Vince Pitelka on tue 7 dec 99
> At BGSU ceramics dept., our philosophy is that hard work, craft,
>commitment, honesty, and integrity will never fail a student. Both pots and
>sculpture are welcome in the studio here, and neither is a dirty word. We
>also encourage our students to speak articulately about their work (using
>those dreaded WORDS!), and assign readings and discussion from Rawson,
>Melchert, Lebow, Kangas, and Barnard, among others. One of our graduate
>students is pursuing a double major: MFA in ceramics, PhD in Philosophy and
>Aesthetics. She is exceptionally articulate and a very good artist.
> Believe it or not, there are other schools like this around the country.
>Steve Grimmer
>Bowling Green State University
I was very pleased to see Steve's post. I agree with him that there are
still quite a few ceramics programs around the country which place
considerable emphasis on process, technique, materials. It may take a
little searching, but you can find them all over the place.
I am dismayed by yet another round of "anti-academic" posts on Clayart. It
does no good to whine about the shift in priorities in art departments. It
is a tragedy, for certain, that functional craft, with its strong emphasis
on technique, is being abandoned by art departments all over the country.
As I have stated before in discussions of this same thread, academic art
departments are usually controlled by the traditional media of
painting/drawing, sculpture, printmaking, etc. When push comes to shove
financially, as it has in higher education all over the country (especially
in state schools), the traditional "fine art" media tend to shut down the
traditional craft media, even though these media are often very popular, and
even though the craft media usually emphasize a technique-based education
which actually provides the student with a viable career upon graduation.
Ceramics has a much higher rate of academic survival than fibers and metals
programs, but the reasons are obvious. Ceramics is extremely popular, and
at the same time is easily assimilated into university sculpture programs.
The wheels get shoved to the side, and then eventually auctioned off in the
big surplus sale. And when the functional potter on the faculty retires,
and the painting, drawing, sculpture, printmaking, and art history faculty
are serving on search committees to hire ceramics faculty, do you think they
are worried about pottery skills?? Is this really any surprise??
So who is going to fill the gap in professional fine craft education? There
continue to be quite a few programs (like Steve's and like the ones I
mentioned in an earlier post) which have been able to maintain a strong
commitment to the technique and aesthetic of functional pots. How long will
they survive? Your guess is as good as mine. I consider myself extremely
fortunate, because at Tennessee Tech the primary component of the TTU art
program is the Appalachian Center for Crafts. The portion of the art
program which is taught on the main TTU campus, even though it does include
a BFA in painting, mainly serves majors from the Craft Center and the Art
Education programs. In our department we are specifically committed to
quality professional fine craft education. Our programs (clay, glass,
metals, fibers, wood) are primarily based on process, technique, and
materials, although we certainly expect our students to focus on developing
original direction in their work, and we expect them to be able to talk
about the content and aesthetic of their work in intelligent terms.
As I see it, if you are frustrated by the current direction away from
process and technique in some academic art programs around the country, you
have a responsibility to contact the school administrators, and whoever
holds the purse strings for the particular school(s), and let your feelings
be known. When schools find out that they are loosing students because of
this change in direction, the trend will start to reverse. I think this
reversal is inevitable, and it will be hastened if you speak up.
Best wishes -
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Home - vpitelka@DeKalb.net
615/597-5376
Work - wpitelka@tntech.edu
615/597-6801 ext. 111, fax 615/597-6803
Appalachian Center for Crafts
Tennessee Technological University
1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville TN 37166
carri dolan on wed 8 dec 99
I am an undergrad student at the University of Central
Oklahoma, a small school. However, our ceramic
department places significant emphasis on function in
pottery. Our instructor is Gayle Singer a graduate of
Kansas Institute and Alfred University...I am so sick
of making cylanders, however Gayle requires all
students to complete series of forms. I appreciate
the skills I have aquired due to her method of
instruction. I just wanted to let you know that there
are still some schools out there that are concerned
with technique and craftmanship.
Throw on.............
