December 1991 1

William Hunt............................................ Editor

Ruth C. Butler.......................... Associate Editor
Robert L. Creager........................... Art Director
Kim S. Nagorski........................Assistant Editor
Shawn R. LaRowe....................... Staff Assistant
Mary Rushley................... Circulation Manager
Mary E. Beaver.................Circulation Assistant
Connie Belcher................. Advertising Manager
Spencer L. Davis................................. Publisher

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Copyright © 1991
Professional Publications, Inc.
All rights reserved

2 Ceramics Monthly
December 1991 3
4 Ceramics Monthly
 VOLUME 39, NUMBER 10 • DECEMBER1991

Feature Articles
A Paper Kiln by Caroline Court ................................................................... 26
Doug Casebeer by Laura Dixon ................................................................... 29
Jeff Irwin’s Wax-Resist Images ................................................................34
Sixty Years of Discovery by Harding Black.................................................36
with Rudolf Staffel and William Daley on Harding Black .............................. 38

Staten Island Zoo Murals New Mexico
artist Amanda Jaffe studied patterning of
the zoo’s inhabitants to produce glaze
images that related to the site of two com­
missioned tile murals; see page 42.
A Paper Kiln All you need are a stack of
pots, a few firebrick, slurry-coated paper
over chicken wire, a tin can, and you’ve
built a useful, wood-fueled kiln; Caroline
Court explains, starting on page 26.
Airbrushing on Clay Underglazes, slips,
engobes and glazes can be airbrushed on
raw, bisqued or glazed surfaces for a vari­
ety of effects; turn to page 78 for advice on
developing patterns and overcoming com­
mon difficulties, as well as purchasing,
operating and cleaning an airbrush.
Staten Island Zoo Murals by Amanda Jaffe.................................................. 42
The Burghley Collection .......................................................................... 44
15th Fletcher Challenge Exhibition by Peter Lange.................................... 45
Magnesium Matt Glazes by Harold McWhinnie ........................................... 53
Airbrushing on Clay by Hanna Lore Hombordy ........................................... 78
Manipulating Raku Glazes by Robert Keyser............................................... 82
Up Front
Dorothy and Walter Auman Breaking In
(1925, 1926-1991)............................... 10 by Kay Babineau-Rector .................... 14
Free Summer Workshops Listing............ 10 Bill Griffith.............................................. 16
Tableware in Detroit................................ 18
Jim Kraft................................................... 10
Bonsai Containers
Jolyon Hofsted by Lorraine Joyal................................ 18
by Gerard Haggerty ........................... 12 Robert Sperry Commission......................20
NEA Deadlines ....................................... 12 Platter Competition................................. 20
Uncommon Ground Colorful Clay.......................................... 22
by Shirley Johnson ............................. 14 Artist Information Hotline ...................... 22
Rhode Island Design................................ 14 18th Annual Earthworks.......................... 22

Doug Casebeer The challenge of func­

tion, says this Colorado studio potter, is “to
invoke passion from an inanimate object.
I don’t care if people love or hate my work,
but if they are indifferent, then I haven’t
done my job—I haven’t created enough
comfort or enough controversy”; see the
profile beginning on page 29.
The cover Texas potter Harding Black
outside his San Antonio studio, circa 1963.
Recognized as “a master of glazes” (he ran
10,000 tests in one 15-year period), Black
talks freely about his 60-year ceramics ca­
reer beginning on page 36.
Departments
Letters .......................................... 8
Call for Entries ........................... 58
Calendar ..................................... 64
Suggestions................................. 72
Questions ................................... 74
New Books ................................ 76
Classified Advertising................ 84
Annual Index
January-December 1991 ..................... 86
Comment:
The Trend toward Standardization
by Brad Sondahl................................. 88
Index to Advertisers ...................88

