focus MONTHLY summer workshops summer Liz Zlot Summerfield: Working Backwards focus summer workshops APRIL 2009 $7.50 (Can$9) www.ceramicsmonthly.org Ceramics Monthly April 2009 1 MONTHLY Publisher Charles Spahr Editorial [email protected] telephone: (614) 895-4213 fax: (614) 891-8960 editor Sherman Hall assistant editor Holly Goring assistant editor Jessica Knapp technical editor Dave Finkelnburg online editor Jennifer Poellot Harnetty Advertising/Classifieds [email protected] telephone: (614) 794-5834 fax: (614) 891-8960 classifi[email protected] telephone: (614) 794-5843 advertising manager Mona Thiel advertising services Jan Moloney Marketing telephone: (614) 794-5809 marketing manager Steve Hecker Subscriptions/Circulation customer service: (800) 342-3594 [email protected] Design/Production production editor Cynthia Griffith design Paula John Editorial and advertising offices 600 Cleveland Ave., Suite 210 Westerville, Ohio 43082 Editorial Advisory Board Linda Arbuckle; Professor, Ceramics, Univ. of Florida Scott Bennett; Sculptor, Birmingham, Alabama Tom Coleman; Studio Potter, Nevada Val Cushing; Studio Potter, New York Dick Lehman; Studio Potter, Indiana Meira Mathison; Director, Metchosin Art School, Canada Bernard Pucker; Director, Pucker Gallery, Boston Phil Rogers; Potter and Author, Wales Jan Schachter; Potter, California Mark Shapiro; Worthington, Massachusetts Susan York; Santa Fe, New Mexico Ceramics Monthly (ISSN 0009-0328) is published monthly, except July and August, by Ceramic Publications Company; a subsidiary of The American Ceramic Society, 600 Cleveland Ave., Suite 210, Westerville, Ohio 43082; www.ceramics.org. Periodicals postage paid at Westerville, Ohio, and additional mailing offices. Opinions expressed are those of the contributors and do not necessarily represent those of the editors or The American Ceramic Society. The publisher makes no claim as to the food safety of published glaze recipes. Readers should refer to MSDS (material safety data sheets) for all raw materials, and should take all appropriate recom- mended safety measures, according to toxicity ratings. subscription rates: One year $38.45, two years $59.95. Canada: One year $40, two years $75. International: One year $60, two years $99. back issues: When available, back issues are $7.50 each, plus $3 shipping/handling; $8 for expedited shipping (UPS 2-day air); and $6 for shipping outside North America. Allow 4–6 weeks for delivery. change of address: Please give us four weeks advance notice. Send the magazine address label as well as your new address to: Ceramics Monthly, Circulation Department, P.O. Box 662, Mt. Morris, IL 61054-9662. contributors: Writing and photographic guidelines are available online at www.ceramicsmonthly.org. indexing: Visit the Ceramics Monthly website at www.ceramicsmonthly.org to search an index of article titles and artists’ names. Feature articles are also indexed in the Art Index, daai (design and applied arts index). copies: Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use beyond the limits of Sections 107 or 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law is granted by The American Ceramic Society, ISSN 0009-0328, provided that the appropriate fee is paid directly to Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Dr., Danvers, MA 01923, USA; (978) 750-8400; www.copyright.com. Prior to photocopying items for classroom use, please contact Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. This consent does not extend to copying items for general distribution, or for advertising or promotional purposes, or to republishing items in whole or in part in any work in any format. Please direct republication or special copying permission requests to the Publisher, The Ceramic Publications Company; a subsidiary of American Ceramic Society, 600 Cleveland Ave., Suite 210, Westerville, Ohio 43082, USA. postmaster: Send address changes to Ceramics Monthly, P.O. Box 662, Mt. Morris, IL 61054-9662. Form 3579 requested. Copyright © 2009, The Ceramic Publications Company; a subsidiary of American Ceramic Society. All rights reserved. www.ceramicsmonthly.org Ceramics Monthly April 2009 2 Ceramics Monthly April 2009 3 Ceramics Monthly April 2009 4 APRIL 2009 / Volume 57 Number 4 MONTHLY focus summer workshops 44 Summer Workshops 2009 Our comprehensive listing of summer workshops in ceramics provides all manner of educational opportunities, vocational training and informational overload. Whether you’re looking for figurative or functional, high-fire or low-fire, you will find it here. features 26 Working Backwards: Liz Zlot Summerfield by Katey Schultz For those who think handbuilt, low-fire earthenware can’t be refined—think again. A North Carolina potter brings form and function together in a manner that is intentionally both accessible and elevated. monthly methods Cut Paper Templates by Liz Zlot Summerfield 30 The Pursuit of Perfection by Julie Murphy Scott Ziegler painstakingly layers color over his meticulously formed sculptures to achieve bright, inviting surfaces. But these are only the physical layers. monthly methods Stains, Slips and Patience by Scott Ziegler 34 Shigemasa Higashida: Oribe Master by Kelvin Bradford With a history as well-established as Japanese Oribe ware, one might think nothing new was possible within it. One would be mistaken. with Oribe Glaze and Higashida Firing Cycle 38 Expecting Wonders: Alice Ballard’s Pod Series by Katey Schultz Investigation and personification of natural forms draws an artist toward tension and drama in her wall installations. 