February 1992 1 William Hunt...... Editor Ruth C. Butler ...... Associate Editor Robert L. Creager ...... Art Director Kim S. Nagorski...... Assistant Editor Mary Rushley...... Circulation Manager MaryE. Beaver...... Circulation Assistant Connie Belcher ...... Advertising Manager Spencer L. Davis ...... Publisher

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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 $22, two years $40, three years $55. Add $10 per year for subscriptions outside the U.S.A. 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 Offices, Box 12448, Columbus, Ohio 43212. Contributors: Manuscripts, photographs, color separations, color transparencies (in­ cluding 35mm slides), graphic illustrations, announcements and news releases about ceramics are welcome and will be consid­ ered for publication. Mail submissions to Ceramics Monthly, Box 12448, Columbus, Ohio 43212. We also accept unillustrated materials faxed to (614) 488-4561. Writing and Photographic Guidelines:A booklet describing standards and proce­ dures for submitting materials is available upon request. Indexing: An index of each year’s articles appears in the December issue. Addition­ ally, Ceramics Monthly articles are indexed in the Art Index. Printed, on-line and CD-ROM (computer) indexing is available through Wilsonline, 950 UniversityAve., Bronx, New York 10452; and from Information Access Co., 362 Lakeside Dr., Forest City, Califor­ nia 94404. These services are available through your local library. A 20-year subject index (1953-1972), covering Ceramics Monthly feature articles, and the Sugges­ tions and Questions columns, is available for $1.50, postpaid, from the Ceramics Monthly Book Department, Box 12448, Co­ lumbus, Ohio 43212. Copies and Reprints:Microfiche, 16mm and 35mm microfilm copies, and xerographic reprints are available to subscribers from University Microfilms, 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106. Back Issues:When available, back issues are $4 each, postpaid. Write for a list. Postmaster:Please send address changes to Ceramics Monthly, Box 12448, Columbus, Ohio 43212. Form 3579 requested.

Copyright © 1992 Professional Publications, Inc. All rights reserved

2 Ceramics Monthly February 1992 3 4 C eramics Monthly Volume 40, Number 2 • February 1992

Feature Articles

Spirit Realm Series by Thomas Kerrigan ...... 27

Oregon Invitational by Nils Lou ...... 30

Freedom to Discover by Will and, KateJacobson ...... 32

New Faces at Navy Pier...... 35

Tatsuzo Shimaoka An Autobiography, Part 2 translated by Darice Veri ...... 39

Hair Sculpture and Its RootsPenn­ Cultural Focus by Gail Kendall ...... 46 sylvania artist Terry Niedzialek takes body decoration to new heights with hair/clay montages, such as “Voter Registration,” Federighi’s Symbolism ...... 49 shown above; see page 52. Hair Sculpture and Its Roots ...... 52 New Faces at Navy PierA juried exhibi­ tion introduced works by emerging artists Oldest Kiln Now Dates to 27,000 B. C. (not affiliated with galleries) to collectors Ice Age Ceramics by Jayne Shatz ...... 78 attending the annual New Art Forms Ex­ position in Chicago; page 35. Firing Wet Pots by Art Grupe...... 80 Firing Wet Pots Want to bring “imme­ diacy” to your work? Gary Greenberg does by skipping the drying stage and going straight from forming to firing; see how, Up Front beginning on page 80.

Tom Marsh (1934-1991) ...... 10 Marcia Selsor Cultural FocusConcerned that Ameri­ by David Barnes ...... 16 can art is increasingly less meaningful to State Arts Agencies Tighten Belts ...... 10 average people and that, in ceasing to be James Morris...... 18 a cultural tool of communication, art has Gerald Ben...... 12 been stripped of its most essential compo­ James Watral...... 20 nent, Nebraska artist Gail Kendall trav­ Environmentally Correct Ceramics ...... 12 eled in Europe and Africa to help bring Dennis Meiners ...... 20 home the interconnectedness of life and Larry Halvorsen/Jeff Margolin ...... 12 art; see page 46. Ronda Liskey...... 14 Caryn Kreitzer...... 20

Freedom to DiscoverRealizing that what Tile National...... 14 Philadelphia Craft Show ...... 22 had begun as a labor of love had become just labor, Washington potters Will and KateJacobson decided to allow themselves time to pursue the “happy accident.” Sub­ sequently, what others might have rejected Departments as a glaze flaw triggered a more gratifying way of working; see page 32. Letters...... 8 Questions ...... 76 The cover Florida artist Christine Fed- Call for Entries ...... 54 Classified Advertising ...... 84 erighi uses two electric kilns stacked one on top of the other to low fire columnar Suggestions ...... 60 Comment: sculpture infused with personal figure and Calendar ...... 62 Whine Tasting by Ersatz Sobriquet .... 86 house symbols; see “Federighi’s Symbol­ ism,” beginning on page 49. New Books ...... 72 Index to Advertisers ...... 88

February 1992 5

Letters sources of flux. Boron-fluxed glazes, for ex­ ample, are typically more sensitive to heat work than are lead-fluxed ones, causing higher losses and often less desirable glaze surfaces. But use of lead doesn’t mean commercial potteries have or have not been lax in concern for safety. What Harding Black Kudos really matters is lead release from their fired The presentation on Harding Black glazes. Properly formidated and fired lead glazes [December 1991] was superb—a great (which are highly controllable under industrial view of a grand human being who is also conditions) are quite safe (insoluble). Con­ an American studio pottery pioneer. versely, poorly fired boron (the only other reason­ Harding Black is one of the kindest able substitute for lead) glazes may pose a risk of and noblest people I’ve ever known. His their own—underfired or devitrified batches contributions in clay are indeed major. may release the glaze’s potentially toxic metalField (from Atlanta) questioning the His loyalty, friendship and spirit are the colorant content into food. application of gold leaf [fired onto] pots. equal to his work in pottery. Harding Public hysteria caused by real concerns I have been using gold leaf for about Black is a joy and blessing to all who have about badly formulated Third-World wares four years, and have found that the firing shared his life. unfortunately has given all lead glazes, evenof gold leaf is quite possible. This can be Tom Tumquist well-conceived ones, a bad name. But industry done over either a gloss or a matt glaze, Englewood, Colo. and the studio potter must correct such actual depending on the finish you want. [See or perceived problems if they expect to continue the example shown above.] Harding Black is a wonderful man! I interesting their traditional buyers. Further, I fire my glazes over a porcelain clay to bought two Harding Black pots in 1957. meeting all the requirements of tightening 1280°C [2340°F], apply oil where I want (I didn’t know him from Adam.) How­ regulations will create public confidence in leaf,their arrange the leaf carefully, then fire to ever, the pots were nice and I have en­ products and ultimately avoid catastrophic about 800°C [1470°F] in oxidation. I then joyed them over the years. product liability lawsuits.—Ed. polish [the fired leaf] with a soft cloth. Two years ago, I heard that his glazes Marjo Jones were unusual. I located him by calling How-To Thanks Farrer, A.C.T. information in San Antonio. I renewed The December 1991 issue was great, Australia my interest in glazing after conversing and I hope it was a foretaste of what the with him. 1992 issues will be like. Disaster Empathy After retirement (48 years), I enrolled It had something for everyone, and I An Up Front article in the December in ceramics classes at Cal State, North- was especially happy with the “how-to” issue prompted me to write. [“Breaking ridge University. Harding sent me 220 articles. These sorts of articles are of great In”] was by a reader [Kay Babineau-Rec- pages of his copper red glaze recipes to help to those of us who have learned on tor] who experienced the ’89 California work on. He’s great! our own—without a school situation or earthquake in her studio. Bill Nickloff mentor to assist us. Please keep it up. On September 21, 1989, a 20-foot wall Sun Valley, Calif. Otto H. Pearsall of sea water hit the village where I live, New Castle, Pa. flooding my studio to the roof. Once we Lead Hysteria found everyone safe, we began the task of “What are Lenox China and Royal Placing Sand Warning cleaning up. The U.S. Marines, bless ’em, Doulton doing?” asks Lucille Oka in the In the December 1991 Questions arrived and helped clear houses, etc., Letters on page 56 of the November 1991 column, a reader was advised to set porce- emptying them of furnishings so that the issue. They are busy defending themselves laneous bowls in an inverted position on mud, shrimp, leaves and other debris against a lawsuit over continued use of sand for high-fire bisquing, then glaze could be hosed out. lead in their glazes. Also named as defen­ firing at a lower cone in order to prevent Imagine, if you can, an entire town dants are Wedgwood, Mikasa, Noritake, warping. This could be a recipe for disas­ covered with inches of sticky black mud Syracuse, etc. ter if the wrong sand is used. (from the salt marsh), with no running WTiat are these corporations doing? I have used placing sand that is virtu­ water (just what could be pumped from Why didn’t they go to lead-free glazes ally pure silica. That worked fine. But I wells with gasoline-powered pumps), and long ago like us potters? They’re giving us have also used a sand that, to my dismay, rain for interminable days turning every­ ALL a bad name! fused at Cone 6. A sure-fire but expensive thing and everyone gooey, dirty brown Can CM’s staff shed any light on this? alternative is alumina hydrate, which has (with little chance of getting clean any­ Paul Herman an extremely high melting temperature. time soon). Doyle, Calif. Better test sand you intend to use as And then imagine the horrified look placing sand first. Don’t find out the hard on one young Marine’s face after he had The odds are very high that most of the way that it was coarse feldspar. plunged his foot blindly into the tangled commercially produced, loiv-fire dinnerware Alan Meisel morass in the studio, sinking up to the hip (earthenware, bone china, etc.) and much of the Berkeley, Calif. in what had once been a dry stack of 50- commercial high-fired ware (porcelain) in your pound bags of silica, feldspar, kaolin, etc. home is lead glazed. Lead has been ividely used Fired Gold He paled noticeably when he pulled his in industrial glazes because of its more consis­ In the September 1991 edition of leg out covered with white goo and was tent results (better surfaces) than other commonCeramics Monthly was a letter from Alan quite relieved when told it was harmless.

8 CERAMICS MONTHLY The contrast of white with black mud and the “danger” of simple earthy materi­ als in a new perspective provided some badly needed comic relief that day. And the cheerful perseverance (and perspira­ tion) of the Marines, National Guard and all the volunteers was inspiring and strengthening at a time when I felt my own strength ebbing. They even apolo­ gized for tracking mud into the house. Helpful hints: Flooded kilns are repair­ able. Books or magazines with kaolin- coated pages are not; other books can sometimes be salvaged by freezing them (to dry them while preventing mildew). Karen Shuler McClellanville, S.C.

Mino Competition Warning Today’s mail brought an application for “The 3rd International Ceramics Competition ’92 Mino” in Japan. I want to warn everyone to think twice before enter­ ing this show. My work was never returned as agreed upon, and I received a bill for around $300 for the shipment of work that weighed only a few ounces. These pieces—tiny whistles that fit in a 4x5-inch box and cost under $5 to mail to Japan— cost me endless hours of phone calls and letters disputing the $300 mailing charge, and in the end I never got them back anyway. Consider any work entered in this show a donation to the organizers or as an extortion of money for their private ship­ ping firm. Delia Rosinson Montpelier, Vt.

Defining Mishima and Zogan With reference to the September 1991 article “David Roesler’s Mishima” by Ce­ cilia Vettraino: I would like to comment on the term “mishima,” which seems to be used in the U.S. in a broader meaning than here in Japan. I find its use somehow confusing. I made up my mind to write this letter because I am convinced that it is impor­ tant to define technical terms for interna­ tional use so we can understand each other better. We make a clear distinction between the two techniques that seem to be in­ cluded in the American use of the word mishima—mishima and zogan. While mishima is done with seals [stamps] on fresh clay, zogan has to be done when the clay is leather hard. For zogan (which means inlaid), it is necessary to carve the Please turn to page 59

Februaiy 1992 9 Up Front pottery with Masayuki Tanaka in Hayama, 40 miles south of Tokyo. When a motorcycle accident forced his return to the U.S., he decided to earn a master’s degree from Indiana University. Thereafter, he and his wife Ginny built a rural studio pottery on 12 acres near Borden, Indiana (see “Marsh Pottery” in the March 1974 CM). Tom Marsh (1934-1991) Shoji Hamada once told him that “no significant pot Indiana potter Tom Marsh died on December 2, follow­ could be made apart from one’s living,” Tom Marsh ing an apparent heart attack. Widely known as a “potter’s recalled, “and that therefore I should not expect my work potter,” Marsh made a significant contribution to studio to be of great importance until my life was what I wanted production through his own work and that of his stu­ my work to be.” dents. He also was the first American potter to have a Beginning in 1970, he taught at the University of successful studio in Japan. Louisville, often interweaving music, literature, philoso­ As a teenager, he was sent to Japan by his parents to phy and art from his own prodigious interests. The pre­ live with a missionary, but arrangements didn’t work out, amble he wrote for a 1976 retrospective catalog illustrates: so he set off on his own, teaching English for income At tonight’s concert Shubert’s Symphony No. 8 same melody over and over never the same. Tawara Tobe thirteenth generation Hagi potter one glaze again and again infinitely varied. Thoughts at the end of a day spent throwing two pound pitchers. Repeated forms all the same all different. Marsh often worked side by side with students in order to teach by example. But it was the verbal interchange that students most often mentioned—his daily challeng­ ing of their ideas on life and art (a practice that could lead to a thoughtful, well-reasoned life and work). Poet Wendell Berry wrote of Marsh a few years ago: “Tom Marsh’s work is extraordinary. But I think that his extraordinariness is not, in the usual sense, a part of his ambition. It is the result, simply, of devotion to his disci­ pline and materials, not the result of any heat in the Tom Marsh. Artistic Immortality Sweepstakes. By practicing a poten­ tially usable art and by insisting on its usability, and the while studying Japanese language and culture. Marsh commonness and local peculiarity of its materials, he said, on returning to the U.S., “I enrolled in my first points it toward the older, finer, healthier sort of artistic ceramics class in the spring semester, 1957, as an under­ success: that such excellent workmanship, such beauty graduate at the University of Louisville. I was not terribly and distinction, might again become ordinary. excited about clay that first semester (as I was a painting “These pots and cups and bowls are not busy calling major and resented nearly anything that took time away attention to themselves as ‘art objects.’ Their preferred from the painting studio)....I am not sure just when the habitat is a kitchen, not a museum. They invite use. They clay infection happened but, by 1960, when I was finally are, indeed, beautiful. But theirs is a beauty...to be used, graduated (I began studies at the Music School in 1951), I not just viewed. Viewing, by itself, will misunderstand was hooked and had completed a double major in paint­ them—just as, by itself, it will misunderstand food.” ing and ceramics—the first ceramics major granted by the University of Louisville.” State Arts Agencies Tighten Belts After graduation, Marsh went back to Japan, appren­ A National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA) ticed with Totaro Sakuma in Mashiko, then opened a survey on 1992 U.S. legislative appropriations revealed that 36 of the 56 state/territory arts organizations have sustained reductions in their operating budgets. But You are invited to send news and photos about people, places or events of interest. We will be pleased to consider them for publication in thisinstead of reflecting diminished public support for the column. Mail submissions to Up Front, Ceramics Monthly, Boxarts, decreases were the result of legislatures and gover­ 12448, Columbus, Ohio 43212. nors making across-the-board cuts to balance their 1992

10 CERAMICS MONTHLY February 1992 11 Up Front budgets in light of lower tax receipts. Compounding the recession’s adverse effect on state revenues is the in­ creased demand for services and the rising costs of man­ datory spending for entitlement programs. “The recent decline in the state arts agency appropria­ tions is only the fourth such decline in 25 years,” ex­ plained Jonathan Katz, executive director of NASAA. “In view of the historically upward trend in state arts agency legislative appropriations and the fact that appropriations to state arts agencies continue to increase in those states with strong economies, we expect long-term commitment to the arts will continue to grow as states rebound from their current economic difficulties.” According to the survey, the 50 state and 6 territorial arts agencies received a total of $214,706,025 in appro­ priations for fiscal 1992, which is a 21.6% decrease from Gerald Ben’s “Mistaken Meaning,” 9 inches in height, wheel- fiscal 1991. On the brighter side, 20 state arts agencies thrown, glazed and raku-fired vessel with Douglas fir rim; at reported increases or maintained their previous level of Studio 7 Gallery in Holualoa, Hawaii. funding. Five states—Alabama, Connecticut, Montana, bases or legs; at other times wooden elements are inte­ Nevada and Wisconsin—even reported increases of more grated with the vessel shape. Recent experimentation has than 20% in their appropriations. allowed for more complex forms and combinations—for Gerald Ben example, dovetailing the wood with the fired clay to complete a wall or a rim. New work by Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, potter Gerald Ben (see “Clay with Wood” in the February 1988 CM) was exhib­ Environmentally Correct Ceramics ited recently at Studio 7 Gallery in Holualoa. During the Conservation of water through the introduction of fired past several years, Ben has concentrated on combining ceramic granules into the soil may be the wave of the wood with raku vessels. Sometimes wood is used to form future at golf courses and other high water-use facilities around the country. When combined with whatever materials underlie the turf, these space-age granules act like sponges, retaining water and nutrients that still remain accessible to plants, thus reducing watering and fertilizing costs. Produced by the Sumitomo Corporation of Japan and marketed under the tradename Isolite, soil-modifying granules are made from the stuff of early insulating firebrick—diatomaceous earth—the skeletal remains of sea plankton and algae known as diatoms. After this earth is mined, processed and fired, it remains 70% porous.

Larry Halvorsen/Jeff Margolin Sculptural clay vessels by Larry Halvorsen, Oakland, and Jeff Margolin, Emeryville, California, were featured in a recent multimedia exhibition at Banaker Gallery in Walnut Creek, California. Originally committed to being a pro­ duction potter, Halvorsen says he began exploring the current, non- production LarrV Halvorsen’s “Big Basket,” 22 inches ,. • , in height, coil-built stoneware, with sgraffito Gerald Ben firing a homemade raku kiln while camping at the recUonby |jnes anc| dQts |ayers 0 f black and beach on the island of Hawaii. “carving and white slip.

12 Ceramics Monthly February 1992 13 Colombian ceramics. After firing, his flattened vessels are mounted on modernist bases fabricated from steel rod and plate.

Ronda Liskey Raku vessels, wall reliefs and lamps by Ronda Liskey (see “A Production Raku Kiln” in the November 1989 CM) were featured in a recent exhibition at Diversions in Lansing, Michigan. “Nature is the subject matter and the

Ceramist Larry Halvorsen, Oakland, California, with several of his large, coil-built stoneware pots.

reshaping wheel-thrown pots; then I changed to hand- building. The coil technique allowed me to move and torque the shapes, developing more organic forms. The sgraffito markings [cut through layers of black and white slips to expose the brown stoneware body beneath] give movement and mood to the surface.” Jeff Margolin works with both porcelain and stone­ ware, wheel thrown or handbuilt, then carves and bur­ nishes the surfaces of these forms in complex patterns reminiscent of the intertwining of classical-period pre-

Ronda Liskey’s “Bamboo Lamp,” 26 inches in height, wheel thrown, glazed, fired to 1900°F, then smoked in straw and pine needles; at Diversions in Lansing, Michigan.

essence of this body of work” Liskey commented. “Luster landscapes, waterways, wildlife and moons decorate the surfaces of these ‘clay canvases.’ “Raku firing contributes suspense and spontaneity, imprinting upon each piece a unique pattern of smoke and crackles, a record of the fire’s finishing touch.”