December 1991 5
6 Ceramics Monthly
December 1991 7
Letters millers are traditionally exposed to higher
dust levels). For these and other reasons
the R T. Vanderbilt Company, Inc., as
well as many independent health re­
searchers, seriously question any “causal”
relationship between the lung cancers
Think before You Fire observed and exposure to this talc dust.
Many other potters may feel as I do Fortunately, other researchers have
about firing pots, which would serve far investigated the cause-effect question and
better left as good honest clay. have concluded that the excess cancers
Certainly, an aesthetically unsuccessful observed are not likely related to this talc
[fired] ceramic piece may be broken dust. In an exhaustive study matching
and/or dumped in the garbage. Environ­ lung cancer cases against non-cases in the
mentally, however, it can never be truly same work group (case control study), Dr.
destroyed. Multiplied manifold, the waste John Gamble, the government researcher
is enormous. responsible for compiling the basic statis­
Florence Ferman tics that NIOSH reported, concluded:
Westlake Village, Calif. “Although lung cancer SMRs are ele­
vated, we could not detect an exposure-
“Gasp ” Queries response relationship....In summary, there
The October 1991 issue was one of the is no pattern suggesting exposure to GTC
most comprehensive thus far. Great ar­ talc increases the risk of lung cancer.”
ticles! In addition, in a report from the Amer­
I read “Gasp” with much interest as I ican Thoracic Society on the health effects
have been experimenting with natural of tremolite, the group found:
clays in Southeast Arizona. I’ve used con­ “The nested case-control study...was
crete (portland cement) with ball clay and able to evaluate the potential role of
just plain sand and rock in the adobe. smoking and other occupational expo­
Why would Joseph Mannino fire his piece sures. Smoking was found to be a signifi­
if he used cement? Wasn’t that element cant factor, but there was no evidence of
his stabilizer? Or was it for effect? Weren’t an effect of other occupational exposure
the “broken areas” parts that were af­ or length of employment at the mine; in
fected by the cement? fact, there was a generally decreasing risk
I would like to read more about others with duration of mine employment.
who have built outdoors with natural, “The results of the case-control study
fired and unfired clays. and the lack of any dose-response rela­
Patricia Frei-Burris tionship for lung cancer risk in the cohort
Pearce, Ariz. study do not support a conclusion that the
elevated risk in this population was attrib­
Talc Cancer Link Denied uted to mine exposure.”
In the Questions column of the Octo­ It is unfortunate that Ceramics Monthly
ber 1991 issue of Ceramics Monthly, readers did not ask the Vanderbilt Company to
were informed that an updated mortality comment on the NIOSH update that was
study of New York State tremolitic talc cited. Epidemiology studies involving a
miners and millers had been completed small group of workers are extremely
by NIOSH and that lung cancer mortality problematic when they do not adequately
among these miners was twice that ex­ control for smoking, exposure level or
pected. What CM did not print was (1) other work experience. Such studies are
that this excess is now one-third lower viewed with extreme caution in the scien­
than previously recorded; (2) that this tific community. All the more reason, we
excess remained focused among those believe, that extreme care should be
who were employed for a very short dura­ exercised in the press whenever a non­
tion (several less than one month); (3) peer-reviewed statistical report of this
that all cases were smokers; and (4) that nature is addressed.
the excess again appeared almost exclu­ Though excessive exposure to any
sively among miners versus millers (when mineral dust should be minimized, the
literature suggests that it takes high-talc
exposures
Share your thoughts with other readers. All letters over an extended period of
must be signed, but names mill be withheld on time before “talcosis” becomes a serious
request. Mail to The Editor, Ceramics Monthly, risk. We have observed this among our
Box 12448, Columbus, Ohio 43212; or fax to own talc workers, who experienced ele­
(614) 488-4561. vated dust exposures before the advent of
8 Ceramics Monthly
modern dust controls. Such exposures are
extremely unlikely in nonmining work
environments, though all talc suppliers
routinely warn users of this potential.
In not properly researching this issue,
Ceramics Monthly made no attempt whatso­
ever to address this matter in a thorough
and objective fashion. Balanced reporting
is critical when addressing complex scien­
tific issues. Such matters are rarely as
definitive as we would all like them to be.
John Kelse
R. T. Vanderbilt Industrial Hygienist
Norwalk, Conn.
Temperature/Measurement Conversion
After many years, I, once again, am
subscribing to Ceramics Monthly. I left
Canada 15 years ago, and already at that
time, our ceramics department had “gone
metric.” I am therefore surprised to see
that all temperature references in the
magazine are in Fahrenheit. I would like
to suggest that future temperature refer­
ences also appear in Celsius. If nothing
else, a minimal consideration to your
European readers (and those North
American areas that have converted to the
metric system) would be a monthly inclu­
sion of a conversion table of temperatures
and measurements.
Julia Manitius
Bornholm, Denmark
Making It Outside the System
I’m with Wallie Festa-Hammer of Guil­
ford, Connecticut [October 1991 Letters].
I want to hear about those, like myself,
who are just starting out in the ceramics
field. How about those of us who have no
college degree or never studied with “the
greats”? I’ve turned a hobby into my life
and against all odds I’m determined to
make it.
Sheila Hargis
Gaithersburg, Md.
Run the Risk
I like CM’s willingness to take risks with
covers, controversial articles, etc. Keep up
the great work and keep the Soldner ads
running.
James Bozeman
Portland, Ore.
Fired Up in Saskatchewan
Our club has been in existence since
1968 in one form or another and has
subscribed for most of these years. We use
CM as our main reference, as we feel the
recipes are reliable and colors for electric
Please turn to page 56
Up Front
Dorothy and Walter Auman (1925, 1926-1991)
North Carolina potters Dorothy and Walter Auman, who
operated Seagrove Pottery for nearly four decades, died
October 17 when a truckload of lumber fell onto their
van on U.S. Highway 220, five miles north of Seagrove.
The Aumans were counted among the nation’s top
traditional craftspeople, and were often cited for their
Seagrove, North Carolina, potters Walter and Dorothy Auman.
unselfish and effective promotion of North Carolina
pottery. “In fact,” noted Dwight Holland, president of the
Randolph Arts Guild, “all the potters who are in the
Seagrove area really owe a debt to Dorothy and Walter
because, without the legwork they did, the craft would
never have been perpetuated. And they did it quietly.
That was their way.”
Dorothy Auman was born into one of the oldest,
largest and best-known U.S. potting families (the Coles).
Her father, Charles C. Cole, helped his brother set up
New Hill Pottery near Durham, then reopened their
father’s shop at Steeds in 1937. Even as a young child,
Dorothy was fascinated with clay and often asked her
relatives to teach her more about throwing.
In “The Potters of Seagrove,” a video produced by the
Randolph Arts Guild, she talks about “the satisfaction of
taking just a lump of clay, putting it on that wheel and
making something useful out of it.” Like most potters, she
found this sense of satisfaction in her work “a lot easier to
feel, than to talk about.”
You are invited to send news and photos about people, places or events
of interest. We will be pleased to consider them for publication in this
column. Mail submissions to Up Front, Ceramics Monthly, Box
12448, Columbus, Ohio 43212.
10 CERAMICS MONTHLY
Walter Auman also came from a pottery family, but he
didn’t become a potter until 1949 when he and Dorothy
were married. After they established their own pottery in
1953, Walter concentrated on digging and preparing clay,
mixing glazes and firing.
In addition to building their own studio business, the
Aumans were avid collectors of historical ware. In 1969,
they opened the Seagrove Pottery Museum in an old train
depot they had relocated behind their shop. There they
displayed some 1900 pots representing nearly every
important North Carolina pottery active from the 1830s
through the 1950s. Later, worries over security led them
to consider selling the collection; it was purchased by the
Mint Museum and moved to Charlotte in 1989.
Although the Aumans rarely signed their work, ex­
plaining that pots were what was important, their efforts
did not go unnoticed. Among the many awards they
received was the North Carolina Folk Heritage Award,
recognizing them for their years of significant contribu­
tions to ceramics, and the North Carolina Governor’s
Distinguished Service Award for lifetime achievement.
Free Summer Workshops Listing
The 1992 “Summer Workshops” article will appear in the
April issue. Potteries, craft schools, colleges/universities
or other art/craft institutions are invited to submit infor­
mation about summer programs in ceramics by February
11, 1992. (Regularly scheduled classes are excluded.)
Please include the workshop name and/or a synopsis of
what will be covered, location, opening and closing dates,
level of instruction, instructor’s name, languages spoken,
availability of camping or live-in accommodations, fee(s),
an address, plus a telephone number potential partici­
pants may call for details. Captioned photos from last
year’s workshops are welcome and will be considered for
publication in the 1992 listing. Mail information and
photos to Summer Workshops, Ceramics Monthly, Box
12448, Columbus, Ohio 43212. Announcements may also
be faxed to (614) 488-4561.
Jim Kraft
“Terrapin Series,” an exhibition of new works by Washing­
ton potter Jim Kraft, was presented recently at Foster/
PHOTO: ROUfcH SCHREIBER
Jim Kraft’s “Return of the Horse,” slab-built earthenware
sculpture, 37 inches in length, 1991; at Foster/White Gallery
in Seattle.
December 1991 11
 Up Front
White Gallery in Seattle. The forms on view varied from
wall pieces to coil- and slab-built vessels to figurative, free­
standing images.
Kraft broke from the traditional vessel form in creating
coil- and slab-built forms flat and without bottoms. Be­
cause these are displayed on their sides, the interiors must
be considered in addition to the exteriors. Fascinated
with surfaces, Kraft uses both painterly and sculptural
ideas to decorate these interiors.
Expanding on this fascination with surfaces in his wall
pieces, Kraft decorates by scratching and pressing forms
and symbols into the works. His free-standing animal
sculptures and their surface decorations represent our
more instinctive qualities.
The variety in Kraft’s work reflects his own explora­
tions into possibilities and choices. Clay “is my perfect
medium,” he says. “I can...meet it halfway and allow its
textures to have their say....It’s a good relationship.”
Jolyon Hofsted
by Gerard Haggerty
Jolyon Hofsted, Shady, New York, invites us to take for art
what we ordinarily take for granted. Witness the objects
that he casts in metal and clay: a motley mix including
Jolyon Hofsted’s “Man with Gun,” 30 inches in height, with
Cone 04 and 022 lusters, and cast bronze umbrella, 1991;
at Dome Gallery, New York.
12 CERAMICS MONTHLY
discarded toys and cast-off car parts, bulbs and bottles,
kitsch and kitchen ware. Hofsted’s quirky juxtapositions
and abrupt jumps in scale prompt us to investigate as­
sumptions we make about the world—calling into ques­
tion, for instance, preconceptions about the difference
between furniture and sculpture.
Hofsted is known as a ceramic sculptor; by definition,
this calling obliterates the boundary between utilitarian
practicality and aesthetic flights of fancy. His lustrous
vessels assume various forms. Teapots may masquerade as
something animate, or may be found sitting atop a tab­
leau of clay and metal objects that includes a gangster and
pistol. One ovoid white pot that is mounted on three
alabaster columns looks like the very model of post­
modern architecture, except for the ceramic peanuts
scattered on its golden base.
Several of Hofsted’s recent sculptures are built out of
stacked parallel planes that he says represent multiple
layers of meaning. Some of the works’ associations are
autobiographical; the toy car floating in a pond alongside
a bemused bullfrog alludes to a fateful day in upstate New
York when the artist himself nearly “croaked” after his car
went over a washed-out bridge.
A solo exhibition of Hofsted’s latest work was pre­
sented recently at Dome Gallery in New York City.
NEA Deadlines
Professional ceramists interested in applying for $15,000
Visual Artists Fellowships from the National Endowment
for the Arts (NEA) have until February 14, 1992, to sub­
mit applications for the sculpture category, or until
March 16, 1992, for the crafts category. Individuals may
apply only once, and only in one fellowship area. Anyone
who received an NEA grant of $15,000 or more in 1987/
88 or 1989/90 is ineligible. Applications must be post­
marked no later than the deadline date.
Applications and guidelines may be obtained by writ­
ing Visual Arts Program/Fellowships, Room 729, National
Endowment for the Arts, Nancy Hanks Center, 1100
Pennsylvania Avenue, Northwest, Washington, D.C.
20506; or telephone (202) 682-5448.
Despite efforts by some members of Congress to
introduce new “anti-obscenity” provisions into the latest
appropriations bill, restrictions will remain the same as
last year; that is, the NEA is not allowed to fund art that
local courts would find obscene (see “1990 NEA Grants”
in the December 1990 CM). Even though two-thirds of
the House and Senate had voted for it, a Jesse Helms-
sponsored provision prohibiting government funding of
“patently offensive” works was stripped from the bill as
part of a complex deal with Western senators to preserve
low grazing fees on federal land.
Outraged by what he called a “swap of corn for porn,”
Rep. William Dannemeyer (R-Calif.) vowed to stand up to
the “imperial arrogance of liberals in Congress” by trying
to force another vote on the Helms’ measure, but the
reauthorization bill passed without additional restrictions.
Surprisingly, the current fellowship guidelines avoid
the issue of obscenity restrictions, stating only that the
review panelists will be charged with considering the
December 1991 13
 Up Front
usual criteria: the quality of work, as demonstrated by 10
slides; the applicant’s “record of professional activity and
achievement”; and whether the “work reflects continued,
serious and exceptional aesthetic investigation and will be
at a critical point of development during the proposed
fellowship period.”
Uncommon Ground
by Shirley Johnson
Work by two Minnesota potters was the subject of “Un­
common Ground: An Exhibition of Functional Pottery by
Robert Briscoe and Cheryl Husby” on view recently at the
Northern Clay Center in Saint Paul.
Robert Briscoe stoneware vase, 9 inches in height, wheel
thrown and altered, with ash glaze; at the Northern Clay
Center in Saint Paul.
Husby’s taut, salt-glazed porcelain bowls, cups, platters
and jars are purposely stitched, appliqued, stamped or
printed overall with black marks.
Conversely, Briscoe’s ash-glazed, loosely thrown stone­
ware forms are gestural. Comb or hand, barely grazing a
platter’s rim, modulates a plane as if by accident. Color
trails across large bowls. A broad brush marks blunt
casseroles and jars with slip.
Rhode Island Design
A recent “Rhode Island” show at Lill Street Gallery in
Chicago focused on an array of ceramic art coming from
the smallest state. On view were works by Christina Ber-
toni, Katherine Blacklock, Larry Bush, Belinda Gabryl,
Michael Lamar, Bruce Lenore and Jacquelyn Rice.
Much of the credit for the area’s strong showing in
ceramics belongs to the Rhode Island School of Design.
Three of the exhibiting artists (Bertoni, Bush and Rice)
14 CERAMICS MONTHLY
Kate Blacklock’s handbuilt “Vessel #2,” 20 inches in height,
earthenware with stains; at Lill Street Gallery in Chicago.
are currently on the faculty, while the remaining exhibi­
tors received M.F.A. degrees from RISD in years past.
Breaking In
by Kay Babineau-Rector
It seems that most of my adult life I have dreamed of
being an artist. What could be more wonderful? Yeah, as
an artist I could be on perpetual vacation...cool. Time for
a cold shower of reality.
Serious about a career as an artist, I bought a house—
with a garage for a studio—in the Santa Cruz mountains.
After settling in, I painted for about three months, but
then realized I couldn’t sell my work. It was too personal,
and I couldn’t part with it. Obviously, this career was
going nowhere fast.
So I turned to ceramic skills learned in college (ten
years ago) and launched into limited production. I de­
signed a line of dinnerware that was elegant, fine (rather
than everyday) and very contemporary.
Things went well. Galleries were interested and would
take everything as soon as it was made. I liked that. Who
wouldn’t? It seemed like a good time to go into big-time
production, especially as Christmas was coming. You
know what I mean...$$$.
So I made a lot of pots and stored them on shelves,
stacked, jammed into every corner of the studio. It never
occurred to me to box the work for storage; besides, I
liked to look at it.
The morning of October 17, 1989,1 went for a long
walk, planning to pack the kiln as full as possible for a
glaze firing. It was a new kiln and I enjoyed seeing just
how much I could fit in, using spark plug gappers to test
December 1991 15
 Up Front flames? Back inside the studio, the kiln was still on its
stand, and the quake must have tripped the switch be­
cause it was shut off. What a relief! But all around were
the least possible space between pots. I like a tight fit. greenware, bisqueware and finished ware shards. Nothing
About 5 o’clock in the afternoon, I came in for a cup looked salvageable.
of coffee and what turned out to be the ride of a lifetime. I reached down to remove a large plastic bottle full of
The earth moved. I set the cup down and watched the glaze from a nail on which it had managed to impale
coffee jump out onto the floor, itself, and it began to leak all
while the cup was still on the over just as another aftershock
counter. I felt like a rag doll in hit. So I plugged the nail back
the middle of a “No, it’s mine!” into the hole, put the bottle
argument. I quickly grabbed down and again got out fast.
some wall, then the floor What a day! Aftershocks
grabbed me. On one side of came and went every few
the room, cupboard doors minutes—some big, some
opened and shelves automati­ small. It was three days later
cally emptied themselves, then before I had the guts to open
the other side of the room the kiln. The posts had given
followed suit. way, and the shelves and pots
I got up quickly and moved were just one solid unit.
to the cupboard where I keep Since everything was bro­
my favorite teapots and sculp­ ken, it seemed like a good time
ture, shutting the door each Kay Babineau-Rector with a series of terra-cotta bowls in her to redesign my line. (Catastro­
time the quake flung it open— Santa Cruz garage studio (after repair of quake damage).
phe has its positive side.)
an argument I was determined Eventually, I liked what I came
to win. Glass was shattering everywhere. A projectile up with and so did the galleries. After months passed, a
lodged in my leg; it scared me more than it hurt. And the couple of them asked for nonproduction, one-of-a-kind,
ride went on and on. This was truly not fun. high-end pieces. So I thought more in those terms. After
I thought it finally ended. About the time I grasped all, that was the whole idea, wasn’t it? Be an artist. Do
what had happened, it started again. At that point, I individual work.
decided to abandon my treasures in the cupboard and I experimented with the slab-built bowl and vase
follow a basic instinct to get out of the building. shapes, changing from a whiteware body to terra cotta
As the aftershocks subsided, I could think only about because I really like the rich color. Things were moving
my kiln, wondering if there were molten pots rolling along nicely.
around my studio. Would everything soon burst into On delivering some of the new terra-cotta work, a
dealer mentioned an upcoming show with a theme
spoofing western art. That appealed to me, so that night I
designed three pieces I thought would be appropriate
and decided to crash the show.
Two days before the exhibition opened, I took them
in. The gallery accepted them and I had a new ceramic
direction—an animated, bright, sculptural route.
The problem was that my work as a whole looked a
little schizophrenic. The sculpture was different from the
line of terra cotta that was different from the dinnerware,
not to mention the closeted paintings. Many artists say
that “one must have a cohesive style.” But I need the
freedom to express an idea with the medium that is most
inspiring at that moment. I need to use the medium as I
dictate. Who makes up those rules anyway?
I don’t know that I will ever get to be an artist extraor­
dinaire. There seem to be too many rules. But I do have
my studio and I’m having fun. After all, one cannot live
on production dinnerware alone.