--- Vince Pitelka wrote:
> ----------------------------Original
> message----------------------------
> > At BGSU ceramics dept., our philosophy is that
> hard work, craft,
> >commitment, honesty, and integrity will never fail
> a student. Both pots and
> >sculpture are welcome in the studio here, and
> neither is a dirty word. We
> >also encourage our students to speak articulately
> about their work (using
> >those dreaded WORDS!), and assign readings and
> discussion from Rawson,
> >Melchert, Lebow, Kangas, and Barnard, among others.
> One of our graduate
> >students is pursuing a double major: MFA in
> ceramics, PhD in Philosophy and
> >Aesthetics. She is exceptionally articulate and a
> very good artist.
> > Believe it or not, there are other schools like
> this around the country.
> >Steve Grimmer
> >Bowling Green State University
>
> I was very pleased to see Steve's post. I agree
> with him that there are
> still quite a few ceramics programs around the
> country which place
> considerable emphasis on process, technique,
> materials. It may take a
> little searching, but you can find them all over the
> place.
>
> I am dismayed by yet another round of
> "anti-academic" posts on Clayart. It
> does no good to whine about the shift in priorities
> in art departments. It
> is a tragedy, for certain, that functional craft,
> with its strong emphasis
> on technique, is being abandoned by art departments
> all over the country.
> As I have stated before in discussions of this same
> thread, academic art
> departments are usually controlled by the
> traditional media of
> painting/drawing, sculpture, printmaking, etc. When
> push comes to shove
> financially, as it has in higher education all over
> the country (especially
> in state schools), the traditional "fine art" media
> tend to shut down the
> traditional craft media, even though these media are
> often very popular, and
> even though the craft media usually emphasize a
> technique-based education
> which actually provides the student with a viable
> career upon graduation.
>
> Ceramics has a much higher rate of academic survival
> than fibers and metals
> programs, but the reasons are obvious. Ceramics is
> extremely popular, and
> at the same time is easily assimilated into
> university sculpture programs.
> The wheels get shoved to the side, and then
> eventually auctioned off in the
> big surplus sale. And when the functional potter on
> the faculty retires,
> and the painting, drawing, sculpture, printmaking,
> and art history faculty
> are serving on search committees to hire ceramics
> faculty, do you think they
> are worried about pottery skills?? Is this really
> any surprise??
>
> So who is going to fill the gap in professional fine
> craft education? There
> continue to be quite a few programs (like Steve's
> and like the ones I
> mentioned in an earlier post) which have been able
> to maintain a strong
> commitment to the technique and aesthetic of
> functional pots. How long will
> they survive? Your guess is as good as mine. I
> consider myself extremely
> fortunate, because at Tennessee Tech the primary
> component of the TTU art
> program is the Appalachian Center for Crafts. The
> portion of the art
> program which is taught on the main TTU campus, even
> though it does include
> a BFA in painting, mainly serves majors from the
> Craft Center and the Art
> Education programs. In our department we are
> specifically committed to
> quality professional fine craft education. Our
> programs (clay, glass,
> metals, fibers, wood) are primarily based on
> process, technique, and
> materials, although we certainly expect our students
> to focus on developing
> original direction in their work, and we expect them
> to be able to talk
> about the content and aesthetic of their work in
> intelligent terms.
>
> As I see it, if you are frustrated by the current
> direction away from
> process and technique in some academic art programs
> around the country, you
> have a responsibility to contact the school
> administrators, and whoever
> holds the purse strings for the particular
> school(s), and let your feelings
> be known. When schools find out that they are
> loosing students because of
> this change in direction, the trend will start to
> reverse. I think this
> reversal is inevitable, and it will be hastened if
> you speak up.