40 The Pottery of Guatajiagua by Ana González-Martingale An El Salvadoran family makes traditional blackware, but not in the way you might expect. Their tried-and-true methods are atypical of traditional ceramic processes, but they have been using them for as long as anyone can 38 remember—so who’s to say what’s traditional and what is not? cover: Box on Brick, 5 in. (13 cm) in height, handbuilt earthenware with terra sigillata, underglaze and glaze, fired to cone 04 in oxidation, by Liz Zlot Summerfield, Bakers- ville, North Carolina; page 26. 34 30 40 Ceramics Monthly April 2009 5 departments 8 from the editor 10 letters from readers 12 answers from the CM technical staff 14 suggestions from readers 14 Tip of the Month: Medicine Bead Cutter 16 upfront reviews, news and exhibitions 56 call for entries 56 International Exhibitions 58 United States Exhibitions 60 Regional Exhibitions 60 Fairs, Festivals and Sales 62 new books The Spirit of Ceramic Design by Robert Piepenburg 64 calendar 64 Conferences 64 Solo Exhibitions 66 Group Ceramics Exhibitions 68 Ceramics in Multimedia Exhibitions 70 Fairs, Festivals and Sales 72 Workshops 78 classified advertising 79 index to advertisers 80 comment Urban Potter by Celia Hirsh online www.ceramicartsdaily.org information and inspiration from inside the artist’s studio Features Tips, techniques, profiles and more—delivered to your inbox. Education Listings of colleges, classes, guilds, workshops and residencies. Lidded container Galleries 17 by Neil Pat- Artist gallery pages, plus our comprehensive listing of museums terson, from the exhibi- and galleries that showcase ceramic art. tion “Under Cover” at Clay Art Center, Port Bookstore Chester, NY. Complete line of ceramic art books to inspire, inform and instruct. Free Gifts Handy downloadable resources for the studio, including projects, recipes, our annual Buyer’s Guide and more! Magazines Current and archived features, exhibition reviews, article index. 24 Ceramics Monthly April 2009 6 Ceramics Monthly April 2009 7 from the editor e-mail letters to [email protected] I thought I was getting through the winter ing summer in my mind. And when these full credit, and you can write in and thank just fine—and I suppose I was—but then thoughts creep in, there is no escape, and me. Better yet, join me. The more summer I started actually visualizing myself in the only one thing I can do: start making the work we all make, the sooner it will ar- summer, and all hope of maintaining a re- summer work. rive. I don’t care where you live, you have a alistic perspective was lost. My studio is in So I’m ordering a large batch of heav- summer, and I’ll bet you yearn for it. Don’t the basement, and I saw myself setting up ily grogged clay for the planters, and I’m make me do this all by myself. in the backyard on a nice sunny day, mak- experimenting with shapes for the pint In addition to getting summer to show ing big planters at a more rapid pace than glasses. (Luckily, because of ongoing re- up, there is another benefit to doing the I can in the relatively more humid—and lated research, I am already exceedingly summer work now; you’ll be done by the significantly more cramped—basement. I familiar with the measure of a pint.) The time the warm weather rolls around, and have become expectant for that sense of re- only thing left to do is will summer into you’ll have time to go take a workshop, birth and new beginning that comes with existence, throw so many planters that is learn something new, rejuvenate your the change of season, especially when the has no choice but to arrive early. creative self. If you need motivation, our change is from cold to warm, from cloudy Of course, I do the same thing for win- annual listing of summer workshops be- to clear, overcast to bright. ter when I’m growing tired of the thick, gins on page 44. If you don’t have summer I tend to approach the studio with a heavy August air and I scuttle down to the work yourself, the listing is a great way to renewed sense of discovery and exploration cool studio to make soup bowls and whis- come up with ideas. And if you still can’t when the seasons change, partly because it key bottles again. And that has yet to bring come up with your own summer work, is time to begin making different things. I an early winter, but if I’m honest with my- you can help with mine, so I can go to stop making soup bowls, serving bowls and self, I don’t wish for winter the way I wish more summer workshops.