Two of Kay Babineau-Rector’s terra-cotta vessels, slab built,
brushed with low-fire underglazes and glazes, each approxi­
mately 7 inches in height.
Bill Griffith
A solo exhibition featuring wood-fired works by Bill
Griffith, assistant director of Arrowmont School of Arts
and Crafts in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, was presented
recently at the Clay Studio in Philadelphia. The slab-built

16 Ceramics Monthly
December 1991 17

Bill Griffith’s “Table Form #2,” 14 inches in length, slab-built
stoneware, wood fired in an anagama; at the Clay Studio in
Philadelphia.
“table” and double-walled vessel forms were inspired in
part by ancient Japanese funerary urns and architecture.
All were wood fired in an anagama. The three-day
firing promotes surface flashing and ash effects.
Tableware in Detroit
“Table for Two,” featuring works by six studio potters, was
shown recently at Pewabic Pottery in Detroit.
Included in the exhibition were place settings and
serving dishes by Bill Broulliard, Cleveland; Diana Kuli-
Diana Kulisek stoneware serving platter with glaze decoration,
16 inches in length; at Pewabic Pottery in Detroit.
sek, Windsor, Ontario; Patrick Loughran, New York;
Andrew Martin, Denver; Angelica Pozo, Cleveland; and
Michael Simon, Watkinsville, Georgia.
Bonsai Containers
by LorraineJoyal
“Aha! So you torture trees,” said a grinning friend. “Next,
you’ll probably want to bonsai people.”
Bonsai (pronounced bone-sigh), an ancient Asian art,
literally means “plant in a pot.” Basically container garden­
18 Ceramics Monthly
ing on a mini scale, it encourages plants to age in a world
ranging from a few inches to several feet high.
There are six traditional styles of tree, held in five
container shapes—round, oval, square, rectangular and
hexagonal. Historically, glazed pots (kusuri-mono) were
used for flowering or fruit trees to show their blossoms to
best advantage, while deciduous and pine trees are said to
require quieter, unglazed pots (deimono). In the West,
however, bonsai pots do not always follow convention.
Certain rules do apply to the proportion of the tree to
the pot. Generally, the pot’s length should be two-thirds
that of the tree’s height. If the tree is wider than tall,
again the tray would be two-thirds of the tree’s largest
(widest in this case) measurement. The depth of the tray
should be similar to the girth of the trunk, so a skinny
tree would have a tray with very shallow sides.
For collected trees (those gathered from the wild) with
deep tap roots, a deeper pot is often necessary. Root
consideration is vital, and aesthetics must give way to
function unless you want an artificial plant. (Yes, there
really are silk bonsai on the market.)
Crucial to healthy plants is good drainage. Whereas
terra-cotta pots absorb water, stoneware will not. With
Lorraine Joyal’s wheel-thrown stoneware bonsai tray, glazed
on the exterior only, 10 inches in diameter, with central drain
and smaller anchor holes for wire.
frequent waterings, the minimum requirement is one
large hole, at least ½ inch in diameter. But, a bonsai tray
may have several holes (drainage holes, plus small holes
to anchor a tree to the tray with one or more wires).
Another functional consideration is the angle of the
pot’s sides; some bonsai need annual transplanting. Pots
angled outward at the top facilitate plant removal. Forget
scalloped or irregular lips—the design is too distracting.
Bonsai trees are primarily outdoor plants, brought
inside for display. The containers are buried or heavily
mulched during winter months in northern climates.
Even our mild climate on the coast of Vancouver Island
can witness freezing weather, so I use Cone 9-10 stone­
ware bisqued in an electric kiln, then glazed on the
outside only, and high fired in a gas kiln. Low-fire pots
accept moisture more readily, and the expansion of
frozen water causes cracking during cold spells.
I throw my round pots on an electric wheel, leaving a
thick base from which to trim legs. Oval pots can be
December 1991 19
 Up Front

formed from round ones by removing a leaf-shaped

section from the center, then pushing in the sides to close
the opening. Other shapes can be formed from wheel-
thrown pots, but this is a personal preference and hand-
building can certainly be easier for rectilinear pieces.
Feet should be trimmed or added, as the drain hole
must be elevated; otherwise, the runoff water will pool.
Naturally, the drain should be placed at the lowest point
in the bottom of the pot.
I prefer light glazes such as the following recipes on a
light-colored commercial stoneware:
Carleton Cream Glaze (Cone 9)
Dolomite..................................................................... 33.33%
Feldspar..................................................................... 33.33
Ball Clay.....................................................................33.34
100.00%

Does not combine well with oxides.

Waxy White Glaze (Cone 10)
Colemanite................................................................. 9.37%
Dolomite..................................................................... 7.29
Talc............................................................................ 15.63
Custer Feldspar......................................................... 43.75
Edgar Plastic Kaolin.................................................. 5.21
Flint............................................................................ 18.75
100.00%
Add: Zinc.................................................................... 4.17%
Zircopax............................................................ 5.21%
Bentonite.......................................................... 2.00%

Good on functional ware interiors. Takes stains nicely.

In designing for bonsai collectors, remember that the

tree is the subject, so keep the pot simple. Also, collectors
may not be aware of the surprises and spontaneity of
handmade reduction stoneware, so avoid custom orders.
And finally, if collectors want reproduced traditional
styles, save yourself some trouble and send them to bonsai
Robert Sperry sculpture, 17 feet in height, assembled from
supply shops where molded and pressed pots are available
359 stoneware tiles decorated with crackled slip over glaze; at
in quantity. safeco Plaza in Seattle.

Robert Sperry Commission

A 17-foot-high tile sculpture by Robert Sperry (University
of Washington faculty artist) was installed recently on the
north corner of SAFECO Plaza in Seattle. While the shape
of the commissioned sculpture parallels that of the adja­
cent SAFECO building, the surface was decorated with
Sperry’s slip-on-glaze technique (described in his article
“Abstractions in Black and White” in the June/July/
August 1990 issue of Ceramics Monthly).
After bisque firing, the 359 stoneware tiles were
white film more abstract. It is more a symbol of reality
than an attempt to recreate reality.”
The use of the tiles themselves reflects his interest in
film as well; each “frame” is an integral part of the whole.
Platter Competition
To celebrate its 20th anniversary, the Firehouse Art
Center in Norman, Oklahoma, sponsored the regional
exhibition “Platters.” Juried by Warren MacKenzie, studio
PHOTO: SANFORD MAULDIN

coated with matt black glaze and fired to Cone 7 in an

electric kiln. Thick white slip was then applied over the
fired glaze. Because unfired slip shrinks significantly over
fired glaze as it dries, cracking results in a pattern that
follows the lines and curves of the brushed application.
The tiles are then refired to Cone 5.
Sperry’s focus on black and white stems from his
appreciation of black-and-white films as an abstraction of
reality. “Color gives the impression that it is telling the
George Forst’s “Chatter Platter,” 15 inches in length, handbuilt
truth about an object,” he says, “while black and white is stoneware with pulled/rolled feet, slip decoration, salt glazed,
obviously a lie. This automatically makes a black-and- $180; at the Firehouse Art Center, Norman, Oklahoma.

20 CERAMICS MONTHLY
December 1991 21

Up Front
potter and professor emeritus at the University of Minne­
sota, the show included functional and decorative works
by 19 artists from the Southwest.
MacKenzie was pleased that none were anything like
his work. “I trust that when artists submit to a show...they
don’t know what the juror does. Unfortunately, that’s not
usually true. It makes me nervous that people try to
second-guess the juror and send something they think
that person will like. It usually shows up and is second-rate
work. But the top pieces in this show are very powerful.”
Colorful Clay
“Color,” a multimedia exhibition of works by 12 artists,
was on display recently at Freehand, a Los Angeles gallery.
Given the fact that color has the ability to affect our lives,
even expressing for us how we feel, the exhibition was
Sarah Chamberlin vase, approximately 16 inches in height,
wheel thrown, with majolica decoration, $325; at Freehand,
Los Angeles.
organized to examine artists’ use of color and awareness
of inherent color subtleties.
Eight of the exhibitors—Sarah Chamberlin, Los Oliv­
os, California; Ken Garber, Los Angeles; Scott Goldberg,
Brooksville, Maine; David Gurney, Arroyo Grande, Cali­
fornia; Jon Hur, Piru, California; Douglas Kenney, San
Antonio; Mary George Kronstadt, Washington, D.C.; and
Barbara Takiguchi, Oakland, California—work in clay.
Artist Information Hotline
Do you have a question about insurance? Need legal
assistance? Help may be just a phone call away. The Marie
22 CERAMICS MONTHLY
Walsh Sharpe Art Foundation and the American Council
for the Arts have established a national, toll-free informa­
tion hotline for visual artists.
Artists can now call (800) 232-2789, Monday through
Friday from 2-5 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, to talk to
the staff at the Arts Resource Consortium library (at the
American Council for the Arts). Mainly a referral service,
the hotline can direct you to sources for information on
such matters as health services, legal assistance, residen­
cies, public art programs and funding.
18th Annual Earthworks
“Earthworks RI,” an annual juried exhibition open to
residents and former residents of the state of Rhode
Island, was presented recently at the Helme House Gal­
lery of the South County Art Association in Kingston,
Rhode Island.
The juror was Chris Staley, associate professor of
ceramics at Pennsylvania State University and former
adjunct instructor at the Rhode Island School of Design.
From 168 entries, Staley selected 58 to show, then desig­
nated 6 awards.
First place went to Rhode Island School of Design
graduate Chris Theiss (now studying at the University of
California, Davis) for “Kitchen at the Bunkhouse,” a free-
standing sculptural interpretation of the ambience sur^
rounding a pot-bellied stove.
Perspective turns to mind-bender in Chris Theiss’ first-place-
award winner, “Kitchen at the Bunkhouse,” 38 inches in height,
slab-built whiteware, with sgraffito surfacing, $1800; at the
South County Art Association’s Helme House Gallery,
Kingston, Rhode Island.
December 1991 23
 A Paper Kiln
by Caroline Court

During a year’s residence in Lisbon, paper as insulation, as well as to pro­ of February 1991—a typical winter
I had the opportunity to work with tect the chamber and ware from ad­ day in Portugal with bone-chilling
Aline Favre, a Swiss ceramist and verse weather conditions. rains alternating with intense, renew­
inventor (with Christian Danthe and Many varieties of the paper kiln ing sunshine.
Fabienne Gloria) of the paper kiln. have been developed since those Both bisque- and greenware were
For 25 years a professor at L'Ecole early experiments. The following de­ to be fired. As the breakage rate can
des Arts Decoratifs in Geneva, Favre scribes one construction/firing that be catastrophic when direct flame
was in Portugal to teach at the Cen­ took place at AR-CO on the first day hits ware, it is best to work with a
tro de Arte e Comunicagao (AR-CO).
Over the years, she has searched
for the best materials and processes
with which to express herself and
her commitment to three-dimen­
sional form. In 1977, Favre took her
first steps with porcelain, and a year
later won a gold medal with Florent
Zeller at Faenza in recognition for
their work in colored porcelain. A
1980 trip to the United States, where
she worked with Paul Soldner and
Jim Romberg, opened the door to
raku and fumed clay.
The paper kiln was invented in
1983 to fulfill the need for a simple
but effective technique for firing ce­
ramics in the Jura Mountains of
Switzerland. It allowed campers to
participate in kiln construction and
to gain an awareness of the different
stages of firing. Besides, it was just
plain fun, with a lot of the hands-on
excitement and mystery of tradi­
tional primitive firing.
In fact, traditional firing tech­
niques used in Africa and the Amer­
icas were Favre’s first source of
inspiration. While understanding
them is crucial to learning the stages
of firing, it is also necessary to adapt
to local climate and available mate­
rials. Favre and her collaborators de­
cided to try using slurry-coated

Editor’s note: It is essential that any­

one wishing to construct a “paper kiln”
first be well versed in kiln safety prac­
tices. A lightweight, minimally insulated
firing chamber might become a sub­
stantial fire hazard if constructed near
combustibles, in areas where wind could
lead to loss of structural integrity, or
where the kiln might pose an “attrac­
tive hazard” to adult visitors and curi­ Flames shoot from a tin-can chimney as the large, slurry-coated-paper kiln
ous children. at Centro de Arte e Comunicagao in Portugal reaches temperature.

