clay Studio of Missoula, 1106 Hawthorne Unit A. New York, Alfred through March 21 Jeffrey Mongrain; at Schein-Joseph International Museum of Ceramic Art, NYSCC, 2 Pine St. Ohio, Columbus through March 30 “Christina Bothwell: Invisible Realities”; at Ohio Craft Museum, 1665 W. 5th Ave. Pennsylvania, Chester Springs through March 29 Ruth Borgenicht; at Chester Springs Studio, 1671 Art School Rd. Pennsylvania, Mt. Lebanon March 1–31 Ron Korczynski, ”Teapots and Other Clay Stuff”; at Create- a-Frame/Handworks Gallery, 670 Washington Rd. March 19–29 “Birds I View, Jacqueline Jrolf.” “Recent Works of Una Mjurka”; at Art Loft, 615 Washington Rd. Pennsylvania, Philadelphia through March 2 Munemitsu Taguchi. Alison Reintjes. March 7–30 Kurt Anderson. David Garrett, “Who Says Words With My Mouth?” April 4–27 Maren Kloppman. April 25–June 1 Heather Mae Erickson; at The Clay Studio, 139 N. 2nd St. Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh March 1–28 “Decalco- mania: Recent Ceramic Work by Laura Jean McLaugh- lin”; at The Clay Penn, 5111 Penn Ave. March 7–22 Michel L. Conroy, “hum”; at 709 Penn Gallery; 709 Penn Ave. March 14–April 25 Marlene Boyle, “SPEAK OUT”; at Gallery on 43rd St., 187 43rd St. March 17–22 John Dorinsky, “Raku Dreams”; at Imagebox Productions, Inc., 4933 Penn Ave. March 18–22 Sarah Conway; at The Framery, 4735 Butler St. March 19–22 Mike Prather, “Emotional Affair”; at The Ellis Armory, 6425 Fifth Ave. March 19–22 Brian Molanphy, “L’amour, La Mort”; at Conscious Café, 36 E. Main St. March 19–22 Alexandra Watrous, “Forgotten Forest”; at Standard Ceramic, 24 Chestnut St. March 19–May 31“Ceramic Explosion: The Work of Martin Klimas”; at The Andy Warhol Museum, 117 Sandusky St. Pennsylvania, Washington March 7–April 6 Ilena Finocchi, “Shadows of Collected Memories”; at Olin Art Gallery, Washington and Jefferson College, 285 E. Wheeling St. Texas, Lufkin through May 30 David Hendley, “Pots and Process”; at Museum of East Texas, 503 N. 2nd St. Texas, Rockport through March 2 “Danville Chadbourne: Recent Work”; at St. Charles Art Gal- lery, 414 S. Austin St. Washington, Bellevue through April 19 “Eden Revisited: The Ceramic Art of Kurt Weiser”; at Bel- levue Arts Museum, 510 Bellevue Way NE.

group ceramics exhibitions

Arizona, Tempe through April 27 “A Human Impulse: Figuration from the Diane and Sandy Besser Collection”; at Arizona State University Art Museum, Tenth St. and Mill Ave. Arkansas, Little Rock through March 30 “Innova- tion and Change: Great Ceramics from the Permanent Collection of the Ceramics Research Center, Arizona State University Art Museum”; at Arkansas Art Center, 501 E. Ninth St. California, Claremont through April 6 “Ceramic Annual 2008: 64th Scripps Ceramic Annual”; at Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery, Scripps College, 11th and Columbia Sts. California, Davis April 4–May 4 Charlene Reinhart and Carol Wedemeyer; at Pence Gallery, 212 D St.

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Ceramics Monthly March 2008 81 calendar group exhibitions

April 25–June 1 “Exploring the Surface,” works Catharine Hiersoux and John Balistreri; at AMOCA, White Sale,” works by Michael Anthony and Sarah Z. by members of the Associaton of Clay and Glass 340 S. Garey Ave. Barnes; at Meredith Gallery, 805 N. Charles St. Artists of California; at the Association of Clay and Colorado, Golden through March 9 “Colorado March 1–April 18 “Terra Incognita: Unknown Glass Artists, 212 D St. Clay”; at Foothills Art Center, 809 15th St. Land”; at Baltimore Clayworks, 5707 Smith Ave. April 25–June 6 “19th Annual California Clay Florida, Palm Beach Gardens March 11–21 “The Massachusetts, Cambridge March 31–June 30 Competition”; at the Artery, 207 G St. Dinner Party Invitational: Food for Thought”; at Palm “A Taste of Power: 18th Century German Porcelain California, El Cajon April 7–24 “Viewpoint: Beach Community College, 3160 PGA Blvd. for the Table”; at Harvard University Art Museums, Ceramics 2008”; at Grossmont College, Hyde Art Florida, West Palm Beach March 6–April 5 “Mad Busch-Reisinger Museum, 32 Quincy St. Gallery, 8800 Grossmont College Dr. Hatter’s Tea Party Exhibition”; at Armory Art Center, Massachusetts, Lenox through March 8 “Firing California, Los Angeles through March 1 1700 Parker Ave. Partners: Hedgehog Kiln, Hillsdale, NY,” works by “Ceramic Works of Gertrud and Otto Natzler”; at Illinois, Oak Park March 15–April 16 “Seeded,” Mark Rowntree, Ben Krupka and Daniel Bellow; at Couturier Gallery, 166 N. La Brea Ave. works by Conner McKissack, Brian Taylor, Kari Ra- Ferrin Gallery, 69 Church St. California, Pomona March 8–May 3 “Into the dasch, Ted Neal, Michael T. Schmidt and Pat Coughlin; Massachusetts, Lexington March 25–April 21 Woods: A Fiery Tale,” works by Fred Olsen, Peter at Terra Incognito, 246 Chicago Ave. “Ceramics in New England: 1700–2008”; at Lexing- Callas, Jeff Shapiro, Chris Gustin, Takao Okazaki, Maryland, Baltimore through March 29 “The ton Arts and Crafts Society, 130 Waltham St. Massachusetts, Northampton April 11–May 18 “Porcelain Now: The Alfred Connection,” works by Andy Shaw, Kristen Kieffer and Albion Stafford; at The Artisan Gallery, 162 Main St. Massachusetts, Worcester through March 1 “Watershed 6”; at the Krikorian Gallery, Worcester Center for Crafts, 25 Sagamore Rd. Michigan, Detroit through March 7 “Soup to Nuts: Special Dishes for Everyday Use”; at Pewabic Pottery, 10125 E. Jefferson Ave. Minnesota, Minneapolis March 7–April 27 “Exquisite Pots: Six Degrees of Collaboration,” works by Maren Kloppmann, Andrew Martin, Mar- garet Bohls, Andy Brayman, Sam Chung and Deb Schwartzkopf. “Bountiful Visions: Juliane Shibata and Eva Kwong”; at Northern Clay Center, 2424 Franklin Ave. E. Minnesota, St. Paul through March 2 “Minnesota Women Potters,” works by Lisa Buck, Linda Chris- tianson and Jill Franke; at The Grand Hand Gallery, 619 Grand Ave. Missouri, Kansas City through March 1 “Dynamic Ceramic Duos: Couples Who Share a Love For Clay.” March 6–29 “Rising Stars: 10 Years”; at Red Star Studios, 821 W. 17th St. Montana, Red Lodge March 7–April 25 “16 Hands,” works by Silvie Granatelli, Richard Hensley, Donna Polseno, Ellen Shankin, Stacy Snyder and Brad Warstler; at Red Lodge Clay Center, 123 S. Broadway. New Jersey, Clinton April 6–June 15 “Uncommon Clay,” works by Bennett Bean, Ruth Borgenicht, Jim Jansma, Ka Kwong Hui, Taesik Song and Mikhail Zakin; at Hunterdon Museum of Art, 7 Lower Center St. New Mexico, Santa Fe through March 8 “RED.” March 14–April 12 “Cats.” April 18–May 17 “Emerging Talent,” works by Naomi Cleary, Myung-Jin Kim, Vince Palacios, Shoko Teruyama and Kensuke Yamada; at Santa Fe Clay, 1615 Paseo de Peralta. New York, Port Chester March 1–22 “Watershed Winter Residents 2007–2008.” “Community Clay: Clay Art Center Outreach.” March 30–April 5 “Liv- ing Sculpture: Ikebana and Clay Collaborations.” “Flower Power.” April 10–26 “Rising Stars: Clay Art Center Annual Student Show”; at Clay Art Center, 40 Beech St. North Carolina, Charlotte through April 20 “Made in China: Export Porcelain from the Leo and Doris Hodroff Collection”; at Mint Museum of Art, 2730 Randolph Rd. Ohio, Rocky River March 29–May 5 Kevin Snipes and Kelly Palmer; at River Gallery, 19046 Old Detroit Rd. Pennsylvania, Mt. Lebanon March 19–29 “Echoes from the Rustbelt“; at Planet Art Gallery, 632 Washington Rd. Pennsylvania, Philadelphia through March 2 “Beyond Tradition: Yixing Teapots.” March 7–30 “The Bird: Homage to Brancusi.” April 4–27 “Speaking Ceramics Monthly March 2008 82 suMMerP roG r AMs

