editor Sherman Hall associate editor Tim Frederich assistant editor Renee Fairchild design Paula John production manager John Wilson production specialist David Houghton advertising manager Steve Hecker advertising assistant Debbie Plummer circulation manager Cleo Eddie publisher Marcus Bailey

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Ceramics Monthly (ISSN 0009-0328) is published monthly, except July and August, by The American Ceramic Society, 735 Ceramic Place, Westerville, Ohio 43081; www.ceramics.org. Periodicals postage paid at Westerville, Ohio, and additional mailing offices. Opinions expressed are those of the contributors and do not necessarily represent those of the editors or The Ameri­ can Ceramic Society. subscription rates: One year $32, two years $60, three years $86. Add $25 per year for subscriptions outside North America. In Canada, add GST (registration number R123994618). 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 De­ partment, PO Box 6136, Westerville, OH 43086-6136. contributors: Writing and photographic guidelines are available on request. Send manuscripts and visual sup­ port (slides, transparencies, photographs, drawings, etc.) to Ceramics Monthly, 735 Ceramic PI., Westerville, OH 43081. We also accept unillustrated texts e-mailed to [email protected] or faxed to (614) 891-8960. indexing: An index of each year's feature articles appears in the December issue. You may also visit the Ceramics Monthly website at www.ceramicsmonthly.org to search an index of article titles and artists' names. Feature articles are also indexed in the Art Index, daai (design and applied arts index) and other services available through pub­ lic and university libraries. copies: For a fee, photocopies of articles are available through Customer Service, PO Box 6136, Westerville, OH 43086-6136; e-mail [email protected]; or telephone (614) 794-5890. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or per­ sonal use beyond the limits of Sections 107 or 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law is granted by The American Ceramic Society, ISSN 0009-0328, provided that the appropriate fee is paid directly to Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rose­ wood Dr., Danvers, MA 01923, USA; (978) 750-8400; www.copyright.com. Prior to photocopying items for edu­ cational classroom use, please contact Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. This consent does not extend to copying items for general distribution, or for advertising or promotional pur­ poses, or to republishing items in whole or in part in any work in any format. Please direct republication or special copying permission requests to the Senior Director, Publications, The American Ceramic Society, 735 Ceramic PL, Westerville, OH 43081, USA. back issues: When available, back issues are $6 each, plus $3 shipping and handling for first issue and $1 each additional issue (for international orders, shipping/handling is $6 for first issue and $2 each additional issue). postmaster: Please send address changes to Ceramics Monthly, PO Box 6136, Westerville, OH 43086-6136. Form 3579 requested.

Copyright © 2003 The American Ceramic Society All rights reserved

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 2 Ceramics Monthly December 2003 3 Ceramics Monthly December 2003 4 DECEMBER 2003 / Volume 51 Number 10

featu res

36 Aim to Inspire: Neil Patterson on the Art and Craft of Teaching by Marilyn Anthony

41 Teapots on My Mindby Hwang Jeng-daw Tea ceremony provides springboard to making pots

44 Married to Clay (And Each Other)by Deb Fieck-stabiey Balancing collaboration and individuality 49 21st Century Ceramics In the United States and Canada 500 ceramic works at Columbus College of Art and Design 55 Quiet Voice, Loud Statement The Work of Tomoo Kitamura by Caren 5. Rodriguez

57 18th-Century Buen Retiro Porcelainby Maria carmen Santos Spanish porcelain from a royal factory in Madrid

60 Ishmael Soto by Bobby Filzer Pearl An appreciation of torn and ragged forms 64 A Maya Ceramics Tradition Survives in the Yucatan by Carol Ventura Pre-Columbian heritage inspires narrative reproductions

66 David DahICjuist by Kristin Senty-Brown Public installations concentrate on historical references 70 Carrying the Empty Cup Three Generations Within the Japanese MasterlApprentice Tradition by Dick Lehman departments

10 letters 16 upfront 30 new books 78 call for entries 84suggestions 86 calendar 104questions 108 classified advertising 110 ceramics monthly annual index 112 comment: Getting a Handle on Itby Tony Clennell 112 index to advertisers

cover: "Niche Jar," 14 inches (36 centimeters) in height, thrown and altered earthenware, with terra sigillata, by Neil Patterson, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; page 36.Photo: John Carlano.

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 5 upfront

16 Jerry Rothman Retrospective exhibition at the Laguna Art Museum in Laguna Beach, and California State University Fullerton Grand Central Art Center 16 Beth Cavener Stichter Receives Grant Emerging ceramics artist recognized by the American Crafts Council 16 Multimedia Exhibition at Arrowmont Works by 13 ceramists at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg, Tennessee 16 Ivar Mackay Porcelain vessels at Oriental Museum in Durham, England 18 Invitational Exhibition in Pennsylvania Earthenware tilework included in exhibition at Edinboro University’s Bruce Gallery in Edinboro 18 Exhibition of Figurative Sculpture in Texas Three-person exhibition at Goldesberry Gallery in Houston 20 Frank Ozereko Wall-mounted sculpture at Nada-Mason Gallery in Northfield, Massachusetts 20 Dina Wilde-Ramsing Vessels at New Elements Gallery in Wilmington, North Carolina 22 Alison Reintjes Installation at the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, Montana 22 Ann Mallory Sculpture and vessels at the Minor Memorial Library Gallery in Roxbury, Connecticut 22 Kelly Barrett Figurative work at Ewing Gallery of Art and Architecture at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville 24 Ellen Rundle and Linda Smith Sculpture at Orlando Gallery in Tarzana, California 24 Paul Scott Pottery at Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery in Carlisle, England 26 Juried Exhibition in North Carolina 23rd Annual July National at Franklin Square Gallery in Southport 26 Alice Robrish Sculpture at Hodson Gallery at Hood College in Frederick, Maryland

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 6 Ceramics Monthly December 2003 7

letters Abernathy are gems in the Michigan pottery minutes, both the gallery and studio were community. It’s about time they received burned to the ground. the recognition they deserve! The kiln survived, but Ogawa lost every­ Well-Deserved Recognition Joseph Opalinski, Holly, MI thing else related to his life’s work of 30 Congratulations to the authors and staff of years. Once again, the good people of CM on the May 2003 issue, which featured The Fire that Consumed Elkton Elkton rose to the occasion and, in less than “The Pottery at Greenfield Village” and In December 1996, CM published “The 24 hours, the devasting rubble had been “J. T. Abernathy.” Kiln that Consumed Elkton,” that told the cleared away, a benefit concert had been As a retired teacher, I can recall the story of how the citizens of the tiny rural arranged to raise funds, and an account inspiration of Abernathy’s pottery wisdom. town in Oregon rallied around their favor­ established at a local bank to receive tax- I also spent five years working with Bryan ite potter, Hiroshi Ogawa, and helped him deductible contributions for reconstruction. Von Benschotten at the Greenfield Pottery build his dream kiln, the Hikarigama. In the meantime, both potters and Village, and I still stand in awe of his On October 10, 2003, a fire broke out Elktonites will continue to be on hand to throwing skills. Both Benschotten and in Ogawa’s on-site gallery and, within assist their friend and favorite citizen in resurrecting his dream.

Howard Kiefer and Deborah Lipmany Elkton, OR

Fire and Hope On Friday, October 10, we had finished loading most of the pottery into the Hikarigama, with plans of closing and lighting the kiln the next day. As we were relaxing and anticipating the firing, we heard odd noises coming from the gallery. Before we knew what was happening, the entire building (several feet from us) was engulfed in flames. Although the cause of the fire is unknown, it is important to note that it was not started by the kiln, which had not yet been lit. The fire department was able to contain the fire, but not before it consumed the entire studio and gallery. Fortunately, nobody was physically injured. We cannot begin to understand the loss that Hiroshi has suffered. Anticipating his annual studio sale, he had filled his gallery with pottery, all of which was destroyed. All of his studio equipment—including wheels, kilns, books, extruder and pug mill—is gone. Virtually nothing was salvageable. I am happy to report, however, that the rebuilding process has already begun. Hiroshi has been overwhelmed by the amount of love and support that has poured in. With help from the Elkton community, the debris has been cleared and materials are being gathered for the construction of the new Ogawa pottery and gallery, and we plan on firing the kiln early in December. Sam Hoffman, Corvallis, OR

Ogawa Contributions Most potters in the Pacific Northwest are familiar with Hiroshi Ogawa, as he has been a contributing member of our community for many, many years. More recently, he has risen in national stature for his recent work in the more traditional methods of Japanese wood-fired ceramics. Countless

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 10 Ceramics Monthly December 2003 11 letters

potters have traveled the road to Elkton, Oregon, to share wood firing at Hiroshi Ogawa’s anagama. His spirit and generosity have touched many. Those of you who have known Hiroshi may want to help with the rebuilding. A bank account has been opened for contribu­ tions. Make checks payable to Hiroshi Ogawa and mail them to US Bank, PO Box 5> Drain, OR 97435. Don Clarke, Eugene, OR

Ceramics Monthly will be making a donation in the form of cash as well as back issues of the magazine. We encour­ age those of our readers who are able to join us in supporting the Ogawas and the ceramics community in and around Elkton, Oregon.—Ed.

Always More to Learn I’ve subscribed to Ceramics Monthly since college graduation (Montana State Univer­ sity, Bozeman) in 1956, and enjoyed the changes in the magazine and the craft. Potters haven’t changed all that much; we still have the issues of “What is art?” “What is best?” “What is functional?” with strong feelings on both sides! There’s always more to learn, no matter how long one has been potting. Constance Moss, Great Falls, MT

Enjoys Recipes I really appreciate the glaze recipes and materials updates. I use CM to keep in touch with what’s current. Thanks! Suzanne Hill’ Carlisle, MA

Nicaragua Visit In October 2002, you published the article “Three Generations: Potters of San Juan de Oriente, Nicaragua.” In May 2003,1 trav­ eled to Nicaragua on a mission trip to various orphanages. Since I am a potter, I researched this tiny village and took six orphans on a field trip to visit these potters. First, we visited the brother of Helio Gutierrez, who owns a production pottery. He sells a considerable volume to Pier 1 Imports. He was very gracious with our dropping by unexpectedly and even allowed the children to try wheel throwing. Next, we visited Helio Gutierrez. My friend purchased a piece from him that is exactly like the one shown on page 57 of the October 2002 issue. I purchased a piece

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 12 Ceramics Monthly December 2003 13 letters Two other things that greatly impressed on plywood backing. Any of the interiorl me were the weightlessness of the pieces and exterior clear waterproof caulks will do the the very simple tools used to produce these job. They are inexpensive and can be found that is a replica of a piece honored in 1993 masterpieces. The X-acto knife was the in any hardware store. The plywood will by the country of Nicaragua by placing it most elaborate tool of choice. As a result of break apart before the bond will give. on their national stamp. I could hardly this visit, I now view my heavy toolbox and Anne Macaire, Whitehorse, YT, Canada believe it when Gutierrez allowed us to heavy porcelain pieces very differently. choose one piece from his beautiful collec­ Phyllis Canuppy Virginia Beach, VA European Connection tion as a donation to help the orphans. I have enjoyed the articles on European Remember, we had just dropped in unex­ Caulk as Adhesive potters (I grew up in Sweden), and like to pectedly and uninvited with six small chil­ Please note that in “Animal Tracks” (Octo­ keep up with what’s going on there. dren. How gracious and generous these ber 2003 CM), I used clear silicone caulk­ Christina McCarthy, Brookville, ON, Canada gentlemen were! ing (not adhesive) to mount the clay panels Keeping the Dream Alive Though traditionally trained in Central Europe during World War II, my first borrowed CM afforded dreams (for an immigrant to Canada) where potting heaven was only affordable via a few excel­ lent courses in glaze composition by Gor­ don Barnes and Robin Hopper. Alas, I had to stay with dream potting, just like your unnamed contributor in the March 2003 issue. It was hislher confession that prompted me not to lay my dream to rest, even if it will only continue through a renewed CM subscription. Once we finish our (surely) last old house renovation, perhaps the newly bought old wheel might get a workout. Though not all pictures grab me, the 50-year anniversary issues are some of the best cross sections of comments readers have sent over the years. Despite my advancing years, they make me feel not quite the fossil I thought. Jo Benko, Fairlight, NSW, Australia

Instructive Coverage Please continue with the present format. Any manipulation of clay—be it silly, artis­ tic or even offensive—can be instructive. I would never reproduce some of the featured items, but certainly can use the techniques. Wanda Wright, Southwest Harbor, ME

Correction In “Ducuale Grande, A Nicaraguan Women’s Pottery Cooperative” (October 2003 CM), reference was made to an ex­ perimental corn-husk burner. The coopera­ tive is actually experimenting with a coffee-husk burner.

In keeping with our commitment to providing an open forum for the exchange of ideas and opinions, the editors welcome letters from all readers; some editing for clarity or brevity may take place. All letters must include the writer’s full name and address, but they will be withheld on request. Mail to Ceramics Monthly, 735 Ceramic PI., Westerville, OH 43081; e-mail to [email protected]; or fax to (614) 891-8960.

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 14 upfront materials. Michael Monroe, former curator-in-charge of the Renwick Gallery, and Paul J. Smith, director emeritus of the Museum of Arts and Design (formerly the American Craft Museum), selected the six from approximately 200 applicants. Cavener Stichter used the grant money to purchase equipment and Jerry Rothman 2000 pounds of clay, which she used to create large-scale figurative “Feat of Clay: Five Decades of Jerry Rothman” is being presented sculpture during her residency at the Archie Bray Foundation for the concurrently at two locations: on view through February 29, 2004, the Ceramic Arts in Helena, Montana. exhibition at the Laguna Art Museum in Laguna Beach, California, will focus on work made by California ceramist Jerry Rothman between Multimedia Exhibition at Arrowmont 1956 and 1997. The second venue—California State University Fuller­ On view through December 20, the exhibition “New Directions, South­ ton Grand Central Art Center—will cover 1997 through 2003, and will ern Connection: Potters of the Roan and Tapestry Weavers South” at be on view through January 11, 2004. Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, fea­ This exhibition—Rothman’s first retrospective—explores his ceram­ tures over 100 works of ceramics by 13 artists who are members of a ics through a chronological journey of the various locations at which he has worked. In the late 1950s, he studied at the Otis Art Institute with

Jerry Rothman’s “Bay View,” approximately 30 inches (76 centimeters) in height, Melisa Cadell’s “Cup in Hand,” 20 inches (51 centimeters) in height, earthenware; 2001-2002; at the Laguna Art Museum in Laguna Beach, California. at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

Peter Voulkos, and was an active member of the “Otis Group.” From North Carolina regional crafts guild. The exhibition includes functional 1958 to 1960, Rothman worked in Japan on both commercial and fine- ceramics and sculpture. art ceramics. Later, when working in Laguna Beach, he began exploring sculpture with a strong socio-political influence. During this period, Ivar Mackay Rothman was also a ceramics professor at California State University “Sky After Rain,” an exhibition of porcelain vessels by British artist Ivar Fullerton. He retired after teaching for 26 years. Mackay, was presented recently at the Oriental Museum in Durham, England. Influenced by the Chinese and Korean throwers and glaze Beth Cavener Stichter Receives Grant artists of the early dynasties, Mackay notes that “my primary interest is Beth Cavener Stichter was one of six emerging artists to receive a grant in the thrown form. I am working with Limoges porcelain and blended from the American Craft Council. Ranging from $3500 to $5000, the bodies to achieve maximum translucency. I seek painterly effects in my grants support emerging artists working in craft media. The funds can glazes and prefer the natural characteristics of reduction firing to com­ be used for travel, research, andlor the purchase of equipment and plete the decorative process.” Continued

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 16 upfront tions of film theory to ceramic practices assign a postmodern character to ceramic arts while underscoring how clay’s very nature asserts its distinctions from other genres and media.”

Exhibition of Figurative Sculpture in Texas “Small Figures,” an exhibition of ceramics by Melody Ellis, Edwardsville, Illinois; C. W. Wells, Philadelphia; and Janis Mars Wunderlich, Colum­ bus, Ohio, was on view recently at Goldesberry Gallery in Houston. Wells’ figures and wall installations are colored and embellished with layers of markings and textures. Wunderlich’s hand-built busts and

C. W. Wells wall installation, 60 inches (152 centimeters) in length, stoneware and earthenware, with oxides and stains.

Ivar Mackay’s “Lidded Jar,” 36 centimeters (14 inches) in height, porcelain with bronzed russet iron glaze; at the Oriental Museum, Durham, England.

After studying with Michael Casson and Walter Keeler at Harrow College, Mackay opened Shire Pottery and began creating wheel-thrown terra-cotta flowerpots. It wasn’t until 1998 that he began experimenting with porcelain. Today, his glazes include celadons, copper reds, temmokus, russet irons and crackles.

Invitational Exhibition in Pennsylvania Ceramics by San Diego, California, artist Paul Berger were featured in “Telling Tales,” an invitational exhibition at Edinboro University’s Bruce Gallery in Edinboro, Pennsylvania. Berger’s work uses images drawn from cinematic sources on wall-mounted earthenware slabs. According to Charlotte Wellman in the accompanying catalog, “Berger’s adapta-

Paul Berger’s “Actant,” 18 inches (46 centimeters) in length, glazed earthenware; Janis Mars Wunderlich’s “Jumping Over Her Head,” 16 inches at Bruce Gallery, Edinboro University, Edinboro, Pennsylvania. (41 centimeters) in height, white earthenware.

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 18 upfront

Frank Ozereko’s “Julius,” wall piece, 17 inches (43 centimeters) in height, fired to Cone 04; at Nada-Mason Gallery, Northfield, Massachusetts.

The pieces being framed have also evolved over time. At first, they were small-scale narratives, then collections of real or imagined objects. Others were exotic floral forms. Ozereko’s most recent series of wall works contain horizontal ceramic shelves filled with rows of vessels. “These last pieces reference the infinite variety present in the ceramic utilitarian object,” he explained. “They demonstrate how vessel types can be similar in use and size while their shape and physical characteris­ tics can be wildly different from each other.”

Dina Wilde-Ramsing “Passages,” an exhibition featuring ceramic vessels by North Carolina artist Dina Wilde-Ramsing, was on view through November 8 at New Elements Gallery in Wilmington, North Carolina. “I believe that my

Melody Ellis’ “Shadow Puppets,” 91/2 inches (24 centimeters) in height, earthenware with slips and glazes, with steel; at Goldesberry Gallery, Houston, Texas. standing figures are fired multiple times to create a rich surface. Her forms reflect her response to the demands of motherhood and making art. Inspired by antique toys and dolls, Ellis creates jointed figures with bright surfaces.

Frank Ozereko “Wall Pieces: A Chronology,” an exhibition of ceramics by Massachu­ setts artist Frank Ozereko, was on view through October 14 at Nada- Mason Gallery in Northfield, Massachusetts. Most of the works in the show use symmetrical framing units: thrown plates, boxes, shelves or niches that frame and contain their contents. Over the years, these framing units have changed: many of the earliest pieces were in the form of a simple, geometric box. These evolved into more complex, geomet­ ric forms that were almost Art Deco in appearance. Later pieces were Dina Wilde-Ramsing’s “Anniversary Jars,” to HV2 inches (29 centimeters) more flowing and organic in shape. in height, stoneware; at New Elements Gallery, Wilmington, North Carolina

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 20 upfront work appeals more to the senses than to the intellect, and that the content may be less important to me than the pure visual emotion,” Wilde-Ramsing noted. “I suppose this makes my work decorative in purpose. Nevertheless, when I look back over the work I have made, I can always detect a consistent, recognizable element. “That element is the effort to invoke the aesthetic and emotional impact of artifacts from unfamiliar cultures. Archaeological artifacts are ingenuous, unrefined, mysterious; and their content is sometimes un­ knowable. The emotion they elicit connects us to a long and wide stretch of human artistic tradition. This desire for connection to the past is well satisfied by working with clay. Although my work is unmis­ takably contemporary in design, it carries the influences of geology, archaeology and history.”

Alison Reintjes Ceramics by Montana artist Alison Reintjes were exhibited in “Geom­ etry & Pattern” at the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, Montana. “In my work, I rely on order and structure,” says Reintjes. “Geometry is the basis for shapes, which can exist as either wall tiles or simple dishes. This lends itself to natural groupings, forms that fit together to create a structure of their own. The glazed surface patterns accentuate and negate the form, taking advantage of the structure, but working inde­ pendently of it as well. Ann Mallory’s “Just Picked #2,” 16 inches (41 centimeters) in height, ceramic and iron fired together; at the Minor Memorial Library Gallery, Roxbury, Connecticut.

surface decoration and rightness of scale, which promotes a sense of well-being, serenity and interior balance auspicious for thought.”

Kelly Barrett Figurative sculptures by Tennessee artist Kelly Barrett were exhibited recendy at Ewing Gallery of Art and Architecture at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. “Residual damage is the root of my ceramic work,” Barrett stated. “Involuntary interactions with predatory indi-

Detail of Alison Reintjes’ installation “Geometry & Pattern,” 24½ inches (62 centimeters) in length, slip-cast porcelain, fired to Cone 6; at the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, Montana.

“Using stimulating visual activity, I nonetheless look to retain sim­ plicity and quietness. Pattern becomes the means of finding this stillness within movement. “Working with pattern necessitates a strict observance of law and principle, yet within the limitations of pattern is the suggestion that it is unending and holds all possibility. This observance of law, therefore, becomes the means of freedom through its very constraints.”

Ann Mallory “Quiet Reductions,” a two-person exhibition featuring ceramic sculp­ tures and vessels by Connecticut artist Ann Mallory, was on view recently at the Minor Memorial Library Gallery in Roxbury, Connecti­ cut. Mallory’s recent works incorporate torch-cut steel with wheel- thrown and handbuilt clay forms. The pieces go through both bisque Kelly Barrett’s “Signal Anxiety,” 25 inches (64 centimeters) in height, ceramic and glaze firings completely assembled. “I favor clean volumes, minimal and wood; at Ewing Gallery, the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 22 upfront viduals may profoundly affect the life of an innocent person. Although the source of this terror may disappear physically, the anxiety still lingers and starts to be controlled by the unconscious. “I use clay as a means to transport ideas from the inside of my mind into the outer world. I find great interest in the dynamic interactions of the unconscious and conscious forces in the mental life of a person. When disagreements in the unconscious between the id and the super­ ego arise, the conscious life, or the ego, is affected and, as a result, develops a way to release the anxiety generated by the unconscious. “My animated figurative sculptures combine a literal and humorous approach to portray my idea of the id and the superego in a constant battle to dominate the ego,” Barrett noted. “Rabbit ears, horns, wings and playgrounds—symbols provoked from my dreams—are used in my work to create a feeling of going within the self, through the fragments of my memories, like in a fairy tale or nursery rhyme.”

Ellen Rundle and Linda Smith Wall sculptures and pedestal pieces by Ellen Rundle and sculpture by Linda Smith, both of California, were on view through October 30 at Orlando Gallery in Tarzana, California. “After working with clay for

Linda Smith’s “Bowl on Head III,” 13¾ inches (35 centimeters) in height; at Orlando Gallery, Tarzana, California.

After a career focused on painting, Smith began working with tiles and mosaics several years ago. Inspired by the California Funk move­ ment, she finds clay to be “an exciting vehicle for my creativity. I enjoy the process of combining color and pattern in my figures and forms.”

Paul Scott “Cumbrian Blue(s),” an exhibition of pottery by English artist Paul Scott, was presented recently at Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery in Carlisle, England. “In recent years, I have embarked on an ongoing series of com­ memorative plates and objects,” Scott stated. “Making reference to existing ceramic forms and objects (sometimes from museum collec­ tions, sometimes from junk shops), they examine and commemorate contemporary political and environmental events, or places that would otherwise be forgotten by the purveyors of history and taste. “In referencing objects from the Tullie House Collection, I have chosen to create some that simply update the imagery of the museum objects to 2003 versions. In others, I have used the form andlor decoration to reference contemporary events. “Most recent work has been concerned with the development and Ellen Rundle’s “Marquis,” 18¾ inches (48 centimeters) in height. depiction of landscape on ceramics,” Scott noted. “Using the skills of many years, I relinquished some of my desire to control the process and the engravers, fine-art images were appropriated for mass dissemina­ gave way to compromise,” Rundle commented. “My surrendering to tion through book illustration. Ceramics engravers in the 18th cen­ what the clay and glazes want to do is an unexpected pleasure. I tury in turn used these images, collaging them with the oriental appreciate the unglazed clay body, the occasional crack and bubble. The (pattern and style) to create mass produced consumer products which quest to perfect techniques and learn new ones never ceases.” referenced expensive porcelain (from China) with the exotic (images

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 24

U pf rO fit ^ surface of the piece to be fluid, as if it were water flowing from one shape or idea to the next. “When arranging a sculptural composition, I convey potential ani­ mation by way of considering how a piece leans or projects itself into the negative space. The finished sculpture should dance visually, creating a sense of continuous rhythm as the contours, shapes and surface colors interact within and work with the space surrounding it.”

Alice Robrish “Interiors: Sensuous and Sublime,” an exhibition of sculpture byTakoma Park, Maryland, artist Alice Robrish, was on view recently at Hodson Gallery at Hood College in Frederick, Maryland. Robrish’s latest forms are influenced by her wilderness paddling and camping trips. “Traveling solo made me keenly aware of my place in the universe,” she com­ mented, “my vulnerability to the vicissitudes of nature—cold water, wind, waves and bears.”

Paul Scott’s “Cumbrian Blue(s) 2000, A Millennium Willow for Sellafield (or Plutonium is forever, well 24 Millennia anyway),” 32 centimeters (13 inches) in diameter, Royal Worcester bone china plate, with in-glaze screen print and gold enamel; at Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery, Carlisle, England. from the European tour and the British Empire). Images of places and landscapes became pattern on decorative and functional objects.”

Juried Exhibition in North Carolina From 170 two- and three-dimensional works juried into the “23rd Annual July National Exhibition” at Franklin Square Gallery in Southport, North Carolina, ceramist Jeremy Zwiefel of Tumwater, Washington, was awarded Best of Show. “Many of the shapes I utilize in my sculptures draw inspiration from the human body, insects, fossils, trees and the four elements, especially water,” Zwiefel stated. “I contemplate the air around my work as I build, paying attention to the light as it breaks into shadow. I imagine

Alice Robrish’s “Fruit of the Spirit,” 31 inches (79 centimeters) in height, with engobes, fired to Cone 6; at Hodson Gallery, Hood College, Frederick, Maryland.

Her sculptures explore the “interrelatedness of humankind and nature. Humanity is not superior, is not in control, but is part of creation,” she noted. “I’m exploring the transformations of our bodies, of all living things, as we travel our path.”