26 CERAMICS MONTHLY
As*
A paper kiln begins with a foundation
of hard firebrick laid in a radiating
pattern, each brick set on edge about 3
to 5 inches from the next. Charcoal is
poured between the bricks and salt
sprinkled overall. Once the top surfaces
thermal-shock-resistant clay body
high in talc and grog.
The kiln’s foundation course was
made of hard firebrick (about 35)
set on edge and pressed into the
loosened dirt. These were laid in a
radiating pattern, each brick spaced
3 to 5 inches from the next. This 60-
inch-diameter foundation func­
tioned as both the kiln floor on
which ware was seated, as well as a
grate to feed the fire with oxygen.
At the perimeter of the founda­
tion, four openings were constructed
from bricks and odd bits of kiln shelv­
ing; these would serve as firemouths
and air intakes.
Charcoal was poured between the
bricks and into the firemouths to a
height of 3 inches; 3 kilograms (8
lbs.) of salt were sprinkled overall.
At low temperatures, salt accentu­
ates metal oxide colors, rendering
subtle tones according to firing at­
After additional pieces of charcoal and
salt are tucked/sprinkled in and around
the stacked ware, varying lengths of
hardwood are leaned vertically against
mosphere (reduction or oxidation).
Oxides, sulfates and nitrates—
soluble metal colorants—yield a va­
riety of hues. Favre’s favorite engobe
is 50% white slip and 50% lead bi-
silicate (or for safety—a boron frit)
with either 3% copper carbonate or
2% cobalt carbonate added.
The ware was stacked on top of
the brick grate foundation—larger
pieces first, often straddling several
bricks, and smaller pieces inside the
larger ones. All were separated from
each other by wadding (clay mixed
with vermiculite) or cubes cut from
firebrick. This was to allow adequate
circulation and, hopefully, encour­
age the development of rich, inter­
esting surfaces.
So it was that the kiln substruc­
ture was constructed from the very
clay objects that were to be fired.
Pieces of charcoal were placed,
tucked, mounded and scattered in
have been brushed off\ ware is stacked,
with larger pieces straddling the bricks
first. At the foundation perimeter, four
openings are constructed from brick and
broken kiln shelves to serve as fire­
mouths and air-intake ports.
and about the ware. In addition, 2
kilos (5½ lbs.) of common salt were
sprinkled over the entire mound.
Then the students proceeded to
lean stick after stick of hardwood
against the mound until the stacked
ware was visually obscured. The di­
ameter and dryness determine how
quickly and easily the sticks will burn.
These factors have to be evaluated
(along with expected weather con­
ditions) for each firing when decid­
ing what type of wood to use.
Around the wooden tepee, chick­
en wire was wrapped and fastened
to itself with wire ties. Additional
sticks were worked inside the chick­
en wire from the top alongside the
chimney opening.
Students then prepared to cover
the wire with a paper shell. They
had already prepared a wheelbar­
row full of yogurt-consistency slurry
and had accumulated a tall stack of
the ware until all clay is visually
obscured. A stretch of chicken wire is
then cut long enough to wrap around
this wooden tepee.
December 1991 27

Once the chicken wire has been fastened
together with wire ties, additional
sticks are worked inside from the top.
slick paper, as found in fashion and
news magazines.
A large dn can with both ends cut
out was positioned at the highest
point to serve as the chimney.
From ground to chimney top, the
wire structure was layered with pa­
per coated on both sides with slurry.
In all, ten layers of paper were hung
alternately, horizontal and vertical,
with overlapping seams. The sheets
at the top were folded and snuggled
up against the chimney to form a
heavier collar.
Once the kiln had been brushed
all over with a final coat of slurry, it
was ready to be fired up. There was
no need to wait for the slurry to dry.
Favre says she has even fired success­
fully in the rain.
Sometime before, a small wood
fire had been started to the side,
and shovelfuls of the glowing coals
were placed in each of the four
28 CERAMICS MONTHLY
A shell of slick paper (from magazines)
dipped in yogurt-consistency slurry is
laid over the chicken wire.
firemouths. As I put my hand to the
kiln wall, I felt the dampness of wa­
ter vapor escaping from the slurry
and the heat increasing. This would
turn out to be a slow firing, taking
about six hours to red-orange heat.
After the fire was well established,
there wasn’t much more to do ex­
cept enjoy the flame and sparks
shooting up into the darkness, and
chat with Favre about her past and
future firings.
She talked about the many varia­
tions of the paper kiln that have
been developed. One involved con­
structing a site-specific sculpture
around 2x4s driven vertically into
the ground, with an air vent built
into the base; it was then surrounded
by more fuel (wood) and a paper
shell to be fired on site.
Another variation used for firing
smaller pieces had the ware piled
directly over chicken wire on a metal
Ten layers of slurry-coated paper are
hung with overlapping seams. Around
the chimney, sheets of paper are folded
to form a heavy collar. Finally, a thick
coat of slurry is applied over the entire
kiln surface. A small fire (started
nearby earlier in the day) provides
PHOTOS: ALINE FAVRE, STUART M. HUNTER
A large tin can with both ends removed
is positioned at the top to serve as the
kiln’s chimney.
grate elevated 3 feet above the
ground (a stack of bricks support­
ing each corner); the ware and grate
were then covered with wood, wire
and slurry-dipped paper.
A pre-heating fire was lit in a shal­
low hole beneath, then the grate
was lowered progressively by remov­
ing equal numbers of bricks from
each corner. After the grate was flush
to the ground for a few hours, a
reducing flame appeared.
Favre noted that the firing at
AR CO had been a large one as pa­
per kilns go. As kiln size increases,
so does the difficulty of controlling
rate of heat increase and evenness.
She delights in the knowledge
that since the paper kiln was first
attempted eight years ago, the de­
sign has continued to be refined and
the technique has spread to places
where it might otherwise be diffi­
cult to fire ceramics. ▲
shovelfuls of coals to be placed in each
of the four firemouths; this ignites the
wood inside. There is no need to wait
for the slurry to dry before initiating
firing; paper kilns can fire even in the
rain. The kiln shown here took about
six hours to reach red-orange heat.

In his studio at Anderson Ranch Arts Center (Snowmass Village, Colorado),
Doug Casebeer is surrounded by personal artifacts collected over the years.
Colorado potter Doug Casebeer had
been repeating a series of marks in his
sketchbook for three months when one
day their meaning was disclosed to him
by his wife Susan. It was clear to her that
he was “drawing the plains of Kansas.”
Suddenly, sketched out before him,
Casebeer saw his childhood manifested
in those marks.
This potter’s current work is a syn­
thesis of his midwestern upbringing; his
search for identity in the poverty of Ja­
maica; and the geologically dramatic
landscape around his mountain home.
Casebeer’s youth was characterized
by a Midwest ethic that incorporated a
strong sense of work, family and com­
munity. He grew up around his grand­
father’s junkyard, and was welding and
cutting steel in his father’s metal shop
Doug Casebeer
by Laura Dixon
by the third grade. “I realized early on
that my enthusiasm came from doing,”
he says.
Following an interest in design, he
studied architecture in college. Later,
he switched to art school, then went on
to earn an M.FA. at the New York State
College of Ceramics at Alfred.
“Looking back on my education, the
transition from architecture to pottery
seems logical. Both involve vessels: the
house being the vessel of the person or
the soul, the pot being the vessel of
food and nourishment.”
Just one week out of graduate school,
Casebeer was on his way to Jamaica as a
ceramics technical consultant for the
United Nations. “I thought I was going
to teach people how to throw pots,” he
recalls. “Instead, I found myself run­
ning a pottery factory with 45 employ­
ees. We started from scratch, designing
a product line, as well as identifying a
market. We had to build wheels, kilns,
mixers—everything.”
Casebeer arrived in Kingston in a
period of political unrest and civil dis­
obedience. “I learned about corruption,
poverty and social anger. But I also dis­
covered that uneducated people living
in the midst of poverty could be as
hardworking, innately intelligent and
happy as anyone else. I saw a sense of
calm grow out of the hardship, and I
gained the knowledge that you can learn
and persevere in the light of adversity.”
During three years in Kingston,
Casebeer completed only one body of
work: a series of 35 dishes that pay hom­
age to the culture that affected him so
December 1991 29
 deeply. “Every day as I drove to work bamboo on the mountainsides of Ja­ His repertoire of vessels includes
through the heart of the city, I crossed maica, the barred windows. But now, I pitchers, tumblers, mugs, casseroles,
through all social and economic bound­ use them to activate the surface so there plates and teapots, but his personal vi­
aries. My oval dishes represent a series are more ledges and lips for the ash to sion is most successfully incorporated
of burned-out buildings that I passed hang on, adding texture and grip. This in the platters. These “have almost be­
daily along Maxfield Avenue.” is an example of how an aspect of my come three-dimensional paintings for
Each of the dishes is decorated with personal vision becomes a functional me. The marks represent my past. They
five black diagonal lines. “These repre­ resolution. talk about the endless fields on the
sent the grids that barred the windows “The work is bisqued at Cone 08, plains where I grew up, and they sym­
of my home: the bars I had to look then glaze fired to Cone 11.1 use glazes bolize the wheat in all phases of the
through to see the rest of the world. in a variety of ways, producing different growing season: the seed, the green
The vulgarity of the situation is reflect­ results with the same recipe. I have been growth and the stubble.
ed in my brushwork.” using the same Shino glaze for nearly “Three rows sweep across my plat­
Opposite the grid lines are the black 15 years and am just now understand­ ters like the wind sweeps down from
holes, the charred openings in build­ ing its potential. the Rockies across the fields. If you look
ings where windows should have been. “In all three firing methods [with east, you see white slip, which is the
“I would stare into the blackness of these wood or gas, and salt glazing], body snow hitting the fields. Look west, and
buildings. To me, the darkness repre­ reduction is very strong, beginning at you see the brown soil. The four notches
sented the unending sense of on the rim stand for the four
[Jamaican] poverty.” compass points.
The reality of life in Kingston “Lately, I am inspired by the
hit hard; Casebeer realized that Colorado landscape. I recently
he had been taking too much went to Colorado National Mon­
for granted. The images from ument where the water had
childhood continued to reap­ washed through a canyon dur­
pear in his sketchbook, urging ing a flash flood. I saw those
him back into the studio. But watermarks as brushstrokes.
his U.N. job left little time for Something clicked and I knew I
personal work and, without it, wanted to incorporate that im­
one important aspect of his life age into my work.
was missing. “I am in the continual pro­
As he prepared to leave Ja­ cess of answering questions, and
maica, a former teacher and it is only within the last year and
friend told Casebeer about a a half that I am satisfied with
position at the Anderson Ranch some of the solutions. I finally
Arts Center in Aspen, Colorado. have something that is my own.
“I didn’t know much about the I let the work inform me. The
place, but I had heard good re­ work doesn’t mature unless it
ports. I was hired to adminis­ draws from itself. Conceptually,
trate the summer workshop the work tells me what it needs
program in ceramics, but in the and I become the conduit. I re­
winter months, I was free to be alize a pot from a lump of clay,
a working artist.” and I know that the answers are
Moving to Colorado meant a right there. My job is to pull
return to the studio, where he them out and put them back in.
immersed himself in utilitarian The answers might have been
pottery. “My inclination has al­ there all along, but maybe I
ways been to make pots that en­ wasn’t ready to receive them.”
Casebeer’s studio is in a 100-year-old log bam.
ter people’s lives and bring them Finding answers doesn’t nec­
comfort. My work has to be so essarily mean adding more to a
compelling as to invite use, both func­ Cone 08 for 1 ½ hours. All three kilns pot. The result “should have no dispar­
tionally and sensually. I am concerned are fired in slight to heavy reduction ate or excessive elements. I put a lot out
with how a rim feels on the lips, how a until Cone 11 is down.” there during the first phase, then I re­
handle fits a grip, and how a bowl sits Wood firing is favored because it duce and clarify by taking away what
on the table. I want my pots to speak seems to continue the creative process. doesn’t talk to me. You see, work that is
about my time, my culture and myself.” “When I feed the kiln, I am still putting alive talks back; indifferent or medio­
Doug Casebeer works solely in stone­ life and energy into the work. When it cre work is voiceless. The challenge of a
ware, firing much of his ware in a 90- comes out, the process is complete and functional potter is to try to invoke pas­
cubic-foot, bourry-box (self-stoking, the piece takes on a spirit of its own.” sion from an inanimate object. I don’t
wood-burning) kiln and a 90-cubic-foot For practical reasons, such as the care if people love or hate my work, but
salt kiln. “Much of the growth of my work’s size and avoiding ash deposits, a if they are indifferent, then I haven’t
current work is in response to the wood 70-cubic-foot, downdraft, gas kiln is used done my job—I haven’t created enough
kiln and what it can offer. For instance, for large platters and dinnerware. “I comfort or enough controversy.”
lines have always been inherent in my enjoy the ritual that surrounds dinner-
pottery because they represent so ware,” Casebeer says, “and I like the bal­ The author Laura Dixon is a free-lance
much—the ever-changing horizon, ance between the kilns.” writer from Snowmass Village, Colorado.

30 CERAMICS MONTHLY
“Teapot and Twig Tray,” 8 inches in height, thrown and handbuilt
stoneware, wood fired to Cone 11.

Stoneware cup and saucer, 6 inches in diameter, wheel thrown, with Perfect
Black Glaze on the cup interior, salt glazed.

December 1991 31
 Wood-fired stoneware pitcher, 11 inches in height.
“Flower Vase,” 15 inches in height, wheel-thrown and
manipulated stoneware, with brushed and trailed glaze
decoration, fired in reduction to Cone 11.