Tile National Handmade ceramic tile works by 29 artists were presented in the juried national “Tile, Tile, Tile” at Luckenbach Mill Gallery in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Jurors Beth Starbuck and Steve Goldner (who have worked collaboratively on the design and production of handmade tile and archi­ tectural ornaments since 1981) selected 35 works from the 146 submitted for exhibition. As professional tilemakers primarily concerned with practical installations, Starbuck and Goldner were “startled to see [few entries] approached from a func­ Jeff Margolin (Emeryville, California) flattened stoneware vessel, carved and burnished, mounted on a steel base, tional perspective. Most pieces were offered as sculpture approximately 18 inches in height; at Banaker Gallery in or decorative entities, not as work that could easily be Walnut Creek, California. envisioned set in a functional context. Similarly mysteri-

14 CERAMICS MONTHLY February 1992 15 “Some of the artists utilized the medium for visual storytelling. [Their] imagery reflected many concerns— a family portrait, spirituality, gently whimsical humor or an odd alter ego. Other artists relied on the composition or elements to create works of shifting planes and deco­ rated surfaces.”

Marcia Selsor by David Barnes As a Fulbright scholar, Marcia Selsor (Billings, Montana) researched the techniques and styles of traditional village ceramists throughout Spain [see “Spanish Folk Pottery, Part Two” in the May 1989 CM]. Her study brought her to the most-traveled route of Old Europe: the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela. She found herself bemused and fascinated by the bizarre architectural details that decorated ancient Romanesque cloisters and chapels along the way. Their corbels, various arches and capitals were decorated with a meditative cacophony of the hideous and grotesque. Beard and tongue pullers, exhibitionists, lascivious mermaids, devouring monsters, breast-biting serpents and acrobatic lovers were indis­ criminately interspersed with the images of angels, saints and the coming millennium. Selsor’s recent installation of terra-cotta architectural details at the Yellowstone Art Center in Billings evokes the visionary madness of those Mozarab cloisters, recreating their strained apocalyptic imagery. However, this recon­ struction, complete with fountain, is not intended as a precise rendering of a specific site. She combines her Steven Hewitt’s “After the Go Is Gone,” 21 inches in height, sculptural “sketches” of a variety of pilgrimage sites to glazed earthenware on Masonite; at Luckenbach Mill Gallery create something like a three-dimensional collage. It is a in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. compilation and synthesis of the impressions of various visits to many such sites. For the artist, it is the visual ous was the virtual absence of pure pattern as a theme of metaphor for an extended pilgrimage; for the viewer, it is work, particularly as tile so readily lends its geometric a strange and magical arena full of potential meaning nature to patterning.” based on the subject’s own experiences. Many ceramists are “turning to tile making in order to More than just a postmodern reference to yet another explore...painterly and sculptural properties,” commented impossible past, Selsor’s installation is relevant today. It gallery director Lynn Berkowitz. This exhibition featured reminds us of the tenuous nature of rationality and of the “different aspects of tile, including examples of flat and prospect of a growing “millennium madness” that may sculptural tile, ornamental and architectural elements, loom ahead. and tile as embellishment. While color abounded, it was As we approach the year 2000, psychologists and the strong sense of line that delineated the forms and sociologists warn that craziness will be on the increase. marked the surfaces. Everywhere we turn these days, it seems another environ­ mentalist or fundamentalist is predicting apocalypse. In many ways, our situation mirrors that found in tenth- century Europe. As the Christian community approached its first millennium, the whole of Europe was seized with pre-apocalyptic shivers. Preachers toured the countryside guaranteeing the end of the world. Thousands of the faithful became wandering pilgrims, seeking penance and awaiting the arrival of the end. The imagery for the cloister details sprang from the collective imagination of medieval artists. Beset by catas­ trophe, the people of the Middle Ages, not unlike people today, sought to find a sense of order in their perilous world. The ideas they developed were imaginative and in Laurie Sylwester’s “Striper Cafe,” 24 inches long, low-relief, harmony with their times—stark and simplistic. They raku-fired tiles on plywood, withLED 50 lights on the arrow. believed, for example, that the everyday world and the

16 CERAMICS MONTHLY February 1992 17 apocalypse supplants that of death in the mind, it is a sign the age of disorder has arrived, that there is no longer a coherent structure or architecture of the universe. In this world of insanity, what choice is open to individuals except to go mad, to follow suit when everything else turns upside down? Whatever the historical reading of these images, the visitor to Selsor’s installation must answer an important question. While meditating on the end of the world and the quiet of the Mozarab cloister, are we being asked to repent or party like it’s 1999?

James Morris Marcia Selsor’s “Sketches of Spain: Marking the Millennium,” terra cotta; at the Yellowstone Art Center, Billings, Montana. Small topographical sculptures portraying land- and seascapes (often in the midst of disaster) by Bay Area spiritual world were equally real, equally important. All artist James Morris were on view recently at Dorothy Weiss human actions were subject to divine scrutiny, and were Gallery in San Francisco. Incorporated in each of these certain to be rewarded or punished during and after the enigmatic images is an autobiographical, stream-of- consciousness story, handwritten across the top or sides in Last Judgment. Creature imagery that inhabits Selsor’s “cloister” the leather-hard clay. illustrates two responses to the coming millennium. The Beginning across the top of “Somewhere in the Middle” is: “It’s completely new. You’ve never been here first is fear of judgment, eternal damnation and personal or done this before, but you have a history of trying to annihilation. Those grotesque and macabre Romanesque pass yourself off as experienced. What is it about you and architectural details may function as a warning against transgressions. Many of the cloister decorations deal with specific sins, such as lust, greed and gluttony. The fear of apocalypse is a potent tool to bring people to repentance. Images of monstrous evil and its monstrous reward show people what to avoid and why. The second, alternative response to the end of the world is denial and revelry. Fear of apocalypse is of a different order than fear of death. When the fear of

James Morris’ “Somewhere in the Middle,” 13 inches in length, slab-built stoneware with stream-of-consciousness incised text, painted with acrylics, encaustic and oils, $2000; at Dorothy Weiss Gallery in San Francisco.

this world that hates a novice? Why can’t you forget about yourself and just enjoy the newness? Risk some foolish­ ness. Risk some discovery. There’s no one here to impress and there’s no need to take these turns like you could be doing this in your sleep. Break from the past. Wake up. On the other side of the mountain you’re a child of 12 beginning to forget where you’ve just been and trying to peer into the future. You’re in a bus coming home from camp and want to strangle anyone having anything to do with songs about bot tles of beer. You pretend to be sleep­ ing and wonder how long it can be safe to ride with your eyes closed before you become the butt of some practical joke. You’ve had a week of bluffing your way through incidents of power, camaraderie, sex and wild animals. Detail of Marcia Selsor’s installation, “Sketches of Spain: You rewrite your successes all in capitals, eager to post Marking the Millennium.” them back at home. But an eraser is useless with your

18 CERAMICS MONTHLY February 1992 19 Up Front more on abstract qualities—the shape of an Egyptian pyramid or the line/pattern of a hieroglyph.

failures written by others in indelible ink; they’ve already Dennis Meiners penetrated you to the bone. ‘You take one down and pass Attic Gallery in Portland, Oregon, recently featured an it around....’ But what is most disturbing is recognizing exhibition of sculptural stoneware vessels by local artist those bluffs that fall somewhere in the middle—the ones Dennis Meiners. This work “originated in drawings I did you can’t read. What about that deer you came across on on any available surface over quite a number of years,” the trail far from camp? Now years later and you can still Meiners commented. “Until I found the clay I use now, I remember. That was the first time you’d seen an animal was unable to make these kinds of pots, due to cracking larger than yourself that was not behind bars. If you and several other problems. This clay does what I want. hadn’t been with others you could’ve allowed yourself to It’s great stuff.../What it does has such an impact on the be overwhelmed by something so wild and strange. You would’ve had a moment to feel your fear and awe. So what happened next? You would like it to end with you looking into Bambi’s mother’s eyes and her looking back, sharing some common mystery; but, portending your future, you picked up a sizeable rock and hurled it at that deer. The others took your lead. And it was you, injured and frightened, who bled a trail through the woods that day. The other boys never knew it as they tumbled on, clear of their conquests and ready to take on new chal­ lengers, kicking up clouds of dirt with their feet. Now you’re on a different road. It’s scary and new, but you’re thinking you can drive back to that trail in the woods. You’re hoping to find what was lost in the dust. You want to be able to enjoy the newness of things this time.”

James Watral Sculptural vessels by Texas artist James Watral were among the works shown recently in “The Influence of Classical Culture on Three Artists” at Marie Park Gallery in Dallas. Rather than literal interpretations of classical artifacts, Watral’s brightly glazed earthenware forms focus

Dennis Meiners’ “Bone Dance,” 26 inches in height, slab-built stoneware jar, reduction fired.

surfaces and forms, far beyond anything I do on purpose. Sometimes I feel almost like a bystander in this process, because the pieces surprise me so. “In art making there is a difference between the inten­ tion and the outcome for both the maker and the viewer. In that difference lives the sensory child. Through what I do with each piece, I hope to get to know that child...and make that child apparent to the viewer.”

Caryn Kreitzer Terra-cotta sculpture by Caryn Kreitzer was exhibited recently at Wheeler-Seidel Gallery in New York City. Kreitzer draws inspiration for her work from the city’s people and architecture. “I was born and raised (until I was eleven) in Brooklyn; then my family moved to Florida. Somehow I could never James Watral’s “Seven Times Egypt,” handbuilt and glazed earthenware with copper leaf, 15 inches in height; at Marie relate to its flatness, year-round heat, lack of personal Park Gallery in Dallas. energy and human interaction. I remember having so

20 CERAMICS MONTHLY February 1992 21 unshakable attitude. The figures and buildings in my Up Front pieces are looking up and moving out, searching for ways to make it better for everyone.” much stimulation as a child—always seeing people on the streets; living in other people’s kitchens, the whole block Philadelphia Craft Show an extended family. There was something so real and alive With a reported individual booth high of $42,240, it is about living in Brooklyn. hard to believe that the recession had any effect on sales “After spending most of my young adulthood in the for the 28 ceramics exhibitors at the 15th annual “Phila­ South, graduating from the University of Tennessee in delphia Craft Show.” Sponsored by the Philadelphia Mu­ 1986,1 decided to go back to my beginnings. I sold every­ seum of Art, the four-day event drew nearly 23,000 visitors; thing I could (record albums, books, artwork) and drove overall sales (as projected from returned questionnaires) exceeded $2 million. Even though one booth reported sales of only $45, the majority did much better as evi­ denced by the show-wide average gross of over $11,000 per exhibitor. Participants in the show were selected by jurors Edward Cooke, Jr., associate curator of American decorative arts and sculpture at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Carol Sedestrom Ross, president of American Craft Enterprises; and Paul Smith, consultant and director emeritus of the American Craft Museum. They chose 190 exhibitors (in fiber, glass, jewelry, basketry, wrood, leather, metal, hand­ made paper and mixed media, as well as ceramics) from a record number of 1578 applicants. Tampa, Florida, potter Roddy Reed [see “Running the Maze” in the June/July/August 1990 CM] was awarded second place in the show; and San Geronimo, California, potter Nancy Adams [see “Nancy Adams: Trial-and-Error Success” in the February 1989 CM] received the Tuttle- man Prize for Excellence in Ceramics.

Caryn Kreitzer’s “Full House,” 30 inches in height, handbuilt terra cotta, with terra sigillata, single fired to Cone 04; at Wheeler-Seidel Gallery in New York City. the remainder in my pickup truck to New York City. I immediately felt I had found a home. Since then, my ceramic work has related to the city in an architectural, humorous, human way. I see the buildings as people, alive and breathing. So much goes on inside them; they have many stories to tell. “Even with all of New York’s hassles, red tape and chaos, so many wonderful things happen here. This city is like no other—a montage of buildings, cultures, personalities, food and music. It is the most perfect and the most diffi­ cult place to create peace and harmony. “In the midst of ugliness there is always beauty. I feel a sense of triumph because of the obstacles I’ve overcome. The harder the battle, the greater the joy. This work is about my personal feeling of victory and joy as a person Beth Forer’s tiled tables; at the “Philadelphia Craft Show” in and an artist. It’s about adopting a positive and the Philadelphia Civic Center.

22 CERAMICS MONTHLY February 1992 23

“Spirit Realm XVIII ” 17% inches in height, handbuilt white stoneware, with sgraffito through black stain, fired to Cone, sealed 3 with lacquer.

It has been said that we are spiritual tion to the realm of the spiritual, as I they are bone dry, I apply a black beings having human experiences. experience it. stain, then draw through the stain with This concept, which de-emphasizes Most of these forms are constructed a needle tool to expose underlying the physical while celebrating the spiri­ primarily from pinched porcelain or white clay. After they are single fired tual, is integral to my current work, stoneware elements, though occasion­ to Cone 3, I seal the surfaces with a the “Spirit Realm” series—images at­ ally a press-molded or wheel-thrown commercial matt-lacquer finish. tempting to give physical manifesta­ element will be incorporated. When The images spring from a personal

February 1992 27 spiritual reservoir, yet at the same time merge fluidly. The intuitive “yes” or too feeble in meaning to call forth are meant to be universal. Inherent the intuitive “no” is always there, guid­ corresponding vibrations of the soul.” in the works are fragments of memo­ ing the development of each. My goal in this series is to create a ries, experiences and emotions. A In his book Concerning the Spiritual spiritual atmosphere, to strive to elicit flashback I often experience when in Art, Wassily Kandinsky writes: “The these vibrations. working on this series is of my child­ work of art is born of the artist in a hood exposure to organized religion mysterious and secret way. From him The author An art professor at the Uni­ flavored with strong liturgical, icono- it gains life and being. Nor is its exist­ versity of Minnesota, Thomas Kerrigan graphical and ritualistic seasonings. ence casual and inconsequent, but it spends half the year teaching in Duluth It would be difficult to suggest con­ has a definite and purposeful strength, and half working at his studio in Bisbee, crete inspiration for each piece. As alike in its material and spiritual life. Arizona. Vessels from the “Spirit Realm” the poet hints at essences, it is hoped It exists and has power to create spiri­ series have been exhibited recently at Sylvia that these works speak quietly to that tual atmosphere; and from this inner Ullman American Crafts, Cleveland; which in each of us eludes addressing standpoint one judges whether it is a Joanne Rapp Gallery/The Hand and the in prose. Decisions are intuitive; forms good work of art or a bad one. If its Spirit, Scottsdale, Arizona; and Gallery and surface imagery emerge and form is bad it means that the form is Eight, La Jolla, California.

“Spirit Realm

XVI,” 24 V2 inches in height; second place winner in the “Monarch Tile National Ceramic Competition ” at the San Angelo (Texas) Museum of Fine Arts.

28 CERAMICS MONTHLY “Spirit Realm XXII” 26 inches high, assembled from pinched “Spirit RealmXXIV27V2 inches in height, porcelain, with and wheel-thrown porcelain elements, single fired to Cone 3. sgraffito imagery incised through stain with a needle tool.

Thomas Kerrigan adding handbuilt elements to the wheel-thrown base of a “Spirit Realm ” vessel at his studio in Bisbee, Arizona.

February 1992 29 Oregon Invitational by Nils Lou

Forty ceramists recently were invited to exhibit at the intended to demonstrate the many directions in which Renshaw Gallery of Linfield College in McMinnville, clay can move, and to show the interrelationships that Oregon. They were chosen not only for their work, exist between clay artists. It is interesting to trace the recognized locally and nationally, but also for their connective lineage; often there is a common source of diverse styles and approaches to the medium—from instruction. In spite of this, unique and individual styles funky realism and political parody to quiet Zen. emerge, expanding the base of knowledge and encour­ Through this diverse selection, the exhibition was aging creative growth. ▲

“Torso” 26 inches in height, handbuilt stoneware, “Treed, Stumped,” 18 inches in height, stoneware, by Alice Coming, Mill Valley, California. by Dennis Meiners, Portland, Oregon.

30 CERAMICS MONTHLY Porcelain vessel, 15 inches in height, thrown and altered, Tom Coleman, Henderson, Nevada.

“Sampler” 15 inches in length, porcelain with low-fire glazes, fry David Gilhooly, Thrown vase with incising, 24 inches Dayton, Oregon. Note the frog imagery—aGilhooly trademark. high, by Frank Boyden, Otis, Oregon.

February 1992 31 Will and Kate Jacobson (Shelton, Washington) said goodbye “ manu­to facturing99 in order to return to basics.

Freedom to Discover by Will and Kate Jacobson

As potters, we once wholeheartedly quired enough wealth to afford to vote techniques. Although we and other subscribed to the doctrine of utilitari­ Republican. Something had to potters considered them to be phe­ anism, which was the vehicle for change. We chose to rediscover the nomenally great pots, we couldn’t find financial stability in our production art in our craft. a market for them. Also, fully 70% studio. But, over the last several years, Touring the country with retail craft were laid to rest through frustration we have dramatically altered our view. fairs gave us the opportunity to see therapy—throwing them at the The transition began when we re­ diverse contemporary art. In each city, dumpster from 20 feet away. alized the production business had we investigated the local art scene. Finally, we found something new somehow transformed us from pot­ Museums and galleries were great and exciting. We were experimenting ters to manufacturers. Somewhere sources for new ideas, but exchang­ with colored slips underneath raku between purchase-order deadlines ing thoughts with other artists had glazes, when we noticed a small part and workers compensation insurance the greatest impact on broadening our of the glaze had flaked off one of our we forgot why we had become pot­ attitudes. test pots. What was happening under ters. We were marketing to over 300 Coming from a functional point of the glaze seemed to be of interest, so wholesale accounts and retailing at 25 view, we had built mental walls (re­ we used a knife to scrape all the re­ craft shows a year. We had a computer strictions) concerning the acceptable maining glaze off the pot, then to keep track of our files—our pot­ parameters of clay. A cup, for instance, scrubbed with steel wool. tery had become merchandise, num­ could only be made within certain Rather than dismissing this as a bers and units. What began as a labor size limitations and remain useful. But glaze flaw, we consider it a new deco­ of love became just labor. there are no pottery police who write rating process. We brush a slip onto As we improved technically over citations for illegal use of clay or for bisqued work, let it dry, then apply the years, it seemed our work was los­ parking your acrylic paint on a pot glaze. As the glaze melts, it fuses to ing a sense of self-expression, creativ­ without a permit. the slip and is prevented from reach­ ity and joy that drew us to working in We were determined to create work ing the pot. After traditional raku post- clay. Usefulness became an obstacle. that reflected our new consciousness, firing reduction, the glaze can be Even technical proficiency became a trying anything that came to mind. peeled off the pot. The resulting thick trap. During our neophyte years, clay We willfully wasted time that could shadow lines show where the carbon was the medium for our art. When have been spent producing salable seeped through the outside glaze layer. clay became a business, we lost the ceramic goods. We have found we can create a batik fundamental determinant of any art Of course, creativity can be a good effect by layering glaze in repeated form: the freedom to explore, to ex­ deal less lucrative than functionalism firings. Figurative work can be drawn periment, to make mistakes and to and repetition. Even when our explo­ through the glaze, and a reverse im­ pursue the happy accident. rations ended in artistic success, that age can be achieved with carbon satu­ If all we had wanted out of life was did not necessarily mean economic ration. It took us nearly two years to financial security, we would have be­ success. For instance, at one point we develop this process sufficiently to re­ come mid-level functionaries and ac- were experimenting with low-fire-salt liably control the outcome. The po-

32 CERAMICS MONTHLY above “Spirals” 20 inches in height left After a Cone 012-010 bisque firing, each pot is covered with slip made from 40% Lincoln 60 fireclay, 30% 6-Tile clay, 20% lone 412 grog and 10% Custer feldspar; then glazed with a mixture of 60% Ferro frit 3110 and 40% Gerstley borate; fired to Cone 014; smoked; water quenched; and peeled.