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Ceramics Monthly March 2008 83 calendar group exhibitions

Low: Surfaces in Earthenware”; at The Clay Studio, 139 N. 2nd St. Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh through March 21 “Edinboro University Alumni Show.” “Edinboro Uni- versity Student Show”; at Alcoa Corporate Building, 201 Isabella St. through March 22 “NCECA Regional Student Juried Exhibition.” March 19–22 “Material Transla- tions: Pinch, Coil, Slab,’ works by Judit Varga, Laurel Lukaszewski, Elizabeth Kendall. March 14–April 13 “Earth and Fire”; at Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, 6300 Fifth Ave. through Mar 23 “Natural Distortions,” works by Mark Burleson, Kimberly Greene, Timothy Van Beke, Merrie; at Wright La Vie Gallery, 3609 Butler St. through Apr 7 “The Frank Ross Legacy Exhibition.” March 18–22 “Table of Elements”; at Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild, 1815 Metropolitan St. March 1–21 “Tea Bowls and Teabowls,” works by Peter Callas, Joe Campbell, Kristin Muller and Takao Okazaki; at Shane Sellers Asian Influences, 3513 Butler St. March 1–29 “Cleveland Institute of Art Ceramics Program: 1978–2008.” “Composite: Works by Ohio University Faculty and Graduate Students”; at Borelli Edwards Gallery, 3583 Butler St. March 1–30 “Topographies: Recent Sculpture by David S. East and Paul Sacaridiz”; at Trinity Gallery, 4747 Hatfield St. March 1–31 “Hanging by a Thread”; at Main gallery, Carnegie Library, 4400 Forbes Ave. March 3–28 “Tableware from the Neighbor- hood,” works by Saeeda Brown, Lindsay Ford and Justin Rothshank. “Union Project Co-op Member Show.” “Wood-Fired Ware: Ceram- ics by Kiln Build Workshop Instructors.” March 19–22 “Cryptae: An Environmental Installation, Pandra Williams”; at Union Project, 801 North Negley Ave. March 5–April 5 “Clay and Print”; at Artists Image Resource, 518 Foreland St. March 7–April 4 “Juicy Terra cotta,” works by Helen Otterson, Elizabeth Coleman, Ayumi Horie and Kari Radasch; at Sweetwater Center for the Arts, 200 Broad St. March 7–April 19 “Tacitly Tactile”; at Gallerie Chiz, 5831 Ellsworth Ave. March 7–April 26 “Japanese Threads”; at Morgan Contemporary Glass Gallery, 5833 Ellsworth Ave. March 7–28 “Americana Refigured,” works by Pavel Amromin, Renee Audette, Thaddeus Erdahl, Magdalene Gluszek, Tammy Marinuzzi, Beau Raymond, Michael Schmidt and Matt Shaffer; at Modernformations Gallery and Performance Space, 4919 Penn Ave. March 7–April 25 “Between Surface and Self”; at MCG @ 800 Penn Ave. Gallery, 800 Penn Ave. March 8–29 “It’s Hot in Here—Seven Alarms at the Firehouse”; at Moxie DaDA, 1416 Arch St. March 11–23 “Earth and Fire Art”; at Institute of Pittsburgh, 420 Blvd. of the Allies. March12–April 19 “Brit by Brit,” works by Rod Bugg and Steve Dixon; at Robert Morris University Gallery, 600 5th Ave. March 14–April 25 “From the Ground Up”; at Gallery on 43rd St., 187 43rd St. March 14–May 31 “Black Clay in PA: A Dialogue In Flux,” works by Sharif Bey, Syd Carpenter, Michael Clemens, Justin Coleman, Vanessa German, Marica Jackson, Mary Martin, Malcolm Mobutu Smith and Paul Andrew Wandless; at 209/9 Gallery (of the Au- gust Wilson Center), 9th St., Liberty at Penn Ave. March 14–April 5 “Suggestion/Submission,” works by Ian F. Thomas and Jeffrey A. Schwarz; at 707 Penn Gallery, 707 Penn Ave. Ceramics Monthly March 2008 84 Ceramics Monthly March 2008 85 calendar group exhibitions