32 CERAMICS MONTHLY
Stoneware tumblers, to 7 inches in height, wood fired.
top “Twig Tray,” 12 inches long, wood-fired stoneware.
Recipes
Shino Slip
(Cone 9-11, reduction)
Soda Ash...................................... 3.20%
Spodumene................................... 12.16
Kona F-4 Feldspar....................... 8.64
Nepheline Syenite ....................... 36.00
Edgar Plastic Kaolin.................... 28.00
Kentucky Ball Clay (OM 4)........ 12.00
100.00%
Can be applied from thin to thick on wet
to leather-hard clay. Spray thin on bisque-
ware. Yields orange to pink in wood-burn­
ing and salt kilns; white in reduction.
Shino Glaze
(Cone 9-11, reduction)
Soda Ash...................................... 3.35 %
Spodumene................................... 12.60
Kona F-4 Feldspar........................ 14.11
Nepheline Syenite ....................... 50.39
Edgar Plastic Kaolin.................... 2.92
Kentucky Ball Clay (OM 4)......... 16.63
100.00 %
Thin to thick application with differing
results—thin for brick red; thick for white.
Wheel-thrown stoneware pitcher with pulled strap handle,
12 inches in height, glazed, reduction fired to Cone 11, by
Doug Casebeer, Snowmass Village, Colorado.
Perfect Black Glaze
(Cone 9-11, reduction)
Soda Ash...................................... 3.41 %
Whiting......................................... 14.77
Custer Feldspar............................ 47.73
Edgar Plastic Kaolin.................... 9.09
Flint.............................................. 25.00
100.00%
Add: Zinc Oxide........................... 13.64%
Chrome.............................. 1.14%
Cobalt Carbonate............... 4.55 %
Red Iron Oxide.................. 3.41 %
Apply a medium thickness. Yields black
in reduction and wood firing; can go blue
in salt.
Lorio’s Ash Glaze
(Cone 9-10, reduction)
Whiting......................................... 28.12%
Wood Ash (elm, washed
and sieved) ............................... 13.02
Albany Slip...................................43.23
Edgar Plastic Kaolin.................... 15.63
100.00%
Add: Yellow Ocher...................... 4.17%
This glaze, like many ash glazes, can run
off pots if applied too thickly; one me­
dium coat is best. Yields golden yellow in
most kilns.
Oribe Green Glaze
(Cone 9-11, reduction)
Bone Ash..................................... 1.05%
Talc.................................................... 7.81
Whiting............................................. 22.36
Custer Feldspar.................................30.91
Edgar Plastic Kaolin........................ 12.55
Flint...................................................25.32
100.00%
Add: Copper Oxide....................... 5.49 %
Thin to medium application for reds;
medium to thick for greens. Apply even
thicker for deep emerald greens. If very
thick, yields intense green to red; use only
for brushwork.
Leach White Glaze
(Cone 9-11, reduction)
Whiting............................................. 20 %
Custer Feldspar................................. 40
Edgar Plastic Kaolin......................... 10
Flint...................................................30
100%
Add: Tin Oxide................................... 1 %
Zircopax................................. 10%
Apply a medium thickness. Yields white
in all kilns, with one exception— can pro­
duce lime green when wood ash is depos­
ited on top of it.
December 1991 33
 Jeff Irwins Wax-Resist Images

Featured in recent exhibitions at
Schneider-Bluhm-Loeb Gallery in
Chicago and at Java Gallery in San
Diego were narrative wall forms con­
centrating on social, political and in­
dividual issues by California ceramist
Jeff Irwin. “Though the symbols have
a personal background, the issues are
much more universal,” the artist ex­
plained. “To some degree, we all share
concerns pertaining to struggle,
change, environment, relationships,
memories and goals. Use of the masks
and torsos is a way of integrating hu­
man presence with the narrative.”
Irwin’s plates are thrown on large
hump molds, but the torsos and heads
are slab built. A slab is rolled out by
hand on a sheet of plastic, then an­
other sheet of plastic is placed on top.
When the slab is laid over a newspa­
per mold, the top sheet of plastic pro­
tects the surface from finger marks,
while the bottom prevents ripping
from underneath. Irwin then manipu­
lates the slab, applying pressure from
both sides. After the top plastic is re­
moved and excess clay trimmed away,
the surface is covered with thick slip.
Underglaze imagery is applied to
the bone-dry form. Irwin’s preference
for predominantly black-and-white
surfaces comes from his interest in
wood-block prints and Chinese stone
rubbings. “Their character of line,
contrast and simplicity evokes a som­
ber and contemplative tone,” he com­
mented. “By eliminating the color in
this body of work, I hope to increase
the impact of the narrative and lessen
[distraction].
“The wood-block quality of the
drawing is achieved with wax resist.
The greenware generally is brushed
with white underglaze, and a light pen­
cil drawing is made. Wax resist is then
applied to all the areas meant to be
kept white. Black underglaze of vary­
ing densities is brushed around the
wax resist to achieve a hard edge. The
drawing may be altered further with
some sgraffito. Finally, the piece is
fired once to Cone 04 and sprayed
with an acrylic sealer.” ▲

To achieve characteristics inspired by wood-block prints,

San Diego ceramist Jeff Irwin applies black underglaze over
white, wax resisting hard-edge areas, detailing with sgraffito.

34 CERAMICS MONTHLY
 “Driven To...” 27 inches in length, earthenware torso
formed over newspaper, with underglazes and luster,
sprayed with clear acrylic sealer.

“Fallen Leaves,” 22 inches in diameter, earthenware “Kings Who Build Castles May Lose Their Crowns,”
thrown on a hump mold, with brushed, resisted and 29 inches in height, slab-built earthenware, with wax-
incised underglazes, single fired to Cone 04. resisted and sgraffito underglaze imagery, by Jeff Irwin.

December 1991 35
 SIXTY YEARS OF DISCOVERY
by Harding Black

Harding Black is 79 years old and has offer ten-cent art classes for children, our historical potters would have noth­
worked seven days a week for as long as he and we set up a clay modeling class­ ing to do with us, he went down to
can remember. Harding arrives at his stu­ room in an old streetcar on the mu­ Mexico one summer and learned how
dio at 5 A.M. each day and works until seum grounds. I got a truckload of to throw from this old Mexican pot­
about 3 P.M., by which time his hip is brick clay, put it in a big wooden box, ter. When he came back, he set up a
becoming too painful to continue. wheel in his father’s chicken
The carpal tunnel syndrome, which house and built a kiln out in
affects his wrists and hands, will the chicken yard.
not be operated on because his doc­ Along with this other boy, I
tor feels that might result in would go over to watch Rudi
Hardings inability to make pots. throw. We built a kick wheel
Yet he is “one of the lucky ones, with a big steel wagon wheel as
one of the 10% of people in this the flywheel, and had a ma­
country who are doing what they chine shop make us a head. It
want to with their lives,” Harding was a good wheel. You could
once noted. give it a kick, center the clay,
There is a spirit conveyed give it a couple more kicks and
through these words that warrants almost finish throwing because
attention. It is not new or unique, it had so much centrifugal
but rare and selective in its occur­ force. But suspending all your
rence. That it exists within 10% weight on one foot and kick­
of this country’s population may ing with the other shook every
be too generous an estimate. It is a muscle in your body. Throw­
spirit that allows for uniqueness, a ing could make you sore all
requisite for the potential of accom­ over. As soon as I could afford
plishing great things. It is embod­ to, I bought a /4hp electric mo­
ied in the life of Harding Black, tor and motorized the wheel.
who, for the past six decades, has Rudi really got tired of
committed himself to a celebration teaching ten-cent classes. So he
that embraces and holds sacred went to Philadelphia and got a
hard work and sweat, endless job teaching pottery there. Af­
searching, and the selfless sharing ter he deserted, that left it up
of discoveries with all interested to me to teach pottery classes
parties. He is a humble man with Harding Black counts himself as one of the lucky few at the museum.
a spirit of heroic proportions.—Paulwho are doing what they want with their lives. For my first brick kiln, I got
McCoy, curator of the retrospec­ some plans from Newcomb
tive exhibition “Harding Black: In Cel­ watered it with a hose and got in there College in New Orleans. The burners
ebration,” at Martin Museum of Art, Baylor with my hands to work it up. came from a junkyard—a big square
University, Waco, Texas Of course, I wanted to learn throw­ box with six jets once used on a boiler.
ing, but the historical potters around But it wouldn’t get hot enough, so we
It all started more or less with collect­ San Antonio at that time were not added electric fans to improve the
ing arrowheads as a Boy Scout. When­ making crocks or jugs anymore. They draft, and were able to get it up to
ever we went to the river, we looked were making little bitty pots painted 1800°-1900°F. Of course, it was out­
for Indian campsites and arrowheads. with blue bonnet flowers to sell at the side and, if it rained, we had to run
Then the Witte Museum organized dime stores. They were afraid if we out there and cover the fans.
an archaeological society and I joined learned how to throw, we would horn Eventually, I saw plans for a car
to go out on West Texas digs. in on their blue bonnet pots. kiln and built a kiln with the door and
Soon I started making Indian-style Rudolf Staffel, who was also teach­ floor on wheels. We got four cast-iron
coil pots. Then Ellen Quillin (direc­ ing ten-cent, children’s art classes, wheels (like those used on carts that
tor of the Witte Museum) decided to wanted to learn to throw, too. Since haul bricks around on tracks at the

36 CERAMICS MONTHLY
Red stoneware bowl, 6V4 inches in
diameter, wheel thrown, with
Chun glaze, high fired in
reduction, 1957.