February 1992 33 Smoke penetrating the layer of fused slip and glaze creates As the eggshell-like layer of slip and glaze is loosened, large random carbon patterning that follows crack lines. sheets begin to fall away.

tential applications seem endless. fered by utilitarianism, neither are they comes a time when technical exper­ [Also see Jerry Caplan’s “Raku Re­ as likely to be seduced (by technical tise becomes something to master and duction Stenciling” in the November skill and economic success) into just transcend. 1976 CM.] manufacturing. At the same time, it’s After all, art and craft, artist and Maintaining a sense of wonder hard to imagine completely abandon­ artisan, are just labels that don’t have about our work is absolutely crucial. ing utilitarianism. There’s something to be kept cleanly compartmentalized. The freedom to experiment and ex­ very special about a well-made bowl. We prefer to approach our craft as plore new forms or techniques is a It feels good to make something both artists, with the freedom to explore necessary part of our lives. But it is beautiful and useful. There is com­ and fail occasionally and, most impor­ difficult—particularly for potters—to fort in the knowledge that we are tantly, the freedom to discover. balance creative exploration and eco­ continuing an ancient and noble tra­ nomic independence. It is easy to get dition. But we also know that clay is a The authors Will and Kate Jacobson re­ caught up in the day-to-day routine of uniquely plastic medium of commu­ cently moved from Arizona to a studio in a repeating successful designs and pro­ nication and expression—and there rainforest near Shelton, Washington. cesses. Our markets perpetuate rep­ etition. Potters share a problem with other artists in that even progressive galleries tend to buy work they’ve sold in the past and are often wary of new designs. Creative marketing now helps us maintain a balance between aesthet­ ics and economics. In addition to our net-30 accounts, we have a few galler­ ies with which we work on a consign­ ment basis. We allow our net-30 customers to order from samples and to specify (within reason) the finished work. Our more experimental work goes to consignment galleries. While artists in other media don’t “Gateway ” 12 inches in diameter, a closed form thrown from raku clay, with cut have the initial financial security of­ and lifted handlelike element, bisqued, covered with slip/glaze, smoked and peeled.

34 CERAMICS MONTHLY Coffee service, 18 inches in height, cast and thrown earthenware, with stainless steel, aluminum, vinyl and brass, by Eric Van Eimeren, Huntington Beach, California.

In conjunction with its annual “Chi­ ciated with decorative and applied arts. commented. “All our decisions were cago International New Art Forms From some 1500 slide entries, 15 unanimous. The people selected Exposition” (CINAFE), which presents pieces by 12 artists were selected by could meet any test you could put booth displays by galleries from the Edward Cook, assistant curator of forth in terms of viable, creative en­ U.S. and abroad at Navy Pier, the American decorative arts and sculp­ ergy. It’s important work.” Lakeside Group organized “Anticipa­ ture at the Museum of Fine Arts, Bos­ CINAFE director Mark Lyman con­ tion ’91,” a juried exhibition “to assist, ton; Wayne Higby, professor and chair curred: “There’s enormous vitality and promote and encourage those who of the ceramics art division, New York vision among these young artists that have yet to establish a relationship with State College of Ceramics at Alfred; will surely stimulate dialogue. We look the gallery/art dealer system.” and Joanne Rapp, owner of Joanne to the showcase as a source of inspira­ The competition was open to all Rapp Gallery/The Hand and the tion for artists, collectors, curators and unrepresented or nonaffiliated artists Spirit, Scottsdale, Arizona. gallery owners attending the New Art working with media traditionally asso­ “Our jury was very selective,” Higby Forms show” A

February 1992 35 “Hollow Cylinder 2½ inches in height, carved white stoneware, fired to Cone 04, by Marc Leuthold, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

“Discs,” each 18 inches in diameter, carved stoneware, glazed with Cone 04 and Cone 010 recipes, by Marc Leuthold.

36 CERAMICS MONTHLY February 1992 37 Installation of earthenware sculpture from the “Fibonocci Series” by Mary Roettger, New York City; in a Fibonocci sequence of numbers, each new value is the sum of the two preceding values1, 1 ,( 2, 3, 5, 8, 13. . .).

“Fib 1” handbuilt earthenware sculpture, 31 inches in length, by Mary Roettger. Works shown in this article are by ceramists juried into the “Anticipation” show presented in conjunction with“Chicago the New Art Forms Exposition” at Navy Pier.

38 CERAMICS MONTHLY Tatsuzo Shimaoka An Autobiography, Part 2

translated by Dance Veri Editor’s note:Part 1 of this autobiography big business, but almost always what­ ters should try a lot of things when by one of Japan’s most respected potters ever feeling you had for your work they are young. In every kiln, you appeared last month. will be gone, and that will soon come should try something new. Even if you across to whoever buys your work. fail, it’s never a cause for embarrass­ Patterning with ropes is a craft in it­ The idea behind mingei (folk craft) ment. The further you go, the longer self. It has its own personality and in­ is to let the beauty of the work de­ you work, the better you get. If you dividualism. Anyone can produce velop through making the same thing experiment in every kiln and you fire beautiful pottery with this technique. over and over again. That is how the ten times a year, you’ve got ten new But a lot of what is individual about work evolves on its own and starts to ideas to work with. Even if only one is my work depends on how the ropes make itself. successful, your body of work will still are rolled onto the clay. Although my work is labeled min­ increase every year. Many workers’ hands help me gei, it isn’t in a true sense. I am greatly My work is based on the glazed make my work. There is a line of co­ influenced by the heart, the essence ware I do with jomon no zougan, and operation in making shapes, rolling of real mingei, and I try to work as change comes through the repetition rope, applying slip and trimming af­ much in that spirit as I can. But, if you of rolling ropes and finding different ter the slip has hard­ designs. There are many ened. Consequently, my potters who seek change direct idea, even the di­ in their work for the rect feeling I have for sake of change. If their what I make, is broken. work consists only of get­ There can’t be much ting something new, change in what I make. then the original intent For people who work of the work is lost. It gets alone, what they make, too complicated. They what they are, the good have gone too far from and the bad parts come the base. At that point, out. In my work, consid­ it’s best to stop, to go ering all the people who back to the beginning have a hand in it, my and try again. Some­ own personality comes times that really is nec­ out less and less; in the essary. Deep down, at end, my hand becomes the core, though, my very thin. work is still Hamada. I Because of how it is Plate set, each approximately6 inches in diameter, with can’t get away from it, made, with a lot of dif­ rolled-rope, inlaid-slip and brushed-cobalt decoration. so I guess that’s okay too. ferent hands, the beauty Soetsu Yanagi gave us of the work doesn’t come from my were to clearly make a distinction be­ the philosophy of mingei. I do under­ own personal strength. It’s like weav­ tween what I make and mingei ware, stand it in a vague way, but I can’t ing in a way, you know; from the re­ my work involves individualism. really discuss it or even explain it well. petitive motion of the loom comes Hamada repeatedly told me to ap­ I think it is okay for a maker not to the beauty of the woven piece. It is proach my work with a freshness of understand it too precisely. the same with pottery and rolling feeling, a clean mentality, to go at my As a beginner, I was impressed by ropes; the beauty of the material and zougan with pleasure and joy. If you the mingei that Yanagi heralded (the the process come out. It is the beauty just want exposure, if you just want to idea of everyone in a workshop work­ of craft. Shoji Hamada would say that sell, you should quit now. ing toward a common goal). How­ is something you can depend on— Hamada would say, “Shimaoka, you ever, Yanagi’s mingei handicrafts were meaning the beauty of craft often oc­ shouldn’t try to understand the re­ from a different era. The way of life curs naturally. So, for me, zougan sults of what you do too clearly. If you and people’s environments are differ­ (inlay) and jomon (rope rolling) are are always thinking, I do this, this and ent now. The work that he was speak­ good techniques. this to get something good, that’s bad. ing of, the ware that people used in I am always happy when I make Just try what you want without think­ daily life, was all they had then. There something that people find pleasing ing of the consequences. You are too wasn’t anything else. There was no to use. The pleasure you hold in your good a student.” industrialization, no machines to heart while making something will That’s true about me, but you know make inexpensive items. Everything certainly come out in your work. With­ it was Hamada who understood things was handmade. That these things were out that, you could sell a lot, have a too well. He was right, though. Pot­ an integral and vigorous part of

In every kiln, you should try something new. Even if you fail, it’s never a cause for embarrassment....If only one is successful, your body of work will still increase.

40 C eramics Monthly The front entrance to Shimaoka’s main Ware is often fired on seashell supports Shimaoka overseeing the preparation of workshop in Mashiko, Japan. stuffed with high-alumina clay. pots for the kiln’s yohen chamber.

Tetsu-e (iron-oxide brushwork )— Inspecting and selecting bisqueware A worker loading greenware into a Shimaoka personally decorates cups. to be glazed. bisque kiln.

right Shimaoka always loads the yohen chamber (the narrow first chamber after the firebox in the climbing kiln); his workers load the remaining chambers. article cover Small yohen vase, 6V2 inches in height, thrown from feldspathic clay, decorated with rolled- rope impressions over faceting, inlaid with slips, fired on its side supported by clay-filled seashells that leave decorative impressions on the piece. PHOTOS: MASAYUKI MIYAJIMA, SEBASTIAN SCHIED, DARICE VERI, AND COURTESY OF THE ARTIST people’s daily lives goes without say­ ware that people would enjoy using. just middle-class people who liked my ing. I think that is quite beautiful. At the time, there weren’t too many work. That is a wonderful feeling. Nowadays, if you consider price, young people starting out with those Now, my expensive work sells and, convenience, strength to withstand ev­ intentions. In fact, there were almost although I appreciate it, the feeling is eryday use, the old way of working, none. About 35 years ago, as the idea not so great. I don’t know why people the old way of mingei, doesn’t fit daily of mingei gained in popularity, a lot buy anymore. Do they buy because life. Of course, there are still a lot of of people began to use handmade they really like them? Do they buy on people who want to use handmade things in their everyday lives. My work speculation, thinking it will increase things because they are beautiful. In was inexpensive and many people in value? Is what I make bought only the old days, though, people didn’t kindly bought it. I had more of a di­ for the purpose of money making? have any choice; they There are a lot of custom­ didn’t buy or use things ers who do that these just for what they looked days. I am not too happy like. Now, there are a lot about that. Sometimes of things to buy, and people who say they real­ people buy handmade ly like my work also say things for different rea­ they can’t afford it. It has sons—because they are become too expensive. beautiful or because they That’s the way it is for me evoke a certain nostalgia. now; success is really not The real meaning of that enjoyable. Ideally, I mingei is getting a little would like to lower prices lost; it is getting away from so people who really want its origins. We, as potters, it could buy my work. But, think handmade things well, it’s just not possible. are beautiful, yet we want I can’t go back. to make a living from our In the future, I would work. It is necessary to like to work more freely. make pots that fit today’s My workers are getting lifestyle—coffee and tea on, the oldest is around sets, rice bowls, etc. 65 and the youngest Modern mingei is worker, who is about 45, largely made by machine left recently to start his with new technology and own workshop. Without materials. We should ac­ help, I can’t produce the knowledge that it is dif­ same amount of work. In­ ferent, and that the past stead of doing what I have can’t be repeated. The always done, I will try to challenge is to put out make things I’ve always beautiful things. Tea ceremony bowl, approximately 5 inches in diameter, wanted to make but The practice of min­ with cobalt and copper oxide over hakeme slip. haven’t been able to be­ gei today should involve cause of other obliga­ taking working methods from the past rect relationship with my customers tions. I will refuse orders and most (the basic way of making pottery hasn’t then than I do now. likely will break away slightly from min­ changed that much) and making I had gone through hard times, gei in its strictest sense. things that fit into daily life as it is but my life got better and better as my I want to work more freely and now. Taking mingei into the future work began to sell. I started to have more individually. There are certain should involve considering what more exhibitions—last year was my rules within the mingei tradition that people like and need. The work 27th of doing a show at Matsuya Ginza I have upheld, preserved and contin­ should be strong enough to withstand [Tokyo] Department Store. People ued as best I could, because I thought daily use and it should be sold at a who liked my work and wanted to use that was right. When it becomes im­ reasonable cost. it came to my exhibitions. They would possible for me to work in that tradi­ When I began my workshop, my buy it for everyday dinnerware or to tion, without any workers to help me, heart, my feeling for pottery was much put flowers in, whatever. Expensive I will break away somewhat. That is more pure and straightforward. My things didn’t sell. Most of my custom­ how I want to work. Who knows how idea was to make everyday functional ers weren’t rich or monied buyers, much time I have left? A

Nowadays, if you consider price, convenience, strength to withstand everyday use, the old way of working... doesn’t Jit daily life.

42 C eramics Monthly The four-chamber climbing kiln is approximately 12 feet wide by 35 feet long, and takes three to four days to fire. The firebox was built somewhat larger than most climbing kilns so that it would accommodate more work to be glazed with fly ash. Yohen ware is fired in the first chamber; it is long and narrow (about half the width of the rest of the kiln), with stoke holes on the sides. When the temperature reaches 2460?F (135CPC), charcoal is poured into the stoke holes until all the pots are covered. The firemouth and stoke holes of the yohen chamber are then sealed. Stoking at the sides of the following chamber begins before charcoal is introduced into the first. The remaining three chambers (two for glazed ware, the last for salt) are then stoked to temperature.

Checking the flame and conditions Stoking the firemouth; a counterweight Charcoal is introduced as the first inside the kiln. and pulley raise and lower the door. chamber reaches peak temperature.

At 10- to 15-minute intervals, the upper With a master’s concern for the firing, A glowing bowl is visible through a chambers are stoked with pine. Shimaoka checks progress frequently. peephole, opened to draw glaze test tiles.

February 1992 43 Tea ceremony bowl, 5V2 inches in diameter, fired upside down in the yohen chamber of the kiln to encourage ash and charcoal to flow toward the lip.

44 CERAMICS MONTHLY The chimneys in the early morning as Salt is introduced in bamboo splits (five Slid into the kiln, each split is over­ the last (salt) chamber is fired. on each side of the chamber). turned to pour salt onto burning wood.

Looking into the firemouth toward theIn the glaze chambers, plates are loaded Work is prepared for exhibition by cooled yohen chamber. in square saggars to avoid ash deposits. packaging in signed balsa wood boxes.

Tatsuzo Shimaoka inspecting ware unloaded from the yohen chamber. The successful pots are soaked in water, which helps dissolve calcium from the shells and loosen any residue from the high-alumina clay. Each is then polished with rice straw (which contains substantial silica, yet doesn ’t leave scratches) to remove pieces of charcoal and accumulated wood ash. The meticulous polishing process may take up to three days for a single piece.

February 1992 45 Cultural Focus by Gail Kendall

Since the summer of 1989, my work anticipated, the master I would be Damaged pieces of Sevres, Meissen, has taken an abrupt turn in direction. studying with was 30 years old and Minton, Coalport, Royal Crown Derby Previously, I had focused on “vessel had been in the business since age 15. and Wedgwood came to the shop on referential” pieces that were angular, Alan Finney worked out of a studio a daily basis, along with humbler, but monolithic, very textural and aggres­ in Biddulph, a village just a few miles no less valuable, examples of early Staf­ sively glazed in highly saturated col­ north of Stoke. He divided the busi­ fordshire ornaments and figurines. By ors. My new work can be traced back ness into three areas: repair of pot­ the time I left my apprenticeship with to 1983 when I had an opportunity to tery and porcelain, which was done the Finneys, I had acquired an appre­ live in the Stoke-on-Trent area of En­ by his wife Jill; repainting, glazing and ciation for many of the forms and gland for seven months. firing, by him; and the collecting of types of ware that had passed through After five years of wholesaling work, valuable antique pottery and china my hands, and in the course of perus­ I was ready for a sabbatical, and ap­ for future repair. Spending two days a ing antiques shows and markets I proached the impending change as week with them, I gained some skill brought back my own collection of an opportunity to explore other ways and insight into the business. But most broken ware. But the real impact of of making a living. An antiques dealer importantly, I gained a hands-on in­ this experience with European manu­ and friend in Minnesota had sug­ troduction to a type of ceramic pro­ factured ceramics was stowed away and gested I study the restoration and re­ duction that had been completely didn’t attain its full significance until pair of pottery while in the U.K It ignored in my university art educa­ after a trip to Africa in 1989. took a month to locate a willing tion—i.e., the output of the great Eu­ My goal in traveling there was to teacher. To my surprise, instead of the ropean manufacturers of the 17th study cultural life in a part of the world Gepetto in his workshop that I had through 19th centuries. where a category of things called art

Handbuilt earthenware tureen, approximately 16 inches in length, with low-fire glazes.

46 CERAMICS MONTHLY Glazed earthenware tureen, 12 inches in height; though inspired by the shapes of early European manufactured ware, Kendall is “constructing pieces much as the women of Mali and the potters of rural Mexico make their cooking vessels ”

Soup tureen, 16 inches in length, coiled, paddled and scraped earthenware, with low-fire glazes.

February 1992 47 Earthenware tureen, approximately 17 inches in length, handbuilt, brushed with low-fire glazes, by Gail Kendall, Lincoln, Nebraska.

does not exist. What drove me to seek called art. They simply are what they soup tureens as the initial entrance this experience was an evolving con­ are. They refer to the past and present into this new work, probably because cern over the state of the visual arts in life of the culture in a visceral and of my own love of cooking and enter­ my own culture. I had become suspi­ vital way. This experience in Africa taining. The tureens I make are not cious that the art produced in increased my interest in looking literal interpretations of European and America, and in all developed cultures closely at my own ethnic heritage. American predecessors. Instead, they for that matter, was increasingly less A third experience that had signifi­ refer, in a general way, to the history meaningful to the average person. cant impact on my thinking occurred of European ceramics. Modernism certainly divided view­ later in the summer of 1989. While Having given myself free rein in ers into a visual arts cultural elite and traveling to and from a workshop I the studio, I do not limit myself tech­ the uninitiated. The postmodern era was teaching at Penland, North Caro­ nically or stylistically, so the tureens of dense theories and doctrines had lina, I visited quite a few regional and have taken on various forms, ap­ accomplished little in establishing national museums of art in Washing­ proaches to glazing and formal vo­ broader, more inclusive perimeters. If ton, Atlanta, Saint Louis and Kansas cabulary. I am inspired by European such was the case, then art, by ceasing City. In each of these museums, I was manufactured ceramics of the past, to be a meaningful cultural tool of struck by the sameness of the perma­ but technically I am constructing communication, had been stripped nent collections on display in the main pieces much as the women of Mali of perhaps its most essential compo­ galleries. One was very much like an­ and the potters of rural Mexico make nent. In that case, what could be the other with Keifers, Schnabels, Murrays their cooking vessels—small coils of future role of the visual arts in and Puryears substituting for the clay squished together, scraped and America? Claibornes, Laurens, Kleins and paddled into the desired form. The trip to Mali and Senegal was Karans found in the apparel sections I am intrigued to discover that di­ inspirational in underscoring my con­ of any upscale retail store. However, verse experiences derived from travel cerns. In contrast to the lack of in roaming through the decorative in the Third World and travel in the interconnectedness of life and art as arts at these same institutions, I was First World can come together in har­ experienced in the States, a high de­ impressed and excited by the indi­ mony in my studio, and I am chal­ gree of understanding and integra­ viduality of each of these collections. lenged by the realization that my own tion exists between local people and The decorative arts, neglected both culture comes into focus when viewed the West African objects designated financially and curatorally, often rely alongside radically different ones. by Westerners as African art. These on those objects that are given by lo­ works are objects of religious signifi­ cal benefactors, thus enabling the col­ The authorGail Kendall heads the ce­ cance and ritual, items of adornment, lection to sustain uniqueness. ramic area at the University of Nebraska- shelter and utility that are readily ap­ Taken together, these experiences, Lincoln. Her work was shown recently in prehended as such by all members of concerns and ideas motivated me to solo exhibitions at the Hayden Gallery, Lon­ the culture. To the African, these are make art that would reflect my inter­ don, Nebraska; and the Stratton Gallery at not items included within a category est in European ceramics. I settled on Pewabic Pottery, Detroit.