Submissions to the Upfront column are welcome. We would be pleased to consider press releases, artists’ statements and original (not duplicate) slides or transpar­ encies in conjunction with exhibitions or other events of interest for publication. Jeremy Zwiefel’s “The Proud Mollusk,” 47 inches (119 centimeters) in height, Mail toCeramics Monthly, 735 Ceramic PI., Westerville, OH 43081. Best of Show award winner; at Franklin Square Gallery, Southport, North Carolina.

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 26 ceramics montniy uecemoer ^uuj 27

new books successful businesswoman who wanted to sell herbeginning of the true Susie Cooper approach, designs widely. . . . Dedicated to economy and and a few years later, when the shapes were made functionalism, Cooper was, at the same time, to her own specifications, her unique style really supremely elegant and expressive. These charac­ came to fruition. Throughout her life, her inspi­ Susie Cooper teristics, together with modernism, materialized ration came from two main sources—the natu­ A Pioneer of Modern Design in her ceramic designs. Her pragmatism and ral world and her interest in the visual arts,” by Andrew Casey and Ann Eatwell hard work, allied to her art, design and business notes Nick Dolan. “Susie Cooper’s approach to “Susie Cooper created her own remarkable skills, were attributes that attracted talented the design process was practical. It had to be for career,” states Bryn Youds in this compilation of people. When she could, she surrounded herself her to survive in such a competitive market. Not essays on the life and career of British ceramics always with the most skilled and trustworthy.” only did she work directly on the pottery rather designer Susie Cooper. “Her life was driven by the After working for Gray’s Pottery, Cooper than on paper, but she kept ahead of her com­ desire to work, to perfect designs and to express opened her own pottery in 1929. “The newly petitors by continued experimentation with ma­ herself. In addition, she was an ambitious and established Susie Cooper Pottery heralded the terials such as colored glazes.” Her design work and pottery studio are among the topics discussed in this book, which consists of eighteen essays by various authors. Other subjects include her style and art wares, Susie Cooper bone china, marketing the pottery, women and design in 1930s Britain, royal patronage, etc. 231 pages, including bibli­ ography, list of places to visit, backstamps, list of employees at the Susie Cooper Pottery, glossary of techniques and index. 157 color and 94 black- and-white photographs. $59.50. ISBN 1-85149- 411-1. Antique Collectors’ Club, Market Street Industrial Park, Wappingers’ Falls, NY 12590; e-mail [email protected]; see website at www.antiquecc.com; telephone (845) 297-0003; fax (845) 297-0068. In the United Kingdom, Antique Collectors’ Club, Sandy Ln., Old Martlesham, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 4SD; e-mail [email protected]; see website www. antique-acc. com.

Selling Your Crafts by Susan Joy Sager “Just as you needed to study and learn your craft, you now need to learn how to run a successful craft business in order to sell your crafts,” states the author of this revised business guide. “The best way to learn how to run a craft business and sell your work is by getting started, practicing, ask­ ing questions, evaluat­ ing what did and did not work, and doing it all over again.” One of the main areas updated is a chapter on taking advantage of the Internet. Sager talks

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 30

new books paper clay. The first chapter, a new addition, photographs; 40 sketches. Softcover, $22. ISBN provides projects for those who have little or no 0-9638793-3-2.New Century Arts, Inc., POBox art experience. Next, studio basics—wedging, 9060, Seattle, WA 98109; or see website about using the Internet as part of your business handbuilding, carving, slabs, etc.—are covered, www.paperclayart. com. plan, designing and maintaining a website, link­ then Gault discusses large-scale sculpture. “With an increase in scale, the opportunity for multiple ing your site, and website promotion and mar­ Staffordshire Potters keting plans. work sessions 1781-1900 Other sections include an overview of the at the bone-dry A Comprehensive List Assembled professional craft world (profiles of craftspeople, stage permits from Contemporary Directories craft administrators, mentoring, etc.), setting up imagination and with Selected Marks a crafts business, managing your crafts business, refinement of an by R. K. Henrywood and marketing your work. A final section lists a idea to continue,” “The area which has become known as the variety of resources: craft organizations, business she comments. Staffordshire Potteries lies in the north of the associations, guilds and associations, magazines, “Complex as­ county, to the east etc. 296 pages, including bibliography and in­ sembly forms are likely to survive and are of Newcastle-under- dex. Softcover, $19.95. ISBN 1-58115-266-3. therefore worth the attempt... . Whether you Lyme. The various Allworth Press, 10 E. 23rd St., Ste. 510, New add or subtract, build up with thin walls, or pottery towns and York, NY 10010; see website www.allworth.com; carve down from thick chunks, the imagina­ villages are now or telephone (800) 491-2808. tion of a sculptor is well served by the versatility grouped together into of the medium.” the modern city of Paper Clay Subsequent chapters cover the use of paper Stoke-on-T rent, For Ceramic Sculptors, A Studio pulp in clays, as well as mixing studio paper clay which incorporates Companion with recycled paper. The final chapter looks at the six main towns of by Rosette Gault firing in a kiln, resources for sculptors, where to Tunstall, Burslem, First published in 1993, this revised edition find ready-made paper clay, plus images of art­ Hanley, Stoke, Fenton and Longton,” states the includes information for beginning as well as work by contemporary artists. 142 pages, in­ author of this compilation. “Industrial concen­ more advanced ceramists who wish to work withcluding glossary and index. 86 black-and-white tration is, of course, quite common . . . but the

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 32 Ceramics Monthly December 2003 33 new books as the early publishers and compilers of pottery Falls, NY12590; e-mail [email protected]; see directories, then talks about potters’ marks. The website www.antiquecc. com; telephone (845)297- remainder of the guide provides an alphabetical 0003; fax (845) 297-0068. In the United King­ degree to which it has arisen in the pottery listing of over 11,000 pottery manufacturers dom, Antique Collectors’ Club, Sandy Ln., Old industry is particularly marked. In 1948, for from 1781 to 1900 in the Staffordshire area. Martlesham, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 4SD; example, some 85% of pottery workers in the Each listing consists of the address of the com­ e-mail [email protected]; see website country were in the Midlands, and almost the pany, as well as a chronological list of directory www. antique-acc. com. entire industry was located in the city of Stoke- entries. Some also display early advertisements. on-Trent. The dependence of the area on the 408 pages, including bibliography; appendixes Quiet Beauty pottery industry was almost complete by the on original directory listings and index of part­ Fifty Centuries of Japanese Folk end of the 18th century.” nership surnames; general index. US$89,501 Ceramics from the Montgomery The book provides a brief description of each £45. ISBN 1-85149-370-0. Antique Collectors’ Collection town in which the potteries were located, as well Club, Market Street Industrial Park, Wappingers ’ by Robert Moes This beautifully illustrated catalog accompa­ nies an exhibition that premiered at the Bard Graduate Center in New York City, and contin­ ues to travel to various locations in the United States through 2006. “This exhibition comprises 100 ceramic works of or related to Japanese tradition, in­ cluding one influential type of Chinese por­ celain, some Okinawan work, and three modern British or American pieces, dating from around 3000 B.C. to about A.D. 1990,” comments Moes. “They are arranged in roughly chronological order, subdivided by region of production.” In addition to utilitarian ware and figurines from the Jomon period through the Mingei movement, the catalog briefly touches on the prepottery period and later-20th-cen- tury studio ceram­ ics. Also shown are examples of works by several potters who have been des­ ignated Living Na­ tional T reasures by the Japanese gov­ ernment, including Shoji Hamada, Jiro Kinjo and Tatsuzo Shimaoka. Where possible, production and decorative techniques, traditional motif symbolism, usage, and other historical references are included in photo captions. A Meiji period handscroll illustration, de­ picting eight steps of ceramic production, begin­ ning with pulverizing the clay to loading a Kyoto kiln, is also included. 256 pages, including his­ torical maps, kiln drawings, bibliography and illustrated index. 110 color and 8 black-and- white photographs. Softcover, $39.95. ISBN 0-88397-136-4.Art Services International, 1319 Powhatan Street, Alexandria, VA 22314; e-mail asi@artservicesintl. org; telephone (703)548-4554; or fax (703) 548-3305.

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 34 Ceramics Monthly December 2003 35 Aim to Inspire: Neil Patterson on the Art and Craft of Teaching

by Marilyn Anthony

“Pedestal Box,” 9 inches (23 centimeters) in height, thrown and altered earthen ware, with terra sigillata. Before I met Neil Patterson, he had already taught me something. pulling her hair out, there was a fulfilling element I sensed there My husband brought home a pair of Patterson’s gracefully shaped, for sure.” simply decorated, wheel-thrown, wood-fired mugs. The first time With good models for the life of artist and teacher, he plotted I drank coffee from one, I realized, “This is what the lip of a cup an educational route to train for both careers. Cleveland Institute should be.” The mug’s smooth, sensual surface inspired mindful­ of Art’s (CIA) five-year program got him started. CIA introduced ness. The pleasure of drinking began before liquid reached the him to the importance of a “program with a program,” as he palate, enhancing the enjoyment of a daily ritual. Patterson’s affectionately describes it; “a real plan and a sequence of courses, elemental yet elegant clay pieces embody a personal style he de­ starting with handbuilding to develop skills. It’s a very structured scribes as “a balance between cerebral and physical, fussy and free.” approach, but with a lot of room for creative interpretation.” Patterson isn’t content to let his pots offer their own silent Patterson didn’t proceed directly to graduate school. Instead, instruction. While many artists fear a teaching career, worried it he devoted two seminal years to a concentration program at will distract them from creating their best work, the 39-year-old Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina. In the fall of 1986, potter decided early on that he wanted a creative life in both the Ron Meyers and Michael Simon taught the pottery concentra­ studio and the classroom. He is now well established in his tion. Even after 16 years, his Penland experience remains inspir­ combined career. ing and fruitful. In his view, the MeyerslSimon class “changed 20 Patterson currently occupies a dual role as adjunct-ceramics people’s lives.” and three-dimensional-design instructor at Tyler School of Art in Meyers especially affected Patterson’s approach to clay and to Philadelphia and is a member of the art faculty at the Agnes Irwin teaching. “Ron really opened my eyes. He’s a great teacher, a full­ School. He has taught at several colleges and numerous clay time teacher who is also very committed to his craft. He is so centers, including the Clay Studio in Philadelphia, and has also led workshops in kilnbuilding and wood firing. Perhaps for sur­ prising reasons, Patterson appreciates what an educator’s career has given him. “Teaching has really freed me in the studio. I’m not dependent on selling my work to galleries, which I’d have to be doing if I were only making a living from my daywork. I’ve been able to work speculatively, so to speak, making whatever I want. It consumes a lot of mental energy to teach, but I also find it stimulating. It’s a different kind of thinking than studio work, and I find when I get in my studio, I feel ready, almost hungry, to deal with the issues of creating something of my own.” That creative hunger yields prolific results, fulfilling some of the poten­ tial he originally imagined possible in an art career. His introduction to pottery came from Joe Turkalj, a Croatian sculptor and resident artist who taught in the Cleveland high school Neil attended. The atmosphere of Turkalj’s studio, a con­ verted barn housing the sculptor’s stone carvings and figurative pieces, proved powerfully attractive to the teenager. “The place was just filled with his work. I was about 15 years old at the time, and to me it seemed like a lifetime of work. He was always working on something, like carving a huge block of marble. There was just this creative environment, a sense of a full life. It was so evident that this was a rich existence.” Turkalj introduced Patterson to wheel-thrown pottery, which soon became his chosen medium. From an early age, he made choices that aligned with his deeply held principles. “I was from a really pacifist family. I thought a lot about the destruction in the world. Joe’s place seemed like a haven, where someone was adding creative energy to the world. That’s what I wanted to do.” Teaching added an extra dimension to creating. Neil quotes an

observation he recently heard, “the only moral occupation left is “Vase Presented,” 11 inches (28 centimeters) in height, nursing,” and amends it to include, “definitely being a teacher, thrown and assembled earthenware, with terra sigillata. too.” As the son of a teacher, he was drawn to the satisfaction his mother felt as an English teacher. “Despite the times I saw her

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 37 incredibly direct and free with clay, unafraid. I guess I hadn’t Years as an observant student shaped his instructional style. seen that comfort level and sassiness with clay. Having learned to He also cites John Cage’s Ten Rules and Hints for Students and make pots in art school, a lot of my work was maybe more Teachers and Anybody Else, and Paulus Berensohn’s Finding One's designed first, thought out in my head first. Ron had a very Way with Clay as influential. He considers Berensohn’s book a visceral kind of body approach to working with clay. Ron’s very classic. “It’s specifically about pinch-pottery techniques, but you articulate in his teaching, but he would never say ‘my way is the could read it and apply it to learning to be a chef, or whatever. It’s way you should do it.’ But by showing you how you could be so an approach to learning.” Berensohn’s philosophy supports Patterson’s aspirations to be fully present in the classroom, mind­ ful of and responsive to his students’ needs. Underpinning his thoughtful method of instruction is a conviction that everyone has the ability to create and that, “being able to create is part of being human.” By gently guiding his students to uncover their unique ability, rather than fostering imitation, Patterson hopes to prove that belief “one person at a time.” Patterson gauges his teaching effectiveness using both qualita­ tive and quantitative standards, and believes it’s essential to en­ able pupils to “be amazed by their ability, and be excited about what they’re doing. I’m keenly interested in my students and what they do, and in their success. In many ways, I make that clear to them; that I want nothing more than for them to succeed.” For Patterson, helping students find their way with clay begins with a motivational goal: “Get them excited first.” If his students have never touched clay, he works to eliminate their fear. During nine years on the Clay Studio’s Claymobile staff, he taught for­ merly homeless adults at Project Home in Philadelphia. “I was working with people who had never been encouraged in any way to do creative things. I would start them off with something that would make sense. Like if they smoked, I’d say ‘make an ashtray.’ You can see them begin to open up. Soon they’re creating their own unique visions.” With general studies students, he employs another way to get them in touch with clay. “The first class, I put big piles of clay out on the tables. We break into groups of two or three students and I challenge them with a series of short tasks, like ‘in two minutes, make the tallest thing you can out of clay; make the longest thing you can out of clay; make a city out of clay.’ It gets everyone’s hands dirty and it helps them to realize that everybody has the

“Flower Arranger,” 11 inches (28 centimeters) in height, stoneware, by Neil ability to manipulate clay with just these,” he says, holding up his Patterson, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. hands, “as tools. It breaks the ice socially. Then we do some individual activities, as if we’re playing Pictionary. I give them a visceral, so body centered, not so mind centered, and achieve word like ‘tension’ and tell them to show it in clay.” results that you could see, he spoke to us through the pots, just To foster peer evaluations in his college classes, Patterson by showing us. The students picked up on the power of working devised a nonthreatening method. “I never use the word critique, that way.” but I’ve taken to giving out sheets of paper for a silent review. You After Penland, Patterson chose Louisiana State University go around the room and write a paragraph on each of your (LSU) for his graduate work, taking time off from LSU to spend classmates’ work. I read what each student has written, then I a year in Wales as a special student at the Cardiff Institute of grade them on their writing. Next I cut the reviews up, collate Higher Education. He describes the clay department at Cardiff them and give them back to each student.” Patterson believes his as “the Alfred of the U.K.” He attended so many classes, “they students value these written reviews more than classroom discus­ ended up giving me a diploma.” He returned to LSU, where he sions, because “they can be anonymous, so everyone is totally learned the value of “a strong group of peers. Other clay students honest. And reading is different than hearing. They have time, were in my studio every day, casual in their remarks, interested days later, to look over the remarks. There is always something in the progress I was making, and very helpful.” that gets through to them.” He playfully admits that he benefits

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 38 “Spice Sanctuary,” 11 inches (28 centimeters) in height, thrown, altered and assembled earthenware, with terra sigillata.

Detail of “Spice Sanctuary,” showing the individual compartments for spices.

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 39 from this emphasis on thinking about and explaining one’s work. progression, I guess I would feel differently about going into the “Instead of being completely incapable of talking about my work, studio every day exploring and, in a way, wandering. now I’m only moderately incapable.” “It makes a huge difference being married to someone who Despite a certain degree of overlap, important differences understands that, on Saturday night, you might want to stay in and separate Patterson’s classroom work from his studio work. “In the start putting handles on those cups.” He beams, “It’s just great. classroom, I’m guided by students’ needs, but in the studio it’s Sandi is inspiring for her work ethic, and her continuous desire to only my curiosity. With teaching, I’m dealing with other people, improve. We can bounce ideas off each other, help each other with so I’m very careful about experimenting. But if I have a bad day technical ideas, and physically help each other by moving materials experimenting in the studio, nobody is harmed by it. Some clay and loading kilns. Being a potter is not an easy way to make a living might end up back in the recycling bucket or, more likely, I’ll and, as I tell my students, you have to have some stamina.” have some wacky pot at the studio sale that people will scratch In 2002, the couple bought a building in the historic Fairmount their heads over. I’m not a huge risk section of Philadelphia and began an taker, and certainly not in the class­ ambitious renovation. The transformed room, but I do come up with things. building now houses workspace, three In one class, when no one was do­ electric kilns, a small kitchen and a ing any drawing in their source second-floor teaching space for work­ books, I just decided to make every­ shops. Every autumn they host a two- one start drawing. I gave out paper day studio sale that has all the elements and made up some quick drawing of a great party, complete with won­ exercises like, ‘draw a teapot; now derful food and live music. draw an even taller teapot, now draw For his recent inclusion in the an even taller teapot than that.’ I Fleisher Memorial Art Center Chal­ made it up as I went along, and I’ve lenge, Patterson made sculptural pieces been doing it a lot ever since.” illustrative of his interest in Asian ar­ In the classroom, Patterson al­ chitecture and viewer participation. lows for spontaneity within a care­ First came three pedestal pieces, coil ful plan. “I try to take a creative built during a visit he and Sandi made approach to teaching. You have to to their friend Silvie Granatelli’s pot­ think on your feet to be an effective tery studio in Floyd, Virginia. Many teacher. Sometimes, whatever you of the show pieces are wheel thrown, had planned is not going over and altered and assembled, a working you have to have plan B ready to go, method in which Patterson has be­ so I keep a ‘bag of tricks’ in my come keenly interested. In fact, the teaching. The same thing can hap­ class he’d teach to potters if given the pen in my studio work. I have an opportunity would be, ‘“Throwing, idea about these jars I’m going to Altering and Assembling Pots,’ because make and they’re just not working, I think more people should do it. I’d so I’ll start cutting them up.” like to see what other people would do To move his daywork forward, with that approach to working, out of he believes in the power of play. my own self-interest and curiosity.” Despite his current two-and-a-half- For potters considering a teaching day weekly teaching load, Neil Stupa Illuminated,” 70 inches (178 centimeters) in height, career, Neil encourages exposure to earthenware, with terra sigillata and glaze. spends about 24 hours a week in various teaching styles. “Spread out the studio he shares with his wife, potter Sandi Pierantozzi. “I your teaching influences. Visit a lot of clay programs to see how the learn to do new things in clay by messing around,” he says. “I studios are set up. Penland was a crucible of teaching. I got to see an spend a lot of time in the studio, and sometimes, when I don’t incredible diversity of teachers and teaching styles. It was an educa­ feel like throwing that other jar, I’ll just mess around. Although tion in teaching. There are a couple of things that I took away: Be I’ve never been to Asia, I’ve always been attracted to Asian archi­ really well organized in your presentation; know exactly what you tecture and design, like Angkor Wat. I guess we all have interests have to represent; and be somewhat entertaining.” He concludes and things we’re drawn to. Those forms get into one’s subcon­ with a statement that attests to his goals and his accomplishments as scious and maybe start coming out in the work. I don’t know a potter, a teacher and a person. “We’re trying to tap into something how, and maybe I’m not even sure I want to know, because I like universal within us, trying to express things through pottery that the mystery. It’s not science. If there was a perfectly logical can hopefully only be said in clay.”

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 40 Teapots on My Mind by Hwang Jeng-daw

The Taiwanese tea ceremony and the associated ceramic vessels The first thing I did was to surround myself with the basics: play important roles in Taiwanese culture. After collecting and clay, more clay, a wheel and an electric kiln. I was so focused on researching them for 15 years, I finally decided to try making the building of the pot that I hadn’t even considered the firing teapots myself in order to gain a deeper understanding of the pots process. I also began to read voraciously and experimented with themselves and to improve my collection. From this curiosity, all the techniques I read about. starting 13 years ago, my interest and dedication have grown and I began working as a professional potter in 1994 when I met become more focused. Ah Leon, best known for his highly realistic representations of I was smitten from the very beginning by the magic that was woodgrain in clay. I had expected to learn many techniques or clay. My first work was a teapot. Reflecting upon it now, I can’t artistic expressions from him. Rather, he taught me how a potter imagine how I went from a background in business administra­ should educate himself. He also taught me the value of persever­ tion, knowing nothing about art, to making something as compli­ ance, and what really mattered in an artist’s life: his work. cated as a teapot. That was not a concern at the time, though. I In 1995, to broaden my horizons in clay, I went to the United was not bound by any concept of difficulty, because I was so States and visited several popular contemporary potters, includ­ interested in bringing my ideas to life. I felt right away that I had ing Paul Soldner, Richard Shaw, Warren MacKenzie and Marilyn a new calling. Lysohir. Then, in the summer of 1996, I studied ceramics at

“Calligraphy,” 41/2 inches (111/2 centimeters) in height, wheel thrown, fired to Cone 8 in oxidation. Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Colorado, where I learned more about the American philosophy of ceramics. These experiences opened my eyes to the breadth of ceramics, the amount of special­ ization some potters adopt and the differences between the tradi­ tional foundations of Eastern pottery and modern philosophies of Western pottery. To my delight, soon after this brief introduction, I achieved one of my goals. In 1997, a piece of mine was selected for the Fletcher Challenge Ceramics Award held in New Zealand. But the enthusiasm and pride I felt passed away sooner than I would have imagined. I attended the exhibition opening and saw so many wonderful works in front of me. The depth, beauty and the mastery achieved by others in my profession impressed upon me the wealth of possibilities and disciplines within the world of pottery. The lesson I learned at this event was to always be humble and to never stop being a student of the art. I realized that the learning process had only just begun. Since making teapots was the motive for my creations, I de­ cided it was high time to visit Yixing, after having a solo exhibi­ tion at the American Cultural Center in Taipei in 1997. Yixing, the 500-year-old town near Shanghai, China, is famous for pio­ neering unglazed, Chinese-style teapots. One week after the exhi­ bition, I flew to Yixing to see for myself what made Yixing pots so

“Ambitious Teapot,” 9 inches (23 centimeters) in height, handbuilt special and to see what I could learn from the local potters. I met stoneware, fired to Cone 8 in oxidation. many potters who were skilled at making the traditional, delicate, unglazed teapots, and learned about their unique tools and tech­ niques. Some of the local potters started making teapots when they were teenagers in order to hone their skills. Every time I watched them working, I could see the influence of the 500 years of teapot culture and history. I began to understand the importance and influence of culture, history and environment. Just as there are different fish in salt water and fresh water, you can neither escape the influences of your environment nor can you completely assimilate the influences of other environments. You can, however, adapt some outside influences in developing yourself and your own potential within your unique background. In 1998,1 traveled to Japan as a resident artist at the Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park. Three months there gave me the opportu­ nity to broaden my techniques by using such things as the gas kiln, electric kiln, noborigama and anagama. I found that, by using these various kilns in a short period of time, I could better understand the potential and limits of each. Having access to the library and museums, as well as a well-equipped studio, was ideal for learning. Not only did I learn techniques in the studio, I also learned about the history of Japanese ceramics and culture and, of course, the tea ceremony. I came to understand that drinking tea is a religion of the art of life, rather than just an idealization of the form of drinking. And tea equipage has always had a deep rela­ tionship with tea and the drinking of tea. After my stay in Shigaraki, I developed a deep interest in wood firing, so I went to Seagrove, North Carolina, where David Stumpfle owns an efficient wood kiln that he built himself.

“Print,” 20 inches (51 centimeters) in height, slab built, Stumpfle is a functional potter and follows a routine almost every with natural ash glaze, wood fired to Cone 9.

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 42 day, day after day, month after month, year after year. From his In other words, I tried to think about the meaning of life instead routine, I could feel a kind of tranquility in the potter’s life, which of just the production of ceramics. could be nourishing to the soul. One time I asked David how he Now that I have been able to attain a more mature stage in the felt about another potter’s work. He replied, “Everyone has his technical aspects of ceramics, I have begun to move on to a more own opinion. You just need to focus on your creations.” From philosophical phase, incorporating meaning and purpose rather these simple words, I got back what I always knew, but sometimes than just production. This is a greater challenge, perhaps unat forgot: I should focus more on my own creation, not on the tainable. However, the path is just as important as the goal. comparison with other artists’ work. People often ask what a perfect teapot is. My answer is that In 2001,1 was invited to Panavezys, Lithuania, as a guest artist there is no rule to judge a teapot perfect or not. In art, nothing is for an international ceramics symposium. Being there for a month perfect; neither is a teapot. But if you are lucky and live long led me to understand that a potter wishing to gain an interna­ enough, maybe you can encounter a good teapot, because I think tional view should not only know how to make good work but there will be at least one technically good (though not perfect) also be able to accurately express his ideas and techniques through teapot shown every 100 years. Appreciation should be on a per­ discussion, lectures, slide presentations and demonstrations. sonal basis, though, as opposed to a technical basis. In that What influenced me most was the talk I had with another respect, each person will be able to find his own “perfect” teapot. guest artist, Kirk Mangus, a potter and professor at Kent State Understanding tea is as important as understanding teapots. University in Ohio. He told me that not many young people So respect the tea, the water, the pot, the heat source and time. know how to “slow down,” and that, by slowing down, you could Most importantly, try to make it a part of your life, Drinking tea actually make many things and make them well. is a belief in the art of life. The following year, I was invited to Norway for another Throughout my 13 years of working in ceramics, I have learned month-long symposium. Although I originally expected to learn a lot from my teachers, friends and parents. I thank all of them for about ceramics in Norway, I ended up spending more time learn­ helping me to grow and hope to continue in this field for a long ing about other aspects of life, such as friends, family, society and time to come. I have learned about what is important in life: faith all the responsibilities based on the relationships between people. and good will toward others.

“Symbiosis,” 121/2 inches (32 centimeters) in width, thrown and altered stoneware, unglazed, fired to Cone 9 in oxidation, by Hwang Jengdaw, Tainan, Taiwan Married to Clay (And Each Other) by Deb Fleck-Stabley

“Figures with Birds,” 16 inches (41 centimeters) in height, carved earthenware with underglazes and glazes, by David Stabley and Deb Fleck-Stabley, Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania.

