2 Ceramics Monthly

William C. Hunt........................................ EditorBarbara Tipton...................... Associate EditorRobert L. Creager........................ Art DirectorRuth C. Butler.............................. Copy EditorValentina Rojo....................... Editorial AssistantMary Rushley.............. Circulation ManagerConnie Belcher . . . . Advertising Manager Spencer L. Davis.............................. Publisher

Editorial, Advertising and Circulation Offices

1609 Northwest Boulevard,Box 12448, Columbus, Ohio 43212

(614) 488-8236

Ceramics Monthly (ISSN 0009-0329) is published monthly except July and August by Professional Publications, Inc.—S. L. Davis, Pres.; P. S. Emery, Sec.: 1609 North­west Blvd., Columbus, Ohio 43212. Second class postage paid at Columbus, Ohio. Subscription Rates: One year $16, two years $30, three years $40. Add $5 per year for subscriptions outside the U.S.A.Change of Address: Please give us four weeks advance notice. Send both the magazine wrapper label and your new address to Ceramics Monthly, Circulation Office, Box 12448, Columbus, Ohio 43212. Contributors: Manuscripts, photographs, color separations, color transparencies (in­cluding 35mm slides), graphic illustrations, texts and news releases dealing with ceramic art are welcome and will be considered for publication. A booklet describing procedures for the preparation and submission of a man­uscript is available upon request. Send man­uscripts and correspondence about them to The Editor, Ceramics Monthly, Box 12448, Columbus, Ohio 43212.Indexing: Articles in each issue of Ceramics Monthly are indexed in the Art Index. A 20-year subject index (1953-1972) covering Ceramics Monthly feature articles, Sugges­tions and Questions columns is available for $1.50, postpaid from the Ceramics Monthly Book Department, Box 12448, Columbus, Ohio 43212. Additionally, each year’s arti­cles are indexed in the December issue. Copies and Reprints: Microfiche, 16mm and 35mm microfilm copies, and xerographic re­prints are available to subscribers from Uni­versity Microfilms, 300 N. Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106. Copies in micro­fiche are also available from Bell & Howell, Micro Photo Division, Old Mansfield Road, Wooster, Ohio 44691.Back Issues: Back issues, when available, are $3 each, postpaid. Write for a list. Postmaster: Please send address changes to Ceramics Monthly, Box 12448, Columbus, Ohio 43212.

Copyright © 1984Professional Publications, Inc.

All rights reservedMay 1984 3

4 Ceramics Monthly

Ceramics MonthlyVolume 32, Number 5

May 1984

Feature ArticlesThree Czech Ceramists

by Jiri Setlik............................................................ 26Hobart Cowles Albany Glazes

by Lili Krakowski................................................... 30Jack Earl

by Bill Buchanan..................................................... 31George Tinworth

by Peter Rose........................................................... 34New French Ceramics

by Nigel Atkins....................................................... 42Phil Schuster 46James Lawton............................................................. 49Mutsuo Yanagihara

by Mayumi Tsutakawa............................................ 52Mary Frank 54A High-Production Pottery

by Janet Perry.......................................................... 55Low-Fire Surface Effects

by Diane Moomey................................................... 58British Studio Pots .................................................... 59

DepartmentsLetters......................................................................... 7Suggestions 15Where to Show 17Questions ................................................................... 19Itinerary...................................................................... 21Comment: Potters Never Had It So Good

by Gary Hatcher...................................................... 23News & Retrospect.................................................... 67New Books.................................................................. 83Classified Advertising 86Index to Advertisers.................................................. 88

The Cover“Fire Totem” (detail), cast and handbuilt clay (the skull is approximately life size), with low-fire glazes, lusters, acrylic paint, rayon flocking, metal flake glit­ter, by Toby Buonagurio, New York City.

May 1984 5

6 Ceramics Monthly

LettersWhy Does a Mouse Have Hair?

I found the January article “Kiln Wall Heat Loss” by Robert Schmitz quite inter­esting. Ten years ago on the windy Hudson River, I built a 155-cubic-foot, gas-fired, downdraft car kiln with K-2300 B&W in­sulating firebrick backed with K-2000 brick. I always fire to Cone 10 flat, and still get within a half a cone anywhere in the kiln. The bricks have held up for two reasons: the K-2300 rating means they can withstand that temperature 24 hours a day, and I poured 5 cubic yards of reinforced concrete for the base and made sure every brick was absolutely plumb and level. I can still push the car into the kiln with my thumb.

One of the biggest factors in heat loss is volume in relationship to outside surface area. My teacher, Robert James, said it is the rea­son why a mouse has lots of hair and an elephant little.

Jay Lindsay Garrison, N.Y.

Congratulations?Bravo to Ron Klein for his illuminating

article “Legitimizing the Ashtray.” He wins the trivia prize for the March issue.

Stephen Ladin Gardiner, N.Y.

HangingPrevious to March 1984,1 had never heard

of anyone building a salt kiln for greater “visual clarity of surface and form.” If there was any substance to this statement, I’m sure it would have been backed up visually.

What could be more clear than the beau­tiful, historically inspired fish-handled raku vase accompanying March’s “Collaboration” blurb? I realize CM was not the source of this quotation, but I think it is responsible for leaving me hanging.

Gary Baxter Silver Springs, N.Y

Many potters choose salt glazing, partic­ularly light salting, because the glaze is made from/on the surface of the ware, as opposed to applying glaze to ware which often soft­ens/obscures detail. That's another way to say why one might build a kiln “to salt glaze the ware for greater ‘visual clarity of surface and form.} *—Ed.Carpal Tunnel Cure

About 2½ years ago I had an extremely bad accident ice skating, where my right arm was broken and the radial nerve severed, causing my arm to be numb and paralyzed. After 6 months of traction and weekly doc­tor’s visits, the nerve luckily regenerated it­self and my arm was good as new. Six months later, I started getting symptoms of what I later realized was carpal tunnel syndrome. At the time I thought it was a reoccurrence

from my accident, but this time there was numbness and weakness in both wrists. I was a little worried (my living comes solely from selling my work, so if I can’t work I’m in trouble, as I well knew). After reading the article and letters on CTS in CM, I decided to take Ruth Duckworth’s vitamin advice and since then, my wrists are cured.

Robyn Rypp Toronto

Kiln Firing Made EasyAlong with a yearly Christmas card, I sent

my “inventor” uncle a copy of my husband’s article about his “Fuel Saving Timer,” which appeared in the April 1983 CM. We received the following information and drawing in re­turn.

“To prepare system for operation attach garden hose to adapter (M) and plug in ex­tension cord to 115-volt wall outlet. Secure primate (A) into sling (U) and fasten tail into tail screw adapter (D), allowing no more than 3 inches of tail to be exposed. Oil pedal assembly (E). Place 3½ cups of ice water into pot (C) and place on top of kiln under tail tip screw adapter (D).

“Operating sequence: As ice water in pot (C) slowly heats up to boiling point, primate(A) begins cranking on pedal mechanism (E) which causes tail screw adapter (D) to slowly rise and thereby reduce the discomfort to the primate (A)’s tail. The raising action of the tail screw adapter (D) pulls on stainless steel cable attached to water valve (F) and slowly opens, allowing water to enter kettle (G) which is balanced on fulcrum (K) by weights (J). The platform on fulcrum (K) slowly tilts to­ward the kettle (G) and pushes finger tip (H) against electric switch (L) which turns on “super hot plate” steam generator (O). As tilt of kettle (G) increases, it pours water into funnel (N) and thusly into steam generator (O). Generated steam passes through screech adjuster (P) to steam-operated siren (Q). Screaming siren (Q) awakens sleeping wino

(B) who pulls on lever (S) as instructed by sign (R). Pulling on lever (S) by wino (B) opens gas valve (T) to kiln, thereby auto­matically increasing kiln temperature.

“Caution: Use of wino with lab rating in excess of 40 proof may result in attack of heavy hand syndrome resulting in overheat­ing of kiln and disastrous damage to primate (A)’s tail.”

Terry Brown Anaheim, Calif.

CM’s Comment ColumnI like the Comment section. The pieces

offer more substantial and provocative in­formation than other CM articles. I espe­cially liked Dennis Parks’s piece in the March issue: clearly written, realistic and to the point.

I do not agree with writers like Bob McKay (March Letters) who find articles too eso­teric. On the contrary, I find too many too thin. I would like to see more rigorous, pro­vocative and well-written pieces that ask for more than a once-over-lightly glance and then are forgotten.

Shirley Johnson Excelsior, Minn.

Dennis Parks’s “Letter to a Young Potter” really bothered me. His assertion that the only way a potter can support him or herself in this society is by teaching, having a hard­working spouse, a family legacy or making a clever real estate deal, is not only unduly negative, but untrue. A lot of my friends are in the visual arts—potters, painters, print- makers, jewelers or weavers—and many sup­port themselves doing their work. Some, ad­mittedly, struggle to make ends meet month after month, but others live quite affluently. I myself am a potter who falls somewhere in the middle. I make “what my inner vision urges,” sell my work and live, if not afflu­ently, at least free from want and worry.

I would tell a young potter to work hard,Continued

May 1984 1

8 Ceramics Monthly

Lettersbe persistent and follow that inner vision. The possibility is out there for you to do, be and have all that you strive for. The road that Parks has not seen a soul on has people all along it; he must have looked the wrong way.

Shel Neymark Dixon, N.M.

Faenza JuryingWith reference to the article written by

Kurt Spurey (December issue) which con­tains a critique of the work of the jury of the International Competition of Ceramics of Faenza, 1983, I should like to make some remarks in my own name and in the name of the committee which organizes the com­petition. First of all, the presumed interfer­ence of the president with the jury was but an exhortation to make a “reasonable” se­lection, on account of the peculiar character of the exhibition, which aims at presenting every year (beyond and above the prizewin- ning artists) a large-as-possible general view of contemporary ceramic art in the various European and non-European countries.

We believe still valid the assertion a critic of art made some years ago: that the Faenza exhibition is an olympiad of ceramics in which it is more important to take part than to be awarded a prize. Each jury tends inevitably to operate with its own artistic criteria; this would imply the preliminary exclusion of several countries each year and would re­quire a different formula of the competition, which in that case would be better realized if it were an invitational exhibition, limited to a few artists selected in each country. But this does not fall within the intentions of the Faenza competition. That is why the selec­tion made by the jury is to be adapted in such a way as to exhibit the best works com­ing from each country. Obviously the task of selection falls within the exclusive compe­tence of the jury.

Every year we point out to the jury which artists, among the participants, were admit­ted in the previous competitions and which prizes, if any, these artists were awarded; but this is done only to facilitate the jury’s job. On this matter I have to add, too, that Kurt Spurey left out the fact that the 1983 selec­tion was more severe than it had ever been: out of 549 entrants from 35 countries only 193 from 27 countries were admitted (there were 150 Italian participants and 40 of them were admitted). Of 1292 works submitted, 374 of them were exhibited.

As Kurt Spurey himself admits, the awarding of prizes was decided unanimously with the utmost honesty. It is not true that in the latest years several artists refused the prizes they had been awarded; this happened only once to Spurey himself who afterwards withdrew his refusal of the prize (it was a medal, an honor prize). The artists declare

in advance on their participation form wheth­er they are willing to compete for the pur­chase prizes or not; in fact these prizes (there are six, each for the same amount) imply that the prizewinning work must be assigned to the collection of the Faenza Ceramics Mu­seum; but on the contrary nothing is required of the artist who wins the Faenza first prize or for the honor prizes.

The last part of Spurey’s article contains some interesting proposals, though they are not new for us: that the show be converted to a theme competition, a competition/ex­hibition or just an exhibition for young art­

ists; a previous selection through slides; a competition every other year; national com­missioners in each country; a different ratio between Italian and foreign members of the jury. These and other proposals were dealt with during a round-table discussion and a congress in October 1982. However, in the end the decision prevailed to keep the for­mula that has always distinguished the Faen­za competition from other similar exhibi­tions.

Nevertheless it is our intention to accept any suggestion and proposal to improve our

Continued

May 1984 9

10 Ceramics Monthly

Lettersexhibition and it was right for this reason that our committee decided to include Kurt Spurey in the jury on account of the contri­bution of ideas and discussion he could give. We had not foreseen that he would say noth­ing during the jury’s work (though he had a very good interpreter at his disposal) and that after some months he would write unkind articles about the competition of ceramics at Faenza.

However we hope that Kurt Spurey’s ar­ticle may be useful for increasing our rela­tionship with the ceramists of each country; in fact, notwithstanding the urging he has addressed to ceramists not to take part in the Faenza competition anymore, this year we have a greater number than we had last year.

We shall keep on trying to improve and develop the Faenza exhibition, which has been taking place since 1938, and for some years has been supplemented with other exhibi­tions and initiatives for making the most of ceramic art, both contemporary and past, wherever in the world it may come from.

Edoardo Dalmonte President of the Competition

Faenza, ItalyBreaking the Sound Barrier

I would like to see an article about sonic ceramics which could introduce Susan Raw- cliffe’s ocarinas and Steve Smeed’s stoneware trumpets, and anyone else working with son­ic aspects of clay. I would like articles to respond to more than just the visual aspects of clay; why not the sonic and tactile, and even the senses of smell and taste?

Marlin L. Halverson San Bernardino, Calif.

Magazine DirectionCongratulations on the February issue! Its

feature articles had wonderful full-page pho­tography, and this is my major interest in the magazine: to see work that otherwise is un­available to me. I hope sincerely that this is a new magazine direction and not just co­incidental.

Melinda Ashley-Masi Norwood, Mass.

Please keep the content as diverse and the reporting as objective and impartial as pos­sible. Signed articles of opinion (criticism) are fine, but there should be no implication that they reflect editorial bias. Just provide the information and let readers determine its value.

Frances Senska Bozeman, Mont.

The most enjoyable aspect of CM is look­ing at the photos of current sculptural work and all kinds of work from other countries. Next I enjoy the wealth of technical infor­mation and the comments of others interested

in not only clay but contemporary art as a whole. The space devoted to wheel work is strong, which is good, but the space devoted to sculptural works needs to be stronger.

Laurie Eldridge Indianapolis

Lets see lots of potters, lots of pots, lots of information, lots of bowls, lots of pitchers, lots of teapots, lots of jars, lots of plates, lots of vases, lots of form, lots of function (and a little funk).

Darrel Bowman Eau Claire, Wis.

Thank you for publishing nonfunctional pieces.

J. L. Jennings Felton, Calif.

Production Ideas RequestedAs a potter in the highly competitive

southern California area, I find that pro­duction, as well as form, plays an important part in the success of a studio. I would like to see some articles that share production potters’ ideas on space efficiency and throw­ing techniques.

Production potters may well be known as the “black sheep” of the field, but face it, we all can’t sell our wares with thousand-dollar price tags. Negative energy does nothing but destroy. Let’s all try to remember that we are united by our profession.

Michele Carnes El Toro, Calif.

Subscribers’ CommentsI’d like more articles on the place of

“accidents” in creative process, using those things which “come to us.” I enjoy debates and intellectual discussion on the importance of the clay medium for the wall as well as the table.

Jewell Brenneman Anchorage

My month always begins with receipt of CM. I am usually split between euphoria and outrage after reading the copy. My only sadness is that there is always a feeling of deja vu. It is fun comparing my bias with those I read in Letters to the Editor.

Ted Halpern Cranston, R.I.

As a collector of pottery (American art pottery and contemporary ceramics) I find CM a must for my personal growth/knowl­edge.

Leslie Beddard Jacksonville, Fla.

Share your thoughts with other readers. All letters must be signed, but names will be withheld on request. Address: The Editor, Ceramics Monthly, Box 12448, Columbus, Ohio 43212.

May 1984 11

14 Ceramics Monthly

Suggestionsfrom our readers

Clean Coils from a Dirty ExtruderShould you need only a few porcelain shapes and don’t want the

bother of cleaning dark clay from your extruder, place the white clay in a plastic bag and lower it into the extruder, open end down,

until the uncovered end comes to rest against the clean die. Replace the plunger, pull the handle, and you should have clean porcelain extrusions. —Judith K. Zieve, Gladwyne, Pa.Making Your Weigh

When setting up a studio, the equipment most often needed after a kiln and wheel is a scale. Though necessary for preparing glazes, this item can cost almost as much as a used wheel. Try making one yourself: take a 36x5/16-inch threaded steel rod and file the ends to a point.

Punch three equidistant holes around the rims of two identical, large jar lids, and inverted, hang each with 3 fishing lines to either end of the threaded rod. An additional length of line is tied to the center of the rod, and the apparatus is hung somewhere convenient.

The threaded rod can be rotated so that the center line is exactly placed for balance; the pointed rod ends allow perfect locating of the line’s position. For weights, use quarters—a constant 11.125 grams each—allowing you to weigh out the proper proportions (i.e.: Superpax, 6 quarters; Gerstley borate, 18 quarters, etc.).

—David Green, Morris, N.YReclaiming Scrap Clay

Line a bucket with a cloth bag. After filling it with dry, scrap clay, add water. When the clay is soaked, remove the cloth bag and suspend it until the clay has dried to the required consistency. With a little experimentation of soaking and drying times, the clay comes out of the bag just right for wedging or pugging—eliminating the messy, liquid slip and plaster bat stage.

—Jeremy Fiennes, Itapecerica da Serra, BrazilScreen Saver

When building or rescreening sieves, a layer of chicken wire or coarse (½-inch) hardware cloth placed beneath the screen will great­ly increase its life. —Lois Haatz, Normal, III.

Dollars for Your IdeasCeramics Monthly pays $10 for each suggestion published; submis­sions are welcome individually or in quantity. Include an illustration or photo to accompany your suggestion and we will pay $10 more if we use it. Send your ideas to CM, Box 12448, Columbus, Ohio 43212. Sorry, but we can't acknowledge or return unused items.

May 1984 15

Where to Showexhibitions, fairs, festivals and sales

Send announcements of juried exhibitions, fairs, festivals and sales at least four months before the entry deadline to: The Editor, Ceramics Monthly, Box 12448, Columbus, Ohio 43212; or call: (614) 488-8236. Add one month for listings in July and two months for those in August.

International ExhibitionsMay 15 entry deadline

Zagreb, Yugoslavia “First World Triennial Exhibition of Small Ceramics/Zagreb” (October7-November 17) is juried from 1 work that does not exceed 6 inches in any direction nor weighs more than 2 pounds. May 15 deadline for appli­cation; send $20 entrance fee, a V/iX5-inch black- and-white photograph of the work, price and re­sume. June 15 deadline for work. Awards. For further information contact: ULUPUH, 41000 Zagreb, Starcevivec trg 6/II.

National ExhibitionsMay 14 entry deadline

Downey, California The second annual “American Ceramics National” (June 14-July 27) is juried from slides. Awards. Fee: $10. Contact: American Ceramics National, Downey Museum of Art, 10419 S. Rives Ave., Downey 90241; or call: (213) 861-0419.May 15 entry deadline

Radford, Virginia “Clay U.S.A., 1984” an­nual ceramic competition (June 29-July 28) is juried from slides of up to 2 works. Juror: Val Cushing. Awards. Fee: $10. Send self-addressed, stamped envelope to: Ed Baldwin, Radford Uni­versity, Department of Fine Arts, Radford 24141; or call: (703) 731-5475.June 1 entry deadline

Callicoon, New York “Functional Innovation in Clay” (June 23-August 5) is juried from slides or photos of 3 to 5 works. Awards. Fee: $5. Send self-addressed, stamped envelope to: Wainscot Galleries, Main St., Callicoon 12723; or call: (914) 887-4498.June 19 entry deadline

Cooperstown, New York “49th Annual Na­tional Art Exhibition” (July 22-August 25) is ju­ried from works. Awards. Fee: $10. Contact: Olga Welch, 22 Main St., Cooperstown 13326; or call: (607) 547-9777.June 20 entry deadline

Naperville, Illinois “Table Trappings” (Au­gust 1-27) is juried from 4 slides of dinnerware. Awards. Fee: $12. Send self-addressed, stamped envelope to: Ariel Gallery, 15 W. Jefferson Ave., Naperville 60540; or call: (312) 355-4466 August 10 entry deadline

Gatlinburg, Tennessee “The Garden: New Form, New Function” (October 12-December 8) is juried from slides. Works must relate to the gar­den concept. Contact: Arrowmont, Box 567, Gat­linburg 37738; or call: (615) 436-5860.August 15 entry deadline

New Haven, Connecticut “Sixteenth Annual Celebration of American Crafts” (November8-December 23) is juried from works. Commis­sion: 30%. Send self-addressed, stamped envelope to: Roz Schwartz, The Creative Arts Workshop, 80 Audubon St., New Haven 06511; or call: (203) 562-4927.