48 CERAMICS MONTHLY Federighi s Symbolism

Solo exhibitions of sculpture by Chris­ investigate those reasons and make or a wall, as well as an enclosed gar­ tine Federighi, faculty artist at the Uni­ them specific, or allow the symbols to den. Another symbolic association is versity of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida, freely assemble and become ambigu­ that which equates the house (and were featured recently at Gloria Luria ous or enigmatic visual arrange­ the above related forms) with the re­ Gallery in Bay Harbor Islands, Florida, ments—something that I prefer....” pository of all wisdom that is tradition and at Florida Craftsmen Gallery in When investigating the meaning itself. In architectural symbolism, the Saint Petersburg. During the past dec­ of symbols she uses, Federighi “was house carries not only an overall sym­ ade, she has “allowed figure and house fascinated by definitions in A Dictio­ bolism, but also particular associations symbols to develop freely” as part of nary of Symbols by J. E. Cirlot: attached to each of its component her work. “‘Figures: The representational parts. Nevertheless, the house as a At the same time, Federighi came shape of figures is always [akin to] the home arouses strong, spontaneous as­ to the conclusion that all artists have object or being to which they allude. sociations with the human body and “personal symbols or images that we “‘House: Mystics have always tradi­ human thought. In dreams we em­ consciously or unconsciously use for a tionally considered the feminine as­ ploy the image of the house as repre­ variety of reasons. We can choose to pect of the universe as a chest, a house sentation of the different layers of the

“Two House Stack,” coil built in sections from moderately grogged stoneware, carved when leather hard, fired in oxidation to Cone 04, assembled over a metal rod, sprayed with black paint, dry brushed with oils, sealed with clear satin polyurethane, 76V2 inches in height, $4000.

February 1992 49 psyche....The various floors are related physical building, such as locating a warpage and help prevent cracking— to the vertical and spatial symbols. The site, drilling a well, digging the foun­ a standard sculptor’s technique. roof and upper floor correspond to dation and constructing the frame. The taller and more columnar the head and the mind, as well as to Drilling, the uncertain, precarious forms are constructed whole, then the conscious exercise of self-control. search for water, served as a strong carved at the leather-hard stage. Stack­ Similarly, the basement corresponds metaphor for linear quality. Augering ing pieces are constructed as separate to the unconscious and the instincts. 120 feet into the ground to find a sections on a rod or armature. After The kitchen, since this is where food­ river became less a metaphor and firing, they are reassembled on the stuff is transformed, sometimes signi­ more a fantastic image. rod to check alignment. fies the place or the moment of “The figures became the water In many instances, the bottom sec­ psychic transformation in the alchemi­ pushing up from the house. A figure tions are coil built, fired and placed cal sense. The stairs are the link be­ layered with leaves is an image of on the support rod, before the next tween the various planes of the psyche. growth; the total piece has the quality sections are constructed, allowed to Finally, there is the association of the and awkwardness of an exotic plant dry, removed from the rod and fired. house with the human body, especially with its thin pistil form. Firing takes place in two octago­ regarding its openings.’” “These plantlike pieces refer to my nal, sectional, electric kilns, stacked one Federighi says her latest work “deals Florida home, while the carved land­ on top of the other; chamber height with the house-figure relationship as scape houses and figures make refer­ is adjusted to the piece by adding or a changing metaphor for personal ence to my relationship to the western taking away kiln wall rings. events. Sometimes I think that I live United States. The awkward, some­ After a sculpture is fired to Cone in three houses or homes—my birth times primitive, quality of the figure 04, its surface is sealed with a mono­ home, my spiritual home and the underscores my interest in Native chrome ground, usually black spray home that is my dwelling. This idea American, aboriginal and primitive paint. Oil paint is then applied in lay­ seems to be expressed by the ‘stacked’ peoples and their art.” ers, dry brushing one tone over an­ quality of some of the pieces. Federighi’s forms are coil built other “for deeper and varied color” “Building a house is a growth pro­ from a moderately grogged stoneware After about two weeks, the painted cess and involves learning about dif­ body and fired to Cone 04. The clay is surface can be sealed with clear satin ferent aspects of the planning and intentionally underfired to decrease polyurethane. ▲

right Christine Federighi with a selection of her sculpture at her studio in Coral Gables, Florida. Her latest work “deals with the house- figure relationship as a changing metaphor for personal events.”

opposite page left “Four House Stack ,” 89 inches in height, coil built, carved, assembled over a metal rod, painted with oils, $4500.

opposite page right “Layerings,” coil-built and carved stoneware, fired to Cone 04 in electric kilns stacked one on top of the other, sprayed black, painted with oils, then sealed with polyurethane, 61 inches in height, $4000.

50 CERAMICS MONTHLY February 1992 51 Hair Sculpture and Its Roots

Clay combined with hair produced While the show consisted of wig particularly 18th-century French and the works on view in “Terry Niedzialek: “environments” (stabilized with clay, English; and hair art as reflected in Hair Sculpture and Its Roots” at the then accented with found objects) and the works of such artists as Marcel Wilson and Hall Galleries of Lehigh enlarged photographs of historical Duchamp and Max Ernst. University in Bethlehem, Pennsylva­ hairdos, opening night featured a By adding tempera paint, wire, Sty­ nia, through December 27, 1991. “hair-raising” live performance. rofoam and found objects, Niedzialek Working with hair and clay as an artist’s Niedzialek explains that her hair/ says that she develops “montages” that medium allows Niedzialek to blur the clay work derives from three histori­ make political and social statements boundaries between sculpture, fash­ cal perspectives: body decoration in about 20th-century technology, as well ion and performance art. primitive cultures; societal statements, as alienation from nature. ▲

“Nuclear Winter” clay-stabilized hair “Nature Hair Montage ” with clay, twigs, sculpture with mixed-media additions. wire and tempera paint.

52 CERAMICS MONTHLY “S.O.S. Missile” (above left) and “Mesa Verde” hair sculpture with clay and mixed media, by Terry Niedzialek, Flicksville, Pennsylvania.

Terry Niedzialek conducting a hair/clay performance at Harrisburg College in Pennsylvania.

February 1992 53 Contact LaGrange National XVII, Chattahoochee Call for Entries Valley Art Museum, 112 Hines Street, LaGrange Exhibitions, Fairs, Festivals and Sales 30240; or telephone (404) 882-3267. February 28 entry deadline Dexter, Michigan “National Juried Fine Arts Exhibition” (April 3-May 15). Juried from slides. Entry fee: $10,1 entry; $5, each additional entry; up to 5 entries. Send sase for prospectus and International Exhibitions entry form to National Exhibition, Farrington Keith Art Center, Box 8418, Ann Arbor, Michi­ February 12 entry deadline gan 48107; or telephone (313) 426-0236. San Angelo, Texas “Seventh Annual San Angelo March 1 entry deadline National Ceramic Competition” (April 16-May Racine, Wisconsin ‘Just Plane Screwy: Meta­ 24), open to residents of the United States, Canada physical and Metaphorical Tools by Artists” (June and Mexico. Juried from up to 2 slides per work. 7-September 13), open to all media depicting Entry fee: $15 for 1-3 works. Awards: $3750. artists’ tools. Juried from up to 10 slides and Juror: Wayne Higby, professor of ceramic art, resume. Send sase to Charles A. Wustum Mu­ New York State College of Ceramics, Alfred. For seum of Fine Arts, 2519 Northwestern Ave., Racine prospectus, contact San Angelo Museum of Fine 53404; or telephone (414) 636-9177. Arts, Box 3092, San Angelo 76902; or telephone March 2 entry deadline (915) 658-4084. Bethlehem, Pennsylvania “Stories: The Narra­ March 10 entry deadline tive Art in Contemporary Crafts” (August 8- Golden, Colorado “North American Sculpture September 20). Juried from 3 slides per entry; up Exhibition” (May 3-June 16), open to residents to 3 entries. Jurors: Janet Grau, ceramic sculp­ of the United States, Canada and Mexico. Juried tor/instructor/resident artist, the Clay Studio, from 8x10 black-and-white photos. Entry fee: Philadelphia; and Bhakti Ziek, fiber artist/assis­ $10 per entry; up to 3 entries. Jurors: Nathaniel tant professor of woven design, Philadelphia Kaz, New York City; and Jesus Bautista Morales, College of Textiles and Sciences. Cash awards. Rockport, Texas. Awards: $6000. For prospectus, For prospectus, send #10 sase to Luckenbach contact the Foothills Art Center, 809 15th Street, Mill Gallery, 459 Old York Road, Bethlehem Golden 80401; or telephone (303) 279-3922. 18018; or telephone (215) 691-0603. April 30 entry deadline March 15 entry deadline Jamestown, New York “Contemporary Scandi­ Portland, Oregon “Garden Exhibition” (May navian Art” (Fall), open to Scandinavian artists 17-June 20), open to artists working in clay, fiber, living in the U.S. or abroad. Juried from no more glass, metal and wood. Juried from 5 slides and than 10 slides. Artists are encouraged to send resume. Send SASE to Executive Director, Con­ resume and support material that will helpjurors temporary Crafts Gallery, 3934 S.W. Corbett Ave., better understand the work. Send sase to the Portland 97201; or telephone (503) 223-2659. Forum Gallery, Jamestown Community College, March 19 entry deadline 525 Falconer St. Jamestown 14701; or telephone Milwaukee, Wisconsin “Vessels” (May 15-June Dan Talley or Michelle Henry (716) 665-9107. 26). Juried from 5 slides and resume. Fee: $10. May 31 entry deadline Send sase to A. Houberbocken, 230 West Wells Mino, Japan “The 3rd International Ceramics Street, Suite 202, Milwaukee 53203; or telephone Competition ’92 Mino” (October 25-November Joan Houlehen (414) 276-6002. 3), judging in 2 categories: ceramics design and March 20 entry deadline ceramic arts. Juried from up to 3 actual works. Carbondale, Illinois “Clay Cup IV” (May 12- Shipped entries due betweenjuly 1 and 15; hand- June 10, traveling through 1993). Juried from delivered entries due August 29-30. Entry fee: 1 slides. Juror: Virginia Cartwright. Entry fee: $15 entry, 3000 yen (approximately US$23); 2 en­ for 3 slides. Cash awards. Contact Clay Cup IV, tries, 5000 yen (approximately US$40); 3 entries, University Museum, Southern Illinois University 7000yen (approximatelyUS$54).Jurors, ceram­ at Carbondale, Carbondale 62901. ics design: Nino Caruso, Toshiyuki Kita, Kather­ Jenkintown, Pennsylvania “ The Clay Cup” (April ine McCoy, Masahiro Mori, Timo Sarpaneva, 1-30). Juried from actual work; 9-inch limit. Karl Scheid and Osamu Suzuki. Jurors, ceramic Juror: Ron Nagle. Entry fee: $5, one cup. Cash arts: Robert Arneson, Garth Clark, Yoshiaki Inui, awards and catalog. For prospectus, send sase to Takuo Kato, Kyubei Kiyomizu, Pompeo Pian- Abington Art Center, 515 Meetinghouse Road, ezzola and Rudolf Schnyder. Awards (per cate­ Jenkintown 19046; or telephone (215) 887-4882. gory) : grand prize, 3 million yen (approximately University Park, Pennsylvania “Crafts National US$23,000), plus a domestic or foreign study 26” (June 7-July 26). Juried from slides. Juror: trip; gold award, 1 million yen (approximately John Vanco, executive director of the Erie Art US$7700); 2 silver awards, 500,000 yen (approxi­ Museum, Pennsylvania. Entry fee: $20 for up to 3 mately US$3900); 5 bronze awards, 300,000 yen entries. Awards: $3000. For prospectus, send sase (approximately US$2300); and 7 special judges’ to Crafts National 26, Zoller Gallery, 101 Visual awards, 200,000 yen (approximately US$1540). Arts Building, Penn State University, University For application forms, contact International Ce­ Park 16802; or telephone (814) 865-0444. ramics Festival ’92 Mino Japan Organizing Com­ March 28 entry deadline mittee Office, 2-15 Hinode-machi, Tajimi City, Rockford, Illinois “2x2x2” (April 17-May 29), Gifu Pref. 507, Japan. open to all fine arts and crafts except photogra­ phy; no dimensions over 2 inches, excluding National Exhibitions frame or pedestal .Juried from actual work. Entry fee: $20 for 4 entries. For prospectus, send SASE to February 14 entry deadline Gallery Ten, 514 E. State St., Rockford 61104; or LaGrange, Georgia “LaGrange National XVII” telephone (815) 965-1743. (April4-May 15), open to paintings, prints, draw­ March 31 entry deadline ings, photography, sculpture and decorative art. Lenexa, Kansas “Lenexa’s National Art Show” Juried from up to 5 slides. Juror: Jane Kessler, (June 12-14), open to 3-dimensional art. Juried Curator’s Forum, Charlotte, North Carolina. from slides. Awards: $4700. Contact Lenexa’s Entry fee: $20. Awards: $20,000 in purchase prizes. National Art Show, 13420 Oak, Lenexa 66215; or telephone (913) 541-8592. Send announcements of juried exhibitions, fairs, festi­April 1 entry deadline vals and sales at least four months before the event’s Eureka Springs, Arkansas “Fifth Annual Sculp­ entry deadline (please add one month for listings in Julyture Show and Sale” (May). Juried from slides. and two monthsfor those in August) to Callfor Entries, Entry fee: $20; up to 3 entries. Awards: from Ceramics Monthly, Box 12448, Columbus, Ohio$1500, first place; to $200, honorable mention. 43212; or telephone (614) 488-8236. Fax announce­Send SASE to Sally Gorrell, Box 283, Eureka ments to (614) 488-4561. Springs 72632. Continued

54 CERAMICS MONTHLY February 1992 55 Call for Entries bocken, 230 West Wells Street, Suite 202, Mil­ living in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Okla­ waukee 53203; or telephone (414) 276-6002. homa, Texas, Utah. Awards: approximately $750. For prospectus, send legal-sized SASE to Fuller Regional Exhibitions Lodge Art Center, Box 790, Los Alamos 87544. April 3 entry deadline February 15 entry deadline Fairs, Festivals and Sales Lincoln, California “Feats of Clay V” (June 3- Richmond, Virginia “Spotlight ’92” (May 8- 27). Juried from a maximum of 3 slides per entry; July31), open to artists living in Alabama, Florida, February 14 entry deadline up to 3 entries. Fee: $10 per entry. Works should Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Worcester, Massachusetts “22nd Annual May Craft not exceed 24 inches. Juror: Anne Currier. Place, Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Fair” (May 15-17). Juried from 5 slides. Fee: $20. merit and purchase awards. Send SASE to Lincoln West Virginia. Juried from slides of up to 3 works. Booth fee: $220 for a 10x10-foot, in-line space; Arts, Box 1166, Lincoln 95648; or telephone Juror: Barbara Jedda, curator, Craft Alliance, $265 for a 10x10-foot, corner booth. Contact (916) 645-9713. Saint Louis, Missouri. Fee: $12. Contact Spot­ Worcester Center for Crafts, 25 Sagamore Rd., April 30 entry deadline light ’92, Hand Workshop, 1812 W. Main St., Worcester 01605; or telephone (508) 753-8183. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania “Invitational Artist Richmond 23220; or telephone (804) 353-0094. February 15 entry deadline Series” (1992-93). 4 solo and 1-2 group shows February 22 entry deadline Peninsula, Ohio “Boston Mills Artfest” (June will be selected. Juried from slides. No entry fee. Las Cruces, New Mexico “From the Ground Up 26-28 and July 2-5). Juried from 4 slides. Entry For application, send SASE to the Clay Studio, 139 XI” (March 1-29), open to clay artists residing in fee: $25. Booth fee: $>145-$230. Awards: best of North Second Street, Philadelphia 19106; or for Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. Juried from show, $2000; second place, $1000; third, $500; information telephone (215) 925-3453. actual works; up to 3 entries. Entry fee: $10. Send and 15 category awards, $250 each. Contact Bos­ May 1 entry deadline SASE to Janice Gregory, 1253 Kingsbury, Las ton Mills Ski Resort, Box 175, Peninsula 44264; Manitou Springs, Colorado “Sculpture in Mani- Cruces 88005; or telephone (505) 523-2162. or telephone (216) 657-2334 or (216) 467-2242. tou” (July 10-12). Juried from slides. Entry fee: February 28 entry deadline February 29 entry deadline $20. Awards. For prospectus, contact Darpino, Strathmore Hall, Maryland “The Crafts Collec­ ChagrinFalls, Ohio “Art by the Falls ’92” (June Alliance of Professional Artists Association, 513 tion ’92” (June 3-July 13), open to craft artists 13-14). Juried from slides. Entry fee: $10. Booth Manitou Avenue, Manitou Springs 80829; or and students living in Washington, D.C., Mary­ fee: $120; members, $100. Contact Valley Art telephone (719) 685-1861. land and Virginia. Juried from actual work. Ju­ Center, 155 Bell Street, Chagrin Falls 44022; or June 12 entry deadline rors: Harlan W. Bett, Sandra Jean Blain, Joseph telephone (216) 247-7507. Bethlehem, Pennsylvania “Head to Toes: Hats, Porcelli and Lee Rexrode. Sponsored by Cre­ State College, Pennsylvania “Central Pennsylva­ Buttons, Belts, Purses and Shoes” (October 3- ative Crafts Council, Washington, D.C. Contact nia Festival of the Arts Annual Sidewalk Sale” November 8), open to craft media dealing with Mac Ehrlich, 6540 Bradley Blvd., Bethesda, Mary­ (July 9-12). Juried from 4 slides of work plus 1 of body ornamentation/accessories. Juried from land 20817; or telephone (301) 365-1133. booth. Entry fee: $15. Booth fee: $275 for a up to 3 slides per work; up to 3 works. Jurors: April 4 entry deadline 10x10-foot space. Awards: minimum of $12,000. Dorothy McCoach, textile conservator, Bethle­ Albuquerque, New Mexico “1st Annual Cone 10 Send SASE to Katherine Talcott, Box 1023, State hem; Allison Watson, fiber artist, Jacksonville, Gallery Figurative Exhibition” (May 2-16), open College 16804; or telephone (814) 237-3682. Florida. Cash awards. Send SASE for prospectus to to ceramists living in Arizona, Colorado, New March 1 entry deadline Luckenbach Mill Gallery, 459 Old York Rd., Mexico. Juried from 6 slides. Fee: $15. SendSASE Guilford, Connecticut “35th Annual Guilford Bethlehem 18018; or telephone (215) 691-0603. to Cone 10 Gallery, 2937 Monte Vista, NE, Albu­ Handcrafts Exposition ” (July 16-18). Juried from Milwaukee, Wisconsin “Not Just Another Fur­ querque 87106; or telephone (505) 266-5868. 5 slides. Entry fee: $15. Booth fee: $360 or $410 niture Show: More than Just a Fixture” (August May 1 entry deadline for a 10x12-foot space. Cash awards. Contact 28-October 23). Juried from 5 slides and re­ Los Alamos, New Mexico “Biennial Crafts 1992 Guilford Handcrafts Expo, Box 589, Guilford sume. Entry fee: $10. Send SASE to A. Houber- Exhibition” (June 19-July 19), open to artists 06437; or telephone (203) 453-5947. Continued