We arrived home, exhausted from the storm-affected 2003 Balti­ We turned down teaching opportunities in Nebraska after more ACC (American Craft Council) show, and it seemed as if we graduation and returned to Pennsylvania to be closer to family. had been doing this for a very, very long time. And I guess we had. Our goal was to work toward being able to make a living from our My husband Dave and I met in 1977. His enthusiasm for ceram­ clay work, because that’s how we really wanted to spend our time. ics, spawned by an exceptional high-school instructor and nur­ We had sold enough clay pieces at a student showlsale at the tured at Millersville University in Pennsylvania, was enough to university to make this seem a realistic pursuit. Going into busi­ turn me on to clay, inspire me to return to college, and join him at ness seemed more appealing than seeking out teaching opportu­ Millersville to finish my degrees. We graduated in 1980. Dave nities that could take us farther from home. With the naivete and acquired a B.RA. with an emphasis in ceramics and printmaking, energy of youth, we formed “Creative Clay Works” in 1984. as well as three years experience as a lab assistant. I obtained a B.S. Our first three years in business were a struggle. We mixed clay in art education with as many electives in ceramics as I could by hand (literally), worked out of a 10x10-foot bedroom studio, manage, as well as a portion of my student-teaching experience and entered the craft-show world. Schlepping our work to shows completed with Dave’s former high-school ceramics instructor. and then bringing most of it back home again and again ex­ With a wedding and graduation behind us, we followed our hausted and disappointed us. Our parents wondered why we college instructor’s advice and headed to the University of Ne­ weren’t using our degrees to pursue “real” jobs. Persistence was braska, at Lincoln, for graduate degrees. Dave earned his M.EA. easy, however, as our expenses were relatively low. With only our there in ceramics, acting as a graduate teaching assistant. I earned dog to support and much experience at living meagerly, the my M.A. in art education, also as a teaching assistant, bulking up necessary side jobs needed only to be part time. Our egos took a on ceramics courses for electives. It was in Nebraska that we beating, but we were surviving. began sharing our own studio space. The space was massive, After three years, our perseverance began to pay off. Side jobs housed multiple kilns, and clay and firing were free. We spent were no longer necessary. Our work became more refined as we many hours in the studio experimenting and “playing” with clay. merged ideas and formed a body of work that we sold together.

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 44 “The Talking Head,” 22 inches (56 centimeters) in height, handbuilt earthenware, with underglazes, glazes and decoupage, by Deb Fleck-Stabley.

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 45 The work had a cohesive look and we shared a booth at craft shows, displaying individual as well as collaborative pieces. We learned which fairs worked for us and began weeding out those that didn’t. We were selling solely retail then, doing an average of 15 craft fairs a year. We were successful enough to buy premixed clay, a used slab roller and new kiln. In 1986, we were introduced to the idea of wholesaling our work. We immediately warmed to the idea of spending less time on the road, so we became proficient packers and good friends with the UPS driver. We were still doing several retail shows a year, but the wholesaling was providing us with a greater portion of our annual income. With business improving, a move was in order. We bought some rural property, and our studio operation continued in an old farm outbuilding. In 1988, we got a big break. We had our most successful wholesale show to date at the Baltimore ACC show. We were convinced that the excitement from that event sent me into labor, as our daughter was born on the way home from the show. Life changed in many ways after that! A new baby and an overabun­ dance of wholesale orders took over our lives. Wholesaling doesn’t work for everyone, but as new parents, it was right for us. We worked relatively quickly and preferred spending more time in the studio producing the work rather than on the road trying to sell it. The requirements for time and money to spend applying to and attending shows was reduced. Incoming gallery checks provided us with more security, but we didn’t forego retailing completely— retail prices were always nice to get. Connecting with our patrons was also important, as was getting out of the studio occasionally. Dave and I still applied to shows together and shared booth space. We worked hard at balancing business and childcare, but we weren’t experts at it. By the time we had a better handle on things, our second child was on the way. The effects of having two young children and other external forces left me feeling burned out and tired. The need for several levels of separation became apparent and I needed to do something just for me. It was at this point, in 1990, that Dave and I went back to pursuing our own directions in clay. We still shared the studio, but applied separately to shows, rented our own booths and no longer sold under the name Creative Clay Works. This was an adjustment, as we had worked long and hard to unify a body of work, and it was selling well. Dave’s course seemed to travel along a relatively straight line from that point. His clay pieces have maintained a certain identity, although his forms and palette have changed over the years. His foray into drawing on illustration board with colored pencils uti-

Above left: “I’ll Pull My Own Strings, Thank You!” 20 inches (51 centimeters) in height, handbuilt earthenware, with underglazes and glazes, by Deb Fleck-Stabley.

Left: “Now That’s a Candy Dish,” I8Y2 inches (47 centimeters) in height, handbuilt earthenware, with underglazes and glazes, by Deb Fleck-Stabley. lizes some of the same imagery portrayed on his clay pieces but in a more detailed way. He has also collaborated with a local wood worker on some very exquisite pieces that combine his tiles with wood furniture. My path was somewhat more askew. I explored many different directions in clay, and even gave it up for two years to work with mache, wood and paper. But clay was a hard thing to let go. It had gotten under my skin, as well as my nails, and continued to tempt me with endless possibilities. I could never fully express myself in the other media I tried. With burnout somewhat subsided, and the kids a little older and less needy, clay became a working force in my life again. In 1994, Dave and I started an arts school of sorts. People often asked us about classes, so we thought we should try to fulfill this need. We had always given workshops and presentations, but hadn’t taught on a regular basis. We rented a second-floor space in a nice old building, ran the school, hired instructors to teach other media, and taught most of the clay courses ourselves. The local community “Wall Tile,” 15 inches (38 centimeters) in height, carved earthenware, did enjoy the classes, and we met many nice people, but the school with wax patina, by David Stabley. involved more managerial work than we anticipated. It was a time- consuming addition to our lives, but not a substitution for studio

“House Form,” 20 inches (51 centimeters) in height, handbuilt, carved earthenware, with wax patina, colored pencils and paper collage, by David Stabley.

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 47 work. The sales from our artwork still paid the bills, but we were in group exhibitions each year, and show work in a one- or two- exhausted. After two years, something had to give. We stepped person exhibition almost every year. We have also been instru­ out and someone else ran the school for a while before it closed. mental, along with 12 other local artists, in forming and running We learned a lot during that experience, and will utilize that a cooperative gallery. This educates us in another facet of the knowledge if we ever choose to limit our own clay production in business of ceramics, and hopefully helps enlighten the commu­ the future and teach classes. We continue to give workshops at nity at the same time. schools and universities, and Dave has been a guest artist at both We continue to bounce ideas off one another and provide Arrowmont School of Art and Craft and Art New England. enthusiasm when the other can’t muster it. We each feed on the We have spent 25 years with each other, 23 of them working other’s energy, knowing that doing this by oneself would have side by side. If we were to add up all of our time together, surely it been far more difficult. We strive to move forward in our craft, must be equivalent to at least 50 years of marriage! The space we aspiring to reach new heights, looking back proudly on what we now share utilizes most of the lower level of our home. The clay have accomplished. We remain resilient out of necessity, and the studio, kiln room, packing room, general workshop area and creativity, fortunately, continues to flow. We feel very grateful that office space occupy approximately 1700 square feet, while a sepa­ we have been able to make a living as ceramics artists, and rate outbuilding houses our display and shipping supplies. thankful that our patrons have been supportive of our new ideas While Dave and I have our own worktables in the studio, we and directions through the years. With kids soon driving, college share tools, equipment, kiln and two other worktables. We use tuition in the relatively near future, and the need for a retirement the same red-earthenware clay body (Dave’s recipe from our gradu- fund, it looks as if we must continue to work very hard. Who ate-school days) and some of the same glazes, but our finishing knows, maybe we will be able to retire someday—if we want to. techniques vary. For the most part, Dave’s forms are thrown, slab constructed and extruded. He carves and textures his pieces when they are leather hard and glazes some areas when the pieces are bone dry. The pieces are once fired in an electric kiln, and the unglazed areas are painted black after the firing. Several layers of wax-based patinas are added to finish he work. Dave’s landscapes, cityscapes and fantasy images portray dreams and the fragmented way in which we dream. My pieces are coil and slab constructed. I use commercial underglazes and glazes, applied when the pieces are bone dry. My work is also once fired. My current body of work focuses on people and their personalities, predicaments and issues. I do enjoy poking fun at us, and most viewers find my work humorous. I spend a lot of time on color, pattern and developing expression in my figures. Our division of labor within the business continues to change as our kids get older. We try to involve them in studio responsibilities (with pay, of course). Sometimes they help us clean, pug clay, update the mailing list, load the van and paint. Our marketing strategies have also changed as we involve computer technology in the business side of things. We use a digital camera now, and have a website (www.stableys.com). We expend almost as much energy running the business as doing the actual clay work. Although this can be frustrating at times, it seems the ticket to success. The ratio between wholesale and retail shifts each year. Our wholesale work is currently represented in “Head Bottles,” 18 inches (46 centimeters) in height, thrown and carved earthenware, craft shops and galleries throughout the entire United with glazes and wax patina, by David Stabley. States, but most of the retail craft shows we choose are held in the Northeast and Midwest. This strategy will probably change when the kids are older. We participate

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 48 21st CENTURY CERAMICS IN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA

“Quillions,” I6V2 inches (41 centimeters) “Fisherman,” 10½ inches (27 centimeters) “Altered Vase,” 14 1/2 inches (37 centimeters) in height, slip cast, with low-fire glazes and quills, in height, earthenware, by Matthias in height, wood-fired stoneware, by Kevin by Ann Mortimer, Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. Ostermann, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Crowe, Amherst, Virginia.

“21st Century Ceramics in the United States and Canada,” an invitational exhibition of works by 250 ceramics artists, is on view through December 7 at the Columbus College of Art and Design’s Canzani Center in Columbus, Ohio. The following are excerpts from the book published in conjunction with the exhibition:

The Relevance of Handmade Pottery in the 21st Century by Harvey Sadow

Artists have used the pottery format since the dawn of history. Those Cycladic water vessels from the Mediterranean, decorated with flowing octo­ pus tentacles, have stayed in my mind since my first art-history class, along with those little clay fertility figures, original sculptures from the dawn of culture, seldom since matched in grace, beauty or metaphorical content. Chinese, Japanese and Korean artists throughout history have painted as expressively on their pottery as on scrolls or walls. They do not separate fine and applied arts. Art is art and everything else is everything else. In Japan, the

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 49 “Double-Handled Covered Jar,” 13 inches (33 centimeters) “Basin with Ears,” I8V2 inches (47 centimeters) in length, in height, thrown and altered stoneware, salt glazed, handbuilt stoneware with slips and glaze, by Mary Barringer, by James Lawton, New Bedford, Massachusetts. Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts.

wood kilns of Bizen and Shigaraki have, for ages, pro­ duced vessels painted by the flow of fire and ash. The resulting effects are color-field abstractions in brilliant and subtle earth tones. How new were the ideas of the abstract expressionists and the color-field painters in mid-twentieth century America? Perhaps they’re not so new at all.

More Tangible Than Technique, More Timeless Than Age by Dick Lehman

“How many of you, if your lives de­ pended on it, could make and success­ fully fire a figure the size and complexity of one of these Chinese terra-cotta war­ riors or horses?” asked professor Randy Schmidt. Not a hand went up among this group of Arizona State Univer­ sity graduate students. He continued, “Here we are in the late 20th century, with perhaps more printed information about ceramics than at any other time in history— more tools, more techniques, more clays, better kilns, more museums. We think we are pretty hot stuff. Yet not one of us is willing to stake our lives on being able to make works of similar complexity and scale, beauty and power, compared to the work that those ceramics artists of more than 2000 years ago were routinely producing.” “Porcelain Bowl,” 16 inches (41 centimeters) in diameter, fired in an anagama, by Jack Troy, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania.

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 50 “Floating,” 13 inches (33 centimeters) in height, “Ploughed Under,” 29 inches (74 centimeters) in height, “Wind Swept,” 111/2 inches (29 terra cotta with slips, fired to Cone 5, by Denys James, press-molded and carved earthenware, with oxides and stains, centimeters) in height, stoneware Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, Canada. by Cary Esser, Kansas City, Missouri. and porcelain, by Les Manning, Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada.

In the years since my visiting-artist stint at ASU, I’ve held onto Schmidt’s questions and observations. His ques­ tions may have been thinly veiled indictments, and were surely meant to motivate second-semester graduate stu­ dents to get serious and to make the best use of the resources that were at their disposal. But his observations about lost skills, and works of long-lasting power, beauty and conviction were what most stayed with me. I imagine the central challenge for clay artists in the 21st century won’t be primarily technical. The real chal­ lenge, I suspect, will be to live up to the tradition of the best ceramic work of the past; making, for our time, tangible works that fulfill all the functions daywork can address. This includes works of long-lasting power, beauty and conviction. In short, we must address the timeless.

The Future of Pots by Scott Cooper

How could we have anticipated the successive waves of change that led to where we are now? These include influence from the Arts and Crafts movement, the revo­ lutions by Voulkos, Arneson and others, the rise of a place for clay in academia and the subsequent pluralism of the last 20 years. None of these followed a predictable path. One could argue that, against that background, utilitarian pots never went away. They just faded in and out of prominence. But to me, the fact that they’re still here at all is something of a marvel. When I first heard the title for this book, I couldn’t help but think of superconductors and nose cones, high- “Storm Warning,” 371/2 inches (95 centimeters) in height, whiteware with underglaze, glaze and steel stand, by Patti Warashina, Seattle, Washington.

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 51 “Cut Vase,” 19 inches (48 “Square Bowl: Twos on Red,” 81/* inches “Huntington Park #19,” 53¾ inches centimeters) in height, soda- (21 centimeters) in height, terra cotta (137 centimeters) in length, digitally fired stoneware, by Brad with majolica glaze, by Linda Arbuckle, glazed tiles, by Bruce Breckenridge, Schwieger, Athens, Ohio. Micanopy, Florida Madison, Wisconsin.

tech insulators and robotic mass-casting operations; and this from a potter who uses a treadle wheel! What must the general public think when it comes to that confusing intersection of clay and the next hundred years? And why are those space-age thoughts still my instinctual reaction to the idea of the future? This future is where I will spend the bulk of my career. If I make a contribution, it is forthcoming in those hazy times. If my chosen strain of ceramics goes out of fashion, I’ll become retro. If pots should happen to move to the top of the clay family heap for a while, I’ll go along in tow. Whatever comes, it’s going to be mighty interesting.

What's Ahead for Ceramics in the 21st Century? by Karen Thuesen Massaro

In contrast to the 20th century, it’s been said that people in the 21st century will change careersljobs nine times on average. If this is true, it will certainly affect our field. Think of how many of our preeminent artists have devoted their entire lives to making fine pots and sculp­ tures. Increasingly, artists may use clay for brief periods, or move from clay to multimedia or other media, per­ haps making the role of the technical assistant increas­ ingly important. I remain optimistic. There are still those fresh sub­ lime breezes of “new” daywork and wake-up calls for us to pay attention to what life is about. Maybe there will come rallies for change or another lone stroke that will alter how we all look at our daywork. Exciting, cutting- “Falling Light,” 20 inches (51 centimeters) in height, stoneware, fired to Cone 6 in oxidation, by Walter Dexter, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 52 “Orange Torso,” 11 inches “Pressure Vessel: Overregulated,” “White Bull on Cart,” 11½ inches (29 centimeters) (28 centimeters) in height, 9 inches (23 centimeters) in height, in height, handbuilt porcelain with glaze and gold leaf, paper clay, by Barbara Tipton, stoneware, by Richard Burkett, on wood and bronze cart, by Ken Ferguson, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. San Diego, California. Shawnee Mission, Kansas.

edge work is being done all over the world. North Ameri­ can work will, I think, be less likely to dominate globally as it did in the 1960s and 1970s. One agent of change will come from the thousands of immigrants as they participate in the North American cultural landscape. I count on them to make their roots and dreams visible.

Across the Digital Divide With a Fistful of Mud by John Glick

“Can I make a living as an artist?” seems to carry with it even greater complexity and apprehension. Not surprisingly, this is the question that comes up each year in my own studio as I talk with my studio assistant about hislher future plans. “Can I make it as an artist in today’s world?” was my own very concern-laden question from those many years ago . . . now still the very real concern for today. So, how to navigate in this post-digital world is the key question. And, the answer is the same as it always was ... it is about connecting! Staying passionate about what matters to you in your work is a beginning. Being unable to stop making what you believe in and continuing to make the work that gets you up in the morning and burns in your gut long after the sun goes down is the rock on which to build. It means listening to instinctive signals coming from your soul that tell you about the path to follow. This is what the artists I know have done over the length of long careers. They have continued their com- “Wing Map,” 81 inches (206 centimeters) in height, stoneware with slips and glaze, salt fired, by John Balistreri, Bowling Green, Ohio.

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 53 “Majolica Begging Bowl,” 12 inches (30 centimeters) in width, tin-glazed terra cotta Teapot, 61/2 inches (17 centimeters) in height, wood fired, with polychrome overglaze and gold luster, by Rosalie Wynkoop, Helena, Montana. by Richard Bresnahan, Collegeville, Minnesota.

mitment to their work with passion and continued to ask the kinds of questions that propel the work forward. And, if the work you make nourishes your spirit, there is a chance that it can reach others. Something has to be there to feel and if you put it there, then it is accessible for others. This is what has made it possible for generations of artists to feel heard and understood over the din of life around them. So, sitting there with my studio assistant, mugs of tea in hand, our feet propped up and doing what we love to do from time to time...talking deeply about what matters. After much is pondered, I say, “Abso­ lutely! You can do it. Nothing has changed.”

Ghost Handles by John Chalke

Designed to raise a frown and eventually soft hack­ les, the hoary “Where Do We Go from Here?” can be a colorless question probably only asked by conference organizers, nonmakers, thesis specialists and lost rally drivers. I personally don’t know of any potterlclay artist who particularly dwells on such heady stuff. Why? For now we go on to the next firing. That’s where I’d like to go. Did the questioner mean access to materials, better fuel costs, availability of the Muse? I find myself dealing more with: Where did I just come from?

For information on 21st Century Ceramics in the United States and Canada, visit the American Ceramic Society website at www.ceramics.org/publications/books. “Covered Jar, Column Series,” 19 inches (48 centimeters) in height, thrown and fluted stoneware with high-calcium glazes, fired to Cone 9 in reduction, by Val Cushing, Alfred Station, New York.

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 54 Quiet Voice, Loud Statement The Work of Tomoo Kitamura By Caren S. Rodriguez

For some, their passion is pre­ end of each day, I would have destined. For others, it is un­ made 50 cups. Then he would earthed, silently lurking in cut them all in half and mea­ their past and slowly guiding sure the thickness and shape their life choices. Ceramics art­ of the walls. We would throw ist Tomoo Kitamura tumbled them all out and start over into his life’s work through a again the next day.” cross-continental journey and Contrary to the insistent a second look at his ancestry. technique, a spontaneous Born one hour from statement made by an unlikely Mashiko, Japan, Kitamura’s source inspired Kitamura. dawning into an artist should While mingling with other have been a natural progres­ potters, the wife of Shoji sion. His hometown is the Kamoda commented, “Learn former residence and studio of to coil a pot. You can make famed ceramics artist Shoji anything.” With the intense Hamada. The rural economy technical training behind him, was based on Hamada’s name, the rebirth of family history, and visitors populated the sub­ Untitled, 14 inches (36 centimeters) in height, coiled black stoneware, and the words that Kitamura sequent pottery shops and stu­ with White Reduction Glaze and Barium Blue Glaze, fired to Cone 6, $1800. credits as his inspiration, he dios. Kitamura’s mother was a was ready for a transformation. self-taught painter. His father was a carpenter and avid collector Art as a discipline is one that arguably defies definition. of Japanese pottery. Yet despite this familiarity with the ceramics Kitamura enrolled in the Penland School of Crafts in North world, Kitamura never considered a life behind a wheel or hold­ Carolina and developed a confidence in his trade that began to ing a paintbrush to canvas. It took a dramatic move to the United surface as creative risks. That assurance led to a greater awareness States, a chance meeting and a marriage to an American art and a more spirited boldness unfolding in his work. The intense student for Kitamura to foster an interest in life as an artist. dialogue between himself and the clay ventured into an original­ When he returned to Japan to study his craft, he revisited the ity in style. Kitamura credits his professors for their openness, artistic philosophy of his native land. At Sakuma Pottery, finally allowing him a discovery of his own soul in his art. Kitamura learned the intricacies of the art form and the disci­ Alluding to his life experiences, Kitamura’s body of work is an pline involved in functional creations. His instructor, Fujia ardent connection between past, present and future. Echoing his Sakuma, embedded the elements of wheel-thrown vessels by earliest lesson in pottery, Kitamura’s red stoneware vessels are giving his students a sample of a teacup to copy in both size and functional. When he began his career, he threw each vessel and thickness. “I did this for three months, seven days a week. At the produced a vast array of functional vases, teapots and cups.

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 55 Still used today, Kitamura built a 30-cubic-foot catenary-arch wood kiln. In about 15 hours, he can reach Cone 10. As the glazed pots undergo their metamorphosis, Kitamura enjoys “the time to think” and the natural cadence of stoking the flames. In White Reduction Glaze the end, he is pleased with the delicate and rare subtleties that a (Cone 10) flame can produce on a vessel. Dolomite...... 20 % Geometric surface treatments that emerge from Kitamura’s Talc...... 5 coiled vessels are dubiously rooted in his early Japanese training. Whiting...... 5 Once again, elements of water and earth are rendered onto the Kona F-4 Feldspar...... 50 clay’s surface. Kitamura’s juxtaposition of textural elements and EPK (Edgar Plastic Kaolin)...... 20 intense glazing resonates with clean lines and repetitive forms. 100% Presently, Kitamura is content to be free from the restraints of Barium Blue purpose. “I still enjoy making teapots, but know I don’t have to (Cone 10) worry if it will function.” Without concerns of comfortable handles Barium Carbonate...... 40 % and properly pouring spouts, Kitamura has increased his com­ Nepheline Syenite...... 45 plexity in design. His handbuilt sculptural work alters the basic Spodumene...... 10 Silica (Flint)...... 5 shape and shadows the profiles of masculine features. Ask him his career highlights, and he points to the fact that 100% others can appreciate the laborious process of creating, but, “It’s Add: Bentonite...... 2 % more about personal accomplishment, such as having an idea and Copper...... 6 % seeing it through to the end—having the piece turn out as planned after hundreds of test tiles trying to find a glaze that you love.” As for the future, Kitamura believes that an artist’s art is always changing through exploration. “This is my direction. I feel that your work should change and grow, not to stay with one body of work, but to evolve and grow as we all do.”

“Dreamer,” 11 inches (28 centimeters) in length, handbuilt and carved red stoneware, with White Reduction Glaze and Barium Blue Glaze, wood fired to Cone 10, $1200.

Vase, 19 inches (48 centimeters) in height, wheel- thrown red stoneware, incised, with White Reduction Glaze and Barium Blue Glaze, wood fired to Cone 10, $900, by Tomoo Kitamura, Concord, North Carolina.

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 56 18th-Century Buen Retiro Porcelain by Maria Carmen Santos

Serving dish, approximately 41 centimeters (16 inches) in length, soft-paste porcelain, with glaze and enamel, part of a dinner-service set made for Queen Isabella Farnese, 1760-1780.