Regional ExhibitionsMay 12 entry deadline

Toledo, Ohio “66th Annual Toledo Area Art­ists’ Exhibition” (June 17-July 8) is open to res­idents of northwestern Ohio and southeastern Michigan. Juried from works, up to 3 entries. Fee:

$10. Contact: Toledo Museum of Art, Box 1013, Toledo 43697; or call; (419) 255-8000.May 15 entry deadline

Moorestown, New Jersey “Clay ’84 at Per­kins” (September 21-30) is juried from slides or works. Jurors: Paula Winokur and Larry Don­ahue. Commission: 20%. Awards. Work must be hand-delivered. For further information send self- addressed, stamped envelope to: Clay ’84 at Per­kins, Perkins Center for the Arts, Kings Highway and Camden Avenue, Moorestown 08057; or call: Peg Krolak, (609) 461-2051.June 15 entry deadline

Great Falls, Montana “Centennial Great Falls: A Missouri River Meeting” (November 5-December 29) is open to current and former residents of Montana. Juried from slides of up to 2 entries. Fee: $15. Awards totaling $2500. Con­tact: Paris Gibson Square, 1400 First Ave., N., Great Falls 59401; or call: (406) 727-8255.

Fairs, Festivals and SalesMay 8 entry deadline

Manitou Springs, Colorado “Commonwheel Artists 10th Annual Freedom Fair” (June 3-July 1) is juried from slides. Fee: $25, plus 10% com­mission. Contact: Commonwheel Fairs, Box 42, Manitou Springs 80829; or call: (303) 685-1008. May 15 entry deadline

Tallahassee, Florida “Celebrate America ’84” (July 4) is juried from 3 slides. Entry fee: $5. Booth fees: $30-$45. For further information con­tact: 210 S. Monroe St., Tallahassee 32301; or call: (904) 222-8800.

Lafayette, Indiana “Lafayesta ’84” (Septem­ber 1-2) is juried from 4 slides. Awards. Fee: $35. Send self-addressed, stamped envelope to: Sue Pashke, 101 S. Ninth St., Lafayette 47901; or call: (317) 742-1128.May 25 entry deadline

Fort Wayne, Indiana “Three Rivers Festival Arts and Crafts Show” (July 7-8) is juried from 5 slides or photographs. Fee: $25. Contact: Abby Brooks, 3525 S. Wayne, Fort Wayne 46807.May 26 entry deadline

Marietta, Ohio “Indian Summer Arts & Crafts Festival” (September 14-16) is juried from 5 slides. Fee: $60 for a 10x10-foot space. Contact: Susan Kern, Indian Summer Festival, Box 266, Marietta 45750; or call: (6l4) 374-7146.May 30 entry deadline

Elizabeth, Colorado “8th Annual Eliz- abethfolk Festival” (July 28-29) is juried from slides or photos. Fee: $3. Contact: Elizabethfolk Festival, Box 569, Elizabeth 80107.May 31 entry deadline

Vail, Colorado “First Annual Fine Arts Fes­tival at Vail” (July 21-22) is juried from 3 slides or photographs. Fee: $50 for a 10X 10-foot space. Contact: Eagle Valley Arts Council, Box 1153, Vail 81658.June 1 entry deadline

Huntsville, Alabama “Huntsville Autumn- fair” (September 8-9) is juried from 3 slides of work and 1 of display. Fee: $100. Contact: S & S Promotions, 1724 Traver Rd., Ann Arbor, Mich­igan 48105; or call: (313) 665-5649 or 485-4492.

Sapphire, North Carolina “High Country Art and Craft Show” (June 29-July 1) is juried from slides or photos. Fee: $65. Send self-addressed, stamped, business envelope to: Virginia Smith, High Country Crafters, 29 Haywood St., Asheville, North Carolina 28801; or call: (704) 254-0070.

Scaly Mountain, North Carolina “High Country Art and Craft Show” (July 6-8) is juried from slides or photos. Fee: $65. Send self-ad­dressed, stamped, business envelope to: Virginia Smith, High Country Crafters, 29 Haywood St.,

Asheville, North Carolina 28801; or call: (704) 254-0070.

Richmond, Virginia “9th Annual Richmond Craft Fair” (November 8-11) is juried from 5 slides. $6000 in awards. Fee: $10. Contact: Jan Detter, Hand Workshop, 1001 E. Clay St., Richmond 23219; or call: (804) 649-0674.

LaCrosse, Wisconsin “9th Annual Great Riv­er Traditional Music and Crafts Festival” (Sep­tember 1-2) is juried from slides. $2000 in awards. Entry fee: $5. Booth fee: $25. Contact: GRTM&C Festival, Crafts Committee, Pump House, 119 King St., LaCrosse 54601; or call: (608) 785-1434. June 8 entry deadline

Bloomington, Indiana “4th Street Festival of the Arts and Crafts” (September 1-2) is juried from 4 slides. Fee: $45. Contact: 4th Street Com­mittee, Box 1257, Bloomington 47402.June 15 entry deadline

Manteo, North Carolina “Third Annual New World Festival of the Arts” (August 17-19) is ju­ried from 4 slides. Awards. Fee: $50. For further information contact: New World Festival of the Arts III, Box 111 -E, Kitty Hawk, North Carolina 27949; or call: (919) 261-3165.

Sapphire, North Carolina “High Country Art and Craft Show” (July 20-22) is juried from slides or photos. Fee: $65. Send self-addressed, stamped business envelope to: Virginia Smith, High Coun­try Crafters, 29 Haywood St., Asheville, North Carolina 28801; or call: (704) 254-0070.

Lynchburg, Virginia “Lynchburg Fine Arts Center Fall Craft Fair 1984” (November 2-4) is juried from 3 slides. Entry fee: $4. Booth fees: $75-$ 150. Contact: Fall Craft Fair, Lynchburg Fine Arts Center, 1815 Thomson Dr., Lynchburg 24501; or call: (804) 846-8451.

June 16 entry deadlineSaratoga Springs, New York Ninth annual

“Adirondack Green Mountain Craft Fair” (Sep­tember 14-16) is juried from slides. Entry fee: $5. Booth fee: $150. Contact: Charles Dooley, Craft- producers Markets, R.D. 1, Box 323, Grand Isle, Vermont 05458; or call: (802) 372-4747.

Killington, Vermont “The Killington Foliage Craft Fair” (September 28-30) is juried from slides. Entry fee: $5. Booth fee: $175 for an 8 X 10-foot space. Contact: Charles Dooley, Craftproducers Markets, R.D. 1, Box 323, Grand Isle, Vermont 05458; or call: (802) 372-4747.

June 30 entry deadlineMinneapolis, Minnesota “Second Annual

Minnesota Christmas Craft Sale” (November 22-25) is juried from 5 to 10 photos or slides. Contact: Ron Mark or Wilma Wernick, Minne­sota Christmas Craft Sale, 3112 Hennepin Ave., S, Minneapolis 55408; or call: (612) 824-5827.

Las Vegas, Nevada “KNPR Craftworks Mar­ket” (October 27-28) is juried from 10 slides. En­try fee: $10. Booth fee: $100. Contact: Craftworks, 5151 Boulder Hwy., Las Vegas 89122; or call: (702) 456-6695.

July 1 entry deadlineGaithersburg, Maryland “9th Annual Nation­

al Craft Fair” (October 19-21) is juried from 5 slides. Entry fee: $8. Booth fees: $150—$250. Con­tact: National Crafts, Gapland, Maryland 21736; or call: (301) 432-8438.

Saint Louis, Missouri “Six Flags Country Fair Crafts” (September 8-October 14, Saturdays and Sundays only) is juried from slides or photos. Craftspersons must demonstrate. Fee: $20 per day for a 10X 10-foot space. Contact: Six Flags Coun­try Fair Crafts, c/o Merchandising, Box 60, Eu­reka, Missouri 63025.

Sugar Loaf, New York “Sugar Loaf Fall Fes­tival” (October 6-8) is juried from slides. Entry

fee: $5. Booth fee: $90 for a 1 Ox 6-foot space. For Please Turn to Page 74

May 1984 17

18 Ceramics Monthly

QuestionsAnswered by the CM Technical Staff

Q In the last few months I have been experimenting with sumi-e painting on my pots, but the commercial black stain I've been firing has a rather different quality from ink, and there are problems keeping it in suspension. The gray shades look especially ugly. Ad­ditionally, the bisqued pot quickly sucks the brush dry, and won't allow the wash to run or bleed as on paper. Any advice?—J.M.

Let’s break your problem down into its two parts: the first prob­lem is with the stain wash, and the second is with the pot to which it is applied.

The stain you are using is more coarse than sumi-e ink, and for this reason you might consider grinding the pigment with a mortar and pestle or ball mill before use. The more finely ground the stain, the more likely it is to give you the fully dispersed gray shades you are seeking. Mix 75 grams CMC gum in one gallon of water, and use this as a vehicle for your stain—the gum will help disperse and suspend the colorant. Or try sumi-e style painting on a background of wet slip in order to get any decoration to bleed more around the edges. Another approach to the problem is to switch from insoluble materials such as the stain you are now using to soluble colorants, as these naturally have the dispersed look of sumi-e painting. Sol­uble colorants, however, are relatively toxic and should be used only by those with a full knowledge of ceramic glaze chemistry. Man­ganese carbonate could be a good starting point for experimenting with soluble colorants, and this can be mixed with other solubles for furthering altering its overall hue. Or, any colorant, be it stain, oxide or carbonate, can be mixed with a lightweight oil instead of water, and the oil’s viscosity can be regulated by cutting it with turpentine in the same manner as one cuts oil used in overglaze enameling. In this technique, the colorant is typically ground with the oil, and a very inklike quality can result. Oil base decoration will resist water base glaze, however, and rebisquing may be nec­essary should you desire an overall glaze coat.

As to problems with the pot pulling too much decorating liquid: in the case of water-based colorant media, the pot may simply be dipped in water prior to decoration, or the work can be bisqued to a higher temperature, which also may eliminate problems associated with body gases causing pinholing, cratering and other glaze defects.

Some combination of these suggestions should fit your working methods, causing the least disruption to processes in which you have invested time and accumulated skill.

We live in an area that has a lot of coal, and I would like to use this fuel to fire our kiln. Any suggestions for firing with coal such as type, glazes, grate composition, etc.?—C.C.

The best place to learn about coal firing is from someone still firing a traditional coal-fueled kiln. In your region, there may yet be some brickyards firing with coal, and the firemen there can teach you a lot if you can arrange to be around when brick is “burned.” Bituminous coal is usually burned in ceramic kilns, and the firebox grates are modified to withstand the hotter (than wood) burning temperatures—closer spacing of iron bars, or grates constructed of fireclay. Because of the sulfur content in most coal (which causes glaze scumming) and because coal ash leaves coarse deposits on ware, pots fired with this fuel are stacked in saggars (clay boxes) to protect them from the kiln atmosphere. The Kiln Book, by Fred Olsen, contains a variety of references to coal firing, including kiln plans for the Delhi Blue Pottery’s large coal-fired kiln in New Delhi, India. Smaller kilns could be adapted from this design.

Subscribers' inquiries are welcome and those of general interest will be answered in this column. Due to volume, letters may not be answered personally. Send questions to: Technical Staff, Ceramics Monthly, Box 12448, Columbus, Ohio 43212.

May 1984 19

20 Ceramics Monthly

Itineraryconferences, exhibitions, workshops, fairs and other events to attend

Send announcements of conferences, exhibitions,;workshops, juried fairs and other events at least seven weeks before the month of opening to: The Editor, Ceramics Monthly, Box 12448, Columbus, Ohio 43212; or call: (614) 488-8236. Add one month for listings in July and two months for those in August.

International ConferencesCanada, Alberta, Banff May 7-11 “Canadian Clay Conference ’84,” at the Banff Centre School, will include: “National Issues Day” (May 8) with keynote speaker Phillip Rawson, chairman Peter Wienrich, and lecturers Franklin Heisler on Ca­nadian ceramics; Michael McTwigan, publishing; Bruce Fergusen, public and private curating; and John Bentley Mays, critical writing. “Historical Issues Day” (May 9) with chairman Alan Rob­ertson, and speakers Shirley Ganse on China’s Song dynasty, Alan Caiger-Smith, Islamic ware from the 12th— 13th centuries; Garth Clark, late 19th- century Great Britain; and Daniel Mato, contem­porary Africa. “The Artist in Society” (May 10) with keynote speaker Paul Fleck, chairman Jon Whyte, and workshop leaders David Green, “Growth Opportunities for Studio Potters”; Rick Gomez, “The Future of Art Education: Fact or Fantasy?”; Robin Hopper, “The National Ceram­ic Profile”; Nini Baird, “Community Opportuni­ties and Involvement”; and Dave Dorrance, “Fu­ture of Ceramics into Mainstream Art.” Plus gallery exhibitions, tours , slide shows, Canadian clay triv­ia challenge, and social activities. Fee: $100. Con­tact: Leslie Manning, The Banff Centre of Fine Arts, Box 1020, Banff, Alberta T0L 0C0. Canada, Ontario, Toronto May 25-27 Ninth annual conference of the Ontario Potters Associa­tion, with guest speaker David Shaner. Contact: Ontario Potters Association, 140 Yorkville Ave., Toronto M5R IC2; or call: (416) 923-1803.

ConferencesNew Jersey, Montclair June 29-July 1 “Mid Atlantic States Craft Conference: Making Con­nections,” at Montclair State College. For details, consult CM February Itinerary. Contact: Hor- tense Green, Crafts Coordinator, New Jersey State Council on the Arts, 109 West State Street, CN 306, Trenton, New Jersey 08625; or call: (609) 292-6130.New Jersey, Newark May 12 “Art Pottery in America,” a symposium covering: “European Art Pottery, 1890-1930” with Martin Eidelberg; “Ser­endipity and Missed Opportunities: The Growth of the Art Pottery Collection of the Cincinnati Art Museum, 1881-1983” with Kenneth R. Trapp; “Collecting Art Pottery: An Historical Overview from Edwin Atlee Barber to 1984” with Todd Volpe; “Fulper: New Jersey Art Pottery” with Gordon Gray; and “The Newark Museum Collection of American Art Pottery.” Fee: $37, includes lun­cheon. Contact: The Newark Museum, 49 Wash­ington St., Box 540, Newark 07101; or call: (201) 733-6600.

Solo ExhibitionsArizona, Scottsdale May 31-June 21 Steve Liggett, “Modular Units,” works in paper, clay and rattan; at Wilde-Meyer Gallery, 4151 N. Marshall Way.Arizona, Tucson through June 8 Kevin Os­born, pit-fired vessels and sculpture; at the Tucson Museum of Art, 140 N. Main Ave.California, La Jolla May 14-25 Mayer Shac- ter; at the Crafts Center, University of California, San Diego.California, San Francisco May 1-June 2 Stan

Welsh, sculpture and monotype prints; at Meyer Breier Weiss, Building A, Fort Mason Center. California, Stinson Beach through May 15 Gene H. Pearson, sculpture; at Mountain Sea Gallery, 3605 Shoreline Hwy.Colorado, Denver May 4-26 Sherry Loehr, whiteware; at Artisan Center, 2757 E. Third Ave. D.C., Washington May 20-June 8 Mineo Mizuno; at American Hand, 2906 M St., NW. Illinois, Chicago May 4-June 15 Deborah Horrell, installations; at Lill Street Gallery, 1021 W. Lill St.May 4-30 Bennett Bean, low-fired vessels; at Es­ther Saks Gallery, 311 W. Superior St. Massachusetts, Boston through May 15 David Davison, “Transformations,” ceramic sculpture; at Creiger Sesen Associates Gallery, 10 Post Office Square.Massachusetts, Salem through December 4 Hajime G. Kozuru, “Beyond Tradition”; at the Peabody Museum of Salem, East India Square. Massachusetts, Worcester through May 8 Susan Fisher, “Creatures in Architecture in Cen­tral Europe and Central New England”; at the Worcester Craft Center, 25 Sagamore Rd. Minnesota, Minneapolis May 1-30 Thomas Kerrigan, vessels and architectural walls; at Friends Gallery, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, 2400 Third Ave., S.New Jersey, Trenton through June 10 Bennett Bean, pit-fired vessels; at the New Jersey State Museum, 205 W. State St.New Mexico, Albuquerque May 5-June 30 Fred Wilson, large sculpture; at the Muddy Wheel, 4505-07 Fourth St., NW.New York, New York May 1-19 Bob Barry, architectural sculpture with nontraditional color­ants; at Greenwich House Pottery, 16 Jones St. North Carolina, Winston-Salem through May 20 Susan E. Clellen, large sculpture; at South­eastern Center for Contemporary Art, 750 Mar­guerite Dr.Ohio, Akron through June 10 Jo Kirschen- baum, crystalline and oil-spot glazed porcelain; at the Akron Art Museum, 70 E. Market St.Ohio, Columbus May 6-31 Sally King; at Helen Winnemore’s, 150 E. Kossuth at Mohawk, German Village.Oregon, Warm Springs through June 24 Lillian Pitt, “Out of the Fire,” raku masks; at Kah- nee-ta Lodge.Rhode Island, Westerly May 6-26 Frank M. Carrano, porcelain wall forms; at the Center for the Arts, 119 High St.Texas, Dallas May 5-June 16 Barbara Brault- Jordan, residual salt-fired, slab-constructed earth­enware; at Conduit, 2814 Elm St.

