tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44409712174106944732024-03-19T01:48:13.045-07:00Tony ClennellTony Clennellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747428203155274416noreply@blogger.comBlogger2383125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440971217410694473.post-47622824575069786852024-01-25T15:04:00.000-08:002024-01-25T15:04:58.808-08:00It looks like a good pot, but it's not!I've been pondering "it looks like a good pot, but it's not!" since I listened to The Potters Podcast featuring my buddy the Georgia Cowboy George McCauley (https://thepotterscast.com/758.) Give it a listen- some very good thoughts.
In the podcast George being one of Ron Meyers very first students in South Carolina had a visit by Ron's former teacher Franz Wildenheim. Ron had the students put their pots out for a crit. Frans walked in looked at the pots and said "they look like good pots, but they're not.
At first you think -what arrogance, whadda pompus prick, how unprofessional. I don't see it that way. Here was a man that had made and looked at thousands of pots from very old, to student pots, to pots by contemporaries. He had virtually spent a lifetime making, looking at and talking about what makes good pots.
I will use one of my experiences as an example. Linda Christianson came to Ontario to help build a two chamber kiln at our studio. At nights we made pots. We fired the pots in the kiln. I pulled out some plates. They had a nice casual sweep of slip on the plate. Linda picked up a plate and said to me " you really like these plates don't you?" I answered "yes"! She flipped the plate over and there were these tight little trimming marks. Our eyes met and she said nothing. I knew that these looked like good pots but were not.
I'm going to show one teapot. I collect and love teapots. This teapot is one of my favs. I had to grow to love this pot. I needed to handle more work ala Franz Wildenheim. I had been going to Ron Meyers for at least a decade to fire the Ratagama. This Chuck Hindes teapot was outside on the sale rack and each year I would pick it up and never buy it. Then one firing with Chuck Hindes present he caught me handling it. He said ' You like it, it's yours! I loved Chuck! There is soooo much about this pot that newbies would scoff at- WTF!!!!!!!!. For me it exudes a joy in making! Isn't that what it's all about.
The purpose of drawing is not to just put lines down on a page anymore than jogging is to get somewhere. The product should be to see more deeply<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXVEHuAdnbjjmcJoCCPrSGSMo8aIbGHXREs27EDbjUtljrNZvJlJqAtqcjEgThlgnCide-5QKFiOGua8a-vWhGztxkzxVhEoIlOlRMWpRxLEiScgzZgwhP2MYc6aAfhdKOoNM3pyLmDLMRQw3tNtOYvusPAbXjARK9VqPVETc2iAEX3Ysb8AnLBVe9-1c/s4032/IMG_0345.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="400" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXVEHuAdnbjjmcJoCCPrSGSMo8aIbGHXREs27EDbjUtljrNZvJlJqAtqcjEgThlgnCide-5QKFiOGua8a-vWhGztxkzxVhEoIlOlRMWpRxLEiScgzZgwhP2MYc6aAfhdKOoNM3pyLmDLMRQw3tNtOYvusPAbXjARK9VqPVETc2iAEX3Ysb8AnLBVe9-1c/s400/IMG_0345.jpg"/></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9tDGWCS3SHaQzGcO8ZNMt8bufXswAk1VJcOhAvcF8bQLWnMvfgcWBqZlifJW03Mt5GLbEl53pQ7k-j2HQCjRb3fkeXvckSA0xD_WrufBoZUdrJOtWF2-zLSTuXxevRAwF48z0M3f7SOHcON08-Dmi9YgDYggZvIHtCLLZeTAdb3ovde1HBNtnNaKSUwQ/s4032/IMG_0346.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="600" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9tDGWCS3SHaQzGcO8ZNMt8bufXswAk1VJcOhAvcF8bQLWnMvfgcWBqZlifJW03Mt5GLbEl53pQ7k-j2HQCjRb3fkeXvckSA0xD_WrufBoZUdrJOtWF2-zLSTuXxevRAwF48z0M3f7SOHcON08-Dmi9YgDYggZvIHtCLLZeTAdb3ovde1HBNtnNaKSUwQ/s600/IMG_0346.jpg"/></a></div>. - Chuck I paraphrased this from memory.Tony Clennellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747428203155274416noreply@blogger.com34tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440971217410694473.post-43970694174409602652024-01-24T15:47:00.000-08:002024-01-24T15:47:38.494-08:00DoppelgängerI got an email from a friend saying she missed my writing. That I was so good at it! That I was a teacher and what i said resonated with so many. Thank you! I was distraught that my ceramic blog was being used by right wing conspiracy theorists for a platform to spew their whack job theories. I was also worried that I had said it all before.
I just finished reading Naomi Klein's book Doppelganger and I don't intend to add the politics to my blog. Naomi convinced me that I too am a doppelganger. I am Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde. I can make pots that the masses like but what I love to make are pots that I like. My bank account dictates what I will make next.
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Two different plates. One that is easy to love and the other with a jagged broken rim and rougher treatment is harder to like.
I had the good fortune to hook up with George McCauley at The Bray in Montana. George and I are two peas in a pod. I am better looking and more loveable but we share a ceramic history that unites us. That's a joke! We never looked back and we never gave up.
He writes about making from your heart. I write something similiar with the narrative of relationships. We both write about love of relationships, about love of process, about love of life and the life of being in this amazing clay community.
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This one is easy to like.
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This one is harder to like. The jagged edges, the deep marks. Surely an accomplished potter could make a better rim. This is something I could make said the student.
I have missed y'all! I always said I write for me and not for you. Finging my way back to clay after a hiautus. T
Tony Clennellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747428203155274416noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440971217410694473.post-64972417820708973522023-12-21T14:53:00.000-08:002023-12-21T14:53:46.947-08:00Greeting from Jurassic ParkIt's 4 days before Christmas and I haven't done my usual ritual of scribbling my brush on some cards and sending my love out to y'all. So before guilt takes my sleep away I thought I'd try to reach as many of you as possible thru my old trusty blog.
Since I haven't spewed out my words of wisdom in sometime this post may be like me- all over the place.
Let's start with the brush strokes. I used to be embarassed to make a mark with a brush. I ain't no mo! I was asked recently why I love outsider/folk art. The answer was " I love childrens art!" Why is that? In a kids mind there are so many possiblities ( purple dogs, crooked houses, green people) and in the experts mind there are only a few choices. I want my heart and mind to be like a childs.
The perfect is the enemy of the good! - Voltaire.
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I start every morning by rolling over and looking at pics of my kids and granddaughters. I look at a painting of a rat jumping over the moon by Ronnie the Rat, a painting by Clyde Jones that I love, some pots that I love. But here is what I do- I give thanks for 5 minutes for my kids, my family, my friends,<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1KI8m32bz8QZz4IjZOzi4GHZ72gH4RWT07yi4h2tBudrEEJOwvBnC9pJ8IUAXBs1RmicyLs9ssdizv0MU9Spu5D5sFt9-CisD9kdk2lrzguDITGaEzKzvdYBfSHbgRvT1_EHbn-OycmhB3cppkGpbYc90S9INM30zeHxjTFcXEPnjbiY6Vm10q78yIas/s4032/2023-12-21%2013.45.31.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1KI8m32bz8QZz4IjZOzi4GHZ72gH4RWT07yi4h2tBudrEEJOwvBnC9pJ8IUAXBs1RmicyLs9ssdizv0MU9Spu5D5sFt9-CisD9kdk2lrzguDITGaEzKzvdYBfSHbgRvT1_EHbn-OycmhB3cppkGpbYc90S9INM30zeHxjTFcXEPnjbiY6Vm10q78yIas/s400/2023-12-21%2013.45.31.jpg"/></a></div> my life, my little home, the wonderful life I have lived and continue to live. If it sounds like I drank some toxic Kool Aid maybe I did and I'll keep sipping it.
A week ago I got a ball mill from my old bull buddy Ron Roy. I gathered some clay at an old clay yard in Hamilton and have been making some slips- Straight up Queenston Shale, flashing slip and porcelain slip with an addition of 3% Queenston shale. It is a dirty shitty job!!!!
Do a common thing in an uncommon way. Slips and glazes everyone uses. Few of us make our own glazes anymore. Hardly anyone makes their own clay. This is why the post is titled " Greetings from Jurasic Park" In 4 decades the field has progressed 10 fold to what it was when I started. But is that progress?? Understanding your materials is like being a chef. You know how to make to taste. This is not the 300 billion hamburgers served that MacDonalds brags. The same in Toronto as in Amsterdam, as in Paris, as in Jingdezhen.
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So my message for the end of 2023 - Dare to be different!. The world needs more characters.
All the very best from my little house to yours. Love y'all T
Virus-free.www.avast.com
Tony Clennellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747428203155274416noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440971217410694473.post-15872496173570658142023-10-20T15:49:00.000-07:002023-10-20T15:49:21.283-07:00The Last Post<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX3uzOcivlNHWoxxretk35PmIM8kJiK5PCEMNu5fWLepKnnVUstuHrAZWKr074sIUJ4wV6sLtgNaWS6RIe0ZvpYGcHq5jGZh3bHUv8xzsetNsqW_uGwaxhHym8mNsAX3Yt5CBEF9rT7JF15WujLmnAV9W2PvyJmRTCQ6fwBGxVL-8ak1lpKkJraO3fsnY/s225/images.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="600" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX3uzOcivlNHWoxxretk35PmIM8kJiK5PCEMNu5fWLepKnnVUstuHrAZWKr074sIUJ4wV6sLtgNaWS6RIe0ZvpYGcHq5jGZh3bHUv8xzsetNsqW_uGwaxhHym8mNsAX3Yt5CBEF9rT7JF15WujLmnAV9W2PvyJmRTCQ6fwBGxVL-8ak1lpKkJraO3fsnY/s600/images.png"/></a></div>
Well devoted readers thank you for 16 years of reading my blog. Some gooduns and some off the rail. All those bloggers when I started are long gone. I started this blog in 2007 when USU sent me to Jingdezhen, China to further my Mfa studies in the porcelain capital of China. I wrote the blog to keep in touch with my loved ones back in Canada. It was an instant success because China was sooooo interesting. Much more so than my sleepy town in Alymer, Ontario.
Times have changed and so have I. Blogs have been replaced by Instagram instant gratification and Gawd knows what else in social media that I am unaware of.
I spend half of my day preparing for or riding my bike. I see the sunset years setting in front of me and there are things and places I want to do and see.
The blog will remain open as I don't know how to shut it down and who knows I might have something I need to share.
Thank you for sharing this amazing ride with me.
All the best,
T
Tony Clennellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747428203155274416noreply@blogger.com34tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440971217410694473.post-89402100334110960182023-10-07T20:03:00.006-07:002023-10-07T20:10:18.574-07:00It's a wrapThis week I've been thinking it's a wrap. My last rodeo! Know when to hold em, know when to fold em! Then that damn wood kiln gave me the firing of a life time. So many good surfaces! Damn it anyways! There is always just enough to keep ya wanting more.
Andrew and I are cleaning pots and the kiln tomorrow and then we need a well deserved break so we are going down to Yellowstone to join the elk, the grizzlies, the wolves, the bison, the eagles and the wilds of this beautiful Montana.
I am posting a few candid shots of some of the pots we are offering for sale thru The Bray. The Bray has been sooo good to us we want to contribute to this amazing place so they will get their commission. Not sure how it will happen but we will post better photos and alert you to the cyber opening. Thanks for your support of this journey. It has been amazing on so many levels.