Most surveys of historical porcelain do not cover Spanish contri­ ness, impelled by the growth of European enlightenment. King butions. There is a good reason for this: Spain’s early attempts at Charles III proved to be a forward-looking monarch, whose pro­ porcelain were cut short by historical events. However, the nearly gram of reforms revitalized Spain at a time of depression. His 1500 known surviving pieces, manufactured between 1760 and royal blessing and active participation were fundamental to the 1808 at Madrid’s Buen Retiro Royal Factory, deserve closer scru­ creation of a porcelain factory in the capital city of Madrid. tiny. The recent discovery of the factory’s remains, buried since it The long tradition of Spanish earthenware pottery needed an burned down in 1812, brought to light not only its original site, incentive to experiment with the soft and hard pastes that had but a renewed interest in completing the European historical map been developed in Europe in response to the porcelains from the for early porcelain production. Orient. To do so, King Charles III raised the status of the potter The Spanish empire was in decline by the end of the 18th so that it could no longer be considered a lower profession, but a century; however, the nation was in the grip of a new conscious­ skill compatible with public-office status. This step was crucial for

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 57 Jug, 25.5 centimeters (10 inches) in height, soft-paste porcelain, with glaze “Roman Charity,” 65.5 centimeters (26 inches) in height, soft-paste porcelain. and enamel, part of a service set made for Queen Isabella Farnese, 1760-1780.

the recognition of ceramics as an artistic trade. Next, the king suitable transport infrastructure. Nonetheless, there are three dis­ imported experienced workers to run the factory. These men tinctive stages to Buen Retiro Porcelain that bear witness to the came from the royal factory at Capodimonte in Naples (Italy), at degree of success achieved in its short history. the time also under the patronage and rule of King Charles III. The first stage of manufacture (1760-1783) was led by the The site for the new pottery couldn’t have been better; it was first appointed manager, Jose Gricci, and later by Carlos Scheppers. built on the park grounds, known as the Gardens of the Buen Their early work is among the boldest and most delicate to come Retiro, of the royal palace in Madrid. Built in 1760, the complex out of the factory; notably, the exuberant porcelain cabinets in­ included a large factory, a chapel and living quarters for the stalled in the royal palaces at Madrid and Aranjuez (Madrid). workers and their families. Excavations in 1996 unearthed the Equally important is the dinner service made for Queen Isabella waterwheel used to pump water from a nearby stream, as well as a Farnese between 1760 and 1780. The surviving pieces, on display large number of porcelain shards. The wheel’s present position, at the National Museum of Archaeology in Madrid, include plates, surrounded by the gardens of what is now a public park, is serving dishes, a bottle cooler and a jug. Their sinuous forms testimony to a brief but fruitful period of production. recall the prevalent taste for the French rococo style, but there is The aim of the royal factory was to introduce new and more also a sense of measure, foregoing excessive ornamentation and refined products into Spain—in effect, to substitute the luxurious curves. This restraint would have been in keeping with the policy white translucency of porcelain for the rougher texture of Spanish of pursuing the development of a truly Spanish art, which was to earthenware. The task proved more difficult than had been antici­ be free of the perceived “corrupting” influence of the baroque or pated, as the use of soft-paste porcelain made the ware too fragile rococo. The strongest voice at the time was Antonio Ponz, an for daily use, and hence not a saleable alternative. A durable enemy of rococo style, whose travel writing established Spanish porcelain (hard paste) recipe was yet to be developed. artistic canons by reviewing the nation’s artistic heritage. Endemic money problems continuously hounded the factory. If, in this early Spanish porcelain, form was subdued to softer To the great expense incurred, there was the added problem of a curving lines, the decoration motifs also recall Spanish themes

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 58 and techniques. The dinner service depicts usual court themes, but ing French army put a sudden stop to Sureda’s efforts. There are the figures are less stylized than their French counterparts, and the enough examples from these few years, however, to point toward setting is more pastoral, which evokes bucolic Spanish renaissance an emerging and more clearly defined Spanish porcelain style. poetry or even the peasant portraiture of Francisco Goya. On the When the French army reached Madrid in 1808, the factory Buen Retiro dinnerware, figures wear costumes of a classical courtly was occupied by its troops and the forge was used for the manu­ tradition, but there is also some evidence of local attire creeping facture of arms. By 1812, the French had been defeated, but the in, of the type often portrayed in Goya’s park scenes. allied troops commanded by an English general destroyed the Moreover, there is a marked departure from traditional Span­ factory completely; none of the files survived. There are various ish earthenware—earlier pottery design is cruder in execution and accounts of its final demise. One reasonable explanation blames intense in the use of color. Still, the early porcelain at Buen Retiro its destruction on the fact that the factory was located on top of a manages to combine in a surprisingly harmonious manner that hill that was considered a strategic point for the defense of the Spanish flavor with the lightness of touch more characteristic of other European ceramic produc­ tion. The result is a dinner ser­ vice with a difference, resulting from mixing European influences with a Spanish artis­ tic environment. The second stage of Buen Retiro production (1784-1803) corresponds to the tenures of managers Carlos Gricci, Sebastian Scheppers and Felipe Gricci. By this time, the neo­ classical style was well established and designs turned toward greater clarity, with elegant lines and gentle forms, while colors were more subdued. No further progress had been made in the development of a hard-paste recipe for durable porcelain, and Archaeological remains of a waterwheel and pump from the Buen Retiro Royal Factory, Madrid, Spain. the production of ivory-colored statuettes exemplifies the move toward a more widely appealing city. The French troops had built a stronghold there and the final classical production. Presumably, besides current taste moving bombardment might have been an attempt to destroy any vestige toward the idealized sobriety of ancient Rome, there must have of French occupation. been a desire to make the factory more profitable by exporting to Undocumented and forgotten, its foundation and shards bur­ European markets. Nevertheless, difficult transportation condi­ ied underneath gardens, the factory remained untouched for al­ tions would simply not allow for wide distribution. most two centuries. Some examples of Buen Retiro production The third and last stage saw success in the development of a have always been available in major museums, but the factory’s hard-paste body. New manager Bartolome Sureda (1804-1808) place in history has never been fully established. No endeavor of finally had found a kaolin deposit in a hill south of Madrid in similar duration (only 48 years) could have been more significant 1803. Unfortunately, the war of independence against the invad­ in the development of a national style.

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 59 Ishmael Soto by Bobby Filzer Pearl

“Vessel,” 14 inches (21 centimeters) in height.

Ishmael Soto’s ceramic vessels and sculptures reflect his apprecia­ with an interesting shape, is placed within arm’s reach. Each clay tion for the shapes and colors of his native state of Texas. Saint element is carefully placed, brushed with slip, and rolled or pressed Elena’s Canyon in Big Bend National Park, the Big Thicket of against the adjoining structure without distorting its shape. Con­ East Texas, indigenous insects, lizards and birds, his pond, and struction continues, with slow deliberation, until the piece is trees are all inspiration for the rough forms and the subtle glazes. finished, supported, loosely wrapped and set aside to dry. In his early years, Soto concentrated on wheel-thrown func­ Soto’s family came from northern Mexico in the early 1800s. tional ware. Some 40 years later, he still produces functional pots, In 1854, his great-grandfather built the first church in newly but his focus is now on sculpture constructed from slabs and populated Bandera, Texas. The church still stands. Like his great­ extrusions. He tears the clay, layers it asymmetrically, exposes grandfather, he takes pride in what he can do with his hands. ragged edges and exploits any interesting surfaces that occur. Settled now in Blue, Texas, amidst farms, woods and ponds, The process is purposeful, yet filled with suspense. He likes “to Soto lives in the house he built from new and old materials. In do a series of pieces at one time. It takes six or eight pieces for me addition, he has constructed a lovely greenhouse for his myriad to loosen up and I like to explore the shapes and surfaces and plants and flowers, planted lush gardens, and built the surround­ discover what the clay can do.” ing cottages for his four children. Slabs of clay are torn into strips and laid out on a worktable. He works in a studio designed by his son after his previous Long extrusions are also laid out in rows. Turntables and an studio had been completely destroyed by fire. Soto lost 30 years inverted bowl, or an upside-down metal lampshade, any form worth of work, as well as all of his equipment, tools, books,

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 60 Construction of a teapot body begins with lining a mold with damp paper.

A slab is pressed into the bottom of the mold. The handle and spout are constructed of leather-hard extrusions.

Hollow extrusions are laid into the mold and rolled flat.

After the mold is inverted onto a thick slab, the form supports itself. Glaze is brushed on to achieve variation in the surface.

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 61 recipes and greenware. He did not allow that disaster to destroy him, though. Instead, he considered the loss an opportunity to start anew: “Fire is a cleansing process.” After the fire, his family, friends and students joined together to donate time, money, tools and building mate­ rials. The rebuilt studio has over 4000 square feet of floor space, a raftered ceiling 17 feet high and enormous win­ dows on three sides. The space accommodates extruders, potter’s wheels, a walk-in wood-fired kiln, a gas kiln, an electric kiln, vats of glazes, long wooden worktables, walls lined with shelves full of greenware, pedestals covered with his terra-cotta and bronze sculptures, and a new library of art books. As a youngster, Soto lived in Austin, Texas, where in the 1940s and 1950s, minority children in public schools were discouraged from pursuing a college degree. Despite the lack of support from teachers and school counselors, he persevered, holding onto the goal of a life in the arts. After high school, he enrolled at the University of Texas, received a B.F.A., then earned an M.F.A. from Cranbrook College of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. While main­ taining his own studio over the years, Soto has taught ceramics and sculpture at the San Antonio College of Art, the University of Texas and Austin Community College. His style of teaching has remained constant. While demonstrating a concept, he will involve the students quietly, asking them to help with the extrusions or laying out slabs; then, as he builds the form, he discusses what he is doing in a casual manner. Should the piece he is work­ ing on slump, crack or fail in any way, he will explain the mechanics of his mistake and calmly start over. Many of his college students are from outside the United States, and he delights in their efforts to explore and include their cultural traditions in their work. “I enjoy teaching these kids, watching them relax and open their minds. All their other classes are so tight.” What appealed most to former student Meredy Crisman was Soto’s quiet way of teaching. “His demonstrations looked so easy, effortless. He enjoys himself so much when he works. He is happy with his hands in clay. Many stu­ dents pick up on that—it’s like a calm, happy transference.” In addition to the plants, animals, mountains and “Vessel,” 26 inches (66 centimeters) in height, mold-formed earthenware, with glaze. water he has encountered throughout his life, Soto’s sculp­ tures and vessels are also influenced by historical prece­ dents, especially the traditions of ancient Mayan, Egyptian and Chinese artists. The teapot shown here may not hold water, “but the whole concept of this work is traditional,” he explains. “The definition of the body, the bottom and the handle are the classical proportions of a pot set down centuries ago. Even the spout is at the traditional 45° angle. All I do is come up with a technique, which makes the pot, and me, individual.”

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 63 A Maya Ceramics Tradition Survives in the Yucatan by Carol Ventura

The pots are placed on a metal grill and fired for six to eight hours in this wood-burning updraft kiln,

Ceramics first appeared in the Maya area of Central America from coils or slabs and fired on the ground in the open air, around 1500 B.C. Clay was modeled, coiled and press molded to Rodrigo and Patricia have modernized the craft somewhat by form sculptures, toys and vessels. While some pieces were deco­ incorporating a potter’s wheel and a kiln into their production. rated with slips before firing, other polychrome ware was painted First, locally dug clay is mixed with clay brought from a few after firing. The potter’s wheel, lead glazes and updraft kilns were hundred miles away, then tempered with fine white sand. After a introduced by the Spanish during the Colonial period. piece has been thrown and trimmed, it is painted with white slip. Rodrigo Martin and his sister, Patricia, are members of a select The slip is made from the same clay body that is used to form the group of potters who create beautiful narrative reproductions true pot, but without the sand, mixed to the consistency of thick to their pre-Columbian roots. Rodrigo learned the process 20 cream. The inside and outside of the pot is then dampened with a years ago from a teacher in Palenque. He, in turn, taught Patricia wet cloth and burnished with a smooth quartz pebble. a few years later. Although pre-Columbian vessels were handbuilt After the burnishing has been completed, a motif is selected

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 64 A smooth quartz pebble is used to burnish the inside Patricia applies the third coat of slip decoration and outside of an unfired, dampened pot. to a cylindrical vessel.

from one of many books that feature pre-Columbian pottery. The motif is carefully drawn freehand with a pencil, then several coats of black, red and orange slip (prepared from oxides obtained from Uxmal area) are painted over the pencil marks with a small brush. The painted slip is burnished with a stocking between coats. To create a red, orange, black and white design, the pot is left unpainted in the white areas. The decorated pots are dried completely, then gently placed on a metal grill in a wood-burning updraft kiln. Firewood is stoked under the grill, a little at a time, to slowly increase the temperature. It takes six to eight hours for the temperature to reach 1500°F (816°C). After the kiln has cooled, the pots are removed and wiped with a soft cloth dampened in a liquid that is derived from a local plant. Rodrigo and Patricia Martin sell their ware from their studiol showroom, Taller de Reproducciones Prehispanicas, located in front of their restaurant in the town of Muna, which is between Merida and Uxmal. Prices begin at $200.

The author An art history teacher at Tennessee Technological Uni­ versity in Cookeville, Carol Ventura researched Maya crafts during the summer of2002. To view images of craftspeople from around the Burnished and slip-decorated pots by Rodrigo and Patricia Martin, world, visit her website at http://plato.ess.tntech.edu/cventura. Muna, Yucatan, Mexico.

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 65 David Dahlquist by Kristin Senty-Brown

When David Dahlquist talks about the worship of objects and nection to nature, and simply “feel” our humanity, with its con­ our very human tendency to “brand” ourselves to physical things nection to past, present and future. as a means of self-definition, images of consumerism flash to With a definitive reach into areas such as teaching, consulta­ mind: Child goes grocery shopping with mom, sees cereal hocked tion, public art, architectural ceramics and restoration, as well as on TV, convinces mom and self that he has to have it. Somewhere collaborations with other public artists such as Andrew Leicester, between ad agency and grocery shelf, a mysterious feeling of Dahlquist has successfully challenged any existing one-dimen- identity or personal connection was created, powerful enough for sional stereotype of the artist or clayworker. “If you go back in child and mother to succumb to the acquisition of the thing. history, the artist was a scientist, a theologian, a doctor, a poet,” This desire to worship objects is not particular to consumer said Dahlquist. “I have always hoped to develop the broader sense culture. Rather, it is innate to our functioning, and part of our of possibilities for the artist today, and consequently raise the human history, of which Dahlquist, an admitted object maker, is professional stature.” keenly aware. As a teacher and public ceramics artist, he under­ Ultimately, the key to his success may lie in a unique ability to stands human yearnings for connection and identifying with our communicate the possibilities of ceramics to a broader audience. surroundings, which are sometimes satisfied as we brand ourselves “The mercurial nature of the artist doesn’t often lend itself to such to particular objects. things as committee work, knowledge of insurance, or the ability Yet more than a crass commercialist who might take advantage to communicate with architects and engineers. There are times of those tendencies for a slick profit, Dahlquist views it as a rich when my role feels more like that of a conductor. . . . Somehow I opportunity to connect people to something deeper than a cereal am able to bring these pieces together.” box or brand of tennis shoe. Through the incorporation of clay in Employing this keen ability to communicate, Dahlquist is public art, his mission is to create portals where ordinary spaces intent upon reorienting our perception of art from something are transformed into places where we can realize a stronger con­ more contained, blending instead with vibrant purpose in our

“Minnesota Profiles,” to approximately 20 feet (7 meters) in height, terra-cotta columns following “Minnesota Profiles,” detail, one of 140 profiles of the elevation of what used to be Summit Avenue, in front of the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul, visitors to the Minnesota History Center used to created in association with Andrew Leicester. complete the project, wheel-thrown terra cotta.

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 66 everyday life. A self-described historian, he points to the Euro­ pean Renaissance, where 90% of a construction budget for a building was typically used for art. In contrast, a mere 0.5% of a state budget for a public building is thus currently allocated. “The integration of artwork is what the site becomes known for,” says Dahlquist, who incorporates site-specific historical re­ search into his designs. “At the turn of the century, many build­ ings were clad in a skin of clay...the impacts of the technological revolution removed these handmade materials from design,” he said, noting that since the mid 1980s, a growing number of architects and engineers are more receptive to using clay and other sculptural materials in their structures. Dahlquist is “mak­ ing a strong case again for the importance of using these materials....It goes far beyond a ‘signature’ design element, really delving into the fabric of the building and the site. “We are so disconnected from nature. Our view is one of inconvenience. A person can remain virtually isolated from the natural world, moving from climate-controlled home to car to office, without feeling the seasonal changes, or even touching the earth,” says Dahlquist, whose installations often incorporate im­ ages of nature, including vines, flowing rivers and his signature leaves. One recent commission involves a courtyard walkway entitled “Soumas Court,” where colored tile leaf pavers wind playfully throughout the brick pavement, encouraging the walker to skip from patch to patch like a connoisseur of fall. More than a typical art installation, too often characterized by a distinct and distant relationship between object and viewer, Dahlquist wants these entities to connect by incorporating his work into the “Soumas Court,” various dimensions, brick clay with glaze, installed at Hotel Pattee in Perry, Iowa. structure of the building and site. To develop that sense of connection for Soumas Court, Dahlquist drew inspiration from the Arts and Crafts period orna­ mentation embedded in the surrounding architecture, choosing leaves patterned on white oak and English ivy, characteristic of an Arts and Crafts garden. The subsequent leaf pavers were made on a 60-ton hydraulic press for fast production. To determine the overall layout of the intricate pieces in a twisted courtyard space, with unusual variations in lighting and dimension, experimentation was done with a smaller number of pavers. Dahlquist then considered the perspective at the point of entry and exit, how the viewer might respond to the objects underfoot, as well as the architectural consequences with the surrounding buildings. “Public art has elements of theater,” says Dahlquist, “where you must consider the entire setting, and how the viewer will interact with it.”

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 67 For many years, Dahlquist re­ sisted his impulse to draw on clay, working with the medium in rela­ tion to “ideas of containment and the spirit of the interior space.” Yet once he began to approach the clay “Iowa Made: By Land and like a canvas, myriad artistic oppor­ Hand,” 71 feet (21.5 meters) tunities were suddenly accessible to in length, 12-inch glazed tiles, installed at the Varied him. “It wasn’t until I began to draw Industries Building at the on clay that I was liberated to the Iowa State Fairgrounds realm of possibilities in tilework and in Des Moines. architectural ceramic details. With fewer and fewer teaching jobs, I want to really broaden the perception of the possibilities for clay and ceramics, especially for students who want to make a living being close to this material.” Dahlquist engages the viewer as a method for revealing history, transforming detailed historical in­ formation into art that we can relate to both sensu­ ally and intellectually. “The artist has to create a spark,” he said. “The only way to really get involved in something is if it moves you.” Because he makes these historical connections, the Iowa Department ofTransportation (IDOT) commissioned him as part of a multidisciplinary team to design a series of roadside rest areas and welcome centers that would brand a lasting impression of Iowa for the drive- through visitor. For a site in rural Adair County with a history of heavy agriculture and loss of natural flora and soil, Dahlquist used the soil core sample obtained in con­ struction as a historical artifact depicting the loss of Iowa’s fertile topsoil. He fabricated a cylindrical col­ umn in which he drew the details of the soil strata, then used it to make molds for a series of terra-cotta sections. What resulted was a dramatic series of light- and-steel-capped terra-cotta columns that line the entry walkway, diminishing in height from the year 1850 to 2000 to communicate the profound loss of topsoil and prairie plants. The terra-cotta sections were eventually pressed into molds at a thickness of 1½ inches, and about 10% larger than needed in order to allow for shrinkage, and then fired at Cone 04 in electric kilns. Such details are part of the growing body of knowledge about the behavior of clay in architecture as it responds to seasonal variations in temperature, and the preparations required for it to withstand

Installation at an Iowa Department of Transportation rest area on Interstate 80. those changes. “We’re always discovering useful A book motif is used to illustrate the role of education in “supporting” the state. idiosyncrasies...that artisans would have passed down

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 68 from one generation to the next,” said Dahlquist. “Unfortunately, no one wrote these things down, and there’s about a 100-year gap in information that we’re trying to recover in our own work.” Termed by Dahlquist as a “freeze and thaw” archi­ tectural clay body, the cylinders were strung like beads over a precast concrete pillar, with a dry mixture of Portland cement and sand poured between them. The cement then sets by wicking moisture from the air. Incorporated in 1994, Dahlquist Clayworks (www.dahlquistclayworks.com) has evolved into a mul­ tifaceted venue, representing a philosophy of daywork as something flexible and accessible to a much broader audience than by pottery alone. Dahlquist credits a larger team of players with providing the technical expertise to fully implement such ambitious installa­ tions, including a staff of ten, whose employment at the Clayworks is modeled much after the fine-artisan apprenticeship system of an earlier age. “The work that we do through the Clayworks involves so many individuals with such specific knowledge,” he said. “From masons and architects to the artisans on staff who make tiles or molds, it is an incredible collabora­ tion of talent.” These collaborations become a critical part of in­ stalling public art in some challenging spaces, and decision making and problem solving can require as much creative attention as the initial artistic process. Demonstrating those challenges is a recent installa­ tion entitled “Iowa Made: By Land and Hand,” a 71x23-foot ceramic tile mural, richly painted with underglazes. Aptly described by Dahlquist as “Diego Installation at an Iowa Department of Transportation rest area and welcome center, illustrating Rivera meets Grant Wood,” the mural lushly depicts the loss of topsoil between 1850 and 2000. Each terra-cotta section of the columns was mold agricultural images of farm machinery, plant life, and formed and fired to Cone 04 in an electric kiln, then installed over a concrete pillar. The space between the pillar and the rings was filled with a dry mixture of Portland cement and sand. the strength and skill of the human hand. While installing the mural in a newly enclosed entrance of a farm might not even stop to initially consider as a public artist,” said exhibition hall at the Iowa State Fair, installation crews discovered Dahlquist. “At one time, I really thought that art and business that only part of the adhering wall was heated. had little, if any, relationship.” In an ingenious solution that could only take place with the In a commercial world, understanding the dynamics of object insight of architects and a talented subcontracted tile setter, flexible worship certainly has its purpose. For Dahlquist, that under­ fiber-glass gauze served as a temperature buffer between a block standing is carefully channeled into an honest desire to help us wall and sheet rock. Subsequently, the mural was laid out from connect with our humanity, ultimately facilitated through a re­ the center point, in order to accommodate for any growth or newed awakening to the uses of clay and the functionality of the expansion by virtue of grout joints. artisan. “Most people today don’t spend a lot of time thinking In order to minimize the potential for a jigsaw-puzzle-type about their history, and yet they feel a deep desire to understand confusion when installing such a large mural with distinct pieces, something more about themselves and where they live. Art might individual tiles were numbered with a letter and number grid on actually change that. The challenge is to go beyond the literal in the back. “There are so many incredible details and basic business our use of objects to teach about history, to create a new experi­ decisions that go into an installation...even things like acquiring ence where, through touch, sight and all of our senses, we are liability insurance or choosing the right installation crew, that one more receptive to learn about ourselves in a new way.”

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 69 Carrying the Empty Cup

Three Generations Within the Japanese Master/Apprentice Tradition

by Dick Lehman

Metronomic chopping sounds from the neighbor’s hoe signaled the end of tenacious weeds and increased chances that the first cucumbers of the season would soon grace the table in front of us. As my question lingered in the air, Hiromi Matsukawa drew a slow deep breath, squinted his eyes just a bit and pinched his lips together. Steam

Suketoshi Matsuyama

from Matsukawa’s coffee spiraled up through a slant of sunlight until, exhaling, he chased the curls away with his response. “Perhaps I can best describe my apprenticeship to Kanzaki sensei (master) in this way. It was as if he carried an invisible pitcher in his hand—a pitcher that con­ tained knowledge. The pitcher was always full and ready to be poured, even if the apprentices were not around. As a teacher, Kanzaki was always ready. “We apprentices carried invisible cups, although the size and shape of each cup was different. Kanzaki saw

“Shigaraki Vase,” 29 centimeters (11 inches) in height, by Suketoshi Matsuyama. each apprentice’s cup and poured according to its size and shape. throwing pots. I was to make the wheel move with a belt while he He understood the capacity of each cup. In one, he poured a lot; was throwing. There were no electric wheels in those days.” in another, he poured little by little. “While he was working, he would lecture me on his craft “If the apprentice did not consume what was in the cup,” theory. He tried to tell me everything. I remember the most Matsukawa continued, “the master could not pour more. If the important thing that he said: ‘You should not be making things apprentice had the cup filled from some other source, the master, only according to the old pottery traditions. Those are important. likewise, would not be able to refill it. And if the apprentice But everything comes from Nature. Nature is very important. stopped carrying the cup, there could be no more pourings. But if Look there too.’” the apprentice drank from the cup, there would always be more Said another way, Tomimoto may have been advising him to room for the cup to be filled again. To receive these pourings is look for new answers and to not be afraid to work in ways that are the most important work of the apprentice.” outside of what is traditional. In recent trips to Japan, I have become acquainted with three This advice was soon tested, as Tomimoto received word from Japanese potters who exemplify the success of the masterlappren­ the civil authorities in Tokyo that they would no longer tolerate tices system: his smoky kiln. He would have to stop firing or move! This news Eighty-six-year-old Suketoshi Matsuyama was an apprentice brought an abrupt end to Matsuyama’s apprenticeship. to Kenkichi Tomimoto (Tomimoto went on to become a ningen Tomimoto reasoned, however, that Matsuyama had learned kokuho, Living National Treasure). Over the course of his career, enough in three years; his apprenticeship would be considered Matsuyama has been an educator and lecturer, as well as a studio complete. Matsuyama became an independent apprentice, and it potter. He has received numerous awards and commendations, was appropriate for him to publicly refer to Tomimoto as his sensei. and has exhibited widely in Japan and occasionally in the United Early experiences with failure and limitation seem to have States. been a significant contributor to Matsuyama’s philosophy. He is Shiho Kanzaki, age 60, was an apprentice to Matsuyama, after known as someone who searches for new answers. In his univer- which he established his own studio. He has pioneered new textured works from anagama firings (see CM, March 1997, “Shiho Kanzaki: Extending the Tradition”), and has exhibited in Germany and the United States, as well as Japan. Hiromi Matsukawa, age 44, was an ap­ prentice to Kanzaki. (He was also a student of Matsuyama, when Matsuyama was teaching at Musashino Art University.) Matsukawa recently set up a studio in Oodoi, near Okayama. Although nearer the beginning of his own independent career, he already has a growing exhibition record. Because of their master/apprentice rela­ tionships, I asked them to reflect on this tradition, particularly in regard to how it has influenced how they learn and the way they teach.

SUKETOSHI MATSUYAMA “As you know, I worked in Tomimoto’s studio for three years. Tomimoto invited me to live at his house. I believe that I may be the only Japanese apprentice who actu­ ally lived and worked with him under the

same roof.” “Shigaraki Teabowl,” 9 centimeters (V/2 inches) in height, It was common, then, for apprentices to do household duties by Suketoshi Matsuyama. and to care for the children. Still, Matsuyama spent considerable time assisting Tomimoto in the studio. “I helped him as he was

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 71 sity teaching, for example, he did not teach the separation of Eastern and Western art, as traditionally had been done; he re­ fused to draw sharp distinctions between the artistic value of a great painting and a beautiful flower on the side of the road. He taught through the human and spiritual point of view, seeking joy in all of life, whatever life might bring. Later in his career, he addressed a particular issue of national failurellimitation: he in­ volved himself in and made significant contributions to some previously intractable peace and justice issues within Japan, and between Japan and Korea. Near the end of my visit with Matsuyama, I asked if there was anything else that he wanted to add. He responded: “There is yet the most important thing: it is that failure makes good. Through failure, we can find ways to overcome. In failure, we find new beauty.” And for the next 30 minutes, this obviously feeble octogenar­ ian suddenly regained the vigor and voice of someone half his age. He moved about his studio, pulling pot after pot from storage places. “Look at this one! This wood-fired piece did not get to temperature. It was a failure! But look at what beauty occurred when I refired it in an electric kiln. And this one I made when I did not have access to a reduction kiln . . . , but I wanted reduction effects so I added reducing material into the electric kiln. Do you see what happened? And just look at this one; the ash got piled up so fast on this wood-fired piece that it did not melt. I thought it was a total failure until I brushed off all the dry ash. Have you ever seen such a beautiful surface? And it never could have happened if it had not ‘failed.’ Failure helps us to see with new eyes—to discover new beauty.” Certainly, his is not the voice of a puristltraditionalist. Tomimoto’s advice had found a home in Matsuyama sensei’s spirit. “Yes, yes, my apprentices come here to learn ceramics, and they come here with purpose. And so they should see all my ways of working and all my techniques. But eventually they have to learn for themselves. Just like I do. That is the value of failure.” In that moment, I began to understand that Matsuyama had crossed over from maker to receiver. No, I am not saying that he does not possess skills to make the objects he wants to make. He not only possesses the skills and techniques to make, but also has acquired the eyes and spirit to receive. Suddenly, the last three sentences of his artist’s statement— words I’d read repeatedly, with only confusion to show for my efforts—began to make some sense: “Vessels cannot be made, but they are born. I don’t make works, but they are brought to me. A whole new life is brought to the one who holds all the experi­ ences, but doesn’t stick to them.”