March 14–April 26 “Friends in Clay,” works by at Three Rivers Arts Festival Gallery, 937 Liberty March 19–21 “Ten from Ten: Carnegie Mellon Elvira Peake, Kirk Mangus, Eva Kwong and James Ave., 3rd Fl. University Alumni”; at University Center Gallery, Simon; at The Clay Place Gallery, One Walnut St. March 18–22 “To Live Together Harmoniously Carnegie Mellon University, 5200 Forbes Ave. March 14–May 3 “Two for the Show,” works by Nature,” works by Hiromu and Mieko Okuda. March March 19–22 “National Invitational Dinnerware Regis Brodie and Bill Strickland; James Gallery, 413 14–May 3 “Clay and Flowers”; at Drew Mathieson Exhibition”; at Westin Hotel, 1000 Penn Ave. South Main St. Center for Horticultural Technology, 1650 Metro- March 19–22 “Amazing Ceramics at Gist St.”; at March 14–June 7 “Voices, 2008 NCECA Invita- politan St. James Simon Sculpture Studio, 305 Gist St. tional Exhibition”; at Society for Contemporary Craft, March 18–22 “Muchachos.” March18–23 “SUNY March 19–22 “Ceramics of Italy”; at Molto Bella 2100 Smallman St. New Paltz, Alum-plus.” March 19–22 “Nordic Wood- Ceramica, 5529 Walnut St. March 15–29 “Allegheny County Regional K–12 fire.” “From Belgrade to Bellingham: New Work from March 19–22 “La Mesa.” ”2008 International Ceramic Exhibition”; at Andrew Carnegie Free Library, Syracuse”; at Standard Ceramic, 24 Chestnut St. Orton Cone Box Show”; at The Westin Convention 300 Beechwood Ave. March18–27 “Painting With Smoke—Three Visions: Center, 1000 Penn Ave. March 17–22 ”Material Transcendence: Clay Naked Raku”; at VAC Gallery, CCAC Allegheny Campus, March 19–22 “Strip Artists: Dale Huffman at as Commentary.” “The Greatest Show on Earth”; corner of Galveston and N. Lincoln on the N. Shore. the Penn Ave. Pottery,” works by Valda Cox, Tracey Donoughe, Bill Foglia, Mike Gwaltney, Dale Huff- man and Gary Pletsch; at Penn Ave. Pottery, 1905 Penn Ave. March 19–22 “NCECA 2008 Honorees Exhibition,” works by Judith Schwartz, Robert Archambeau, Glen Blakley, Harris Deller, Ron Meyers, Ichi Hsu and Elvira Peake; at Frank Ross Mendelson Gallery, 5874 Ellsworth Ave. March 19–22 “SRU Undergrads Rollin’ on the River”; at Kiln-n-Time, 3801 Penn Ave. March 19–22 “A Micro-Macro Lexicon,” works by Beverly Fisher, Nicholas Kripal, Debbie Sigel and Greg Stahly; at Spinning Plates Gallery, 5720 Friendship Ave. March 19–22 “Adaptation,” works by Sandra Blain, Kirk Mangus, Frank Martin, Eva Kwong, TeaY- oun Kim-Kassor and Kemal Uludag. “Lingua Franca.” “Terra Nova,” works by Michael Angelotti, Karen Bolton, Gregory Byard and Brandon O’Hara. “After China: The Politics of Fabrication,” works by Sin-ying Ho, Alison J. Petty, Philip Read, Ian F. Thomas, Marie Weichman and Dryden Wells. “Chautauqua School of Art.” “Slipstream: Works by Karen Bolton and Tomas Schneider.” “Keramos and Friends: 8 Artists from Marshall U,” works by Earline Allen, Mike Bowen, Jessica Bright, Charlie Barager, Micah LeMaster, Mona Arritt, Lindsey Philabaun and Todd Cox. “Constant Conversations: Educating Ourselves in Clay.” “Clay at Goshen College.” “Our Nature, Your Nature,” works by James Leslie, Amanda Lehtola and Dong Jun Shin. “Finding A Path-Honing a Line.”” Throw Back: Ceramic Evolution,” works by Joseph Blue Sky, Eva Kwong, Beth Linderberger, Kirk Mangus, Judith Salomon, Cheryl Shepherd, Donna Webb and Bob Yost. “Recent Refinements,” works by Stephanie Craig, Todd Leech, Chris Longwell and Jared Ward. “Earth and Ash: The Clarion University Wood Kiln Community of Artists”; at The Ellis Armory, 6425 Fifth Ave. March 19–22 “From A Women’s Hand: Past Vi- sion–Present Realities.” “Pipe Dreams East,” works by Margaret Erikson, Barbara Hosack Kindler, Jeff Kohut, Denise Romecki, Ted Sones and Tim Stanvenger; at The Ellis School, 6425 Fifth Ave. March 19–22 “Residents from the Bray 2007.” March 19–April 12 “Erudite Lunacy.” “Ranch Hands”; at 3rd Street Gallery, 220 3rd St. March 19–22 “The Myth of Permanence.” “re-Col- lection,” works by Jae Won Lee and Blake Williams; at Standard Ceramics, One Walnut St. March 19–April 25 “Keystone Connections, Penn- sylvania artists: Jessica Broad, Bernadette Curran, Jim Dugan, Tina Gebhart, Ryan Kelly and Lars Westby”; at Hawk Studios and Gallery, 5208 Butler St. March 19–April 26 “Object(ions)”; at Michael Berger Gallery, 415 Gettysburg St. March 19–May 18 “Out of Madness—Seven Pot- ters Follow Ohr.” “Pots by the River: Treasures from the Waynesburg University Collection.” “Women with Wood – Three Generations”; at McGuinn Gallery, Heinz History Center, 1212 Smallman St. Ceramics Monthly March 2008 86 Ceramics Monthly March 2008 87 calendar group exhibitions

March 21–24 “Ceramic Sculpture: Carnegie Mellon Student Work, Freshmen through Seniors”; at The Frame Gallery, Carnegie Mellon University, 5200 Forbes Ave. Rhode Island, Kingston April 17–May 10 “Earth- works Open Juried Clay Annual”; at South County Art Association, 2587 Kingstown Rd. Texas, Dallas April 4–6 “The First Annual Dallas Pottery Invitational”; at The Janette Kennedy Gallery, 1409 S. Lamar. Virginia, Richmond through June 29 “Ceramic Portraits: Selections from the Georganna Yeager Johns Collection of Royal Doulton Character Jugs”; at Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature, University of Richmond Museums. Washington, Bellevue through March 12 “The Nature of Growth”; at Bellevue Community College, 3000 Landerholm Circle SE. Washington, Kirkland through March 29 “Clay? II”; at Kirkland Arts Center, 620 Market St. West Virginia, Morgantown March 1–31 “The Four States Ceramics Exhibition”; at ZenClay Studio and Galleries, 2862 University Ave. ceramics in multimedia exhibitions

Arizona, Tucson March 15–May 3 “ Mary Fischer, Susan Gutt, Talya Baharal and Terri Logan,” including ceramics by Mary Fischer; at Obsidian Gallery, 4320 N. Campbell Ave. #130. Florida, Naples through October 31 “Interna- tional Inspirations,” including ceramics by Margret Chevalier, Alexandra McCurdy, Gabrielle Nappo and Richard W. Rosen; at Rosen Studios, N. Line Plaze, 2172 J&C Blvd. Illinois, Urbana March 1–April 5 “Flesh and Blood: Drawings by Ron Kovatch and Ceramic Sculpture by Jacob Foran”; at Cinema Gallery, 120 W. Main St. Massachusetts, Brockton through May 4 “The Society of Arts and Crafts Winners 1994–2006”; at Fuller Craft Museum, 455 Oak St. Minnesota, Minneapolis through May 25 “Arts of Japan: The John C. Weber Collection”; at Min- neapolis Institute of Art, 2400 3rd Ave. S. New Mexico, Santa Fe through May 11 “Flower Power: A Subversive Botanical Exhibition”; at New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe’s Plaza at 107 W. Palace Ave. New York, Brooklyn through March 2 “Peace,” including ceramics by Tony Moore; at Sideshow, 319 Bedford Ave. New York, New York through March 9 “Cheers! A MAD Collection of Goblets”; at Museum of Art and Design, 40 W. 53rd St. through April 18 “Josiah Wedgewood and His Circle”; at The UBS Art Gallery, 1285 Ave. of the Americas between 51st and 52nd Sts. March 7–July 6 “Rococo: The Continuing Curve, 1730–2008”; at Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, 2 E. 91st St. March 18–29 “Chinese Sculpture and Works of Art”; at PaceWildenstein, 7th Fl., 32 E. 57th St. North Carolina, Ashville through April 26 Greg Decker and Debra Fritts, including ceramics by Debra Fritts; at Blue Spiral 1, 38 Biltmore Ave. North Carolina, Charlotte through April 20 “Made in China”; at Mint Museum of Art, 2730 Randolph Rd. North Carolina, Hendersonville through May 9 “Blue Ridge Residencies”; at Center for Craft, Creativity and Design, 1181 Broyles Rd. Ohio, Columbus through March 30 “Nature/Cul- ture: Artists Respond to their Environment,” including ceramics by Kim Abeles and Susan Beiner; at Ohio Craft Museum, 1665 W. 5th Ave. Ceramics Monthly March 2008 88 potters council potters Are You Ready to... Discover Opportunities | Experience Community Become Inspired Join Potters Council for Only $45

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Ceramics Monthly March 2008 89 calendar multimedia exhibitions