56 CERAMICS MONTHLY February 1992 57 Call for Entries

March 15 entry deadline Clinton, Iowa “Art in the Park” (May 16-17). Juried from 5 slides. Entry fee: $5. Booth fee: $50 for a 10x10-foot space. Cash awards. No commis­ sion. Send SASE to Clinton Art Association, Box 132, Clinton 52732; or telephone Carol Glahn (319) 259-8308. Cambridge, Wisconsin “First Annual Cambridge Pottery Festival” (June 13-14). Juried from 4 slides. Entry fee: $10. Booth fee: $100. Awards. Send SASE to Cambridge Pottery Festival, Cam­ bridge Chamber of Commerce, 105 S. Spring St., Cambridge 53523; or telephone (608) 423-3780. March 27 entry deadline Salem, Oregon “Salem Art Fair and Festival” (July 17-19). Juried from 6 slides. Booth fee: $60 for a 10x10-foot space. Commission: 20%. Send sase to 1992 Prospectus, Salem Art Fair and Festival, 600 Mission St., SE, Salem 97302. April 1 entry deadline Morristown, New Jersey “Morristown CraftMar- ket” (October 9-11). Juried from 5 slides. Entry fee: $15. Jurors: John Bickel, Jaclyn Davidson, Gary Genetti, LorraineJackson, Sheila Nussbaum, Greg Roche and Sy Shames. Contact Morristown CraftMarket, Box 2305, Morristown 07962. Garrison, New York “23rd Annual Arts and Crafts Fair” (August 15-16). Juried from slides. Entry fee: $5. Booth fee: $175 for a 10x10-foot space. Send sase to Garrison Art Center, Box 4, Garrison 10524; or telephone (914) 424-3960. Greensburg, Pennsylvania ‘Westmoreland Arts and Heritage Festival” (July 2-5). Juried from slides. Entry fee: $30. Cash and purchase awards. Send SASE to WAHF-C, Box 203, RD 12, Greensburg 15601; or telephone (412) 830-3950. Spring Green, Wisconsin “Spring Green Arts and Crafts Fair” (June 27-28). Juried from slides. Entry fee: $60. Contact the Spring Green Arts and Crafts Fair, Box 96, Spring Green 53588; or telephone (608) 588-7080. April 10 entry deadline Layton, New Jersey “Peters Valley Crafts Fair” (July 25-26). Juried from 5 slides. Entry fee: $15. Booth fee: $185 for a lOxlO-foot outdoor space; tented space extra. Send sase to Peters Valley Craft Fair, 19 Kuhn Road, Layton 07851; or telephone (201) 948-5200. Albuquerque, New Mexico “20th Annual South­ west Arts and Crafts Festival” (November 12-15). Juried from 5 slides. Entry fee: $15. Booth fee: $250 for an 8x12-foot space; $300 for a 4x20-foot space. For prospectus, contact Southwest Arts and Crafts Festival, 525 San Pedro, Northeast, Suite 107, Albuquerque 87108. April 30 entry deadline Fair Hill, Maryland “Country Music and Craft Festival” (August 15-16). Juried from 5 slides. Entry fee: $15. Booth fee: $200. For prospectus, contact Carl Hyden, Governor’s Office of Art and Culture, 34 Market PL, Suite 325, Baltimore, Maryland 21202; or telephone (410) 333-4793. May 22 entry deadline Norman, Oklahoma “A Midsummer Night’s Fair” (July 10-11). Juried from 4 slides or photos. Booth fee: $45 for a 10x10-foot space. Send sase to MSNF Artist Selection Committee, Firehouse Art Center, 444 South Flood, Norman 73069; or telephone (405) 329-4523. June 1 entry deadline Gaithersburg, Mary land “ 17 th An n ual National Craft Fair” (October 16-18). Juried from 5 slides. Entry fee: $10. Booth fee: $250-$375. Contact National Crafts, Noel Clark, Director, 4845 Rum- ler Road, Chambersburg, Pennsylvania 17201; or telephone (717) 369-4810. June 27 entry deadline Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania “23rd A Fair in the Park” (September 11-13). Juried from 5 slides. Entry fee: $5. Booth fee: $125 for a 10x10-foot space. Contact A Fair in the Park, Box 10128, Pittsburgh 15232; or telephone (412) 361-8287.

58 Ceramics Monthly Letters Continued from page 9 motif, then fill it with slip that is not too liquid (nearly claylike in consistency) so that it does not shrink too much in dry­ ing. This is the difficult part of the zogan technique: to cover wide areas without cracking. For mishima, the slip should be liquid, as it is applied by immersing the leather-hard piece. To summarize: mishima [involves impressing] fresh clay with seals, immers­ ing in liquid slip when leather hard, then leaving the slip to dry before scraping the surface; while zogan [is accomplished by] carving leather-hard clay, inlaying claylike slip, drying a while, then scraping. As correctly stated, mishima is a Ko­ rean technique. Zogan seems to be of Chinese origin. Mishima is delightfully soft, while zogan yields clearly delineated patterns. The way Ms. Vettraino describes Mr. Roesler’s process makes me think that those patterns were made by the zogan or inlaid technique. Celina Clavijo Kyoto Japan

Given the fact that Japanese master potter Tatsuzo Shimaoka refers to his work decorated with slip inlaid in soft rolled-rope impressions as “zougan” (seepage 50 of the January 1992 CM and page 40 oj this issue), it would appear that, even in Japan, the meanings of terms defining slip techniques vary. Perhaps other readers can shed some light on the use of these terms to more clearly define them —? Ed.

Collecting A “collectibles” spotlight answering questions from readers regarding certain pieces that they own or are just interested in would add a little zip to CM. I realize publications devoted to collectibles al­ ready exist, but a column on such could only spice up and round out CM’s at­ tributes! Nadine Caiati-Wahl Tucson, Ariz.

Shop Talk Ceramics Monthly keeps the conversa­ tion going when I’m alone in my studio. Marty Gabe Silverton, Ore.

Share your thoughts with other readers. All letters must be signed, but names will be withheld on request. Mail to The Editor, Ceramics Monthly, Box 12448, Columbus, Ohio 43212; or fax to (614) 488-4561.

February 1992 59 Suggestions the leather-hard stage. The free end may actually warp upward during the drying pro­ From Readers cess, but will move back down to touch/ attach to the lid during glaze firing. This method of attaching lid handles has worked well for me in Cone 10 reduction Making Metal Extruder Dies firings. I typically allow an average of six Recently I moved into a new studio hours between body reduction and turning equipped with an extruder that had only off the kiln. wooden dies. Because I didn’t want the By attaching handles at only one point, texture created by wood, I searched for a the number of casserole lids that rock on the substitute for the expensive, commercially lip flange has been decreased significantly, made metal dies. Even though I have no as has cracking where the handle is attached metal-working tools, I came up with away toto the lid.— Theresa Yondo, Eastlake, Ohio make metal extruder dies easily and cheaply. The necessary materials include: one lA- Help in the Studio inch plywood doughnut, cut to fit the inner Can ’ t afford hired help? Try putting a cat diameter of the extruder, with a center hole to work. My cat Annie has taken on a variety of tasks. First there was the traditional ro­ dent control. Then, inspired by the creative environment of the pot shop, she sought out new responsibilities. This was brought to my attention when I came down one morning to decorate some tiles covering the of 1 to 1 ½ inches in diameter; one l%-inch- worktable. I was overcome with emotion diameter fender washer with a center hole when, to my surprise, I found the work of the desired die size; three M>xl-inch bolts; already done; little paw prints were placed six ½-inch lock washers; three ½-inch nuts; strategically overall. three l%-inch fender washers (½-inch-diam- Another facet of the business in which eter center hole); and three ¾-inch fender Annie has been an invaluable aid is quality washers (½-inch-diameter center hole). control. Her critical eye is uncanny. Seeing First, center the die-size fender washer a wareboard of pots not meeting her strin­ over the middle of the plywood doughnut, gent standards, she will simply hop onto the then drill three ½-inch holesjust outside the end of the board, catapulting the freshly washer. The die-size washer can then be thrown pots across the room toward the anchored in place with the assembled com­ scrap barrel. binations of the bolts, lock washers, 1 ½-inch Certainly, I am eternally grateful for her fender washers and nuts (see drawing). efforts, but think her greatest contribution The total cost per die is under $3.— Cathyis her philosophy of life: “Don’t sweat the Staveteig, Saint Paul, Minn. little stuff and, remember, it’s all little stuff.” Show deadlines? Bad firings? They’re no Reduced Crystals reason to get too uptight. Sometimes the The March 1991 issue of Ceramics Monthlybest thing to do is curl up for a nap.— David showed the dramatic results of reduced crys­Mischka, Mount Horeb, Wis. talline glazes. I had had a number of unsuc­ cessful attempts to grow crystals in a copperRescuing Commercial Glazes red glaze, but after reading the article I was When ajar of commercial glaze dries up, determined to give it another try. Instead of don’t add water. Instead, grind the dry glaze the oil-drip method, however, I chose wood in a mortar and store in another jar. Then as my reduction fuel. you can take out and add water to only what Normal crystalline glaze firing proce­ you need.—J. F. Howell, Clarendon, Tex. dures were followed, then when the crystal growth period was complete, I turned off Sieve Plunger the kiln and allowed it to cool to 1600°F. At Purchase and dedicate a sink plunger to that point, small splints of scrap wood (mostlypush glazes and slips through sieves. It will oak) were stoked through the lower peep­ speed the process, does not damage the hole. I continued stoking until heavy smoke sieve and allows completion of the sieving escaped from the cracks in the kiln. As soon task without skin contact with the liquid as the smoke diminished, I would stoke glaze.—Robert C. McNeely, Edwardsville, III. again, so that there was steady reduction until 1100°F. The only residue was a small Dollars for Your Ideas pile of ash, which was easily vacuumed from Ceramics Monthly pays $10 for each suggestion the kiln.—Timothy Martin, Jamestown, N.C. published; submissions are welcome individually or in quantity. Include an illustration or photo to Avoiding Lid Warpage accompany your suggestion and we will pay $10 Often drying tension from a handle at­ more if we use it. Mail ideas to Suggestions, tached at two points will cause the lid to warpCeramics Monthly, Box 12448, Columbus, Ohio slightly. To avoid this problem, I physically 43212; or fax to (614) 488-4561. Sorry, but we attach only one end of the handle during can’t acknowledge or return unused items.

60 CERAMICS MONTHLY February 1992 61 Calendar ers, see September or October 1991 issue.) Loca­ tion: University of Industrial Arts Helsinki. Fee: Conferences, Exhibitions, Fairs, FIM1200 (approximately US$300); participants presenting papers, FIM800 (approximately Workshops and Other Events to Attend US$200); students, FIM600 (approximately US$150). Following the conference, there will be a 1-week workshop directed by Frank Boyden (United States) and Torbjorn Kvasbo (Norway) Conferences in Posio, Lapland. Contact the University of Industrial Arts Helsinki (UIAH), Centre for Ad­ Alabama, MontgomeryMarch 13-15 “Alabama vanced Studies, Hameentie 135 C, SF-00560 Clay Conference VII” will include demonstra­ Helsinki. Or telephone Tuulikki Simila-Lehtinen, tions, discussion and slide lectures with Val secretary general (358) 0 7563-344; or Marianne Cushing and Frank Fleming. Fee: $40; students/ Finnila, press/marketing (358) 0 7563-539; or seniors, $25; after February 13, $5 additional late Taina Sarvikas, conference secretary (358) 0 fee. Contact Sue Jensen or Joy Hester, Auburn 7563-234. Or fax (358) 0 7563-537. University at Montgomery, Department of Fine Arts, 7300 University Drive, Montgomery 36117; Solo Exhibitions or telephone (205) 244-3377. California, Walnut CreekMarch 7 “Visions and Arizona, ScottsdaleFebruary 7-29Edward Eberle, Voices: Women Artists in Dialogue” will include porcelain; at Joanne Rapp Gallery/The Hand a panel discussion on ‘Women Artists: Where and the Spirit, 4222 North Marshall Way. Are They Going? What Struggles and Differ­ Arizona, Sedonathrough February 17 Don Reitz; at ences Do They Face?” as well as a one-woman Sedona Arts Center, Hwy. 89A and Art Barn Rd. theater presentation by Helena Hale, titled California, Los AngelesFebruary 1-March 4 Akio “O’Keeffe, A Dramatic and Visual Presentation” Takamori. March 7-April 1 Beatrice Wood; at and “Louise Nevelson: Another Dimension.” Also Garth Clark Gallery, 170 S. La Brea Ave. includes an appearance by Guerrilla Girls and California, San FranciscoFebruary 5-29 John the exhibition “Images of Us: Views of Identity Gill. March 4-2£Beverly Mayeri; at Dorothy Weiss and Relationship by 14 Women Artists,” with Gallery, 256 Sutter Street. daywork by Sherry Karver. Fee: $8. Contact Re­ D.C., Washington February 19-March 8 Jane gional Center for the Arts, Bedford Gallery, 1601 Larson, columns, murals and vessels; at Studio Civic Dr., Walnut Creek 94596; or telephone Gallery, 2108 R Street, Northwest. (510) 295-1417,or Center Ticket Office (510) Massachusetts, NorthamptonMarch 14-April 19 943-SHOW. Nancy LaPointe; at Ferrin Gallery, 179 Main St. Illinois, ChicagoFebruary 13-15 “College Art As­ Michigan, Farmington HillsMarch 7-28 “Signifi­ sociation Annual Conference.” Orientation: Feb­ cant Work from the Estate of Daniel Rhodes”; at ruary 11; placement begins February 12. Contact Habatat/Shaw Gallery, 32255 Northwestern CAA, 275 Seventh Avenue, New York, New York Highway, #25. 10001; or telephone (212) 691-1051. Michigan, Royal Oakthrough February 8 John North Carolina, AshevilleFebruary 21-23 “Arts Rohlfing. February 15-March 14 Dennis Tobin, and Crafts Conference and Antiques Show” will sculpture. March 21-April 18John Stephenson, include a seminar entitled “Rookwood Pottery” sculpture. George Bowes, pots; at Swidler Gal­ with Kenneth Trapp, a demonstration on clean­ lery, Washington Square Plaza, 308 W. Fourth St. ing and repairing art pottery with Doug Eisele, Missouri, Saint JosephFebruary 24-March UJohn and the panel discussion “Building an Arts and Kudlacek; at the Missouri Western State College, Crafts Collection.” Also includes tours of two 4525 Downs Drive. potteries. Fee: $231, includes 2 nights lodging Missouri, Saint Louisthrough February 2# Stephen with continental breakfast, all conference events Dixon, “The Seven Deadly Sins.” Chris Gustin, (tours extra) and catalog; 2 people, $296. Con­ recent work. March 9-April :?0Jeff Oestreich; at tact Grove Park Inn, 290 Macon Ave., Asheville Pro-Art, 1214 Washington Avenue. 28804; telephone (800) 438-5800, extension 1010 New York, Alfred through May 17Charles Fergus or (704) 252-2711, extension 8007. Or contact Binns, “A Chair Must Invite the Sitter,” stone­ BruceJohnson, Conference Director, Box 8773, ware; at the Museum of Ceramic Art at Alfred, Asheville 28814; or telephone (704) 254-1912. New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred Ohio, Columbus April 25-26 “ODC Fifth Annual University, Harder Hall, Fifth Floor. Midwest Craft Conference” includes workshop New York, MamaroneckFebruary 23-March 22 on “Making Functional Stoneware in the ’90s Jolyon Hofsted, ceramic and bronze assemblages; Using the Single-Fire Technique” by studio pot­ at Mari Galleries, 133 East Prospect Avenue. ter Steven Hill. Contact Darlene Sullivan, Ohio New York, New York February 4-March 7 Karen Designer Craftsmen, 2164 Riverside Drive, Co­ Karnes. Alev Siesbye. March 10-April 4 Ken lumbus 43221; or telephone (614) 486-7119. Ferguson. Beatrice Wood; at Garth Clark Gal­ Pennsylvania, PhiladelphiaMarch 4-7 “NCECA lery, 24 West 57th Street. 1992—Old Worlds/New Worlds,” annual con­ North Carolina, Winston-Salemthrough February ference of the National Council on Education 79Geri Camarda; at Piedmont Craftsmen, 1204 for the Ceramic Arts. Contact Regina Brown, Reynolda Road. Box 1677, Bandon, Oregon 97411. Or contact North Dakota, Minotthrough March 1 Marcia Minerva Navarrete, NCECA Conference Planner, Selsor, “Secret Keepers and Ritual Vessels,” raku; 33-25 147th St., Flushing, New York 11354; or at the Minot Art Gallery. telephone (718) 939-0963. Ohio, Cincinnatithrough February 21 Leah Hardy Ritchie; at Xavier University Gallery, 3800 Vic­ International Conferences tory Parkway. Ohio, Findlay through February 7Mark Chatterley, Finland, Helsinki June 16-18 “Interaction in Ce­ sculpture; at the University of Findlay, 1000 North ramics—Art, Design and Research” includes ex­ Main Street. hibitions in area galleries and museums, plus Pennsylvania, GlensideFebruary 24-March 20 invited speakers from the United States, Norway, Daisy Youngblood, sculpture; at Beaver College Finland, England andjapan. (For specific speak- Art Gallery, Church and Easton Roads. Pennsylvania, Philadelphiathrough April 5 Rob­ Send announcements of conferences, exhibitions, ert ju­ Arneson, “Guardians of the Secret II” Betty ried fairs, workshops and other events at least twoWoodman, “Somewhere between Naples and months before the month of opening (add one month Denver”; for at the Institute of Contemporary Art, listings in July and two months for those in August) University to of Pennsylvania, 36th and Sansom Calendar, Ceramics Monthly, Box 12448, Columbus, Streets. Ohio 43212; or telephone (614) 488-8236. Fax an­February 20-March 21 Barbara Diduk; at Paul nouncements to (614) 488-4561. Cava Gallery, 22 N. Third St. Continued

62 Ceramics Monthly February 1992 63 Calendar

February 28-March 21 William Parry; at the Uni­ versity of the Arts, Arronson Gallery. March 1-24 Mexican potter and ceramic histo- rianJorge Wilmot, works in ceramics and glass; at Eyes Gallery, 402 South Street. March 4-29 Ken Vavrek, works from 1976 to the present; at Rosenfeld Gallery, 113 Arch Street. March 6-April 26Toshiko Takaezu; at the Penn­ sylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Morris Gal­ lery, Broad and Cherry Streets. Pennsylvania, Pittsburghthrough February 16 Ed­ ward Eberle; at the Carnegie Museum of Art, Forum Gallery, 4400 Forbes Avenue. Pennsylvania, RosemontMarch 4-28 Janice Merendino, “Casting Clear Shadows,” works in clay and on paper; at Rosemont College, Mont­ gomery Avenue. Pennsylvania, Willow GroveMarch 14-April 25 Beverly Saito, raku; at Langman Gallery, Willow Grove Park. Tennessee, Smithville February 5-16 Wren Frick; at Tennessee Technological University’s Appala­ chian Center for Crafts, Route 3.