Fascinated by glazes, Harding Black has conducted

thousands of tests at his studio in downtown San Antonio,

December 1991 3 7
 Rudolf Staffel and William Daley potter, although about 80% of the manship and Appreciation] must have
magazine was geared toward engineer­ come out in the 1930s. [Charles
on Harding Black ing interests. I think Cox, and Baggs, Fergus] Binns had also written an ex­
and Charles Harder wrote for that. Did cellent book [ The Potter’s Craft]. Leach’s
you get the Data Book issue? book was relatively late.
This conversation between William Daley Staffel: Ceramic Industry was my bible, Pritchard: Were you and Harding Black
(professor emeritus, University of the Arts, and my Data Book issue is falling apart. influenced in the 1950s by develop­
Philadelphia) and Rudolf Staffel (profes­ It has information you can’t get any­ ments at Alfred [University] or in
sor emeritus, Tyler School of Art, Temple place else. Scandinavia?
University, Philadelphia) was taped and Daley: Ceramic Industry printed a re­ Staffel: Macho potters don’t talk about
edited by Marian Pritchard (clay artist/ view and compilation of all the salient aesthetics. Pots are pots, you know, and
craft historian at Community College of technical information from that year, they let it go at that. When I say “they,”
Philadelphia) for the catalog accompany­ plus other information pertinent to I don’t mean to point at somebody
ing the exhibition “Harding Black: In Cel­ glaze calculations was included in the outside of the realm of all of us work­
ebration” at Baylor University.—Ed. back of this book. It was a text as well as ing in ceramics. It would be discussed,
a review. So, Rudi, do you think Hard­ but not in the formality that you would
Daley: When did you meet Harding ing used these sources? find in criticism of so-called fine arts.
Black? Staffel: I’m sure of it; and what really His chief source of information and
Staffel: It must have been around 1932. pleased and amazed me was to see that inspiration was Chinese ware. Harding
I was teaching what they called the Harding was writing articles for Ceram­ did a lot of traveling; he’d see a pot he
“Talented Students Class” for the pub­ ics Monthly. liked, then go home and research the
lic schools. Students from all grades, Daley: I don’t think people realize how glaze.
whose teachers thought they could much the magic of a glaze surface in­ You know one of the prerequisites
profit by extra art lessons on Saturday, spired individuals to devote their en­ of being an artist is persistence, and
were sent to the Witte Museum. Actu­ ergy and interest to exploring it. Do this guy really has persistence. It just
ally, it was my first teaching job. you know if Harding was ever inter­ oozes out all over the place, and it’s
Daley: Had you finished art school by ested in finding natural clays and glaze fascinating to see.
then? materials? Daley: Do you think he was successful
Staffel: I had finished dropping out of Staffel: Yes, his article “Iron Spotted in terms of marketing his work and
art school by then. As far as I know, Glazes” [Ceramics Monthly, February having an audience for it?
Harding Black was self-taught. It bears 1954] mentions that one of his glazes Staffel: Well, the audience was certainly
out a contention I’ve always had that if is dependent on a clay he found near there and highly admiring. I don’t
you want to learn something, teach it. San Antonio. think he worked at it too much. His
In hindsight, I think Harding was some­ Also, he had a clay mine of his own passion is ceramics. He just wants to
thing of a genius in ferreting out infor­ someplace in the hills north and west make the work. In the early days, if you
mation. of San Antonio. He once gave me a wanted a Harding Black pot, you’d go
I remember he was going great guns sample of the clay; it would have been see Harding Black.
in the war years. He was way ahead of impossible for the layman to use be­ Daley: I guess in the early days, except
anybody I knew, as far as glazes were cause it had no plasticity whatsoever. for the department stores, there
concerned. His copper reds are unbe­ Harding would ball mill the clay for weren’t any outlets, were there?
lievably beautiful. hours and hours; then it was magnifi­ Staffel: No. There were outlets for
Harding is a master of glazes and cently plastic. paintings, but not for ceramics. That’s
one of the most generous human be­ Daley: How did he discover it? a phenomenon of our age, I guess.
ings in the ceramics field. He has a Staffel: Almost every state has a geo­ Daley: What kind of demeanor does
room full of beautifully organized test logic report of mineral deposits. He he have? What kind of person is he?
tiles of all his glazes. All the recipes are went to Austin, the capital, and studied Staffel: He’s always dressed in a long
there too, and he shares them with the mineral deposits of the state. The apron full of clay. When I go now to
anyone who is interested. It’s wonder­ guy’s a walking ceramics encyclopedia. visit remaining family members in San
ful to visit him. Daley: Is he as interested in the form Antonio, I drop by Harding’s place,
Pritchard: Why was there so much in­ of the pots as he is in the glazes? and he’s always there, working. We look
terest in Cone 10 reduction glazes like Staffel: I think he is mosdy interested at each other as if we had visited yester­
the copper reds at that time? in the tactile feel of the pot. He is a day, although it may in actuality have
Staffel: Well, I think it was Bernard functional potter, but I don’t think he been ten years. “Well, hi, how’re you
Leach’s A Potter's Book that sparked in­ cares too much for what we might call doing?” he says, then picks up the con­
terest in almost all of us. Also, there the sophistication of form and its his­ versation we were having ten years ago.
was the work of Charles Binns at Alfred torical development, things of that sort. When I was giving a talk at the NCECA
University, plus that of Paul Cox, who Harding’s aesthetics, as far as the form [National Council on Education for
wrote prolifically. is concerned, demand that the form is the Ceramic Arts] meeting in San An­
Pritchard: How would potters working adequate for the glaze. tonio a few years back, Harding was in
in Texas find information on formu­ Pritchard: What were some of the aes­ the audience, and we resumed our dia­
lating glazes? thetic influences coming into Texas? logue right then and there.
Staffel: People like Arthur Baggs and Staffel: The 1940s was a time of “do Daley: We’ve been talking all along
Paul Cox loved to write articles on vari­ your own thing.” There was one excel­ about Harding’s special qualities, but
ous aspects of ceramic industry. lent littie book written by... what made him so singular for you?
Daley: In every issue, Ceramic Industry Daley: Edmund deForest Curtis. Staffel: The fact that nothing was diffi­
magazine had a section for the studio Staffel: Curtis’s book [Pottery: Its Crafts­ cult for Harding. Nothing.

38 CERAMICS MONTHLY
brickyard) to build the car. That was
my kiln for quite a while.
Before that, I was talked into going
down to an old Spanish village right
in the middle of town to make tile for
the floors there. It was a WPA [Work
Projects Administration] project, em­
ploying these young Mexicans, about
30 of them. I was getting $35 a week
and they were getting $30 a month.
Believe it or not, those poor people
had to feed families on $30 a month.
A funny thing happened then. We
were getting shale out near Falls City,
and between the layers of shale was
this orangish oxide. I had used ura­
nium to make a bright orange-red
glaze, and thought that it looked like
uranium, but didn’t ever test any of it
in a glaze. That was 15 years before
they finally discovered the uranium
out there.
I had always gotten uranium from
suppliers. But then, all of a sudden, I
couldn’t get it anymore. I didn’t know
why until they dropped the bomb. We
used 20% uranium oxide to make that
Wheel-thrown porcelain
vase, 7 inches in height,
with orange-peel
oxblood glaze, 1950.
brilliant orange-red, like that on old
Franciscan ware. A Geiger counter
next to one of those orange Franciscan
plates would probably go crazy.
Anyway, I got through two years on
the WPA project and went back to the
museum. Actually, I never did stop
my Saturday children’s classes.
About that time we had a hurri­
cane come through San Antonio. It
came all the way up from the coast
with winds up to 75 or 80 mph. The
roof was torn off the old Ruiz house
downtown, next to city hall. I read
about it in the paper; the article said
they were going to bulldoze the house
and make a parking lot. We’d always
thought we’d like to have a rock or
adobe place for the clay shop at the
museum, and wondered if maybe
they’d give it to us. Ellen Quillin got
on the phone and found out who
owned it. They said just carry it off
the lot and it’s yours.
Before it was taken down, she had
an architect down there to make ac­
curate drawings so it could be restored
historically. The woodwork was heavy,
in good shape. In those days the win­
dow frames were built of good lum­
ber. The museum then hired WPA
workers at 50 cents an hour to rebuild
the Ruiz house, which gave me a shop.
On the other side of town, a friend
of mine was trying to make electrical
insulators, but the project flopped.
He phoned me up one day and said I
could have a 200-cubic-foot kiln if I
would move it. It was on leased prop­
erty. So I tore it down, brick by brick,
cleaned off all the mortar, then re­
built the kiln behind the Ruiz house.
I could do my own brickwork be­
cause I had worked every day of sum­
mer vacation for a neighbor who was
a bricklayer. I started out working for
$1 a day, mixing mortar and throwing
brick up to the second story and all
December 1991 39
 that. Finally, I got so I could lay brick
on a chalk line. I wasn’t a corner man,
but I could lay on the line, so I got up
to $2.50 a day.
We started adult classes after we
moved into the Ruiz house. About
that time Bernard Leach’s book on
high firing came out. I had been do­
ing low-fire lead glazes for 15 years.
For the slip-decorated children’s work,
I had used commercial frit with a little
clay added to it to make a clear glaze.
Of course, the adulLs wanted to do
the same thing I was doing—dabbling
in stoneware reduction glazes. [See
Harding Black’s Ceramics Monthly ar­
ticles “Opening the Door to Copper
Reds,” January 1953; “Iron Spotted
Glazes,” February 1954; and “Lava
Glazes,” October 1961.]
I had spent more than 20 years at
the museum, when Ellen Quillin de­
cided to retire. She said, “Harding,
you’d better get your own place. You
may not like the new director.” She
thought I ought to find a lot and build
my own studio, even if I couldn’t do
more than put up a lean-to.
Quillin built that whole museum
from scratch, and got the teaching of
arts and crafts started in San Antonio.
The artists didn’t do it. She was a
botany teacher over at the Main Ave­
40 CERAMICS MONTHLY
nue high school when Witte left this
money to build a museum. She got it
started, then started the children’s
classes. Eventually, she got WPA money
to teach adult classes.
I’ll never forget the first live-model
class. The day before they were sup­
posed to have the first night class,
headlines in the San Antonio paper
read “Nude Model at Witte Museum.”
The police were sent out to arrest this
nude model. Quillin was there at the
door when the officers arrived. They
turned out to be two of her former
pupils. Boy, did she get on them. She
said, “You go tend to the burglars and
robbers. Let me tend to the art.” They
turned around and left.
The best art in San Antonio all
goes back to Ellen Quillin. It is amaz­
ing what that woman did.
Back to building my shop: I started
looking for a lot in 1955, and found
one with utilities for only $3000.1 had
the lot and $12,000 in the bank, but
needed another $12,000. The loan
officer at the bank said, ‘You want
$12,000? An artist? We wouldn’t let
you have $1000.” I got the same story
at another bank.
When Miss Flowers, a student at
the museum, learned I hadn’t gotten
a bank loan, she said, “Go down to
our business office and they’ll let you
have it.” The Flowers had oil wells, so
money was no problem for them. I
was lucky the bank didn’t lend me the
money. The Flowers loaned it to me
at 3%, and the bank wanted 6%!
Once the shop was built, I rebuilt
my kiln, reclaiming all the bricks I
could. When I was working on the
chimney, one of the bank loan offi­
cers came by and said, ‘You mean
somebody was crazy enough to let you
have the money to build this place?”
He couldn’t believe it. They haven’t
been that careful about loaning since.
I used to dig all my own clay, then
hammer mill, ball mill, filter press and
pug it. Physically I can no longer do
all that. I’ve had to adjust, to buy al-
ready-ground clay, fire in an electric
kiln. But I’m real happy with what I
have worked out with these high-iron-
content and opalescent glazes at Cone
5 oxidation. I’m also working on trans­
lucent porcelain and an iron-blue
glaze that doesn’t run.
I still stand to throw at the same
one-speed (100 rpm) wheel I’ve been
using for 40 years—you get a bad back
when you sit at wheels—and keep logs
on a lot of glaze tests. That’s what
adds interest to a firing. That’s the
name of the game: discovery. ▲
leftStoneware
bowl, glaze-
over-glaze
mottling,
6 inches in
diameter, 1971.
right Thrown bowl,
porcelain, with flame
glaze over slip, 7½ inches
in diameter, 1984.

below Crackle-glazed
porcelain
bowl, 93A inches indiameter, 1990,
by Harding Black, San Antonio, Texas.