“Shigaraki Vase,” 27 centimeters (11 inches) in height, by Suketoshi Matsuyama. SHIHO KANZAKI tinually for two days. If after two days of constant looking, he was Kanzaki’s apprenticeship to Matsuyama is unusual, by any still fascinated with the piece, he would measure it as a piece standard, as he never spent even one month working for him in a worth learning from. traditional apprenticeship role. Rather, Kanzaki has received from After this initial concentrated looking, Kanzaki would not Matsuyama the designation of independent apprentice. Although look at the piece for at least one year. (And he would not try to I attempted to discover the details of this unusual departure from make a piece that was inspired by this work for at least a year.) traditional apprenticeships, I continually came up against replies Instead, he would let the image of the work, and his own imagina­ like this: “Well, it is just difficult to explain.” tion, begin to mature in his mind. He describes this process as What did pervade and surmount these repeated comments “chasing the image.” was the understanding that difficult did not mean embarrassing The image would begin to change as it integrated with Kanzaki’s or awkward or complicated. It seemed to be that the explanation heart and soul and spirit. As the image changed, Kanzaki contin­ was difficult in the same way that sharing a profound experience ued to chase it. Over time, it became his own—not so much is difficult—the way trying to describe an epiphany to someone resembling the initial form, but having been distilled into some­ else is challenging. thing of the spirit of the initial piece, having been flavored by his Whatever occurred, Kanzaki is Matsuyama’s apprentice, and own spirit. Matsuyama is Kanzaki’s master/sensei. Moreover, the loyalty and When the making eventually began, the chase continued. The mutual obligation that continues between these two men is as works themselves began to inspire a new round of chasing. “It is a ever-present as it would have been had Kanzaki spent ten years in matter of making works according to my own mind and heart and a traditional apprenticeship to Matsuyama. spirit,” Kanzaki emphasized. “If you are a ceramics artist, all your life and spirit and self can be explained through your work.” In regard to teaching, Kanzaki went on to explain that he never demonstrates the making process for his apprentices; they never watch him actually make the pots. “Why?” I wondered aloud. “How can this approach teach the kind of making that you describe?” “If I show them how to make a chawan (teabowl), maybe my apprentices will al­ ways be only tracing my work. Maybe they will not be making works that come from their own heart and spirit. Sometimes my apprentices ask me, ‘How do you do that?’ Sometimes I say, T don’t know.’ In this way, I help them discover for themselves. “Of course, they make some failures when they try to make their works. But there is much learning by trying and failing [an echo of Matsuyama’s convictions about the ultimate value of learning from fail­

Shiho Kanzaki did not study under Matsuyama in the traditional sense. ures] . And if I tell them how from the be­ Instead, he received the designation of independent apprentice. ginning, they will not know, forever, the things they did not learn by trying. In this way, I teach them everything that I know. Recently, Kanzaki and I talked about how he continues to If I told them all the details of how-to-do, they might be success­ learn and how he (as a master) teaches. In regard to learning, ful one time. But by failing, they will have learned in a way that Kanzaki observed that, at the early stages, there is a need for will cause them to be successful every time in the future. If I show inspiration that comes from outside of oneself. When he was them how, they know only that technique and cannot change much younger, he would sometimes begin intentional learning by easily. If I don’t show them how, my apprentices have to be examining pots, or images of pots, that he found interesting. He thinking, thinking, thinking to learn many ways of working and said that he tried to look only at the things that were most making . . . , then they can change their way of working easily, stimulating to him. And then he would view a single piece con­ and make the works that come from the heart.

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 73 “Water Jar,” 17 centimeters (7 inches) in height, by Shiho Kanzaki.

“This is the important learning: to know more than tech­ provisions of food, clothing and housing) of ¥10,000 (about nique. In this way, I open all secrets to my apprentices. To have a US$100) each month; 11 years of learning by not being shown. big heart is to open all secrets. And big hearts can make big works. Interestingly, Matsukawa lived quite frugally over those years, and If my apprentices learn this important lesson, they will become saved almost ¥1,805,000 (US$15,000) in preparation for setting successful at making their own works. If they become successful, I up his studio, once he had become an independent apprentice. do not hate or envy them. To envy their success would be to have Once, near the end of Matsukawa’s apprenticeship, Kanzaki a small heart, and small hearts can make only small works. No, to called all the apprentices together for a little quiz: “What is my the contrary, I am very proud when my apprentices succeed in most important lesson to you? What am I trying to teach you?” learning all my secrets. I will have been, for them, the founder of [What was he pouring into their cups?] this way of working. Matsukawa answered, “Your lesson to us is that we are to express “I always try to teach my apprentices everything . . . , to teach ourselves as fully as possible, with all our might and strength; to be them to go beyond all that they have been taught. To really learn ourselves; to work within the limitations that greet us; and, through my techniques is to make their own works, to go beyond my our works, to express our spirit, mind and heart, as best we can.” works by making works that express their heart, soul and spirit.” “Yes!” said Kanzaki. Over the ensuing years, Matsukawa has learned additional HIROMI MATSUKAWA lessons in retrospect: He recalls the day that he and Kanzaki were Matsukawa’s apprenticeship to Kanzaki lasted 11 years: 11 firing the anagama during particularly difficult weather. They years of being on call nearly 7 days per week; 11 years of receiving were taking turns: Kanzaki stoking while Matsukawa watched, a kozukai (allowancelstipendlpocket money, in addition to the and vice versa. The firing was not going so well. It was Kanzaki’s

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 74 turn to stoke when his wife came to the kiln to watch. Suddenly, Kanzaki said to Matsukawa, “You begin stoking now.” And with that, Kanzaki walked away and up the hill that was behind the kiln. Matsukawa was worried, wondering where he was going, why he was leaving him alone with that difficult firing, how long he would be away. After a while, Kanzaki returned with a wild lily in his hand. He gave the lovely white flower to his wife and resumed stoking. Suddenly, the firing began to improve. “Since then,” commented Matsukawa, “I have come to learn that it is most important to see the whole picture at all times— not just the kiln, not just the problem that is immediately in front of me. We know that we have five senses. But I think that there is perhaps at least a sixth or maybe a seventh sense. And it has to do with our sensitivity toward all of the rest of the world. Real concentration is not focusing on a single thing. Real concentra­ tion is taking in all things—the entire environment. Real concen­ tration is seeing the flower in the middle of such a time as that.” When asked how he would describe the full measure of success in a masterlapprentice relationship, Matsukawa paused for several minutes before saying, “During my apprenticeship years, I grew up. I gained skills. I became more successful. I began to learn the most important lessons, and my cup continued to be filled. Also during this time Kanzaki grew. He became more successful, too. If there is a good match between the master and the apprentice, both can grow and succeed and change. “Iga Vase,” 26 centimeters (10 inches) in height, by Shiho Kanzaki. “A poor match can inhibit the growth of both. It is a little like the relationship between a husband and a wife: while it may be difficult to put into words the exact qualities for a successful marriage, we know when it is happening and when it is not. The measure of the most successful relationships is when there is mutual benefit.” Matsukawa continued, “I want to add one more thing. Earlier I told you, ‘To receive is the most important work of the appren­ tice.’ But there is another equally important job. After receiving, it is important that you take all that you have been given, and invest it into and through your work, just as Matsuyama and Kanzaki have done. In fact, all the work I make comes through Matsuyama sensei and Kanzaki sensei. The pots were not made by me alone. Yet the works are wholly my own. But one must make work, not only to satisfy oneself, not just for self-satisfaction or self-expression; that is not enough, of course. The work must satisfy others, and share happiness with them. The work dares not satisfy only the one who produced it.” There is a similar and beautiful paradox in the way the artistl apprentice looks backward, honoring the teachings of the master; yet, at the same time, looks forward, honoring the master by surpassing the master. It is the remarkable paradox of mutuality. Matsukawa mentioned something Matsuyama says: “Aging and gaining experience makes you more sensitive to nature and beauty. The older we get, the more we grow up, the more we are able to see real beauty—in nature and in others.” For Matsukawa, “the ability to continue to have the cup filled “Big Pot,” 47 centimeters (18 inches) in height, by Shiho Kanzaki. depends on a sense of humility: the ability to receive even from

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 75 “Iga Vase,” “Shigaraki Gourd-Shaped Bowl” and “Iga Teabowl,” to 17 centimeters (7 inches) in height, with natural ash glaze, by Hiromi Matsukawa.

the smallest, youngest and least significant. If you remain ready to receive, then your cup can be filled.” Maybe the real meaning of independent apprentice is that you keep carrying an empty cup, waiting, expecting it to be filled—not by any single person or master, but by and through your increasing abilities to apprehend, receive, recognize, express and embrace beauty.

Some Observations When reflecting on how the apprenticeship system/tradition served these three men, in their individual and quite-different life circumstances, it is apparent that this system has a certain amount of flexibility built into it—that it is responsive and not rigid, at least in how it operated in the lives of these three. And within the flexibility there seems to have been (what Eric Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development calls) generativity: the ability to pass along, to subse­ quent generations, important techniques and values and vision and inspiration in a manner that will allow them to surpass us. Perhaps of even more importance to potters, these anecdotal narratives may give us the opportunity to reflect upon our own settings and ask ourselves: how are we contributing to generativity? Hiromi Matsukawa in his studio.

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 76 In North America (and I address this location, not to the exclusion of others, but only because this is my area of familiar­ ity), we have a remarkable number of organizations and events and systems in place that function to pass along what is impor­ tant: we have annual gatherings, such as the “Functional Ceram­ ics Workshop” in Wooster, Ohio, and other similar events; we have international conferences, such as that hosted by the Na­ tional Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA); we have numerous craft centers (we could name Anderson Ranch, Arrowmont and the Archie Bray Foundation, without even ex­ hausting the As); we are resourced by college and university course-of-study opportunities, and medium-specific periodicals, videos and books; and (to the extent that they are not only focused on marketing) exhibitions, to mention just a few. Perhaps it is precisely because we, here in North America, have not inherited a system or some other prescribed tradition that we have this abundance of opportunities supporting the possibility of our being generative. Yet their mere presence does not ensure that we will move, with generativity, toward the other. That, it seems to me, is the challenge of our living. And Matsuyama sensei’s words may indeed be the measure of whether we are meeting the challenge of living, by really growing up: “The older we get, the more we grow up, the more we are able to see real beauty—in nature and in others.”

The author A frequent contributor to Ceramics Monthly, Dick Lehman maintains a studio in Goshen, Indiana. Translation assis­ tance for this article was provided by Chiaki Ota Matsukawa. “Iga Vase,” 42 centimeters (17 inches) in height, with natural ash glaze, by Hiromi Matsukawa.

“Iga Jar,” 16 centimeters (6 inches) in height, with natural ash glaze, by Hiromi Matsukawa.

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 77 e-mail [email protected]; see website call for entries www.akardesign.comlcallforentries.htm; or tele­ phone (319) 351-1227. Application Deadlines for Exhibitions, Fairs, Festivals and Sales United States Exhibitions

December 10 entry deadline International Exhibitions Nelsonville, Ohio "Starbrick Clay National 2004" (February 27-March 31, 2004), open to func­ December 3 entry deadline tional, decorative and sculptural ceramics. Juried Missoula, Montana "International Cup" (February from slides. Juror: Brad Schwieger. Fee: $20 for up 6-29, 2004), open to clay objects that incorporate to 3 entries. Awards. For prospectus, send SASE to the cup as a theme. Juried from slides. Juror: Beth Starbrick Clay, 21 W. Columbus St., Nelsonville Lo. Fee: $15 for up to 2 entries. Cash awards. For 45764; e-mail [email protected]; see website prospectus, contact the Clay Studio, 910 Dickens, www.starbrick.com; ortelephone (740) 753-1011. Missoula 59802; [email protected] ; January 9, 2004, entry deadline or telephone (406) 543-0509. Rockport, Texas "Vitrified Clay National: Form and December 5 entry deadline Content" (February 11-March 14, 2004). Juried Chicago, Illinois "Spertus Judaica Prize 2004" from slides (with SASE). Jurors: Juan Granados and (Fall 2004), open to works in all media creating Von Venhuizen. Fee: $20 for 3 entries; $5 for each a nertamid, an "eternal light" suspended in additional entry. For further information, contact front of the Torah Ark in synagogues; open to Mary Beth Orrison, Rockport Center for the Arts, artists of all nationalities and religions. Juried 902 Navigation Cir., Rockport 78382; e-mail from slides, artist's statement and biography. [email protected]; see website Award: $10,000 to winning piece. For further www.rockportartcenter.org; telephone (361) information or to receive a prospectus, contact 729-5519; or fax (361) 729-3551. Spertus Prize Competition, Spertus Museum, January 15, 2004, entry deadline 618 S. Michigan, Chicago 60605; e-mail Lancaster, Pennsylvania "The 12th Annual Strictly [email protected]; or see website Functional Pottery National" (April 24-May 31, www.spertus.edu; or fax (312) 922-3934. 2004). Juried from slides. Juror: Susan Peterson. December 31 entry deadline For prospectus, send business-size SASE to Kirkland, Washington "Gigantic: Ceramic Figu­ Market House Craft Center/SFPN, PO Box 204, E. rines" (February 12—April 2, 2004), open to ce­ Petersburg, PA 17520; download application from ramic figures no larger than 36 inches in any website www.art-craftpa.comlsfpnapp.html; dimension. Juried from slides. Juror: Patti or telephone (717) 560-8816. Warashina, artist and professor emeritus, Univer­ January 16, 2004, entry deadline sity of Washington. Fee: $25 for up to 3 entries. Atlanta, Georgia "Teapots-A-Go-Go" (April 16- Awards: $2000. For further information and pro­ May 15, 2004), open to ceramic teapots. Juried spectus, send SASE to Kirkland Arts Center, Gigan­ from digital or printed images; include artist's tic, 620 Market St., Kirkland 98033; website statement, resume and prices. Commission: 60%. www.kirklandartscenter.orglgigantic.htm; or E-mail images (under 50KB) [email protected] telephone (425) 822-7161. with "teapot exhibition" in subject line; or mail January 9, 2004, entry deadline printed images with SASE to MudFire Pottery Cen­ Mission Viejo, California "Big Fish, Little Pot" (Feb­ ter, Attn: Teapot Exhibition, 1441 Dresden Dr., ruary 23-March 31, 2004), open to small ceramic Ste. 250, Atlanta 30319. teapots. Juried from slides. Juror: Guangzhen "Po" January 23, 2004, entry deadline Zhou. Fee: $25 per entry, limit 3. Award: trip to Cambridge, Massachusetts "Cambridge Art Asso­ ceramic sites in China. Commission: 30%. For ciation National Prize Show" (May 3-June 24, prospectus, send SASE to Saddleback College Art 2004). Juried from slides. Juror: Bob Fitzpatrick, Gallery, 28000 Marguerite Pkwy., Mission Viejo director, Museum of Contemporary Art-Chicago. 92629; [email protected] ; or see Award: $2000 Best of Show. For further informa­ website http:llgallery.saddleback.edu. tion and prospectus, send SASE to Cambridge Art January 11, 2004, entry deadline Association, 25 Lowell St., Cambridge 02138; Hohr-Grenzhausen, "11th Germany Westerwald e-mail [email protected]; see Prize 2004" (September 17,2004-January 6,2005), website www.cambridgeart.org; telephone open to ceramics artists living or working in Eu­ (617) 876-0246. rope. Juried from up to 3 photos or CD-ROM. Cash February 1, 2004, entry deadline awards. Commission: 80%. For further informa­ Chicago, Illinois "15th Annual Teapot Show: On tion and an entry form, contact Keramikmuseum the Road Again" (April 4-May 16, 2004), open to Westerwald, LindenstraBe, 56203 Hohr- functional, fun orfunky teapots in all media. Juried Grenzhausen; e-mail [email protected]; from up to 2 slides per work (with SASE); up to 2 see website www.keramikmuseum.de; telephone works. Fee: $25. Contact Joan Houlehen, A. 49 2624 946 010; or fax 49 2624 946 0120. Houberbocken, Inc., PO Box 196, Cudahy, Wl February 20, 2004, entry deadline 53110; or telephonelfax (414) 481 -4000. Baldwin City, Kansas "The 2004 International February 14, 2004, entry deadline Orton Cone Box Show" (March 30—April 23, Lincoln, California "Feats of Clay XVII" (April 24- 2004, then traveling for 2 years), open to works May 23, 2004). Juried from slides. Juror: Richard composed of more than 50% fired clay that will Notkin. Fee: $15 for 1 entry; $25 for two; $30 for fit into a large Orton Cone Box (3x3x6 inches). 3. Awards: $16,000. For prospectus, send #10 Juried from actual works. Jurors: Janet Mansfield SASE to Lincoln Arts, 580 Sixth St., Lincoln 95648; and Phil Rogers. Entry fee: $30 (includes return or see website www.lincolnarts.org. shipment of piece). Awards: $250 and $200. February 26, 2004, entry deadline Commission: 10%. For prospectus, send SASE to Ross, California "National Show" (May 2-26,2004). Inge Balch, Dept, of ArtlCeramics, Baker Univer­ Juried from slides. Juror: Richard Shaw, professor sity, PO Box 65, Baldwin City 66006-0065; or atU.C. Berkeley. Fee: $30; members, $25 for up to e-mail [email protected]. 3 slides. Cash awards. For further information and February 29, 2004, entry deadline prospectus, send SASE to Marin Society of Artists, Iowa City, Iowa "Forms and Shapes: Box" (June PO Box 203, Ross 94957; or download from 2004), open to ceramics artists. Juried from 6 website www.marinsocietyofartists.org. slides of at least 2 works. Juror: Maren Kloppmann. March 1, 2004, entry deadline Entry fee: $35. For further information, send Kent, Ohio "Fourth Annual National Juried Cup SASE to AKAR, 4 S. Linn St., Iowa City 52240; Show" (May 11-June 19, 2004), open to ceramics

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 78 Ceramics Monthly December 2003 79 call for entries

artists. Juried from slides. Juror: Janet Buskirk. For further information and prospectus, send SASE to Gallery 138, 138 East Main St., Kent 44240; e-mail [email protected]; or see website http://dept.kent.edu/art/gallery138. Wallingford, Pennsylvania "Out of the Fire" (May 9-June 11, 2004), open to ceramics artists. Juried from slides. Juror: Paula Winokur. Fee: $20 for up to 3 entries. Cash awards. For prospectus, e-mail [email protected]; or tele­ phone (610) 566-1713. March 20, 2004, entry deadline Waynesboro, Virginia "Primary Colors: A Survey of Contemporary Craft in Red, Yellow and Blue" (May 20—July 1, 2004), open to crafts using pri­ mary colors in construction or design. Juried from slides. Fee: $20. Commission: 60%. Cash awards. For further information and prospectus, send SASE to Artisans Center of Virginia, 601 Shenandoah Village Dr., Waynesboro 22980; see website www.artisanscenterofvirginia.org; or telephone (540) 946-3294.

Regional Exhibitions

December 15 entry deadline Mobile, Alabama "A Bunch of Guys Named Steve" (February 1-29, 2004), open to residents in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi orTen- nessee, with the first name Stephen, Steve or Steven. Juried from slides. For prospectus, send SASE to Pottery Central, PO Box 4691, Gulf Shores, AL 36547. January 13, 2004, entry deadline Lexington, Massachusetts "The State of Clay, 4th Biennial Exhibition" (May 2-30, 2004), open to current and former residents of Massachusetts. Juried from slides. Juror: Peter Beasecker. Cash awards. For prospectus, send #10 SASE to Ceram­ ics Guild of the Lexington Arts & Crafts Society, 130 Waltham St., Lexington 02421; or download from website www.lexingtonma.org/LACS. January 24, 2004, entry deadline Port Huron, Michigan "Art in Environmental Activ­ ism" (March 1-19, 2004), open to artists in all media and residing in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Ontario, Pennsylva­ nia or Wisconsin. Juried from slides. Fee: $25 for 3 slides; $5 each for fourth and fifth entries. For further information and prospectus, send SASE to Art in Environmental Activism, PO Box 40, Makanda, IL 62958-0040; or see website http://mypage.siu.edu/cochenet/art_activism2004. March 11, 2004, entry deadline Niceville, Florida "12th Southeast Regional Juried Fine Arts Exhibition" (May 16-June 17, 2004), open to artists 18 years or older who reside in the southeastern region of the U.S. Juried from slides. Cash awards. Best in show winner offered solo exhibition in 2005. For prospectus, send SASE to MA Eady, ADSO, 17 First St., SE, Ft. Walton Beach, FL 32548; or download from website www.artsdesignsociety.com.

Fairs, Festivals and Sales December 15 entry deadline Guilford, Connecticut "Expo 2004, 47th Annual Juried Show of Fine American Craft" (July 15-17, 2004), open to crafts made in the United States. Juried from slides. Entry fee: $40. Late entry dead­ line: January 10, 2004; fee, $60. For application, e-mail [email protected]; see website www.handcraftcenter.org; (203) 453-5947. December 20 entry deadline St. Louis, Missouri "17th Annual Art Fair at Laumeier" (May 7-9, 2004), open to handcrafted work. Juried from 5 slides; 4 of work, 1 of

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 80 Ceramics Monthly December 2003 81 2004). Juried from 4 slides. Jury fee: $5. Booth fee: call for entries $130. Contact Helene Grynberg, American Stud­ ies Department, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, 131 George St., New Brunswick 08901- booth. Jury fee: $35. Cash Awards: $5500. Con­ 1414; e-mail [email protected]; see website tact Jennifer Duncan, Fair Director, Laumeier http://njfolkfest.rutgers.edu; telephone (732) Sculpture Park, 12580 Rott Rd., St. Louis 63127; 932-5775; or fax (732) 932-1 169. e-mail [email protected]; or telephone (314) April 1, 2004, entry deadline 821-1209, ext. 13. Verona, New Jersey "Fine Art and Crafts at Verona January 4, 2004, entry deadline Park" (May 15-16, 2004), open to handcrafted New York, New York "28th Annual American work. Juried from 4 slides. Booth fee: $290 for a Crafts Festival" (June 5-6 and/or 12-13, 2004) 10x12-foot space. Contact Rose Squared Produc­ "19th Annual Autumn Crafts Festival" (Septem­ tions, Inc., 12 Galaxy Ct., Hillsborough, NJ 08844; ber 4-5 and/or 11-12, 2004), both open to e-mail [email protected]; see website handcrafted work. Juried from 5 slides. Booth fee www.rosesquared.com; telephone (908) 874- per weekend: $475 for an 8x8-foot space; $540 5247; or fax (908) 874-7098. for a 10x7-foot space; $640 for a 10x10-foot May 1, 2004, entry deadline space. Send SASE with $.65 postage to Raya Cranford, New Jersey "Spring Nomahegan Park Zafrina, Director of Operations, c/o American Fine Art and Crafts Show" (June 5-6, 2004), Concern for Artistry and Craftmanship, PO Box open to handcrafted work. Juried from 4 slides. 650, Montclair, NJ 07042; telephone (973) 746- Booth fee: $290 for a 10x12-foot space. 0091; or fax(973) 509-7739. Contact Rose Squared Productions, Inc., 12 Roslyn Harbor, New "8th York Annual Craft as Galaxy Ct., Hillsborough, NJ 08844; e-mail Art Festival" (September 17-19, 2004), open to [email protected]; see website handcrafted work. Juried from 5 slides. Booth fee: www.rosesquared.com; telephone (908) 874- $480 for a 10x10-foot space. Send SASE with $.65 5247; or fax (908) 874-7098. postage to Raya Zafrina, Director of Operations, Jersey City, New Jersey "Fine Art and Crafts c/o American Concern for Artistry and at Newport's Town Square Park" (June 12-13, Craftmanship, PO Box 650, Montclair, NJ 07042; 2004), open to handcrafted work. Juried from telephone (973) 746-0091; orfax(973) 509-7739. 4 slides. Booth fee: $290 for a 10x10-foot space. January 5, 2004, entry deadline Contact Rose Squared Productions, Inc., 12 Morristown, New Jersey "Spring Crafts at Galaxy Ct., Hillsborough, NJ 08844; e-mail Morristown" (March 19-21, 2004). "Holiday [email protected]; see website Crafts at Morristown" (December 10-12,2004). www.rosesquared.com; telephone (908) 874- Juried from 5 slides of work, plus 1 of booth. 5247; or fax (908) 874-7098. One-time annual fee: $25. Contact Artrider, PO Montclair, New Jersey "Spring Brookdale Box 28, Woodstock, NY 12498; see website Park Fine Art and Crafts Show" (June 19-20, www.artrider.com; ortelephone (845) 331-7900. 2004), open to handcrafted work. Juried from New York, New York "Spring Crafts Park Ave­ 4 slides. Booth fee: $290 for a 10x12-foot space. nue" (April 2-4, 2004). "Fall Crafts Park Avenue" Contact Rose Squared Productions, Inc., 12 (October 1-3, 2004). "Holiday Crafts Park Ave­ Galaxy Ct., Hillsborough, NJ 08844; e-mail nue" (December 3-5, 2004). "Holiday Crafts New [email protected]; see website York I" (December 10-12, 2004). "Holiday Crafts www.rosesquared.com; telephone (908) 874- New York II" (December 17-19, 2004). Juried 5247; or fax (908) 874-7098. from 5 slides. One-time annual fee: $25. Contact August 1, 2004, entry deadline Artrider, PO Box 28, Woodstock, NY 12498; see Upper Montclair, New "FineJersey Art and Crafts website www.artrider.com; or telephone (845) at Anderson Park" (September 18-19, 2004), 331-7900. open to handcrafted work. Juried from 4 slides. Tarrytown, New York "Spring Crafts at Booth fee: $290 for a 10x12-foot space. Lyndhurst" (May 14-16, 2004). "Fall Crafts at Contact Rose Squared Productions, Inc., 12 Lyndhurst" (September 17-19, 2004). Juried from Galaxy Ct., Hillsborough, NJ 08844; e-mail 5 slides. One-time annual fee: $25. Contact Artrider, [email protected]; see website PO Box 28, Woodstock, NY 12498; see website www.rosesquared.com; telephone (908) 874- www.artrider.com; ortelephone (845) 331-7900. 5247; or fax (908) 874-7098. February 29, 2004, entry deadline Cranford, New Jersey "Fall Nomahegan Park Lancaster, Pennsylvania "Long's Park Art and Fine Art and Crafts Show" (October 2-3, 2004), Craft Festival" (September 3-6, 2004). Contact open to handcrafted work. Juried from 4 slides. Long's Park, PO Box 1553CML, Lancaster 17608- Booth fee: $290 for a 10x12-foot space. 1553; e-mail [email protected]; website Contact Rose Squared Productions, Inc., 12 www.longspark.org; telephone (717) 295-7054. Galaxy Ct., Hillsborough, NJ 08844; e-mail March 1, 2004, entry deadline [email protected]; see website Salina, Kansas "Smoky Hill River Festival, Four www.rosesquared.com; telephone (908) 874- Rivers Craft Market Show" (June 11-13, 2004). 5247; or fax (908) 874-7098. Juried from 6 slides. Entry fee: $15. Booth fee: Montclair, New Jersey "Fall Brookdale Park $150 for a 10x10-foot space, plus 10% on sales Fine Art and Crafts Show" (October 16-17, over $ 1000. Awards: $ 1800. Contact Karla Prickett, 2004), open to handcrafted work. Juried from Visual Arts Coordinator, PO Box 2181, Salina 4 slides. Booth fee: $290 for a 10x12-foot space. 67402-2181; e-mail [email protected]; see website Contact Rose Squared Productions, Inc., 12 www.riverfestival.com; telephone (785) 309-5770; Galaxy Ct., Hillsborough, NJ 08844; e-mail or fax (785) 826-7444. [email protected]; see website Salina, Kansas "Smoky Hill River Festival, www.rosesquared.com; telephone (908) 874- Fine Art/Fine Craft Show" (June 12-13, 2004). 5247; or fax (908) 874-7098. Juried from 6 slides. Entry fee: $1 5. Booth fee: $250 for a 10x10-foot space. No commission. For a free listing, please submit information on juried Awards: $7400. Contact Karla Prickett, Visual exhibitions, fairs, festivals and sales at least four Arts Coordinator, PO Box 2181, Salina 67402- months before the event’s entry deadline (add one 2181; e-mail [email protected]; see website month for listings in July and two months for those in www.riverfestival.com; telephone (785) 309- August). Regional exhibitions must be open to more 5770; or fax (785) 826-7444. than one state. Mail to Call for Entries,Ceramics March 15, 2004, entry deadline Monthly, 735 Ceramic PI., Westerville, OH 43081; New Brunswick, New Jersey "30th Annual New e-mail to [email protected]; or fax to Jersey Folk Festival Juried Craft Market" (April 24, (614) 891-8960.