Here are some potsBottles with newman flashing slip!<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTH2CIyP6EoYg5vROs6hk0gUIsGfWSLmZ45Z8cT94-kNXkP-gJVMOikR0l0vB47UUXEaSyohiT6PTOAfTYRvyF2Uo1wq5xlbTDECdiqrGCMW_Ckst_nSTvC98s_Ta95cLg-n90DAxUXXHcZa5M3slJOv_hp2UxTSfXnTH96g3i-yf94wewhV46gur7i54/s3024/bottles.JPG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTH2CIyP6EoYg5vROs6hk0gUIsGfWSLmZ45Z8cT94-kNXkP-gJVMOikR0l0vB47UUXEaSyohiT6PTOAfTYRvyF2Uo1wq5xlbTDECdiqrGCMW_Ckst_nSTvC98s_Ta95cLg-n90DAxUXXHcZa5M3slJOv_hp2UxTSfXnTH96g3i-yf94wewhV46gur7i54/s400/bottles.JPG"/></a></div>
Fattie jugs
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a Plates or wall art !href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3GiGBN152K9XcYvQP1lFrHeHZv1RYz4_f7cOyh1b4VRQV2v8Il8EL93LuwhBW4W4f1zcAgMhPjDJi7I8x7tD7DXvcZ-nAYIYr08-1VaxBzAWhGI2TrLJld26OvkBTtUdKfcFEsMIqFbZKg9_fXSYgTuL6HNVHrdgp-iCNDbIisiRTZv-7REEKvBw3b-8/s3024/plates.JPG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3GiGBN152K9XcYvQP1lFrHeHZv1RYz4_f7cOyh1b4VRQV2v8Il8EL93LuwhBW4W4f1zcAgMhPjDJi7I8x7tD7DXvcZ-nAYIYr08-1VaxBzAWhGI2TrLJld26OvkBTtUdKfcFEsMIqFbZKg9_fXSYgTuL6HNVHrdgp-iCNDbIisiRTZv-7REEKvBw3b-8/s400/plates.JPG"/></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs4KPnopYxyVVNqeHpxmZLQ8L_9mijzMXB5rVFsQHJ9Yzz2j6IU_1ARZi0IjIkLEZ3vkOTCS7eY1DYz4mggY6YAlE3Nq1XgZgCuRMz1QH_DeKwgmK9fysTjBNTBtI632KzzJIAkZw-jOlEFkezyewBbwvH587VeaHzkta6oAojR6PysUtIEjuaK8BP7WM/s3024/teapots.JPG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs4KPnopYxyVVNqeHpxmZLQ8L_9mijzMXB5rVFsQHJ9Yzz2j6IU_1ARZi0IjIkLEZ3vkOTCS7eY1DYz4mggY6YAlE3Nq1XgZgCuRMz1QH_DeKwgmK9fysTjBNTBtI632KzzJIAkZw-jOlEFkezyewBbwvH587VeaHzkta6oAojR6PysUtIEjuaK8BP7WM/s400/teapots.JPG"/></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtRtqPQV_kJLVdJj3o-ZzZph7oSvbEloENNPq8ynqV3Cu5RGJmN3INto3rdtrOZ5rh8FDIFWlVBxIYDGStFFi1KHwr9gL33knmaySgp0rXYs4flP1qr3WyNFQOjPhB1rEkLavGPXnE1dpc3WDqI905cyD-NRAJjQK-OskFzUJT7s-y1wj6oAARpk0tHfw/s3024/more%20bottles.JPG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtRtqPQV_kJLVdJj3o-ZzZph7oSvbEloENNPq8ynqV3Cu5RGJmN3INto3rdtrOZ5rh8FDIFWlVBxIYDGStFFi1KHwr9gL33knmaySgp0rXYs4flP1qr3WyNFQOjPhB1rEkLavGPXnE1dpc3WDqI905cyD-NRAJjQK-OskFzUJT7s-y1wj6oAARpk0tHfw/s400/more%20bottles.JPG"/></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Ay77tMKmWErAsopeoRfXBzsc6fXoMxFbPfGSzNkfRH4m1KQuwX0lfjchHeIr3gGbddrMoTsFI78m1d7VlurSM-2t_REQwpQUvDxXWm6u-87uPfwhF4aPActpkZgNqViKscoH08LiKA3Uq0tca4cuv-hKcyrC3bnA6UggIAKaRYnrjtsiiEU1j7Uz7rE/s3024/whiskey%20on%20the%20rocks.JPG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Ay77tMKmWErAsopeoRfXBzsc6fXoMxFbPfGSzNkfRH4m1KQuwX0lfjchHeIr3gGbddrMoTsFI78m1d7VlurSM-2t_REQwpQUvDxXWm6u-87uPfwhF4aPActpkZgNqViKscoH08LiKA3Uq0tca4cuv-hKcyrC3bnA6UggIAKaRYnrjtsiiEU1j7Uz7rE/s400/whiskey%20on%20the%20rocks.JPG"/></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho0CEGWCIwt6LofkpM6kKy-JTySOc0S0gclpyi4R5sobTjsIfrQZzAe8Tv7cc3Zr63EldlrN4xeCY5NEmYVqweVqFOO_TwTLSe7PQu45jtuoHxvp_NihUJ_hre9utnGNdDz3jtHz6XNOyWeb4NrwmkH4AABU1NcLIn8Kp8j_nKXNAbLDPE0hL5Ll099lA/s1599/andrew%20jug%201.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="400" data-original-height="1599" data-original-width="1204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho0CEGWCIwt6LofkpM6kKy-JTySOc0S0gclpyi4R5sobTjsIfrQZzAe8Tv7cc3Zr63EldlrN4xeCY5NEmYVqweVqFOO_TwTLSe7PQu45jtuoHxvp_NihUJ_hre9utnGNdDz3jtHz6XNOyWeb4NrwmkH4AABU1NcLIn8Kp8j_nKXNAbLDPE0hL5Ll099lA/s400/andrew%20jug%201.jpg"/></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDErm3iIhW-gGT36SsSw8dr0Yw_2Ujf_NRGr2OILf-5ILu3qYpqZ_Owa1w4qSMNYYtu6r15b2RF_CFd0_XwQjc2n2yilqwF-JYnD5hcoXRFw4o_IH-VzuBpzk5b7rwZ-vQYCKj2LGIu-_fu5Cjh1dT6jZE_ZxsUYGOBTfldlq2Qo40g3WdQL0_rBpJE4s/s1599/andrew%20jug%201.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="600" data-original-height="1599" data-original-width="1204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDErm3iIhW-gGT36SsSw8dr0Yw_2Ujf_NRGr2OILf-5ILu3qYpqZ_Owa1w4qSMNYYtu6r15b2RF_CFd0_XwQjc2n2yilqwF-JYnD5hcoXRFw4o_IH-VzuBpzk5b7rwZ-vQYCKj2LGIu-_fu5Cjh1dT6jZE_ZxsUYGOBTfldlq2Qo40g3WdQL0_rBpJE4s/s600/andrew%20jug%201.jpg"/></a></div>
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Some divine jugs of Andrews. He suffered some big losses. He took it on the chin and soldiered thru. Some very quiet little sweeties and cups all the potters keep picking up. It's been a loooong time since I had a kiln load this good. Thanks to the residents that helped fire, special thanks to Andrew who is a work horse an to The Bray for this journey that has kept me in the game. T
Tony Clennellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747428203155274416noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440971217410694473.post-32379931157789433002023-09-27T18:22:00.000-07:002023-09-27T18:22:19.381-07:00With Great SadnessToday news from home of the passing of my long time friend Jan Phelan. We were pals for well over 40 years. I have fond memories of staying with Jan and her former husband Gord Burke. We would drink Drambuie and talk plans and pots into the early hours. Jan was a remarkable artist. Her signature unmistakable. I have few words to say in this post as my heart sinks to levels I never knew existed. Too young, too soon, too beautiful both inside and out. It just ain't fair.
Jan I am toasting you tonight. You left a very large mark on this world. Farewell my friend. Hugs and kisses, T<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2QnZpjqB53Rih5fDIh5rbAstCjQe0anospvoStXapHsNLHqVQAMv-VuFAhrW04-5GNlSclUqsbM_-YVMmwE6ZyiXH6HnS1T_u7qzaR8OdyvSfu47qSrK1IAxh4OABT1K-URdijDOXsYQO-LwS9z910_L7CGOUQ7fLqwHfeZDpHUNVg_DVbLzfLNFnExw/s890/JanPhelan2-crop.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="863" data-original-width="890" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2QnZpjqB53Rih5fDIh5rbAstCjQe0anospvoStXapHsNLHqVQAMv-VuFAhrW04-5GNlSclUqsbM_-YVMmwE6ZyiXH6HnS1T_u7qzaR8OdyvSfu47qSrK1IAxh4OABT1K-URdijDOXsYQO-LwS9z910_L7CGOUQ7fLqwHfeZDpHUNVg_DVbLzfLNFnExw/s400/JanPhelan2-crop.jpg"/></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGrBsokZjQuoiJzQpVUylfMSKnEw9C9ZhN1sdWlc8n3aF2XwI3ptmMleGYrBE6BT0cg-p8G-aRijuURSnwursU3ojwx6nLeFeEEHCniNRp0T8n-IDh5gqJi6FjLg2ugRKQnkrcd6DrYag_LEayq94LIHjD5TZ672P6G9a4voEie18l34iMxDVsb141HPw/s240/download-1.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="210" data-original-width="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGrBsokZjQuoiJzQpVUylfMSKnEw9C9ZhN1sdWlc8n3aF2XwI3ptmMleGYrBE6BT0cg-p8G-aRijuURSnwursU3ojwx6nLeFeEEHCniNRp0T8n-IDh5gqJi6FjLg2ugRKQnkrcd6DrYag_LEayq94LIHjD5TZ672P6G9a4voEie18l34iMxDVsb141HPw/s400/download-1.jpg"/></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXvx2xeX6z-9ZfbmJoOql1ZiBDUrkKvsLU2a1ovl_PfH2uDAHPqLVwTAekUZIurT44vlFryFb5CYRzg62i1hQBfnXOA5Z2aLie9YqbhlGsDZcVQT_l4Ku6NxNLIAury6-hKMJtEuGzG01O_uFmpx9aVxGpJtnJkZoEjuVcA4iSan07ffuvyXg2RnV2hMc/s276/download.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXvx2xeX6z-9ZfbmJoOql1ZiBDUrkKvsLU2a1ovl_PfH2uDAHPqLVwTAekUZIurT44vlFryFb5CYRzg62i1hQBfnXOA5Z2aLie9YqbhlGsDZcVQT_l4Ku6NxNLIAury6-hKMJtEuGzG01O_uFmpx9aVxGpJtnJkZoEjuVcA4iSan07ffuvyXg2RnV2hMc/s400/download.jpg"/></a></div>
Tony Clennellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747428203155274416noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440971217410694473.post-82532931446671958702023-09-08T19:30:00.001-07:002023-09-08T19:30:58.732-07:00Standing on the shoulders of giantsToday was Day #1 making here in the Voulkos Studio at The Archie Bray Foundation. Firstly I would like to give a shout out to Big John Neely my prof and the Ceramics Chair at USU. John gave me the opportunity to take my MFA at USU and part of that was to spend 4 months in Jingdezgen, China the porcelain capital of the world. Rebecca Harvey now the Director of the Archie Bray was a visiting prof during my stint there. Perry Haas the Studio and Facility Manager here at the Bray was also in Jingdezhen as a USU undergrad. So some 16 years later the logs rolled and I am the invited Artist in Residence in the Voulkos Studio. Wow!!!!!
John calls The Bray USU North and it is. I think there are seven of us here. My class mates Perry Haas, Sunshine Cobb, David Peters, also USU grads Austin Riddle, Meagan Thomas and some I've yet to meet. It speaks to the quality of the program at USU that what could well be the top residency in the country has USU grads as the engine. A big shout out to Rebecca Harvey for putting my fedora in the ring.
This place is AMAZING! Not only are there ghosts of giants past there are soooo many incredible artists working here.
I'll get around to highlighting their work- it's quite humbling to be honest.
Everywhere I turn there is some pot or sculpture that blows my mind.