December 1991 41
 Staten Island Zoo Murals
Given technology-dominated society,
it is easy to dismiss our connection to
the natural world. Today, many of us
live the majority of our lives in artifi­
cial habitats. Despite this, we have not
been able to extinguish a primeval,
psychological attachment to nature.
In my work, I want to create im­
ages that evoke the intrinsically sooth­
ing qualities of nature. Henri Matisse
wrote: “What I dream of is an art of
balance...like an appeasing influence,
like a mental soother, something like
a good armchair in which to rest from
physical fatigue.” My goal contains
these qualities but also the symbols of
life’s turbulence.
Model for “Stream Walk” a 25-foot-long tile mural installed last
summer in a school near Seattle.
42 CERAMICS MONTHLY
by Amanda JafFe
Amanda Jaffe, faculty artist at New
Mexico State University, Las Cruces.
The Staten Island Zoo project was
perfectly suited to these ideas. The
zoo is a wonderfully pleasant park in
a stressful city—a place for urbanites
to get a glimpse of the natural world.
The commission appealed to me not
only because the zoo is a metaphor
for the concept of peace within chaos,
but also because animals have been
m^yor characters in my work.
The zoo was remodeling two wings,
changing from traditional steel and
concrete cages to a more realistic re­
creation of the animals’ natural envi­
ronments. Two habitats were to be
recreated: a South American tropical
rain forest and an African savanna.
Model for the rainforest habitat mural at the Staten Island
Zoo, 30 inches high, slip-cast tile with terra sigillatas.
Visitors would be able not only to view
the animals in their natural habitats,
but actually to enter them.
This commission was the direct re­
sult of submitting examples of my work
to the American Craft Council (ACC)
slide file. In 1984, Jennifer McGregor
Cutting, of the New York City Percent
for Art Program, was looking through
the ACC files for artists who could
make permanent and relatively van-
dal-proof exterior artworks. My first
mural proposal was for the Brooklyn
Library. Although the Brooklyn com­
mission was awarded to another final­
ist, I received the Staten Island Zoo
commission based on my model for
the library project.
At the site, two sets of double door­
ways were sealed off as part of the
remodeling. I thought the brick cor­
beling that framed the original doors
would work well as frames for murals.
My goal was to produce images that
were well integrated into the setting,
that reflected the inside of the build­
ing, and that mirrored my view of the
zoo as a calm, relaxing, meditative
park in a loud, stressful city.
African savanna model; construction began after approval by
the zoo’s board of directors and the Art Commission.
My first model depicted realistic
images of the animals that would be
housed in the remodeled wings, but it
didn’t express my ideas well enough.
I started over. In the final models, the
central rectangle in each mural rep­
resents a calm, enjoyable space. The
surrounding dark area of randomly
moving fur patterns and textures rep­
resents the manic, stressful aspects of
New York City.
When the models were approved
by the zoo’s board of directors and
the Art Commission of New York City,
I took a semester leave of absence
from my teaching position at New
Mexico State University to build the
murals. Because these were to be ex­
terior murals, exposed to the ele­
ments, I knew I needed a clay body
that could withstand the freezing and
thawing of the humid northeast coast.
After calling everyone I could think
of for recipes and advice, I tested clay
bodies for weathering strength by sub­
jecting them to freezing/thawing con­
ditions. Finally, after it withstood 15
freeze/thaw cycles, I decided on the
following Cone 4 white casting body:
Tile Casting Body
(Cone 4)
Talc....................................... 30.00 lbs.
Nepheline Syenite ................ 33.75
Bandy Black Ball Clay......... 5.00
C&C Ball Clay...................... 6.25
D6 Kaolin..............................25.00
Edgar Plastic Kaolin............. 12.50
Kentucky Special
Ball Clay........................... 12.50
Flint....................................... 30.00
155.00 lbs.
To 7.5 gallons hot water, add 17.5
ounces Dispersal (liquid deflocculant),
45 grams barium carbonate and 45
grams soda ash. Next, add the recipe’s
dry ingredients one at a time. Blend
well and screen.
All the tiles for this commission
were slip cast, then most were brushed
with terra sigillatas made from Albany
slip, Cedar Heights Goldart and Red­
art. Single fired to Cone 4, they were
on the verge of melting (the clay some­
times bloats at flat Cone 4); the result­
ing slight sheen appeals to me, and I
continue to use this recipe for all my
tile pieces, interior and exterior. A
December 1991 43
 The Burghley Collection
A special exhibition of European ce­
ramics dating from the 16th to the
19th century was on view at Burghley
House in Stamford, England, through
October 6. Acquired by members of
the Cecil family, the collection in­
cludes examples from most of the
major producers of Italian maiolica,
Dutch and English delft, French fa­
ience, and English, French and Ger­
man porcelain.
Burghley House was built by Wil­
liam Cecil, the first Lord Burghley,
who was Lord High Treasurer to
Queen Elizabeth I. Begun in 1565 and
completed in 1587, it is recognized as
“the largest and grandest house of
the First Elizabethan Age.” Palatial in
scale, the house contains some 240
rooms, including 18 lavishly decorated
state rooms open to visitors. Outside,
the golden limestone facades are
punctuated with mullioned windows,
domed turrets, arches and ornamen­
tal obelisks.
While the habit of collecting was
established in the Cecil family by Lord
Burghley, it was the ninth Earl of
Exeter who was the first to acquire
significant examples of European ce­
ramics. A patron of English porcelain
factories, he bought maiolica during
visits to Italy in the 18th century.
Other major additions to the ce­
ramics collection were made by
Isabella Poyntz, wife of the second
Marquess of Exeter in the early 19th
century. When family fortunes plum­
meted in the late Victorian period,
however, the third Marquess was
forced to auction many of the Burgh­
ley porcelains at Christie’s.
The remaining historical ceramic
objects languished until after World
War I, when the fifth Marchioness de­
cided to catalog the Burghley hold­
ings. She also added to the collection,
buying at sales and bringing signifi­
cant pieces from her own inheritance.
One of the most important pieces
of Italian maiolica included in the ex­
hibition was a large urn, dated 1670,
decorated with imagery inspired by
Torquato Tasso’s epic poem about the
first crusade, “Gerusalemme Liberata
(Jerusalem Delivered).”
Among the English porcelains
shown was a rare Derby figure of a
crouching monkey, which is not re­
corded in lists of the factory’s produc­
tion and reflects the 18th-century
fascination for “singeries,” decorative
motifs incorporating monkeys. A

Porcelain monkey, approximately 4 inches

in height, a rare Derby figure, not recorded
among the factory’s known production;
reflects 18th-century fascination for
“singeriesdecorative objects
incorporating monkeys.

left Castel Durante maiolica urn,

approximately 32 inches in height,
decorated with imagery inspired by
Torquato Tasso’s epic poem about the
first crusade, “Gerusalemme Liberata
(Jerusalem Delivered),” dated 1670.

44 CERAMICS MONTHLY
December 1991 45
 It’s an unlikely combination—New
Zealand’s largest corporate giant (a
blue-chip investment firm) teaming
up with the potters of Auckland (cre­
ative unemployables, backyard opera­
tors) to present what has become an
exhibition of international reputation
and prestige. The opening ceremony
is the highlight of the local potters’
year. Invitations are at a premium, and
annually there is a mysterious discrep­
ancy between the number of tickets
issued and the large crowd that actu­
ally turns up. Potters dress up in a big
way, while the Fletcher Challenge folk
relax their dress ethic, but you can
still tell them apart—the potters are
the ones milling around the food.
This year, American ceramist Ron
Nagle (Mills College, Oakland, Cali­
fornia) was enticed out to New
Zealand to select the exhibition. Jet
lag, culture shock and wintry weather
aside, the task was a formidable one.
Nagle met the challenge head-on,
found about 30 pieces out of the 458
entered to his immediate liking, then
set about swelling the numbers for
the show to a realistic 158.
Previous judges have experienced
a similar reaction and that’s not sur­
prising—most viewers on encounter­
ing an eclectic collection of 400+ pots
would find only a smaller number had
immediate impact. The swelling of the
numbers is done in the interest of
mounting a nationally important ex­
hibition, but there are never pots se­
lected that the judge does not enjoy.
Ron Nagle was uncompromising
about award decisions, and this was
appreciated by the potting commu­
nity—an excessive number of awards
devalues them. There were two pieces
in the lineup that stuck with him
throughout the three-day selection
process, yet there was only one major
prize to give. So Nagle combined two
of the NZ$1000 merit awards to form
a NZ$2000 “second prize.” This was
presented at the opening ceremony
to Jeff Oestreich of Minnesota for his
“Teapot,” a sculptured functional form
46 CERAMICS MONTHLY
that nodded in the direction of his
time at the Leach Pottery in England
years earlier.
Oestreich was spotted in the open­
ing crowd, where anyone looking like
a potter and unaccounted for comes
under strong suspicion as being the
mystery winner flown in by the spon­
sors for the awards ceremony. Never­
theless, he turned out to be a decoy,
and spent a week here, blowing his
winnings and befriending potters.
The audience was in a state of con­
fusion when they saw their best shot
take second prize. There was also a
feeling of mild disappointment at the
shortage of local successes. So it was
with considerable drama and pleasure
that Nagle handed the premier award
of NZ$10,000 to Tim Currey, a potter
from Coromandel, in the depths of
the New Zealand bush. Still, there was
some bemusement as Currey is virtu­
ally unknown in his own country, and
that is a rare thing with a population
the size of New Zealand, where every­
body knows everybody, particularly
potters. The only bad news of the night
was Currey’s announcement that he
is moving to Australia.
His winning sculpture “Rock Col­
umn” is a substantial geologic form in
pure white, which Nagle could not
place. He could find no tradition or
recognizable source, and that in­
trigued him.
The Fletcher Challenge Award is
now very much an international com­
petition, with this year’s selection fa­
voring international entries over local
for the first time. Australia, Great Brit­
ain, Japan and the United States were
the main sources, although countries
like India and Brazil were also repre­
sented. Artists from a total of 25 coun­
tries entered work, with Japan once
again well ahead of the field in the
proportion of entries getting into the
exhibition. The Japanese took 3 of
the 10 awards as well.
But the success of the competition
has brought necessary changes. Send­
ing an actual piece to enter, together
with the associated expense, time and
risk, made selection from slide entries
inevitable; this will be introduced next
year. The policy of submitting actual
work had been maintained in an ef­
fort to give New Zealand potters as
much exposure to developments in
clay as possible. Even unpacking and
processing the incoming work was of
substantial benefit.
This also marks the end of the an­
nual “Salon de Refuse” where potters
could exhibit and sell unselected work
at a concurrent venue. It was always a
good test whereby the judge was in­
evitably found to be more competent
than first thought.
The impact each judge has had on
those working with clay, particularly
in Auckland, is undeniable. Richard
Shaw, Patti Warashina, Robin Welch
and Elizabeth Fritsch all have been
judges in the past. Ron Nagle has a
formidable reputation as part of the
wave that turned clay on its ear—those
who attended his workshop found
themselves in a dialogue with strong
reservations about work that wasn’t
exploratory or expressive—“better to
pump gas, and show one good pot a
year” Since many of those in atten­
dance make domestic ware repetitively
for a living, the scene was set for
healthy debate. It was a workshop from
which you took home little for your
bag of tricks, but perspectives were
given a bit of a shakedown.
So why is this competition impor­
tant? The impact of the pots that ar­
rive, the influence of the judge and a
growing need to raise standards in
order to “foot it” with the avalanche
of international entries are all of con­
sequence to the evolution of ceramics
in New Zealand.
It is an unusual relationship—an
industrial giant joining forces with
people whose businesses couldn’t get
much smaller—but it raises the pro­
file of both parties and, into the bar­
gain, potters get to have an annual
scrub-up, a night out and a month of
superb public exposure. ▲
aboveStoneware teapot, approximately 8 inches in height,
thrown and altered, with temmoku glaze, reduction fired,
by Jeffrey Oestreich, Taylors Falls, Minnesota; US$1163
(NZ$2000) second place award winner.

left“Joh En,” approximately 13 inches in height, stoneware

with inlaid extruded porcelain, by Hideo Kobayashi,
Uji City, Kyoto, Japan.

“Rock Column,” approximately 26 inches in

article cover

height, handbuilt from local earthenware, by Tim Currey,

Port Charles, New Zealand; US$5815 (NZ$10,000) first place.
This international competition is sponsored by Fletcher
Challenge, a major investment firm in New Zealand.

December 1991 47
 above“Passage with Palm Print ”
approximately 7 inches in height,
thrown and altered porcelain, with
celadon glaze, by Lawson Oyekan,
London, England; US$582 (NZ$1000)
merit award.

left“Artifact Teapot,” approximately

12 inches in height, slab-built porcelain,
with Cone 06 glaze, by Lana Wilson,
Del Mar, California.

48 CERAMICS MONTHLY
right “Mural
of Molela ” approximately 26 inches in height,
handbuilt earthenware, by Udai Lai Kishan Lai Kumbar,
Molela, Rajasthan, India.

below “Bench Jar ” approximately 7 inches in height, wheel-

thrown stoneware, with Shino glaze, reduction fired in a gas
kiln, by Chloe King, Havelock North, New Zealand; US$582
(NZ$1000) merit award.

December 1991 49
 left“Flower 1991,” approximately 19 inches in height, handhuilt and extruded white
earthenware, with colored glazes sprayed over a majolica opaque base, by Richard
Slee, Brighton, England.

below “Oil Bottle,” tongue-in-cheek comment on the Gulf War; extruded, slip-cast
and wheel-thrown terra cotta and white earthenware; some elements (with lusters
and decals) oxidation fired, others saggar fired; assembled on a sand-filled wooden
base; approximately 16 inches in height; by Peter Lange, Auckland, New Zealand.

50 CERAMICS MONTHLY
“The Place Water Has Gone ” approximately 22 inches in height, handbuilt
porcelain, by Kyoko Hori, Kyoto, Japan; US$582 (NZ$1000) merit award.

December 1991 51
 “ Vase Form” 12 inches high, wheel-thrown blend of red and white earthenware, with tape-resisted terra sigillata, burnished,
fired to Cone 05, then sawdust smoked, waxed, by Duncan Ross, Famham, England; US$582 (NZ$1000) merit award.