Group Ceramics Exhibitions California, OceansideMarch 23-April 10 “New Visions: Ceramics,” exhibition of works by Yoonchung Kim, Jaye Lawrence and Les Law­ rence; at Mira Costa College, Kruglak Gallery. California, RiversideMarch 29-April 24 “Califor­ nia Collegiate Ceramics Competition”; at the Riverside Community College Art Gallery, Terracina Drive. California, San FranciscoMarch 4-April 26 “The Radiance ofjade and the Crystal Clarity of Water: Korean Ceramics from the Ataka Collection”; at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, Golden Gate Park. Colorado, GoldenFebruary 23-March 22 “Colo­ rado Clay Exhibition”; at the Foothills Art Cen­ ter, 809 15th Street. Colorado, Snowmass VillageFebruary 21-March 10 Ceramics by Donna Aguirre and Wesley Anderegg; at the Anderson Ranch Arts Center, 5263 Owl Creek Road. D.C., Washingtonthrough February 9 Exhibition of works by Adrian Arleo, Christine Bertoni, Linda Christianson, Andrea Gill, Coille Hooven, Gail Kendall, Anne Perrigo, Mary Roehm, Arlene Shechetand Paula Winokur, in conjunction with the 25th anniversary conference of the National Organization for Women (NOW); at the Farrell Collection, 2633 Connecticut Ave., NW. Illinois, ChampaignMarch 16-April 10 “Illinois Ceramic Invitational,” works by Dan Anderson, Chris Berti, Susan Bostwick, Harris Deller, Paul Dresang, Bill Farrell, Bonnie Katz, Yih-Wen Kuo, Dennis Mitchell, Kitty Ross, Anne Shatas, Mary Seyfarth and Rimas VisGirda; at Parkland Col­ lege Art Gallery, 2400 W. Bradley Ave. Illinois, Chicagothrough February 72Exhibition of works by Dan Anderson and Carole Aoki. Febru­ ary 14-March 25 Exhibition of works by Yih-Wen Kuo and Niles Wallace; at Schneider-Bluhm- Loeb Gallery, 230 West Superior Street. Iowa, Iowa Citythrough March 1 “American Woodfire ’91,” juried/invitational exhibition of 56 works; at University of Iowa Museum of Art, Riverside Drive. Maryland, Baltimorethrough February 8 “Ameri­ can Majolica,” with works by Stanley Anderson, Linda Arbuckle, Gina Bobrowski, Mary Jo Bole, William Brouillard, Deidre Daw, Kathey Ervin, Deby Groover, Walter Ostrom Jenny Sherburne, Terry Siebert, Janice Strawder, Triesch Voelker and Greg Zeorlin; at Baltimore Clayworks Gal­ lery, 5706 Smith Ave., Mt. Washington Village. Massachusetts, Ipswich March 1-31 “Primarily Plates,” exhibition of works by Northshore Clayworks members; at Ocmulgee Pottery and Gallery, 263 High Street.

64 C eramics Monthly Massachusetts, WorcesterFebruary 5-22 “Clay— A Trichotomy,” works by Louise Chrysostom, Ginny Gillen, Vivian Nigro; at Worcester Center for Crafts, Atrium Gallery, 25 Sagamore Road. Michigan, DetroitMarch 13-April 25 “Progres­ sions: Work in Clay from Adrian College, Center for Creative Studies, Cranbrook Academy of Art, Henry Ford Community College, Mott Commu­ nity College and the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor”; at Pewabic Pottery, 10125 East Jefferson Avenue. Michigan, Farmington HillsMarch 7-April 25 “Mid-Century Italian Ceramics: Gambone, Fantoni and Other Master Modernists”; at Hab- atat/Shaw Gallery, 32255 Northwestern High­ way, #25. Minnesota, Saint Paulthrough February 15 “Min­ nesota Blues,” works by 35 Minnesota and Wis­ consin ceramists; at the Northern Clay Center, 2375 University Avenue, West. New Jersey, Glassborothrough March 7 “South Jersey Clay Connection”; at Glassboro State Col­ lege, Wilson Music Building, Wilson Art Gallery. New Mexico, Las CrucesMarch 1-29 “From the Ground Up XI,” works by artists residing in Ari­ zona, New Mexico and Texas; at Branigan Cul­ tural Center, 106 West Hadley. New York, New York through February 22 “Con­ temporary Dutch Ceramics,” works by Rob Brandt, Saskia Koster, Barbara Nanning, Olaf Stevens and Johan van Loon; at Helen Drutt Gallery, 724 Fifth Avenue, Ninth Floor. February 5-27“Second Nature: Sculpture in Clay,” works by Miriam Bloom and Steven Waterman; atjane Hartsook Gallery, Greenwich House Pot­ tery, 16 Jones St. North Carolina, CharlotteFebruary 3-28 “Caro­ lina Clay Competition,” juried works from North and South Carolina; at Pope’s Gallery, 1029 Provi­ dence Road and 8524 Park Road. Oregon, CorvallisFebruary 17-March 11 Four- person sculpture exhibition; at Fairbanks Gal­ lery, Oregon State University. Oregon, PortlandFebruary 6-29Figurative invita­ tional in conjunction with “heart month,” in­ cludes works by Catherine Buder, Jack Earl, Andrea Gill, Kathy Glowen, Susan and Steven Kemenyffy, Thomas Mann, Francine Ozereko, Elizabeth Chenoweth Palmer, Donna Polseno, Don Reitz, Leo Sewell, Kurt Weiser, and Roberta and Dave Williamson; at Twist Gallery, 2332 Northwest Westover Road. Pennsylvania, CheltenhamFebruary 11-March 21 “Ceramic Work”; at Cheltenham Center for the Arts, 439 Ashbourne Road. Pennsylvania, Elkins ParkFebruary 28-March 21 “Containers Revisited,” NCECA members exhibi­ tion; at Tyler School of Art, Tyler Gallery, Beech and Penrose Avenue. Pennsylvania, HaverfordFebruary 23-March 19 “Ceramics by the Main Line Center of the Arts Faculty”; at Main Line Center of the Arts, Old Buck Road and Lancaster Avenue. Pennsylvania, NewtownMarch 5-April 15 “Di­ verse Perspectives: Six Ceramic Artists,” works by Bonnie Cooper, Penelope Fleming, Elyse Saperstein, Steve Waterman, Helen Weisz and Bruce Winn; at Hicks Gallery, Bucks County Community College. Pennsylvania, Philadelphiathrough April 5 “Clay Heritage: African American Ceramics,” includ­ ing historical ware by slave potters, native pots from East Africa (late 19th and early 20th centu­ ries), as well as contemporary works by Syd Car­ penter, MarthaJackson-Jarvis, MarvaJolly, David McDonald, Sana Musasama, Winnie Owens-Hart, James Tanner and James Watkins; at the Afro- American Historical and Cultural Museum, Sev­ enth and Arch Streets. February 5-March 7 “Studio Potter Network Exhi­ bition”; at 479 Gallery, 55 North Second Street. February 5-March 15 “Clay Array,” exhibition of works by members of the Cheltenham Clay Guild; at the Gallery at the Gershman Y, 401 South Broad Street. February 15-March 22 “Contemporary East Euro­ pean Ceramics”; at the Second Street Art Build-

February 1992 65 Calendar ciation’s Early Works”; at Dominion Bank, 999 Waterside Drive.

Ceramics in Multimedia Exhibitions ing (the Clay Studio, Nexus Foundation for Arizona, Mesathrough February 22 “14th Annual Today’s Art, Zone One Artists Collective, High- Vahki Exhibition:Japanese Techniques in Crafts,” Wire Artists), 137-39 North Second Street. March 3-28 “PATTERNPATTERNPATTERN”; at February 17-March 20 “Canadian Clay”; at Drexel Galeria Mesa, 155 North Center. University, Nesbitt College of Design Arts, De­ California, Pomonathrough February 15 “Ink Sc sign Arts Gallery, 33rd and Market Streets. Clay XVIII,” juried works by California artists; at February 21-March 27 Mark Burns, Michael the California State Polytechnic University, 3801 Frimkess and James Makins, “Contrast and Con­ West Temple Avenue. tinuum”; at the University of the Arts, Rosenwald- California, San Franciscothrough February 22 Wolf Gallery, 333 South Broad Street. “Many Mansions,” with clayworks by Lee Kavaljian February 25-March 21 “Ceramics,” works by Fleisher and Lemora Martin; at the Craft and Folk Art faculty—-Joanne Bryant, Gail Golden Janet Grau, Museum, Landmark Building A, Fort Mason. Ruth McGee, Robert Platt, Susan Ross and Grove California, Walnut Creekthrough March 15 “Im­ Thomas; at Fleisher Art Memorial, 709-721 ages of Us: Views of Identity and Relationship by Catherine Street. 14 Women Artists,” includes clay sculpture by February 25-March 28 Viola Frey and James Sherry Karver; at Regional Center for the Arts, Melchert, recent projects in textile surface de­ Bedford Gallery, 1601 Civic Dr. sign; at the Fabric Workshop, 1100 Vine Street, Colorado, Snowmass VillageMarch 13-31 Exhi­ 13th Floor. bition with ceramics by Diane Sullivan; at Ander­ February 26-March 28 “Cthonic Realms: Philadel­ son Ranch Arts Center, 5263 Owl Creek Rd. phia Collects Clay,” works from 1955-1992 cho­ Connecticut, New HavenMarch 4-29 “6th An­ sen from private collections; at Helen Drutt Gal­ nual Women in the Visual Arts Exhibition”; at lery, 1721 Walnut Street. the Erector Square Gallery, 315 Peck Street. February 26-March 29 “Philadelphia Clay Re­ D.C., WashingtonMarch 8-August 9‘When King­ gional”; at Painted Bride Art Center, 230 Vine St. ship Descended from Heaven: Masterpieces of February 28-March 22 “Ceramics Now,” regional Mesopotamian Art from the Louvre”; at Arthur juried exhibition; at University City Arts League M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. Gallery, 4226 Spruce Street. Florida, Saint PetersburgMarch 13-April 24 “Forty February 28-March 27 “Archie Bray Foundation Years of Crafts in Florida”; at Florida Craftsmen Benefit Exhibition,’’works by 25 artists connected Gallery, 235 Third Street, South. with the Bray; at Owen Patrick Gallery, 4345 Illinois, La GrangeFebruary 15-March 20 “Di­ Main Street, Manayunk. minutive Art,” juried miniature exhibition; at February 28-March 28 “Ceramic Art Alumni of Aardvark Gallery, 6 South Sixth Avenue. Tyler School of Art”; at Temple University Gal­ Illinois, RockfordFebruary 28-April 3 “Sixth Re­ lery, 1619 Walnut Street. gional Exhibition,” juried fine arts and crafts; at March l-April 75 “Artistic Generationsjacquelyn Gallery Ten, 514 East State Street. Rice and Her Students”; at the Works Gallery, Massachusetts, Worcesterthrough February 29 319 South Street. “New Traditions/1992,” with clayworks by Paul March 2-9“NCECAjuried Student Exhibition”; at Kotula; at the Worcester Center for Crafts, Main Snyderman Gallery, 301 Cherry Street. Gallery, 25 Sagamore Road. March 3-17 “Clay Studio Alumni”; at Vox Populi, Michigan, Farmington HillsFebruary 1-22 Four- 17 North Second Street. person exhibition featuring ceramic sculpture March 3-April 1 “From the Ground Up: Ten by Scott Chamberlin, Bruno La Verdiere and Philadelphia Clay Artists,” with works by Jill Michael Lucero; at Habatat/Shaw Gallery, 32255 Bonovitz, Nancy Carman, Syd Carpenter, Nicho­ Northwestern Highway, #25. las Kripal, Rudolf Staffel, Lizbeth Stewart, Jack Missouri, Kansas Citythrough February 23 “Design Thompson, Ken Vavrek, Paula Winokur and 1935-1965: What Modern Was”; at Nelson-Atkins Robert Winokur; at Moore College of Art and Museum of Art, 4525 Oak Street. Design, Levy Gallery, 20th and the Parkway. Missouri, Saint Louisthrough February 28 “Tea­ March 4-22 “Clay Studio Resident Artists,” ceram­ pots: Contemporary Views 1992”; atPro-Art, 1214 ics by artists currently working at the Clay Studio; Washington Avenue. at Nexus Foundation for Today’s Art, 137 North Missouri, Warrensburg through February 14 Second Street. “Greater Midwest International VII”; at Central March 6-2 7Works by Jack Thompson and James Missouri State University Art Center Gallery, 217 Watkins; at Sande Webster Gallery, 2018 Locust Clark. Street. New Jersey, MontclairthroughJune 7 “Highlights March 6-28 Works by gallery ceramists, featuring from the Native American Collection”; at Mont­ Jimmy Clark and Matthew Courtney; at Jessica clair Museum, 3 South Mountain Avenue. Berwind Gallery, 301 Cherry Street, Second Floor. New Jersey, Newark through March 1 “Teapots March 6-31 “Connections,” works in terra cotta, and Coffeepots”; at the Newark Museum, 49 porcelain and stoneware by Clemson University Washington Street. MFA candidates of the early ’80s, including Maggie New York, Brooklynthrough December 13 “Bio- McMahon Jeanee Redman, Linda Schusterman, morphicism and Organic Abstraction in 20th- Michael Vitalaro and Alan Willoughby; at Galerie Century Decorative Arts”; at the Brooklyn Mu­ Atelier, 65 North Second Street. seum, 200 Eastern Parkway. Pennsylvania, PittsburghFebruary 7-April 19 “Ce­ New York, Long Island Citythrough February 28 ramic Sculpture: Form -I- Figure,” works by 18 “New Art Forms for the Public Space,” includes artists; at the Society for Contemporary Crafts, clayworks by Stanley Mace Andersen, Doug 2100 Smallman Street. Knotts, Sarah MacFarlane, Geff Reed and Kathy Pennsylvania, West ChesterMarch 3-April 18 Triplett; at the Steelcase Inc. Showroom, IDCNY “National Ceramic Invitational”; at West Chester Center 1, Suite 343, 30-30 Thomson Ave. University, Art Department, Mitchell Hall. New York, New Yorkthrough February 22 Exhibi­ Pennsylvania, Willow GroveFebruary 1-March 13 tion including works by Rudy Autio, Jack Earl, “High Tea,” national teapot invitational; at Otto Natzler, Robert Sperry, Xavier Toubes and Langman Gallery, Willow Grove Park. Patti Warashina; at Helen Drutt Gallery, 724 Texas, Farmers BranchMarch 9-28 “Clay”; at Fifth Avenue, Ninth Floor. the Forum and Studio Galleries, Brookhaven through March 15 “Motifs and Meanings in Asian College. Art: Selections from the Mr. and Mrs. John D. Texas, Lubbockthrough September"Fire and Clay”; Rockefeller 3rd Collection”; at the Asia Society, at the Museum at Texas Tech University. 725 Park Avenue. Virginia, Norfolkthrough March 4 “Clay Habitats,” New York, West NyackFebruary 2-March 19“Folk- March 4-April 29 “Ceramic Designers Asso­ ways,” exhibition of contemporary folk art; at

66 Ceramics Monthly February 1992 67 Calendar

Rockland Center for the Arts, 27 Greenbush Rd. Ohio, ClevelandFebruary 4-November 8 “Gruener Collection of Pre-Columbian Art,” includes West Mexican ceramic sculpture; at the Cleveland Museum of Art, 11150 East Boulevard. Ohio, DaytonFebruary 22-April 19 “Art that Works”; at the Dayton Art Institute, Forest and Riverview Avenues. Oregon, PortlandFebruary 6-March 1 “African Traditional Crafts Exhibit”; at Hoffman Gallery, Oregon School of Arts and Crafts, 8245 South­ west Barnes Road. Oregon, SalemFebruary 27-March 29 “Native Iconography,” with ceramics by Jenny Lind and Lillian Pitt; at the Bush Barn Art Center, 600 Mission Street, Southeast. Pennsylvania, EdinborothroughFebruary 15 “Crafts National Invitational,” with clayworks by Ed Eberle, Bruce Gholson, Andrea Gill, Bonnie Gordon, Paul Kotula, Kris Nelson, Richard Notkin, Chris Staley, Gerald Wagner, Marie Woo and Denise Woodward; at Bruce Gallery, Edin­ boro University. Tennessee, Gatlinburgthrough February 22 “Se­ lections from the Permanent Collection.” Febru­ ary 27-April 18 “Spring Faculty and Staff Exhibi­ tion,” with clayworks by Mary Barringer, Sandra Blain, Karl Borgeson, Bill Griffith and Byron Temple. February 27-May 16 “Everything but the Kitchen Sink: Artists and the Kitchen, NewForms, New Functions”; at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, 556 Parkway. Texas, BeaumontMarch 7-31 Three-person ex­ hibition featuring clayworks by Bob Kurkowski and Grace Moje; at the Art Studio, 700 Orleans. Virginia, Richmondthrough February 28 “Func­ tion and Metaphor: Dinnerware by Artists.” March 6-April 24 “Image/Object/Memory Exhibition”; at the Hand Workshop, 1812 West Main Street. Wisconsin, MadisonFebruary 8-April 12 “Modern Art from Thailand”; at Elvehjem Museum of Art, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 800 University Avenue. Wisconsin, Milwaukeethrough March 13 “Fourth Annual Teapot Show”; at A. Houberbocken, 230 West Wells Street, Suite 202. Wyoming, LaramieMarch 6-April 19 “Form and Object: Contemporary Interpretations of Craft Traditions”; at University of Wyoming Art Mu­ seum, Fine Arts Complex, 19th and Willett.

Fairs, Festivals and Sales Arizona, Tempe March 27-29 “15th Annual Old Town Tempe Spring Festival of the Arts”; in Old Town Tempe, along Mill Avenue. California, San FranciscoMarch 20-22 “Contem­ porary Crafts Market”; at Fort Mason Center, Herbst and Festival Pavillions, Marina Boulevard at Buchanan Street. Florida, Coconut GroveFebruary 15-17 “29th Annual Coconut Grove Arts Festival”; along McFarlane Road and Bayshore Drive. Illinois, Highland ParkMarch 7-8 “32nd Annual Festival of the Arts”; at North Suburban Syna­ gogue Beth El, 1175 Sheridan Road. Maryland, BaltimoreFebruary 21-23 “ACC Craft Fair”; at the Baltimore Convention Center.