I've been here a day and I'm blown away.<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWDgkLNnqC_K3cJVlKgVrOu3jhP4W-Ec6Q5zEeQ0FWucqFDlYNbIT_mC4Fe9zVwo_MyiXbPSSlb-xt9b3PT8JilhL3giZ4uoiOgFxH4MslY181QuqYnOa7Kt8F7lEPBvCsoxt6AUIF0ecftDRqOVUe6mdWVyqWnQq6PBlP7lhPQL5TnnA80jEkh684P9o/s3024/shard%20pile.JPG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWDgkLNnqC_K3cJVlKgVrOu3jhP4W-Ec6Q5zEeQ0FWucqFDlYNbIT_mC4Fe9zVwo_MyiXbPSSlb-xt9b3PT8JilhL3giZ4uoiOgFxH4MslY181QuqYnOa7Kt8F7lEPBvCsoxt6AUIF0ecftDRqOVUe6mdWVyqWnQq6PBlP7lhPQL5TnnA80jEkh684P9o/s400/shard%20pile.JPG"/></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpu7cQekx5wQ110fJLGxHgsvAKWmzKPK9szCNeKi_xf5DzmXkWE-PUa2dnXCVBf8Xnpbc4C_1DT6VJ_TwVUq11wjZ72oF3_Jx2fHbljjuil38kp8dMUmNNCTcSzmJi3iNleQ61h7HUBrsNd2kzkAahCnwOqiNrw0xGGgkUnTCUjpWfQn-CYL0lBJSyKZc/s3024/clay%20castle.JPG" style="display: block; 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Tony Clennellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747428203155274416noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440971217410694473.post-86139293509672850482023-08-30T15:40:00.000-07:002023-08-30T15:40:55.900-07:00Moving to MontanaThe size of a person is no indication of the size of their heart. I have long been a fan of the former Heavy Weight Champion of the World Mohammad Ali - activist, athelete extrodinaire,conscientous objector,and a man of the highest of principles.
To paraphrase him " I ain't going to Vietnam to kill no Viet Cong. No Viet Cong ever called me a nigger!" He went to jail for having a heart and a conscious that large. This n word was hard for me to write but it was said by my hero who just happened to be a black man. If he could live it, I can quote him.
My Uncle Jimmie another of my heroes had a Grade 6 education and was a small man in stature. He was working in the coal mines of Northumberland at 12 years old. He spent 5 years in Europe during WW2. He was promoted to Lance Sargeant. He was very proud of that rank as it was usually awarded to a corporal. He lead the anti tank division into battle. I know why they gave him that rank. You could count on him. His men could count on him to do whatever he asked of them. He did what he said he'd do and you could take that to the bank. He'd be there!!!
A quote from Mohammed Ali " The will must be stronger than the skill". Boom you got it, Mohammed.
In my 5 decade career as a potter I have met hundreds of amazingly naturally born artists. They have such amazing skill but maybe lack the will.
In preparation for The Bray people have been asking me what I am going to do. Other than my two day classes a week at Pinecroft I haven't really touched clay. It's not that I've gone to sleep. I have taken to brush and paper. I think I got a plan but I want the geography of Montana inform what I make.
As a teen I was a Frank Zappa Mothers of Invention fan. Uncle Donny reminded me today of one of his tunes.
Moving to Montana.<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaJBZXa3ytWcjIUYU4-ycimcOEeN0W2QSf4BIg_y_oeGcEDSEZ8A9vz-gmICUmlbZVnKbqzoxd3_UneIFti9RHVzXM3Dcfu4ybOOVRdicfu6DCntpl2wOBkV3OefAV8oSfvS-o3ilbKixS4eKbH9AMYp8BwMVSIM7O34DK5s5RZWoOsSXZvxveFyRkk-k/s4032/red%20painting.JPG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="400" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaJBZXa3ytWcjIUYU4-ycimcOEeN0W2QSf4BIg_y_oeGcEDSEZ8A9vz-gmICUmlbZVnKbqzoxd3_UneIFti9RHVzXM3Dcfu4ybOOVRdicfu6DCntpl2wOBkV3OefAV8oSfvS-o3ilbKixS4eKbH9AMYp8BwMVSIM7O34DK5s5RZWoOsSXZvxveFyRkk-k/s400/red%20painting.JPG"/></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga9rOBrOwGfty1jHQumnHnNn7enIeUhVZQIKYlMwBdN8QF5MbQ4f78NwNRPV86ZtXFZjAuFaiGMxB37fGcqpuV7YwPhf74JOacqS530hFxLWwmG6eBTFqAlSAQU3Lj6SFVXZ-Pyz-wmoBjeq6q_y-0KtrlTYcT1lMwjKVBkyGKRZLNwZsU04XVQaMOxFc/s2937/blue%20drawing.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="2759" data-original-width="2937" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga9rOBrOwGfty1jHQumnHnNn7enIeUhVZQIKYlMwBdN8QF5MbQ4f78NwNRPV86ZtXFZjAuFaiGMxB37fGcqpuV7YwPhf74JOacqS530hFxLWwmG6eBTFqAlSAQU3Lj6SFVXZ-Pyz-wmoBjeq6q_y-0KtrlTYcT1lMwjKVBkyGKRZLNwZsU04XVQaMOxFc/s400/blue%20drawing.jpg"/></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh0DCfsW2H3oDAWQBXiO15IIEW2OvJ2iZtc8nKBmJKmSBnQHtuftv2IyJvOrvlGwdaMEu0kEd5cwu9-jK2I8t5U8ZUDBbhUKXODm9bBbuTpooBt4SXSCSYAHsOxlncQvD7DX_3YzuVobUUHa8mIAHTwHZ3YUn52r3uvBLFgq-dR0OomazFklbXasKXHD0/s3024/drawing%20table.JPG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh0DCfsW2H3oDAWQBXiO15IIEW2OvJ2iZtc8nKBmJKmSBnQHtuftv2IyJvOrvlGwdaMEu0kEd5cwu9-jK2I8t5U8ZUDBbhUKXODm9bBbuTpooBt4SXSCSYAHsOxlncQvD7DX_3YzuVobUUHa8mIAHTwHZ3YUn52r3uvBLFgq-dR0OomazFklbXasKXHD0/s400/drawing%20table.JPG"/></a></div>
I might be movin' to Montana soon
Just to raise me up a crop of Dental Floss Raisin' it up
Waxen it down
In a little white box
I can sell uptown
By myself I wouldn't
Have no boss,
But I'd be raisin' my lonely Dental Floss
Raisin' my lonely Dental Floss
Well I just might grow me some bees
But I'd leave the sweet stuff
For somebody else...
but then, on the other hand
I'd Keep the wax N' melt it down
Pluck some Floss N' swish it aroun'
I'd have me a crop
An' it'd be on topTony Clennellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747428203155274416noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440971217410694473.post-19081545210336964632023-08-26T17:31:00.001-07:002023-08-26T17:31:35.171-07:00Experience is the new RetailThis blog post will be short on pics and long on words.
Working at Pinecroft I realize that the business's that will be successful will offer an experience.
Daily I see people walking the spillway of the pond taking pictures of the black eyed susans that line the pond, the geese, the waterfalls, the studio with flower boxes, Brenda and Herms yella an red heritage home. They come from hundreds of miles for an "experience". Their wonderful meal is more than just a lunch out.
Malls used to be small villages that we visited and spent time in. I remember in a former life going shoe shopping with my wife to 37 different shoe stores. Of course, the shoes she had in mind were not designed or made yet! The malls have gone the way of the doo-doo bird. They need to offer an experience. Some are becoming places to live with a doctor, a dentist, a theatre, a pool hall, a bank and everything a town square used to offer. Our malls tried to be the town square in a European village but failed miserably as a social gathering place.
The STudio Tour is on the wain too. They used to be the thing to do. Most kept up with store bought cookies, mediocre coffee and come buy my stuff. There are a few exceptions. The St. Croix River Tour offers great pots, awesome food, wine, beer, entertainment,demonstrations, bonfires and let's just cap it with "experience".
I used to go every Saturday to a Mennoite Butcher shop that had the wood stove going and as soon as you walked in the door there were samples of sausage, bacon, etc. You bet I was the meat shopper in the family.
We don't need to go to the mall no mo! We don't need to go to the studio tour no mo! Most of my younger peeps are savvy with the internet and can sell all they make in a day. Why do a craft show and lug boxes, displays, pay fees, rent hotel rooms, buy gas, eat out and come home with the flu? Galleries must be feeling this. I don't to get savvy with the internet. I want to make pots and have someone else do all the technoweenie stuff. So here is my question "How do galleries offer an experience?
The business's that offer and experience will survive. Tada!<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjynrHhobjXMRTKXyKqFGH7-mYvVzxgqNHG9v_9d5Dimpaxnv0BaAxbbu0hoowMe5n3b-UcM7RtlBj10YU_AhZUSrWL8Xz6ByGu_MjrUrh8cIAtlY1DYbkGJZJnm0SfyBMtI8EA_VU0I6mCmIKb60NBVycUFFEvnzcyyj9l3-h890tDRzDrw3m1hSCk94Y/s3267/IMG_0027.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="400" data-original-height="3267" data-original-width="3018" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjynrHhobjXMRTKXyKqFGH7-mYvVzxgqNHG9v_9d5Dimpaxnv0BaAxbbu0hoowMe5n3b-UcM7RtlBj10YU_AhZUSrWL8Xz6ByGu_MjrUrh8cIAtlY1DYbkGJZJnm0SfyBMtI8EA_VU0I6mCmIKb60NBVycUFFEvnzcyyj9l3-h890tDRzDrw3m1hSCk94Y/s400/IMG_0027.jpg"/></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3EeKQRkbTUN4EZn_wkoef0nHS8maUxXomBy6ASxJhSnI30360ukos-n0hTMjJyaDH_QtWONLP5LePRVAnRGxEp0a4MCY2mD4NcfaEXfzjBCq5rffnCzazykKoVLT6aM5_SWT1VnU59x5QrDACq1ZNX6TYV-zSOIA6FZEyeRuoX2upE6iYnnzG_6r6KoU/s960/39894615_10216290945843364_5566536288611336192_n.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3EeKQRkbTUN4EZn_wkoef0nHS8maUxXomBy6ASxJhSnI30360ukos-n0hTMjJyaDH_QtWONLP5LePRVAnRGxEp0a4MCY2mD4NcfaEXfzjBCq5rffnCzazykKoVLT6aM5_SWT1VnU59x5QrDACq1ZNX6TYV-zSOIA6FZEyeRuoX2upE6iYnnzG_6r6KoU/s400/39894615_10216290945843364_5566536288611336192_n.jpg"/></a></div>
Tony Clennellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747428203155274416noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440971217410694473.post-39196768903680089352023-08-18T09:49:00.002-07:002023-08-18T09:49:37.721-07:00Being naked!Imagine The Rat buck naked! He's actually more pink like the earthware Rat yunomi. The one wood fired yunomi is showing a bit of his pink flesh. I've been organizing this HUGE inventory of pots I have in every cupboard and on every horizonal surface of my house. Yes, I took the door off the linen closet and put shelves in it to hold an overflow of pots. I still have cupboards full of pots not on display. It's a shame really! As I get older I wonder what is going to happen to all my treasures. They are treasures to me but not anyone else. Every pot I own has a story of a lifetime in the clay world.
I thought I'd show you Ronnie the Rat with no clothes on. He's blushing! Y'all would recognize one of Ronnie's painted and "The Usual Suspects" pots from across the room but my guess you would be stumped by these two sippers of his. They are pots Ronnie gave me after our yearly clay family gathering firing his Ratagama in Athens,GA. I really love Ronnie's trimming. Some look trimmed on the wheel and others look hand trimmed. They always have an edge! Not smooth and polished but more sharp and tactile. Sometimes I display them on my cupboard called The Wall of Shame upside down so I can walk by and be reminded to slow down and make a mark like ya mean it!