Oregon, Portland through March 23 “The Living Texas, Denton April 10–May 29 “Visual Arts Work of Laura Pickett Calfee and Giselle Hicks,” Room”; at Museum of Contemporary Craft, 724 Society of Texas: 40th Annual Visual Arts Exhibi- including ceramics by Giselle Hicks; at John Michael Northwest Davis St. tion”; at Meadows Gallery, Center for the Visual Kohler Arts Center, 608 New York Ave. Pennsylvania, Philadelphia March 3–April Arts, 400 E. Hickory. 27 “Borgenicht and Pontz: Collaboration Linking Texas, Houston through May 4 “Craft in America: fairs, festivals and sales Metal and Clay”; at Crane Arts Bldg., 1400 N. Expanding Traditions”; at Houston Center for Con- American St. temporary Craft, 4848 Main St. Arizona, Tucson April 25–27 “Tucson Furniture, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh through March 30 Washington, Bainbridge Island through March Art and Decor Market”; at Tucson Expo Center, 3750 “Recollection: An Obsession with Collecting and 4 “Works in Progress,” including ceramics by Joe E. Irvington Rd. Craftsmanship,” including ceramics by Richard Hirsch; O’Brien; at Bainbridge Arts and Crafts, 151 Win- California, San Francisco March 8–9 “Contempo- at Pittsburgh Glass Center, 5472 Penn Ave. slow Way E. rary Crafts Market”; at Fort Mason, Festival Pavilion. March 19–22 “Warren MacKenzie & David Lewis, Wisconsin, Racine through March 30 “Feeling For more information, visit www.craftsource.org. Pots & Paintings,” including ceramics by Warren Groovy! Texture in RAM’s Collection”; at Racine Art Colorado, Boulder May 1–4 “Boulder Potters’ Guild MacKenzie; at Frank Ross Mendelson Gallery, 5874 Museum, 441 Main St. Spring Sale”; at Boulder County Fairgrounds. For more Ellsworth Ave. Wisconsin, Sheboygan “Whispering Walls: The information, visit www.boulderpottersguild.com. Connecticut, Hartford March 28–30 “Sugarloaf Crafts Festival”; at Connecticut Expo Center, 265 Reverend Moody Overpass. D.C., Washington April 10–13 “26th Annual Smithsonian Craft Show”; at National Building Mu- seum, 401 F St., NW. April 11–13 “James Renwick Alliance Spring Craft Weekend.” For more information, visit www.jra.org. Georgia, Macon April 18–27 “Fired Works”; at Central City Park, downtown Macon. For more information, visit www.maconarts.org. Kentucky, Louisville March 8–9 “Kentucky Crafted: The Market”; at Kentucky Exposition Center, South Wing B. Maryland, Gaithersburg April 4–6 “Sugarloaf Crafts Festival”; at Montgomery County Fair- grounds. Maryland, Timonium April 25–27 “Sugarloaf Crafts Festival”; at Maryland State Fairgrounds. Massachusetts, Amherst, Northampton, Shelburne Falls April 26–27 “Asparagus Val- ley Pottery Trail.” For more information, visit www.asparagusvalleypotterytrail.com. Michigan, Novi April 18–20 “Sugarloaf Art Fair”; at Rock Financial Showplace. New Jersey, Morristown April 11–13 “Spring Crafts at Morristown”; at Morristown Armory, 430 Western Ave. New Jersey, Somerset March 7–9 “Sugarloaf Crafts Festival”; at Garden State Exhibit Center, 50 Atrium Dr. New Mexico, Albuquerque March 7–9 “Rio Grande Arts and Crafts Festival”; at Expo NM, State Fairgrounds. For more information, visit www.riograndefestivals.com. New Mexico, Santa Fe April 26–27 “Ninth Con- temporary Clay Fair”; at New Mexico Potters and Clay Artists Association, 1616 Old Pecos Trail. May 24–25 “Native Treasures: Indian Arts Festival”; at Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, 710-708 Camino Lejo. New York, New York March 21–24 “Arts of Pacific Asia”; at 69th Regiment Armory, Lexington Ave. at 26th St. March 27–30 “Red Dot New York”; at Park South Hotel, 122 E. 28th St. March 27–30 “Bridge Art Fair New York 2008”; at The Waterfront, 222 12th Ave. March 27–April 30 “Made in Clay: Annual Benefit Sale”; at Greenwich House Pottery, 16 Jones St. March 28–31 “International Asian Art Fair”; at Park Ave. Armory, Park Ave. at 67th St. May 2–4 “Incised Imagery: 8th Annual Pueblo Pottery in New York City”; at Hotel Beacon, 75th and Broadway. North Carolina, Creedmoor April 4–6, 12–13 “40th Annual Spring Pottery and Glass Festival”; at Cedar Creek Gallery, 1150 Fleming Rd. Oregon, Portland April 25–27 “Ceramic Show- case 2008”; at Oregon Convention Center, 777 NE

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Ceramics Monthly March 2008 91 calendar fairs, festivals and sales

Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. For more information, visit www.ceramicshowcase.com. Pennsylvania, Langhorne April 26–27 “American Art Pottery Association Annual Show and Sale”; at Sheraton Bucks County Hotel. For more information, visit www.aapa.com. Texas, Lubbock April 17–20 “Lubbock Arts Festival”; at Lubbock Memorial Civic Center, 1501 MacDavis Ln. Virginia, Chantilly May 2–4 “Sugarloaf Crafts Festival”; at Dulles Expo Center, 4368 Brookfield Corporate Dr.

workshops

Alabama, Montgomery April 5–6 Demonstration Workshop with Conner Burns. Free of charge; pre- registration required. Contact Sue Jensen, Auburn University Montgomery, 7400 E. Dr., Montgomery 36117; [email protected]; (334) 244-3361. Arizona, Phoenix March 28–30 Raku Workshop with David Roberts. Fee: $275. April 19–20 Paperclay Workshop with Graham Hay. Fee: $200. Contact Mishy Katz, Desert Dragon Pottery, 25037 N. 17th Ave., Phoenix 85085; [email protected]; www.desertdragonpottery.com; (602) 690-6956. Arizona, Prescott April 11–13 “PMC Certification Class.” Fee: $425. April 26–27 “Raku and Aluminum Foil Saggar.” Fee: $100. May 10–11 “Handbuilding” with Lana Wilson. Fee: $125. May 12–18 “Handbuild- ing and Coiling Intensive.” Fee: $650. Instructor (unless noted above): Karen vanBarneveld-Price. Contact Karen vanBarneveld-Price; VanPrice Studio, 2057 Heavenly Place, Prescott 86303; [email protected]; www.vanprice.com; (928) 443-9723. Arizona, Tucson March 14–15 “Relief Tiles” with Stephani Stephenson. Fee: $90. Contact Jan Bell, Southern Arizona Clay Artists; [email protected]; www.sa-clayartists.org; (520) 326-6709. April 21–22 “Graham Hay: Paperclay Revo- lution.” Fee: $175. Contact Jean Robinson, ArtiFacts, 38090 South Loma Serena Drive, Tuc- son, Arizona 85739; [email protected]; www.artifactstudio.blogspot.com; (520) 825-7807. Arkansas, Fayetteville March 12–15 “Advanced Throwing Techniques with a Little Raku” with Randy Brodnax. Fee: $225; March 15, raku only, $75. April 12–13 “Handbuilding”with Lana Wilson. Fee: $195. Contact Flat Rock Clay Supplies and Studio, 2002 S. School Ave., Fayetteville 72701; www.flatrockclay.com; (479) 521-3181. Arkansas, Mountain View April 12–15 “Creating Pots for a Wood-Burning Kiln” with Judi Munn. Fee: $200; additional material fee based on clay use. April 16–20 “Firing a Wood-Burning Groundhog Kiln” with John Perry and Judi Munn. Fee: $265. Contact Ozark Folk Center, PO Box 500, Mountain View 72560; [email protected]; (870) 269-3851. California, Mendocino March 1–2 “Chawans and Beyond” with Dennis Treanor. April 5–6 “Pinch-n- Pull” with Scott Parady. April 12–13 “Create Ceramic Instruments” with Ernesto Hernandez-Olmos. April 19–20 “Clay Forms as Tools” with Susan Clusener. May 3–4 “Figures in Paperclay” with Gregg Jabs. May 10–11 “Creative Extruding” with William Shinn. May 17–18 “Cut Loose with Clay” with Melanie Knox. May 24–26 “Wood-Fire Seduction” with Nicolas Blake Schwartz. Fee: $250. Fee (unless noted above): $175. Contact Mendocino Art Center, 45200 Little Lake St., PO Box 765, Mendocino 95460; [email protected]; www.mendocinoartcenter.org; (800) 653-3328. California, Riverside March 14–16 Workshop with Don Reitz. Fee: $85. Contact John W. Hopkins, Riverside Community College, 4800 Magnolia Ave., Riverside 92506; [email protected]; (951) 222-8273. Ceramics Monthly March 2008 92 Ceramics Monthly March 2008 93 calendar workshops