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 82 Ceramics Monthly December 2003 83 suggestions From Readers

Keeping a Stiff Upper Lip If the lip of my pot is slightly uneven and I don’t want to lose any height, I use my trimming tool to even out the edge. I use my thumb and index finger to support and steady the rim and rest the trimming tool between them to remove

the least amount needed to create an even lip. This method also removes the clay completely, preventing it from reattaching to the lip. —Kathy Sandberg, Plymouth, MI Adjusting Lids to Fit If you have a lid that does not fit perfectly after firing, place a sheet of carbon paper be­ tween the lid and the pot, with the dark carbon side up. Rotate the lid back and forth. The paper will mark the area of the lid that needs to be ground, instead of having to grind the whole lid.—Norman Holen, Minneapolis, MN Wax Removal I have always been told that the only way to eliminate unwanted wax resist is to bisque the pot again. One day my teacher asked me, as a former chemist, what, if anything, could dis­ solve unwanted wax on one of her teapot rims. As I thought about it, I came to the conclusion that any sufficiently nonpolar solvent, such as hexanes and turpentine (common brush clean­ ers), would work. We went to the painting studio, put turpentine on a paper towel and took the wax off the pot. You might have to repeat this process on larger areas of wax. After the solvent that soaked in had evapo­ rated (a short time later), glaze was applied to the teapot in the usual manner. It was fired and came out of the kiln without any blemish. Be sure to not try this around sources of heat or flame, and dispose of rags or paper towels appropriately. —Chia-Yu Hwu, Sunnyvale, CA

Share your ideas with others. Previously un­ published suggestions are welcome individu­ ally or in quantity. Ceramics Monthly will pay $10 for each one published. Include a drawing or photograph to illustrate your idea and we will add $10 to the payment. Mail to Ceramics Monthly, 735 Ceramic PL, Westerville, OH 43081, e-mail to [email protected] or fax to (614) 891-8960.

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 84 Ceramics Monthly December 2003 85 dents, A$300 (US$215); deposit, A$ 100 (US$72). For Mattison, International Ceramics Studio, Kapolna calendar further information, contact Ceramic Art, 120 Str. 13, Kecskemet H-6000; see website Events to Attend—Conferences, Glenmore Rd., Paddington NSW 2021; e-mail www.icshu.org; or telephone 36 76 486 867. [email protected]; see website Exhibitions, Workshops, Fairs www.ceramicart.com.au; telephone 61 2 9361 5286; Solo Exhibitions or fax 61 2 9361 5402. Canada, British Columbia, Burnaby March 20, Arizona, Scottsdale December2-31 Sam Chung; Conferences 2004 "2004 Canadian Clay Ceramic Symposium"at Gallery Materia, 4222 N. Marshall Way. will include demonstrations, presentations, lectures, January 8-February Don7, 2004 Reitz; at Udinotti Indiana, Indianapolis March 17-20, 2004discussions and exhibitions by national and interna­ Gallery, 4215 N. Marshall Way. "INvestigations, INspirations: The Alchemy of Art and tional artists. Fee: Can$90.95 (approximately US$70). Arizona, Tempe through February Xiaoping 7,2004 Science," NCECA's 38th annual conference. See web­ For further information, contact Shadbolt Centre for Luo, "Time Square Series"; at Nelson Fine Arts Center, site www.nceca.net; or telephone (866) 266-2322 or the Arts, 6450 Deer Lake Ave., Deer Lake Park, Arizona State University Art Museum. (303) 828-2811. Burnaby, V5G 2J3; telephone (604) 291-6864 or California, Laguna Beach through February 29, Australia, Gulgong May 1-7, 2004 "Clay Mod­ (604) 205-3012. 2004 "Feat of Clay: Five Decades of Jerry Rothman," works ern, Finding New Expression in Ceramic Art" will Hungary, Kecskemet April 5-26, 2004 "Sound from 1956-1997; at Laguna Art Museum, 307 Cliff Dr. include lectures, demonstrations, participatory of the Clay, Ceramic Musical Instrument Sympo­ California, Penryn December "Wood-Fired6-7 events, and exhibitions. Fee: A $420 (US$300); stu­ sium." For further information, contact Steve Works by Rodney Mott"; at Penryn Workshop, 1394 Orange Hill Ln. California, Richmond January 29-March 20,2004 Robert Milnes, "Buddha Code"; at Richmond Art Center, 2540 Barrett Ave. California, Sacramento December 11,2003-Janu- ary 3, 2004 Rebekah Diamantopoulos; at exploding head gallery, 924 12th St. California, San Francisco January 14-April 25, 2004 "The New Rice Festival: Vietnamese Artist Nguyen Bao Toan"; at the Museum of Craft & Folk Art, Ft. Mason Center, Bldg. A. California, Santa Ana through January 11, 2004 "Feat of Clay: Five Decades of Jerry Rothman," works from 1997-2003; at Grand Central Art Cen­ ter, 125 S. Broadway. California, Santa Barbara December 1, 2003- January 15, 2004 Oscar Bucher, "Form and Color, A Delicate Balance"; at Tierra Solida Gallery, 1221 State St. California, Santa Monica through January 10, 2004 Richard Shaw, "Real New Sculpture"; at Frank Lloyd Gallery, 2525 Michigan Ave., B5b. Colorado, Breckenridge January 9-February 8, 2004 Sang Roberson; at Hibberd McGrath Gallery, 101 N. Main St. Florida, Dunedin January 9-March Kevin 5, 2004 A. Hluch; at Dunedin Fine Art Center, 1143 Michigan Blvd. Illinois, Chicago through December Jack Earl;27 at Perimeter Gallery, 210 W. Superior St. Illinois, Geneva December 1-30Sue Norris, "Stone­ ware Soda Fired"; at Down to Earth Pottery, 217½ S. Third St. Minnesota, Minneapolis through December 30 Svend Bayer; at the Northern Clay Center, 2424 Franklin Ave., E. Montana, Missoula through December 19 Tim Roda, "reverberation"; at the University of Montana, University Center Gallery, Room 104. New York, Alfred through December Irvin 19 Tepper, "When Cups Speak/Life With the Cup: A 25- Year Survey"; at the Schein-Joseph International Mu­ seum of Ceramic Art, New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. New York, East Setauket through December 28 Marlene Parillo, "Mid-Life Stories"; at Hands On Clay, Inc., 128 Old Town Rd. New York, Long Island City through January 17, 2004 Karen Karnes; at Garth Clark Gallery Long Island City, 45-46 21st St. New York, New York through December Kathy 6 Ruttenberg, "Species Specific"; at Gallery Henoch, 555 W. 25th St. through December Akio Takamori, 6 "Omnipo­ tent"; at Garth Clark Gallery, 24 W. 57th St. through Decemberlerie Carmet, 9\Ja "Continental Mosaic"; Washington Square Windows, 80 Washing­ ton Sq., E. through December Nobuhiro 13 Mizuma, "The Memory of Water"; at Capeluto Arts, 147 Reade St. through January 1, 2004 Young Sook Pahk, "Celestial Transformations"; at Gallery Pahk, 988 Madison Ave. Continued

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 86 Ceramics Monthly December 2003 87 calendar California, San Diego through December31 "Pot­ tery of Mata Ortiz"; at Wells Fargo Bank, 401 B St. through January 25, 2004 "Mingei of Japan—The Legacy of Its Founders: Soetsu Yanagi, Shoji Hamada through January 3, 2004 Marit Tingleff; atand Nancy Kanjiro Kawai"; at the Mingei International Mu­ Margolis Gallery, 523 W. 25th St. seum, Balboa Park, Plaza de Panama. New York, Port Chester January 5-24, 2004 An­ California, Santa Ana through December "Chi­ 14 drew Hall, "TeacherlArtist or Artist/Teacher." January nese Ceramics Today"; at Orange County Center for 30-February 26, 2004 Linda Christianson; at the Clay Contemporary Art, 117 N. Sycamore. Art Center, 40 Beech St. Colorado, Dolores through December 31 "The North Carolina, Asheville December 1-31 Kathy Struggle of the Clay," Mata Ortiz ceramics; at the Triplett; at Blue Spiral 1, 38 Biltmore Ave. Anasazi Heritage Center, 27501 Highway 184. North Carolina, Chapel Hill through February 24,Florida, Dunedin January 9-March "The 5, 2004 2004 Doug Dacey, "Colorful Elegance"; at Green TaraPower of Pottery"; at Dunedin Fine Art Center, 1143 Gallery, 1800 E. Franklin St., #18b Eastgate. Michigan Blvd. Oregon, Portland through January 11, 2004Florida, St. Petersburg through December20 "St. Joanna Bloom. January 17-March Rebekah 7, 2004 Petersburg Clay National 2003"; at St. Petersburg Clay Diamantopoulos; at Contemporary Crafts Museum &Company, 420 22nd St., S. Gallery, 3934 S.W. Corbett Ave. Georgia, Atlanta through December24 " MudFire Pennsylvania, Chester Springs through Decem­Holiday Pottery Show"; at MudFire Gallery, 1441 ber 12 M. C. Richards, "The Fire Within"; at Chester Dresden Dr., Ste. 250. Springs Studio, 1671 Art School Rd. Hawai'i, Honolulu January 18-February 13, 2004 Pennsylvania, Philadelphia through December "Chinese Ceramics Today"; at University of Hawai'i 31 Yoon Kwang-cho, "Mountain Dreams: Contempo­ Art Gallery, 2444 Dole St. rary Ceramics"; at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, January 29-March "From 14the Hand: Five Hawai'i Benjamin Franklin Pkwy. at 26th St. Ceramists," works by Kauka de Silva, Daven Hee, December2-31 WesleyAnderegg, "Whimsical CupsHideo Okino, Reid Ozaki and Yukio Ozaki.January31- and Saucers"; at the Works Gallery, 303 Cherry St. March 14, 2004 "Quiet Beauty: Fifty Centuries of Japa­ January 2-25, 2004 Lisa Naples.January 2-Febru- nese Folk Ceramics"; at Honolulu Academy of Arts, ary 1, 2004 Rain Harris, "Gilding the Lily."January2- Graphic Arts Gallery and Gallery 14, 900 Beretania St. February 15, 2004 Denise Pelletier; at the Clay Studio, Illinois, Chicago through December Charlie 15 139 N. Second St. Jahn and Mie Kongo; at Lillstreet Art Center, 4401 N. Texas, Houston through December Nick Joerling; 11 Ravenswood Ave. at North Harris College, 2700 W.W. Thorne Dr. through January "The 4, 2004 Artful Teapot: 20th- Wisconsin, Racine through January Marek 18,2004 Century Expressions from the Kamm Collection"; at Cecula, "The Last Supper"; at the Racine Art Museum, the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington. 441 Main St. Indiana, Ft. Wayne through January "Cup: 9,2004 The Intimate Object II"; at Charlie Cummings Clay Group Ceramics Exhibitions Studio, 4130 S. Clinton St. Maryland, Baltimore through December 24 Arizona, Tempe through February 1, 2004"Winterfest "Be­ 2003." January 10-February 14, 2004 yond Boundaries: The Yixing Influence on Contempo­ "100 Teapots 2"; at Baltimore Clayworks, 5707 Smith rary American Ceramics"; at the Ceramics Research Ave. Center, Arizona State University Art Museum, Nelson Maryland, Frederick December 19,2003-January Fine Arts Center, corner of Mill Ave. and 10th St. 23, 2004 "Flame and Brushstroke," works by Leila California, Claremont January 24-April 4, 2004Holtsman and Shin-Yeon Jeon; at Hood College, Tatem "Ceramic Annual 2004, 60th Scripps Ceramic An­ Arts Center, Hodson Gallery, 401 Rosemont Ave. nual"; at Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery, Scripps Massachusetts, Lenox through December28 "Stu­ College, 1030 Columbia Ave. dio Pottery Invitational 2003"; at Ferrin Gallery, 69 California, El Cajon January26-February20, Church 2004 St. "Viewpoint: Ceramics 2004"; at Grossmont College Massachusetts, Worcester January 29-February Hyde Art Gallery, 8800 Grossmont College Dr. 21, 2004 "Handle It"; at Worcester Center for Crafts, California, Laguna Beach through February 25 22, Sagamore Rd. 2004 "Rebels in Clay: Peter Voulkos and the Otis Michigan, Detroit through December31 "Earthy Group"; at Laguna Art Museum, 307 Cliff Dr. Treasures Holiday Invitational."January 16-February California, Long Beach through April 4, 200422, 2004 "Heads and Bodies"; at Pewabic Pottery, "Clay Bodies: Staffordshire Figurative Ceramics from 10125 E. Jefferson Ave. the Collection of Dr. and Mrs. Leslie Dornfeld"; at the Michigan, Grand Rapids through January4, 2004 Long Beach Museum of Art, 2300 E. Ocean Blvd. "Quiet Beauty: Fifty Centuries of Japanese Folk Ce­ California, Los Angeles through Decemberramics 7 from the Montgomery Collection"; at the "Face to Face, One Hundred WWII Veterans in Clay," Frederik Meijer Gardens, 1000 E. Beltline Ave., NE. works by Claire Hanzakos, Kaija Keel and Jilda Schwartz; Minnesota, Minneapolis January 16-February 22, at Jose Drudis-Biada Art Gallery, Mount St. Mary's2004 "Three Jerome Artists," works by Megan College, 12001 Chalon Rd. Bergstrom, Lis Buck and Alex Spaulding. "Fire, Form through December28 "CeramicTrees of Life: Popu­ and Figure," works by Jeffrey Noska and Barbara lar Art from Mexico"; at the UCLA Fowler Museum of Reinhart; at the Northern Clay Center, 2424 Franklin Cultural History, North Campus. Ave., E. through January25,2004 "California Pottery: From Mississippi, Biloxi through January30,2004 "Born Missions to Modernism"; at the Autry Museum of of Biloxi: George Ohr, Joseph Meyer, Manuel Jalani- Western Heritage, 4700 Western Heritage Way. vich"; at the Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art, 136 G.E. through February 1, "Transmitting 2004 Culture: Ohr St. Korean Ceramics from Korean-American Collections New Jersey, Surf City through January 5, 2004 in Southern California"; at Los Angeles County Mu­ "4th Annual Holiday Show"; at m. t. burton gallery, seum of Art, 5905 Wilshire Blvd. 1819 Long Beach Blvd. California, Sacramento through December New 6 Mexico, Santa Fe December 5, 2003-Janu- "(kup) Show," with works by Jon Ballstaedt, Rebekah ary3, 2004 "Clay Artists of New Mexico." January 9- Diamantopoulos, Brian Fries, Kate Maury, and MollyFebruary 7, 2004 "Three Person Exhibition—Arthur Roberts and Kathleen Kershaw; at exploding head Gonzalez, Ralph Scala, Michaelene Walsh"; at Santa gallery, 924 12th St. Fe Clay, 1615 Paseo de Peralta. Continued

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 88 Ceramics Monthly December 2003 89 calendar through January 3, 2004 "Functional CeramicsOhio, Marion January 5-February 20, 2004 "Al­ Invitational," with works by Hank Goodman, Silvie tered Lives," with Janis Mars Wunderlich and Marty Granatelli, Nick Joerling, Leah Leitson, Suze Lind­ Shuter; at the Ohio State University Marion, Morrill say, Linda McFarling, Donald Penny, Mark Peters, Hall, 1465 Mt. Vernon Ave. New York, Garrison through December "Pas­ 7 Sara Roland and Tom Spleth; at Blue Spiral 1, 38 Ohio, Rocky River through December Recent 20 sionate Fire 2003: Wood-Fired Ceramics," works by Biltmore Ave. works by William Brouillard, Robert Bruch and Pete Roger Baumann, Joy Brown, Chrissy Callas, Peter Callas, North Carolina, Charlotte January 31-May 30,Scherzer; River Gallery, 19056 Old Detroit Rd. Paul Chaleff, Tony Moore, Tim Rowan and Jeff Shapiro; 2004 "The Artful Teapot: Expressions from the Kamm Oregon, Portland December 3-24 "Cup 2003: at Germaine Keller Gallery, 17A Garrison's Landing. Collection"; at the Mint Museum of Craft + Design, Sixth Annual Invitational"; at Fifth Element Gallery, New York, Port Chester December 4-20 "Fine 220 N. Tryon St. 404 N.W. Tenth Ave., Ste. 1. Functional Pottery and Ceramic Sculpture," members' Ohio, Columbus through December 7 "21st Cen­January 17-March "Soul 7, 2004 of a Bowl," tea annual exhibition; at Clay Art Center, 40 Beech St. tury Ceramics in the United Statesand Canada"; at the bowls by Frank Boyden, Tom and Elaine Coleman, Don New York, Saratoga Springs December 1, 2003-Columbus College of Art & Design, Canzani Center Reitz, and Jenny Lind; at Contemporary Crafts Mu­ January 15, 2004 "Bottles and Bowls"; at Hall'sGallery, corner of Cleveland Ave. and Gay St. seum 8t Gallery, 3934 S.W. Corbett Ave. Peppermill, 165 High Rock Ave. Ohio, Kettering through December "Earth 12 in Pennsylvania, Erie through February8, 2004 "Art North Carolina, Asheville through DecemberBalance," 12 a regional clay competition; at Rosewood Nouveau Tiles"; at the Erie Art Museum, 411 State St. " Salt and Pepper"; at Odyssey Gallery, 242 Clingman Ave.Gallery, 2655 Olson Dr. Pennsylvania, Philadelphia through February 8, 2004 "Elegant Innovations: American Rookwood Pot­ tery, 1880-1960"; at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Benjamin Franklin Pkwy. at 26th St. Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh Decembers, 2003-Janu- ary28, 2004 "Ritualistic Pots," works by Marlene Boyle and Kyle Hallam; at the Clay Place, 5416 Walnut St. through March 20, "Elizabeth 2004 R. Raphael Founder's Prize"; at the Society for Contemporary Craft, 2100 Smallman St. South Carolina, Columbia through January 6, 2004 Exhibition of gallery ceramists; at Southern Pot­ tery Workcenter and Gallery, 2771 Rosewood Dr. Texas, Houston through December 24 "Objects d'Clay," works by Judy Adams, Henry Gamble III, John Herman, Daryl McCracken, Katy McKinin and Bob Reddell; at Foelber Gallery, 706 Richmond Ave. Utah, Logan through December "Clay West: 6 2003 Intermountain Invitational"; at Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art, Utah State University, 650 N. 1100 East. Wisconsin, Racine through January "The 4, 2004 Donna Moog Teapot Collection." "From the Kilns of Denmark: Contemporary Danish Ceramics"; at the Racine Art Museum, 441 Main St.

Ceramics in Multimedia Exhibitions

Arizona, Mesa January 21-February 28, 2004 "26th Annual Contemporary Crafts"; at Mesa Con­ temporary Arts, 155 N. Center St. Arizona, Tempe through January 4, 2004 "Mexi­ can Folk Art in Context"; at Arizona State University Art Museum, Nelson Fine Arts Center, corner of Mill Ave. and 10th St. Arizona, Tucson through January "Go 3, 2004 Figure," including ceramics by Michael Corney and Jenny Mendes. January 10-February 21, Three- 2004 person exhibition including works by Mary Fischer and Toni Sodersten; at Obsidian Gallery, 4320 N. Campbell, Ste. 130. Arkansas, Little Rock through January 4, 2004 "The 31st Annual Toys Designed by Artists Exhibi­ tion"; at Arkansas Arts Center, 501 E. Ninth St. California, La Jolla through December "Festi­ 26 val of Lights," ninth annual Menorah show; at Gallery Alexander, 7925a Girard Ave. California, La Quinta through December31 "The Figurative"; at the Figurative, Gallery of Contemporary Art, Carmel Bldg., 78065 Main St., Ste 102. California, Long Beach through January25, 2004 "Suenos y Encuentros: Works from the Collection of Latin American Masters," including works by Lidya Buzio and Gustavo Perez; at the Long Beach Museum of Art, 2300 E. Ocean Blvd. California, Los Angeles through December 5 "Coming of Age in Ancient Greece: Images of Child­ hood from the Classical Past"; at the J. Paul Getty Museum, 1200 Getty Center Dr. through January "The 4, Circle2004 of Bliss: Bud­ dhist Meditational Art"; at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 5905 Wilshire Blvd. Continued

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 90 Ceramics Monthly December 2003 91 calendar

California, Richmond January 29-March 20,2004 "Learned Behavior, Group Exhibition of Artwork by Instructors in the Richmond Art Center's On-Site and Off-Site Programs"; at Richmond Art Center, 2540 Barrett Ave. California, Sacramento through January 19,2004 " Icons or Portraits? Images of Jesus and Mary from the Collection of Michael Hall"; at the Crocker Art Mu­ seum, 216 0 St. California, San Diego through December 31 "Pre-Columbian Art—Marine Animal Forms"; at the Mingei International Museum, Balboa Park, Plaza de Panama. California, San Francisco through December 28 "Craft Showcase 4"; at the Museum of Craft & Folk Art, Ft. Mason Center, Bldg. A. California, San Jose through February 15, 2004 "The Not-So-Still-Life: A Century of California Painting and Sculpture"; at San Jose Museum of Art, 110 S. Market St. Colorado, Denver through December "Chinese 7 Art of the Tang Dynasty from the Sze Hong Collec­ tion." through January 23, 2005 "Tiwanaku: Riches and Rituals of the Ancient Andes"; at the Denver Art Museum, 100 W. 14th Ave. Pkwy. Colorado, Littleton through December "Mate­ 5 rials Speak," including ceramics by Peter Durst; at Arapahoe Community College, Colorado Gallery of the Arts, 5900 S. Santa Fe Dr. Connecticut, New Haven through December 24 "35th Annual Celebration of American Crafts"; at Creative Arts Workshop, 80 Audubon St. Connecticut, Westport through December 31 "Memories2003," invitational exhibition of Christmas ornaments and Hanukah menorahs; at Signature Fine Contemporary Crafts, 48 Post Rd., E. D.C., Washington through January "Tea 4, 2004 Utensils Under Wraps," tea-ceremony wares and their decorative storage containers. "Tales and Legends in Japanese Art."January 31 -July 18, "The 2004 Tea Ceremony as Melting Pot"; at the Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, 12th St. and Independence Ave., SW. Florida, Nicevilie January 18-February 26, 2004 "Florida Craftsmen's 50th Anniversary Exhibition"; at Okaloosa-Walton Community College Arts Center, 100 College Blvd. Florida, St. Petersburg through December31 "A Season of Giving: Members Holiday Show"; at the Florida Craftsmen Gallery, 501 Central Ave. Florida, West Palm Beach through December 23 "Florida Craftsmen's 50th Anniversary Exhibition"; at the Armory Art Center, 1703 S. Lake Ave. Georgia, Atlanta through January "The 4, 2004 Etruscans: An Ancient Culture Revealed"; at Fernbank Museum of Natural History, 767 Clifton Rd., NE. Hawai'i, Honolulu January 14-April 18, 2004 "Alsdorf Collection of Japanese Paintings and Ceram­ ics"; at the Honolulu Academy of Arts, Japan Gallery, 900 S. Beretania St. Illinois, Chicago through December 27 "2 A Tea." "Presence Presents"; at Function + Art, 1046 W. Fulton Market. December 5-31 "29th Annual Holiday Show"; at Lillstreet Art Center, 4401 N. Ravenswood. Louisiana, New Orleans through January 11, 2004 "Treasures for NOMA: Recent Acquisitions in the Decorative Arts"; at the New Orleans Museum of Art, 1 Collins Diboll Cir. Maryland, Baltimore through January 4, 2004 "Eternal Egypt: Masterworks of Ancient Art from the British Museum"; at the Walters Art Gallery, 5 W. Mt. Vernon PI. Massachusetts, Boston through January 18,2004 "Domesticated Animals," including works by Tom

