April 1991 1 William C. Hunt............................................ Editor Ruth C. Buder .............................. Associate Editor Robert L. Creager................................ Art Director Kim S. Nagorski ...................... Editorial Assistant Shawn R. Hiller...............................Staff Assistant Mary Rushley......................Circulation Manager Mary E. Beaver....................Circulation Assistant Connie Belcher ....................Advertising Manager Spencer L. Davis.....................................Publisher Editorial, Advertising and Circulation Offices 1609 Northwest Boulevard Box 12448, Columbus, Ohio 43212 (614) 488-8236 FAX (614) 488-4561 Ceramics Monthly (ISSN 0009-0328) is pub­ lished monthly except July and August by Professional Publications, Inc., 1609 North­ west Blvd., Columbus, Ohio 43212. Second Class postage paid at Columbus, Ohio. Subscription Rates: One year $20, two years $36, three years $50. 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Copyright © 1991 Professional Publications, Inc. All rights reserved 2 Ceramics Monthly April 1991 3 4 C eramics Monthly Volume 39, Number 4 • April 1991 Feature Articles Bill Brigham by Floyce Korsak ..................................................................... 27 Guardians Robert Arneson discusses what he calls his masterpiece. “I don’t fol­ Summer Workshops 1991 ....................................................................29 low fashion. I try to get below it. If people like what you’re doing, you’re in trouble. Oregon Potters Today You’ve got to keep it edgy, keep pushing until it’s not quite likable, until it’s Turning Point or Step Backward? a review by Matthew Kangas ................. 36 troublesome—particularly troublesome to the artist.” See page 50. Lee Kavaljian by Patricia Beach Smith ......................................................... 40 Geology and Maps for Clay Pros­ Portfolio: pecting Interpreting topographic maps The Making of a Potter by Mark Hewitt ................................................... 43 available at libraries and government agencies gives an edge to the potter look­ ing for local clay sources; Mary Aigner tells California Clay .....................................................................................49 you how, starting on page 82. Guardians: The Spirit of the Work by Robert Ameson .............................. 50 Bill Brigham Texas trial judge Bill Brig­ ham sees correlations between law and Cone 08-03 Casting Slips pottery: “truth must come first”; page 27. Slip Casting, Part 4 by Gerald Rowan .......................................................... 78 A Palette of Cone 6 Oxidation Glazes by Jeff Dietrich ..............................81 Geology and Maps for Clay Prospectingby Mary Aigner.........................82 Up Front Clary Illian Workshop New Director at Greenwich House ......... 20 by Sandra Johnstone........................... 14 ToddTurek ............................................... 20 Australia’s Hamilton and Sugden Jun Kaneko............................................... 20 by Joan Rothchild Hardin .................. 14 Four Potters from Limburg Stephen Fleming ...................................... 18 by Reinier van de Voorde ................... 20 Jeanette Harris..........................................22 Arthur Sennett.......................................... 18 Summer Workshops 1991 Each April, Eternal Vessels CM lists an array of ceramic experiences Lizzie Zucker Saltz .................................. 18 by Karen Dilsaver .............................. 22 offered during the summer months (such as last year’s throwing session conducted by Chris Staley, shown above, at the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, Montana); see page 29 for 1991 workshops in the U.S. Departments and abroad. Letters............................................ 8 New Books.....................................76 The cover Pittsboro, North Carolina, potter Mark Hewitt inside his 900-cubic- Call for Entries ............................. 56 Classified Advertising ...................84 foot, wood-burning tube kiln. Though he Questions ...................................... 60 Comment: was bom into a pottery family, their tradi­ The Shakers versus the Rockettes tion was fine china manufacturing, not Calendar ........................................62 by Rob Barnard................................. 86 handmade salt-glazed stoneware. His story begins on page 43. Suggestions ....................................74 Index to Advertisers ..................... 88 April 1991 5 Letters ment or energy consumption. However, your tainly less lethal than “smart bombs”). Sim­ production or deadline schedule may re­ ply place a table or wide shelf (preferably quire quicker drying. Industrial procedures painted black) along the sill of a south- involve the use of a forced-air dryer to quicklyfacing window, tape a length of black sheet and uniformly dry the molds under con­ plastic along the top edge of the window and trolled conditions. Generally speaking, the let it hang down at an angle, draping it over air temperature inside the mold dryer is the table’s edge and thumbtacking or tap­ Spot Remover maintained at approximately 120°F, give or ing it in place, thus creating a triangle with I read with interest the response to the take 5°F, and the air speed is controlled by the table as base, window as altitude, and “majolica spot” problem [covered in the blowers or exhaust fans at about 20 miles per black plastic as hypotenuse. Leave the ends November 1990 Questions column], having hour. Moving air is more efficient than heat of this long tent open, and place a window worked with majolica for about three years. to dry molds, as this will hasten evaporation fan atone end. The combination of sun and Someone told me the talc in the clay body from the outer surfaces of the mold, con­ wind does the trick! I’ve used this jerry-built contained some asbestos that was blemish­ tinually drawing water from the interior apparatus at two-week moldmaking work­ ing the Mason stain and frit decoration through capillary action. An industrial dryer shops, with the molds being adequately dried applied over the white base glaze. Once I will adequately dry molds for casting in 18 to over the two-day weekend to allow casting changed clay bodies, the spots went away. 24 hours. Since most ceramists can not af­ during the second week. Remember to ro­ It certainly is frustrating when those white ford the expense of such equipment, I offer tate the molds if possible. spots are everywhere upon opening a kiln. two low-tech/available-materials solutions The second dryer works well in not-so- Ann White below. But first, I want to state a few general sunny climates, such as along the often Hilton Head Island, S.C. rules concerning the drying of molds, for cloudy or fogbound Pacific Northwest coast; whichever method you choose: it’s titled Dick’s Drum Dryer, a neat tongue- The Correct Way to Dry Molds a) Plaster may actually warp in the drying twister if you repeat it quickly ten times. I am writing to correct what I consider to process, a little known fact. After a newly Place a clean, 55-gallon oil drum (with one be inaccurate information contained in fabricated mold has been dismantled, end removed) on its side and build a simple “Plaster Molds,” the second article in a series cleaned and sharp exterior corners trimmed, wooden frame (or merely prop it in place on slip casting by Gerald Rowan, in the reassemble the sections and band them with bricks, cinderblocks, etc.) so that it is February (1991) issue. Having utilized the tightly together. Heavy-duty rubber bands, stable and about 12 inches