As I approach my pilgrimage to The Bray I think about being naked. Changing the shino shirt and the carbon trap trousers and the Albany Blundies. I want it to be more about edge,not polished, not glazed and taking it slow with no expectations of the market place embracing it. This time away is for me and I want to keep it that way. I've worked tirelessly for the past decades making some and some. Some for me and some for the marketplace. This fall it's all for me. I'm not even sure I'll like it! A memory from a Critical Thinking workshop I took with the amazing late Stephen Hogbin (wood sculpture extrodinaire). Stephen said " Always look longest at what you think you don't like! It is from that you will learn the most. If we always make what is safe and do what is safe we never grow. If you had never taken the scrapes learning to ride your bike you would still be walking. Ride on! <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjehTIKyHLqtMYtgT5aI1n--mt-Ew9080p_7f_GHcoTees5V3eDHkY_xs_IeglthrKQanNRXkqz7_QKpIQwOq61_lB0HRS5t_pW1Rn4-MbxRZrzj3gq5iHM4TEKokCBlpohQn5L6YsR1_w5jf4kgxjM5XbyhDiCtn1Ds6SjZjysQMGGWV2xvTbXZY5QAAM/s3024/Ron%20pink%20naked.JPG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjehTIKyHLqtMYtgT5aI1n--mt-Ew9080p_7f_GHcoTees5V3eDHkY_xs_IeglthrKQanNRXkqz7_QKpIQwOq61_lB0HRS5t_pW1Rn4-MbxRZrzj3gq5iHM4TEKokCBlpohQn5L6YsR1_w5jf4kgxjM5XbyhDiCtn1Ds6SjZjysQMGGWV2xvTbXZY5QAAM/s400/Ron%20pink%20naked.JPG"/></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYlyWNnfXs02KSFld0Wj3cd0gOwewwfunP-Pgheh4ymjnvIKkWHFykptygVIkF7j5KO4upt8c3jttGmOh-VtFeFUSCABLdUSfjgOmZwQ5f5Iz-VjrzsrdVm_2VPkMXHSbUcAl06e-lnQmT8z8VoSuk2-XJxa6yXuBVaD2dlkUjFyI-Wfu1C7N7SBdz-3M/s3024/ron%20dirty%20brown.JPG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYlyWNnfXs02KSFld0Wj3cd0gOwewwfunP-Pgheh4ymjnvIKkWHFykptygVIkF7j5KO4upt8c3jttGmOh-VtFeFUSCABLdUSfjgOmZwQ5f5Iz-VjrzsrdVm_2VPkMXHSbUcAl06e-lnQmT8z8VoSuk2-XJxa6yXuBVaD2dlkUjFyI-Wfu1C7N7SBdz-3M/s400/ron%20dirty%20brown.JPG"/></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcQEJi9VXjaddR3NlfABJ9iDclTsSjcIqMB65QF8BPCOrkfjUKsCfSlLcFUZN7Wq3Y3EhfbWy9fQq161j6CxieD9v56kg4VQv5yMhoyLY0Vui9BE7aG8vAbZShTb13m9aswDU8XCoan-MbHq5jwPMEhjBEWc6Pcfu8JslPDQ2Fv2p5-xoQEbhnhC-r1GY/s3024/ron%20rat%20imagery.JPG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcQEJi9VXjaddR3NlfABJ9iDclTsSjcIqMB65QF8BPCOrkfjUKsCfSlLcFUZN7Wq3Y3EhfbWy9fQq161j6CxieD9v56kg4VQv5yMhoyLY0Vui9BE7aG8vAbZShTb13m9aswDU8XCoan-MbHq5jwPMEhjBEWc6Pcfu8JslPDQ2Fv2p5-xoQEbhnhC-r1GY/s400/ron%20rat%20imagery.JPG"/></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxSerE7r6O--nzrEcMZf9LlY6YC7BxjIB-S9WoDZqFulKi7kbpyVdLo1ftSc935wvxsQd7ljI8ZR9RHtT0I5b-0ivxJ_GrGiWunWwPbefTvkjN-ok0KNZTwrrMHebNte8NqlQza-Nhuo_6lMkgEy26nVeUw65Prr2_ZhREK1CttwnU0-Y8HaGxHRZbSMY/s3024/ron%27s%20feet..JPG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxSerE7r6O--nzrEcMZf9LlY6YC7BxjIB-S9WoDZqFulKi7kbpyVdLo1ftSc935wvxsQd7ljI8ZR9RHtT0I5b-0ivxJ_GrGiWunWwPbefTvkjN-ok0KNZTwrrMHebNte8NqlQza-Nhuo_6lMkgEy26nVeUw65Prr2_ZhREK1CttwnU0-Y8HaGxHRZbSMY/s400/ron%27s%20feet..JPG"/></a></div>Tony Clennellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747428203155274416noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440971217410694473.post-56892933303708855832023-08-12T14:05:00.001-07:002023-08-12T14:05:24.000-07:00The Pot er er makes Pot treeBoth the following cartoons bring back memories.
The first one of the iceberg of Artist's work.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBR68pY0zpATJzH6S_sGcEwOoFLHTy6roCrj-1k9VjkpSvVEmCalCqohb_sGqSvGDE6PdkqZAYj1MeUnH8VMDFWOXvuIUOSsc7wXIh6ex2q521X0LGgmxrJdWAqiYJmCy2bKxzKy4Lsd3qoUEb6f4wc_On9lmajFhYqcGJXuR2chOlUnX59Q9RaV1q6mY/s526/365469291_625415379570344_9032537664250095961_n.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="526" data-original-width="526" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBR68pY0zpATJzH6S_sGcEwOoFLHTy6roCrj-1k9VjkpSvVEmCalCqohb_sGqSvGDE6PdkqZAYj1MeUnH8VMDFWOXvuIUOSsc7wXIh6ex2q521X0LGgmxrJdWAqiYJmCy2bKxzKy4Lsd3qoUEb6f4wc_On9lmajFhYqcGJXuR2chOlUnX59Q9RaV1q6mY/s400/365469291_625415379570344_9032537664250095961_n.jpg"/></a></div>
My Uncle Jimmie maintained that making pots which what he enjoyed the most took up about 10% of his time. I list in my book "Stuck in the Mud 40" other jobs that are necessary to do get a pot for sale. This list doesn't include all the administrivia that seems to consume a day.People ask why do you do Instagram and Facebook? It's quite simply part of the bizz. The world will only beat a path to your door if they know who you are, your pedigree, your work and where ya hail from. Lucky are those that don't need this distribution method. I've had the farm gate studios twice before and they are awesome to be sure. You do however have to be present almost all the time. The minute to skip out to the bank a customer will arrive and you will return to a note "I was here, where were you?" You may have just lost a good customer that travelled to see you and your work.
The second is one that brings back memories of my mum. Mum and Dad were so proud of their third son going to University and getting two degrees. I remember telling them I wanted to be a potter. My mum said "Why did you need two University degrees to make "pot tree"? That is what she called pottery.
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I guess I might have been a gifted kid. I skipped Grade 4 and got kicked outta gym class in high school for civil disobedience. I locked the gym teacher in the washroom and dismissed the class. They thought the strap would make me cry. It didn't! I was standing up for a friend whose mum and dad were deaf and dumb(dumb doesn't seem like the right word) and my friend had a funny voice and was quite effeminute. The gym teacher kept calling him "dear" and that was more than I could handle. I don't know if the gym teacher continued to haress my friend as I was sent to the library to spend the year. I couldn't have been happier.
So mum parts one and three of the cartoon are true. I don't think you and dad would be see me as a burned out disappointment. There is snow on the mountain but a fire down below. I feel better than I did at 35 and still love my work. I am truly a mature not old weirdo with a basement studio.
It beats the guys my age sitting at McDonald's gossiping and reading what the Walmart specials are.
I figure when a passion gives you a livlihood you are one lucky Poterer. That was another one of my mothers words: pot er er!
Tony Clennellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747428203155274416noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440971217410694473.post-59864660951713643202023-08-08T17:01:00.002-07:002023-08-08T17:05:51.644-07:00Reduce, Reuse, RecycleIf you think you are too small to make a difference you haven't spent a night with a mosquito!
Ten years ago I read about a small denim company in Wales, Hiut Denim that was trying to bring back the denim industry that had been in their town but like many others layed off all the workers and headed for cheap labour countries like Mexico, China, Thailand, Vietnam to name a few. We potters only need to look at what has happened to North American and European ceramics. Gone like the Doo doo bird.
So being a threatened dinosaur myself I took the plunge and bought a pair. They ain't cheap but then neither are my pots compared to Dollar Store and Ikea. Hiut promised free life time repair. They ask that you send them at first sight of a rip or worn part. Well I waited 10 years till the jeans were almost thread bare. To my defense it cost me $50 to mail them back to Wales and then a 4 month wait for the repair.
I was soooo excited to see what Paul the mender/craftsman would do to give them some more life. Bravo Paul!!!
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOOvSNCdVEWmEhBRSaMlNUYjM8H0r---dNFdnEYhe3YsUHOlwAyZBOZwXeJsF5tai2uvZVJkohsJD09uC9AxXo0qlr0I20pL-QX1JtDaTrh8qhjdG6rjF1UInHtqeQinEJS2LrZ3A8_uM0mvUnFDO2JPjFiSZGzHkKAf37fN5n75tUaBqMNJtGoOxqrY0/s3024/my%20worn%20Hiut%20jeans.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOOvSNCdVEWmEhBRSaMlNUYjM8H0r---dNFdnEYhe3YsUHOlwAyZBOZwXeJsF5tai2uvZVJkohsJD09uC9AxXo0qlr0I20pL-QX1JtDaTrh8qhjdG6rjF1UInHtqeQinEJS2LrZ3A8_uM0mvUnFDO2JPjFiSZGzHkKAf37fN5n75tUaBqMNJtGoOxqrY0/s400/my%20worn%20Hiut%20jeans.jpg"/></a></div>
His sewing machine worked overtime on repairing the thread bare parts and he added the little red button logo that I lost almost within a year of wearing them.<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXNVHWOW4pTqzY8AA-A6RzjLq1OiCc2_bu9tDav9A-xFvlg6fYj22z2BuQTnQHec0GUc3z8eTIt6MoMKYscYaNXHWFxA9DTD9hPSuisiGwfusaJCZXOnkfSkNNMtnzKHH1l6fhft57XFqls7v-BW-t32q6AeV2GKT847DinVZhyhP3b9_umaNSt-gY3GI/s3024/repaired%20jeans.JPG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXNVHWOW4pTqzY8AA-A6RzjLq1OiCc2_bu9tDav9A-xFvlg6fYj22z2BuQTnQHec0GUc3z8eTIt6MoMKYscYaNXHWFxA9DTD9hPSuisiGwfusaJCZXOnkfSkNNMtnzKHH1l6fhft57XFqls7v-BW-t32q6AeV2GKT847DinVZhyhP3b9_umaNSt-gY3GI/s400/repaired%20jeans.JPG"/></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioX0x6CPRVjGe7vgdzIMyokYF8rtr8vvk0wne9QLauyAa0QGaFvE13n_K_dDudnGMbu_wM3VpYJrrs9MXLGQVNLvOR2Hm8imaMR_7qKdOREkusaOr9o8JByFdlJQ-CBcIkvKqtH9zGdfjnqv4egPZiU2tqpm2X24DU2KlgxdEj1367XxpyjzmnC8ZTmWI/s3024/red%20logo.JPG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioX0x6CPRVjGe7vgdzIMyokYF8rtr8vvk0wne9QLauyAa0QGaFvE13n_K_dDudnGMbu_wM3VpYJrrs9MXLGQVNLvOR2Hm8imaMR_7qKdOREkusaOr9o8JByFdlJQ-CBcIkvKqtH9zGdfjnqv4egPZiU2tqpm2X24DU2KlgxdEj1367XxpyjzmnC8ZTmWI/s400/red%20logo.JPG"/></a></div>
When people treat me right I treat them right. I ordered a new pair that I'll try to take better care of. No promises!!
This new pair will be my Sunday go to meeting pants. Mind you I don't do Church and never liked meetings. So lets say a special dinner with a Harris Tweed Sports jacket, a light blue cotton button down shirt, my Hiuts and my lace up Blundies. Oh yeah, one of my Beaver Felt Art Fawcett handmade fedoras. If you're laughing this adds up to more than a $2000 Ralph Lauren suit and twice as cool.