> Best wishes -
> - Vince
>
> Vince Pitelka
> Home - vpitelka@DeKalb.net
> 615/597-5376
> Work - wpitelka@tntech.edu
> 615/597-6801 ext. 111, fax 615/597-6803
> Appalachian Center for Crafts
> Tennessee Technological University
> 1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville TN 37166
>
__________________________________________________
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jeff Campana on wed 8 dec 99
To add to vince's breathtaking assertation on ceramics in acadamia from a
student side:
I am one of the few lucky enough to have found an incredible ceramics program by
chance. Entering as a Management major, I decided to take a ceramics class,
because I enjoyed it in high school. The program here in Whitewater, WI starts
out as a basic skills class, teaching fundemental skills of handbuilding to a
highly disciplined degree, then moving to very technical throwing in the second
semester, which is also when students start loading and firing their own gas
kilns. Glaze testing is also introduced. Third semester focusses on combining
throwing and handbuilding in most projects, then the students are freed to have
almost exclusive control of their work's direction and are expected to have
developed personal clay bodies and glazes. I quickly left the business school
in favor of art, and my hunger for ceramics keeps me in the studio 40+ hours a
week outside of class. (another great thing- the studio is open 24 hrs. a day, 7
days a week!)
On another note, I think all arts fluctuate much like the economy. Expansions
and contractions come naturally and are healthy: it could be compared to
breathing. As I visited SOFA in Chicago about a month ago, I saw glass dominate
the exhibition. Maybe this is merely regional, but it was quite evident to me
that glass is inflating in the three dimensional world and ceramics is deflating
to make room. Without such movements, art would lose its self-driving nature,
letting artists fall into ruts and never innovate -technologically and
aesthetically. I would say that the flashy nature of glass art will die soon
after its expansion, and will be replaced by the subtley of a good chun glaze,
or the complex beauty of precision woodwork. We need not concern ourselves with
the fall of a few major ceramics departments, because those downfalls will draw
students to the remaining good departments, further increasing the size and
quality of the few departments left standing. I see this happening specifically
here in Wisconsin. As the potter's wheels were "scooted into the corner" in
Madison, students traveled 40 miles further to Whitewater, where Salt kilns are
rising out of the parking lots and research grants are providing precision
computerized kilns for Crystaline glaze research. I feel that if the faculty
are not interested in teaching Ceramics, then they should not bother, and let
the truly great professors of some lesser-known universities expand their
departments and influence.
Jeff Campana
University of Wisconsin - Whitewater
>
>
> I was very pleased to see Steve's post. I agree with him that there are
> still quite a few ceramics programs around the country which place
> considerable emphasis on process, technique, materials. It may take a
> little searching, but you can find them all over the place.
>
> I am dismayed by yet another round of "anti-academic" posts on Clayart. It
> does no good to whine about the shift in priorities in art departments. It
> is a tragedy, for certain, that functional craft, with its strong emphasis
> on technique, is being abandoned by art departments all over the country.
> As I have stated before in discussions of this same thread, academic art
> departments are usually controlled by the traditional media of
> painting/drawing, sculpture, printmaking, etc. When push comes to shove
> financially, as it has in higher education all over the country (especially
> in state schools), the traditional "fine art" media tend to shut down the
> traditional craft media, even though these media are often very popular, and
> even though the craft media usually emphasize a technique-based education
> which actually provides the student with a viable career upon graduation.
>
> Ceramics has a much higher rate of academic survival than fibers and metals
> programs, but the reasons are obvious. Ceramics is extremely popular, and
> at the same time is easily assimilated into university sculpture programs.
> The wheels get shoved to the side, and then eventually auctioned off in the
> big surplus sale. And when the functional potter on the faculty retires,
> and the painting, drawing, sculpture, printmaking, and art history faculty
> are serving on search committees to hire ceramics faculty, do you think they
> are worried about pottery skills?? Is this really any surprise??
>
> So who is going to fill the gap in professional fine craft education? There
> continue to be quite a few programs (like Steve's and like the ones I
> mentioned in an earlier post) which have been able to maintain a strong
> commitment to the technique and aesthetic of functional pots. How long will
> they survive? Your guess is as good as mine. I consider myself extremely
> fortunate, because at Tennessee Tech the primary component of the TTU art
> program is the Appalachian Center for Crafts. The portion of the art
> program which is taught on the main TTU campus, even though it does include
> a BFA in painting, mainly serves majors from the Craft Center and the Art
> Education programs. In our department we are specifically committed to
> quality professional fine craft education. Our programs (clay, glass,
> metals, fibers, wood) are primarily based on process, technique, and
> materials, although we certainly expect our students to focus on developing
> original direction in their work, and we expect them to be able to talk
> about the content and aesthetic of their work in intelligent terms.