Workshops Arizona, PhoenixFebruary 17-18 Tile making, painting and selling, with Paul Lewing. Fee: $50. Contact Marjon Ceramics, 3434 West Earll Drive, Phoenix 85017; or telephone (602) 272-6585. Arizona, Tucson February 15-16 Tile making, painting and selling, with Paul Lewing. Fee: $50. ContactMarjon Ceramics, 426 West Alturas, Tuc­ son 85705; or telephone (602) 272-6585. California, Santa AnaMarch 14 A. session with Doug Casebeer. Fee: $30, preregistration. Con­ tact Patrick Crabb, Ceramics Department,

68 CERAMICS MONTHLY Rancho Santiago College, 17th and Bristol Streets, Santa Ajia 92706; or telephone Patrick Crabb (714) 564-5613. California, Sierra MadreFebruary 22 “Press Molds” with Tony Marsh. Fee: $25. March 7 “Decorating Techniques” with Christy Johnson. Fee: $25. Contact Foothill Creative Arts Group, 108 North Baldwin Avenue, Sierra Madre 91024; or tele­ phone (818) 355-8350. California, Walnut CreekMarch 21 Slide presen­ tation and discussion with Tom Coleman and Patrick Horsley. Topics will include working with porcelain and stoneware, both potters’ general philosophies, marketing and photographing work. Fee: $35. Contact Walnut Creek Civic Arts Education, Box 8039, Walnut Creek 94596; or telephone (510) 943-5846. Connecticut, Brookfield February 22-23 “Making Ceramic Jewelry/Color Clays” with Ina Chapler. Fee: $190; $175, members. Contact the Brookfield Craft Center, Box 122, Brookfield 06804; or telephone (203) 775-4526. Florida, Coral GablesFebruary 21-22 A session with Akio Takamori. Fee: $60; limited enroll­ ment. Contact University of Miami, Department of Art and Art History, Attn: Ceramics, Box 248106, Coral Gables 33124; or telephone (305) 284-2545. Florida, OviedoMarch 28-29 “RAM Press and JollyJigger Techniques.” Contact Axner Pottery Supply, Box 1484, Oviedo; or telephone (800) 843-7057 or (407) 365-2600. Idaho, BoiseMarch 23-April 4Kilnbuilding work­ shop with Fred Olsen. Will include participation in the construction of a salt/soda hardbrick kiln during the first week, followed by a week of experimental firings. Three credits available. Fee: $198, undergraduate level; $255, graduate level. Contact the Office of Continuing Education, Boise State University, 1910 University Drive, Boise 83725; or telephone (208) 385-3709. Or telephone Professor Takehara (208) 385-3205, 10:30-4:00 M-F. Maryland, BaltimoreMarch 14-15 Hands-on workshop with Paulus Berensohn. Fee: $75. Con­ tact Baltimore Clayworks, 5706 Smith Avenue, Baltimore 21209; or telephone (410) 578-1919. Missouri, Saint JosephFebruary 24 A session with John Kudlacek. Contact the Department of Art, Missouri Western State College, 4525 Downs Dr., SaintJoseph 64507; telephone (816) 271-4282. New jersey, DemarestFebruary 7 Slide discussion and demonstration on the wheel with Karen Karnes. Fee: $80; members, $55; includes veg­ etarian lunch. Contact the School of Art, Old Church Cultural Center, 561 Piermont Road, Demarest 07627; or telephone Karen Shalom (201) 767-7160. North Carolina, RaleighFebruary 24-28 “Clay Portrait Sculpture ’’with Daisy Grubbs. Fee: $ 175. Space limited. Contact Randy Hinson, Sertoma Arts Center, 1400 West Millbrook Road, Raleigh 27612; or telephone (919) 782-7583. Oklahoma, NormanFebruary 21-22 A session with David Regan. Contact Susan Taylor, Fire- house Art Center, 444 South Flood, Norman 73069; or telephone (405) 329-4523 or (405) 366-8510. Oregon, PortlandFebruary 29-March 1A session with John Neely. Fee: $81. Contact the Oregon School of Arts and Crafts, 8245 S.W. Barnes Rd., Portland 97225; or telephone (503) 297-5544. Pennsylvania, AllentownFebruary 8-9 “Slides and the Jury Process” (February 8) and/or “Booth Construction and Marketing Techniques” (Feb­ ruary 9) with Bruce Baker. Fee: $75 for both; $45 for one. Contact the Pennsylvania Guild of Crafts­ men, Box 820, Richboro, Pennsylvania 18954; or telephone (215) 860-0731. Pennsylvania, JulianMarch 27-29 “Terra Sigil- lata and Primitive Pit Firing” with Grace Pilato. Location: Pilato Camp. Fee: $85. Contact Penn­ sylvania Guild of Craftsmen, Box 820, Richboro, Pennsylvania 18954; telephone (215) 860-0731. Pennsylvania, PhiladelphiaFebruary 28 A lecture by Daisy Youngblood. Location: Philadelphia Museum of Art. Fee: $5, students $2. March 20

February 1992 69 Calendar demonstration with Ken Ferguson. Contact the Jane Perryman, PhilomenaPretsell and Ruthanne Crafts Center, Cedar Lakes, Ripley 25271; or Tudball. February 17-March 1 ^Ceramics by Sutton telephone (304) 372-7005. Taylor; at Oxford Gallery, 23 High Street. Mexico, San Miguel de AllendeMarch 7-21 Work­ Toshiko Takaezu. Location: Pennsylvania Acad­ International Events shop with Thomas Kerrigan, professor of art, emy of the Fine Arts. Fee: $5, students $2. March University of Minnesota, Duluth. Open to begin­ 28-29K session with Ron Nagel. Contact the Clay Belgium, Brussels March 11-April 18 Exhibition ners and advanced potters, artists and travelers. Studio, 139 North Second Street, Philadelphia of porcelain by Ursula Morley-Price and raku by Location: Art Instituto Allende. Fee: $795, double 19106; or telephone (215) 925-3453. David Roberts; at Galerie Argile, 5A, rue de occupancy; additional $200 for single occupancy. March 8 A lecture with Jorge Wilmot on the Neufchatel. Three college credits available for $193.50. Con­ history of Tonala pottery from pre-Columbian to Canada, Ontario, ChathamMarch 14-15 “Crafts tact Terry Anderson, Program Director, Con­ the present. Contact Eyes Gallery, 402 South and Country Collectibles”; at Kinsmen Audito­ tinuing Education and Extension, University of Street, Philadelphia 19106; or telephone (215) rium. Minnesota Duluth, 403 Darland Administration 925-0193. Canada, Ontario, KitchenerMarch 21-22 “Crafts Building, 10 University Drive, Duluth, Minne­ Pennsylvania, RichboroMarch 14 “Product De­ and Country Collectibles”; at Marshall Hall sota 55812; or telephone (218) 726-8833. velopment” with Curt Benzie. Location: PGC Bingeman Park. Netherlands, Cadier En KeerFebruary 21-March Craft Center, Tyler State Park. Fee: $65. For Canada, Ontario, PickeringMarch 5-7 “Crafts 22 Roberta Laidman, “Dogs”; at Galerie ‘de further information contact the Pennsylvania and Country Collectibles”; at Metro East Trade Keerder Kunstkamer,’ Kerkstraat 10. Guild of Craftsmen, Box 820, Richboro 18954; or Center. Netherlands, ’s-Hertogenboschthrough February telephone (215) 860-0731. Canada, Ontario, SarniaApril 4-5 “Crafts and 5 Ceramics by Anat Barel; at Kunst en Werkom- Pennsylvania, WyomissingMarch 21 “The Crafts: Country Collectibles”; at Brock Street Arena. geving, Hinthamerstraat 161. Safety, Legal and Ethical Issues” with Monona Canada, Ontario, TorontoMarch 13-15 Lecture through February 11 Exhibition of ceramics by Rossol. Location: the Inn at Reading. Fee: $15. and workshop with Robert Turner. Contact the Dora Dolz; at Noordbrabants Museum, Ver- Contact the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen, Craft Studio at Harbourfront, 235 Queens Quay wersstraat 41. Box 820, Richboro, Pennsylvania 18954; or tele­ West, Toronto M5J 2G8. Or telephone Melanie through February 15 Exhibition of clayworks by phone (215) 860-0731. Egan, coordinator (416) 973-4963; or Jean John­ Marion Herbst, MarjaHooftand Anton Reijnders; Texas, MineolaApril 11-12 A session with David son, craft projects manager (416) 973-4928. at Galerie Van Den Berg, Verwersstraat 40. Leach. Limited space. Send SASE to Pine Mills England, Londonthrough February 14 “Gifts for through February 16 Exhibition of ceramics by Pottery, Route 1, Box 167, Mineola 75773; or Valentines,” includes ceramics by Nancy Angus, Bastienne Kramer; at Stichting Artis, Bosch- telephone (903) 857-2271. Ruth Dupre and Kate Malone; at the Crafts veldweg 471. Texas, San AntonioFebruary 21-23 “Techniques Council Shop at the Victoria and Albert Mu­ through February 16 Ceramics by Hanneke Beau­ of 17 th-Century English Slipware”with IrmaStarr. seum, S. Kensington. mont, Jan de Rooden, Mariette Fluitman, Paul Fee: $130. March 27-29 “Smoke Firing with an through February 27 Sculpture by Mo Jupp; at Greenaway, Pablo Rueda Lara andjos Verwiel; at Electric Kiln” with Marian Haigh. Fee: $100. Galerie Besson, 15 Royal Arcade, 28 Old Bond St. Galerie Hiisstege, Verwersstraat 28. Contact Southwest Craft Center, 300 Augusta, through February 29 Exhibition of new works by through April 12 Ceramics by George Braque, San Antonio 78205; telephone (512) 224-1848. Contemporary Applied Arts members, includ­ Marc Chagall, Jean Cocteau, Raoul Dufy, Joan Vermont, Middlebury February 25-29 Hands-on ing ceramics; at Contemporary Applied Arts, 43 Miro and Pablo Picasso; at Museum Voor Heden- workshop with Akio Takamori. Contact Vermont Earlham Street, Covent Garden. daagse Kunst Het Kruithuis, Citadellaan 7. State Craft Center/Frog Hollow, Middlebury England, Oxfordthrough February 12 ‘Jugs, Mugs, Scotland, Saint AndrewsFebruary 28-March 29 05753; or telephone (802) 388-3177. Rugs and Bugs,” with clayworks by Nancy Angus, Rosann Cherubini, “Shrine: Astonishment of West Virginia, RipleyFebruary 28-29 “12th An­ James Campbell, Michael Casson, Georgina Gar­ the Heart,” ceramic sculpture and drawings; at nual Potters Gathering,” featuring a lecture and land, Jane Hamlyn, PaulJackson, Nigel Lambert, Crawford Arts Centre.

70 Ceramics Monthly February 1992 71 New Books words, time heals. If the firing is short, how you fire is much more important” A section on high points in ceramic his­ tory begins with a chronological overview, then links techniques of the past to contem­ porary work. This is followed by a portfolio, featuring full-color and black-and-white pho­ The Craft and Art of Clay tos of works from around the world, accom­ by Susan Peterson panied by brief statements from the artists. As a ceramics teacher for the past 40 The text concludes with a compendium years, the author often wanted a book for of useful information on such topics as safety, her students to use “like a dictionary, pickedtemperature and measurement conversions, up and put down, but always at hand,” yet descriptions of/recipes for 28 artists’ tech­ never found a text niques, and a list of museum collections that she felt covered worldwide. 368 pages, including glossary, all the basics. So she annotated bibliography and index. Accom­ set about compiling panying the book is a folded color poster a book that “is the showing the results of 50:50 blends of 34 realization of every­ glaze materials. 243 color and 896 black- thing I have felt a clay- and-white illustrations. $35, hardcover; $28, worker needs to do softcover. Prentice Hall, Inc., Division of Simon daywork: how to, & Schuster, Englewood Cliffs, NewJersey 07632. what to, what others are doing, and self- The Art of Ogata Kenzan helps.” The result is a plainly written, liber­ ally illustrated introduction to key processes,Persona and Production materials, firing, historical precedence and in Japanese Ceramics contemporary expression. by Richard L. Wilson Handbuilding, wheel-throwing and The Japanese potter known to the world mold-making techniques are illustrated by as the first Kenzan was bom into the wealthy some 60 step-by-step photographic se­ Ogata family in 1663. As the third son, he quences. These are not considered the only was heir to extensive property but not the way to accomplish desired results, but are family business, and offered as “the easiest methods for begin­ was raised to be a dil­ ners to master, as background from which ettante. Yet he be­ to develop their own ways....Each of us finds came Japan’s most an individual way from a beginning way.” famous artist-potter, Designing, decorating and glazing are and his approach to covered in the next section. “Whether we decoration has since are making vessels or sculpture, there are influenced genera­ age-old principles to apply to three-dimen­ tions of potters world­ sional form, such as movement, repetition, wide. This biography, contrast, variety, proportion. There are per­ written by an art his­ ceptions to communicate, such as soft, hard, torian/ potter, exam­ light, heavy, fragile, strong. There are adjec­ ines the socio-political as well as the aesthetic tives to attain, such as exciting, dramatic, factors affecting Kenzan’s work, the distinc­ powerful. These are all words that should be tive styles he developed over the years, plus in your head as you work in clay. Creativitythe impact his designs had on followers. requires being able to see the whole image Kenzan “brought a revolutionary ap­ ahead of time, find the steps to reach it and proach to form, color and design. In his change as new possibilities occur.” kilns, the first of which opened during 1699 Exchange of ideas internationally, as well in the northwest (ken) mountains ( zan) of as commercial availability of materials, has Kyoto, one might find pots that looked like significantly broadened the clayworker’s paintings, and pots that resembled antiques; scope in the 20th century, but this welcome pots whose surfaces recalled cloth, paper or potential has made it “particularly impor­ flowers; pots that were dazzlingly bright; tant to pre-think and find answers” before and pots that evoked the dark of night. In a starting to work with unfamiliar products. world obsessed with self-effacement, Kenzan To give the reader some guidelines, the seemed to delight in self-expression.” section devoted to the properties of clay and Kenzan was not a hands-on potter in the glaze materials includes color photos and sense of participating in the actual forma­ charted results of firing tests of common raw tion or firing of his ware. “There is no proof ingredients and commercial blends. that he ever made pots on the wheel or in Various types of kilns and firings are molds and the circumstantial evidence— addressed in the next section. “All firing is a the advanced age at which he started his balancing act between time, temperature workshop (37), class notions that weighted and atmosphere,” the author notes. But “the against extensive participation in manual longer the firing time, the less important is chores, and the complete absence of com­ the way you get through the firing; in other ments on fabrication or kiln firing in his

72 CERAMICS MONTHLY February 1992 73 New Books glazes made without ash. “To a purist like myself,” the author writes, “the idea of pro­ ducing a ‘synthetic’ ash may seem a little strange. After all, it is the very unpredictable writings—also suggest that he had little in­ nature of the material that is part of its terest in potting proper. But Kenzan was attraction. However, for the potterwho has more than a kiln manager. His two pottery difficultyobtainingwoodash...an ash substi­ manuals demonstrate a keen interest in tute may be a realistic alternative.” techniques, especially in strategies for modi­ Throughout, the author avoids the baffl­ fying surfaces through slip and glazes, and ing confusion of “unnecessary scientific for decorating in underglaze pigments or detail,” preferring “to show that an apprecia­ overglaze enamels.” tion of the minerals and materials immedi­ While he “endowed ceramics with a new ately around us can bring forth pots of truly level of associative power, infusing pots with individual characters, together with immea­ images ranging from literary classicism to surable satisfaction.” 144 pages, including a contemporary urban fashion,...precedent survey of works by contemporary potters was also important. Kenzan was the benefi­ who use ash glazes, recipes, analyses, mo­ ciary of a highly developed urban craft sys­ lecular weights, glossary, bibliography and tem, one characterized by broad access to index. 51 color and 90 black-and-white pho­ materials, technical maturity, task special­ tographs. US$29.95 (Can$37.50). Chilton ization and quick responsiveness to fashion Book Company, Radnor, Pennsylvania 19089. trends. By the late 16th century, that system had come to be exploited by nonspecialists, Introduction to Ceramics beginning with tea masters and soon ex­ by Graham Flight panding to amateurs of all persuasions. Some of them [were his] own ancestors, and there Intended for beginners, this compre­ is every indication that Kenzan too was a hensive guide to working with clay was writ­ mediator rather than maker. ten by a practicing potter who has also “The story of Kenzan ware, then, is not taught for over 20 years. From the first that of a lone artist’s production, but of the chapter describing relationship of a designer to a workshop various clays, through tradition, both in his lifetime and after­ chapters on hand- ward. ”271 pages, including annotated chro­ building, throwing, nology, translation of the Kenzan manual decorating, glazing “Essentials for the Potter,” guide to connois- and firing, he ex­ seurship, notes on plates and figures, bibli­ plains the processes ography and index. 20 color plates, 416 and materials in­ black-and-white photographs, 4 line draw­ volved in easily un­ derstood terms. Each ings and 2 maps. $49.95. Weatherhill, Inc., 420 Madison Avenue, 15th Floor, New York, series of steps, whether for forming, glazing or even loading a kiln, is also well illustrated New York 10017. by line drawings. The necessary tools and equipment are identified by drawings as Ash Glazes well. by Phil Rogers A chapter on history takes a country-by- Of interest to beginners and experienced country look at ceramics, noting “in particu­ potters thinking of exploring the variable lar [historical ware’s] relevance to the potter effects produced by ash glazes, this guide today as a basis for techniques that might was written by a Welshotherwise be taken for granted and as an studio potterwho has inspiration for...further development.” experimented with Throughout the text, cross-referencing numerous types of symbols point the reader to examples of ash during the past works by contemporary ceramists or histori­ 20 years. A common cal information about the process, while material of historical hazard symbols indicate when a procedure importance, ash has is potentially dangerous. a reputation for un­ The final chapter covers “useful facts,” predictability, but such as how to measure for lids and joined careful testing and shapes, choosing colorants for slips, chemi­ record keeping can “provide infinite scope cal formulas, glaze recipes, overcoming fir­ for personal development,” says the author. ing and glazing problems, melting points of After identifying the elements typically common materials, color temperature found in wood and vegetable ashes, the text guide, Fahrenheit/Centigrade conversion, covers how to collect, prepare and test ash, and a chart index to tools and equipment. then determine what characteristics are 344 pages, including bibliography, health desirable, before mixing large batches of and safety tips, glossary and index. 122 color ash glaze. Advice on application, use with plates, 250 black-and-white photographs and slips, firing and overcoming glaze faults is 500 line drawings. $41.95, softcover. Prentice given as well. Hall, Inc., Division of Simon & Schuster, The text also includes a chapter on ashlikeEnglewood Cliffs, Newfersey 07632.