Deal with people that stand behind what they promise and do what they say they were gonna do. Buy less, reuse and recycle.
Here are my new jeans for date night.<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaFi91rC66oD1niDVHyKAiSkIzCuCK0DSr8X7iIyylNof1CYEII7w74B74vavcSTx3CC_T4jROrQTKuZ1W25inOl9cOcsPBsrcfTpeh4j6Dcftjo6V2qs3dvU1yQ7EV3RBnRWBUuv73NSczw9xJCxEKEX5SA9FvilPvVXVKSNMLmkzbA3zy92uibyWOkQ/s3024/my%20new%20jeans.JPG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaFi91rC66oD1niDVHyKAiSkIzCuCK0DSr8X7iIyylNof1CYEII7w74B74vavcSTx3CC_T4jROrQTKuZ1W25inOl9cOcsPBsrcfTpeh4j6Dcftjo6V2qs3dvU1yQ7EV3RBnRWBUuv73NSczw9xJCxEKEX5SA9FvilPvVXVKSNMLmkzbA3zy92uibyWOkQ/s400/my%20new%20jeans.JPG"/></a></div>Tony Clennellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747428203155274416noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440971217410694473.post-79218625111433234832023-08-02T06:16:00.003-07:002023-08-02T06:16:32.611-07:00You asked for it!<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjclyrpTZ7yXMj64MFR2ZB3FfFzU7hZsn4bfy6Aw0IP5HwWoES5TdqdBLHxYX5VxPiencgUq8IYc97GlObb41QHbdIo8_R7TO-XQOM6UpeVRMzvu0W6jTSHNSSNhs-FBwiRTQjQqqhiA7rn5w50JbL0FUiZf_JSqvJ7n0QMPVLt5QOQPi9QEnE1nZtXz9E/s2573/IMG_6765.jpeg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="2573" data-original-width="2573" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjclyrpTZ7yXMj64MFR2ZB3FfFzU7hZsn4bfy6Aw0IP5HwWoES5TdqdBLHxYX5VxPiencgUq8IYc97GlObb41QHbdIo8_R7TO-XQOM6UpeVRMzvu0W6jTSHNSSNhs-FBwiRTQjQqqhiA7rn5w50JbL0FUiZf_JSqvJ7n0QMPVLt5QOQPi9QEnE1nZtXz9E/s400/IMG_6765.jpeg"/></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQVdhWmuwktHgzOdcWAmfS4Q-b6NCOfqkkp8jPE33z_9AS1_baSAItMyW5IUiuJUgQ_hsbuGuVekahE0x9QW4H3RF0c3RyAs7Z5E2iiweKYp6Uqkg5DS4LnWzHdVUdhvbJ9vdltS90a-xuDFjNzy9Gw9o5TUw4cCwjHRWiTTTZRD8e2MNz09G0-pJbv4Y/s2855/IMG_6766.jpeg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="2855" data-original-width="2855" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQVdhWmuwktHgzOdcWAmfS4Q-b6NCOfqkkp8jPE33z_9AS1_baSAItMyW5IUiuJUgQ_hsbuGuVekahE0x9QW4H3RF0c3RyAs7Z5E2iiweKYp6Uqkg5DS4LnWzHdVUdhvbJ9vdltS90a-xuDFjNzy9Gw9o5TUw4cCwjHRWiTTTZRD8e2MNz09G0-pJbv4Y/s400/IMG_6766.jpeg"/></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDTDqxET41nQA8fSc7NsLJSK9Lprz0Mgkjveu3mjeFtMnqs0B_jbUtcHftB-S9lPCC03cPRgt7bAXii1QntIStXAzCIq9ZmNmvaqKsdrGuV_F_uAXDwhWmxi6pKLQZdR-fGbukV2-KgXnnQ-BKsKY5TReM14J3_Na_n1xtqhwJCE4FsZonmc-ZOsIDs8c/s3072/IMG_6772.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="3072" data-original-width="3072" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDTDqxET41nQA8fSc7NsLJSK9Lprz0Mgkjveu3mjeFtMnqs0B_jbUtcHftB-S9lPCC03cPRgt7bAXii1QntIStXAzCIq9ZmNmvaqKsdrGuV_F_uAXDwhWmxi6pKLQZdR-fGbukV2-KgXnnQ-BKsKY5TReM14J3_Na_n1xtqhwJCE4FsZonmc-ZOsIDs8c/s400/IMG_6772.jpg"/></a></div>Here are the results of reglazing my orange shino glaze with the paste I mentioned in my blogpost "It ain't over!" Y'all asked to see the outcome.
I mixed a dark blue celedon glaze into my paste formula.
I held my breath that it would work. I reglazed 4 teapots and work in the morning thinking " dang, I should have only done one to find out if this really works. It's just like me to do them all.
What is go great about the results is that the pots look like a successful carbon trap shino firing. At least this time I rolled the dice and beat the house. Every so often a deaf, blind and dumb warthog finds an acorn in the barnyard.
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The younger me would never be bothered with refiring because I was such a prolific maker. It is different with me now.
It has a lot to do with environment and recycling. I want to fire kiln loads with a higher percentage payload. It's about a conservation of fossil fuels, clay and me.
Tony Clennellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747428203155274416noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440971217410694473.post-70887642596518362492023-07-26T15:48:00.001-07:002023-07-26T15:50:11.806-07:00Working MenHappy 80th B-Day Mick one of the best front men ever. 80 years old and still working. What's the secret to Mick's longevity? Well, I think there is a sum total of reasons- no addictions, eats well, goes to a trainer every day for several hours, goes to the dance studio to practice new moves, doesn't live on past music. He is a contemporary artist at age 80. Oh, I think DNA may have something to do with it too. Mick is a working man. He realizes that his dance moves, his body image have alot to do with why we love him. He works everyday to be the best front man in the bizz.<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKCH9bEr018izIMfylpGDpu-1mSRoT5NPWajexA5leP1artq-T7ri0pbNZBLdJi3djVZ0EJqXTYWOSEU7GxSbkRjFQDQWM6aY9BwTvbuAQQZ2U-4y2KY-_JZwVxHgQcd6e6R8B5NoG6uG9hxxQ7z2SQjlkYuYkAeL--BBm9wOuJ71YxD8qrly3UQXQZ3I/s273/download-1.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="184" data-original-width="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKCH9bEr018izIMfylpGDpu-1mSRoT5NPWajexA5leP1artq-T7ri0pbNZBLdJi3djVZ0EJqXTYWOSEU7GxSbkRjFQDQWM6aY9BwTvbuAQQZ2U-4y2KY-_JZwVxHgQcd6e6R8B5NoG6uG9hxxQ7z2SQjlkYuYkAeL--BBm9wOuJ71YxD8qrly3UQXQZ3I/s400/download-1.jpg"/></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtgcYmL9_8zEpGvCGHvQSmscuzq4mw-QHLCf_4iGum-ib_ZWSqFk3M62pdoeAEHZOdw7Xyv-P5GNNCD-cyanG_YL20-oMXw1bIpMBxNAcWHX8UGaXs4VcEGxpJ1fb1BLemTpNcKa47TEnRKp_OTGjs2pkiqXTMsw1qBjB_5l0r4NlIN40BKBPsL32UBts/s300/download.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtgcYmL9_8zEpGvCGHvQSmscuzq4mw-QHLCf_4iGum-ib_ZWSqFk3M62pdoeAEHZOdw7Xyv-P5GNNCD-cyanG_YL20-oMXw1bIpMBxNAcWHX8UGaXs4VcEGxpJ1fb1BLemTpNcKa47TEnRKp_OTGjs2pkiqXTMsw1qBjB_5l0r4NlIN40BKBPsL32UBts/s400/download.jpg"/></a></div>
In Canada we had Gord Downie of The Tragically Hip. Gord like Mick had a persona on stage. He was fit, no addictions, smart,had the moves, looked great on stage but unfortunately lacked the DNA. 2/3 of Canadians watched his final swan song. He was amazing!!!
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Potters think they live a physical life. They don't!. Carrying a box of clay and wedging doesn't equal physical fitness. I'm like the reformed smoker who now realizes ya gotta do some strength training, some cardovascualar, eat well and embrace the outdoors. I won't be Mick or Gord but I want to be the front man of my local bar band at age 80. Motion is the lotion
PS: Farewell Sinead O'Conner- a woman that stuck to her guns. A musical activist. Loved her!Tony Clennellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747428203155274416noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440971217410694473.post-75657210767950619842023-07-25T14:34:00.001-07:002023-07-25T14:34:33.108-07:00Illuminated MudI think mostly of a life illuminating mud. But there are<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Y9R51PGJR1_d3C-BLtdEIXEWnCS_qZk1pw1FyZVh6dYJoCXMQP6WcWouZeqqa2dgffxSHW3gl8Sk6M04nLMTk4eBV09SbdwY-jkym0Eh8sDmCKFMvn5TTEidjP8n0N9cnnYfW7CtRQlBHHc1q30LM_DBjQEIX1OouT3dLV5OjIfys7Z08LUJUeicB6A/s648/unnamed-2.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="648" data-original-width="648" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Y9R51PGJR1_d3C-BLtdEIXEWnCS_qZk1pw1FyZVh6dYJoCXMQP6WcWouZeqqa2dgffxSHW3gl8Sk6M04nLMTk4eBV09SbdwY-jkym0Eh8sDmCKFMvn5TTEidjP8n0N9cnnYfW7CtRQlBHHc1q30LM_DBjQEIX1OouT3dLV5OjIfys7Z08LUJUeicB6A/s400/unnamed-2.jpg"/></a></div> so many more chapters in my life's book that keep popping up. We are not made of stone, we are made of clay that is flexible and can change with the movement of your fingers.
I was reminded of another chapter today when a kid I taught in Grade 11 1982 at Wiarton District High School tracked me down for lunch today. He said he hardly remembered any of his teachers but me. WOW!<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3jSmXgNFCdQHbsORtA8cFMfFlDoGn11I8DwmIi0g2R80bsMJpNw81tPpPk1os9rgMpBnVL6xQrtMMqpzVX6I01IzelY8p3chry7MNsVUgrLVpqZKRxi1VVelc3A7YYJrhiDenS22OAGFY449YmqPGaShX4okZ8Uyyhuj4Ia3XiNRNx-UrVI2CJTnA85I/s680/unnamed-1.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="680" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3jSmXgNFCdQHbsORtA8cFMfFlDoGn11I8DwmIi0g2R80bsMJpNw81tPpPk1os9rgMpBnVL6xQrtMMqpzVX6I01IzelY8p3chry7MNsVUgrLVpqZKRxi1VVelc3A7YYJrhiDenS22OAGFY449YmqPGaShX4okZ8Uyyhuj4Ia3XiNRNx-UrVI2CJTnA85I/s400/unnamed-1.jpg"/></a></div>
More than clay teaching has been my calling. Clay has given me so much that I enthusiastically share it as often as I can. The difference a teacher can make in a persons life is actually rather frightening. It is a hellava responsibility and probably the most important job in the world. You don't have to be a certified teacher- parents are your primary teachers.
Here is a note Kileh Freidman of Vermont left at my wheel in Portugal. It meant so much to me.
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Having someone that believes in you is key. Someone that believes you are capable of more than you think you are. Self doubt is often a mind game. Cycling has made me so aware that I have to conquer my head before I can conquer a big hill. So thanks Sam for lunch. It has caused reflection. It has made my day actually! It focused my attention on
the long-lasting impact of particular events and actions on a person’s life.
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Sam and I. He ain't 17 no mo and I ain't the young high school teacher with long hair and a moustache.