>
> As I see it, if you are frustrated by the current direction away from
> process and technique in some academic art programs around the country, you
> have a responsibility to contact the school administrators, and whoever
> holds the purse strings for the particular school(s), and let your feelings
> be known. When schools find out that they are loosing students because of
> this change in direction, the trend will start to reverse. I think this
> reversal is inevitable, and it will be hastened if you speak up.
> Best wishes -
> - Vince
>
> Vince Pitelka
> Home - vpitelka@DeKalb.net
> 615/597-5376
> Work - wpitelka@tntech.edu
> 615/597-6801 ext. 111, fax 615/597-6803
> Appalachian Center for Crafts
> Tennessee Technological University
> 1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville TN 37166
Ray Aldridge on wed 8 dec 99
At 09:18 AM 12/7/99 EST, Vince wrote:
(snip)
>As I see it, if you are frustrated by the current direction away from
>process and technique in some academic art programs around the country, you
>have a responsibility to contact the school administrators, and whoever
>holds the purse strings for the particular school(s), and let your feelings
>be known. When schools find out that they are loosing students because of
>this change in direction, the trend will start to reverse. I think this
>reversal is inevitable, and it will be hastened if you speak up.
>Best wishes -
>- Vince
Vince is speaking the Gospel here. And let me add that, having visited the
Appalachian Center for Crafts I find it hard to imagine a more beautiful
setting for acquiring technique. I think that matters, if you're a
functional potter whose goal is beauty. If I weren't so old and poor and
set in my ways, I'd enroll next fall.
Ray
Aldridge Porcelain and Stoneware
http://www.goodpots.com
Antoinette Badenhorst on wed 8 dec 99
Vince, you are so right. It is always easier to
address the problem than the solution. I just jumped
into that trap again. Close by is a college that deal
with the same problem of a lack of teaching skills in
ceramic. That is the main reason why I will not go
there. I should let them know, because that is the
only way they might wake up.
By the way do you know of any good informal program
where they address ceramic design as a whole? I find
that a problem with many potters, including myself. I
can make a good spout,handle and so forth,but when it
comes to 3 dimensional design,things become harder.
Antionette.(looking forward to meat you at the Alabama
clay conference)
--- Vince Pitelka wrote:
> ----------------------------Original
> message----------------------------
> > At BGSU ceramics dept., our philosophy is that
> hard work, craft,
> >commitment, honesty, and integrity will never fail
> a student. Both pots and
> >sculpture are welcome in the studio here, and
> neither is a dirty word. We
> >also encourage our students to speak articulately
> about their work (using
> >those dreaded WORDS!), and assign readings and
> discussion from Rawson,
> >Melchert, Lebow, Kangas, and Barnard, among others.
> One of our graduate
> >students is pursuing a double major: MFA in
> ceramics, PhD in Philosophy and
> >Aesthetics. She is exceptionally articulate and a
> very good artist.
> > Believe it or not, there are other schools like
> this around the country.
> >Steve Grimmer
> >Bowling Green State University
>
> I was very pleased to see Steve's post. I agree
> with him that there are
> still quite a few ceramics programs around the
> country which place
> considerable emphasis on process, technique,
> materials. It may take a
> little searching, but you can find them all over the
> place.
>
> I am dismayed by yet another round of
> "anti-academic" posts on Clayart. It
> does no good to whine about the shift in priorities
> in art departments. It
> is a tragedy, for certain, that functional craft,
> with its strong emphasis
> on technique, is being abandoned by art departments
> all over the country.
> As I have stated before in discussions of this same
> thread, academic art
> departments are usually controlled by the
> traditional media of
> painting/drawing, sculpture, printmaking, etc. When
> push comes to shove
> financially, as it has in higher education all over
> the country (especially
> in state schools), the traditional "fine art" media
> tend to shut down the
> traditional craft media, even though these media are
> often very popular, and
> even though the craft media usually emphasize a
> technique-based education
> which actually provides the student with a viable
> career upon graduation.
>
> Ceramics has a much higher rate of academic survival
> than fibers and metals
> programs, but the reasons are obvious. Ceramics is
> extremely popular, and
> at the same time is easily assimilated into
> university sculpture programs.