California, San Diego March 8–12 Workshop Connecticut, Kent March 15–16 “West African Handbuilding” with Richard Notkin. May 17–18 “A with Sandi Pierantozzi and Neil Patterson. Fee: Vessels” with Barbara Allen. May 3–4 “The Expres- Plethora of Handbuilding Techniques” with Richard $465. May 28–June 1 “The Raku Process: Form- sive Pot” with Jack Troy. Contact Nancy Magnusson; Notkin. Fee (unless noted above): $135. Contact ing, Surface, Glazing and Firing” with Steven [email protected]; (860) 309-8267. MudFire Clayworks, 175 Laredo Dr., Decatur 30030; Branfman. Fee: $385; CASD members, $365; $30 Florida, West Palm Beach March 8–9 “Ornately [email protected]; (404) 377-8033. discount if fee is paid in full by April 1. Contact Functional: Form and Surface” with Kristen Kief- Georgia, Macon April 26 “Bringing the Ce- Jackson Gray, Clay Artists of San Diego, PO Box fer. Fee: $325. March 29–30 “Surface Surplus” ramic Surface to Life” with Andy Nasisse. Fee; 22524, San Diego 92192; [email protected]; with Erin Furimsky. Fee: $325. Contact Armory Art $75. Contact Heather Davis, Macon Arts, 486 www.clayartistsofsandiego.org; (858) 270-3828. Center, 1700 Parker Ave., West Palm Beach 33401; First St., Macon 31201; [email protected]; Colorado, Grand Junction May 3–4 “Process www.armoryart.org; (561) 832-1776. www.maconarts.org; (478) 743-6940. in Carving and Throwing Porcelain Clay” with Tom Georgia, Decatur March 8–9 “Making Pots Inside Maine, Portland March 15 “Tight Lids and and Elaine Coleman. Fee: $275; members, $250. Out and Upside Down” with Kari Radasch. Fee: Full Bellies” with Peter Jones. March 22 “Rings Contact The Art Center, 1803 N. 7th St., Grand $245. April 12–13 “Attention to Detail” with Jeff and Stones Workshop.” Contact Portland Pottery Junction 81501; [email protected]; (970) Oestreich. May 3–4 “Raku Spectacular” with Steven and Metalsmithing Studio, 118 Washington Ave., 243-7337, ext. 6. Branfman. Fee: $245. May 16 “Sculptural Teapots and Portland 04101; www.portlandpottery.com; (207) 772-3273. Maryland, Frederick March 1–2 “Chinese Brushwork” with Xiaosheng Bi. Fee: $175. March 6–9 “Chinese Yixing Teapots” with Hui Wang and Zhengzhong Zhang. Fee: $300; yixing clay available for additional fee. April 17–20 “Masters’ Throwing II” with Joyce Michaud. Fee: $300. April 12–13 “Eastern and Western Techniques in Trimming” with Kristin Muller. Fee: $175. Contact Hood College, Ceramics Program, 401 Rosemont Ave., Frederick 21701; www.hood.edu/academic/art; (301) 696-3456. Minnesota, Luverne April 26–27 Raku Workshop with Charlie and Linda Riggs. Fee: $165. Contact Jerry Deuschle; [email protected]; (507) 283-8477. Missouri, Kansas City April 5–6 “Paying Attention to Detail” with Charity Davis-Woodard. May 3–4 “Form Forum” with Christa Asaad. Fee/session: $125. Contact Red Star Studios Ceramic Center, 821 W. 17th St., Kansas City 64108; [email protected]; www.redstarstudios.org; (816) 474-7316. Montana, Helena May 19–23 “Soda Kiln Design and Construction” with Donovan Palmquist. Fee: $450. Contact Archie Bray Foundation for the Ce- ramic Arts, 2915 Country Club Ave., Helena 59602; [email protected]; www.archiebray.org; (406) 443-3502. Montana, Missoula March 8–9 “Ceramic Figures” with Kicki Masthem. Contact Hannah Fisher, The Clay Studio of Missoula, 1106 Hawthorne Unit A, Missoula 59802; [email protected]; (406) 543-0509. Nevada, Las Vegas April 19–20 “Functional Pots: Handbuilding Forms with Slabs” with Sam Chung. Fee: $490, includes lodging. May 3–4 “Handbuilding the Human Form” with Patti Warashina. Fee: $490, includes lodging. May 26–31 “Function, Sculpture and Marketing” with Bill van Gilder. Fee: $1270, includes lodging. Contact Pottery West, 5026 N. Pioneer Way, Las Vegas 89149; [email protected]; www.potterywest.com; (702) 987-3023. New Jersey, Lincroft March 5, 12 “Precious Metal Clay: Ball Pendant.” Fee: $90. March 8 “Wheel Thrown and Altered Pottery” with John Fossa. Fee: $37. March 15, 22 “Precious Metal Clay: Natural Leaf Earrings.” Fee: $90. April 12, 19 “Two-day Building Tower Pots” with John Fossa. Fee: $65. Contact Thompson Park Creative Arts Center, Monmouth County Park System, 805 Newman Springs Rd., Lincroft 07738; www.monmouthcountyparks.com; (732) 842-4000, ext. 4253. New Mexico, Santa Fe March 1–2 “Making Pots from Parts” with Blair Meerfeld. April 12–13 “Contemporary Approaches to Traditional Japanese Decoration” with Betsy Williams. May 17–18 “Paper Clay for Sculpture” with Judy Nelson-Moore. Fee/ session: $215. Contact Santa Fe Clay, 1615 Paseo De Peralta, Santa Fe 87501; [email protected]; www.santafeclay.com; (505) 984-1122.