Group ExhibitionsArizona, Tempe May 6-July 15 “Ceramic Festival I: Arizona State University Contemporary Ceramics”; at Arizona State University, Matthews Center.California, La Jolla May 4-June 9 “Con­temporary Teapots” by Kathy Erteman, Dorothy Hafner, Nancy Selvin and Mayer Shacter; at Gal­lery Eight, 7464 Girard Ave.California, Los Angeles through May 31 A group exhibition with Edna Cataldo, sculpture; at del Mano Gallery, 11981 San Vicente.May 3-June 3 A dual exhibition with Anne Shattuck, salt-glazed baskets; at Rodell/Retreat Gallery, 11714 San Vicente Blvd.May 4-26 “All LA,” works by 23 contemporary area artisans; at Free Hand, 8413 W. Third St. California, San Francisco through July 30 “Japanese Ceramics from the Museum’s Perma­nent Collection,” includes more than 50 works dat­ing from 3000 B.C. to A.D. 1900; at the Asian

Art Museum of San Francisco, Golden Gate Park. May 1-June 2 “National Clay Exhibition”; at the Elaine Potter Gallery, 336 Hayes St. California, Walnut Creek through May 13 “California Clay ’84”; at the Walnut Creek Civic Arts Gallery, 1313 Civic Dr.California, Westlake Village May 4-31 A dual exhibition with David Greenbaum, burnished pot­tery; at the Retreat Gallery, 3865 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd.Colorado, Denver through May 5 “Environ­ments,” includes Kurt Weiser, slip-cast porcelain and earthenware vessels and platters; at Cohen Gallery, 665 S. Pearl St.Connecticut, Greenwich through May 26 Adual exhibition with Jeff Oestreich; at the Ele­ments, 14 Liberty Way.Connecticut, Guilford May 6-27 “Dreams and Other Illusions,” a multimedia juried exhibition; at Guilford Handcrafts, Route 77.D.C., Washington through June 17 “Clay for Walls; Surface Reliefs by American Artists”; at Renwick Gallery, Pennsylvania Ave. at 17th St., Northwest.Georgia, Atlanta through May 18 Works by gallery artists; at Gillette-Frutchey Gallery, 1925 and 1931 Peachtree Rd., Northeast.Hawaii, Honolulu through May 27 “Auspicious Spirits,” Korean folk objects; at the Honolulu Academy of Arts, 900 S. Beretania St.Illinois, Chicago through May 5 A group ex­hibition with Dick Studley, Egyptian paste vessels; at American Artforms Gallery; at Neiman-Mar- cus, 737 N. Michigan Ave. through May 25 Susan and Steve Kemenyffy. through June 30 “Figurative Sculpture,” includ­ing Robert Guttke and Marc Sijan; at the Mind- scape Collection, 300 W. Superior.Illinois, Highland Park May 5-31 “This is Raku”; at Martha Schneider Gallery, 124 S. Deere Park Dr.Illinois, Northbrook May 10-19 A dual ex­hibition with Dick Studley, Egyptian paste vessels; at American Artforms Gallery at Neiman-Mar- cus, 5000 N. Brook Ct.Iowa, Clinton May 19-June 3 A dual exhi­bition with Tony Menzer, handbuilt and thrown works with crystalline glazes; at the Clinton Art Association Gallery, 708 Twenty-fifth Ave.Iowa, Iowa City through May 6 “Medieval and Renaissance Ceramics from the Kassebaum Col­lection,” glazed earthenware; at the University of Iowa Museum of Art, Riverside Dr.Kentucky, Lexington May 15-June 24 “Spot­light ’84: Southeast Crafts” juried exhibition; at the University of Kentucky Art Museum, Rose and Euclid Sts.Maine, Portland through May 31 “Dinnerware Extraordinaire”; at Maple Hill Gallery, 367 Fore Street.Massachusetts, Boston through May 18 “New England Regional Clay Juried Exhibition”; at Boston Visual Artists Union, 77 N. Washington Street.through May 30 “Ban Chiang: Discovery of a Lost Bronze Age”; at the Museum of Sciences, Science Park.through June 3 “Directions in Contemporary American Ceramics”; at the Museum of Fine Arts, 465 Huntington Ave.Massachusetts, Cambridge through May 7 “Under Fire,” ceramics by Wayne Barron, Steven Branfman, Jamie Fine, Nancy Matzell, Jill Sol­omon, Sandy and Ralph Terry, and David Weiner; at the Baak Gallery, 59 Church St. Massachusetts, Lexington through September 9 “Unearthing New England’s Past: The Ce­ramic Evidence,” shards and whole objects from the 17th to 19th centuries found in archaeological

Please Turn to Page 65May 1984 21

22 Ceramics Monthly

CommentPotters Never Had It So Good by Gary Hatcher

The following article is a response to “Letter to a Young Potter” which ap­peared in the March 1984 issue.—Ed.The WORLD has never been a better place for a young potter. I certainly don’t ap­preciate those “would be” professional potters who through misrepresentation and negative reinforcement have at­tempted to push back the flood of new potters from the marketplace. Some pot­ters fail because they refuse to look real­ity squarely in the face, and even as ad­mitted failures, continue that old circle of the blind leading the blind.

Making pots is hard work (there you will find no argument), but so many pos­sibilities available today were never even imagined by potters of the last century. In the United States alone, there are dozens of potters running lucrative busi­nesses; spouses work with them or are economically free to pursue their own careers. Yes, there are potters who are unable to pursue their creative instincts with clay while eking out a living, but it certainly is not because the opportu­nities for economic survival do not exist. I often wonder what the potters of, say, the Song dynasty could do with the wealth of technological advancements available to the potter of 1984—think of all that time spent grinding up rocks and mixing clay with their feet.

There are those potters who teach full or part time out of a love of teaching, certainly not because they are backed into a corner by sure financial doom as full-time potters. My deepest gratitude goes out to the teachers who gave up precious time in their studios to help me along as a potter, for if it were not for them I would have never discovered the

door leading to a life of vitality, creative expression and, yes, economic freedom and security. What a great life full of opportunity and independence we pot­ters have!

Potters fail economically for the same reasons many small businesses fail: poor planning and lack of professionalism. Certainly if you do not take your busi­ness seriously, you cannot expect anyone else to either. There is nothing myste­rious about setting up a successful busi­ness as a potter, but it does require con­tinuous assessment of economic and creative action. I have potter friends who have succeeded in balancing creative expression with economics; and, con­versely, I have friends who are busting out all over with creativity, but never seem to get their ideas off the ground. Synthesizing finances with creative expression is the ultimate problem we humans must face, and if we start be­lieving that we, as potters, have a harder row to hoe than computer programmers, architects, magazine editors, genetic en­gineers or college professors, my friends, we end up the fools.

At this moment I can name at least ten potters who gross over $50,000 per year and a couple who make twice that, which is not saying that dollars are any measure where good pots are concerned, but it can be done. Opportunities and advancements abound in every area of our craft.

I have a friend named J. J. Byrd who lives down the road. He is somewhere around 90 years old and until 1954 ran the Byrd Pottery set up by his father. When Daphne and I first moved to Pine Mills, Texas, J. J. would visit us and

ContinuedMay 1984 23

Commenttell stories about how potters of the pre­computer era worked. I will never forget him walking into the pottery, picking up one of my favorite 6-pound pitchers and asking, “Son, when are you going to quit making these little trinkets and throw something with some size?” Then J. J. proceeded to tell me how, after feeding the kids in the morning, his wife would throw a hundred 1-gallon pitchers, while he was throwing 30-pound birdbaths. In the post-industrial era there was no pos­sibility of selling a pot for any more than its utilitarian worth; pots were priced by the gallon, not by the credentials of the maker. Potters were not artists, but com­petitors with the manufacturers of the metal bucket and the glass jar. I think the key to the survival of the Byrd Pot­tery is summed up by one thing J. J. said to me, “Son, if you told me that I couldn’t do something, it was like spit­ting in my face.”

In 1976, we were in New York City for a few weeks, and being potters spent a large portion of that time seeking out galleries exhibiting clay. Needless to say, we were very disappointed to find only a handful of galleries carrying daywork and many of those had it stuck away in some back corridor, with painting and sculpture (their old standbys) featured up front. We went on to England to work for over two years and then straight back to Dallas. It was not until 1982 when we were invited to exhibit in the New York area that we again spent a week in New York City looking at clay every­where. The change six years later was nothing less than phenomenal. I knew that the economic environment for clay was improving, but I suppose the sig­nificance of that change was not as bla­tant to me as it was upon contrasting those two visits to America’s most con­centrated cultural center. And this change is not isolated to New York City, by any means; the evidence is everywhere.

You say you do not like the high-pow- ered art scene? That’s fine, listen to this: many potters sell all they can possibly make through wholesale markets put on by American Craft Enterprises and oth­er organizations. Buyers for department and specialty stores, craft shops and gal­leries are excited about clay as they have never been before, and they come to these wholesale events by the hundreds to buy. Many potters never leave their studios, but have sales representatives who sell

24 Ceramics Monthly

their work through the vast marketing centers of Dallas, Chicago, New York, Atlanta, etc. Today you cannot find one issue of a home or architectural peri­odical that does not have clay pictured in the environments they feature. Dec­orative ceramics are hot and we have not seen anything like a peak.

You say you do not like wholesale? Well, try the least desirable of marketing possibilities: the craft fair. There are hundreds of such events available, and some potters do nothing but craft fairs, often selling several thousand dollars worth of pots in a weekend. Year after year they go to the same events and care­fully take down the names and addresses of those making purchases. Then, a few weeks before that event the following year, they send the known buyers post cards to remind them that they will be there again this year. It works.

One of the biggest problems potters face involves the materials we use; it’s a problem of choice. We can dig our own clay, have a truckload dumped in the back yard or buy plastic clay, delivered blended and de-aired to our specifica­tions. Suppliers have never been more

willing to adapt to the needs of potters. There are many fine people running supply companies who are willing to provide virtually any clay or glaze con­stituent at your door within days, as well as advice on how best to use it. We have come a long way from passing secret in­formation down from generation to gen­eration as the Chinese did.

There is no magic in materials alone. It is up to us to blend our own special creative energies with the materials now available to us. In some situations ma­terials can spell the death of creativity, but we must always keep in mind that the potters of old dug their own clay and glaze materials because they had no oth­er choice. Today our problem is not one of getting and preparing materials, but one of deciding which ones give life to our work and which take it away.

Scores of new, small manufacturers are willing to provide the most up-to- date technological advances that have trickled down from industry. Space-age ceramic fiber, kiln atmosphere analyz­ers, heat exchangers, de-airing pugmills and pneumatic extruders are but a few of the advancements developed by in­

dustry that are now available to potters. We can no longer plead ignorance if we build hardbrick kilns requiring 30 hours to fire, or destroy our health by burning waste oil sucked up from the catacombs of a gas station. Potters would do well to wade through the flood of information churned out by industry every year, for although much of it is beyond the scope of our needs, some can be adapted on a small scale.

What young potters do not need are the isolated sob stories of those who have failed to resolve economics with their creative instincts. What young potters do need is encouragement through the use of critical examination in the context of what we desire creatively in the future and what has been available in the past. We must strive to keep our ambitions as potters in perspective, for we have all had our share of failure. But in historical terms we are currently experiencing the most prolific renaissance potters have ever known. The young potter has never had it so good.The author Gary Hatcher operates Pine Mills Pottery near Mineola, Texas.

May 1984 25

Three Czech Ceramists by Jiri Setlik

Sarka, Pravoslav and Jindnska Rada, a family of potters from Prague, Czechoslovakia.

CERAMICS connects and separates, Prav­oslav and Jindriska Rada and their daughter Sarka, a family of Czech artists who maintain studios in Prague. In a basement room on a city street, Pravo­slav and Jindriska work individually and in collaboration on utilitarian and sculp­tural objects fired up to 2100°F in an electric kiln. Sarka fires her works in a similar kiln at her own studio. All three also use a studio they built beside their summer cottage in a nearby village. There they fire stoneware and porcelain to 2550°F in an oil-fueled kiln.

The example of Functionalism pro­vided Pravoslav and Jindriska with a standard at the start of their careers around 1950. Free interpretation en­abled them to develop relationships be­tween utilitarian aspects and expression of form/decoration. Also, radical struc­tural changes in Czechoslovak society

during the 1950s defined the conditions for their work within that society. From this basis, their individual styles devel­oped on experiences gained day-to-day in the studio, and from the contradictory and corresponding nature of their opin­ions, feelings and critical exchanges.

Since the end of the 1950s, Pravoslav and Jindriska have concentrated on making ceramic forms both for interior decoration and outdoor environments. Today their works are in public places, schools, industries and gardens in Czechoslovakia.

Born in 1923, Pravoslav studied at the Stonecutters’ and Sculptors’ School in Horice (1939-43) and at the Academy of Applied Arts in Prague (1943-48). Both his father and grandfather were painters, but he preferred clay. The move from strict functionality (mostly table­ware), to robust majolica sculpture

marked a major change in his career. The characteristic element in his work is contrast: in composition of form, in relationship between the whole and de­tails, in diversity of scale and color. Combinations of formal and decorative motifs led him to create a metaphoric world of zoomorphic objects and absurd portraits: walking clocks, flying lions, flat cats and more.

Jindriska (born in 1925) graduated from the Academy of Applied Arts in textile design, as evidenced in her stone­ware and porcelain: it is as if she were always dressing a form, made of many thin layers of clay, decorated with fine, plastic detail and completed by the tone of the glaze. In seeking new methods of working clay, she adapted the tech­nique of applying lace dipped in slip to her forms. One of her favorite motifs is a tree—expressed as a spatial object,

26 CERAMICS MONTHLY

Pravoslav and Jindriska produce junctional and sculptural ware at their summer studio/home in a village outside of Prague.

The kiln room at the summer studio houses an oil-fueled, downdraft (fired to 2550°F) and a small electric kiln.

high relief or polychrome glaze drawing.The approach of Sarka Rada (born

1949, graduated in 1973 from the Acad­emy of Applied Arts in Prague) reflects her heritage. In contrast to her parents’ large-scale ceramics, Sarka’s work dur­ing the past ten years has been with small sculptural objects commenting on con­temporary life. In clay, she combines the narrative inclination typical of her fath­er’s expression with the emotionality of her mother’s. Sculpture as well as reliefs are accented with rich color details to express metaphoric images of the world we live in. Playful but at the same time slightly ironic, they comment upon hu­man behavior.

While the Radas’ medium and shared workspace remain a common denomi­nator, individual expression, execution and consequently their purpose is great­ly varied.

May 1984 27

Photo

s: Miro

slav H

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denek

Lhota

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tto, Pa

vel Va

cha an

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tesy o

f the a

rtists

“The Head 12 inches in diameter, thrown and handbuilt porcelain with screen-printed black-and-white photographic decals, by Pravoslav Rada.

Celadon-glazed vase, 10 inches in height, by Jindriska Rada.

“Profile,” 11 inches in diameter, porcelain with photoceramic decals, by Pravoslav Rada.

28 Ceramics Monthly

Modular stoneware lion, approximately 8 feet in length, installed outside an elementary school in Prague, by Pravoslav and Jindriska Rada.

Left Stoneware sculpture, approximately 10 feet in height, one of a series of seven installed outside a Prague restaurant, by Pravoslav and findriska Rada. Repeated pattern and concentrated decorative elements reflect traditions from historical Czechoslovak ceramics.

“Garden ” stoneware, 11 feet in height, “The Pig,” multipart stonewarefor a children’s medical facility in North sculpture, 16 inches in length,Bohemia, by Pravoslav and Jindriska Rada. by Sarka Rada.

“Waking Up,” cast and assembled stoneware sculpture, 18 inches in height, by Sarka Rada.

May 1984 29

Hobart Cowles Albany Glazes by Lili Krakowski

ALTHOUGH these Albany slip glazes (developed by the late Hobart Cowles at the Rochester Institute of Technology, and recently tested by friends and for­mer students) afford a range of rich tones for the Cone 4-6 repertory, what makes them exceptional is their refiring capa­bility. First fired to maturity at Cone 5, they can be refired to Cone 04 for dis­tinct color changes.

Since experimentation has shown var­ious results with different batches of Al­bany slip on a variety of clay bodies (bodies high in petalite seem to ruin col­or brightness), it is advisable to test the full series. Fairly thick application seems to produce the best results, and colors can be altered further by layering.

Semitransparent Tan Glaze(Cone 5)

Gerstley Borate.................................. 16%Albany Slip Clay............................... 72Flint................................................... 12

100%Refired at Cone 04, this recipe yields mustard yellow.

Transparent Tan Glaze(Cone 5)

Gerstley Borate.............................. 18.2%Albany Slip Clay............................ 81.8

100.0%Refiring at Cone 04 yields dark gold.

Opaque Ginger Glaze(Cone 5)

Bone Ash........................................ 4.6%Gerstley Borate.............................. 19.1Lithium Carbonate......................... 3.8Albany Slip Clay............................ 61.1Flint ............................................... 11.4

100.0%Add: Red Iron Oxide...................... 3.8%Refiring at Cone 04 yields cocker spaniel gold.

Beer Bottle Brown Glaze(Cone 5)

Gerstley Borate.............................. 12.5%Spodumene..................................... 12.5Albany Slip Clay............................ 75.0

100.0%Refiring at Cone 04 yields yellow.

30 CERAMICS MONTHLY

Semitransparent Dark Tan Glaze(Cone 5)

Gerstley Borate.................................. 20%Albany Slip Clay............................... 80

100%Add: Red Iron Oxide......................... 5%Refiring at Cone 04 yields copper (old- yet-bright-penny color).

Semitransparent Gold Glaze(Cone 5)

Gerstley Borate.............................. 17.4%Lithium Carbonate......................... 4.3Albany Slip Clay............................ 69.6Flint ............................................... 8.7

100.0%Add: Red Iron Oxide...................... 4.3%Refiring at Cone 04 yields dark yellow/ gold.

Nutmeg Glaze(Cone 5)

Bone Ash........................................ 4.4%Gerstley Borate.............................. 18.4Lithium Carbonate......................... 3.7Albany Slip Clay............................ 58.8Flint ............................................... 14.7

100.0%Add: Red Iron Oxide................ 7.4%

Refiring at Cone 04 yields rusty red.

Opalescent Dark Blue Glaze(Cone 5)

Gerstley Borate.............................. 19.0%Lithium Carbonate......................... 4.8Albany Slip Clay ........................... 76.2

100.0%Add: Red Iron Oxide................ 4.8%Refiring at Cone 04 yields copper (old- yet-bright-penny color).

Furry Blue/Rust Glaze(Cone 5)

Bone Ash........................................ 6.2%Gerstley Borate.............................. 20.8Lithium Carbonate......................... 3.5Albany Slip Clay............................ 55.6Flint ............................................... 13.9

100.0%Add: Red Iron Oxide...................... 6.9%Refiring at Cone 04 yields shoe polish brown breaking to black and rust.

Opalescent Blue Glaze(Cone 5)

Gerstley Borate.............................. 14.8%Spodumene..................................... 7.4Albany Slip Clay............................ 66.7Flint ............................................... 11.1

100.0%Refiring at Cone 04 yields dark yellow. Add 1.5% red iron oxide for a Cone 5 furry blue/rust recipe that is dark yel­low when refired to Cone 04.

Deep Gold Glaze(Cone 5)

Bone Ash........................................ 4.3%Gerstley Borate.............................. 21.3Lithium Carbonate......................... 3.5Albany Slip Clay............................ 56.7Flint ............................................... 14.2

100.0%Add: Red Iron Oxide...................... 7.1%At Cone 5 this recipe yields a smooth gold haze over blue plum; refired at Cone 04, it is rusty red.

Breaking Gold Glaze(Cone 5)

Gerstley Borate.............................. 16.6%Lithium Carbonate......................... 4.2Albany Slip Clay............................ 66.7Flint ............................................... 12.5

100.0%Add: Red Iron Oxide...................... 4.2%Refiring at Cone 04 yields dark yellow/ gold.

Breaking Dark Tan Glaze(Cone 5)

Bone Ash........................................ 4.7%Gerstley Borate.............................. 15.9Lithium Carbonate......................... 4.0Albany Slip Clay............................ 63.5Flint ............................................... 11.9

100.0%Add: Red Iron Oxide...................... 4.0%Refiring at Cone 04 yields dark yellow/ gold.The author A previous contributor to Ceramics Monthly (see Hobart Cowles White Glazes” in the March 1984 is­sue), Lili Krakowski is a studio ceramist in Constableville, New York.

Jack Earl by Bill Buchanan

Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina, recently exhibited 40 works by Ohio ceramist Jack Earl. This artist’s porcelain sculptures are figures which state, often mildly, obliquely and with dry humor, his ob­servations about life.

Sometimes Jack’s people see beyond our culture to something infinite, but when they grasp it they don’t know what to do with it, and so they let go. Jack tells this story: “There was a man patch­ing the roof of his shed when he looked up and saw the sky and it filled him, filled him up mind and heart. And he stepped back and opened his arms to receive more, and he did. After a few minutes, he got down off the roof and walked to the house. Sitting at the kitch­en table sipping a cup of coffee, the wife with her back to him washing dishes at the sink, occasionally looking up and out the window above the sink, he finished his coffee. Rising to leave he said, ‘You can see all the way to Critersville from the shed roof.’ His wife waited long

enough and said, ‘Yes.’ ”An overflow crowd attended Jack’s

lecture: “I went to Ohio State for one year, got an M.A. Went from there and taught at Toledo School of Design at the museum, and that’s where I began mak­ing things that made some sense to me. And people liked them. I like for people to like my things, and that’s kind of the way I base my direction—on people’s responses and myself enjoying them, en­joying making them.

“I’ve got some titles I haven’t made pieces for. Do you want to hear? We’ll see how far we can go.

“If you live in a town that is so big you can’t take your dog downtown with­out a rope tied around his neck, you live in a town that is too big.

“Sweet Flora, born the day of weedsAbove Jack Earl (center), his wife and father-in-law. Most of fack’s sculptures come from observations of people and events around him: “I see things and they remind me of something else. My work is generally about very ordinary things ”

and linoleum. Through her life now ear­ly old sits in the lawn chair in the sun of another day waving a can of beer, speaking loud about money, sex and honesty. Who could change her?

