Welcome back!

 

From Philadelphia Conference

Welcome back all students.  

We are looking forward to meeting the sophomore throwing class and renewing the fun times and great works being done in the community education courses.

We will be doing some interesting things this semester.  We plan to rebuild the arch of the salt kiln with hard refractory.  We will talk more on that in a later post.  We will also be moving the raku kiln to the new location (what was the wood-lot next to the kiln shed).

We have added a glaze bench and will be reorganizing the test tiles with our regular glazes and some new versions as well (that's the plan!).

In addition, we plan to dedicate the Vincent R. Clemente Ceramic Resource Room sometime in October.   We will be scheduling the fall wood firing and salt firings very soon.

I will be posting information for all students during the semester. Hope it is helpful.

From Conference

Good to be back!

Meso and Native American

To continue our posts on important historical references of great traditional hand building cultures for research we can group the americas as one- Meso and South American work and our own Native American pottery.  These works have many elements in common.  Pots were made for everyday use.  Pottery also played a very important part in the social and spiritual elements of life.  Two good books to begin with are "World Ceramics," by Hugo and Marjorie Munsterberg, and "A History of World Pottery," by Emmanuel Cooper.  These books can be found in the school library.

Native American work from the Pueblo era in the southwest are still made in the same traditional way.  The most famous of the Pueblo potters was Maria Martinez.

Empty Bowls

Yesterday was throwing day for our third "Empty Bowls."  We began this annual fund raising event in 2008, thanks to Janelle's hard work and dedication.  Empty bowls is a nationally supported, but locally organized effort by potters of many communities to help those who may not have the means for a sustaining daily meal.  We continue to work to benefit and support the terrific people at Hope House.

Hats off to all of our continuing education students for once again giving their time and effort, making so many pots.  Our community of potters is the best.  A long day of throwing with lots of laughs and pots to (trim!) fill.  More on the event will follow.

Iranian Ceramics

An excellent book on early Iranian ceramics is authored by Trudy S. Kawami.  "Ancient Iranian Ceramics" documents works from the Sackler Collections. I will bring my copy to our next class. For those of you wanting to add handles or spouts, these pieces may be a good start for design.

The Jomon book is now on reserve at the school library.

Variations in Salt Firing

The use of salt to glaze pots began in Germany during the 1500's.  It is not known exactly how the idea came about.  Stories of cod crates or maybe a smart chemist who made pots on the side are common.  I don't know of any written accounts marking the first use of salt for glaze.  But the expert on this is Jack Troy.  His book on salt is still the best.  Many of us started out with his book in hand as we began to revive this firing technique. There are a number of other good books on the subject.  I will list them in the next post on salt.  


Traditional salt glazing is still one of the great high fire experiences.  So simple and direct.  There are many ways to manipulate the effects at ∆10. Reduction, use of slips and washes, saggars and flashing are just a few of the basic approaches.  


But an area that is not so commonly talked about is mid temperature salt or vapor firings.  We do them here at PrattMWP in the sophomore classes.  Sometimes we use terra cotta.  This semester we will be using the ∆10 salt body I like from Sheffield Pottery,T-3S.  I have used it at ∆ 3-6 will great results.  We will get into more detail in a later post.  Just a teaser for now.


  

Jomon

Where better to begin than the Jomon Culture in Japan, starting around 10,000 BC.  The info on the web is extensive.   One of the best books on Jomon is by Douglas Moore Kendrick.  The school library doesn't have a copy, but I will make mine available up stairs in the Ceramic Resource Room.

A chronology of early to late forms can be found on page 20 of Kendrick's book.  These simple drawings show the development of style during this period.  I am often struck by the similar stylistic arch or maturity seen in cultures. This is often seen in individual artists as well.  From the early, relatively quiet emphasis on form and shape to more ornate and elaborate visual elements.  The emphasis on the rim in the later Jomon periods make the point we made in class this week.  "Definition,"  the treatment of the foot and the rim sets up everything else in the pot.  Think of it compositionally as framing the piece.  All good works have this.  We will talk more about this next week.  For your research this week, look at pots for this aspect.  How strong are the defining elements of the work you are looking at?