Ceramics Monthly March 2008 94 Ceramics Monthly March 2008 95 calendar workshops

New York, Katonah March 30 “Raku Firing” with David Hughes. Fee: $125. For more information, contact Katonah Art Center, 131 Bedford Rd., Katonah 10536; [email protected]; www.katonahartcenter.com; (914) 232-4843. New York, New York May 19 “Mosaics” with Eddie Dominguez. Fee: $400. Contact 92nd St. Y, Lexington Ave. at 92nd St., New York 10128; www.92y.org; (212) 415-5565. New York, Port Chester March 1–2 “What Can You Do With Three Pounds of Clay?” with Virginia Scotchie. Fee: $180. April 5–6 “The Paperclay Revolu- tion” with Graham Hay. Fee: $200. May 3–4 “Down to Earth” with Joseph Pintz. Fee: $180. Contact Clay Art Center, 40 Beech St., Port Chester 10573; [email protected]; www.clayartcenter.org; (914) 937-2047. Ohio, Cleveland April 12–13 “Paperclay” with Graham Hay. Fee: $210. Contact Orange Art Cen- ter, 31500 Chagrin Blvd., Pepper Pike, OH 44124; www.orangeartcenter.org; (216) 831-5130. Oregon, Portland April 5–6 “Painterly Pots: A Gestural Approach to Form and Surface” with Ron Meyers. Fee: $175. Contact Oregon College of Art and Craft, 8245 SW Barnes Rd., Portland 97225; www.ocac.edu; (503) 297-5544. Pennsylvania, Chester Springs March 15 Workshop with Ruth Borgenicht. Contact Ches- ter Springs Studio, 1671 Art School Rd., Chester Springs 19425; [email protected]; www.chesterspringsstudio.org; (610) 827-7277. Pennsylvania, Philadelphia March 1 “Adult and Child Workshop: Coil Camp” with Amy Santoferraro. Fee: $35 for one adult and one child; $10 extra for 2nd child. May 17–18 “Investigating Form and Surface with Majolica” with Linda Arbuckle. Contact The Clay Studio, 139 N. 2nd St., Philadelphia 19106; [email protected]; www.theclaystudio.org. Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh March 15–18 “Woodfire Kiln Building Workshop” with Dale Huffman, Justin Rothshank and Eric C. Wolf- gang Knoche. Fee: $195. Contact Justin Roth- shank, Union Project; [email protected]; www.unionproject.org/ceramics. Rhode Island, Kingston April 13 Demonstra- tion and slide lecture with Diane Rosenmiller. Fee: $55. Contact South County Art Association, 2587 Kingstown Rd., Kingston 02881; [email protected]; www.southcountyart.org; (401) 783-2195. Virginia, Alexandria March 28–30 “Making Lively Pots: Altering on the Wheel with Soft Clay” with Gay Smith. Fee: $185. Contact Dale Marhanka, The Art League School Ceramics Program, 305 Madison St., Alexandria 22314; [email protected]; www.theartleague.org; (703) 683-2323. Virginia, Amherst March 8–9, April 12–13 “Weekend Throwing Workshops” with Kevin Crowe. Fee: $300, includes lodging, meals and materials. Contact Kevin Crowe, Tye River Pottery, 1289 Falling Rock Dr., Amherst 24521; [email protected]; www.kevincrowepottery.com; (434) 263-4065. Washington, Edmonds March 29–30 “Busi- ness of Crafts Weekend Workshop” with Pa- mela Corwin and Manya Vee. Fee: $190. Contact Business of Crafts, [email protected]; www.businessofcrafts.com; (800) 969-0869. West Virginia, Huntington May 2–4 “The Process is Everything: Working with Ed Eberle.” Fee: $225; members, $195; teachers, $165; students, $120. Con- tact Brad Boston, Huntington Museum of Art, 2033 McCoy Rd., Huntington 25701; [email protected]; www.hmoa.org; (304) 529-2701.

Ceramics Monthly March 2008 96 Ceramics Monthly March 2008 97 calendar international events

international events Marieke Pauwels; at Puls Contemporary Ceramics, Denmark, Skælskør March 3–7 “Factory” with Kasteleinsplein 4, pl. Châtelain. Justin Novak. Fee: 2300DKr (US$456); student and Canada, British Columbia, Burnaby March member fees available. March 18–21 “An Inspiring Australia, Adelaide April 5–May 25 “Porcelain,” 6–8, 12 “Wood-firing” with Robert Barron. Fee: Source to Form” with Flemming Tvede and Anne works by Robin Best, Kirsten Coelho, Gwyn Hanssen $318 (US$323); quote barcode 146898. Contact Tophøj. Fee: 1800DKr (US$357). March 27–28 Pigott, Ann Linnemann, Bruce Nuske, Prue Venables Shadbolt Centre for the Arts, 6450 Deer Lake Ave., “Photography: Form, Colour and Light” with Ole and Gerry Wedd; at Jam Factory, 19 Morphett St. Burnaby, B.C. V5G 2J3; [email protected]; Akhøj. March 29 “Photoshop: Introduction” with Australia, New South Wales, Mittagong April (604) 205-3042. Ole Akhøj. Fee: 1500 DKr (US$297). March 31–April 18–21 “Sturt Woodfire 2008.” Contact Sturt Canada, Ontario, Toronto May 23–25 “The 4 “Experimental Studio” with Karen Harsbo and Neil Woodfire 2008, PO Box 34, Mittagong NSW 2575; Fusion Conference,” includes pre-conference work- Brownsword. Fee: 2300 DKr (US$456). May 5–11 [email protected]; 61 2 4860 2080. shops and presentations by Matt Long and Rachelle “Experimental Woodfire” with Robert Sanderson. Belgium, Brussels through March 1 Rafael Pérez Chinnery. Contact The Ontario Clay and Glass As- Fee: 2300 DKr (US$456). Contact International Ce- and Tjok Dessauvage. March 8–April 12 “Love Your sociation, 1444 Queen St. E., Toronto, ON M4L 1E1; ramic Research Center-Guldagergaard, Heilmannsvej Figure,” works by Louise Hindsgavl, Steen Ipsen, Gitte [email protected]; www.clayandglass.on.ca; 31A, Skælskør DK-4230; [email protected]; Jungersen, Clemence van Lunen, Hanneke Giezen and (416) 438-8946. www.ceramic.dk; 45 5819 0016. England, Leeds through April 30 Jane Blackman; at the Craft Centre & Design Gallery, City Art Gallery, The Headrow. England, London through March 13 “Neil Brown- sword: Poet of Residue.” March 19–April 17 Yasuhisa Kohyama. April 23–May 22 Jennifer Lee; at Galerie Besson, 15 Royal Arcade, 28 Old Bond St. through March 2 “Ceramic Art London 2008”; at Royal College of Art, Kensington Gore. England, West Country May 25–June 6 “Pottery and Archaeology Tour of UK SW.” For more information, visit www.portmoodytravel.com. Contact Alan or Gillian McMillan, Port Moody Travel, 2214 St. George Street, Port Moody, British Columbia, V3H 2G2 Cana- da; [email protected]; [email protected]; (604) 937-7696. England, Worcester March 1–30 “New Pots and New Pastel Paintings for Spring.” April 5–June 1 “Kiln to Table”; at The Gallery at Bevere, Bevere Ln. France, Desvres through March 16 “Landscape de Frédéric Fourdinier”; at Maison de la Faïence, Rue Jean Macé. France, Giroussens through April 13 “Bestiaire”; at Maison de la Céramique, place Lucie Bouniol. France, Paris through March 8 Klara Kristalova; at La Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, 10 impasse Saint-Claude. France, Sarreguemines through March 10 “Café, Thé, Chocolat...”; at Musée de la Faïence, 17, rue Poincaré. France, Strasbourg through March 2 “Daphné Corregan: Céramiques”; at Galerie Chantal Bam- berger, 16 rue du 22 Novembre. Germany, Düsseldorf through March 23 “Max Laeugers Arcadia: Ceramics”; at Hetjens-Museum, Schulstraße 4. Italy, Florence March 7–June 8 “China: At the Court of the Emperors–Unknown Masterpieces from Han Tradition to Tang Elegance”; at Palazzo Strozzi, Piazza Strozzi. Italy, Fondi March 4–15 “Medieval Town–Italian Maiolica Decorative Art Workshop,” includes day trips to Rome and Vietri. Fee: $1899, includes lodging, most meals and materials. May 25–June 1 “Medieval Town–Italian Maiolica Workshop,” includes day trips to Rome and Vietri. Fee: $1015/week, includes lodging, most meals and materials. For more information, visit www.workshophostel.com. Contact Workshop Hostel, PO Box 2003, Newport Beach, CA 92659; [email protected]; (714) 600-9535. Italy, Tuscany July 3–17 “Wood Fired Terracotta in Italy” with Don Davis. Fee: $2700. Contact Don Davis, Associate Professor, Dept. of Art and Design, ETSU; [email protected]; [email protected]; www.dondavispottery.com; (423) 439-7864; (423) 207-1228. Jamaica, Falmouth April 25–May 3 “Working in Jamaica: Ceramic Vessels and Pottery” with John Neely, Alleghany Meadows, Doug Casebeer