> The wheels get shoved to the side, and then
> eventually auctioned off in the
> big surplus sale. And when the functional potter on
> the faculty retires,
> and the painting, drawing, sculpture, printmaking,
> and art history faculty
> are serving on search committees to hire ceramics
> faculty, do you think they
> are worried about pottery skills?? Is this really
> any surprise??
>
> So who is going to fill the gap in professional fine
> craft education? There
> continue to be quite a few programs (like Steve's
> and like the ones I
> mentioned in an earlier post) which have been able
> to maintain a strong
> commitment to the technique and aesthetic of
> functional pots. How long will
> they survive? Your guess is as good as mine. I
> consider myself extremely
> fortunate, because at Tennessee Tech the primary
> component of the TTU art
> program is the Appalachian Center for Crafts. The
> portion of the art
> program which is taught on the main TTU campus, even
> though it does include
> a BFA in painting, mainly serves majors from the
> Craft Center and the Art
> Education programs. In our department we are
> specifically committed to
> quality professional fine craft education. Our
> programs (clay, glass,
> metals, fibers, wood) are primarily based on
> process, technique, and
> materials, although we certainly expect our students
> to focus on developing
> original direction in their work, and we expect them
> to be able to talk
> about the content and aesthetic of their work in
> intelligent terms.
>
> As I see it, if you are frustrated by the current
> direction away from
> process and technique in some academic art programs
> around the country, you
> have a responsibility to contact the school
> administrators, and whoever
> holds the purse strings for the particular
> school(s), and let your feelings
> be known. When schools find out that they are
> loosing students because of
> this change in direction, the trend will start to
> reverse. I think this
> reversal is inevitable, and it will be hastened if
> you speak up.
> Best wishes -
> - Vince
>
> Vince Pitelka
> Home - vpitelka@DeKalb.net
> 615/597-5376
> Work - wpitelka@tntech.edu
> 615/597-6801 ext. 111, fax 615/597-6803
> Appalachian Center for Crafts
> Tennessee Technological University
> 1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville TN 37166
>
=====
Antoinette Badenhorst
PO Box 552
Saltillo,Mississippi
38866
Telephone (601) 869-1651
timakia@yahoo.com
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products. All in one place.
Yahoo! Shopping: http://shopping.yahoo.com
Janet Kaiser on thu 9 dec 99
------------------
Reading about a class of business (and seemingly some art) students sat =
looking
at a piece of clay and not having any ideas, brought a recent workshop to
mind... I went to a North Wales Potters day of making tiles for The Path. I
thought I was only going to show them some tiles and talk about techniques =
etc.
but with such a poor turn-out (five) we just set to and made some tiles.
All the others were working, mostly professional potters. They each set =
about
making a tile in the same style and =22mode=22 they would make a pot or a =
sculpture.
Now I have LOTS of ideas. Every time a tile arrives, I look at it and it =
usually
=22inspires=22 more ideas in my head. Truly inspirational work brings on =
flights of
fancy and fantasy... You get the idea?
But given a piece of clay at that workshop and what came out? Nothing=21 =
Zilch=21
Absolute nichts=21 Why? Because I have not actually worked in clay for some =
time.
I am out of the habit of translating ideas into form and function. Put =
simply,
doing and making is a creative process and exciting things will only happen =
at
the end of a lot of application and hands-on work.
That mental block I experienced was a worry. Especially as during the drive =
home
all the wonderful images and techniques I could have tried suddenly came
flooding back=21 Maybe those =22dud=22 students were over-whelmed in a =
similar way?
Had so many ideas, that given a lump of clay caused panic rather than =
creative
fervour? Lack of expression is not necessarily a lack of creative or =
technical
ability.
Just my two pence worth=21
Janet Kaiser
The Chapel of Art: Home of The International Potters' Path
Criccieth LL52 0EA, GB-Wales, UK
WEBSITE: http://www.the-coa.org.uk
EMAIL: postbox=40the-coa.org.uk
If you experience difficulties accessing our web site, please e-mail me=21 =
Thank
you=21
| |
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