“Smoke. How I hate smoke. I know a man; I know a woman. They open their mouths and there is smoke—words in a cloud covering their heads, covering my head; a clouding vapor dissolving in disillusionment. Let me loose from words.

“This isn’t a title; this is a story. (I’ll look my audience over; I don’t want to offend anyone.) I was an artist for a while. And while I was I met some of them. I met this one with long hair on his head, on the top, on the back and on the front. And he drank a lot of beer and was real nice, kind and gentle. It was the style. And he wore bib overalls, flan­nel shirts and homemade hats. It was the style. He had a wife who always wore a permanent in her hair. That wasn’t the style. They broke up. He said he had to have his freedom, but I think it was because of the permanents. He

May 1984 31

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got a different girl who smelled like stale crackers and was a serious artist going to art school. I think he’s healed up now. Don’t worry about his ex-wife ’cause she went on to art school too. You can tell a guy’s been to college from across the street. You can tell by how he walks and holds himself. You can tell by how he talks, too, if you want to go over there.

“This is a title to a piece that I have made; it’s at home in my garage: Lloyd works and lives in Lima now. The dog barked at him when he came home for a visit last night. When he went to the warm kitchen, his dad got up out of bed and without asking made them some toast and coffee. They put their toast in sau­cers, poured coffee over it and sprinkled sugar on it, ate it with forks and talked. It is Sunday now and they are home from church. Mother is fixing dinner. There they sit on kitchen chairs in the warm spring sunshine on the south side of the house.

“The way I came about this title, and generally a lot of titles, is I see a pho­

tograph, and I put my own feelings, ex­periences into the photograph; I write down what’s there.

“This is an experience I’ve had: Hogs make a lot of manure. When the manure gets deep enough for the hogs to stand on and get over the gate, there’s only one of two things to do. Clean out the ma­nure or put up another gate. I don’t know which way is the best. I think it’s a per­sonal thing for each hog farmer, deter­mined a lot by different things which I don’t want to go into. Anyhow I’m just saying I know, and I do know, where there’s a guy who has to do some gate- climbing to feed and water his hogs, which is all right, but pretty soon he’s going to have to clean out the manure, move the hogs or tear the floor of the haymow out.

“This is a title for a drawing: BillAbove Installation view; Jack Earl exhibition at Western Carolina University. “I like for people to like my things, and that’s kind of the way I base my direction, on people’s responses and myself enjoying them, enjoying making them.”

finally found a place to park his pickup truck, and he and his dog walked five blocks to the art museum because he learned in high school that that is a place you ought to go once in a while and he hadn’t been yet. When he got home, he told his friends that the art museum had bigger doors than the courthouse.

“It was always summer when I was a child. I don’t remember winter. School took it, I guess. Bob Kent lived across the street from us. He worked at the lumberyard for a long time and then he quit. He spent his days sitting on his front porch in a rocking chair, rocking, twirling his cane and chewing tobacco. When it got too hot playing in the sun, we’d go over and stand around Bob Kent and watch him rock and twirl and chew and spit. And if he was in a good humor, he’d pop his false teeth out at us. I won­der if it would have been summer year round if we hadn’t had to go to school.”

Also see “A Conversation with Jack Earl” in the October 1981 Ceramics Monthly.—Ed.

32 Ceramics Monthly

“Miss Sears, 1979,” handbuilt whiteware, 22 inches in height, with glaze, china paint.

“His Girl,” handbuilt whiteware, 20 inches in height, with glaze, china paint, by Jack Earl.

May 1984 33

George Tinworth by Peter Rose

34 Ceramics Monthly

George Tinworth’S art and charac­ter were formed from a volatile mixture of ingredients. In childhood, lack of ba­sic education and extreme family pov­erty were joined to fierce religious con­viction and a sturdy working-class pride. Pride tempered by humility character­izes many of the episodes in his life re­counted in an unpublished autobiogra­phy, written in the last years of his life: “These visitors come into my room when modeling the York Minster panel. George Elliot and Mr. G. Lewis and Sir H. Cole of South Kensington with Sir H. Doul- ton. H. Cole set down in front of this panel and said it is not very original, not an original subject. Then G. Elliot come and spoke to me, she had rather a plain face but you forgot all about her face when you had been in her company 5 minutes. Mr. G. Lewis was looking at a sketch of mine, raising of Lazarus, and he said I had given power to one of the figure which I could not get from a mod­el. Sir Henry said that George Elliot was the Shakespere among woman.” [sic]

Tinworth was born on November 5, 1843 at No. 6 Milk Street, Walworth, in South London. His childhood and early manhood were spent in Walworth, Lam­beth and Stockwell, areas which had al­ready degenerated from their pre-In- dustrial Revolution charm to become that disorderly amalgam of factories, offices and terraced houses which survives to this day. His parents were ordinary working-class folk. They met in George Clayton’s Dissenters’ Chapel and shared the extreme fundamentalist faith which had such a crucial influence on George Tinworth’s art.

The family fortunes, always shaky, degenerated further during Tinworth’s childhood. Real poverty reduced their lives to a dull grind of seemingly endless work for little reward. In spite of much suffering and discomfort, his childhood was not an unhappy one.

His mother, fortified by faith, gave him unwavering support. His father, said to be “the most industrious man about the neighborhood till disappointment came,” lost his greengrocery business at the time of the Irish Famine in 1845 and set up as a wheelwright. But failure dogged him. A machine he constructed to aid his business failed to work, but he converted it into a barrow for George with the wheel from the machine incorporated into it. The young George loved his wheel­barrow but “my father took to drink and so went down and we with him.”

They moved to a small house in Locks Fields, Walworth, with a wheelwright’s shop nearby. There was a temporary improvement in their fortunes and George

was given money by his father—the first sixpence he had ever possessed. He had seen two china figures in a pawnshop and when he produced his sixpence the pieces were sold to him. “It would be a good thing for art if the children of rich men could be trained to love art, and buy art objects when young,” the old George Tinworth declared, no doubt thinking of the many unsold sculptures gathering dust in his studio.

While assisting his father in the wheelwright shop, George contrived to experiment with woodcarving when his father was out; a boy assistant keeping a lookout for his return. If this should happen unexpectedly, he would pull his carving from the vise and fling it into a distant corner of the workshed. Occa­sionally he would show his father what he had done; the response was charac­teristic: “Ah, my boy, you may thank me for that, and you have got enough wood in your head to make another one.” His mother, on the other hand, was consis­tently encouraging and it was through her showing a local master plasterer a figure which George had carved that the first suggestion that he ought to go to art school was made.

Armed on the first visit with that copy in wood of the infant Samuel and ac­companied by a young companion, he sought and found the newly established Lambeth School of Art. “So I went the next night and a boy lifted me up to look through the window and Percy Ball was modeling from one of the statues with hardly anybody there. It was modeling night and I said if there were no more people in the room the next night I would go in. The next night I had another lift up to look in. It was full of people, as it was painting night. I had brought the bust of Handel that I had carved in Port­land Stone at Hope Street. I had carved it in my lap. I went round to the side door and Mr. Sparkes the headmaster was coming out and I showed it to him. Someone must have told me who he was. I asked him if I could come and be taught modeling and he said come in and see what we are doing and introduced me to Mr. Ball, the modeling master, saying: ‘Here’s a new student for you, Mr. Ball.’ So that was all right, but how was I to get the four shillings to pay the entrance fee? My mother got it from somewhere. We did not tell my father anything about it until a long time afterward, then I had to tell him for he said: T give you money but you never have got any.’ ”

John Sparkes played a vital part in training and later in establishing Tin- worth at Doulton’s. Through friendship and persistence he persuaded Henry

Doulton to start up an art pottery at Lambeth, which provided Tinworth with the lifelong opportunity of practicing as a sculptor.

Doulton and Company had, in ad­dition to their utilitarian wares, mar­keted a range of fanciful salt-glazed stoneware bottles—mainly Toby jugs and bottles formed as caricatures of politi­cians and other prominent people. In Germany over many centuries a tradi­tion of elaborately decorated salt-glazed ornamental ware had flourished known as “Gres de Flandres.” However, chang­ing social circumstances and, in partic­ular, the imposition of a salt tax, had largely destroyed the industry. The proposition was to revive the art at Lam­beth and in consequence provide em­ployment for Sparkes’s pupils.

In 1866 with the death of his father who had, according to Tinworth, be­come a reformed character in his last months, George now had to take over responsibility for the wheelwright’s business and support his mother and younger brother from the proceeds. This waste of talent appalled Sparkes. He therefore persuaded Henry Doulton to offer Tinworth a job at Doulton and Company, paying him 30 shillings a week initially—which they had previously as­certained was approximately what he earned from the wheelwright business.

“I was told to be at the pottery on Monday morning at seven o’clock. I got there before the gates opened and all the men and boys were standing outside waiting for the bell to ring. . . . The men were bringing out one of their vans, and they said to me: ‘Now then, pretty feet, get out of the way.’ I could put up with that for I had been knocked about in Walworth before I went to Lambeth.” He had been told to report to the man­ager and was surprised to find him in­volved in the practical work, with his shirt sleeves tucked up, pouring slip into a plaster mold. No special provision had been made and Tinworth was put to work on touching up filters; he felt let down and unwanted: “I seemed to get no en­couragement and I was in misery all that time.”

But behind the scenes John Sparkes continued to support him. He persuaded Doulton’s to shorten his working day to the surprisingly lenient hours of 9 A.M. to 5 P.M., and he was set to work mod­eling in terra cotta huge medallions cop­ied from ancient coins. One of these rep­resenting Hercules wearing a lions-head hood was admired by John Ruskin, who, on the occasion of giving prizes at the Lambeth Schools, used it as his text for demonstrating the true principles of re­

May 1984 35

lief. Circumstances began to work in Tinworth’s favor. The firm decided to develop their interest in terra cotta and James Doulton, a cousin of Henry, was brought in to manage it.

At the same time Tinworth began to decorate pottery which was exhibited for the first time in 1867 at the Paris ex­hibition and at Kensington. In 1868 he exhibited for a second time at the Acad­emy.

John Doulton, father of Henry, sat for a terra-cotta bust portrait. A working potter like his son, he was direct and down to earth: “I never see you sweat,” he said to Tinworth. “When I was a young man the sweat used to run off my nose.” The bust passed the acid test of being a likeness, for one lunchtime the old man brought his granddaughter, a child of 14 or so, to see it. A game was played with her; the cloth covering the unfired clay model was whisked away: “ 4Who is that, my dear?’ She said, 4Why, you, Grandpa.’ It was an anxious mo­ment for me,” Tinworth recalled.

The mid-seventies marked the begin­ning of Tinworth’s period of greatest achievements. It was also for Doulton and Company a time when their atten­tion turned toward America. Following the success of the first International Ex­hibition in 1851, similar displays of manufactured goods and the fine and ap­plied arts were mounted every few years in Europe and America.

These trade fairs, as they would now be called, offered manufacturers a splen­did opportunity for introducing their latest products to a world market. Success de­pended upon the winning of medals and other citations awarded by panels of leading experts in the field. Manufac­turers and customers laid great store by these judgments which undoubtedly played a considerable role in the com­mercial success of products. Much effort was put into creating a lavish setting for the display. Workmen devoted their fin­est skills to creating special exhibition pieces far beyond any possible practical application except as objects for mu­seums—which frequently they became.

The Philadelphia Centennial Exhi­bition of 1876 provided Henry Doulton with a superb opportunity of demon­strating the talents now in his employ­ment and, in particular, those of George Tinworth.

Between 1874 and 1876 Tinworth ex­hibited at the Royal Academy a number of terra-cotta panels of biblical subjects which received considerable critical at­tention, notably from John Ruskin in his Academy Notes of 1875. Writing about “The Release of Barabbas,” of which the

first terra-cotta sketch was included in a frame of three studies, he declared that Tinworth is “full of fire and zealous fac­ulty, breaking his way through all con­ventionalism . .

John Sparkes, by now recognized as a leading educationalist, continued to proselytize—notably at the Society of Arts. In 1874 and again in 1880 he read papers on the history of the revival of salt-glazed ware and described the work of the leading artists involved in the en­terprise, including in his lectures a lyr­ical account of Tinworth’s method and decorative style: “He prefers the clay soft from the thrower’s wheel, so soft as to be too tender to handle. His delight is a spiral band or ornamental ribbon, sometimes deeply interdigitated, or elab­orately frilled. The ornament usually covers as much surface as the ground and creeps or flies over the surface in wild luxuriance; bosses, belts or bands of plain or carved molding keep this wild growth to its work, put it in its place, and subject it to its use. No two pots are alike, and, although he had done many thousands, all different, he will still pro­duce them in endless variety out of the same materials.”

The Academy exhibition of 1877 con­tained a secular work called “The Foot­ball Scrimmage,” and at this stage in his career there is a clear trend toward ex­ploring contemporary and nonreligious themes. The light-hearted pieces por­traying children, mice, frogs and occa­sionally other creatures in amusing or bizarre situations became a recurrent preoccupation when he needed relaxa­tion from the serious business of mod­eling the large-scale, prestigious reli­gious pieces.

Contemporary accounts understand­ably chronicle the major exhibition pieces. In 1878, 1880 and 1881 he exhibited large-scale terra-cotta friezes of great technical virtuosity. In 1882 he submit­ted an even larger panel, “Preparing for the Crucifixion,” 144 inches wide and 62 inches high, which the Academy re­jected on the grounds of its size. The main galleries were reserved for paint­ings, and sculpture was by tradition ex­hibited in the Vestibule.

The rejection of the panel virtually marked the end of Tinworth’s associa­tion with the Academy. However, the reverse also had good consequences. “We had an exhibition of my work in Con­duit Street, Regent Street, which turned out a success. The Prince and Princess of Wales opened it. Mr. Doulton gave me £20 out of it and the income tax people took £17 out of it so I got £3 for myself. It is a hard nut to crack that a

man gets up from the greatest poverty and by his talent and industry enriches his country and then the Government steps in and takes from him part of that which he has honestly earned.”

With the success of the Conduit Street exhibition behind him, Tinworth, now age 40 and in artistic terms still a young man, continued to consolidate his rep­utation with major works and commis­sions.

Yet the year 1888 is of special signif­icance in developing understanding of Tinworth’s personal life. His wife, Al­ice, kept a diary of her husband’s profes­sional and personal activities in that year. It was becoming clear to them both that, in spite of George’s celebrity, his work was not selling well. In February 1888, Alice wrote: “George often feels dread­fully discouraged, his panels not selling directly after he finishes them. He often says what a difference with him and painters. When a noted man paints a picture it is sold directly, but God orders all for the best and we must wait His own good time.”

At the start of the year Tinworth was completing the Shaftesbury memorial panel which consisted of a relief portrait with three panels set underneath. Trou­bles over breakages during firing beset him and contributed to his depression. By present-day standards, however, Tinworth was engaged in an impressive variety of work.

In December fire destroyed the main part of Doulton and Company. The first indication George Tinworth had was a poster on the station platform on his way to work. When he arrived he discovered that many of his molds had been de­stroyed in the flames. The fire was ex­tremely large and destructive, but Tin­worth’s studio was apparently undamaged and the following Monday he was buy­ing photographs of the ruins of the pot­tery works.

Immediately after Christmas he re­ceived an order to carry out a large panel to commemorate the life of Samuel Mor- ley, an educationalist, for the newly built Morley College. This lunette in both size and shape resembled the overdoor panel which Tinworth had modeled for the new Doulton Art Pottery headquarters in Lambeth and, similarly, it was designed to go over the entrance. Both works con­tain contemporary portraits and dem­onstrate how rewarding a greater con­centration on sculpture based on modern, nonreligious subjects would have been. John Sparkes chose the Samuel Morley lunette as the first masthead illustration in his manual Potters: Their Arts & Crafts.

36 CERAMICS MONTHLY

Three views of “The Swimming Bath ” salt-glazed stoneware, 11 inches in length, perhaps a vivid recollection of childhood. Light-hearted sculpture was a form of release from a difficult life for George Tin worth, who worked as an artist for Doulton and Company, England, from 1868 until his death in 1913.

May 1984 37

The next few years continued the pat­tern revealed in Alice Tinworth’s diary. Major commissions were rare in spite of discrete advertising by Doulton and Company. An 1890 pamphlet issued by the firm entitled “Sculpture in Terra Cotta by George Tinworth” contained selected critical comments, lists of illustrations which had appeared in journals, the title and location of major works, and finally a statement to customers that: “Archi­tects and others who are contemplating the use of terra-cotta sculpture can ob­tain further particulars of Mr. Tin­worth’s work from:—Messrs. Doulton and Co.”

The death of Sir Henry Doulton in 1897 marked the end of the most inten­sive and productive period in Tinworth’s career. “Sir Henry was a great lover of art, and gave encouragement to me many a time.” After the funeral Tinworth suf­fered what he describes as a nervous breakdown: “I used to sit before my work and my arms would drop at my side and, although I wanted to work, I could not.” His response to this state of depression was to book a Cooks’ tour to Rome at a cost of about £17. Fortunately his re­covery from depression was complete and he was immediately back at work.

In June 1902 the Pottery Gazette published an interview with Tinworth in which he described his method of work: “Sometimes I make sketches on paper and sometimes sketches in clay, but then again I sometimes work without sketch­es. Here is a small clay sketch of that panel. You see I have altered these fig­ures in the composition itself. But when I sketched my ‘Release of Barabbas’ in clay, I never moved a figure afterward. I often think of my work at night as I go to sleep, and have done so for 30 years, and it is with me when I wake.”

An Australian, John Shorter, an en­thusiastic collector of Doulton ware, in a lecture delivered in the year following Tinworth’s death, makes a special point of stressing the uncommercial attitude of Doulton to Tinworth and his indepen­dence from direct commercial pressures: “The last thing that Tinworth ever did was to perform any ‘set definite task.’ ” No panel he ever conceived was ordered unless Tinworth himself accepted the commission after consultation with his individual patron, and the fact that nearly all his best-known panels were still at Lambeth is direct evidence that they were in no way commercial, nor would he al­low commercialism to influence him.

Above “I Will Draw Water for the Camels Also,” salt-glazed stoneware plaque,6 inches in diameter. “We had an exhibition of my work in Conduit Street,Regent Street, which turned out a success. The Prince and Princess of Wales opened it. Mr.Doulton gave me £20 out of it and the income tax people took £17 so I got £3 for myself”

38 CERAMICS MONTHLY

Left (side view) and above “The Menagerie ” handbuilt, salt-glazed stoneware clockcase, 91/2 inches in height, by George Tinworth.

May 1984 39

Lemonade jug, approximately 10 inches in height, and beaker, salt-glazed stoneware, with incising, colored slips.

Salt-glazed stoneware vase, 12 inches in height, thrown, incised, with slip trailing and colored slips.

The full title of the autobiography which occupied Tinworth for the last years of his life is “The Life of G. Tin- worth, a London boy that became wheelwright and sculptor and for many years worked as an artist to the Doultons at their pottery High St Lambeth Lon­don from 1866.” At the bottom of the page he declares acidly: “I want evil tongue people to know that I have writ­ten this book without the suggestion of the Doultons to do so.”

Tinworth had lived since his marriage in the commuter suburb of Kew, trav­eling to work by train from Kew station until the day he died. He was ailing throughout the summer of 1913, com­

plaining of cold and keeping a fire in his room: “He would sit in front of the fire of an evening covered with a shawl.” He had characteristically refused to see a doctor. In early September his health deteriorated further. Ignoring advice, he insisted on taking the train to his studio at Doulton’s and was found dead when the train arrived at Putney Station.

Obituaries followed in most of the na­tional newspapers, mainly recounting the familiar story of Tinworth’s early struggles: his recognition by Ruskin and Edmund Gosse, his work for Doulton’s and, for light relief, spiced with hu­morous anecdotes of his marvelous di­rectness of speech and unconventional

behavior. The Times obituary was an exception. Following a summary of Tin­worth’s life and major works, the art critic (who was in those days anony­mous) delivered a devastating evaluation of his qualities and limitations, which remained unchallenged until 1960 when Charles Handley-Read, the pioneer reappraiser of things Victorian, in two articles in Country Life, stripped prej­udice away and looked afresh at Tin­worth’s quality as sculptor and potter.