Ceramics Monthly March 2008 98 Ceramics Monthly March 2008 99 calendar international events and David Pinto. Fee: $2850 for single tuition. Contact Doug Ellis, Anderson Ranch Arts Center, 5263 Owl Creek Rd., Snowmass Village, CO 81615; [email protected]; www.andersonranch.org; www.jamaicaclay.com; (970) 923-3181. Laos and Angkor Wat, Cambodia February 2009 “Village Pottery Experience,” includes work and fire with village potters. 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. Morocco, Marakesh, Ouarazate, Zagora, Mer- zouga and Casablanca November 8–27 “Ceramics and Cultural Excursion,” includes Berber traditional pottery, adobe architecture and tile art in South- ern Morroco. 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. Myanmar (Burma), Mandalay, Bagan, Inle Lake, Yagon January–February 2009 “Burma: Ceramics and Cultural Excursion,” includes pottery making and fir- Soldner Clay Mixers ing in traditional villages, cultural and historical tours. by Muddy Elbow Limit of 12 persons. Contact Denys James, Discovery Manufacturing Art Travel, 182 Welbury Dr., Salt Spring Island, British Columbia V8K 2L8 Canada; [email protected]; www.denysjames.com; (250) 537-4906. Netherlands, Amsterdam through March 2 Kayoko Hoshino; at Galerie Carla Koch, Veemkade 500. Netherlands, Deventer through March 22 Luk Versluys; at Loes and Reinier International Ceramics, Korte Assenstraat 15. [email protected] soldnerequipment.com Netherlands, Leeuwarden through March 9 W. 310 4th 67114 • KS Newton, 281-9132 (316) Phone/Fax Anne-Marie van Sprang, “Hanging and Standing.” through April 7 “Turkish and Dutch Ceramics.” through May 4 Johan van Loon, “A Life’s Work 05.” through August 31 “Expressionist in Art Nouveau: Henri Breetvelt”; at Princessehof Ceramic Museum, Grote Kerkstraat 11. Philippines, Iloilo City through April 24 “35 Years On”; at University of the Philippines, Visayas Art Gallery. Republic of China, Beijing, Xian, Yixing, Suzhou and Shanghai May 13–27 “Ceramic Art Tour of China” with Xiaosheng Bi. Fee: $3600. Contact Hood College, Ceramics Program, 401 Rosemont Ave., Frederick, MD 21701; www.hood.edu/academic/art; (301) 696-3456. Scotland, Glasgow March 27–30 “Glasgow Art Fair 2008”; at George Square, Glasgow City Centre. For more information, visit www.glasgowartfair.com. South Korea, Gyungsangnam-do through March 30 “The Shin Sang Ho Exhibition”; at Clayarch Gimhae Museum, 358, Songjeong-ri, Jilye-myeon Gimhae-si. Spain, Zaragoza May 15–18 “Cerco 08: Inter- national Contemporary Ceramics Fair.” For more information, visit www.cerco.es. Turkey, Istanbul, Cappadocia and Ankara Sep- tember 18–October 9 “Turkey Ceramics Excursion,” includes hands-on workshops including handbuilding, colored porcelain and decals with Mehmet Kutlu and Erdogan Gulec. September 22–26 Workshop with Mehmet Kutlu. 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. Wales, Cardiff through April 20 “Dining In”; at The Makers Guild in Wales, Craft in the Bay, The Flourish, Lloyd George Ave.

Ceramics Monthly March 2008 100 Ceramics Monthly March 2008 101 classiﬁed advertising

Ceramics Monthly welcomes classifieds in the following categories: Buy/Sell, Employment, Events, Opportunities, Per- sonals, Publications/Videos, Real Estate, Rentals, Services, Travel. Accepted advertisements will be inserted into the 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.

Buy/Sell Kent, Ohio “8th Annual Cup Show” May 13–June 7. Juror: Ted Vogel, Assistant Professor in Art, Mitchfield clay for sale (also known as Auman Pond) Lewis & Clark College. Entry deadline April 15, from historical Seagrove, North Carolina. Shipping Fee $20. For prospectus contact Anderson Turner, available to any area. Minimum 4-ton load. Contact Director of Galleries, Kent State University, School Arthur at Kim’s Pottery Clay (336) 873-7317; (336) of Art, PO BOX 5190, Kent, Ohio 44242-0001; 963-5143; (336) 963-5149. [email protected]; dept.kent.edu/art/galleries; (330) 672-1379.

Gary Hootman: Kiln Opening and Pottery Sale. Arts & Crafts at ABS Awards 2008. Annual Awards Wednesday, March 12, 2008, at 6 pm PST, Vase- from the American Bamboo Society for creative use of finder.com will be launching a kiln opening and sale bamboo as material and as design motif. Deadline: July for wood-fire potter Gary Hootman of Swisher, Iowa. 1, 2008. Contact: [email protected]; or Please visit http://vasefinder.com/events.html for more www.americanbamboo.org. information. Pubs/Videos Ceramic hobby shop for sale. Includes 2000 molds, Evenheat Kiln, shelving for all molds, and greenware PotteryVideos.com – DVD’s with Robin Hopper, and bisque. Paints, brushes and supplies. $8000. Call Gordon Hutchens and Graham Sheehan. Video Work- (816) 279-5198; or e-mail [email protected]. shops for Potters at all levels of experience. Choose from 21 titles. (800) 668-8040; [email protected].