74 CERAMICS MONTHLY February 1992 75 Questions borax when compared to the uncalcined of their constituent parts into foods from amount. both acid attack, dishwashing and abrasion. Answered by the CM Technical Staff But freshly calcined borax is the more Craig Reynolds, a recent BFA graduate of reliable of the two materials because of its the Ohio State University, did research on lessened solubility; plus, its batch weight willsaturated metallics and developed (among reflect its true constituent weight in the mix, others) the following oxidation recipes: while uncalcined borax in actual use may Reynolds Green Metal Patina Glaze How does one calcine borax ? We have run contain out varying quantities of water (throw­ Q (Cone 6) of our supply because of one wonderful glaze ing offthat calculations), depending on storage Copper Carbonate...... 2.44% uses it. I would like to try to make some myself,conditions, have humidity and other variables. tried several times, but just can’t seem to get the Lithium Carbonate ...... 39.02 Ferro Frit 3124 ...... 29.27 right temperature. Also, do we have to use itQ I have seen some patinaed bronze or highly Superpax...... 19.51 instead of regular borax ? —J.M. metallic, copper-surfaced pots that were not fired Flint...... 9.76 in a raku environment, but rather at midrange in There is no special trick to making cal­ 100.00% cined borax (or anhydrous borax), which is an electric kiln. Do you know how this is accom­ plished, whether such glazes may be used safely onThe previous glaze looks exactly like patinaed Na2O • 2B2O3 (or Na 2B4 O?), with its chemi­ cal and physical water driven out by heat food-serving containers, and will you provide bronze. Without the copper, it is matt white. some recipes for experimentation—W. ? O. from borax (Na 2O • B2O3 • 10H2O). While Reynolds Gold Metallic Glaze this takes place theoretically at 608°F, it is The surfaces you describe are caused by (Cone 6) common practice to place some borax in a a class of glazes known as saturated-metal Black Copper Oxide...... 4.0 % large, thick, bisqued bowl and heat to dull glazes or saturated metallics. These have an Cobalt Oxide...... 2.5 red color in a kiln; regrind as needed and excess of metal oxides/carbonates (usually Manganese Dioxide...... 36.5 you’ll have calcined borax. Don’t let the kiln copper and manganese) that act in the Ball Clay (any) ...... 4.0 get too hot, though—at 1366°F, borax (a composition as a self-melting flux. They fuseCedar ITeights Redart ...... 49.0 very strong flux) melts like hot taffy! with a relatively small amount of silica into aFlint...... 4.0 You can avoid the need to calcine and siliceous metal suitable for surfacing sculp­ 100.0% quickly figure a substitute quantity of un- tural forms, although not safe for use with Substitute any low-fire red clay for Redart. calcined borax using the molecular weights food. Much more alumina (clay or feldspar) of each of these two materials to calculate a would be required to form a glaze strong Subscribers’ questions are welcome and those of ratio of their weights. Consequently, it takes enough for food use (but this would harm general interest will be answered in this column. about 1.89 grams of the uncalcined material the metallic effect). Because of the inher­ Due to volume, letters may not be answered person­ to equal 1 gram of the calcined variety. Or ently weak bonding of all such low-alumina ally. Address the Technical Staff, Ceramics figure that you only need 53% calcined compositions, they risk substantial release Monthly, Box 12448, Columbus, Ohio 43212.

76 CERAMICS MONTHLY February 1992 77 Oldest Kiln Now Dates to 27,000 B. C. Ice Age Ceramics by Jayne Shatz

The world’s first art movement oc­ But nothing of any artistic value for ceremonial rites and artistic ex­ curred during the upper Paleolithic has been discovered that can explain pression. period of the great Stone Age, around the explosion in art that was to follow. The huts were situated alongside a 30,000 years ago. It flourished during With a fervent burst of sophisticated stream, with their main wood posts the last period of widespread glacia­ artistic aptitude, Ice Age artists crawled set into the ground. The remaining tion, until all the glaciers finally re­ into caves to carve and paint in the framework for the walls and roofs was treated by 11,000 B.C. deep recesses of the earth with only a of large mammoth bones and tusks. A The climate was harsh then, by our simple oil lamp to guide their way. surrounding wall of bone, brush and standards, with temperatures ranging These caves were places of ceremo­ dirt provided shelter from animals and from -10°F in the winter to 55°F in the nial rituals where art was incorporated cold winds. The floor was laid with a summer. Ice lay a mile and a half thick in people’s mystical beliefs. Many of limestone grit. Hearths were shallow in some places, with snow and ice ac­ their paintings were executed to en­ depressions ringed with flat stones. cumulating into mountainous The two larger huts had five hearths peaks, creating low sea levels each, and it is believed they were and large land masses. the communal lodges of a In Continental Eu­ hunting clan. rope, there existed a The smaller hut temperate corridor was similar, but en­ between the large tirely enclosed in a ice sheet to the wall of clay and North and the limestone. The snow-covered hearth in the mountains of floor’s middle the Alps. This provided a spec­ warmer tundra tacular discovery of gently rolling in ceramic his­ hills stretched tory—a prehis­ from Czechoslova­ toric kiln in the kia through Poland shape of a beehive. into the Ukraine and It was surrounded by Siberia. Whereas the thousands of clay pel­ cold-loving reindeer, lets, fragments of the wooly rhinoceros and heads of two bears and ibex dwelled in the icy Archaeologists believe this oldest kiln yet discovered was a fox, and some unfin­ parts of Europe, these ished figures. Archae­ warmer regions saw in the home of a Paleolithic shaman who produced, then firedologists believe this roaming herds of figures of women and beasts. oldest kiln yet discov­ mammoth and the ered was in the home communal tribes of the mammoth sure a profitable hunt. Alongside the of a Paleolithic shaman who produced, hunters—early Homo sapiens. art have been found evidences of mu­ then fired figures of women and The Upper Paleolithic, or Ice Age, sical instruments, completing the pic­ beasts. Before this finding, historians was a time of spontaneous revolution ture of the ceremonial significance of had believed the first kiln firing had in the development of art, music and art, music, dance and song. occurred 15,000 years later. tool technology. Similar times of cul­ Part of the mystic belief system was A small, black figure modeled from tural blossomings occurred in 13th- the reverence for fertility statuettes, clay and bone ash was found intact at century Song-dynasty China and or Venus figures. The uncovering of the Dolni Vestonice kiln site. It is one 15th-century Renaissance Europe. the Dolni Vestonice “Venus” in of the earliest ‘Venus” figures, with What is amazing about the art of Czechoslovakia is of particular inter­ large breasts, angular shoulders, and the Ice Age is that it seems to have est to ceramists. In that ice-free corri­ legs tapering down to small, rounded suddenly appeared on the horizon dor was discovered a grouping of three points. The top of the head has four without any precedent. The earlier huts in close proximity to one another holes made to hold flowers, leaves or Neanderthal culture did have tool kits, that dated from 27,000 B.C. These feathers, symbolizing the successful with some objects carved smooth to dwellings reflected the warmer climate changing of the seasons, which were comfortably fit the hand, and some where caves were not lived in (as in attributed to the goddesses’ fertility. displaying deliberate scratch marks. the icy regions), but rather were used The female figure predominates

78 Ceramics Monthly above Unfired clay relief of bison, Why did art of such brilliance dating from 15,000 B.C., found in a emerge from a society concerned with small cave in the French Pyrenees. the ferocity of everyday living? Per­ haps it is because of a desire to con­ Paleolithic small sculpture. She per­ trol natural forces, align themselves sonifies the species’ continuity, the with spiritual beliefs, and integrate magical invocation of the survival of with the nature/god/human cycle. It the race. The severity of form is due appears they saw themselves as a part to its minimal representation of wom­ of nature, and realized that they could anhood abundant with life. Later influence the outcome of events. figures displayed a vulva, which be­ Ice Age artists’ lives were affected came known as the “mound of Ve­ strongly by wild animals and the nus,” the universal archetype of fertility. changing of seasons. Their paintings, Another treasure trove in prehis­ engravings and sculptures express a toric ceramics was found in France. spiritual quest. They began to social­ Inside a small cave hidden in the hills ize with other tribes, and learned to of the Pyrenees were two bison, 24 cooperate with one another for a suc­ inches and 25 inches long, dating from cessful hunt. They used ritual and be­ 15,000 B.C. These unfired, relief sculp­ lief to assure themselves a better tures display a vitality of form, beauti­ future. Their tools were efficient, their fully executed in detail. homes secure. They ceased being no­ They were modeled from an exist­ mads, and food became plentiful. As ing mound of clay, and due to the living grew easier, they found time to protected circumstances of this cave, concentrate on spirituality and one of remained intact for thousands of years. its manifestations: art. In fact, their surfaces still reveal the Imagining a person modeling a clay decisive, spontaneous and amazingly figure almost 30,000 years ago enables adept movement of the artist’s fingers us to feel kinship to these early people. across the clay. Their art emphasizes that our art is How many more sculptures were part of human development—a part produced in caves such as these just so powerful that when we discover it, to melt away in ground water? It can above One of the earliest “Venus” figures kept safe throughout time for us to only be assumed that this was not a was found intact at the Dolni Vestonice view and touch, we are linked through singular occurrence. kiln site in Czechoslovakia. the ages. A

February 1992 79 Firing Wet Pots by Art Grupe

What started out as a discussion on clay is allowed to sit for a week or so. A Closed or almost-closed forms tend to recipes for kiln-cooked chicken devel­ dough mixer is then used to mix this work the best. oped into a technique for firing wet local clay with other ingredients: To keep lid flanges from cracking, pots in a portable barbecue. The pro­ damp paper towels may be placed in­ cess works well in workshop situations Local Earthenware Body side lidded pots. Any remaining crack­ Gerstley Borate...... 5 % where no kiln is available and finished ing can be alleviated by adding 1% Ball Clay...... 10 ware is to be produced in a few hours. chopped nylon fiber to the clay body Local Earthenware ...... 75 Gary Greenberg perfected wet fir­ during mixing or before forming. Stoneware Clay...... 10 ing while teaching at the University of If a slip is to be used, it is applied at 100% Northern Iowa—after a discussion this point. A useful base is the follow­ with guest artist Les Lawrence (of Add: Bentonite...... 1 % ing recipe: Grog (20 mesh) ...... 5-10% Grossmont College in California) Slip Base about ways to keep clay wrapped The amount of grog added depends Gerstley Borate ...... 10% around a cooking chicken. They de­ on whether the body is for throwing Edgar Plastic Kaolin ...... 90 cided to try Greenberg’s technique (5%) or handbuilding (10%). 100% (of wrapping a clay-covered chicken The University of Northern Iowa Color variations are possible with the with aluminum foil) on a pot Law­ studio body also wet fires well: addition of 5%-10% commercial stain rence had made. The pot was wrapped or oxide. in foil and buried in the coals of a UNI Studio Body A. P. Green Fireclay...... 50 % The glaze is then brushed on and barbecue. Two hours later, the pot Old Hickory Ball Clay...... 25 a radiator repair compound, Aluma- had been bisqued without damage. Yellow Banks Stoneware...... 25 seal, sprinkled on top. (This com­ “We figured we were on to some­ pound effervesces when fired.) thing” Greenberg said. “The next day 100% Add: Grog (20-mesh) ...... 5% Greenberg estimated barbecue- we tried a whole bunch of them, but firing temperatures don’t reach any they blew up.” Pots to be wet fired are thrown on higher than 1200°F; he developed the Greenberg was undaunted; after a a potter’s wheel, cut off, and placed following glaze (shown by volume few months of experimentation, he in a round-bottomed wire basket (fash­ measurement) for that range: was getting good results with almost ioned from plastering wire available any clay. at local building supply stores) or a Barbecue Glaze The local earthenware clay (mined bisqued bowl. Allowing the bottom of (Cone 020-019) from a highway cutbank) is prepared the pot to slump into the bowl’s con­ Borax ...... 1 cup by processing it in a bathtub. A sieve is tour prevents cracking. Water...... 1 cup suspended over the tub. Water runs A portable propane torch is some­ 2 cups over the rough clay lumps, washing times used to hasten drying. “Objects Add: Sodium Silicate ...... 1 tbs. the clay into the tub and leaving any should be slipped, glazed and fired as He adds about a teaspoonful of debris behind. As much water as pos­ soon as they stiffen enough to allow colorant to this mixture, then blends sible is removed with buckets, and the handling,” Greenberg explained. until it is frothy. Copper carbonate

80 CERAMICS MONTHLY To seat a lid, the pot’s rim may be dried As soon as the form is complete, slips Alumaseal, a radiator repair slightly with a propane torch. and/or glazes are brushed on. compound, goes on top.

Firing success depends on the pot The wet pot is then wrapped with First, only the bottom is covered with remaining as damp as possible. regular thickness aluminum foil. foil—to aid heat diffusion.

Folded seams secure the second layer of After the third layer, the pot is usually Because of increased draft, charcoal foil around the whole pot. placed in a wire basket. ignites quickly inside a stovepipe.

February 1992 81 The wrapped pot is inserted in a hollow Charcoal is then scooped over the pot Wet ware to be fired in a kiln should be lined with damp pine needles /sawdust. for the three-to-four-hour firing. placed on a piece of shelving.

produces black, red or green, depend­ separated by newspaper—inside a 2- the kiln on a piece of shelving, which ing on the amount of reduction the to 3-foot-high metal stovepipe placed acts as a buffer for the bottom of the glaze is subjected to during firing. Co­ in the barbecue grill. The stovepipe wet ware. Temperature is held at900°F balt carbonate gives black, blue or lav­ provides excellent draft, thus short­ for an hour, then it is gradually in­ ender. Ocher fires red. A variety of ening the charcoal’s ignition time. creased over a period of 30 minutes commercial stains work well in the Greenberg strongly recommends that to the 1200°-1400°F range. The kiln same quantity. potentially flammable clothing not be is then soaked (by holding the tem­ Next, the pot is wrapped in alumi­ worn near the barbecue due to the perature wherever it is) for an addi­ num foil. Greenberg prefers the regu­ possible fire hazard. tional 30 minutes. lar thickness foil and first wraps only Once the charcoal is burning well, The foil wrapping will eventually the bottom of the pot to give added the stovepipe is lifted off, dumping expand like a balloon, and at approxi­ heat diffusion in that crucial area. The the coals into the barbecue. A hollow mately 1400°F the outer layer will dis­ second layer of aluminum foil goes is arranged in the center and lined integrate. Greenberg removes the around the entire piece (much in the with damp pine needles or sawdust as ware at this time, but sees no reason way a Thanksgiving turkey is wrapped) a buffer, then the wrapped pot is in­ why wrapped high-fire clays could not and is sealed with folded 1-inch seams. serted and covered with coals. With be fired to Cone 9 or 10. After the third layer, the piece is re­ the barbecue lid in place, it takes three Greenberg sees wet firing as a re­ turned to the wire basket. It is also or four hours for the pot to reach turn to immediacy in ceramics. “As possible to simply place the three lay­ temperature. Firing in a kiln can cut my work has become increasingly com­ ers of foil in the basket, insert the pot, the time to about two hours. plex and technologically dependent, then fold the foil around it. When using a kiln, preheat to it has lost a measure of immediacy. Charcoal is piled up—in layers 900°F. The foil-wrapped pot goes into This is a way of recapturing it.” A

It takes about two hours to fire foil-wrapped wet ware to Wet-fired lidded jars by Gary Greenberg; he values the approximately 1400°F in a kiln. process as a way of recapturing “a measure of immediacy ”

82 CERAMICS MONTHLY February 1992 83 84 Ceramics Monthly February 1992 85 Comment

Whine Tasting by Ersatz Sobriquet

I just want a chance. Is that so much to acne glaze were inconceivable...or some­ North America. Even so, it’s as difficult ask? Huh? thing like that. and quirky as winning the state lottery. It really irks me to see all the maga­ I really have to say, it’s just plain My relatives always say with amaze­ zines about crafts and nowhere is there unfair. I mean just because my ashtrays ment that they cannot believe what I’m any mention of my daywork. Sure, the have never been accepted in any exhi­ doing. And who better than a mother newspaper published my name when I bition does not mean they aren’t good. to estimate the worth of ceramic art? was arrested for visual pollution because Where do those jurors get off not ac­ When I went to the museum with I displayed my work at the city art fair, cepting my work? What do they know my third cousin’s brother-in-law, he said but they forgot to mention I was a ce­ about the finer points of smokeology? he thought the work on display was ramist. They ignored me almost like I If I were a juror (Come to think of it, exquisite. Really, it was that same old was in insurance sales. why haven’t I been asked to jury the Povizch-dynasty ware—anyone can I was listening to Andy Rooney the national, anyway?), I would look at each make that stuff. Why not have a set of other night when it dawned on me that piece with respect to its place on the ashtrays from the late 20th century? I had never seen my ashtrays publicized overall ceramics spectrum and defi­ That would make a great display. But and that there was a need to say some­ nitely include my work. no, every time I call on museum cura­ thing about it. It seems so long ago that I talked to tors, their secretaries say that they’re The critical thing is that I know my Japanese masters, or did I just see their busy in meetings. daywork is good. And just a week ago I work at the yakitori shop? Anyway, I Just the other day Mom said that I was at a party with some of my associ­ realized then that the system of getting should cancel my subscriptions to some ates from the lockup who all said that work into shows and featured in the of the crafts magazines if they persist in the effects accomplished with my quasi­ press was easier if you were not from rejecting pictures of my work. That’s a

86 CERAMICS MONTHLY

Comment conspiracy to avoid showing good work to study the effects of drinking coffee like mine. Maybe they didn’t under­ on artistic production. stand that this work was a statement Instead, they want to judge my can­ about the oppression of the haves (those didacy on the slides I turn in! So what is little drastic; if I cancel, how will I know who passed the ceramics course the first so wrong with 20 slides of different when my work has been published? And time they took it) and the angst of the angles of the same ashtray? It’s concep there are so many magazines. Which have nots (me). tual, isn’t it? ones would I stop subscribing to? Why can’t they see that today (par­ Well, I wouldn’t want to work at a The problem is that all of those ticularly after all these years of my com­ place like that, anyway. They couldn’t magazines keep showing other people’s ing back to visit) ? I would explain it to stand the pressure my presence would work. And when they do, they write them, if they didn’t have an important put on other faculty. Besides, it’s not about them as though these people have meeting every time I show up. Surely that great of a school, and from their relevant philosophies. You and I know my new ashtrays would impress them, behavior it’s obvious that no one actu­ that’s just a smoke screen ally wants to teach there. because the magazine pro­ You know what I really ducers have to fill space After all, they did grant me want is to sell my ashtrays. around the pictures. Who Since they’re so taboo that among us really knows what anM.F.A. (Muddled Forever After) degree. no one else seems to be mak­ we are doing in ceramics? If ing them, I could really clean we did, everyone could up if only the gallery direc­ make ashtrays with acne glazes. (It’s as well as prove my validity as an artist. tors would see me. You would think more complicated than it seems.) And After all, they did grant me an M.F.A. that with the insistence on specific view­ I would probably read some of the (Muddled Forever After) degree. ing days, they would make time to see things others write, but that would And that’s another thing. With my me and my arty ashtrays instead of hav­ befoul my unadulterated aesthetics and M.F.A., why can’t I get a teaching job at ing to make urgent phone calls when I permute the quintessential concept of some university? I have all the skills pull out slides. That really steams me. the ashtray as utilitarian keramikos. needed. I can sit in my office and drink My work is just too contemporary, too How’s that for heavy philosophy? coffee, “BS” with the students at the ahead of its time. The impressionists Actually, I knew that there would be canteen, go to faculty meetings and fall had the same problem. days like this when I was back at Down­ asleep, drink coffee with the dean, miss I know that once I crack the market, town University of Middle Beltville. My my office hours, complain about my my prices will soon rise to maybe $2000 teachers always overlooked the intrin­ colleagues’ obviously unimportant ex­ per ashtray. Then everyone will realize sic merit of my daywork. Would you hibitions and boring papers, ponder the greatness of my work. That’ll show believe that my stuff didn’t even ap­ great issues (This article proves that!), those magazines, those juried shows, pear in the janitor’s showcase of lost go to receptions at the president’s home won’t it? For now, they say they’ll get and found objets d’art? and drink more coffee there, forget to back to me. I don’t want to complain; I am sure there was, and still is, a turn in my grades, and go on sabbatical you know I hate it when people whine.

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88 Ceramics Monthly