Excerpted and adapted from the bi­ography of George Tinworth, published by CDN, Inc., 4011 West Chandler Av­enue, Los Angeles 92704.

Wheel-thrown plate with folded rim, 7 inches in diameter, incised Jardiniere, 6V2 inches in height, salt-glazed stoneware, with stoneware with colored slips. incising, polychrome slip decoration.

40 Ceramics Monthly

“Jack in the Green” salt-glazed stoneware sculpture, 5 inches in height.

Below and below right “The Football Scrimmage,” 5 inches in height.

Handbuilt sculpture, inches in height.

Left “The Public Library ’s Act” 5 inches in height, refers to an amendment covering relationships between libraries, art museums and schools of art.

May 1984 41

New French Ceramics by Nioel ATK1NS

So MUCH HAS CHANGED in France. Ten years ago nothing comparable to what was shown in “New French Ceramics” (recently presented at the Craftsmen Potters Association in London) could have been found in the length and breadth of the country. One could have found ten competent potters, but never the variety of techniques, the complexity of vision that we present today.

The selected artists all have their roots firmly in France even though they may have sought ceramic education else­where. In fact many were chosen pre­cisely because they have retrieved from America or Japan, Tunisia or England, the elements of styles, and knew how to blend them with native traditions.

Previously French pots could be di­vided in two: folk tradition, the world of

cookware on the one hand; and on the other an increasingly esoteric group of glazers, the appreciation of whose work implied contemplation of the surface of the pot alone. These poles still exist, but between them is our group.

One half of the show examined their way of reassessing clay’s expressive po­tential, what the French love to call “re­cherche.”

42 CERAMICS MONTHLY

Above left Wheel-thrown earthenware platter, 10 inches in diameter, with light slip overall, slip-trailed decoration, lead glaze, wood fired to Cone 04, by Claire Bogino.Above Slab-built box, 9 inches in width, stoneware, ash and local clay glaze, with brush decoration, wood fired to Cone 10, by Michel Pastore.

1. Handbuilt box, 9 inches in height, low-fire salt at Cone 04, by Jean Biagini.2. Thrown and altered bowl, 5 inches in diameter, wood fired, by Claude Champy.3. Handbuilt platter, 14 inches in diameter, by Jean Biagini.4. Covered jar, 7 inches in height, earthenware, with slips, by Claire Bogino.

Wheel-thrown earthenware vase, approximately 16 inches in height, with slip-trailed decoration, lead glaze, wood fired to Cone 04, by Paul Salmona.

44 Ceramics Monthly

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“Fragments of Bronze ” 17 inches in width, handbuilt, heavily grogged clay, fired to Cone 04 in an oil-fueled kiln, then smoked with old inner tubes, by Marc Emeric.

May 1984 45

Phil SchusterRelief sculpture for architectural and

garden design by Phil Schuster was fea­tured in a recent one-man show at Jen­nifer Pauls Gallery in Roseville, Cali­fornia.—Ed.JUST OUTSIDE of Sacramento on what used to be a chicken ranch is Phil Schus­ter’s studio—one small end of a long, low coop of which there are several on the property. It has a large sliding door, which when opened exposes the yard, “so it’s easy to move work outdoors.”

Once a horticulture major, Phil is particularly interested in gardens and gardening. In fact, “everything I do is for the outdoors. People who collect art have their houses filled, but their yards have plenty of room.

“Sculpture has always been my first priority. I began working with clay through pottery, but once I discovered sculpture, I never did pots again.” In­troduced to clay at Penn State Univer­sity, Phil went on to graduate school at the University of Kentucky before a summer job in a greenhouse brought him to California State University at Sac­ramento.

From a mixed-by-eye body of fireclay, sand, perlite and (for flux) colemanite, Phil shapes tiles for a large mural, or presses the base into a frame constructed of two-by-fours for a shadow box. He then loosely sketches a scene with a wire tool and begins modeling the clay.

“Self-Portrait in Greenhouse ” 3 feet in height, with underglazes and stains.

His tile murals often depict life-size figures in scenes from daily life, while the “shadow boxes” have images scaled down. “I find the smaller forms have as much visual and psychological impact as the larger murals,” Phil commented. “Besides, the shadow boxes (approxi­mately 14 inches square) are practical and comfortable. I can prop them up on a chair and work on them in the garden. Right now I’m working on larger mu­rals composed of shadow boxes. I enjoy working with illusions, and try to create that feeling of depth. I can work and rework a piece repeatedly before settling on the image that’s happening there. I also enjoy lessening detail in some areas. Those loose faces in the background . . . I discovered that they work. And the lat­

est box-type sculptures have extended past the frame, adding inches to the length, height and depth.”

The tiles and boxes are dried slowly, covered with damp cloth to prevent cracking. After bisquing, the forms may be colored with underglazes, stains and/ or matt glazes. “I enjoy the spontaneity of underglazes,” Phil remarked. “The colors come off in a .very carefree atti­tude, and I like that.” Phil also rubs Boraxo soap on the murals that are pressed with a wooden tool to simulate a mosaic. In the Cone 1 oxidation firing, it blackens the indentations, thus en­hancing the mosaic illusion.

Completed works are displayed in the yard and the greenhouse next to the stu­dio. “I have always raised cactuses and succulents, so three years ago I decided to build a greenhouse and propagate them with the intention of having a little fi­nancial cushion,” Phil recalled. “Three years later I have expanded the green­house to 1500 square feet and added a lounge area to facilitate presenting the murals. Fortunately the nature of the succulent plants enables me to leave them unattended for months seasonally. I have designed low, oblong planters with relief carving on one side to be made with press molds and planted with succulent ar­rangements harvested from the many parent plants. Sounds pretty good. If I could just put the sculpture aside long enough to do it.”

Phil Schuster in his North Highlands, California, studio.

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ckey

The artist's studio/greenhouse is in a former chicken ranch just outside Sacramento.“Sculpture has always been my first priority ” he says, though for some time he has maintained side interests in growing cactuses and succulents. Three years ago Phil built the greenhouse to “provide a little financial cushion,” an ideal arrangement for this sculptor since these plants can be left for months unattended. The greenhouse also offers a pleasant working environment and display area for architectural and garden sculpture.

May 1984 47

“Self-Portrait in Kiln * handbuilt sculpture, 16 inches in height.

Left “Studio Portrait,” handbuilt tile mural, 51A feet in height, with underglazes, fired to Cone 1 in oxidation, by Phil Schuster.Belowr Phil recently expanded his studio/greenhouse to include a display space for finished ceramic murals. The work at the left was repeatedly pressed with a wooden tool to simulate a mosaic; Boraxo soap in the recesses blackens during the Cone 1 firing, thus accentuating the effect.

48 Ceramics Monthly

Photo

s: Dan

Bailey

James Lawton“The IMAGERY that finds itself on the surface grows out of a graphic urge and a desire to elevate ‘decoration’ beyond embellishment toward a conceptual ori­entation with the object,” commented James Lawton, resident potter at Pen- land School in North Carolina, whose raku vessels were featured at Greenwich House Pottery’s Jane Hartsook Gallery in New York City through March 24. “The intent of the glazing is to orient the pot to its ‘household’ (i.e. casual) surroundings; in a sense, give context to

“Twisted Covered Dish with Armchairs ” thrown and altered, 11 inches in length, with slip and glaze decoration, raku fired, by James Lawton, Penland, North Carolina.

May 1984 49

the form that a coolly aloof gallery ped­estal does not.”

On the surface of this work, Queen Anne chairs, teapots, sofas and the like float in space—creating a sort of ani­mated still life there. “A great deal of consideration goes into the selection of the imagery: how it relates to the form itself and the way in which the objects interact to make a visual statement.”

Taking an “architectural approach to the vessel,” James begins by combining thrown-and-altered and handbuilt ele­ments from the following thermal-shock- resistant body:

Lawton Raku BodyTalc.......................................... 15.0 partsKyanite (35 mesh)................... 15.0Spodumene.............................. 10.0A. P. Green Fireclay ............... 55.0Bentonite................................. 0.5Kentucky Ball Clay

(OM 4)................................ 10.0XX Saggar Clay...................... 5.0

110.5 parts

After bisquing at Cone 08, James draws on the forms with graphite or glaze pencils. Liquid latex is applied to isolate the decorated area, then pattern details are airbrushed with color variations of the following slip:

G-Raku SlipSoda Ash...................................... 11.11%Talc.............................................. 22.22Frit G-24 (Glostex)...................... 16.67Nepheline Syenite........................ 16.67Tennessee Ball Clay.................... 27.78Flint ............................................. 5.55

100.00%To this white base, 5-20% Mason stains are added for various intensities of color, or 3% yellow iron oxide for salmon red.

More slip may be brushed on to high­light certain elements before the pattern is airbrushed with clear glaze. Finally, a coat of wax is applied to the slip-dec­orated area, the liquid latex mask re­moved, and the form glazed with the fol­lowing recipes:

Crackle Clear Raku GlazeGerstley Borate.............................. 65.0%Nepheline Syenite.......................... 20.0Kaolin............................................. 5.0Flint ............................................... 10.0

100.0%Add: Veegum Cer....................... 0.5%Color variations are achieved with ad­ditions of 5-20% Mason stain.

Sandy Scot Raku GlazeColemanite........................................ 40%Lepidolite.......................................... 20Lithium Carbonate............................ 20Spodumene........................................ 20

100%Add: Ultrox..................................... 20%

Copper Carbonate................. 4%While the vessels are firing to ap­

proximately Cone 010-08, an old re­frigerator lying on its back is preheated as a chamber for raku reduction. A hay, sawdust and/or newspaper fire is al­lowed to burn about ten minutes inside the refrigerator to first bring the tem­perature to approximately 200°-300 °F.

“Red Scalloped Teapot ” 18 inches in length, thrown and altered, with handbuilt additions, raku fired.Left “Bowl and Trivet with Furnishings ” 14 inches in length, with airbrushed slip decoration over latex resist.Above right “Covered Dish with Armchair16 inches in length.Right “Teapot with Floating Teapot and Table,” 16 inches in length, thrown and altered, with handbuilt additions, polychrome slips and glazes, raku fired, by James Lawton.

50 CERAMICS MONTHLY

May 1984 51

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s: T. H

atakey

ama, M

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ndlett

52 Ceramics Monthly

“SOMETIMES I feel physically uncom­fortable from the weight of something heavy on my shoulders,” Japanese potter Mutsuo Yanagihara confesses when dis­cussing Japan’s ceramic tradition. “I al­ways have to question, ‘What is ce­ramics?’ And it is a question with much confusion and contradiction.”

He notes that in most Western coun­tries ceramic work is separated into “craft” and “sculpture” categories; whereas in Japan all ceramics are now placed in one category, despite differences in ap­proach. “Since the Edo period, artist- potters have not received attention like the traditional pottery families who cre­ate tea ceremony utensils and bowls for flower arrangement,” Yanagihara com­mented. Potters who carry on famous traditions still receive astoundingly high prices for their ware—thousands of dol­lars for a single teabowl.

Another difference he recognizes be­tween Western and Japanese pottery is that often the non-Japanese potter does not understand the importance of per­fecting glaze or ornamentation. Despite their widely divergent decorating meth­ods, all Japanese potters pay strict at­tention to this aspect, he said.

Yet Yanagihara observed that there are many good Western ceramic artists and “they are all so happy. They don’t seem to carry the burden of nearly a millen­nium of ceramic history on their backs.”

Born in 1934, the second son in a fam­ily of Shikoku Island doctors, Yanagi­hara was profoundly influenced by “na­tional treasure” Kenkichi Tomimoto. Adopted as Tomimoto’s apprentice in the mid ’50s, he worked with that master until his death in 1965.

Trained as an architect, Tomimoto had spent four years in London before re­turning to western Japan where he was to build a long working relationship with Shoji Hamada, Bernard Leach and Kanjiro Kawai.

Tomimoto did not accept the writing off of pots as “utensils.” He founded the ceramic art department at Kyoto Fine Arts University, where against his par­ents’ wishes Yanagihara enrolled in art.

After finishing four years of training, including calligraphy, painting and art

Above left Work is decorated with progressive applications of colored slip and liquid latex resist.Left “Sky Series/’ handbuilt clay sculptures, with polychrome slip, clear glaze, metallic luster.

history, in addition to ceramics, Yana­gihara went on to finish a master’s de­gree in ceramic sculpture, working with Tomimoto. “I got the idea for sculpture when we were destroying our pots at the end of the third year,” he reflected. “I picked up a piece of broken bowl and lost my interest in traditional shapes. I decided to pursue other possibilities.”

For almost ten years following grad­uation the fledgling potter worked under the strict Japanese system of master and student, producing precise pots for Tom­imoto to decorate with his highly geo-

Mutsuo Yanagihara of Kyoto, Japan.

metric overglaze designs. “I also kept my own corner of the shop where I did sculptural forms,” Yanagihara recalled, “but Tomimoto hated to look there.”

One Tomimoto idea which Yanagi­hara has pursued several times over is that it is necessary for the artist to travel outside his country to be able to look back at and truly understand tradition. “He said you have to live in a foreign country. I didn’t pay any attention to it then,” Yanagihara said, “but year by year I understand it.”

Since 1966 he has traveled and taught in the United States several times. As a faculty member at Kyoto Fine Arts Uni­versity, he was offered a chance to teach at the University of Washington in Se­attle for two years under a Fulbright grant. Thus began a special relationship with artists and friends in Seattle. His most recent stint there was as artist-in- residence at Pottery Northwest where he introduced area potters to his efficient and adaptable liquid latex technique for slip decoration on greenware.

First the design is penciled onto the form and liquid latex is brushed on to resist specific areas. Several coats of a dark variation of the following slip rec­ipe are then applied:

Base Slip(Cone 9)

Feldspar............................................. 50%Edgar Plastic Kaolin......................... 25Flint................................................... 25

100%

Color variations are produced with ad­ditions of cobalt or stains; CMC gum is added to harden the slip enough to allow subsequent applications and removal of latex.

After the first colored slip has dried, the latex mask is peeled off and another resist pattern delineated with liquid la­tex according to a penciled design. A medium-color-value slip is brushed onto the unresisted areas and the latex is again removed. Latex is then applied over slip areas for further patterning.

The bisqued ware is glazed with a transparent recipe, then fired to Cone 9 in an electric kiln. Often the forms are refired with lusters.

Yanagihara prefers to work at high temperatures, partly because it is the Japanese tradition and additionally be­cause he feels that the glazes are richer and of greater depth. Firing with an electric kiln prevents reduction and thus retains the colors of the stains used in his underglaze slips.

In the early ’70s he went all out in a pop/funk vein, using large white dots on dark blue, with gold or silver luster accenting the geometric forms. Yet the well-crafted traditional shapes belied that Japanese preference for formality and attention to detail.

Yanagihara’s later sky/landscape se­ries, with white clouds and blue sky on incongruent shapes (some curvilinear, some geometric), was based on his idea that “after all, sky and earth (clay, that is) should go together.”

From about 1976 to 1981, his com­binations of blue sky with white cloud imagery on clay shapes slowly captured the attention of the Japanese art public, but by then he had tired of the phase. Working in a new direction at his studio in Kyoto (after a full day teaching at Osaka Fine Arts University), Yanagi­hara is now trying to “find a shape for sky,” while experimenting with new colors: yellow, pale pink and deep blue.

On his trips to America, Yanagihara often works with and discusses tech­nique with potters. “We compete and ar­gue, then I always get great stimulation and my mind is opened to do further work.”

May 1984 53

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Mary Frank

SMALL FIGURATIVE SCULPTURE by New York ceramist Mary Frank was featured in a solo exhibition at Quay Gallery in San Francisco earlier this year. Ranging to 22 inches in height (priced to SI2,000), the red-clay forms portray dreamlike, gestural, sometimes meta- morphic images. As reviewer Hayden Herrera noted, “Boundaries between human beings and their natural sur­roundings do not exist for her any more than does the division between intelli­gence and instinct.”

"Standing Figure with Horse No. 4,” unglazed “Head with Crouching Man No. 6,” hand-earthenware sculpture, 20 inches in height. built earthenware, 17 inches in length.54 CERAMICS MONTHLY

Photo

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am Ja

ckson

A High-Production Pottery by Janet Perry

For the past five years Tom Mason and Su Holder have operated a produc­tion studio in the small East Texas com­munity of Price. Tom throws and trims the ware; Su glazes and decorates. To­gether they market 50 different forms, including dinnerware, teapots, canister sets and lamps.

Tom’s interest in throwing pottery be­gan some 20 years ago while a student at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas. “It was the most frustrating experience of my life,” he re­called. “I could draw, do anything with my hands, but I couldn’t throw.” So he traveled to Guerneville, California, to study with Bauhaus-trained potter Marguerite Wildenhain at her Pond Farm studio. Later he completed a B.A. at Stephen Austin State and an M.F.A. at the University of Iowa at Iowa City (where he constructed eight kilns). Fol­lowing graduation, Tom wanted to be­come a studio potter but decided instead to teach—first at Queens College in Charlotte, North Carolina, thereafter for six years at the University of North Car­olina at Charlotte. Then, in 1978, hav­ing grown weary of the classroom, he decided to fulfill his ambition of becom­ing a full-time studio potter.

In the meantime Susan Holder re­ceived a B.F.A. in sculpture at the Uni­versity of Georgia at Athens and an M.F.A. in printmaking at Southern Il­linois University at Carbondale. After a trip to Italy to study printmaking, she worked as a marketing consultant for Illinois Ozarks Craft Guild. During a visit with friends in North Carolina in 1978, she was introduced to Tom and

process of being added, some as a result of their own experimentation, others from customer requests.

“Just with the experience of throwing day to day, forms get cleaner and func­tion becomes well-defined,” Tom said. “You aren’t consciously aware of chang­ing form. It’s a lot more subconscious.” Tom also notices a change in his ap­proach to work: “I probably work hard­er, longer hours, but my attitude about work is more relaxed, more fluid. It’s still exciting to do.” Su explains the gradual changes in her work, such as experimenting with slips and developing different patterns, as “just a natural out­growth of working every day.”

With emphasis on function, their stoneware is glazed with recipes devel­oped to suit clay body and firing tech­niques. “Developing a glaze is very slow and tedious,” Tom said. “There’s no magic to it. It’s simply trial and error.” A glaze must have a wide firing range and be resistant to crazing; then it must be tested several times to determine its character­istics. “It takes about a year to work this out.”

Kilns are fired weekly for 30 weeks of the year. The firing cycle begins with low flame overnight, followed by reduc­tion at Cone 04; thereafter constant light reduction is maintained to Cone 10-11. From the time the kiln is turned up in the morning, a typical firing lasts about eight hours. Propane costs average $1200 per month during production periods.

Arriving at the studio by 7 A.M., Tom and Su frequently work 12-hour days, five days a week, like many studio pot­ters. They emphasize the importance of

he offered her a position as his studio assistant.

That meeting led to marriage, a move to Tom’s native East Texas and the es­tablishment of Mason/Holder Stone­ware. Tom admits he had no idea what they were capable of doing when they began and that “practice has been the key to increased productivity.” As an ex­ample, he now throws approximately 3000 mugs a year, in addition to other production forms. “We’re doing so much more together than we could have done separately,” Su explained. In five years, their business has grown from one build­ing to four (encompassing 6000 square feet), from one kiln to three, and from two glazes to five.

New colors and forms are often in the

Potters Su Holder and Tom Mason of Price, Texas, began five years ago with one building and one kiln; they now have four buildings, three kilns and employ seven part-time workers.

With a mind to efficiency, Tom Mason throws Monday through Wednesday; trims and applies handles Thursday and Friday.

May 1984 55

Each softbrick kiln is fired about 30 times a year; zuith propane for all averaging $1200 per month.

A large chart, with ceramic forms listed vertically and glazes listed horizontally, helps keep track of customer orders.

Su decorates pots in bands of polychrome slip and with abstract imagery taken from elements of Texas landscape.

self-discipline and strict adherence to schedules. Tom throws Monday through Wednesday, working methodically from large to small forms, then trims and ap­plies handles on Thursday and Friday. He prefers throwing larger ware, such as ginger jars and pitchers, but concen­trates more on the rhythm of the work itself than on the individual object.