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 92 Ceramics Monthly December 2003 93 calendar Ohio, Columbus through December 7 "Common Ground World Project," includes works created from the 188 United Nations' member countries; at the Columbus College of Art & Design, Canzani Center Gallery, corner of Cleveland Ave. and Gay St. Binger, Linda Cordell, Melody Ellis, Naoko Gomi, Renee Oregon, Coburg through January 25, 2004 "LA Harris, Karen Koblitz, Laura Jean McLaughlin, LauraPETITE XI"; at Alder Gallery, corner of N. Willamette Perry, Susan Peterson and Sandy Shaw; at the Society and Pearl St. of Arts and Crafts, 175 Newbury St. Oregon, Portland through February 15, 2004 Massachusetts, Brockton through January4,2004 "Saluting Six Decades: Contemporary Crafts Artists- "Craft Transformed: Boston University's Program in in-Residence"; at Contemporary Crafts Museum & Artisanry 1975-1985"; at the Fuller Museum of Art, Gallery, 3934 S.W. Corbett Ave. 455 Oak St. Pennsylvania, Wayne December 6, 2003- Massachusetts, Chestnut Hill through December January 23, 2004 "Craft Forms 2003"; at Wayne Art 31 "Memories 2003," invitational exhibition of Christ­ Center, 413 Maplewood Ave. mas ornaments and Hanukah menorahs; at Signature South Carolina, Charleston through December Fine Contemporary Crafts, the Mall at Chestnut Hill. 12 "JAWS: Just Art With Sharks"; at the South Caro­ Massachusetts, Mashpee through Decemberlina 31 Aquarium, 100 Aquarium Wharf. " Memories 2003," invitational exhibition of Christmas Tennessee, Gatlinburg through December 20 ornaments and Hanukah menorahs; at Signature Fine "New Directions, Southern Connections: Potters of Contemporary Crafts, 10 Steeple St. the Roan and Tapestry Weavers South"; at Arrowmont Massachusetts, New Bedford through Decem­School of Arts and Crafts, 556 Parkway. ber 13 "Craft Transformed: Program in Artisanry, Texas, Denton January 31 -March 21, 2004 "17th Swain School of Design 1985-1987, University of Annual Materials Hard and Soft"; at Meadows Gallery, Massachusetts Dartmouth 1988-2002"; at University Center for the Visual Arts, 400 E. Hickory St. Art Gallery, Star Store, UMASS, 715 Purchase St. Virginia, Leesburg December2,2003-February 1, Michigan, Royal Oak through December 2004 8"Time for Tea"; at Rendezvous Gallery, 5 Loudoun "Steeped in Tradition," 17th annual teapot exhibition; St., SE. at Ariana Gallery, 119 S. Main St. Washington, Moses Lake through December 31 Minnesota, Minneapolis through January "A 11, Gift of Art for the Holidays"; at the Moses Lake 2004 "Sacred Symbols, Four Thousand Years of An­ Museum & Art Center, 228 W. Third Ave. cient American Art"; at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, 2400 Third Ave., S. Mississippi, Biloxi through December31 "George Fairs, Festivals and Sales E. Ohr National Arts Challenge"; at the Ohr-O'Keefe Museum, 136 G. E. Ohr St. Arizona, Carefree January 16-18, 2004 "11th Missouri, Louisiana through December 14 "HolidayAnnual Carefree Fine Art and Wine Festival"; down­ Magic"; at the Old School, Dixon Gallery, 515 Jackson. town, Easy and Ho Hum sts. Missouri, St. Louis through December 24 "39thCalifornia, Berkeley December 6-7, 13-14 and Annual Holiday Exhibition"; at Craft Alliance Gallery, 20-21 "Berkeley Artisans Holiday Open Studios." For 6640 Delmar Blvd. information and locations, send SASE to Berkeley Missouri, Warrensburg January 26-February Artisans 27, Map, 2547 Eighth St., #24A, Berkeley 94710; 2004 "Greater Midwest International XIX"; at Central see website www.berkeleyartisans.com; telephone Missouri State University, Art Center Gallery, 217 Clark St.(510) 845-2612. New Hampshire, Concord through December California, 12 La Jolla through December 31 "Holi­ "Lighten Up." January 12-March 12, 2004 day "High 2003"; at Gallery Alexander, 7925a Girard Ave. Tech—Hand Made"; at Gallery 205, 205 N. Main St. California, Richmond December 7 "Annual Holi­ New Hampshire, Hanover through December days 14 Arts Festival and Auction"; at Richmond Art "Coming of Age in Ancient Greece: Images of Child­ Center, 2540 Barrett Ave. hood from the Classical Past"; at the Hood Museum of Connecticut, Brookfield through December 31 Art, Dartmouth College, Wheelock St. "28th Annual Holiday Exhibition and Sale"; at New Jersey, Princeton through January 18,Brookfield 2004 Craft Center, Rte. 25. "The Centaur's Smile: The Human Animal in Early Connecticut, Danbury December 6-7 "Annual Greek Art"; at Princeton University Art Museum, Holiday Pottery Sale"; at Wooster Community Art McCormick Hall. Center, 73 Miry Brook Rd. New Mexico, Silver City through December Connecticut, 15 East Hartford December 6-7 and "Dominant Sense," two-person exhibition including 13-14 "28th Holiday Open Studio"; at Greenleaf ceramics by Todd Shelby; at the Blue Dome Gallery, Pottery, 686 Tolland St. 307 N. Texas St. Connecticut, Middletown through December 13 New York, Corning December 5-January28, "The2004 Wesleyan Potters 48th Annual Exhibition and "Clay and Glass," including works by Gary Baxter, Du Sale"; at Wesleyan Potters, Inc., 350 S. Main St. Chau, Randy J. Johnston, Liz Lurie, Alleghany Mead­ Florida, Fort Lauderdale January 23-25, 2004 ows, Mary Pollock, Steven Roberts, Tim Rowan and "Paradise City Arts Festival"; at Broward County Con­ Jane Osborn Smith; at Corning Community College, vention Center, 1950 Eisenhower Blvd. Atrium Gallery, 1 Academic Dr. Florida, Miami Beach January 7-11, 2004 "Art New York, New York through January 3,Miami 2004 2004"; at the Miami Beach Convention Center, "Celebrations," including works by Karen Bennicke, Jack 1901 Convention Center Dr., Hall D. Earl, Lisa Henriques, Sadashi Inuzuka, Shida Kuo and Tip Hawai'i, Honolulu through December 14 "22nd Toland; at Nancy Margolis Gallery, 523 W. 25th St. Annual World Art Bazaar"; at Honolulu Academy of through January 18, 2004 "Hunt for Paradise:Arts, Linekona Art Center, 1111 Victoria St. Court Arts of Iran, 1501-1576"; at the Asia Society, Maryland, Baltimore December 6-23 "Holiday 725 Park Ave. Extravaganza"; at Baltimore Clayworks, 5707 Smith Ave. through July 6, "Petra:2004 Lost City of Stone"; at Maryland, Gaithersburg December 12-14 the American Museum of Natural History, Central "Sugarloaf Crafts Festival"; at Montgomery County Park, W. at 79th St. Fairgrounds, 16 Chestnut St. North Carolina, Asheville through January Massachusetts, 3, Boston December "Crafts 5-7 at 2004 "Still Life Invitational," including ceramics by the Castle"; at the Castle at Park Plaza, Arlington St. Steven Forbes deSoule and Virginia Scotchie; at Blue and Columbus Ave. Spiral 1, 38 Biltmore Ave. Massachusetts, Worcester December 4-23 "4th

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 94 Ceramics Monthly December 2003 95 calendar

Annual Holiday Faculty Show and Sale"; at Worcester Center for Crafts, 25 Sagamore Rd. Minnesota, Minneapolis through January4,2004 "Holiday Exhibition and Sale"; at Northern Clay Center, 2424 Franklin Ave., E. Missouri, Kansas City December5-7 "Annual Hol­ iday Open House"; at Red Star Studios, 821 W. 17th St. Montana, Missoula December 5-31 "The Clay Studio Annual Christmas Sale"; at the Clay Studio, 910 Dickens. New Jersey, Demarest December "29th 5-7 An­ nual Pottery Show and Sale"; at Old Church Cultural Center School of Art, 561 Piermont Rd. New Mexico, Santa Fe December 5" 11 th Annual Holiday Sale and Open House" at Santa Fe Clay, 1615 Paseo de Peralta. New York, Eastchester December "Hudson 5-7 River Potters' Show and Sale"; at Eastchester Public Library, 11 Oak Ridge PI. New York, New York January 14-18, "Fifth 2004 Annual New York Ceramics Fair"; the National Acad­ emy of Design Museum, 1083 Fifth Ave. North Carolina, Marion December 6 "17th An­ nual Appalachian Potters Market"; at McDowell High School, 600 MHS Dr. Ohio, Columbus through December "Gifts 23of the Craftsmen Holiday Exhibition and Sale"; at the Ohio Craft Museum, 1665 W. Fifth Ave. December "Annual 13 Holiday Student Art Sale"; at Columbus College of Art & Design, Canzani Center Gallery, corner of Cleveland Ave. and Gay St. Pennsylvania, Philadelphia December 3-24 "Gifted," holiday show; at the Clay Studio, 139 N. Second St. Virginia, Chantilly January 30-February 1, 2004 "Sugarloaf Craft Festival"; at Dulles Expo Center, 4320 Brookfield Corporate Dr. Washington, Moses Lake January 30-March 5, 2004 "Columbia Basin Invitational"; at Moses Lake Museum& Art Center, 228 W. Third Ave. Workshops

Arizona, Phoenix December "Circus 5-7 Ceramic Surfaces" with Brian Gartside. Fee: $150. For further information, contact Desert Dragon Pottery, PO Box 41008, Phoenix 85080-1008; see website www.desertdragonpottery.com; or telephone (602) 690-6956. December 10 "Modern Day Alchemy: Turning Clay into Gold," lecture by David Bradley; at the Phoenix Civic Plaza. Contact David Bradley, 2233 N. 56th Ave., Phoenix 85035; e-mail [email protected]; or tele­ phone (602) 269-1244. Arkansas, Mountain View March 21-26, 2004 "Firing a Wood-Fired Groundhog Kiln." Fee: $200, includes 36x36 inches of kiln space for work up to 9 inches tall in Cone 10 clay; participants should bring Cone 10 bisqueware and Cone 10 glaze. "Beginning Pottery and Slip Decorating." Fee: $200. Both work­ shops with Judi Munn and John Perry. Contact Kay Thomas, Ozark Folk Center, PO Box 500, Mountain View 72560; e-mail [email protected]; or tele­ phone (870) 269-3851. California, Claremont January 24, 2004 "What is American in American Ceramics," lecture with Jo Lauria, in conjunction with the 60th Scripps Ceramic Annual; at Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery, Scripps College, 1030 Columbia Ave., Claremont 91711; or telephone (909) 607-3397. Colorado, Boulder February 21-22, 2004 Work­ shop with Matt Long. Fee: $100. All skill levels. Contact the Boulder Potters Guild, PO Box 19676, Boulder 80308; [email protected] ; telephone (303) 447-0310 or (303) 444-0802. Continued

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 96 Ceramics Monthly December 2003 97 www.hood.edu/academic/art/text/registration.html; calendar or telephone (301) 696-3456. Massachusetts, Stockbridge January24-25,2004 "The Thrills, Problems and Discipline of Throwing" with Connecticut, Brookfield January 17-18, 2004Scott Goldberg. Fee: $180. Contact IS183, Art School of "Jars and Lids" with Michael Conelly. "Public and the Berkshires, PO Box 1400, Stockbridge 01262; e-mail Private Commissions" with Elizabeth MacDonald.Janu­ [email protected]; see website www.ISI 83. org; telephone ary 24-25, 2004 "Coil and Slab Handbuilding" with (413) 298-5252;or fax (413) 298-5257. Elizabeth MacDonald. "Clay and Glaze Defects" with Missouri, Kansas City February 7-8, 2004 Work­ Jeff Zamek. February 7-8, 2004 "Pottery for Teens"shop with RandyJohnstonandJan McKeachie-Johnston. with Chris Alexiades. February28-29, 2004 "Coil and Fee: $ 120; members, $ 108. Contact Allison Zimmer, Red Paddle Ceramics" with Peter Callas.March 26-28, Star Studios: [email protected] ; see website 2004 "Beyond the Wheel" with Mark Peters. Contact www.redstarstudios.org; or telephone (816) 474-7316 Brookfield Craft Center, 286 Whisconier Rd., PO Box Missouri, St. Louis December "Carving 6 An­ 122, Brookfield 06804-0122; see website gels" with Andrew Denney. Fee: $65; members, $50; www.brookfieldcraftcenter.org; telephone (203) 775- includes materials.December "Ceramic 13 Beads" 4526, ext. 102; or fax (203) 740-7815. with Mary Henderson. Fee: $64; members, $49; in­ Florida, West Palm Beach January 16-18, 2004cludes materials. For further information, contact "Handbuilt Pouring Vessels," workshop and lecture Craft Alliance, 6640 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis 63130; with Sam Chung. Fee: $160. January 26-30, 2004e-mail [email protected]; see website "Handbuilding with Soft Slabs, Part I and II," work­ www.craftalliance.org; telephone (314) 725-1 177. shop and lecture with Barbara Knutson. Fee: part I, New Jersey, Lodi December 6 "A Day with Peter $175; part II, $250. February 7-8, 2004 "Clay and Callas."December "Glaze 13 Mixing, Firing and De­ Creativity: Alternate Approaches," workshop and lec­ fect Troubleshooting" with Jeff Zamek. Fee: $90. ture with Jeff Shapiro. Fee: $160. February 20-22, Contact David Hughes, the Clay Education Center at 2004 "Altered Porcelain Pots," workshop and lecture Ceramic Supply, 7 Rte. 46 W, Lodi 07644; ortelephone with Leah Leitson. Fee: $190. March 1-5,2004 "Yixing (973) 340-3005. Teapots," workshop and lecture with Xiaoping Luo New York, East Setauket December "Raku" 6-7 and Junya Shao. Fee: $425. All lectures free. For with Peggy Stasi. Fee: $85. Contact Hands On Clay, further information, contact Armory Art Center, 1700 128 Old Town Rd., East Setauket 11733; see website Parker Ave., West Palm Beach 33401; see website www.handsonclay.com; or telephone (631)751-0011. www.armoryart.org; or telephone (888) 276-6791. New York, New York December " 5-7 PMC Con­ Florida, Dunedin January 10-11,2004 "Impressed nection Artisan Certificate." Fee: $450, includes mate­ Slab Pottery" with Kevin Hluch. For further informa­ rials, tools and firing. December "Techniques 6-7 in tion, contact David Shankweiler, Dunedin Fine Art Precious Metal Clay." Beginning and intermediate skill Center, 1143 Michigan Blvd., Dunedin 34698; or levels. Fee: $250, includes materials and firing. Con­ telephone (727) 298-3322, ext. 230. tact Vera Lightstone, 347 W. 39th St., New York Georgia, Atlanta January 17-18, 2004 "Tom 10018; e-mail [email protected]; website Coleman: Working with Porcelain." Fee: $110. Febru­ www.silverclay.com; telephone (212) 947-6879. ary 28-29, 2004 "Debra Fritts: Form, Surface and January 24 and 31, "Ceramic 2004 Plates" with Color." Fee: $90. For further information, contact Ellen Day. Fee: $90; members, $75. Contact Craft Glenn Dair, Callanwolde Fine Arts Center, 980 Briarcliff Students League, YWCA of the City of New York, 610 Rd., Atlanta 30306; e-mail [email protected]; or Lexington Ave., New York 10022; see website telephone (404) 874-9351. www.ywcanyc.org; or telephone (212) 735-9804. Illinois, Oak Park January 10-11, 2004 "Utility andNew York, Port Chester December "Dry 10 Throw­ Visual Inquiry" with Linda Christianson. Fee: $125. Contact ing" with Ayumi Horie. Fee: $75. December "Zoo- 11 DavidToan, Terra Incognito Studios, 246 Chicago Ave., Oakmorphic Forms: Porcelain and Beyond" with Bernadette Park 60302; see website www.terraincognitostudios.com; Curran. Fee: $75. January 31 -February "Pots 1, 2004 or telephone (708) 383-6228. with Soul" with Linda Christianson. Fee: $150. Con­ Kansas, Wichita January 8, 2004 "Wood Firing"tact the Clay Art Center, 40 Beech St., Port Chester with Chris Arensdorf and Peg Malloy. Participants 10573; or telephone (914) 937-2047. should bring 10-20 small to medium bisqued pieces. North Carolina, Charlotte February 21-22, 2004 January 10-11, Workshop 2004 and lecture with Peg "One on One" with Tom Coleman. Fee: $150, includes Malloy. Wood firing and workshop fee: $125; mem­ notebook, breakfast and lunch. Hosted by Carolina bers, $115. Workshop only fee: $75; members, $65. Claymatters Pottery Guild. For further information, con­ Lecture is free. Contact the Wichita Center for the Arts, tact Gary Lee at Rising Sun Pottery: e-mail 9112 E. Central, Wichita 67206; telephone (316) 634- [email protected]; ortelephone (704) 735-5820. 2787; or fax (316) 634-0539. Ohio, Columbus December 8 Slide lecture with Maryland, Baltimore January 12-16,2004 "Work­ Mary Roehm. Contact Columbus College of Art & ing Wet," hands-on workshop with Gay Smith. Inter­ Design, Canzani Center, corner of Cleveland Ave. mediate to advance skill levels. Fee: $300; members, and E. Gay St., Columbus 43215; see website $280; includes 25 lbs of clay. For further information, www.ccad.edu; or telephone (614) 224-9101. contact Leigh Taylor Mickelson, Baltimore Clayworks, Oklahoma, Norman February 28-29, 2004 Work­ 5707 Smith Ave., Baltimore 21209; e-mail shop with Doug Casebeer. Fee: $100, includes regis­ [email protected]; see website tration. Limit of 20 participants. Contact Firehouse Art www.baltimoreclayworks.org; telephone (410) 578- Center, 444 S. Flood, Norman 73069; or telephone 1919, ext. 10. (405) 329-4523. Maryland, Frederick January 8-11, 2004 Pennsylvania, Philadelphia February 6-8, 2004 "Master'sThrowing." Fee: $240. February7-8, 2004, "Flat to Functional" with Lisa Naples. Fee: $195; mem­ or May 15-16, 2004 "Plates and Platters." Fee: $150. bers, $180. March 27, 2004 "A Potter's Walking Tour February 28-29, 2004 "Eastern Coil." Fee: $150. of the University of PA Museum of Archeology and March 6-7, 2004 "Brushmaking" with Susan Nayfield Anthropology" with Claire Rodgers. Fee: $40; mem­ Kahn. Fee: $165. April 16-17, 2004 "Partners in bers, $35. April23-25, 2004 "Low-Tech Dish Sets from Clay" with Daphne Roehr Hatcher and Gary Hatcher. Bisque Molds" with Lisa Orr. Fee: $195; members, Fee: $185. May 1-2, 2004 "Glaze Application." Fee: $180. Contact the Clay Studio, 139 N. Second St., $150. Workshops (unless noted above) with Joyce Philadelphia 19106; or telephone (215) 925-3453. Michaud. Contact Joyce Michaud, Ceramics Program, Texas, Austin January 31-February 1, 2004 "Pour­ Hood College Art Dept., 401 Rosemont Ave., Frederick ing Forms with Template Construction" with Sam 21701; e-mail [email protected]; website Chung. Fee: $115. Contact Clayways Studio, 5442

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 98 Ceramics Monthly December 2003 99 calendar

Burnet Rd., Austin 78756; e-mail [email protected]; or telephone (512) 459-6445. Texas, San Antonio January 17, 2004 "Transi­ tions and Transformations, " slide lecture with Geoffrey Wheeler. March 12, 2004 "Imaginative Figures in Clay," slide lecture with Janis Mars Wunderlich. Free. Contact the Southwest School of Art and Craft, 300 Augusta, San Antonio 78205; see website www.swschool.org ; telephone (210) 224-1848. Wisconsin, Fish Creek December 8-11 "Begin­ ning Throwing" with Rich Higdon. Fee: $190, plus materials.January 5-8, 2004 "Dishesfor Dishes" with David Caradori. Fee: $160, plus materials.January 26, 28,30,2004 "Ceramics Glazing Workshop" with John Hansen and Joseph Pesina. Fee: $90.February 19-21, 2004 "Tile Making" with Jeanne Aurelius. Fee: $150, plus materials.April 12-15, 2004 "Beauty From Fire— Japanese Raku Pottery" with Brian Fitzgerald. Fee: $ 160, plus materials. May3-6, 2004 " Figure Modeling in Clay" with Kirsten Christianson. Fee: $150, plus materials.May 17-20, 2004 "Ceramicsfor Sushi" with David Caradori. Fee: $160, plus materials. For further information, contact Peninsula Art School, PO Box 304, 3900 County Hwy. F, Fish Creek 54212; e-mail [email protected]; see website www.peninsulaartschool.com; telephone (920) 868- 3455; or fax (920) 868-9965.

International Events

Anguilla, British West Indies December 8-13 "Possibilities in Tile," workshop with Susan Reynolds. Fee: $700, includes lodging, breakfast, lunch. Contact Art Workshops, PO Box 593, the Valley, Anguilla, BWI; e-mail [email protected]; or see website www.Anguillaguide.com/workshops. Canada, Alberta, Calgary December 9, 2003- January9, New2004 work by Bonnie Anderson; at the Croft, 2105 Fourth St., SW. Canada, Ontario, Burlington through December 21 "Recent Acquisitions," a selection of new work highlighting the donations to the permanent collec­ tion in 2002. through March 21, "Something's 2004 Brewing," including works by Tony and Sheila Clennell, Bruce Cochrane, Leopold Foulem, and Richard and Carol Self ridge. December 5, 2003-February 10, 2004 "I Know What I Like, Selections from the Herbert O. Bunt Donation"; at the Burlington Art Centre, 1333 Lakeshore Rd. Canada, Ontario, Scarborough December6 "Im­ proving Your Throwing Skills" with Robert Tetu. Free. For further information, contact the Gardener's Cot­ tage, Cedar Ridge Creative Centre, 225 Confederation Dr.; e-mail [email protected]; see website www.clayandglass.on.ca; telephone (416) 438-8946; or fax (416) 438-0192. Canada, Ontario, Toronto through December 24 "'Tisthe Season: The Holiday Collection"; at the Guild

Shop, f 118 Cumberland St. through January "Art 4, 2004 Deco 1910-1939"; at the Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen's Park. through January "Passion18, 2004 and Porcelain: Pre-Revolutionary French Ceramics from the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art"; at the Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art, 111 Queen's Park. England, Bath through December New ce­ 23 ramic figures by John Maltby; at Beaux Arts-Bath, 12/13 York St. England, Bovey Tracey through December 31 "Surface Tension." December 6 and "Christmas 13 Fair"; atthe Devon Guild of Craftsmen, Riverside Mill. England, Leeds through January 17, 2004 Jennie Hale, raku animal forms; at the Craft Centre & Design Gallery, City Art Gallery, The Headrow.Continued

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 100 Ceramics Monthly December 2003 101 Italy, Tuscany May 14-31, 2004 One-week hands- calendar on workshop with Denys James; one-week hands-on terra-sigillata workshop with Giovanni Cimatti. See website www.denysjames.comlexcursionslitaly. England, Leicester January 17-February2l, 2004Jamaica, Trelawny April 23-May 1, 2004 "Wood- "Modus OperandilFive Ceramic Artists"; at the City Fired Ceramics: inspiration and form" with Doug Gallery, 90 Granby St. Casebeer, Jeff Oestreich and David Pinto.Tuition: $2050- England, Liverpool December 1-31 Eddie and $2850; includes housing and meals. Deposit $500; Margaret Curtis, window gallery; at Bluecoat Displayregistration: $150. Payment in full by March 1. Limit of Centre, Bluecoat Chambers, School Ln. 12 participants. Contact Anderson Ranch Arts Center, England, London through December "Home 24 PO Box 5598, Snowmass Village, CO 81615; see web­ for Christmas." Anthony Theakston; at Contemporary site www.andersonranch.org; telephone (970) 923- Applied Arts, 2 Percy St. 3181. through January 10, 2004 "The Human Figure";Japan, at Kyoto and Shigaraki May8-June 9, 2004 Cecilia Colman Gallery, 67 St. Johns Wood High St. Four-week study program sponsored by the University through January 10, 2004 Philip Eglin; atof Barrett Georgia. For further information, contact Glen Marsden Gallery, 17-18 Great Sutton St. Kaufman: [email protected] ; or tele­ through January 25, 2004 "A Winter's Tale,"phone in­ (706) 542-1660. cluding ceramics by Jeremy James and Philip Wood; at Mexico, Oaxaca February 22-29, 2004 "Oaxacan Crafts Council Gallery, 44A Pentonville Rd. Clay Workshop" with Eric Mindling. Fee: $ 1050-$ 1300. England, Newark through December28 "Light." Contact Oaxacan Clay: [email protected] ; or through January 1, 2004 "Tea for Two"; atsee Rufford website www.manos-de-oaxaca.com. Ceramic Center, Rufford Country Park nr. Ollerton. Mexico, Puebla, Oaxaca and Mexico City Feb­ England, Sherborne January 17-February21,2004 ruary 12-22, 2004 "The Clay Studio Mexico Tour" Stoneware by Deidre Burnett. Low-fired porcelain by Fee: $2995, includes airfare, hotels, meals and trans­ Anne James. Salt-glazed stoneware by Marcus portation. For further information or a brochure, O'Mahoney; at Alpha House Gallery, South St. e-mail [email protected]; telephone Amy Sarner England, Yanwath (near Penrith) through JanuaryWilliams (215) 925-3453, ext. 12; or telephone Julia 10,2004"Cats," functional and sculptural cats, lionsandZagar (215) 925-0193. tigers. January 28-March 20, "Hearts 2004 of Glass Netherlands, Delft through December 13 Michael (and Clay)"; at Laburnum Ceramics Gallery. Cleff. through January 10, "The 2004 Dark Days in France, Nan^ay through December Three-per­ 14 Delft," works by Mieke Montagne, Frans Ottink, Bob son exhibition including ceramic sculpture by Axel van Schie and Renate Weidner. December20-January Cassel. through December 79Three-person exhibition 31, 2004 Piet Stockmans. January 17-February 28, including ceramics by Gordon Baldwin; at Galerie 2004Aisaku Suzuki; atTerra Keramiek, Nieuwstraat 7. Capazza, Grenier de Villatre. Netherlands, Deventer through December 31 France, Thionville through December 17 Nathalie "Terre Montarou, Brigitte Penicaud and Claude Contemporaine Belgium and France," including ce­ Varlan; at Loes and Reinier, Korte Assenstraat 15. ramic sculpture by Monique Muylaert and Herman Netherlands, Laren through December Barbara 15 Muys; at Centre Culturel Jacques Brel, 7, Place de la Nanning, "Evolution"; at the Singer Museum, Oude Drift 1. Gare, Square Jean Moulin. Netherlands, Leeuwarden through December28 Germany, Hamburg through December 14"White "Art Porcelain"; at St. Joseph Gallery, Frederik and Craft 2003."December "The 13 Colors of Meissen Ruyschstraat 10. Porcelain," lecture by Carlos Boerner.December 13- Norway, Oslo through December Nina 14 14 "JapaneseTea Ceremony," a presentation.Decem­ Malterud; at RAM Galleri, Kongens Gate 3. ber 14 "Technical Perspectives in Porcelain—New Work Republic of China, Taiwan through December 14 in the Field of Ceramics and Glass Design from Burg Three-person ceramics exhibition—Ching-Yuan Chang, Giebichenstein," lecture by Professor Hubert Kittel; at Keith Ekstam, Howard Koerth; at Ghu-Yun Art Gallery, Museum fur Kunst und Gewerbe, Steintorplatz. Yingge Village, Taipei. Germany, Karlsruhe December 14-January through 18, January "The 5, 2004Third Taipei Ceram­ 2004 "Pioneer of Modern Ceramics," Colin Pearson at ics Award Exhibition"; atTaipei County Yingge Ceram­ 80; at Badisches Landesmuseum, Schloss 76131. ics Museum, 200 Wenhua Rd., Yingge Jen. Guatemala, Antigua February 17-26,2004 "Ceram- Scotland, Edinburgh through December24 Craig icslPorcelain with a Mayan Touch" with Melinda Collins. Mitchell. "Covetable Applied Art," including works by Fee: $1850, includes airfare, tuition, lodging, breakfasts, Pauline Zelinski; at the Scottish Gallery, 16 Dundas St. ground transportation and field trips. Contact Melinda: Scotland, Fife through December "Presence 21 [email protected]@artguat.org; see website and Absence," including porcelain by Mary White. www.artguat.org; telephone (612)825-0747; or fax (612) "Presents + Impulses," includng ceramics by Wendy 825-6637. Jung and Clare Wratten; at Crawford Arts Centre, 93 India, Jaipur and New Delhi February 6-19, 2004 North St., St. Andrews. "Arts and Culture in North India," hands-on workshop with Spain, Manises through January 18, "Sixth 2004 traditional potters. Fee: $3950. Contact Jim Danisch orOmaInternational Biennial of Ceramics, Manises"; at Museu Judith Chase: [email protected] ; see websitede Ceramica de Manises, Calle Sagrario, 22. www.jandjtrips.com; or telephone (707) 629-3335. Switzerland, Kirchberg through December 14 Italy, Certaldo April 17-May 1, 2004 "Architec­ "augenblicken," sculpture exhibition including ceram­ tural Ceramics" with Marcia Selsor.May 1-May 15, ics by Krista Grecco and Herman Muys; at Kunstforum 2004 "The Decorated Pot with George McCauley. Fee: Kirchberg, Eystrasse 66. €1800 (approximately US$2030); includes lodging, Wales, Swansea through January Christine 11, 2004 some meals and side trips. Limit of 12 participants. Jones; at Mission Gallery, Gloucester PI., Maritime Quarter. Deposits due January 15, 2004. See website http:llhome.bresnan.netl~m.selsorltuscany2004.html; For a free listing, submit announcements of confer­ or telephone (406) 245-6729. ences, exhibitions, workshops and juried fairs at "Pots and People—Making May 30-June 12, 2004 least two months before the month of opening. Add Connections" with Chris Staley. For further informa­ one month for listings in July; two months for those tion, contact Lynne Burke: [email protected] ; in August. Mail to Calendar,Ceramics Monthly, see website www.potteryabroad.com. 735 Ceramic PI., Westerville, OH 43081; e-mail Italy, Faenza "53rd Interna­ through December31 to [email protected]; or fax to (614) tional Competition of Contemporary Ceramics"; at 891-8960. International Museum of Ceramics, Via Campadori 2.