Tony Clennellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747428203155274416noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440971217410694473.post-18739171479790966322023-07-22T17:34:00.003-07:002023-07-22T17:38:54.334-07:00It ain't over!In the wise words of baseballs Yogi Berra "it ain't over until it's over!" This post could have been entitled "expectations". I was expecting this and got that.<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC_KkzjARkxsyxTRhPa9g26ZFWCtkQi7MTMuhhArnT-0HECi_m5S5UQts2QKaKYc1GM6M5hpfkWeOQDGYN7NEBKi-qWK2Fho0FbOZ67eCT-fkHJ7u6ThebUTxYcvw_jF9Q0-ERLYRJqT9Kxp0IBFqud-laTZlyNLytTTzx-xKYvNbuyahoTe8lFKw2Xyg/s3024/IMG_2735.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="400" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="2472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC_KkzjARkxsyxTRhPa9g26ZFWCtkQi7MTMuhhArnT-0HECi_m5S5UQts2QKaKYc1GM6M5hpfkWeOQDGYN7NEBKi-qWK2Fho0FbOZ67eCT-fkHJ7u6ThebUTxYcvw_jF9Q0-ERLYRJqT9Kxp0IBFqud-laTZlyNLytTTzx-xKYvNbuyahoTe8lFKw2Xyg/s400/IMG_2735.jpg"/></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDZneRgjOsSc3yjfmwmlNWtDDN6WCv7myfp4c1XzgPoM1M17Xpj9w2fOVWtFD2ba5RueFVZ5sN1dt3S_zqSLpMRD6wyrXluH1V0VFuMfTZbVQBMFlhOEQqk_7zNGWNXuNKmRMlEg-D2MCT-zrhzikx5qcvfrF-xnv8Tb4eBvpeuJH5TM7CpukVYO10tYs/s1024/IMG_2896.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDZneRgjOsSc3yjfmwmlNWtDDN6WCv7myfp4c1XzgPoM1M17Xpj9w2fOVWtFD2ba5RueFVZ5sN1dt3S_zqSLpMRD6wyrXluH1V0VFuMfTZbVQBMFlhOEQqk_7zNGWNXuNKmRMlEg-D2MCT-zrhzikx5qcvfrF-xnv8Tb4eBvpeuJH5TM7CpukVYO10tYs/s400/IMG_2896.jpg"/></a></div>
I completely missed trapping the carbon and I know why. I always add a small fresh batch to an old batch and at the very least I put the shino thru the Talisman screen again. Seems the soda ash needs waking up again. Some cups glazed for the past firing and sat around for a couple of weeks came out nice and smokey as I expected. I used to think the soda ash travelled off into La-la Land if I let it sit for sometime. Trash that theory.
So I'm reglazing using a dark blue celedon over the shino. I mixed up a paste to add to the celedon. I will paint on two coats. The paste is as follows:
Suspension of Glaze
per litre of water
Borax 4
Mag Carb 4
Bentonite 40
GMC Gum 4
mix with a litre of boiling hot water.
Let stand overnight. Mix into a bowl of your glaze.
Brush on. I'm going to apply a second coat when it dries in the morning.
We'll see!. In my younger years I would have taken the pot directly to the trash thinking I could make them faster than farting around trying to make em pretty. I have only so many pots left in these hands and I have alot of time/energy invested so if your expectations are not met on the first go around, try again and if that fails scratch your bum and come up with a new solution. I'm already thinking of sandblasting them.
Here's the muck<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv9vAUPVAbxlSLHhtIvO-XzVj4UxbII7PnUTxa71SboYanl3xeHRSOijpKdB2nbVO-7KK1wyvAlDTqqrjj2d9adQUGGSsG9vo-oZ8zfzXfgRGV3oWXMdDWwFTRbCkzRbrIMJfITFnax5ENu-W_iAAF5mQzZrolXSRa_agrXNZK254ZhKgGmA4U53RzHHo/s3024/IMG_2921.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv9vAUPVAbxlSLHhtIvO-XzVj4UxbII7PnUTxa71SboYanl3xeHRSOijpKdB2nbVO-7KK1wyvAlDTqqrjj2d9adQUGGSsG9vo-oZ8zfzXfgRGV3oWXMdDWwFTRbCkzRbrIMJfITFnax5ENu-W_iAAF5mQzZrolXSRa_agrXNZK254ZhKgGmA4U53RzHHo/s400/IMG_2921.jpg"/></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjgH2bMgDyDUHGYeu989IjwN1DYu_viEzM0Uk2O6sakPp_H07wkza-YN631dO5EQxrFI1tv5GiJsi-CVcEu-KD57NMko6pgTq6qGgq313FdVyK9W87Ych7jif8E6KjTmxSCKn2u_-87B_wyXaNXcPpSkNtPlKZ13gtjQGY7sKDMGO7heR-QyML5dCKD-s/s3024/paste.JPG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjgH2bMgDyDUHGYeu989IjwN1DYu_viEzM0Uk2O6sakPp_H07wkza-YN631dO5EQxrFI1tv5GiJsi-CVcEu-KD57NMko6pgTq6qGgq313FdVyK9W87Ych7jif8E6KjTmxSCKn2u_-87B_wyXaNXcPpSkNtPlKZ13gtjQGY7sKDMGO7heR-QyML5dCKD-s/s400/paste.JPG"/></a></div>
What else is someone doing on a Saturday Night?
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Tony Clennellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747428203155274416noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440971217410694473.post-3545821595214082382023-07-22T06:57:00.000-07:002023-07-22T06:57:02.278-07:00The Old Bull and The Young BullLast night part of The Rat Pack met at The Blyth Gallery for a show curated by potter Rob Tetu "Smoke". This was a show of shino and wood fired work by 8 Ontario potters that have been flirting with shino and wood fire for several decades. Ron Roy, Liz Willoughby, Shirley Clifford and I have been hanging out for over 4 decades telling stories, jokes, stoking, eating, drinking, talking pots and enjoying life. Kim Harcourt and Barb Murphy were always there too. We were missing the one with the biggest BS shovel- Frank Tucker. BS of course stands for Bible Study.
I remember well the night Ron Roy told me The Old Bull and The Young Bull joke. I was 35, divorced, and totally driven by work. Ron was giving me a message in the form of a joke. I just got the joke a couple of years ago during Covid.
Ron has been a very important part of my development as a potter. He has always been there to tweak a glaze or clay body for me. When I started making pots back when the mountains were still cooling Ron was the only guy making clay for potters in Ontario. Rodaco Clay was this factory with a bunch of Walker pug mills where Ron paid people piece work to pump out tons of clay. I used to look at his collection of ripped and torn pots that were so far from the aesthetic I thought I wanted to acheive. Ron wasn't always a refined porcelain maker. I don't know how he got so pure.
In those days there was low fire and high fire. Mid range may well have gotten it's biggest start from the book that Ron and John Hesselberth wrote "Mastering Cone 6 Glazes". There was next to no information availabe on mid range until then. It is now the fastest growing segment of the industry. High fire may not be where it's at for most urban potters.
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Ok here is the groaner. Ron tells it like it's the first time. I know the punch line and still laugh.
There is an old bull (Ron) and a young bull(Me) standing on a hill looking out over a herd of young heifers. The young bull says to the old bull "Let's run down the hill and make it with one of those young heifers!" The Old Bull says "Let's walk down take a long cool drink of water and make it with them all!"
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The Rat Pack
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Tony Clennellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747428203155274416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440971217410694473.post-41782584438814070052023-07-19T14:40:00.001-07:002023-07-19T14:40:36.774-07:00In case of a house fire<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwgDpc8Wp9ZghOo1CYtO_6wId6x0Nlz2afMvpb6fHrZLiVkBT8QBeJ6w7Tu9_JdmU3I_pbfpNWEuyYL_yDLGtNlLYKS2U1vob83-YiyJD3IKXu07IYK-3vA7gJyMMY41qA3LwIB6xjJ4qBtwpE7mjOjO5reIhUrZ7-SnNGRhPQ2oPmWqFn44s0PPAdnOE/s3024/rat.JPG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwgDpc8Wp9ZghOo1CYtO_6wId6x0Nlz2afMvpb6fHrZLiVkBT8QBeJ6w7Tu9_JdmU3I_pbfpNWEuyYL_yDLGtNlLYKS2U1vob83-YiyJD3IKXu07IYK-3vA7gJyMMY41qA3LwIB6xjJ4qBtwpE7mjOjO5reIhUrZ7-SnNGRhPQ2oPmWqFn44s0PPAdnOE/s400/rat.JPG"/></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Z1NuEclFHK_QQj5xUn9XXhcSU-CfNIbkSY6ysDoSZv3nTz1MPVpew3FLZyRaoA2krZry7OScGizT5s3s227nr-BwU9UgA7FjDFUvqo-9H7wV60eUXUlWGrDIn9IdogrxfH0OPREytLjsoDXNTyRgwUs2Sa-2U7qrbPx4lQ2nVwfpQa33e2AW5VbhDUA/s3024/clyde%20jones.JPG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Z1NuEclFHK_QQj5xUn9XXhcSU-CfNIbkSY6ysDoSZv3nTz1MPVpew3FLZyRaoA2krZry7OScGizT5s3s227nr-BwU9UgA7FjDFUvqo-9H7wV60eUXUlWGrDIn9IdogrxfH0OPREytLjsoDXNTyRgwUs2Sa-2U7qrbPx4lQ2nVwfpQa33e2AW5VbhDUA/s400/clyde%20jones.JPG"/></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinZ1GaTKa1jlbR5eL14kwZk0aZ-HyTrnQdSMYNYmswTnw2_8V15Fgke4VTf9iz1XicRkmbf2uZZ6SI2bDSbdRC9pqvXjDnkBAfeUa0wVK_7eVDQS4i5k0fhsuh7RROd_lKRG6jmLWd25fkih2azqtoQwjjLy0fYw9H1Tn557AJL91Hk6cVn5ifAHp2r9I/s3024/rats.JPG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinZ1GaTKa1jlbR5eL14kwZk0aZ-HyTrnQdSMYNYmswTnw2_8V15Fgke4VTf9iz1XicRkmbf2uZZ6SI2bDSbdRC9pqvXjDnkBAfeUa0wVK_7eVDQS4i5k0fhsuh7RROd_lKRG6jmLWd25fkih2azqtoQwjjLy0fYw9H1Tn557AJL91Hk6cVn5ifAHp2r9I/s400/rats.JPG"/></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPh6o3HamDFe2P0gWGd_TR26KmxnxJeqXAZPfeMiR6uNSO3yUbtUIxoXG8kgICSzYnbPZyuaI8jnnlSDLgf9fvOMt1i3v_wFj8weUdcY-Km-kk79oYO16NRXb0l4Be-uyCOvxqEgUN-LZDcm1zCipZwSzEgYGEX0ruuJQ4bX0gCntyq8_yNhFtWL_fj9o/s3024/cards%20and%20photos.JPG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPh6o3HamDFe2P0gWGd_TR26KmxnxJeqXAZPfeMiR6uNSO3yUbtUIxoXG8kgICSzYnbPZyuaI8jnnlSDLgf9fvOMt1i3v_wFj8weUdcY-Km-kk79oYO16NRXb0l4Be-uyCOvxqEgUN-LZDcm1zCipZwSzEgYGEX0ruuJQ4bX0gCntyq8_yNhFtWL_fj9o/s400/cards%20and%20photos.JPG"/></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu5FD7vMaBUsBEKzNsK65gs_cpcG-2gm5JFDx992_swh2D3dWjMbI5g5dt7oIrsxjJngGiHgnZ_w9W2oIjATnuH7Aj_OTcvSXNRoUCvjswC4jZm2749p61x6epET-_7pltc9t9uaZhQ8ekfZXhzYhewEo9c4LWkJHd-4XwqIuQFNKH-qxtok-gqiFPdBw/s3024/some%20eclectic%20artworks.JPG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu5FD7vMaBUsBEKzNsK65gs_cpcG-2gm5JFDx992_swh2D3dWjMbI5g5dt7oIrsxjJngGiHgnZ_w9W2oIjATnuH7Aj_OTcvSXNRoUCvjswC4jZm2749p61x6epET-_7pltc9t9uaZhQ8ekfZXhzYhewEo9c4LWkJHd-4XwqIuQFNKH-qxtok-gqiFPdBw/s400/some%20eclectic%20artworks.JPG"/></a></div>Let's hope it never happens to y'all but what would you run in and grab if the house was on fire. Would go for the most valuable or the one that would break your heart if it was gone? In some ways as we age we are going to have to face the same decision as your house being on fire. What are ya going to take to your little scaled down living quarters? What am I going to do with the hundreds of pots, the hundreds of bits of visual art and treasures I have collected.
