Making pots for the blind
A number of years ago a Fine Arts student from University of Western Ontario did her thesis essay on how she felt I made pots for the blind to see. I of course loved that thought and have always tried to keep that as my mission.
No pretty glazes, gimmicky narratives or catchy attention getters just movement and marks that let the hands be the eyes. Aggressive trimming, whoopies, pokes, gashes, feldspar chunks, textures, stamps, fingers and almost whatever I put my eyes on. I like to imagine people closing their eyes and enjoying one of my pots.
In another life my former wife would bring her students from the college for a end of year pot luck. The highlight of the evening was for them to blindfold me and hand me pots to critique. They would rejoice at handing me one of mine or one of my wife's thinking they could fool me. I would hand it back in seconds and say" Come on you got to be kidding me. I've handled thousands of these pots now give me someone's I don't know!". It ain't about the pretty colour. It ain't because I know the person and don't want to hurt their feelings. It is about feel. The surface, the weight, the possible handle, the trimming of the foot rim, the sad realization there is no foot ring for me to run my finger around. The joy of finding some mark on the pot that makes your hand want to explore it more.
This week in isolation I came to the conclusion that I got enough going on the work that I want the surface to be quieter. I am spending some time doing glaze tests to make my kiln wash my glaze. Shiny and pretty detract from all the nasty nonsense I so carefully apply to my pots. Some would see it as careless. I see it as very deliberate and careful.
I've been blessed to have glaze guru Ron Roy as my buddy for more than half my life. I pitched the idea to Ron and he tweeked my 50 Alumina, 25 EPK, 25 Silica kiln wash recipe. I'm going to add some stains to it for yeller, pink and powder blue. I'll share as I always do. I got time to make art.
With all that's going on out there I'm trying to remain up and moving forward. Open your hands and feel something in your collection that makes you just want to keep exploring it.
No pretty glazes, gimmicky narratives or catchy attention getters just movement and marks that let the hands be the eyes. Aggressive trimming, whoopies, pokes, gashes, feldspar chunks, textures, stamps, fingers and almost whatever I put my eyes on. I like to imagine people closing their eyes and enjoying one of my pots.
In another life my former wife would bring her students from the college for a end of year pot luck. The highlight of the evening was for them to blindfold me and hand me pots to critique. They would rejoice at handing me one of mine or one of my wife's thinking they could fool me. I would hand it back in seconds and say" Come on you got to be kidding me. I've handled thousands of these pots now give me someone's I don't know!". It ain't about the pretty colour. It ain't because I know the person and don't want to hurt their feelings. It is about feel. The surface, the weight, the possible handle, the trimming of the foot rim, the sad realization there is no foot ring for me to run my finger around. The joy of finding some mark on the pot that makes your hand want to explore it more.
This week in isolation I came to the conclusion that I got enough going on the work that I want the surface to be quieter. I am spending some time doing glaze tests to make my kiln wash my glaze. Shiny and pretty detract from all the nasty nonsense I so carefully apply to my pots. Some would see it as careless. I see it as very deliberate and careful.
I've been blessed to have glaze guru Ron Roy as my buddy for more than half my life. I pitched the idea to Ron and he tweeked my 50 Alumina, 25 EPK, 25 Silica kiln wash recipe. I'm going to add some stains to it for yeller, pink and powder blue. I'll share as I always do. I got time to make art.
With all that's going on out there I'm trying to remain up and moving forward. Open your hands and feel something in your collection that makes you just want to keep exploring it.
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| Winged bowls |
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| foot ring. 2 holes in case they want to hang it. |
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| glaze test ring. |
Comments
and hold out your hands,
and you will get a big surprise!
the Novel Corona Virus (Covid-19) came to be due to 'zoonotic transfer', from bats, to pangolins, to humans.
https://www.change.org/p/united-nations-punish-china-for-continued-disease-creating-wet-markets
Stop wild animal markets in China
The Chinese government must stop this type of wild animal farming
https://www.change.org/p/world-health-organization-stop-wild-animal-markets-in-china