Su glazes on Monday and Tuesday, applies slips and signs ware on Wednes­day, loads kilns on Thursday and com­pletes the week with more glazing. In­fluenced by their surroundings, she decorates the pottery with abstract im­agery patterned after Texas landscape elements. “I will do a series of bowls and work on an image,” she commented. “Each series has a different approach and all deal with color relationships. When I stripe ware, I do the size of stripes and color combinations very con­sciously.” She decorates approximately 15 pots in a series, then moves to another form, searching for “efficiency of move­ment so that individual time and atten­tion to the pottery are not diluted.”

Efficiency has been improved by the hiring of seven part-time employees who clean greenware, load and unload bis­que kilns, blow dust off bisqueware with

an air compressor, wax pots, wipe off excess glaze, keep inventory, match and consolidate pots on storage shelves. Su said, “Everybody’s job is important. Without each one, the whole process would fail.”

Most production tasks are performed in the large central building, housing the potter’s wheel, glazing and decorating materials, cleaning equipment, ware carts filled with pottery in various stages, ceil­ing-high storage shelves, office, bath­room and makeshift kitchen. Three oth­er buildings contain the bisque kiln, two glaze kilns, clay materials and equip­ment, and storage space.

Tom and Su also share bookkeeping and marketing responsibilities, includ­ing customer contacts, account orders, supply purchases, brochure preparation, advertising and shipping. During their first two years of operation, they devel­oped markets by participating in whole­sale shows, and by telephoning potential buyers suggested by friends and trade advertisements, then sending a brochure describing their ware. Today they fill or­ders for approximately 100 accounts, in addition to those originating through a representative at the World Trade Cen­ter in Dallas. Most of their business is

wholesale to shops, galleries and de­partment stores.

Twice a year they make deliveries to the East and Midwest (other orders are shipped commercially), spending ap­proximately five weeks on the road each trip. Preparations for delivering con­sume two weeks, with Tom packing pots himself and supervising loading of their truck so that boxes can be easily iden­tified for unloading along the way.

The most critical problem facing pro­duction potters, they believe, is burnout. They are careful to schedule weeks of work followed by stretches of time off, either for deliveries, exhibitions, work­shops or vacation. But at 43, Tom ac­knowledges that it probably will be nec­essary to modify their working habits in another few years. “I’m looking at the future all the time,” he said. In the meantime their goal is to produce pots in quantity that are consistent in quality. “We are not trying to create art—just functional pottery,” he explained. “It’s a matter of survival. The chance of 1 in 10,000 pieces surviving is greater than 1 in 100. In 100 years, it’s not going to make much difference how much time was spent on one pot. The survival of the pot is what is important.”

56 Ceramics Monthly

Recipes

Blackbird Blue Glaze(Cone 10, reduction)

Talc......................................... 9.84%Whiting .................................. 17.97Custer Feldspar....................... 28.28Albany Slip Clay.................... 12.50Kaoloid'1'................................. 14.38Flint......................................... 17.03

100.00%Add: Rutile........................... 7.34%

A shiny Mediterranean blue glaze.Spodumene Glaze

(Cone 11, reduction)Dolomite................................. 22.22%Whiting .................................. 5.56G-200 Feldspar....................... 33.33Spodumene............................. 11.11Edgar Plastic Kaolin............... 27.78

100.00%Add: Tin Oxide.................... 4.44%

Green SlipDolomite................................. 11.77%Gerstley Borate....................... 5.88Soda Feldspar......................... 23.53Albany Slip Clay.................... 31.37Kaoloid................................... 5.88Flint......................................... 21.57

100.00%Add: Chrome Oxide . . . . 3.92%

Cobalt Oxide ............. 23.53%

F8020 Glaze(Cone 11, reduction)

Dolomite................................. 22.44%Whiting .................................. 3.50G-200 Feldspar....................... 48.94Kaoloid................................... 25.12

100.00%Sagebrush Glaze

(Cone 10, reduction)Barium Carbonate.................. 0.44%Bone Ash................................ 1.11Dolomite................................. 2.05Gerstley Borate....................... 5.65Whiting .................................. 7.75Custer Feldspar....................... 51.38Nepheline Syenite.................. 2.66Soda Feldspar......................... 0.89Ball Clay................................. 2.16Edgar Plastic Kaolin............... 10.19Flint........................................ 15.72

100.00%Add: Red Iron Oxide . . . 2.44%Sagebrush is a glossy gray-green glaze with rust, orange and blue.

Yellow-Brown SlipFeldspar......................................... 50%Ball Clay........................................ 50

100%Add: Red Iron Oxide................. 50%

Blue SlipDolomite................................. 12.42%Gerstley Borate....................... 4.58Soda Feldspar......................... 26.36Albany Slip Clay.................... 29.63Edgar Plastic Kaolin............... 6.10Flint........................................ 20.91

100.00%Add: Cobalt Oxide ............. 8.71%

White Stoneware(Cone 10-11, reduction)

Wollastonite...................... 1 poundG-200 Feldspar.................. 10A. P. Green Fireclay

(30 mesh)...................... 35Kosse Kaolin P*................ 25Texas Ball Clay*............... 25Mulcoa Grog§.................... 10________

106 poundsTwo high school students mix each clay batch with 25 pounds water and ½ cup vinegar in a commercial mixer. After storage in bags for at least a month, the clay is put through a pug mill, divided by weight and stacked on a table for throwing.+Kaoloid is available from Kickwheel Pottery, 1428 Mayson Street, NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30324.*Kosse kaolin P is available from Texas Industrial Minerals, Kosse, Texas 76653.♦Texas ball clay is available from Southern Clay Products, Gonzales, Texas 78629.^Mulcoa grog is available from CE Minerals, Andersonville, Georgia 31711.

Stoneware casserole, V/2-quart capacity, wheel thrown, with cobalt and iron slips, F8020 glaze. The flat top of the lid allows it to be used as a serving dish also.Right Most of Mason/Holder stoneware is sold wholesale to shops, galleries and department stores. Twice a year Su and Tom make mass deliveries to the East and Midwest; on other occasions work is shipped commercially.

Low-Fire Surface Effects by Diane Moomey

In THE BEGINNING, I drenched every form in turquoise or temmoku, in crys­tals or in tritonal drips.

Next, came years of desert-sparse sur­faces where only a hint of some modest oxide might be found. Color was subtle to the vanishing point—surface had ab­dicated.

And then, following a chance meet­ing in a raku yard with a man who (amid smoke and the stench of hydrochloric acid vapor) calmly sprayed a liquid on red- hot forms, I began exploring techniques for various surface effects on ware fired outdoors to Cone 012-08 in a gas kiln:Burnishing On nearly dry greenware, spread a thin coat of vegetable oil, let it dry until dull, then rub with a smooth object in long, even strokes in a single direction. Do not scrub.

Tumbled stones from a lapidary sup­ply make excellent burnishing tools; choose stones rated above 6 on the Mohs hardness scale: agate (6), quartz (6½), beryl and garnet (7), and corundum (9).

Do not use glaze on a burnished area. Although the vegetable oil will burn off in the bisque firing, glaze still tends to crawl on the ultrasmooth surface.

For the best results, fire burnished ware below Cone 012.Smoking Unglazed ware can be smoked by placing a red-hot form in an airtight container lined with wood wool (a spa- ghetti-like packing material that can be shaped to receive the clay object) or other combustible. Use as much wood wool as would equal the form’s volume. If you use too much, it will still be burning after the clay has cooled to below the tar point, leaving scummy, sooty deposits.

The combustible material will leave a shiny mark wherever it touches the sur­face. If this is not desired, the form can be elevated on a firebrick inside the con­tainer, and chunks of red hot brick or shelf can be tossed in to keep the wood wool burning. The lid may be raised every few minutes to admit oxygen.

Follow the same procedure to smoke a glazed form, but wait until the glaze

is no longer molten. Carbon black will fill the crackle lines, and there will be reduction effects on part or all of the glaze.

To smoke only a portion of the sur­face, spread sawdust on a pad of fire­brick, and position the hot ware appro­priately. Further smoking can be achieved by sprinkling sawdust onto a specific area, then covering it with a shard or piece of fiber refractory.

Metallic oxides (such as iron oxide or copper carbonate) produce a variety of effects when smoked. Under a glaze, iron and copper give luster effects. On bare clay, iron oxide will show through the black with a subtle reddish cast. For an oil-spot effect, use a propane torch to heat the cold surface of a smoked form treated with copper carbonate; the best results seem to come from holding the torch at a 45° angle to the surface, with the hottest part of the flame touching the clay for about three seconds.Salting Bisqueware can be salted before a Cone 010 firing by spraying it with a saturated salt-water solution (about ½ to ½ cup of sea salt or rock salt per 2 cups hot water). Results depend on clay properties. Salted buff clay will yield or­anges and salmons where shielded from the flame; flame contact produces darker tones. On clays with higher iron content, pinks, blues and mauves may result.

If used in combination with glaze, low- fire salt effects seem to diminish.Fuming Ferric chloride or stannous chloride is mixed in an inexpensive plas­tic sprayer (1 to 2 tablespoons chloride per 1 cup water). The resulting solution is very corrosive; wear rubber gloves and avoid contact with expensive equip­ment—do not use with an airbrush.

Red-hot ware pulled from the kiln is set on a firebrick, then sprayed with the desired solution. Spray in short bursts, allowing a few seconds for the clay to adjust to the temperature change. The resulting vapor is toxic; check the wind direction, stand back as far as possible when spraying, do not breathe the spray.

On bare clay, ferric chloride gives me­tallic reddish browns reminiscent of old pennies. The color is affected by the temperature of the clay; areas sprayed while red hot will be more yellow than those treated after the form has cooled somewhat.

When ferric chloride is applied over glaze, the colors are more intense; fur­thermore, the same color/temperature correlation (as on clay) holds true.

Stannous chloride applied on bare clay is quite unremarkable; however, over a glaze it results in iridescent mother-of- pearl effects. There seems to be little, if any, correlation between temperature and color.

Some of these low-fire techniques can be combined; others are mutually exclu­sive, but could be used on different parts of the same form:Burnishing plus smoking is used fre­quently by Indians of the American Southwest for their well-known black- on-black ware.Burnishing plus fuming with ferric chloride gives brilliant glazelike results and accents the difference between bur­nished and unburnished areas almost as much as smoking; stannous chloride, however, has little effect.Smoking plus salting is mutually exclu­sive, because smoke does not adhere to salted areas.Fuming plus salting is also mutually ex­clusive, because fuming tends to mask salt effects.Smoking plus fuming with ferric and/ or stannous chloride yields subtle luster effects, especially over a burnished form. But it is very tricky to accomplish as both the smoking and fuming are done at the same time. Quickly lift the lid of the smoking container, spray with the chloride solution, then close the lid im­mediately. Repeat until the desired de­gree of iridescence is achieved.

When dissatisfied with results from these techniques, simply bring the form to red-orange heat again for a second chance.

58 CERAMICS MONTHLY

British Studio PotsThe Craftsmen Potters Association's

25th anniversary exhibition at the Vic­toria and Albert Museum in London fea­tured 182 objects (juried from approx­imately 300 works made within the last year). During the past quarter century, there have been considerable changes in interest on the part of potter and pur­chaser alike. In the following text, An­drew McGarva, Upton Bishop potter; comments on the current status of ce­ramics (from “Studio Ceramics Today,” published by the Craftsmen Potters As­sociation).—Ed.Not many people seem to want hand­made objects of high quality. Pottery and other craft traditions have faded through changing circumstances. Society moves on, and thankfully leaves behind the aw­ful working conditions of most tradi­tional craftworkers.

So if today’s homes seem to lack qual­

ity, it is for craftspeople to try to influ­ence their owners. Through the work they do, and by forming or joining groups, they can let people know what alter­natives are available. We, in the rich countries of the world, are about to see great changes in our way of life. I think we still need objects which are part of a cultural continuity, made for us now, but made taking note of what has gone before. A pot, whether we like it or not, is a statement of attitudes and a reflec­tion of culture. It is so commonplace it might be thought irrelevant; it is not, because it is so commonplace.

“Craftsmen Potters”?—of course, there are none of these left, and now we must all be more or less artists working with clay. Compared to traditional potters, the present level of skill is low, due largely to the lack of demand for handmade pots. So is pottery an anachronism? I believe not, despite the current anti-pot anti­

skill fashion. There is a limit to the number of flat teacups one wants on one’s mantelpiece. The history of ceramics has taught us that what clay can be used for par excellence is making vessels. As a sculptural medium, it is very expressive on a domestic scale, but has always proved lightweight, and down-market. Contra­ry trends are temporary.

Pottery is similar to gardening or mu­sic. Pots, like plants, come up the same each year; if they are healthy they will always be fresh. Occasionally new va­rieties are introduced; if there is an im­balance in the soil, one kind of plant will dominate. But then, that is what makes it continually interesting. Musicians know that however often the same piece is played, it is never the same. They also know that to learn to improvise one must have a great depth of knowledge and skill. Me—I just keep practicing, and I hope others will continue to do the same.

Stoneware garden planter, 18 inches in height, with incised (mishima) decoration, by Peter Stoodley.Left Earthenware teapot, 9 inches in height, wheel thrown, with incising, unglazed exterior, plastic handle cut from high-pressure hose, by David Scott.

Far left Storage jar,15 inches in diameter, thrown, inlaid slip, wood- ash glaze, oil fired to Cone 9, by Michael Cas son.Left Carafe, 9 inches in height, thrown, altered, salt-glazed stoneware, by Walter Keeler.

May 1984 61

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Left “Tall Sentry* (left), handbuilt semiporcelain, and “Tail Sentry” 16 inches in height, stoneware, by Val Barry.

Teapot, 10 inches in height, thrown, with handbuilt additions, blue/tan slip, salt glazed, by Peter Starkey.

Stoneware teapot, 8 inches in height, Platter, 12 inches in diameter, glazedby Geoffrey Whiting. stoneware, finger-wipe decoration, by Ray Finch.

May 1984 63

64 CERAMICS MONTHLY

Continued from Page 21excavations; at the Museum of Our National Her­itage, 33 Marret Rd.Massachusetts, Lincoln through May 13 “Con­temporary Australian Ceramics.” through May 27 “A Passionate Vision: Contemporary Ce­ramics from the Daniel Jacobs Collection”; at De Cordova and Dana Museum, Sandy Pond Rd. Massachusetts, Worcester May 18-June 1 “Professional Craft Studies,” student work; at Worcester Craft Center, 25 Sagamore Rd. Michigan, Birmingham May 11 -June 9 An exhibition including John Donoghue; at Robert L. Kidd Associates/Galleries, 107 Townsend St. Michigan, Detroit May 18-June 20 “New Vistas in Ceramic Art”; at Pewabic Pottery, 10125 E. Jefferson.Michigan, Holt May 5-28 A group exhibition with Robert Martin, porcelain forms; at DeMatt Gallery, Old Town, 2415 Cedar St.Missouri, Kansas City through May 26 A dual exhibition with Patti Warashina, sculpture; at Morgan Gallery, 1616 Westport Rd. through June 3 “Mimbres Pottery: Ancient Art of the American Southwest”; at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 4525 Oak St.Missouri, Saint Louis through May 20 “By Heart and Hand: American Folk Art from Mis­souri Collections,” includes slip- or sgraffito-dec- orated redware and stoneware; at the Saint Louis Art Museum, Forest Park. through May 31 “Spotlighting,” a dual exhibi­tion with Greg Krepps, pit-fired forms; at Saint Louis Contemporary Crafts Gallery, 55 Maryland Plaza.Nevada, Las Vegas May 6-30 “Las Vegas Small Sculpture National”; at the Las Vegas Art Mu­seum, Lorenzi Park, 3333 W. Washington.New Jersey, Freehold May 5-23 “Coast Cen­tral Crafts Exhibition ’84”; at the Right Angle, Pond Road Shopping Center, Rte. 9.New Jersey, Newark through February 28, 1985 “American Art Pottery,” over 200 objects made between 1880 and 1940; at the Newark Mu­seum, 49 Washington St.New Jersey, Tenafly May 12-June 15 “Duets-Couples in Crafts,” includes works by Jerry Berta and Madeline Kaczamarczyk, Victoria and Richard MacKenzie Childs, and Jean Pierre Hsu; at America House, 24 Washington Ave.New Jersey, Trenton May 18-30 “Art: Func­tional Ceramics”; at Mercer County Community College, West Windsor Campus.New Mexico, Hobbs May 3-25 “May Festi­val 84—NMJC/LEAA Juried Six State All Me­dia Exhibition of Arts and Crafts”; at the New Mexico Junior College, Lovington Hwy.New Mexico, Santa Fe May 4-June 8 “Southwest/Midwest Exchange,” works by 12 Il­linois ceramists; at the Museum of Fine Arts, 107 W. Palace Ave.New Mexico, Taos through May 19 Jim Wag­ner and Hank Saxe. May 26-June 23 A dual exhibition with Katherine Howard, burnished, pit- fired vessels; at Clay and Fiber, N. Pueblo Rd. New York, New York through May 12 “Silk Roads/China Ships,” approximately 400 objects illustrating 2000 years of commerce between Asia and the West; at the American Museum of Natural History, Central Park W. at 79th St. through May 13 Olga Bravo, Patricia Fahie and Lisa Waters, earthenware vessels and sculp­ture. May 15-June 15 Maryanne Cain, por­celain sculpture; and Sema Kamrass and Susan Kiok, inlaid wall platters; at Convergence Gallery, 484 Broome St.through May 15 “Newcomb College Pottery, A Retrospective,” works produced in New Orleans during 1880-1920; at the Jordan-Volpe Gallery, 457 W. Broadway.through June 17 “Design in America: The Cran- brook Vision, 1925-1950,” includes ceramics; at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Itinerary through September 5 “New Yorkers’ Taste: Chinese Export Porcelain, 1750-1865,” ware cus­tom-made for prominent New York families; at the Museum of the City of New York, Fifth Ave. at 103rd St.May 10-June 2 Andrea Gill, figurative and geo­metric vessels; and Chris Staley, wall platters; at Elements Gallery, 90 Hudson St.May 31-June 8 “Young Artists of Greenwich House Pottery Exhibition”; at 16 Jones St.New York, Scarsdale May 5-June 23 “For the Bride and Groom”; at the Craftsman’s Gallery, 16 Chase Rd.North Carolina, Charlotte May 1-30 “Clay Matters ’84,” regional competition exhibition; at Spirit Square Art Center, 110 E. Seventh St. Ohio, Cleveland through June 3 “Highlights of the Rococo: Norweb Ceramics and Related

Arts.” May 23-July 1 “The May Show”; at the Cleveland Museum of Art, 11150 East Blvd. Ohio, Middletown May 4-11 “Fifth Annual Gala Fine Arts and Crafts Exhibition”; at the Middletown City Bldg., 1 City Centre Plaza. Ohio, Toledo through May 20 “Ceramic Stu­dents’ Exhibition”; at the School of Design Gal­lery, Toledo Museum of Art.Ohio, Valley View May 1)-13 Nicole Bastide and Moira Beale, porcelain and stoneware; at the Hothouse Pottery Gallery, 6744 Hathaway Rd. Ohio, Wooster through May 7 “Functional Ceramics 1984”; at the College of Wooster Art Museum, University St.Oregon, Portland through May 26 A three- person exhibition with Kurt Weiser. May 31-June23 “Young Ceramists,” works by Michael Bli-

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May 1984 65

66 Ceramics Monthly

News & RetrospectIn Paris

Ceramic reliefs by Anne Barres and sculp­ture by Charles Viguie were featured re­cently at Galerie Alain Oudin in Paris. As exemplified by this installation at Angles near

with Takeo Sudo in the pottery town of Ma- shiko.

A little research is needed before applying for an apprenticeship in Japan. I cannot stress enough the importance of shopping for the

20-foot-tall porcelain relief by Anne BarresAvignon, Anne wants no scale limitations on her work; knotted, crumpled and “blown up” porcelain elements are combined to express the possibility of undefined expansion.