Bailey Shuttle Pro 40 Deluxe gas kiln, 3 yrs. old, Tom Turner’s 2-day workshop, 4-disc DVD set. To with U.V. Safety System, High Limit System, Air Mani- order, see www.tomturnerporcelain.com; or call (828) fold System, Flat Roof System for increased loading 689-9430. space, Combustion Hood, plus all venting $19,500/bo. Bailey Slab Roller, 30” original series DRD $1000/bo. Real Estate Venco Pug Mill, 3 ½” nozzle $2000/bo. Located near Fantastic opportunity to share in the group firings o f Keene, NH. Contact Sharon (603) 847-9629, or e-mail my 280 cu. ft. rock salt kiln and 160 cu. ft. wood firing [email protected]. kiln. Both of these are within minutes of our 4 beautiful home/studio opportunities on acreage in the beautiful Employment Puget Sound area across from Seattle. I’ve been a professional artist for 35 years living and working in RESIDENCY Large studio space with new wheels, slab the area. I have visiting artists coming to the area to roller, wood, gas, salt and electric kilns. Assistantships do workshops and firing in my kilns, as well as local available. Visit Cub Creek at NCECA, (434) 248-5074; clay artists. My partner and I work with Windermere or e-mail [email protected]. Real Estate in Bremerton, WA where we represent the sellers of these potential homes/working studio sites Resident Potter: Established Gallery connected to stu- for all of you professional artists out there in Clay Land. dio. Gas-reduction stoneware, wheel and slab. Full time, For more information and MLS numbers please feel furnished apartment, use of all facilities, salary. Beautiful free to call me, Jeff Whyman (360) 620-6180 and/or north Georgia mountains, close to major North Carolina my partner, Christy Fancher (360) 536-3993; or e-mail and Georgia pottery centers. Contact: Cindy Angliss at Jeff at [email protected]. Look forward to www.hickoryflatpottery.com; (706) 947-0030. meeting you and helping you relocate to this beautiful Immediate position for Production Potter and Mold Northwest artist community! Maker for ram press, slip cast & jigger mold in Dover, Rentals NH. Call Andy Cochran at (603) 312-3808. STUDIO SPACE DOVER, N.H. 17,000 SQ FT. 5 ram Events presses, roller tools, slip cast, jiggers, 4 gas kilns, clay mixing operation, tool and dye shop. We are not closing, Tom Turner’s Pottery School. For details, see just looking to rent extra space. Call Andy Cochran at www.tomturnerporcelain.com; or call (828) 689-9430. (603) 312-3808.

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Ceramics Monthly March 2008 103 Comment which one is best? by Dick Lehman

On my first visit with the Ishiwata family, they painfully explained to each of us what the other living artist in Japan: Ningen Kokuho (Living treated me to a remarkable evening during which had just said. At this point, Ishiwata-san stood National Treasure). I held and fondled pots from their personal up, put his palms flat on the table, leaned to- The next day, I rode in the car with Mrs. collection. It was, they said, “just a small group ward me, and with a wry smile challenged, in Ishiwata to Mashiko. I tried explaining to Mrs. of things we like.” In actuality, the collection Japanese, “What’s the matter? Don’t you like Ishiwata as we drove that I would consider myself included 3000–5000 B.C.E. Jomon–era shards them? Aren’t they good enough for you? Choose! the caretaker of this piece, not its owner. She (which they had dug up while uprooting a Which one is best?” responded by telling me, very quietly, that the palm tree in their back yard), ninth-century I had run out of excuses. Any more stalling on little Bizen sake bottle had been her husband’s Chinese pots, thirteenth-century Korean pieces, my part would have constituted rudeness to my favorite, that he had used it every day, and that it seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Japanese host. A quick conference in English with my trans- had become more beautiful with use. “Take good work, and finally an amazing collection of con- lator confirmed that I really was “on my own.” She care of it, and use it every day,” she instructed. temporary Japanese pots. After they showed me had absolutely no advice for me, either on how to While I was still uncomfortable (and re- this prodigious array of collectible works, Mr. handle this unusual situation or regarding the rela- main that way, somewhat, to this day) with the Ishiwata proposed a test. tive quality of the pots. But she concurred that I prospect of Mr. Ishiwata having given me this He brought to the table three tokkuri (sake had to make some kind of an answer. Actually, her important piece; and while I still wonder about bottles) from among the fifty or sixty pots that exact words to me were, “You are in deep sh*t.” the cultural nuances within this experience that he had shown me earlier in the evening. I have yet to comprehend, I did find this to “Which one is best?” he asked. The pots I have learned be, for me, a “teachable moment.” I have were from three different traditions within learned to better trust my intuition, even Japan—one each from three of the six to better trust my intuition, in times—perhaps especially in times—of traditions considered to be the “old kiln” even in times—perhaps great difficulty. Intuition is a legitimate traditions (those that have been continu- source of wisdom when there seem to be ous for nearly 1000 years). One was from especially in times—of no “right” answers, when the way ahead Shigaraki, with heavy natural ash glazing great difficulty. is not clear. and bulging feldspathic contaminants in After I returned home in 1992, I sent to the clay; a real beauty. One originated in Toko- I told her I was just going to follow my intuition Mr. and Mrs. Ishiwata the absolutely finest sag- name, wrapped in rice straw during the firing, and see what happened, all the while wondering gar-fired pot that I had ever made; my attempt orange-red salt-flashing striations encircled the just what, exactly, was going to come out of my at an approximate thank you. piece; a dramatic example. And one came from mouth when I began to speak. In May of 1999, I had two exhibitions in the Bizen tradition, a rich reddish brown pot I told Ishiwata-san that while I could not Japan: one in Tamba, and one in Shigaraki. At with a varied texture of ash accumulation; quiet, accept his generous offer of a gift of one of the the Shigaraki show, Mr. and Mrs. Ishiwata came serene and understated. pots, I believed that I knew which one was best. to visit me. I noticed him the moment he entered Of course, to try to answer Mr. Ishiwata’s “The little Bizen piece is the finest,” I said. the gallery. He was looking out over the top of his question was a near impossibility. All were part “While the ash deposits are quiet and subdued, glasses, trying to spot me. The moment he did, he of his collection, so I knew he favored each one. they are still noticeable and varied, and speak made a bee-line for me. I quickly got the atten- And I recognized that each tokkuri was a supe- for themselves with a clear voice. With sensitive tion of my interpreter, and as we three met, the rior, museum-quality example of its respective fingers,” I said, “even someone who is blind first words out of Mr. Ishiwata’s mouth were these tradition. I tried, in an evasive way, to explain to could ‘see’ this piece by feeling the ‘firing story’ (and I might add, with a king-size twinkle in his Ishiwata-san what I appreciated about each one. that the surface of the pot has captured. The eye): “I knew I should never have let you talk “No! Not good enough! I have been the teacher Bizen piece is the best one.” me out of that Fujiwara piece. You know what tonight. You were to have been the student! Ishiwata-san slumped to his chair with a sigh. happened, right? I was correct in my prediction! Weren’t you paying attention? Which one is “I have tested you, and you have passed,” he I shouldn’t have let you talk me out of it!” best?” he repeated. said. Content that he had been a good teacher, I had been prepared for just this moment, I tried another end-run. “No! You must an- and that I had been a good student, no amount and without flinching I said, “I think you are swer the question, because the one you choose of refusals or polite dodging on my part could correct. You should never have let me talk you will be the one you will take home with you.” thwart the inevitable: the pot was packaged in an out of that piece. Why don’t we trade? I will give This I had feared from the start, and was one exquisite handmade wooden box, it was placed you back the Fujiwara pot, and you can give me reason I’d chosen not to indicate a preference. in my hands, and I was ushered to the door. back my saggar-fired pot, okay?” For, in Japan, it sometimes happens that you But before allowing me to leave, Ishiwata- Ishiwata-san, a quicker wit than I will ever may receive as a gift something for which you san said this: “I believe that you have made the be, eyes twinkling all the brighter, countered, have expressed a liking or preference. I wanted right choice. Now let me tell you what you have. “Oh no you don’t! I have already let you talk me to be careful not to take unfair advantage of their While I cannot afford to buy the works of Living out of one excellent piece; I am not about to let wonderful hospitality. National Treasure artists, this artist, Mr. Yu Fu- you talk me out of another!” “I cannot accept one of these fine pots,” I jiwara, I predict, will become a Living National said, “but I would love to discuss each one.” Treasure in the Bizen tradition someday. If I am the author Dick Lehman is a member of the Ce- Now you have to imagine and remember right, you have made the right choice.” ramics Monthly Advisory Board and makes pots that the entire conversation I have just reported As you may know, in 1998, Mr. Yu Fujiwara in Goshen, Indiana. To read more about his travels happened as an interpreter slowly and rather did receive the highest designation afforded a and work, see www.dicklehman.com.

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