Every single piece of fine craft or art has a story behind it. It is my story, not my kids story, not my best friends story but my story and mine alone in 99% of the cases.
Would I run into a flaming house to save a treasured Windor Chair, an armful of Ronnie the Rats,my Clyde Jones two snakes with buckhorn eyes, the wonderful drawings in a book by Chuck Hindes, a selection of eclectic art, some photos, cards and letters that mean so much to me.
Some how it seems so much more horrible to have them burn than to end up in a yard sale or Art auction somewhere, sometime in the coming years. Who would know their value? At this point they are priceless to me and not for sale at any price. The Art in my house is a diary of my life.
I talked to my daughter Robin about her coming here and we document the collection with a picture, a catalogue number and a brief description of it provedence. That way the Korean Yi Dynasty unsigned rice bowl will not go to the street in the final yard sale. In case we never get it done I'd have Robin call my two former students and friends Emma Smith and Andrew Kellner. They know pots! They collect good pots and know who is who, where and possible value.
I guess in the long run they are just things so if ya have one maybe ya better run in and grab your partner first and with the other arm grab the rat off the wall.
Tony Clennellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747428203155274416noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440971217410694473.post-6660877392289224402023-07-04T14:45:00.000-07:002023-07-04T14:45:34.594-07:00Happy PeopleAt the checkout of every grocery and convenience store I've been in for the past few years there is a feature article on mindfulness. Mindfulness is the 2000 version of the 70's fondue pot. Everyone is doing it, I had better do it too. Mindfulness sends people off to retreats, yoga camps, monasteries and libraries full of self help books. Music is my biggest form of mindfulness.
I love to listen to great singer song writers. A cheap bottle of wine, a nice dinner and the tunes turned up on Saturday night is my retreat, yoga camp and the monastery that I worship in. I bet y'all can tell that much of the inspiration in my blog is music driven. Often times I think the songwriter wrote the song just for little ole me.
Today I listened to Lori McKenna "Happy People".
Happy people don't cheat
Happy people don't lie
They don't judge or hold a grudge
They don't criticize
Happy people don't hate
Happy people don't steal
All the hurt sure ain't worth
The guilt they feel
[Chorus]
So if you wanna know the secret
You can't buy it, gotta make it
You ain't ever gonna be it
By takin' someone else's away
Never take it for granted
You don't have to understand it
Just do whatever puts a smile on your face
Whatever makes you happy people
So it ain't Saturday, it's Tuesday and I went out and bought a cheap bottle of wine and I'm going to draw and paint. It's what makes me happy. It's a collaboration. Collaborations are stressful. Here is a wee teapot I collaborated with Heather Smit during our residency at Starworks. Heather put 5 teapot bodies in my space and I deliberated over them for 5 days before I could do anything. It was a wonderful time with dare I say it "mindfulness".
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So my friend Louise brought me home this absolutely beautiful hand made paper book from Bhutan(the happiest people in the world). I stared at it for a month and wondered how I could make it more beautiful than it is all buck naked. A week ago I decided I would write sentences in it that connected with me. Tonight I'm going to draw and paint pots over the words. I've always wanted to write a narrative on my pots. This may be the beginning of writing on pots. Only The Bray will tell.
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8RKkuuwPq57BRM4rIyQd2-TYpJjwkHa_ixUKyf-1Sz7YQXKb3dUhwWBfKaloaKT2kBTtNjFCRHmSy1e84ERbax4Q4kntrJBkFLRwqpcS7NQxn-cPsM7isoQRxbP4bmJu94F-gckXPp3sIwnHyDR7SeiqLTLFzov8VW2Jovd1oXFKaksPy5TEA9WROywA/s3024/entry%20one%20in%20book%20of%20nothing.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8RKkuuwPq57BRM4rIyQd2-TYpJjwkHa_ixUKyf-1Sz7YQXKb3dUhwWBfKaloaKT2kBTtNjFCRHmSy1e84ERbax4Q4kntrJBkFLRwqpcS7NQxn-cPsM7isoQRxbP4bmJu94F-gckXPp3sIwnHyDR7SeiqLTLFzov8VW2Jovd1oXFKaksPy5TEA9WROywA/s400/entry%20one%20in%20book%20of%20nothing.jpg"/></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi79Nq6C-5h5PMZ-9MD8XZB2nEt5ibzfd_NtGOeVt12-dusaiBrWT0ai-Mu2Orx6HlXOrqiH_6ybpdM6hjQNolUOBDd1dkBFE-RXnKLO1vPb9WBwRX5lCwL9B3AykIR8CEbyxWrjo2HYKjbpNXEONc7j9jKH5dC-tk9z62QlosNW0fyukb4nZQ01g-NU4Y/s3024/entry%20%232%20book%20of%20nothing.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi79Nq6C-5h5PMZ-9MD8XZB2nEt5ibzfd_NtGOeVt12-dusaiBrWT0ai-Mu2Orx6HlXOrqiH_6ybpdM6hjQNolUOBDd1dkBFE-RXnKLO1vPb9WBwRX5lCwL9B3AykIR8CEbyxWrjo2HYKjbpNXEONc7j9jKH5dC-tk9z62QlosNW0fyukb4nZQ01g-NU4Y/s400/entry%20%232%20book%20of%20nothing.jpg"/></a></div>Tony Clennellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747428203155274416noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440971217410694473.post-42444380122617374682023-07-03T14:49:00.000-07:002023-07-03T14:49:23.776-07:00Slow Turnin'!I am a fan of slow turnin'! A slow wheel and soft clay. It also turns out that life's lessons and change in my work seems to turn slowly.
I've written before about how early in your clay career your projectory is steep for about 7 years and then it flat lines and change happens once in a blue moon. They are small changes, little details, form and function considerations, aesthetic growth and change.
One cool thing about FB is that once in awhile it shows ya a post from years back. Today this teapot showed up from 2017.<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjphh_iuVrb0ucYsA58-CbD6b4eQz7jM7iIiUvospjDai_R20GCiUCz31GAF1bxR9s3Zlv7O4KXOIA0MPtZ5rFH8AlvGxtI-jHZ2mywi2l2hlnIhxT6c-W-EuXat0I7wWLlk-OYmS_tRC5fE3SKAN07gHuyluc1zvukwu0XYw_z9lMSy8PDk725vkrw1Yw/s3568/teapot%202017.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="400" data-original-height="3568" data-original-width="2678" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjphh_iuVrb0ucYsA58-CbD6b4eQz7jM7iIiUvospjDai_R20GCiUCz31GAF1bxR9s3Zlv7O4KXOIA0MPtZ5rFH8AlvGxtI-jHZ2mywi2l2hlnIhxT6c-W-EuXat0I7wWLlk-OYmS_tRC5fE3SKAN07gHuyluc1zvukwu0XYw_z9lMSy8PDk725vkrw1Yw/s400/teapot%202017.jpg"/></a></div>
I think this was the beginning of my ribbon handle to spring the main handle off of. I was excited about the ribbon handle and put it on everything- bowls, plates, jars, t-pots etc. I've dropped that handle for the time being. One never knows when you might revisit your past.
Then here is a little functional t-pot I made just to prove a point to myself. Size matters! A large teapot which takes the same amount of time as a small one fetches more doe, rae, me. People think they are getting more for their money. Go ahead and line up 12 cups and I'm betting the tallest one sells first.
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So this is where I am today 6 years later. More details, more time glazing, a stand/trivet, and the handle sprung off the gallery rim and no ribbon handle. I am treating the t-pot more as an item with a visual function firstly and a functional teapot secondly. The teapot accomplishes both but to be honest the wee teapot would be best for everyday use. I am making for occassional use and not everyday use.
I put a copper glaze on the spout and the copper migrated out into the body of the t-pot giving a copper red. Really cool!
Keep changing, keep slow turnin'!
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmpZhB9C9udNeILpjaYOA8EKSe6i5jRG1VFEGTf5Vv-PCtFxnp2_MAZdNATVn7IeYcsaKrSA0qRgrh9253HWmuzqYjoUANfx2fC8LrsqHP4Cc_uoCOdmWt1EOqToNvSWq6V1z4aP48MV4BIcP0fBa8D8cTiRd4tapjnGGXMYcUmxIr1HJQIbwpPs0m4J8/s3024/copper%20spreading.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="600" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmpZhB9C9udNeILpjaYOA8EKSe6i5jRG1VFEGTf5Vv-PCtFxnp2_MAZdNATVn7IeYcsaKrSA0qRgrh9253HWmuzqYjoUANfx2fC8LrsqHP4Cc_uoCOdmWt1EOqToNvSWq6V1z4aP48MV4BIcP0fBa8D8cTiRd4tapjnGGXMYcUmxIr1HJQIbwpPs0m4J8/s600/copper%20spreading.jpg"/></a></div>Tony Clennellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747428203155274416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440971217410694473.post-77485284636415807822023-06-29T12:20:00.000-07:002023-06-29T12:20:28.900-07:00The Gateway DrugYesterday I went to help my friend Andrea fire her small Philosopher Wood Kiln. A couple of reasons it was important for me to fire that kiln with Andrea.
The kiln design was from a cyber friend Steve Mills of the UK that I befriended on The Clayart Discussion Group more than a decade ago. Steve was instrumental in having me as a presenter at the Aberystwyth International Potters Festival in Wales. I believe that festival is going on in Wales this week. I never got to meet Steve as he died before I could get to the festival. Thank you Steve it was the best conference ever. Participation not bums in seats. Kilns built and fired, pizza ovens built and pizza eaten, short one hour demos. Working demos all the time. The Philosopher kiln was built in the morning by Joe Finch, fired in the afternoon and unloaded the next day. The idea behind the kiln was it could be loaded in a pick up, and taken to do a weekend workshop. I cut my chops on the Olsen fast fire which had the same intent.
It was the gateway drug to bigger harder drugs like two chamber kilns, train kilns, anagamas, bourry box sprung arch kilns.
Secondly, I needed to help a friend that has tasted the smoke from the chimney and inhaled. Although the wee kilns are good to cut your teeth on they make no economic sense. A lot of labour for very little. There is a scale of economy with wood kilns. It takes just about as much labour to fire a small wood kiln as a bigger one. If firings go over 10 hours you will want to invite a helper/partner. That means you need to surrender space in your little kiln to the friend. The Philosopher is 6 cubic feet which I could make pots for in a half an hour.
We fired for 10 hours of constant attention. Not easy peasy but we made it to Cone 9 in a puddle. With what we learned I think it could be an easier 8 hour Cone 10 flat firing. After a few puffs of the wee drug I would recommend you build something at least 30 cubic feet. 40 would be even better. Room for friends and some racers for you. The kiln is the second heart of any potters studio. It dictates the scale of your work, the surface, the quantity and more. It shouldn't be a money furnace.
Andrea was wondering about a name for her kiln. That kiln was up and down like a toilet seat at a mixed party. We had swings of up and down by 100 degrees F.<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYujmfgU68D-_jVkdqv3JHg50c7XjBMz7wtfWj24SAUxxL2Vii2hqUlFpns1aTf_kLkxM0y0YkEwpEwC1kX9AFBO-9tZqYzBICUvGBaeYFyedN0RSvumaUf4s4w4Y7FFG8v0Cq_6MWQE1wwpR-6U4BnY15fXSNhU0vMPJ47MEXLjG7ZIbW37fDVAgrfDg/s4032/Andrea%27s%20kiln.JPG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="400" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYujmfgU68D-_jVkdqv3JHg50c7XjBMz7wtfWj24SAUxxL2Vii2hqUlFpns1aTf_kLkxM0y0YkEwpEwC1kX9AFBO-9tZqYzBICUvGBaeYFyedN0RSvumaUf4s4w4Y7FFG8v0Cq_6MWQE1wwpR-6U4BnY15fXSNhU0vMPJ47MEXLjG7ZIbW37fDVAgrfDg/s400/Andrea%27s%20kiln.JPG"/></a></div> I suggest "Dammit" as in come on dammit.Tony Clennellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747428203155274416noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440971217410694473.post-45798888758149611152023-06-27T17:20:00.000-07:002023-06-27T17:20:33.383-07:00Lessons learned!I haven't learned all my lessons but the ones I did you can bet I learned the hard way!