“right” place to work. Situations vary and it is a waste of the master’s time, not to mention your own, if you do not like the methods or style of production. The Japanese have a standard of reliability; you would insult your

To Apprentice in JapanJapan offers a variety of experiences for

the ceramist: touring the many ceramic cen­ters; visiting the museums, galleries and de­partment stores (where most potters display their works); or becoming an apprentice. In the spring of 1983 I visited many of the Jap­anese ceramics centers and was able to work

You are invited to send news and photo­graphs about people, places or events of interest. We will be pleased to consider them for publication in this column. Mail submissions to: News and Retrospect, Ceramics Monthly, Box 12448, Colum­bus, Ohio 43212.

master if you leave to work for someone else. However, if you find yourself in an intoler­able situation, it is possible for you to change masters, and the master to save face, by say­ing you are going on a vacation. This is ac­ceptable conduct.

Most masters expect a person asking for an apprenticeship to be committed to it for a minimum of two years, but you contract for only a year at a time. The apprentice stipend is always small: $100 to $300 per month. This amount varies between work­shops and even within a studio. You can ex­pect hard work if you accept a stipend: six to seven days a week, eight to ten hours a day. You will progress through the ranks— wedger, glazer, thrower, etc.—slowly. It is somewhat difficult assuming the role of an apprentice having once been independent, but this is the Japanese formula for producing skilled potters.

An alternative is to work without pay. This allows more freedom and faster progression through the ranks. Many studios in ceramic villages, where they are accustomed to for­eigners, offer this option.

A thorough study of the book Earth ’n’ Fire by Amaury Saint-Gilles (distributed by ISBS, Inc., Box 555, Forest Grove, Oregon 97116) will provide an overview of what to see and where areas of particular interest are likely to be found. It helps to have a business card with English on one side and Japanese on the other when touring studios; it is the custom to exchange cards as well as a small gift when you visit someone’s workplace. Al­ways ask permission to view the studio and kiln areas, as some potters are very restrictive as to what you can see.

In addition to visiting various studios, sev­eral good sources to assist you in locating a master are the Japanese Pottery Center, Ja­pan Tourist Organization, local schools, and acquaintances who are from or have been to Japan. Mashiko currently has the widest va­riety of ware produced and the greatest num­ber of foreign apprentices and students, many of whom speak English.

A visa is needed to enter Japan. You must provide proof of a round-trip ticket for any visa application. A tourist visa, effective for two to three months, can be renewed in To­kyo and may extend your visit to as long as six months. A cultural visa requires a spon­sor who will be responsible for your actions, an income tax declaration to document the dependability of your sponsor, and papers of intent. Most of these tasks are easier to ac­complish after your arrival in Japan. A cul­tural visa is usually issued for six months to a year but can be renewed several times.

If you wish to alter your visa from tourist to cultural, it is necessary to temporarily leave Japan. Korea is the closest country, and a

ContinuedMay 1984 67

Continued from Page 65ven, Larry Eisner, Robert Harrison, Roberta Lampert and Beth Lo-Hamilton; at Contempo­rary Crafts, 3934 S.W. Corbett Ave. Pennsylvania, Philadelphia through May 13 “Dutch Tiles”; at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Parkway at 26th St.May 6-June 3 A dual exhibition with Marek Cecula, porcelain sculpture; at the Works Gallery, 319 South St.Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh May 24-July 1 “Soup Soup Beautiful Soup,” an exhibition of tur­eens; at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Mellon Park, 6300 Fifth Ave.

Rhode Island, Newport through May 21

Itinerary “Raku and Smoke North America”; at the New­port Art Museum, 76 Bellevue Ave.Rhode Island, Providence through June24 Chris Gustin, Andrew Lord, Philip Maberry, Mark Pharis, Adrian Saxe, Ian Symons and Arnie Zimmerman, “RISD Clay Invitational.” May 17-June 3 “RISD Graduate Students”; at the Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, 224 Benefit St.Tennessee, Gatlinburg through June 1 “Ten­nessee Artist-Craftsmen’s Association’s 10th Bien­nial”; at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts. Texas, Dallas through May 27 “The Shogun Age,” Tokugawa artifacts; at the Dallas Museum of Art, 1717 N. Harwood.Texas, Houston through July 9 “Treasures from the Shanghai Museum: 6000 Years of Chinese Art”; at the Museum of Fine Arts, 1001 Bissonnet.

Vermont, Middlebury through May 5 “Studio Potter,” works by Richard Aerni, Cynthia Bringle, Frank Boyden, Tom and Elaine Coleman, Mi­chael Frasca, John Glick, Randy Johnson, Jenny Lind, Todd Piker and David Shaner; at Vermont State Craft Center at Frog Hollow.Virginia, Alexandria through May 26 The 16th biennial “Creative Crafts Council Exhibition,” re­gional juried show; at the Athenaeum Gallery, 201 Prince St.Washington, Seattle through May 5 “Con­temporary Mexican Ceramics”; at Pottery North­west, 226 First Ave., N.May 3-June 3 “Asian Art,” includes Japanese ceramics from 1700 to 1850; at Foster/White Gal­lery, 311½ Occidental Ave., S.Wisconsin, West Bend May 2-27 “Men & Women in the Arts VIII” national juried exhibi­tion; at the West Bend Gallery of Fine Arts, 300S. Sixth.

Fairs, Festivals and SalesConnecticut, Westport May 26-21 The 18th annual “Westport Handcrafts Fair”; at Staples High School, North Ave.Georgia, Eatonton May 26-27 “Georgia Folk Festival”; at Rock Eagle Center, 350 Rock Eagle Rd., NW.Georgia, Gainesville May 5-6 “Georgia Mountains Jubilee Arts and Crafts Festival”; at Georgia Mountain Center and on the square, downtown.Illinois, Skokie May 19-20 “Eleventh Annual Midwest Craft Festival 1984”; at Old Orchard Center.Indiana, Evansville May 12-13 “Arts on the Walkway,” part of the “Ohio River Arts Festival”; at the Walkway, downtown.Indiana, Indianapolis May 19-20 “Broad Ripple Village Art Fair”; at the Indianapolis Art League grounds, 820 E. 67 St.Iowa, Dubuque May 19-20 “DubuqueFest ’84 Art Fair”; at Washington Park, Sixth and Locust. Kentucky, Louisville May 12-13 “The Old Brownsboro Road Arts and Crafts Festival”; at the Thomas Jefferson Unitarian Church grounds, 4938 Old Brownsboro Rd.Maryland, Timonium May 4-6 Seventh an­nual “Spring Crafts Festival”; at the Maryland State Fairgrounds.Massachusetts, Cambridge May 24-27 “An­nual Spring Show and Sale,” works by 30 potters and sculptors; at Radcliffe Pottery Studio, 245 Concord Ave.Massachusetts, Worcester May 18-20 “Four­teenth Annual Craft Fair”; at the Worcester Craft Center, 25 Sagamore Rd.Michigan, Detroit through May 15 “Michigan Potters’ Association Annual Sale”; at Pewabic Pot­tery, 10125 E. Jefferson.Mississippi, Laurel May 12 “A Day in thePark”; at Mason Park.New York, Great Neck May 6 Sixth annual “Great Neck Celebrates Crafts”; at Middle Neck Rd., Old Village.New York, New Palt» May 25-28 “Woodstock- New Paltz Art and Crafts Fair/Spring Show”; at the Ulster County Fairgrounds.New York, New York May 18-20 and June1-3 “The WBAI Spring Crafts Fair”; at Colum­bia University, Ferris Booth Hall.New York, Spring Valley May 4-6 The 16th annual “Green Meadow Invitational Pottery Show and Sale”; at Green Meadow Waldorf School, Hungry Hollow Rd. and Rte. 45.New York, Sugar Loaf May 19-20 “Sugar Loaf Craft Festival ’; at Sugar Loaf Craft Village. Ohio, Dayton May 26-27 “Art in the Park”; at the Riverbend Art Center, 142 Riverbend Dr. Pennsylvania, Kingston May 5-6 “Fourth Annual Northeast Craftworks” exhibition; at Kingston Armory, Market St.Pennsylvania, Wallingford May 4-5 The

Continued68 Ceramics Monthly

News & Retrospecttrip there gives you a chance to see the roots of Japanese ceramics. The length of stay in Korea is limited to no more than 120 hours without a visa, but this is enough time to visit several pottery centers and get a feeling for their work.

If an extended stay in Japan is in your plans, be prepared to live small. Most apart­ments consist of two small rooms with a com­munity bath and toilet. The cost will vary with location, but generally ranges from $60 to $100 per month. Amazingly, you can sal­vage stoves, refrigerators, bicycles and other comforts of home from the junkyards! There are no second-hand stores (except for an­tiques). Everything is either handed down from father to son or thrown away. Take only the bare essentials because, until you find a permanent place to stay, transporting and storing your luggage will be a problem. The main modes of transportation (bus and train) have very small storage areas or none at all. The standard locker sizes are 16x12x22 inches and 21x10x22 inches.

Rail passes make traveling via the national railroad easy, but the one-, two- or three- week passes may be purchased only outside of Japan. A pass becomes effective anytime you start to use it. It is a good idea to buy two or three rail passes good for a week at a time. This allows you more freedom and gives you a chance to rest between excur­sions.

A used motorbike (available for about $100) is an inexpensive mode of transportation and can extend your ability to travel. The inter­national license, which you can acquire in­expensively in the United States, is accepted; but if you do not have one, a Japanese license can be purchased at the local prefectural of­fice for $30-$40 and is valid for three years.

After a three-month stay, a foreigner’s reg­istration card may be obtained. With it you can purchase medical insurance (including dental coverage) for about $50 per year.

The problems encountered during an ex­tended stay are mainly cultural. My expe­riences from traveling and working in Japan (where I was not well versed in the language) were more rewarding than I had expected. However, I did miss out on many of the in­terpersonal experiences you can have only through complete understanding of the lan­guage.

The Japanese language is unlike the more direct English. Only about half of what is meant is said and the listener must assume the rest. I recommend a class in Japanese through a local college. If a formal class is unavailable, purchase a good English-to- Japanese dictionary, as well as a Japanese (Kanji)-to-English one. Also, the Japanese Pottery Handbook by Penny Simpson, Lucy Kitto and Kanji Sodeoka (Kodansha Inter­national, Ltd., 10 East 53 Street, New York City 10022) offers a fair translation of pot-

ContinuedMay 1984 69

Potters Guild of the Community Arts Center spring sale; at 414 Plush Mill Rd.Tennessee, Nashville May 4-6 “Thirteenth Annual Tennessee Crafts Fair”; at Centennial Park.

WorkshopsCalifornia, La Jolla May 18-19 Mayer Shac- ter, workshop and slide lecture. For further infor­mation contact: Crafts Center B-023D, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla 92093; or call: (619) 452-2021.California, Mendocino May 19-20 Sandra Johnstone, “Salt-Fired Ceramics.” Fee: $45. Con­

Itinerary tact: Tony Marsh, Mendocino Art Center, Ce­ramics, Box 765, Mendocino 95460; or call: (707) 937-5818 or 937-0946.California, Walnut Creek May 6 “Clay Cin- ema-Fest.” May 12-13 “Clay and Plaster Sculpture Workshop” with John Toki. Contact: Walnut Creek Civic Arts Education, 1313 Civic Dr., Walnut Creek 94596; or call: (415) 943-5846. Colorado, Cortez May 10-15 “Primitive Pot­tery” with Bruce Bradley. Participants will study Anasazi ceramics and reproduce primitive forms. Fee: $275. Contact: Admissions Office, Center for American Archaeology, Box 1499, Evanston, Il­linois 60204; or call collect: (312) 492-5300. Colorado, Vail June 18-August 3 Colorado Mountain College is offering several 1-week ses­sions with Rod Tsukashima, Robert Piepenburg,

Bob Shay, Bennett Bean, George Tompkins and Dan Angel Martinez. Contact: Summervail Work­shop, Box 177, Minturn, Colorado 81645; or call: (303) 827-5703.Connecticut, Brookfield May 5-6 Laurie Klein, “The Creative Balancing of Goals.” Fee: $75 for Craft Center members, $85 for nonmem­bers. May 19 Judy Glattstein, “Forms and Patterns in Nature.” Fee: $35 for Craft Center members; $45 for nonmembers. Contact: Brook­field Craft Center, Box 122, Brookfield 06804; or call: (203) 775-4526.Illinois, Chicago May 15 Michael McTwigan, lecture. Fee: $3. Contact: Lili Street Gallery, 1021 W. Lili St., Chicago 60614; or call: (312) 248-4414. Illinois, Evanston May 5 Bennett Bean, lec­ture and demonstration. Fee: $25. Contact: Mi­chael Blair, Evanston Art Center, 2603 Sheridan Rd., Evanston 60201; or call: (312) 475-9139. Iowa, Des Moines May 14-June 1 “Kiln- building/Salt Glaze Workshop,” with Rimas VisGirda, involves constructing a 30-cubic-foot, downdraft, gas-fired, atmospheric burner, salt kiln. For advanced students and professionals. Contact: Art Department, Drake University, Des Moines 50311; or call: Rimas VisGirda, (515) 271-3186. New Hampshire, Goffstown June 18-29 “Porcelain Workshop” with Gerry Williams. Fee: $190. July 2-4 “Brush Printing on Ceramic Forms” with Ed Nelson. Fee: $65. July2-6 “Intensive Throwing and Production Tech­niques” with Rudy Houk. Fee: $95. July 9-13 “Techniques of Low Temperature Pottery” with Rudy Houk. Fee: $95. July 11-12 “Clinic on Electric Kilns, Gas Burners and Kiln Equip­ment” with Harry Dedell. Fee: $55. July30-August 3 “Low and High Relief Ceramic Wall Plaques” with Armand Szainer. Fee: $95. July31-August 10 “Master Class,” a session for ad­vanced potters, professionals and teachers. Limited enrollment. Send slides of work, two letters of rec­ommendation and statement. Instructor: Gerry Williams. Fee: $300. Contact: Phoenix Work­shops, R.D. 1, Dunbarton, Goffstown 03045; or call: (603) 774-3582.New Jersey, Demarest May 19-20 Dutch potter Jaan Mobach, slide lecture and demon­stration on throwing big pots; at the Old Church Cultural Center. Contact: Adriana Chilton, 46 Church Lane, Scarsdale, New York 10583; or call: (914) 472-4912.New Mexico, Ghost Ranch May 30-June 3 “Larger Than Life,” a demonstration and hands- on session on throwing and handbuilding large vessels, tile murals and structural ceramic tech­niques. Fee: $75 for members of the New Mexico Potters Association, $85 for nonmembers. Camp­ing and live-in accommodations available. Contact: Bill Armstrong, Box 706, Corrales, New Mexico 87048; or call: (505) 898-7471.New York, New York May 11 and 18 Barbara Beck, “Porcelain and Paper Workshop.” June 22 or 24 “Basketry Techniques for Potters” with Nancy Moore Bess, fee: $25. Contact: Janet Bryant, 92nd Street Y, 1395 Lexington, New York 10128; or call: (212) 427-6000, ext. 172.May 12 “Glaze Techniques for Firing in an Electric Kiln,” with Arthur Gerace, will include glaze on glaze, wax resist, mishima and Oriental brush techniques. Fee: $40 for YWCA members, $50 for nonmembers. Contact: Craft Students League, 610 Lexington Ave., New York 10022; or call: (212) 755-4500.May 19 A participatory workshop with Rina Pe- leg on constructing clay baskets from extruded coils, using traditional basket-weaving techniques. Con­tact: Greenwich House Pottery, 16 Jones St., New York 10014; or call: (212) 242-4106.New York, West Nyack June 11-22 Dorothy Greenwald is offering two 1-week sessions on ad­vanced wheel throwing. Contact: Rockland Center for the Arts, 27 S. Greenbush Rd., West Nyack 10994; or call: (914) 358-0877.North Carolina, Brasstown May 13-26 Throw­ing and glazing with Bill Gordy. Contact: The

Continued70 CERAMICS MONTHLY

News & Retrospecttery and chemical terms for an English- speaking potter apprenticing in Japan. Text: James Neupert.

Patrick CrabbTensions between the primitive and the

contemporary, the Oriental and the Occi­dental, the carefully planned and the “happy accident” are seen in the series of ceramic baskets by Patrick Crabb (Tustin, Califor­nia) recently featured at Rodell/Retreat in Los Angeles. In the basket, Patrick recog­nizes a pure, primitive form, utilitarian in origin, yet capable of infinite and sophisti­cated artistic expression. He states, “I find my sources of inspiration evolving from an historical context, specifically from pretech- nological or ‘primitive’ artifacts. Ancient ves­sels have a timeless quality, a simplicity of shape, a display of boldness in technique that I seek in my own forms. My container shapes

Low-fire “Pictogram Basket,” 19 inches in heightare metaphorical expressions of the roots, the lineage of the ‘first vessels,’ specifically ves­sels derived from clay-reed basketry.”

Many of the rough, irregular textures that enhance the “ancient” quality of the baskets are produced by such unprimitive surfaces as pegboard, corrugated cardboard or cracks in sidewalks. While alluding to the utilitarian antecedents of the baskets, they are obviously, in Patrick’s words, “not replicas, but take­offs.” Text: Keith Neilson.

In Jerusalem“Everyone’s Sitting,” an environment con­

sisting of 25 truncated pillars on which are positioned nine larger-than-life, armless, male figures, each one dying or dead of battle wounds; and “A Human Shadow Is Not Hu­man,” seven flat figures braced against the wall and floor, by Siona Shimshi (Old Jaffa,

ContinuedMay 1984 71

John C. Campbell Folk School, Route 1, Brass- town 28902; or call: (704) 837-2775.North Carolina, Chapel Hill June 17-29 “Man­aging the Arts,” fifth executive program for arts administrators. Fee: $1100, includes living ex­penses. Scholarships available. Contact: Leslie H. Garner, Managing the Arts, School of Business Administration, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill 27514; or call: (919) 962-3123.North Carolina, Raleigh May 11-12 Dutch potter Jaan Mobach, slide lecture and demon­stration on throwing big pots; at the North Car­olina State University Craft Center. Contact: A- driana Chilton, 46 Church Lane, Scarsdale, New York 10583; or call: (914) 472-4912.Oregon, Otis July 21-22 “Raku Pottery and Primitive Firing Methods,” with Judy Teufel, will include building a rudimentary kiln. Bring bisqued work. Fee: $35. For further information contact: Sitka Center for Art and Ecology, Box 65, Otis 97368; or call: (503) 994-5485.Pennsylvania, Somerset May 7-June 30 Hidden Valley Pottery is offering 1- to 4-week sessions on throwing and handbuilding, and re­duction, oxidation, raku and anagama firing. In­structors: Randy Myers and Don Hedman. Con­tact: Randy Myers, R.D. 4, Box 195, Somerset 15501; or call: (814) 443-4347 or 443-6454. Vermont, Bennington July 29-August 18 “Art New England Summer Workshops” at Bennington College will include 1-week sessions on clay sculp­ture from a live model with Andrew McMillan and Michael Morris; throwing and decorating porcelain with Tom White; and colored clays with Makoto Yabe. Fee: $385 per week, includes room and board. For further information contact: Art

Itinerary New England Summer Workshops, 353 Washing­ton St., Brighton, Massachusetts 02135; or call: (617) 782-3008 or 782-4184.

International EventsCanada, Alberta, Calgary through June 10 “Between Continents/Between Seas: Pre-Colum­bian Art of Costa Rica”; at the Glenbow Museum, 130 Ninth Ave., SE.May 12-13 Alan Caiger-Smith, slide lecture on his work and Aldermaston Pottery with discussion of Islamic ceramics and Persian lusters, plus dem­onstration of techniques and brushwork. Contact: Ceramics Canada, 7056 D Farrell Rd., SE, Cal­gary, Alberta T2H 0T2; or call: (403) 255-1575. Canada, British Columbia, Kelowna May 14-15 Chuck Wissinger, intensive workshop on ceramic sculpture. Contact: Mary McCulloch or Gerry Garneau, Fine Arts Department, Okana­gan College, 1000 Klo Rd., Kelowna, British Co­lumbia VIY 4X8; or call (604) 762-5445. Canada, Ontario, Brampton July 2-13 “Dec­orative Techniques in Porcelain,” a workshop with Harlan House. Fee: $160. July 20-29 “Raku,” two weekend sessions with Anne Cummings. Fee: $80. Contact: Sheridan College, Brampton Cam­pus Continuing Education, McLaughlin Rd., Box 7500, Brampton, Ontario L6V 1G6; or call: (416) 364-7491.Canada, Ontario, Dundas May 5-6 “The Pot­ters’ Guild of Hamilton and Region Spring Sale”; at the Dundas Town Hall.Canada, Ontario, Mississauga May 27-June 8 “Fireworks 1984,” fifth biennial juried exhi­bition of works by members of the Ontario Potters Association; at the Erindale College Art Gallery. Canada, Ontario, Toronto May 4-6 “1984 Spring Open House and Sale”; at the Potter’s Stu­dio, 2 Thorncliffe Park Dr., Unit 16.

