Alfred University Summer Ceramics, Wednesday June 28th
I arrived early in the studio and put the mugs and pitcher outside to dry — since they were still far too damp for the bisque firing this evening. It was neat to see how cold they became outside in the dry windy morning. One can tell if a pot is dry or still drying by its temperature. If it’s cold, water is still evaporating. Putting it into a kiln at this point would break the pot as the water expanded.
As the greenware dried, I handled the remaining pitcher and started to trim bowls. The clay was still very wet which caused difficulties, and I became frustrated by my mistakes, but John Gill’s rhetorical question from yesterday’s lecture came to mind, “… do you want him to be an absolute genius or just a regular person?” I realized I was just making regular pots.
Today’s demonstration was by sculptor and Georgia State University professor Cristina West, on the art of creating and casting 3D figures. Since my interests lie more in functional ware, I skipped the demonstration and went to the library. I found a few books by or about Michael Cardew and his teacher, Bernard Leach. These are two key potters of the early to mid 1900’s involved in rescuing English seventeenth century slipware. (Slipware is pottery decorated with slip. Slip is liquefied suspension of clay particles in water with the consistency of cream. It can be a white unpigmented porcelain slip or a slip with pigment added — typically black.) Returning to the studio, I asked on of the graduate TAs to make us some slip for the workshop, and I expect it will be ready tomorrow. I look forward to using it on some pots later in the week.
In the afternoon I experimented with throwing Japanese tea cups, similar to a slipware tea cup by Blunomi. Thinking it might bring me inspiration, my teacher at the N.J. Visual Arts Studio printed out a picture of the Blunomi tea cup and I brought the image with me.
The results of my experiment creating five cups are varied and the cups seem be on the large size. I’ll know after the shrinkage that occurs in the two firings — cone 6 bisque and later cone 10 for the glaze.
The afternoon lecture by Christina West was mind expanding. Her work presents themes of nudes and busts that remove the viewer from feeling close or sentimental for the object, allowing you to see the intensity of a naked form in a detached way. This is analogous to a play that does not invite us to empathize with the characters but to observe them in a detached way. I found the busts to be alarming and severe — intense, intriguing, and powerful, but also bringing discomfort. In many cases the face is severed from the bust and figures are colored in such a way that the viewer is discouraged from feeling any attachment. The lecture was a powerful introduction to an area of ceramic art completely foreign to me. You can view her work at cwestsculpture.com.
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