mel jacobson on sat 4 feb 12
we have a dear friend that makes precision pots.
mfa, cranbrook. experienced potter great teacher.
a few years ago i was at his christmas sale,
and it sort of made my neck crawl. something was off.
i could not say what. something was off.
about six weeks later it was discovered that he
had a severe brain tumor. now it hit me,
the glazes where a bit thin...it hit me..
no one else saw it. i did, because i know his pots so well.
he had major surgery..hospital for months. he is
home, sort of making pots again. they are not good
pots. his timing is way off. it looks like his timing will not
ever be back. no need to dwell on that. it is sad.
it is a fact of life. you are alone when you make pots.
you sure are alone in a classroom. and no one can teach
you timing. it is critical in the classroom. like bob hope
doing a routine, timing was everything. and it sure is true
when you teach. just have a bad day. a family problem,
anything. every kid knows. they feel it. have the barometer
shoot up. everything changes. the storm will be in your
classroom too.
when you hold a piece of bisque ware in your fingers and
you are stirring your glaze.....in it goes...just perfect.
the glaze is as thick as cream, you bisque fire to cone 08,
things are clean, you stir the bucket three times...in the
pot goes for 8 seconds. out.
add a cover glaze for 2 seconds.
fire to a perfect cone 11. reduction perfect.
great pot.
miss any of those steps...forget to stir before you drop in the
pot...and the glaze will be thin.
that was what my pal was doing...stir, look out the window for
a minute..think about what he was doing for another minute
and the glaze particles have sunk a bit.
he glazed with a slight watery glaze. thin looking glazes. it may have
been just that one minute zone out. it was taking extra time
for his brain to snap in.
you can have a ph.d. in teaching theory, read every book....but,
if you have lousy timing as a teacher they will eat you alive.
(the great irony is me falling asleep in a class taught by a prof
that would bore a class of pigs...teaching theory of education.)
it sure did not take with him. he will have to read another book.
same for glazes. you can have 6,000 recipes. but for sure, if
you do not understand all the steps to make perfectly glazed
pots...you are screwed.
hank down fires his shino glazes...he builds tiny crystals and
color you could not do in your own kiln if you fired ten thousand
pots. if you do not down fire hank's glazes, you do not have
hank's pots. if you do not have his timing for glaze thickness you
will not get hank's pots. if you do not mix his glazes with the
correct amount of water and stir them well...you will not have
hank's glazes.
hank is alone in his studio. it is his timing. his alone.
every decision about his pots...are his. and his alone.
no recipe can teach you that. you have to experience it,
test it, re do it, test again. and, test tiles are never pots.
they are tiny slices of what can be a pot...maybe.
but that is what makes the craft perfect. you have to experience
and learn the steps. you `master` them.
auto kiln, purchased glazes, everything done for you...there will
be one thing lacking. the struggle and mastery. take away the struggle fo=
r
self fulfillment and you are like a thin glaze...almost right, but
just off a bit. and it cannot be corrected....ever.
mel
http://www.visi.com/~melpots/
clayart page below:
http://www.visi.com/~melpots/clayart.html
Fisher on sat 4 feb 12
Kind of reminds me of a story of a woodworker. Might have been in =3D
American Style. Don't remember. The potter was making of video of =3D
himself working. When he looked at the video he realized that he thought =
=3D
he had the signs of Parkinson's. Something he became aware of. He was =3D
tested and sure enough they diagnosed him with Parkinson's.
Cheryl Fisher
Sarasota FL=3D20
potterytalk@verizon.net
On Feb 4, 2012, at 7:39 AM, mel jacobson wrote:
we have a dear friend that makes precision pots.
mfa, cranbrook. experienced potter great teacher.
a few years ago i was at his christmas sale,
and it sort of made my neck crawl. something was off.
i could not say what. something was off.
about six weeks later it was discovered that he
had a severe brain tumor. now it hit me,
the glazes where a bit thin...it hit me..
no one else saw it. i did, because i know his pots so well.
he had major surgery..hospital for months. he is
home, sort of making pots again. they are not good
pots. his timing is way off. it looks like his timing will not
ever be back. no need to dwell on that. it is sad.
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