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 102

questions Answered by the CM Technical Staff

Q I justhadaCone 10turquoiseglaze tested for toxicity using EPA 6010B trace-metals analysis with citric acid. The glaze recipe is as follows:

Oribe Turquoise Glaze (Cone 10) Bone Ash...... 1.90% Strontium Carbonate...... 9.36 Talc...... 3.98 Whiting...... 17.88 Custer Feldspar...... 28.54 EPK (Edgar Plastic Kaolin)...... 3.23 Silica (Flint)...... 35.11 100.00% Add: Copper Carbonate...... 6.67 % Bentonite...... 2.00%

It came up positive for copper. The result was: 251, PQL150. The lab was unable to tell me if this would be a toxic amount for food ware. I have checked around with the EPA web page and nobody can tell me what constitutes a toxic level. How can I find this information?—J.D. It just so happens that John Hesselberth and I have published a book on this very subject. Al­ though for Cone 6 glazes, the information and discussion bears directly on your question. You may also wish to take a look at our website www. masteringglazes .com. We have chosen to not use the phrase “food safe” as it does not mean much, except when applied to lead and cadmium—they are the only two oxides which are regulated by law. This could be why no one was able to give you information on toxic levels. This does not mean there are not other oxides that may present problems for users of your ware. If a glaze does change during use, there are some who are going to find it disturbing. First the glaze: The fluxes are well balanced, but the alumina is low, which violates one of our basic rules for stability. While we have not done the testing on Cone 10 glazes, there is no reason that we can think of that would lead us to believe the rules will be substantially different between Cone 6 and Cone 10 glazes. Perhaps we will find that more silica and alumina will be needed. The amount of silica in this glaze is enough, but the overriding factor in this case is the amount of copper. I am going to generalize here and say that I do not think it is possible to have a tradi­ tional Oribe-type glaze that will be stable, based on the experiments I have done so far. If you change the glaze to try to make it stable, you lose the color you want. We used copper in the form of copper carbon­ ate, at 5%, as an indicator of glaze stability when leach tested. Copper has the reputation of being one of the most difficult oxides to keep in a glaze. We also used 6% rutile. We then used primary

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 104 questions of 150, we know that the result of 251 is taste the copper leaching into the orange juice accurate, because it is above what can reliably after some time. If you leave vinegar or a lemon be measured. on it for 24 hours, you should be able to see water standards as a base for judging glaze stability, The results for the test that you had done are how the acid attacks the glaze. Just make sure even though the water standards are a very conser­presented in parts per billion, or micrograms per you dry it off properly, and look at it with a vative standard for glazes, as we wanted to be sureliter (ppb, |ig/L). In order to compare with the magnifying glass. we were dealing with very stable glazes. The currentwater standard, the units must be changed to parts I can safely say this glaze is neither durable nor water standard MCL (Maximum Containment per million (mg/L). The test result of 251 ppb is thestable in use with most foods. Even if it is not on a Level) for copper release is 1.3 mglL (milligrams same as .251 ppm. This particular test shows that food-bearing surface, it will probably show wear per liter, or parts per million). the glaze leaches copper at a level below the currentfrom washing. PQL stands for Practical Quantitation Level, water standard. Ron Roy which simply means the minimum concentra­ There are other issues to be concerned about Ceramics Consultant tion that can reliably be measured, indepen­ in this case. Try leaving some orange juice in a Brighton, Ontario, Canada dent of the lab or method used. So, with a PQL pot with this glaze on it. You should be able to Q You published an article by Jeff Zamek called "Substitutions for Gerstley Borate" (October 2001 CM). It was an interesting article. I've been working with floating blue for several years, and testing different formulations. One thing we consistently see, both at our studio and at the studio where my wife teaches, is that the published recipe:

Floating Blue Glaze (Cone 6) Gerstley Borate...... 26 % Nepheline Syenite...... 48 EPK (Edgar Plastic Kaolin)...... 6 Silica (Flint)...... 20

100%

turns green when fired to a true Cone 6, tip just touching. To get a blue, we have to fire to Cone 5, tip just touching. Did Mr. Zamek really fire to Cone 6? If so, I would really like to know how he gets true blue colors while we get greens at that temperature!—R.W. Your question illustrates the point that the color of some glazes are very sensitive to tempera­ ture. Sometimes a half-cone difference can change a glaze color. You are firing to “Cone 5, tip just touching” to obtain the rutile blue. This might be the same as my rutile blue glaze fired to Cone 6 at the 3 o’clock position. I think, in this case, different potters read their pyrometric cones at different positions. The other factor that may affect glaze color is the amount of time it takes to get to the final temperature. It is the combination of time and temperature (heatwork) that determines how your cones will melt. It should also be noted that the difference in temperature from the 3 o’clock posi­ tion to the 6 o’clock position (the end point of the cone) might be just a few degrees. This is why it is important to perform tests and base your firing profile on your own results. Jeff Zamek Ceramics Consultant Southampton, MA

Have a problem? Subscribers’ questions are welcome, and those of interest to the ceramics community in general will be answered in this column. Due to volume, letters may not be an­ swered personally. Mail to Ceramics Monthly, 735 Ceramic PI., Westerville, OH 43081, e-mail to [email protected] or fax to (614) 891-8960.

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 106

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 108 Ceramics Monthly December 2003 109 ceramics monthly annual index January-December 2003

Business Up in Canada: An Appreciation of the Work of Firing Practices: A Potter’s Council Regional Attaining Merchant Status, Battersby, Feb., p 63 Bruce Cochrane, Clennell, June/July/Aug., Workshop, Lee, Nov., p 73 Blazing a Trail, New York’s Hudson Valley 55 In Their Own Words: 50 Years of Letters to the Potters, Bresnan, June/July/Aug., p 64 Wood-Firedp Look From an Electric Kiln, A, Editor, Lackey, Jan., p 77 Busch, Feb., p 45 Looking Back, Looking Forward, Nagorski, Jan., Clay and Glazes p 84 Anagama Firing at Chris Gustin’s, Ruescher, Departments Revival of a Community-Based Arts Program, Oct., p 45 The following departmentalfeatures appear monthly Shirley, June/July/Aug., p 92 Animal Tracks, Macaire, Oct., p 42 except as noted: Self-Expression at Hoover High School, Procter, Claude Champy, During., May, p 36 Calendar June/July/Aug., p 99 Clay Body Absorption and Shrinkage, Zamek, Call for Entries Traditions and Innovations in Colombia, Arango, Apr., p 59 Classified Advertising Feb., p 77 How to Interpret a Typical Data Sheet, Zamek, Emerging Artists, May, p 70 Nov., p 69 Gallery Guide, Oct., p 69 Insights into the Resume of Vicki Hansen, Latka, Letters Potters and Pottery Feb., p 74 New Books 18th-Century Buen Retiro Porcelain, Santos, Dec., Leah Leitson’s Altered Porcelain Pots, Gleason, Questions: Answered by the CM Technical Staff p57 June/July/Aug., p 84 Residencies and Fellowships, Jan., p 92 21st Century Ceramics in the United States and Maxine Chelini, Garriott-Stejskal, Feb., p 35 Suggestions from Readers Canada, Dec., p 49 Potter’s Song, A, Taylor, Apr., p 34 Summer Workshops 2003, Apr., p 66 Aim to Inspire: Neil Patterson on the Art and Pottery Shop at Greenfield Village, The, Bailey, Upfront Craft of Teaching, Anthony, Dec., p 36 May, p 43 Video, May, p 34; Sept., p 42 Anagama Firing at Chris Gustin’s, Ruescher, Quiet Voice, Loud Statement, The Work of Oct., p 45 Tomoo Kitamura, Rodriguez, Dec., p 55 Exhibitions Australia’s Bendigo Pottery, Terpstra, Jan., p 66 Rebecca Coffman’s Spirited Vessels, McCroskey, 21st Century Ceramics in the United States and B. R. and Abhay Pandit, Gill, Sept., p 88 May, p 61 Canada, Dec., p 49 Blazing a Trail, New York’s Hudson Valley Subtle Elegance, The Vessels of Pete Scherzer, Alison Britton, Sept., p 81 Potters, Bresnan, June/July/Aug., p 64 Turner, Sept., p 77 Architectural Ornamentation, Fragments and Bryan Trueman, Eden, June/July/Aug., p 90 Tom and Elaine Coleman, Nance, Jan., p 48 Elements, Feb., p 48 Carrying the Empty Cup: Three Generations When Bad Glazes Happen to Good Potters, An Centering: Clay and the Midwest, Levin, Apr., Within the Japanese Master/Apprentice Unsolved Mystery, Spencer, Mar., p 86 p 44 Tradition, Lehman, Dec., p 70 William Sawhill’s Crystalline Glazes, Sawhill, Ceramic Showcase 2003, Fairchild, Oct., p 52 Centering: Clay and the Midwest, Levin, Apr., Nov., p 60 Ceramics 2003, Peterson, Oct., p 67 p 44 Wood-Fired Look From an Electric Kiln, A, Chinese Ceramics Today, Weaver, Oct., p 62 Ceramic Showcase 2003, Fairchild, Oct., p 52 Busch, Feb., p 45 Feats of Clay, Sept., p 60 ’Chosin Pottery Inc., Stinking Fish in Paradise, Great Pots: A Landmark Exhibition at the Newark Hopper, Nov., p 43 Commentary Museum, Dietz, Feb., p 36 Ducuale Grande: A Nicaraguan Women’s Pottery Devious Details, Danisch, Feb., p 108 Michal Zehavi, Sept., p 59 Cooperative, Chartrand, Oct., p 56 Getting a Handle On It, Clennell, Dec., p 112 Miguel Vazquez, Mar., p 46 Firing with Vegetable Oil, Britt, Apr., p 39 Lost Mug, The, Kim, Apr., p 110 Porcelain Brut: An Artists-in-Residence Project Firing Practices: A Potter’s Council Regional New Art Movement, A, Hluch, Mar., p 126 by Kurt Spurey, Piersol, June/July/Aug., p 89 Workshop, Lee, Nov., p 73 Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained, von Dassow, San Angelo National Ceramics Competition, Great Pots: A Landmark Exhibition at the Newark Jan., p 126 Clark, Jan., p 40 Museum, Dietz, Feb., p 36 Pardon My Pedagogy, Pilcher, Nov., p 118 Sana Musasama, Walls, Sept., p 74 Highs and Lows of Making Pots, The, Dix, June/ Price and the Second Highest Bidder, Brow, Tony Natsoulas’ Barococo, Mar., p 76 July/Aug., p 76 Sept., p 128 Two Cultures: A Dialogue, Jan., p 69 In Their Own Words: 50 Years of Letters to the Shrinkage, Krakowski, May, p 116 Word Made Clay: Ceramics in Its Own (W)rite, Editor, Lackey, Jan., p 77 So You Say You’d Rather Not Have a The, Apr., p 42 J. T. Abernathy with A Wealth of Information Revolution?, Stevens, June/July/Aug., p 140 with A Generous Spirit, Jacobson, Campbell That Would Be Just Ridiculous, Don't You History and Lou, May, p 65 Think?, Lehman, Oct., p 118 18th-Century Buen Retiro Porcelain, Santos, Dec., Jennifer Lee: The Circumnavigation of Form, P 57 Whiting, Oct., p 38 Decoration and Process Australia’s Bendigo Pottery, Terpstra, Jan., p 66 Leah Leitson’s Altered Porcelain Pots, Gleason, Animal Tracks, Macaire, Oct., p 42 Ceramics in Guanahuato, Mexico: A Look at Five June/July/Aug., p 84 CJ Buckner’s Raku Menageriz, Atwater, Feb., Contemporary Studios, Ventura, Mar., p 78 Lee Rexrode, Jan., p 38 p 69 Ducuale Grande: A Nicaraguan Women’s Pottery Legacy of Maria Poveka Martinez, The, Spivey, Firing with Vegetable Oil, Britt, Apr., p 39 Cooperative, Chartrand, Oct., p 56 Nov., p 77 Giving Birth to Twins in New Mexico, Neymark, In Their Own Words, 50 Years of Letters to the Looking Back, Looking Forward, Nagorski, Jan., Nov., p 50 Editor, Lackey, Jan., p 77 p 84 Interior Vessels, Neal, Mar., p 82 Legacy of Maria Poveka Martinez, The, Spivey, Mark Issenberg, Finkelnburg, Mar., p 72 Ishmael Soto, Pearl, Dec., p 60 Nov., p 77 Mark Shapiro, Norris, Sept., p 51 Jane’s World: Jane Peiser’s Colorful Creations, Looking Back, Looking Forward, Nagorski, Jan., Mary Law, Irwin, Jan., p 72 Wasserman, Jan., p 58 p 84 Maxine Chelini, Garriott-Stejskal, Feb., p 35 Mark Shapiro, Norris, Sept., p 51 Maya Ceramic Tradition Survives in the Yucatan, Michael Simon: Between the Universal and the Maya Ceramic Tradition Survives in the Yucatan, A, Ventura, Dec., p 64 Personal, Brown, Nov., p 36 A, Ventura, Dec., p 64 Traditions and Innovations in Colombia, Arango, Paul Heroux: A Natural Variety, Ruescher, Sept., Rebecca Coffman’s Spirited Vessels, McCroskey, Feb., p 77 p 68 May, p 61 Phil Rogers, Busch, May, p 48 Teapots for Kiln Gods, Murphy, Sept., p 44 Miscellaneous Potter’s Song, A, Taylor, Apr., p 34 Tom and Elaine Coleman, Nance, Jan., p 48 Borders in Flux: Fronteras en Fusion, NCECA Pottery Shop at Greenfield Village, The, Bailey, Travel Sketches, Perkerson, Nov., p 64 2003 Conference Preview, Mar., p 133 May, p 43

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 110 Rebecca Coffman’s Spirited Vessels, McCroskey, I’ll Take the Ruins, Botbyl, Feb., p 42 May, p 61 In Their Own Words: 50 Years of Letters to the Roush’s Teapot, Brin, Oct., p 65 Editor, Lackey, Jan., p 77 Sam Chung, Brown, Mar., p 41 Infinite Re-Creation: The Sculpture of Susan San Angelo National Ceramics Competition, Halls, Rittenberg, May, p 40 Clark, Jan., p 40 Insights into the Resume of Vicki Hansen, Latka, Space and Form: New Work by Maren Feb., p 74 Kloppmann, Otis, Feb., p 59 Interior Vessels, Neal, Mar., p 82 Steve Hemingway, Robinson, JunelJuly/Aug., p 95 Ishmael Soto, Pearl, Dec., p 60 Subtle Elegance, The Vessels of Pete Scherzer, Jane’s World: Jane Peiser’s Colorful Creations, Turner, Sept., p 77 Wasserman, Jan., p 58 Sue Browdy, Browdy de Hernandez, June/July/ Jared Jaffe’s Balancing Act, Hicks, May, p 59 Aug., p 101 Jeannie Oh, McElree, Sept., p 66 Sustaining a Standard of Living, Baker, Mar., p 57 Journey in Tile, A, Reynolds, Apr., p 61 Teapots on My Min6., Jeng-daw, Dec., p 41 Kim Gi-chul, Gladstone, Nov., p 66 Tom and Elaine Coleman, Nance, Jan., p 48 Looking Back, Looking Forward, Nagorski, Jan., Traditional Values from Down Under: La Trobe p 84 University’s David Stuchbery, Terpstra, Marcela Noriega Del Valle, Toto, Feb., p 56 Mar., p 57 Married to Clay (And Each Other), Fleck-Stabley, Up in Canada: An Appreciation of the Work of Dec., p 44 Bruce Cochrane, Clennell, JunelJuly/Aug., Martha Daniels, Turnquist, Apr., p 64 P 55 Melissa Greene, Weaver, Mar., p 59 Victor Babu, Connell, JunelJulylAug., p 46 Michal Zehavi, Sept., p 59 Wally Schwab: A Marriage of Austerity and Miguel Vazquez, Mar., p 46 Ostentation, Andres, Feb., p 50 Mika Negishi Laidlaw, Brown, June/July/Aug., Walter Ostrom with The Walter Ostrom Legacy, p 80 Clark, Apr., p 50 New World: New Identity, Gates, May, p 54 When Bad Glazes Happen to Good Potters, An Porcelain Brut: An Artists-in-Residence Project Unsolved Mystery, Spencer, Mar., p 86 by Kurt Spurey, Piersol, June/July/Aug., p 89 William Sawhill’s Crystalline Glazes, Sawhill, Quiet Voice, Loud Statement: The Work of Nov., p 60 Tomoo Kitamura, Rodriguez, Dec., p 55 Wood-Fired Look From an Electric Kiln, A, Restless Focus, Mohr, Sept., p 86 Busch, Feb., p 45 Revival of a Community-Based Arts Program, Sculptors and Sculptures Shirley, June/July/Aug., p 92 18th-Century Buen Retiro Porcelain, Santos, Dec., Sana Musasama, Walls, Sept., p 74 San Angelo National Ceramics Competition, P 57 21st Century Ceramics in the United States and Clark, Jan., p 40 Canada, Dec., p 49 Scott Bennett’s Craft on Craft, Brown, Adrian Arleo: Nature Studies, Prange, June/July/ Jan., p 62 Aug., p 49 Some Assembly Required: The Work of Richard Aim to Inspire: Neil Patterson on the .Art and Milette, Lackey, Mar., p 64 Craft of Teaching, Anthony, Dec., p 36 Standing Their Ground: The Slab-Built Struc­ Alison Britton, Sept., p 81 tures of Mary Fischer, LaVilla-Havelin, Sept., Anagama Firing at Chris Gustin’s, Ruescher, p 48 Oct., p 45 Sue Browdy, Browdy de Hernandez, June/July/ Animal Tracks, Macaire, Oct., p 42 Aug., p 101 Animal, Vegetable, Mineral: Sculpture by Whitney Taste for Clay, A, Wilson, Oct., p 60 Forsyth, Hoberecht, Jan., p 70 Teapots for Kiln Gods, Murphy, Sept., p 44 Architectural Ornamentation, Fragments and Tjok Dessauvage, During, Sept., p 62 Elements, Feb., p 48 Tony Marsh: Forms of Function, Butler, Junel Bernadette Curran, Cloonan, Nov., p 82 JulylAug., p 60 Blazing a Trail, New York’s Hudson Valley Tony Natsoulas’ Barococo, Mar., p 76 Potters, Bresnan, June/July/Aug., p 64 Traditions and Innovations in Colombia, Arango, Bodies of Nature, Kura, Apr., p 47 Feb., p 77 CJ Buckner’s Raku Menagerie, Atwater, Feb., p 69 Travel Sketches, Perkerson, Nov., p 64 Ceramic Road Warrior, The: An Interview with Two Cultures: A Dialogue, Jan., p 69 Ray Gross, Betancourt, Feb., p 64 Vessel Derivations, Corregan, Jan., p 43 Ceramic Showcase 2003, Fairchild, Oct., p 52 Walter Ostrom with The Walter Ostrom Legacy, Ceramics 2003, Peterson, Oct., p 67 Clark, Apr., p 50 Ceramics in Guanahuato, Mexico: A Look at Five Word Made Clay: Ceramics in Its Own (W)rite, Contemporary Studios, Ventura, Mar., p 78 The, Apr., p 42 Chinese Ceramics Today, Weaver, Oct., p 62 Claude Champy, During, May, p 36 Studio, Tools and Equipment Clay: A Life Story, Kenny, Sept., p 82 Building a Minigama At Mount Hood Clay Meets Steel, Skeer, Nov., p 41 Community College, Bruggeman and Curtis, Collaborative Improvisation: Sculpture by Mary June/July/Aug., p 72 Ann Predebon and Hugh Ralinovsky, Van Firing with Vegetable Oil, Britt, Apr., p 39 Dam, May, p 56 J. T. Abernathy with A Wealth of Information David Bradley: Circular Relationships, Brown, with A Generous Spirit, Jacobson, Campbell Feb., p 80 and Lou, May, p 65 David Dahlquist, Senty-Brown, Dec., p 66 Kazegama, Davis, Mar., p 54 Denise Phillips, Stokes, Feb., p 71 Kiln Exhaust Sniffer: A Do-It-Yourself Oxygen Feats of Clay, Sept., p 60 Probe, The, Graham, Mar., p 84 Finding One’s Own Voice, Shapiro, Mar., p 48 Pottery Shop at Greenfield Village, The, Bailey, Fred Yokel, Lui, Nov., p 58 May, p 43 Giving Birth to Twins in New Mexico, Neymark, Self-Expression at Hoover High School, Procter, Nov., p 50 JunelJulylAug., p 99

Ceramics Monthly December 2003 111 Comment I getting a handle on it by Tony Clennell

Through 25 years of making pots, the very After many pots, and many more thou­ Often, the handle may be something that thing that gave me the most trouble in the sands of handles, I was once again applying only functions on a visual level. These are beginning is the thing that has become my for acceptance into a course being offered by lugs or ears, not handles. But they must be calling card. the jug man of England, Mick Casson. I got on my pot. Ordinary pots become special! A I had been making pots at my uncle’s into the course, and put whopping big bad handle can make a good pot destined for pottery and I wanted to attend a six-week handles on cider jars and jugs. Casson was to landfill. I also maintain that it takes longer to course being offered at the Banff Centre with say to me more than once, “Nice jug on that learn to pull handles than it does to throw legendary West Coast potter F. Carlton Ball. handle.” I asked if it was too big and if I pots on the wheel. It is a hard skill to master, I had to send slides to get into his course, should change things. He said, “That is the and one that many shy away from. Even and I knew exactly what my biggest weak­ very element of your pots that I’m attracted though throwing is somewhat difficult to ness was—handles! I tried throwing little cyl­ to. If anything, overstate them more.” master, folks seem content to sit for hours, inders and cutting rings with my pin tool. I Some years later, at a late-night bonfire, a days, weeks, years trying to master the skill. tried coils twisted and flattened. I tried pull­ jug of mulled wine was being passed around It is not quite so romantic to stand there ing a loop tool through a slug of clay. I tried and a friend and fellow potter, Steve Irvine, with sleeves rolled up, pulling a slug of clay extruding them. None pleased me, so I gave of Wiarton, Ontario, grabbed the handle in for countless hours! myself a project: I threw 500 mugs in a week the darkness and said, “This is a Tony Clennell I work with my wife, Sheila, and when and set to pulling handles on them. By the jug.” That little statement would be the be­ the chores of the studio get ahead of us, she time I hit 500, they were okay, but not great. ginning of what I consider my “style.” Style helps pull and attach handles. I spend the I got into the course and, by chance, met a is the inescapable result of doing anything next couple of hours pouting. This is my young technician working at the center who more than a few thousand times. I began to favorite job, and not to get to put them on is pulled a damn fine handle. Later, we would put handles on everything I made—plates, to take away my part of the signature. become friends and she would spend six weeks bowls, jars, jugs, teapots, casseroles, vases, If each one of our pots is individual, then at my studio building a two-chambered wood bottles, teabowls and, well, everything. I never each handle must be made especially for it. It kiln. The kiln fired fine, but the nights pull­ see one of my pots as complete without a is a matter of making the handle for the pot. ing handles and watching handles being made handle. To me, it is exciting that a person can One-size-fits-all is not something we feel com­ were even better. The young technician was take one element of the pot-making process fortable with. After years of pot making, we’re Linda Christianson from Minnesota. and make it an area of concentration. still trying to get a handle on it.

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