May 4-27 Penny Kokkinos, pottery exhibition; at the Amsterdam Cafe, York Quay Centre, 235 Queens Quay, W.England, Bath, Avon May 25-June 15 Tobias Harrison, lusterware; at Saint James’s Gallery, 9 Margarets Bldgs., Brock St.England, Bath, Great Pulteney May 18-July 8 “The Oxshott Pottery: Denise and Henry Wren”; at the Crafts Study Centre, Holburne Mu­seum, University of Bath, Great Pulteney St. England, Oxford May 21-June 20 Daniel Mumby, mixed earthenware and stoneware sculp­ture; at Oxford Gallery, 23 High St.Italy, Faenza May 12-August 21 The 42nd annual “International Competition of Artistic Ce­ramics”; at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Corso Mazzini 92.Italy, Florence July 2-September 14 Ceramica Riparbello is offering several 2-week sessions on throwing with Pietro Maddalena and Franco Rampi. For beginning through advanced students. Fee: $350, includes room and board. Contact: Ce­ramica Riparbello, 50020 Marcialla, Florence; or call: 0571-660084.North Wales, Clwyd, Denbigh July 16-August 18 Brookhouse pottery is offering five 1-week sessions on porcelain and stoneware, reduction fir­ing and salt glazing, and kiln construction. In­structor: David Frith, plus visiting potters Derek Emms, Jane Hamlyn and David Leach. Contact: Margaret Frith, Brookhouse Pottery, The Malt- house, Denbigh, Clwyd LL16 4RE; or call: 074 571 2805.Wales, Carmarthen, Abergwili May 19-June 23 “Buckley Pottery,” an exhibition of ceramics from the 1300s to the 1940s; at the Carmarthen Museum.West Germany, Essen through June 30 “Peru: Through the Millennia,” includes Nasca burial objects and domestic pottery; at the Villa Hiigel.

72 CERAMICS MONTHLY

News & RetrospectIsrael) were shown recently at Herzelia Mu­seum in Jerusalem. “In my work there are always groups—always story telling,” Siona commented. “ ‘Everyone’s sitting,5 patiently

Larger-than-life figure from “Everyone's Sitting”and tolerantly awaiting judgment. The car­apace is still comely and well but inwardly the collapse has begun—the drying up and the loss of memory.”

The high-fired clay forms were built in sections “not as a technical device but as an ‘artistic’ one. Numbers, marks and signs for fittings are part of the design as well. I tried to get the feeling of sagging skin by pushing the clay almost to its limit; there are many places where it almost cracks. The polished aluminum elements that burst out of the ‘sit­ting’ bodies (representing fluids) were cast in Styrofoam after the unglazed sculptures were fired to approximately 2190°F (1200°C).”

With each “Shadow of Man” figure, the artist displayed a cryptic detail, from beer cans to a laurel wreath. “In these works,” she

Siona Shimshi with clay “Shadows”observed, “the feet no longer carry the weight of their burden. The human shadow is not

ContinuedMay 1984 73

Where to ShowContinued from Page 17

further information contact: Sugar Loaf Craft Guild, Box 125, Sugar Loaf 10981; or call: (914) 986- 8628 or 469-9740.

Nags Head, North Carolina “Compass Rose Art and Craft Fair” (August 3-4) is juried from 6 slides. Fee: $65. Send self-addressed, stamped envelope to: Jan Mann, Route 1, Box 195-A, God­win, North Carolina 28344; or call: (919) 567- 2978.

Scaly Mountain, North Carolina “High Country Art and Craft Show” (August 3-5) is juried from slides or photos. Fee: $65. Send self- addressed, stamped, business envelope to: Virginia Smith, High Country Crafters, 29 Haywood St., Asheville, North Carolina 28801; or call: (704) 254-0070.July 6 entry deadline

Denver, Colorado “Foothills Festival” (August 11-12) is juried from slides. Contact: Joyce He- pokoski, Washington Heights Community Center, 6375 W. First Ave., Lakewood, Colorado 80226; or call: (303) 237-7407.July 10 entry deadline

Manitou Springs, Colorado “Commonwheel Artist’s 10th Annual Labor Day Festival” (Sep­tember 1-3) is juried from slides. Contact: Com­monwheel Fairs, Box 42, Manitou Springs 80829; or call: (303) 685-1008.July 15 entry deadline

Asheville, North Carolina “High Country Summerfest Art and Craft Show” (August 9-11) is juried from slides or photos. Fee: $85. Contact: Betty Kdan, 40 Hyannis Drive, Asheville 28804; or call: (704) 253-6893.

Sapphire, North Carolina “High Country Art and Craft Show” (August 17-19) is juried from slides or photos. Fee: $65. Send self-addressed, stamped, business envelope to: Virginia Smith, High Country Crafters, 29 Haywood St., Asheville, North Carolina 28801; or call: (704) 254-0070.July 30 entry deadline

Lowell, Michigan “The Fallasburg Fall Fes­tival” (September 29-30) is juried from slides. Fee: $35. Contact: Chris VanAntwerp, Lowell Area Arts Council, Box 53, Lowell 49331.August 1 entry deadline

Cashiers, North Carolina “High Country Art and Craft Show” (August 31-September 2) is ju­ried from slides or photos. Fee: $65. Send self- addressed, stamped, business envelope to: Virginia Smith, High Country Crafters, 29 Haywood St., Asheville, North Carolina 28801; or call: (704) 254-0070.August 10 entry deadline

New York, New York “13th Annual WBAI Holiday Crafts Fair” (December 6-9) is juried from 5 slides. Entry fee: $12. Booth fee: $410. Contact: Matthew Alperin, WBAI Crafts Fair, Box 889, Times Square Station, New York 10108; or call: (212) 279-0707.August 11 entry deadline

Suffern, New York “Rockland Holiday Craft Marketplace” (December 15-16) is juried from 5 slides. Entry fee: $5; booth fees: $175-$200 for a 10x10-foot space. Send self-addressed, stamped envelope to: Scott and Neil Rubinstein, Quail Hol­low Events, Box 825, Woodstock, New York 12498; or call: (914) 679-8087.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania “Pittsburgh Art and Crafts Expo” (November 23-25) is juried from 5 slides. Entry fee: $5; booth fees: $175-$200 for a 1 Ox 10-foot space. Send self-addressed, stamped envelope to Scott and Neil Rubinstein, Quail Hol­low Events, Box 825, Woodstock, New York 12498; or call: (914) 679-8087.^August 31 entry deadline

Herkimer, New York “9th Annual Herkimer County Arts & Crafts Fair” (November 10-11) is juried from 5 slides. Awards. Entry fee: $5. Booth fee: $55. Contact: Grace McLaughlin, Herkimer County Community College, Reservoir Rd., Her­kimer 13350.

74 CERAMICS MONTHLY

News & Retrospecthuman, and our memories [are] too heavy to bear.”

By presenting this exhibition in the Her- zliya Museum, which is also a memorial to fallen soldiers, Siona is protesting Israel’s continuing involvement in Lebanon and the resultant loss of life.

“Identities,” a series of sculptural pots by Israeli ceramist Rayah Redlich, was featured recently in a faculty exhibition at Haifu Uni­versity and in a group show at the Jerusalem Theater. Thrown from red, white and black clays, decorated with slips, underglazes and matt ivory glaze, then fired to 2156°F (1180°C), the whole and halved vessels

“Brides & Grooms” “Mothers & Daughters”were grouped as allegorical images: moth­erhood, infancy, childhood, bridegroom-bride, parenthood, family, etc. Photo: R. Redlich.

Avra LeodasA solo exhibition of stoneware vessels and

wall reliefs by New Mexico ceramist Avra Leodas was featured at Saint John’s College in Sante Fe through April 21. Among the

14-inch coil-built bowl by Avra Leodasworks shown was this rough-textured bowl, coil built from stoneware, with dry wash, fired at Cone 7.

Alfred Glaze WarningThe New York State College of Ceramics

at Alfred University is warning that potsContinued

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76 CERAMICS MONTHLY

News & Retrospectglazed with the following green matt recipe may not be safe for use with food or drink:

Ratzee Glaze(Cone 5)

Barium Carbonate.................................. 21.7%Whiting................................................... 10.9Kona F-4 Feldspar.................................. 60.9Edgar Plastic Kaolin.............................. 6.5

100.0%Add: Titanium Dioxide ......................... 2.4%

Zinc Oxide................................... 8.7%Copper Carbonate........................ 3.2%

Developed in 1982 by an Alfred student, Ratzee was subsequently used on classroom work given as gifts and sold at local markets. Recently, when another student noticed her coffee cup had discolored, the glaze was tested by an outside laboratory. Test results showed small amounts of barium were leaching from the glaze.

Dean W. Richard Ott says there appears to be little danger from long-time consump­tion of small quantities of barium because, unlike lead, it does not accumulate in one’s body. The worst situation, he explains, would be if an acidic liquid such as lemonade were kept in a glazed pitcher for several weeks so that larger amounts of barium leached out, then someone drank the entire contents of the pitcher.

Currently, students are testing this recipe at higher temperatures to see if it would then be safe for food surfaces; preliminary results indicate it is safe (vitreous) at Cone 9.

American Ceramics in Iceland“Crafts U.S.A.,” an exhibition featuring

works by approximately 80 American arti­sans, was displayed recently at Kjarvalsstadir Art Center in Reykjavik, Iceland. Among the ceramic objects shown was this slab-built

Sara Gast’s stoneware basket with reed handlebasket, 8 inches in diameter, terra-cotta col­ored stoneware, with airbrushed glazes, fired to Cone 3 in an electric kiln, by Sara Gast, Bloomington, New York.

Jim LeedyIn work shown recently at the Morgan

Gallery in Kansas City, Missouri, Jim LeedyContinued

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78 CERAMICS MONTHLY

News & Retrospect(faculty artist at Kansas City Art Institute) integrated forms of brightly colored animals, totems, masks and plates. His is a tough art, hard to live with because it refuses to fade into the background like Muzak. The inten­tion is to skirt rhapsodic decorum, to link the primitive virility of clay to the immediacies and idiosyncrasies of primordial emotions. He crumples, twists and overextends the clay to suggest seismic energies which result in a temperamental transformation of the mate­rial. The resultant sculpture is rooted in the idea that art is a matter of personal content and feeling before it is form, theory or his­tory.

His work is further involved in the rep­resentation of animals actively snarling, twisting or crying out in agony, not unlike

42-inch “Horse” by Jim Leedythe famous “Guernica.” Like Picasso’s horse these animals suffer a disquieting visceral anguish. In addition some of them appear to be decaying or collapsing in on themselves, perhaps subject to a disjunctive or regressive natural force, a prelude to death. The artist, by combining the forces of growth with their opposite, completes the cycle of life and death. Text: Michael Cadieux; photo: E. G. SchempJ.

Phyllis Green“Delphi Launching Pad,” a 7V2-foot clay

and mixed-media sculpture by Los Angeles artist Phyllis Green, was presented recently at the Charles H. Scott Gallery in Vancouver, British Columbia, and at the Turnbull, Lutjeans, Kogan Gallery in Costa Mesa, California.

In commenting on the work, Phyllis ex­plains: “Delphi is the site of the Shrine of Apollo, the oldest as well as the most holy of Greek shrines. Long before the shrine was built, Delphi was the fabled home of a Mi- noan earth goddess, and was an important

ContinuedMay 1984 79

80 CERAMICS MONTHLY

News & Retrospectsite of pre-Greek religious activity. Accord­ing to myth, Apollo had to battle a female dragon-snake before he could enter Delphi. Some scholars maintain that the Apollo myth dramatizes the new Greek order of men and their Olympian gods, and of rationality, overtaking the Minoan earth-centered way. To the Greeks, Delphi seemed the place where the conflict between the old way and the new was most violently manifest.

“I am attracted to Delphi because of this history. But ‘Delphi Launching Pad’ is not a model of the shrine of Apollo. The basic structure is eclectic, and is derived from var­ious Greek monuments and architectural forms. The tiled platform is a hexagon. The

71/2-foot “Delphi Launching Pad”six figures resemble the carytids, or female pillar figures, that support the roofs of cer­tain Greek temples. They stand on the tra­ditional parapets, which are ceramic ‘boxes’ decorated in relief and chronologically rep­resenting six places where I have lived. As part of its composition (combinations of day, wood and steel), each life-size figure has a realistically rendered ceramic skeletal unit: the Winnipeg figure has bone feet; the next has tibiae; the next, femurs; the next, a pel­vis; the next, a rib cage; and the next, sca­pulae. My intention is to express growth and change through this developing figure. The heads are represented by dangling helmets that suggest a link to the extraterrestrial.”

New American Craft MuseumA new American Craft Museum with more

than four times the gallery space is under construction at its previous location at 44 West 53 Street in New York City. Meanwhile, the American Craft Council reports that exhi­bition programs will continue at the mu­seum’s sister institution, Museum II, at In­ternational Paper Plaza, 77 West 45 Street.

Please Turn to Page 85May 1984 81

82 Ceramics Monthly

New BooksThe Ceramic Spectrumby Robin HopperFor professional ceramists to students, this text offers a simplified approach to the theory and practice of glaze/color development, ex­ploring materials and processes to suggest the range of potential results. Rather than pre­senting a series of chemical/mathematical calculations (“none of them tells us the com­plete story, because the subtle trace elements, which are perhaps the most important part, seldom show up in analyses”), the author aims at providing the reader with a practical understanding of “the individual materials involved, their expected behavior under var­iations of temperature and atmosphere, and their interaction with each other.” After a basic introductory section covering history, types of clay bodies and firing procedures, ensuing chapters present raw materials and approaches to testing, ranging from single ingredient “lump” tests to quadraxial blends. A chapter on fluxes shows how to alter a stoneware glaze color by changing the fluxes in the recipe, while other chapters discuss wood ash, luster and crystalline glazes. The section on color covers the full range of con­temporary materials and sources (including soluble colorants, watercolors, spray paints and commercial ceramic stains), methods of color testing and provides a chart of 42 colors with 134 variations on ways to achieve them. Of particular interest are a series of 12 color images each illustrating 24 variations from a common colorant in various glaze bases. Concluding the text is a portfolio of inter­national ceramics, with accompanying state­ments on artists’ intent and process. 224 pages including appendix (table of Orton standard cones; comparative list of common frits; ex­planations of illustrated glaze tests; effective range of oxides; Oriental iron glazes for Cones 8-10, reduction; list of ceramic stains), bib­liography and index. 58 color plates, 150 black-and-white illustrations. $37.50. Chil­ton Book Company, Radnor, Pennsylvania 19089.

Mimbres Pottery:Ancient Art of the American SouthwestPublished in conjunction with the American Federation of Arts traveling exhibition, this text illustrates 135 representative examples of the decorated pots produced from A.D. 550 to 1150 near the Mimbres River in New Mexico, when “during its nine-hundred-year history, Mimbres pottery evolved from a plain brown undecorated ware to spectacular fig­urative black-on-white bowls.” Essays by Tony Berlant, J. J. Brody, Steven A. Le-

Please Turn to Page 88

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84 CERAMICS MONTHLY

News & RetrospectContinued from Page 81

The space, owned on a condominium ba­sis, will be on the ground floor and lower level of an office building, with 72-foot front­age on 53 Street. The approximately 18,000 square feet will be divided into museum of­fices on three separate levels and galleries for the permanent collection, one-man shows and thematic exhibitions. Completion is sched­uled for spring 1986.

Karen KoblitzAn April exhibition at Swope Gallery in

Los Angeles featured new ceramic still lifes by Karen Koblitz, Columbia, South Caro­lina. Among the works shown was this wall

connectedness is facilitated between the view­er and the sculpture through the use of the life-size disembodied, void figures present in each work.” Photo: Hobart Swiggett.

Diduk / Wosika“Functional and Affordable,” an exhibi­

tion of stoneware thrown by Barbara Diduk, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and handbuilt by Ka­thy Wosika, Fresno, California, was pre­sented at Craft Alliance in Saint Louis, late last year. Among the elongated pitchers,

“Message in the Bottle Still Life”relief, 20½ inches in height, handbuilt low- fire clay with brushed polychrome glazes. Photo: Larry Cameron.

Nan Smith“Inner Dimensions,” a solo exhibition of

clay and mixed-media work by Nan Smith, faculty artist at the University of Florida, Gainesville, was presented at McQuade Gal­lery, Merrimack College, North Andover, Massachusetts, through April 13. Included in the show were several installations reflect­ing “concepts of the inner self,” Nan com-

78-inch lidded jar by Barbara Didukteapots and watering pots shown by Barbara Diduk was this lidded jar, 18 inches in height, ash glazed.

Cohen/MatherA dual exhibition of functional porcelain

by Jean Cohen, Baltimore, and Tim Mather, Athens, Ohio, was on view at the American Hand in Washington, D. C., through March 30. Jean’s work explores the potential of cut­ting rims to achieve the hard-edged feeling of art deco, while Tim’s thrown ware, such

Porcelain basket with wood handle by Tim Mathermented. “Each allows the viewer to experi­ence environments which can be entered vis­ually, physically and spiritually. A special

as this basket, approximately 12 inches in diameter, with handbuilt additions and wood

Continued

‘Inner Garden,” mixed-media installation

iviuy o j

86 Ceramics Monthly

News & Retrospecthandle, is accented with brush decoration or a range of copper red glazes.

Connell and YoungA dual exhibition featuring carved por­

celain vessels by Jim Connell, Champaign, Illinois, and figurative sculpture by Suzanne Young, Northville, Michigan, was presented recently at DeMatt Gallery in Holt, Mich­igan.

Jim’s thickly thrown forms, such as this matt black covered jar, are deeply carved us-

19-inch sandblasted jar by Jim Connelling a variety of Surform blades. Glazed and fired to Cone 10 in reduction, they are “then sandblasted to reveal the matt crackle pat­terns underneath,” he explains.

Suzanne’s porcelain reliefs are raku fired. She sees these figures, “with their complex and endless associations, as posing a chal-

/8-inch unglazed relief by Suzanne Younglenge to the viewer. After being placed within a spatial design or color camouflage, the fig­ures begin to relate their social commentary.”

May 1984 87

New BooksContinued from Page 83

Blanc and Catherine J. Scott discuss the peo­ple, their way of life and the changing role of their pottery. Many of the forms are dec­orated with representational images—ani­mals, humans and objects which often inter­act to tell a story. Other works bear lively geometric patterns.

Most of the pots with painted figures were used for funerary purposes: “In early burials, pottery bowls and other grave offerings were placed adjacent to the body. Later, a bowl was usually broken and scattered in pieces throughout the grave, but by the end of the period this practice had been almost entirely abandoned. Instead, a single small piece was broken out of the bottom of the funerary bowl, and the bowl was then placed over the head of the deceased. Today, the small puncture hole in the bottom of Mimbres bowls is re­ferred to as the ‘kill’ hole. While we are in­clined to assume that it must have had some ideological significance, whether it was made to release the ‘spirit’ of the bowl, as some investigators have suggested, remains un­known.” But because of the pictorial nature of much Mimbres ware, more is known about these people and their culture than about any of their contemporaries. 128 pages, including bibliography. 42 color plates, 127 black-and- white illustrations and maps. $35, plus $2 for shipping and handling. Hudson Hills Press, Inc., Suite 301, 220 Fifth Avenue, New York City 10001.

88 Ceramics Monthly