Draw as many different shapes as possible.  The rim treatment will be key. Draw. I want to see sketches.  They will be our first references for discussion of your work.

Review from class...

∆ Strong slab for base, thicker base coil; good pressure weld here;

∆ When coiling the wall, overlap the new coil, at least halfway, to the inside of the last coil, roll and pinch. Make a good pressure weld; work on the wall "away" from you, that is, the thumb should be on the inside of the wall when pressing;  try mastering the coil making technique I showed you;  

∆ Build up the form coil by coil;  erase with a rib the coil rings as soon as possible;  this allows you to better see the form and shape as it develops, making corrections easier;

∆ Adjust the form as you go;  compress the wall with two hand as shown in class to bring wall into the shape,  push the form out for same;  keep the shape "fair" as possible, much like a boat builder works the hull;  Stand back from the piece to see the shape developing;  

FORM IS IN YOUR HEAD FROM THE START.  THE SHAPE IS THE LINE OF THE FORM FROM ANY GIVEN SIDE.  SHAPE VARIATIONS RESULT FROM THE PROCESS OF FORMING THE PIECE AND ARE A WELCOMED PART OF THE PROCESS.  

∆ Break the plane to visually lift the form from the surface it sits on;

∆ Treat the rim- do something with it that works with the form (or in some cases counters the form, creating tension, like Jomon!).  The rim is where the viewer's eye goes first.  

The form is the single most important aspect of any piece.  All other visual elements pale by comparison.  Work on "seeing" good form.

Let other works influence yours.  It is how you learn.  Your work will be unique automatically, and your collective influences will always be different from any other's.  Use what you find in art history that speaks to you.  

Google Jomon ceramics,  the images are wonderful...

We will begin to look at surface treatments next class.  Impression, applique, marking, stamping...  Enjoy looking at pots this week. Work on technique and control!!

To Sophomore Class Sp '10

Hello!

Our first class will meet Tuesday Jan.25.  We will begin with a demo at 9:10 am sharp.  Please have your tools and a sketch book with you for the first class.

The first class project will cover coil construction- we will start with vessel making and the elements of form and shape.  

We will talk about surface, line, edge, balance, transitions, et. al. and eye movement.

Function will be limited to jars and vases.  Handles and appendages will be possible.

Keep the forms simple and strong.  We will explore the use of drawing on these vessels.  The figure, abstract mark making, pattern and motif. 


We will explore color in a later project.


I would like to do a sculptural project second.  Be thinking about what type of forms could be made with coils.  At this point I am leaning toward work that will be presented as a group.  Two or more pieces related in some way.

The vessel work will emphasize technique and craftsmanship.  Simple forms.  Look at works from early Asian periods like Momoyama in Japan,  Yayoi in Korea, Ming in China to start.  Pre-Columbian works, African works, Greek and Mesopotamian.  Start looking- bring the forms and shapes that appeal to you to your work!

You will be learning the technique of coiling that I learned from Bruno LaVerdiere.  It will probably be different from what you have done before.  Look him up.  He can be found in a book about Penland School of Crafts in N.C.  I will demonstrate in class on Tuesday.

You will be expected to bring ideas and results of library research to class in the form of sketches and notations.  Artists do not work in a vacuum!  As sophomores, I will expect you to begin to bring purpose and meaning to your work.  This doesn't mean heavy philosophical notions.  The use of basic formal elements can convey meaning every bit as much as words and images.  Just the act of making has meaning.  

I hope to teach you various firing techniques, including modified pit/raku, and low temperature vapor/salt.  

The second series of projects will be sculptural using multiple units.  More on that at midterm.

Looking forward to meeting you all and to a productive semester!