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tools: simple is good.

updated tue 1 jun 10

 

Kelly Savino on thu 27 may 10


When I started grad school, I hauled off to class with, not one, but TWO fi=
shing tackle boxes full of tools. Every doodad, gadget and gimmick I bought=
at NCECA or workshops (mostly intended for one specific effect) was packed=
up and driven back and forth from my own studio to the college studio in a=
nother state.

Within a couple of months I traveled empty handed, with a flat metal rib in=
my back pocket. A chamois on a bobber floated full time in my throwing bow=
l, a homemade twisty wire hung on a nail and I would always swoop one of Pa=
trick's needle tools. It was suddenly about form, form and form.

I'll admit to having a couple of clay tools that I would run into a burnin=
g studio to rescue: that little flat-wooden-handled Dolin knife with the tr=
iangular blade, and a couple of Bison trimmers. A brush I made from squirre=
l tail. Beyond that... meh.

I struggle with tightness in my work -- a perfectionist streak can make for=
stiff, symmetrical, predictable pots. I have found that one way to loosen =
my grip on expectations is to use the wrong tool for the job. Shellac resis=
t with a brush meant for barn painting keeps me from obsessing over details=
. A torn open bit of corrugated makes a nice slab pattern. Glazing with a t=
wisty bunch of grass instead of a brush. Randomizing is good. In my drawing=
class years ago, the best still life I did was the one we were required to=
do using a sharpie taped to a yardstick, standing way back from the paper.=
The pots from the wood kiln were exciting because you had to hand a lot ov=
er to chance.

I wouldn't use the wrong tools to take apart my pugmill or fix my kiln or t=
ake down a tree, but I don't want to be a slave to gagets in the studio.

I have a multi-drawer filing system for a zillion bisque and wooden stamps =
I have made over the years, but the current mark I make in my pots is a cou=
ple of pokes with the end of a clothespin... because that's what happened t=
o be lying nearby when I had the urge to poke. I liked it.

I glazed last night until the birds started singing and the sky got light, =
getting ready to take pots to Khnemu studio, near Saugatuck, Michigan. I'm =
presenting a two day workshop there the end of June, and fully intend to pr=
each the message: you don't need to buy a bunch of gadgets to make interest=
ing pots. I'll help the participants make a few simple tools out of cheap/f=
reebie materials and give out a few more.

My marketing friend is pointing out the error of my logic in not pushing to=
ols/gadgets/DVDs/etc. to a captive audience (lolpotters: ur doin it rong) b=
ut I don't care. I have found that in my studio my pots have evolved to max=
imize the stuff I like to do (problem solving, inquiry, altering) and minim=
ize the stuff I hate to do (waxing, fussing, overthinking.) Teaching is the=
same. I get excited about pots, and stories, and fixing problems. I don't =
want to be the sham wow guy.

It's probably just a carryover from a wider realization about stuff in gene=
ral: there's a lot of crap we just don't need. A cruise on my bike of neigh=
borhood garage sales turns up a whole lot of expensive, never-used gadgets =
somebody bought because the infomercial was so convincing... whether or not=
it fit anybody's needs.

Not that I'm complaining. Folks who live on carry out, but register at thei=
r wedding for the kitchenaid stand mixer with the grain grinder attachment =
or the multi-stack food dehydrator, make me really happy when they have a y=
ard sale. No infomercial? Ten bucks, still in the box.

Yours
Kelly in Ohio
married 20 years ago today to the guy who gets up early to get the kids off=
to school and make coffee... I glazed and loaded all night and got to bed =
last night one hour before his alarm went off...

http://www.primalpotter.com (website)
http://primalmommy.wordpress.com (blog)

Lee Love on thu 27 may 10


On Thu, May 27, 2010 at 8:24 PM, Lee Love wrote:

> It is like when a student asked Hamada for a critique of an
> asymmetrical/funky pot. He told her, "When you can make that pot a
> section time, you will have arrived.

Sorry, should read "a second time, you will have arrived."