Last week at The Patrons Dinner at the Art Gallery of Burlington I relearned a few things. Things I know and things I had forgotten. #1 Money doesn't assume good taste. #2 Colour sells #3 The less functional an object the more money ya get.
I have been a big fan of the work of Bruce Cochrane for well over 40 years. I truly think Bruce is a clay genius and one of the best makers Canada has ever produced. He has been nominated for the Saidye Bronfman Award over 10 times and never came home with the prize. That Award is the brass ring of Canadian Fine Craft. It bewilders me!
A piece of Bruce's in the live auction went for half the suggested market value. It was in my opinion The Best in Show. It was brown and it was wood fired but if you look at form his piece was so architectonic, beautifully and carefully made. It was the work of one of the best.
So I came home to glaze for a gas firing. I had made the work hoping to wood fire but with so much of my beautiful country on fire and the wood kiln in the middle of 55 acres of pine in 100 year old tinder box buildings I thought it would be irresponsible so I gas fired. I thought colour!
Here are some of the pieces. The shino pieces are really more me and what I surround myself with. I like that they are amybe leaning, some finger wipes, so loosely applied handles. Excellence does not require perfection. It requires love of process. I think when I am on that's what I do.
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Ok now lesson learned -colour
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Tony Clennellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747428203155274416noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440971217410694473.post-34050574469772506002023-06-19T12:17:00.001-07:002023-06-19T12:17:43.790-07:00Stayin' Alive can be terrifyingI want to add another chapter to my ole buddy Robin "Grass" Hoppers book #Stayin' Alive- Survival Tactics for the Visual Artist".
Chapter #8- Build an Anagama and bury it deep into the soil.
I have two potter friends that survived in their kilns.
Firstly Captain Brian Nettles had his studio wiped out by a 32 foot wave from that hurricane bitch Katrina. That's Brians moniker for her. Brian escaped in his pick up with a ladder and a chainsaw. He lived in his kiln for a year while rebuilding his house, studio and life. There are those that break and bend. Brian is the other kind.
Secondly news today from a long time friend from Down Under- Dr. Steve Harrison.
We tried to figure when we became acquainted. We think late 70's. I had built a two chamber wood kiln with a bourry box and I was having trouble. I heard of this dude Down Under who wrote a book called "Laid Back Wood firing" so I licked an evelope and stamp and wrote to Steve for a copy. The letter went by boat and months later I got the book and his response. Still trouble so another lick job and another wait for a carrier pigeon to bring me news.
Then came the 90's and I purchased a used Mac computer ($3700 big money at the time)- little wee screen and huge tower of a HD. I joined the Clayart Discussion Group. At that time there were many ceramic brains on that forum- Steve Harrison, Owen Rye, John Neely, Pete Pinnell, Nils Lou, Phil Rogers, Ron Roy, Vince Pitelka, David Hendley and the list goes on.
Steve and his partner Janine have been burned out 3 times. The last one almost took their lives. I read that he sent Janine packing and he stayed with the ship as the fire came racing at him. Janine and Steve had wrapped their house in the equivalent of aluminum foil ( they had a kiln building business). Steve put layers of fiber over his anagama as the fire raced towards him he took shelter in the kiln. Imagine the terror of being cooked like a sausage on broil. I can't imagine it! My knees would be knocking and my underwear would be filling up.
Period, paragraph- they survived. The contents of their house survived. Studio,wood out buildings, gardens, equipment all lost. They now have a forest of preburned eucalptus trees they are using for a life times supply of heating and kiln firing. They have rebuilt their studio almost entirely out of steel and they are going on with their back to the land lives. There are those that break and bend. They're the other kind. <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5ZzrMOqcmge1gzaKFZ_HVPlf8lfscy8EHRBGUi_kF4QyiNk5Cz_00-xCD5hmDXQGrFXdYghfOSiXOPbNv-9-EWcEq0ioEcreT8h75D5dSDvcp3SnJuANrjldqzMvW4Xfm6EN02n3iNaaB3QkN84L44hEzxM0J5J5ThhLBdsIHXEXYQE9GqGClWrPRq9Y/s640/burned%20forest.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5ZzrMOqcmge1gzaKFZ_HVPlf8lfscy8EHRBGUi_kF4QyiNk5Cz_00-xCD5hmDXQGrFXdYghfOSiXOPbNv-9-EWcEq0ioEcreT8h75D5dSDvcp3SnJuANrjldqzMvW4Xfm6EN02n3iNaaB3QkN84L44hEzxM0J5J5ThhLBdsIHXEXYQE9GqGClWrPRq9Y/s400/burned%20forest.jpg"/></a></div>
Hot n Sticky Pottery- Steve and Janine
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How could you ever get flames out of your mind? Steve's reference on his work.
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Return of nature. As Steve wrote after trauma therapy his flames morphed into flower gardens.
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Their garden. They are truly people of the Renaissance. So is Captain Brian Nettles BTW. Just do it!
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As an after thought here is a jug of Brians. I wonder if he is referencing the eye of the hurricane and the path of blood that bitch left in her aftermath.
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Their stories prove my 2+2=5 theory. Sometimes two people get together and the sum total of their energy equals 5. First of all they are both 2's and together they are 5. Sometimes 2+2 equals 3. The other takes away from the total. You must be a total person to start off with. Brian and Rhonda, Steve and Janine you rock!
Tony Clennellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747428203155274416noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440971217410694473.post-30152935057041610842023-06-18T13:50:00.000-07:002023-06-18T13:50:26.643-07:00What is it with this place?????I was working in the studio yesterday with my tunes playing and the door open. A guy and his partner came in the workshop and said to me "what is it with this place?" I said "what do you mean?". He said we stubbled upon this place out in the middle of nowhere and the parking lot is full and we couldn't get a seat in the dining room for another hour.
So I said "you walked across the pond where you could see bass spawning in the pond, beautiful trees tulip and dogwood , 55 acres of pine trees, a sanctuary pond, birds, turtles, fish in abundance, you can see pottery being made, you can hear music at times when Herm brings The Jammin' Cabin band together. There is bandstand for summer music and a Jammin' Cabin when the weather turns cold. Check out Brenda and Herms beautiful yellow heritage house. There are two very friendly golden retreivers that serve as your tour guides.If you pat them you have a friend for life. After I ryhmed off a few of the parts of the experience I said " and you haven't eaten in The Green Frog yet!" The food is amazing(all real and fresh) and there are great kitchen staff and servers including Wonder Woman. This is a family run business not a chain. After your lunch I think you will have answered your own question! He never came back after lunch.
Pinecroft appeals to all 5 of your senses-sight, sound, taste, smell and touch. Lunch at Pinecroft is not just food it is a total experience. Businessess that offer an experience are usually successful.<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI1XlTP_QnxlZipnfrYoFyzG9ANJzjtTbZYZQJdsY3iUcUx5Un42OgM0YRlNtaZPYkIME8t-pfSLceIC-hEt-KZlYHwn_yDaAHKVH0eEeU6JuNCdkiHXcUnnJil0diOSi9vCuqKtIpPtMLPDD0KIQ-e5yv0pJwBSGztakabY_TEcX3LQSilDtqh5BS/s3024/lisa%20and%20me%202.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI1XlTP_QnxlZipnfrYoFyzG9ANJzjtTbZYZQJdsY3iUcUx5Un42OgM0YRlNtaZPYkIME8t-pfSLceIC-hEt-KZlYHwn_yDaAHKVH0eEeU6JuNCdkiHXcUnnJil0diOSi9vCuqKtIpPtMLPDD0KIQ-e5yv0pJwBSGztakabY_TEcX3LQSilDtqh5BS/s400/lisa%20and%20me%202.jpg"/></a></div>
Super Woman and me. Server, bouncer :) and body builder.
The outdoor patio is busy on this beautiful warm day.
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The spillway at the pond.
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Bass spawing.
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The dogwood tree planted as a tribute to my Uncle Jimmie and Aunt Cavvy.
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Front of the studio.
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back of studio and kiln shed
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The stage and Jammin Cabin
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Brenda and Herms heritage house overlooking the studio and pond.
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It makes me wonder if his partner prepares a beautiful meal, with flowers, tunes playing,a little candlelight and is dressed in something lovely does he ask " what is with this???"
Tony Clennellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747428203155274416noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440971217410694473.post-33120317121004638392023-06-14T15:24:00.003-07:002023-06-14T15:35:16.929-07:00A pottery not a hospitalI teach a one day throwing class at Pinecroft. Class starts at 9:30 when the students learn to center and make a cylinder by 11:30. Lunch at the Green Frog till 12:30. A tour of the pottery and then bowls until 2:10, clean up and done, adios at 2:30. I want all students to have made a cup and a bowl. I don't make for them. They get what they make. I can't tell you how many students I have had that previously took 6 and 8 week 3 hour classes at other clay centers. Most of them can't even center the clay. By 10:30 they are saying these are better than I made at the end of my course.
So lately I've been enquiring Wtf is going on out there. Here are a couple of things. They get a ration of clay that they pay for over and above their tuiton. Therefore clay is precious!!!! At Pinecroft they make a mistake cut it off and I put it thru the pugmill. Clay is unlimited and not precious. They tell me in a three hour class they spend the last hour cleaning, mopping and making sure there isn't a speck of clay anywhere. They also may get a different teacher showing different techniques. Such fun????
Pineroft has been a working studio pottery since 1947. Tons and tons and tons of clay have been moved within those walls. I have visited working potteries in 7 countries around the world. They are potteries not hospitals.
Here is another big difference. They get a teacher that has worked in clay for over 6 decades, taught in Canada's best craft and design school- Sheridan College School of Craft and Design, taught well over a hundred workshops worldwide and yes an Mfa from Utah State University (considered by me the best program in the world). Of course I am biased. Also ace up my sleeve is I was nominated and received the RCA designation for my contribution to Art in Canada.
Pinecroft is a diamond in the rough. The glaze kitchen has samples of materials no longer available. Samples of uranium glazed plates my Uncle Jimmie formulated in 1939.
We have fun and they make some decent pots in one day. When my cousin Brenda teaches between the two of us we offer over a century of moving clay.
The advice I gave my kids when they went off to University- pick the teacher not the course. A good teacher makes all the difference in the world. <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE0xAYmYFGGiPyWzRBhcu2jsEiEFJcvlgT0_b_-lGaro_2Brgp6gUnKMofdUopOApJCLpTDA8ylpglBTNRqjF-ghqGQLvwnlLMNHQREaN_wwXJq7fDxt8brb6nxfgbCdbgi5npKpvDBt8-3GfRJw3Y_L6tzJPOdTK5RxJaccZghDklsBDG2BogiBY-/s3024/IMG_2654.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE0xAYmYFGGiPyWzRBhcu2jsEiEFJcvlgT0_b_-lGaro_2Brgp6gUnKMofdUopOApJCLpTDA8ylpglBTNRqjF-ghqGQLvwnlLMNHQREaN_wwXJq7fDxt8brb6nxfgbCdbgi5npKpvDBt8-3GfRJw3Y_L6tzJPOdTK5RxJaccZghDklsBDG2BogiBY-/s400/IMG_2654.jpg"/></a></div>
Pots after one day.
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Kiss a frog for the perfect fairy tale wedding or to make better pots. I'm a believer! It has been working.
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Some of my Uncle Jimmies glaze tests in 1939 while working at Medicine Hat Potteries the largest stoneware producing company in Canada. Nothing looks better than Grannies purple potatoes cooked in olive oil, sprinkled with Utah mined real salt. Purple and orange- yummy!
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Tony Clennellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03747428203155274416noreply@blogger.com7