--
Lee, a Mashiko potter in Minneapolis
http://mingeisota.blogspot.com/

=3D93Observe the wonders as they occur around you. Don't claim them. Feel
the artistry moving through and be silent.=3D94 --Rumi



--=3D20
--
Lee, a Mashiko potter in Minneapolis
http://mingeisota.blogspot.com/

=3D93Observe the wonders as they occur around you. Don't claim them. Feel
the artistry moving through and be silent.=3D94 --Rumi

Lee Love on thu 27 may 10


On Thu, May 27, 2010 at 3:02 PM, Robert Harris wr=
=3D
ote:
> N.B. What follows is just and opinion. Read at your peril! (And please do=
=3D
n't

> I may be generalising a little, but for my money the only time I would sa=
=3D
y
> that any "art" is bad is when the artist does not have sufficient skill t=
=3D
o
> achieve precisely what they would like. Our current Zeitgeist seems to be
> for "lively" "asymmetrical" "funky" pots. This is true of architecture t=
=3D
oo.
> If the Acropolis were to be built today it would probably be derided -
> classical architecture is out.

Really depends upon where you live. We have the whole gamut here in
the Twin Cities.

But there is a big difference between lively and gestural pots that
have what Hamada called "feeling." Beginners typically only make
asymmetrical, funky pots.

It is like when a student asked Hamada for a critique of an
asymmetrical/funky pot. He told her, "When you can make that pot a
section time, you will have arrived.

--
Lee, a Mashiko potter in Minneapolis
http://mingeisota.blogspot.com/

=3D93Observe the wonders as they occur around you. Don't claim them. Feel
the artistry moving through and be silent.=3D94 --Rumi

Kelly Savino on thu 27 may 10


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Robert Harris on thu 27 may 10


N.B. What follows is just and opinion. Read at your peril! (And please don'=
t
take me too seriously).

Kelly - at first I found myself nodding along to all your points (simple is
good) - I mostly just use a rib (of one size or another) while I'm throwing
- went back into the pottery and started thinking.

But then I thought about this paragraph

>>>I struggle with tightness in my work -- a perfectionist streak can make
for stiff, symmetrical, predictable pots. I have found that one way to
loosen my grip on expectations is to use the wrong tool for the job.<<<

And I looked at my pots. They are probably what you would call tight . I
have had them called 'architectural', 'stately', 'refined' (by paying
customers no less) and other complimentary words that still infer tightness=
.
It's nice to get compliments, but frankly I just make the pots I like. I
decided that I like my tightness (you may not - I certainly feel a sadness
when someone whose pots I like doesn't like mine, but I can live with that)=
.
Just out of curiosity what is it about your tightness that you dislike? I
think that the tight porcelains of Imperial China are breathtakingly
beautiful.

I think that my previous post on this subject were all to do with the
fundamental fact that we need to be true to ourselves. That will certainly
change over time (maybe in 10 years time I'll hate the tightness of my
current pots), I think however that we all have to be very careful when
wording opinions as "truth". If someone needs to be complicated to achieve
what they feel driven to achieve then there is nothing wrong with that.

I may be generalising a little, but for my money the only time I would say
that any "art" is bad is when the artist does not have sufficient skill to
achieve precisely what they would like. Our current Zeitgeist seems to be
for "lively" "asymmetrical" "funky" pots. This is true of architecture too=
.
If the Acropolis were to be built today it would probably be derided -
classical architecture is out.

My tastes are no doubt very plebian. I happen to like classical building. I
happen to like the stately pots of Imperial china. (I do also like some
funky pots! ).

However opinions are just that. And this entire post is just my opinion.
Please ignore it if you disagree! I just needed to get stuff off my chest!

Robert

----------------------------------------------------------

PrometheanPottery.wordpress.com
PrometheanPottery.etsy.com

wileyhill on fri 28 may 10


I use the rubber bands that come with clay bags- just cut them once. It =
=3D
take a bit of practice to make sure they don't twist and dig in a bit, =3D
but it never happens to me now, they're harder to lose, easier to find, =3D
free and always there

-pH

Joseph Troncale on fri 28 may 10


Can someone define "tight" for me or give me a visual example and add
an "untight" definition and example? (serious question)
Thanks,
Joe Troncale

Sent from my iPhone

On May 27, 2010, at 4:02 PM, Robert Harris
wrote:

> N.B. What follows is just and opinion. Read at your peril! (And
> please don't
> take me too seriously).
>
> Kelly - at first I found myself nodding along to all your points
> (simple is
> good) - I mostly just use a rib (of one size or another) while I'm
> throwing
> - went back into the pottery and started thinking.
>
> But then I thought about this paragraph
>
>>>> I struggle with tightness in my work -- a perfectionist streak
>>>> can make
> for stiff, symmetrical, predictable pots. I have found that one way to
> loosen my grip on expectations is to use the wrong tool for the
> job.<<<
>
> And I looked at my pots. They are probably what you would call
> tight . I
> have had them called 'architectural', 'stately', 'refined' (by paying
> customers no less) and other complimentary words that still infer
> tightness.
> It's nice to get compliments, but frankly I just make the pots I
> like. I
> decided that I like my tightness (you may not - I certainly feel a
> sadness
> when someone whose pots I like doesn't like mine, but I can live
> with that).
> Just out of curiosity what is it about your tightness that you
> dislike? I
> think that the tight porcelains of Imperial China are breathtakingly
> beautiful.
>
> I think that my previous post on this subject were all to do with the
> fundamental fact that we need to be true to ourselves. That will
> certainly
> change over time (maybe in 10 years time I'll hate the tightness of my
> current pots), I think however that we all have to be very careful
> when
> wording opinions as "truth". If someone needs to be complicated to
> achieve
> what they feel driven to achieve then there is nothing wrong with
> that.
>
> I may be generalising a little, but for my money the only time I
> would say
> that any "art" is bad is when the artist does not have sufficient
> skill to
> achieve precisely what they would like. Our current Zeitgeist seems
> to be
> for "lively" "asymmetrical" "funky" pots. This is true of
> architecture too.
> If the Acropolis were to be built today it would probably be derided -
> classical architecture is out.
>
> My tastes are no doubt very plebian. I happen to like classical
> building. I
> happen to like the stately pots of Imperial china. (I do also like
> some
> funky pots! ).
>
> However opinions are just that. And this entire post is just my
> opinion.
> Please ignore it if you disagree! I just needed to get stuff off my
> chest!
>
> Robert
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------
>
> PrometheanPottery.wordpress.com
> PrometheanPottery.etsy.com

Robert Harris on fri 28 may 10


You know after I wrote that long post to Kelly, I realised that even when I
throw what I think are pretty "engineered" pots, I usually only have one or
two pulls to get the curve 'just right'. If I don't get the shape right on
that pull it doesn't matter how much fussing I do with the pot, it never
quite looks right. Equally if I get the curve just right, I can tighten up
the form as much as I'd like, and it looks right.

So maybe there is something to this 'gestural' thing. Even if my pots look
(up) tight.

Hmmmm....something to think about.


Robert




On Thu, May 27, 2010 at 9:24 PM, Lee Love wrote:

> On Thu, May 27, 2010 at 3:02 PM, Robert Harris
> wrote:
> > N.B. What follows is just and opinion. Read at your peril! (And please
> don't
>
> > I may be generalising a little, but for my money the only time I would
> say
> > that any "art" is bad is when the artist does not have sufficient skill
> to
> > achieve precisely what they would like. Our current Zeitgeist seems to =
=3D
be
> > for "lively" "asymmetrical" "funky" pots. This is true of architecture
> too.
> > If the Acropolis were to be built today it would probably be derided -
> > classical architecture is out.
>
> Really depends upon where you live. We have the whole gamut here in
> the Twin Cities.
>
> But there is a big difference between lively and gestural pots that
> have what Hamada called "feeling." Beginners typically only make
> asymmetrical, funky pots.
>
> It is like when a student asked Hamada for a critique of an
> asymmetrical/funky pot. He told her, "When you can make that pot a
> section time, you will have arrived.
>
> --
> Lee, a Mashiko potter in Minneapolis
> http://mingeisota.blogspot.com/
>
> =3D93Observe the wonders as they occur around you. Don't claim them. Feel
> the artistry moving through and be silent.=3D94 --Rumi
>



--=3D20
----------------------------------------------------------

PrometheanPottery.wordpress.com
PrometheanPottery.etsy.com

Kathy Forer on fri 28 may 10


On May 27, 2010, at 11:46 AM, Kelly Savino EXPRESS.COM> wrote:

> I don't want to be the sham wow guy.

Speaking of which... synthetic absorbent cloth is incredibly useful in
a clay studio! Sham wow itself has usurious postage but the same,
maybe even better, cloth is available from Goodwill online or in their
outlets.

I remember fondly the big old brown paper Goodwill bags, 4' tall that
we'd fill with old clothes to be recycled and I'm happy to purchase
from them. Their prices and postage are honest.

I've used the cloths for years to soak up leaks rising up through my
basement floor after a storm and to keep sculptures and buckets of
clay moist. Anything I would have used cloth or newspaper for but
easily rinsed or laundered and far more absorbent.

Not a tool nor quite a material.


Kathy

Steve Mills on sat 29 may 10


Joe,

Tightness. for me this is the tendency to over-control what I am making,
"Engineering" a piece to death, trying to eliminate imperfection,
over-working, generally the desire to eliminate "chance".
For me this is difficult, as I am, like many, by nature an engineer, but my
way of keeping the "beast" at bay involves sitting at the wheel once (or
more) a month and throwing without centering - creating a partnership with
the Clay rather than dominating it for a couple of hours.
This has two benefits; by the end of the session I feel "looser" and more
relaxed, and I have a bunch of highly individual Drinking Bowls or Beakers
(I am *not* Japanese so I refuse to call them Tea Bowls or Chawan) to sell!=
!

A winner on all fronts!

Steve M



On 28 May 2010 12:53, Joseph Troncale wrote:

> Can someone define "tight" for me or give me a visual example and add
> an "untight" definition and example? (serious question)
> Thanks,
> Joe Troncale
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On May 27, 2010, at 4:02 PM, Robert Harris
> wrote:
>
> N.B. What follows is just and opinion. Read at your peril! (And
>> please don't
>> take me too seriously).
>>
>> Kelly - at first I found myself nodding along to all your points
>> (simple is
>> good) - I mostly just use a rib (of one size or another) while I'm
>> throwing
>> - went back into the pottery and started thinking.
>>
>> But then I thought about this paragraph
>>
>> I struggle with tightness in my work -- a perfectionist streak
>>>>> can make
>>>>>
>>>> for stiff, symmetrical, predictable pots. I have found that one way to
>> loosen my grip on expectations is to use the wrong tool for the
>> job.<<<
>>
>> And I looked at my pots. They are probably what you would call
>> tight . I
>> have had them called 'architectural', 'stately', 'refined' (by paying
>> customers no less) and other complimentary words that still infer
>> tightness.
>> It's nice to get compliments, but frankly I just make the pots I
>> like. I
>> decided that I like my tightness (you may not - I certainly feel a
>> sadness
>> when someone whose pots I like doesn't like mine, but I can live
>> with that).
>> Just out of curiosity what is it about your tightness that you
>> dislike? I
>> think that the tight porcelains of Imperial China are breathtakingly
>> beautiful.
>>
>> I think that my previous post on this subject were all to do with the
>> fundamental fact that we need to be true to ourselves. That will
>> certainly
>> change over time (maybe in 10 years time I'll hate the tightness of my
>> current pots), I think however that we all have to be very careful
>> when
>> wording opinions as "truth". If someone needs to be complicated to
>> achieve
>> what they feel driven to achieve then there is nothing wrong with
>> that.
>>
>> I may be generalising a little, but for my money the only time I
>> would say
>> that any "art" is bad is when the artist does not have sufficient
>> skill to
>> achieve precisely what they would like. Our current Zeitgeist seems
>> to be
>> for "lively" "asymmetrical" "funky" pots. This is true of
>> architecture too.
>> If the Acropolis were to be built today it would probably be derided -
>> classical architecture is out.
>>
>> My tastes are no doubt very plebian. I happen to like classical
>> building. I
>> happen to like the stately pots of Imperial china. (I do also like
>> some
>> funky pots! ).
>>
>> However opinions are just that. And this entire post is just my
>> opinion.
>> Please ignore it if you disagree! I just needed to get stuff off my
>> chest!
>>
>> Robert
>>
>> ----------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> PrometheanPottery.wordpress.com
>> PrometheanPottery.etsy.com
>>
>


--
Steve
Bath
UK
www.mudslinger.me.uk

Growing old is inevitable, growing up is optional!

Joan Klotz on sat 29 may 10


Tight for me is the work done by Christa Assad, while "untight" is
the work of Ron Meyers. Google will supply lots of sites with
examples of their work.
Joan Klotz,
Venice, CA

At 04:53 AM 5/28/2010, Joseph Troncale wrote:
>Can someone define "tight" for me or give me a visual example and add
>an "untight" definition and example? (serious question)
>Thanks,
>Joe Troncale

Dannon Rhudy on sun 30 may 10


Kelly said:
......> Being true to oneself is, as you say, the important thing;
if I try to sketch, but I'm too mentally "clenched" to take a risk,
I can't capture shape or gesture, can't even get started. Same with
pots:.......

When I teach drawing classes, I am too often dismayed by the
number of students (sadly, mostly female) who can't take a
risk, are afraid to make a mark, declare that they "can't
draw".

I do not KNOW the cause(s) of so many female students
"freezing" in front of the drawing board, but suspect that
being taught to be "good girls" growing up might have some
effect. Girls are more often taught to be pretty and pleasing
in public (i.e. make their mistakes in private). Boys are more
often taught to ignore failures and "get up and try again". No
one likes to fail, of course, but that is just silly (again of course.)
If we don't fail, we don't learn. True of all, male and female alike,
but boys (in this culture) have more practice in publicly failing.
They don't catch the ball, they don't make the shot, they miss
the target, fall off the skate board- all with others watching.
No big deal, try again. Girls not so much.

Drawing and sketching is really about eye-hand coordination,
and can be learned (if I can learn it, so can any who wish to
do so). Learning it in public can be and often is painful and/or
embarrassing. But I assert that it is possible to get past the
"don't look at me try to do this". Eventually. When I took
my first two drawing classes, I set up my easle in the
corner, with my back to the wall, so no one could walk behind
me .......But I wanted to learn and needed to do it, so I took
a drawing class every single semester, undergrad until I finished my MFA.
When I started grad school, they asked me to teach drawing
classes, and I did. Made lots of mistakes, I've no doubt, but
I sure learned a lot about learning. In the end, it seemed to
me to be very much like other things I've learned. Like learning
to read. You practice and try, and Tuesday you still can't
do it and then Wednesday you can. Something has translated
inside your head and/or between your head and hands. Good.

Personal "style" comes AFTER the basics are learned, in any
endeavor involving the use of the hand. Loose or tight are
immaterial. Occasional practice at "the other" can be freeing.
See Kelly's tiny teapots, compare to the things she most
ENJOYS doing. For others, the opposite is true.

Persistance is all.

This is Memorial Day.. Remember all those who have
made and continue to make this day possible for the
rest of us.

regards

Dannon Rhudy

Joseph Troncale on sun 30 may 10


Exactly!

Sent from my iPhone

On May 27, 2010, at 9:26 PM, Lee Love wrote:

> On Thu, May 27, 2010 at 8:24 PM, Lee Love =3D20
> wrote:
>
>> It is like when a student asked Hamada for a critique of an
>> asymmetrical/funky pot. He told her, "When you can make that pot a
>> section time, you will have arrived.
>
> Sorry, should read "a second time, you will have arrived."
>
> --
> Lee, a Mashiko potter in Minneapolis
> http://mingeisota.blogspot.com/
>
> =3DE2=3D80=3D9CObserve the wonders as they occur around you. Don't claim =
=3D
them. Fe=3D20
> el
> the artistry moving through and be silent.=3DE2=3D80=3D9D --Rumi
>
>
>
> --=3D20
> --
> Lee, a Mashiko potter in Minneapolis
> http://mingeisota.blogspot.com/
>
> =3DE2=3D80=3D9CObserve the wonders as they occur around you. Don't claim =
=3D
them. Fe=3D20
> el
> the artistry moving through and be silent.=3DE2=3D80=3D9D --Rumi