52 CERAMICS MONTHLY
 Magnesium Matt Glazes
by Harold McWhinnie

In stoneware glazes (Cone 6-10), mag­ Magnesium Matt Glaze 4

nesium is often used as a matting (Cone 8-10)
agent, as well as to improve glaze fit Magnesium Carbonate............... 9.52 %
with the clay body. It produces an ex­ Whiting......................................... 14.29
cellent opaque matt surface and will Nepheline Syenite......................... 28.57
yield some interesting color effects Kaolin............................................. 9.52
when combined with cobalt carbon­ Flint...........................................38.10
ate or oxide, or iron oxide. 100.00%
Magnesium has few, if any, adverse CaO 0.449 Al2Os 0.351 Si02 3.170
side effects, is stable and can provide MgO 0.356
soft textures and colors difficult to NagO/KgO 0.194
achieve with other glaze ingredient
combinations. Sources include mag­ Magnesium Matt Glaze 5
nesium carbonate, dolomite, talc and (Cone 5-6)
some wood ash. Magnesium Carbonate............. 13.64%
A computer glaze program was Whiting......................................... 13.64
used to convert several published and Nepheline Syenite........................ 36.36
unpublished recipes to molecular for­ Kaolin............................................. 9.09
mulas. Using computer programs Flint............................................... 27.27
makes such conversions an easy task, 100.00%
and facilitates the development of CaO 0.361 AJ2Os 0.340 Si02 2.391
some interesting variations as well. MgO 0.430
Na20/K20 0.209
Magnesium Matt Glaze 1
(Cone 8-10) Magnesium Matt Glaze 6
Magnesium Carbonate ............... 12.5% (Cone 4-6)
Whiting........................................... 12.5 Magnesium Carbonate ............ 17.39%
Kaolin.............................................. 25.0 Whiting......................................... 21.74
Flint..................................................50.0 Nepheline Syenite.................... 43.48
100.0% Kaolin............................................. 8.69
CaO 0.395 Al2Os 0.451 Si02 4.132 Flint................................................ 8.70
MgO 0.471 100.00%
Nap/K^O 0.134
CaO 0.460 A12Os 0.248 SiOg 1.378
Magnesium Matt Glaze 2 MgO 0.406
NagO/KgO 0.134
(Cone 5-6)
Magnesium Carbonate............. 9.52 % Color variations of the preceding
Whiting..................................... 14.29 base glazes are possible with additions
Nepheline Syenite.................... 38.09 such as:
Kaolin....................................... 19.05
Flint.......................................... 19.05 Yellow to Brown:
100.00% Iron...................................5.00-10.00%
CaO 0.449 A1203 0.436 Si02 2.834 Blue:
MgO 0.356 Cobalt....................................... 0.50%
N^O/Kfi 0.195
Blue-Green:
Magnesium Matt Glaze 3 Copper...................................... 0.50%
(Cone 1-3) Brown-Green:
Magnesium Carbonate ............ 14.29% Nickel....................................... 5.00%
Whiting..................................... 19.05
Nepheline Syenite.................... 38.09 The author A frequent contributor to
Kaolin....................................... 19.05 CM, Harold McWhinnie teaches in the
Flint........................................... 9.52 Design Department at the University of
100.00% Maryland, College Park. He was among
CaO 0.451 A12Os 0.357 Si02 1.816
the first ceramists to use a computer to
MgO 0.403 develop families of glazes, generating both
Na20/K20 0.147 molecular formulas and batch recipes.

December 1991 53
 Letters
Continued from page 8

kilns are fairly well reproduced here. The

first comment at the monthly meeting is
usually “Is the Ceramics Monthly here yet?”
or “Does Sandy have it again?” WTien we
get stale, we pick up one of the magazines
and get “fired up” again.
We are fortunate to have a great studio
(city-run) on top of the hill in Weybum in
the SHAC (Signal Hill Arts Centre)—great
view of our prairie horizon and sunsets,
for which we pause and reflect on the
beauty of our province, Saskatchewan.
Our club is always learning, plus we teach
the young children’s classes (9-12 years)
and this year we are trying a teenagers’
clay class. It’s good to get the younger
generation involved in this medium again.
Sandra Hanni
Weyburn Pottery Club
Weyburn, Sask.
Canada

Village Pottery Kudos

I sure enjoy the articles on village pot­
ters in other countries.
D. Wood
Gresham, Ore.

More Loiv-fire Color

Enough brown stoneware! More color­
ful earthenware! I’d like to see profiles of
artists such as Betty Woodman, Phillip
Maberry, Beatrice Wood, Belinda Gabryl
and anyone else working in low fire.
Leeann McClure
Waltham, Mass.

Business/School Reference
I have used the magazine for years—
for myself in my business and for my
students at the high school level. Students
do oral presentations to the class about
different artists or techniques and show
off the color photos. Keep it coming!
Alice Yates
Kingfield, Me.

Classroom Inspiration
Ceramics Monthly is used extensively in
our classroom. Each semester every stu­
dent must read ten articles and present
one oral report to the class. This has
inspired many new ideas and a wide range
of techniques. A teacher is limited in how
many techniques can be presented, and
Ceramics Monthly has opened the door and
inspired some innovative student work.
Pat Rogers
Ridgecrest, Calif.

56 CERAMICS MONTHLY
December 1991 57
 Call for Entries
Exhibitions, Fairs, Festivals and Sales
International Exhibitions
December 13 entry deadline
Auckland, New Zealand “Fletcher Challenge
Ceramics Award 1992” (May 28-June 28, 1992).
Juried from up to 3 slides. No entry fee. Awards:
Premier, NZ$10,000 (approximately US$5815);
up to 5 merit awards, NZ$1000 (approximately
US$582) each. Contact Fletcher Challenge Ce­
ramics Award, Box 13-195, Onehunga, Auckland.
December 15 entry deadline
New Haven, Connecticut “Sixth Annual Women
in the Visual Arts Exhibition” (March 4-29,1992),
open to all women artists over 18. Juried from
slides. Entry fee: $15 for 3 slides. Jurors: Miwon
Kwon, free-lance writer and exhibitions coordi­
nator at Whitney Museum of American Art, New
York; and Sowon Kwon, visual artist and editorial
associate at the New Museum of Contemporary Juror: Linda Faw Neher. Awards: $1000 plus
Art, New York. Send sase to Women in the Visual
Arts, 315 Peck Street, New Haven 06513; or
telephone (203) 865-5055.
December 31 entry deadline
Koblenz, Germany “Salzbrand ’92” (Summer
1992), open to all ceramists working with salt
glaze. Artists must submit at least 3 but no more
than 5 works when entering 1 category; those
entering more than 1 category may submit up to
8 works. Awards: DM18,000 (approximately
US$10,000). Contact Handwerkskammer Ko­
blenz, Galerie Handwerk Koblenz, Rizzastrasse
24-26, Postfach 929, D-5400 Koblenz. Telephone
(49) 261-398-230; or fax (49) 261-398-282.
January 1, 1992 entry deadline
Boston, Massachusetts Competition celebrat­
ing “Discovery of America” anniversary (travel­
ing throughout 1992, then donated to the Na­
tional Gallery of Art), open to all media. Juried
from slides. Awards: $9500 to top 6 semifinalists.
Sponsored by G’Vanni’s Restaurant. Send sase
to Discover G’Vanni’s, Box 6255, JFK Station,
Boston 02114; or telephone (617) 248-1992 or
fax (617) 248-1993.
January 10, 1992 entry deadline
Vallauris, France “13th International Biennial
of Ceramic Arts” (July 1-October 31, 1992). Ju­
ried from 3 slides (3 different views) of each
entry, plus technical descriptions; up to 2 entries,
together not weighing more than 80 kilograms
(approximately 175 pounds). Awards: Grand
Prize: Fr40,000 (approximately US$7055);
A.V.O.C.A. Prize: Frl5,000 (approximately
US$2645); plus 1 gold medal in each of 4 catego­
ries—architectural pieces, thrown pots, enamel
and creativity. Contact Biennial Committee, Hotel
de Ville, 06200 Vallauris; or telephone 64 24 24.
National Exhibitions
December 6 entry deadline
Mesa, Arizona “The Art of Art Therapy” (April
7-May 5, 1992), competition for artworks illus­
trating the healing power of art therapy. Jurors:
Ardyth Bernstein, Barbara Levy and Eugenia
Sutcliffe. Juried from slides. Entry fee: $3 (volun­
tary) for up to 5 entries. For prospectus, contact
Galeria Mesa, Art Therapy, Box 1466, Mesa 85211;
or telephone (602) 644-2242.
December 12 entry deadline
Gatlinburg, Tennessee “Everything but the
Send announcements of juried exhibitions, fairs, festi­ 1-30, 1992). Juried from actual work; 9-inch
vals and sales at least four months before the event’s
entry deadline (please add one month for listings inJuly only. Cash awards and catalog. For prospectus,
and two monthsfor those in August) to Call for Entries, send sase to Abington Art Center, 515 Meeting­
Ceramics Monthly, Box 12448, Columbus, Ohio
43212; or telephone (614) 488-8236. Fax announce­
ments to (614) 488-4561.
58 CERAMICS MONTHLY
Kitchen Sink: Artists and the Kitchen, NewForms,
New Functions” (February 27-May 16, 1992).
Juried from slides. Juror: Bruce Pepich, director,
Charles A. Wustum Museum of Fine Arts, Racine,
Wisconsin. Entry fee: $18; up to 3 entries. Cash
and purchase awards. For prospectus, contact
Registrar, Arrowmont School, Box 567, Gatlin­
burg 37738; or telephone (615) 436-5860.
January 10, 1992 entry deadline
Lafayette, Louisiana “Lafayette Art Association
Annual National Juried Competition of Original
Two- and Three-Dimensional Art” (March 3-
April 7, 1992). Juried from slides, juror: Ida
Kohlmeyer. Entry fee: $25, 3 entries; $8, 2 addi­
tional; limit 5 entries. Awards: $3000. Send #10
sase to J. K Sommer, Lafayette Art Gallery, 700
Lee Avenue, Lafayette 70501.
January 15, 1992 entry deadline
La Grange, Illinois “Diminutive Art” (February
15-March 20,1992), all-media miniature compe­
tition. Juried from up to 5 slides. Entry fee: $25.
For prospectus, send sase to Aardvark Gallery, 6
South Sixth Avenue, La Grange 60525; or tele­
phone (708) 579-1989.
January 25, 1992 entry deadline
McPherson, Kansas “Aesthetics ’92” (April
1992), open to all media. Juried from slides.
merit certificates. For prospectus, send #10 SASE
to Aesthetics ’92, Box 252, McPherson 67460.
January 27, 1992 entry deadline
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania “Re-Awakening: A
Celebration of Spring” (May 2-June 7, 1992),
competition for works involving flora, fauna and
nature imagery .Juried from 3 slides per entry; up
to 3 entries. Jurors: Nicholas Kripal, ceramic
sculptor/associate professor of ceramics, Tyler
School of Art of Temple University, Philadel­
phia; Bob Natalini, jewelry/sculpture artist/lec­
turer/teacher, Reading, Pennsylvania. Entryfee:
$15. Cash awards. For prospectus, send #10 sase
to Luckenbach Mill Gallery, 459 Old York Road,
Bethlehem 18018; or telephone (215) 691-0603.
January 31, 1992 entry deadline
Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, Canada “5th National
Biennial of Ceramics” (June-September 1992,
then traveling). Open to Canadians living in
Canada. Juried from description and 3 slides of
work plus resume. Entry fee: Can$25. Awards:
Can$l 1,000. Contact National Biennial of Ce­
ramics, C.P. 1596, Trois-Rivieres G9A 5L9; or
telephone (819) 691-0829.
March 1, 1992 entry deadline
Racine, Wisconsin ‘Just Plane Screwy: Meta­
physical and Metaphorical T ools by Artists” (June
7-September 13,1992), open to all media depict­
ing artists’ tools. Juried from up to 10 slides and
resume. Send sase to Charles A. Wustum Mu­
seum of Fine Arts, 2519 Northwestern Ave., Racine
53404; or telephone (414) 636-9177.
March 2, 1992 entry deadline
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania “Stories: The Narra­
tive Art in Contemporary Crafts” (August 8-
September 20, 1992). Juried from 3 slides per
entry; up to 3 entries.Jurors:Janet Grau, ceramic
sculptor/instructor/resident artist, the Clay Stu­
dio, Philadelphia; and Bhakti Ziek, fiber artist/
assistant professor of woven design, Philadelphia
College of Textiles and Sciences. Cash awards.
For prospectus, send #10 sase to Luckenbach
Mill Gallery, 459 Old York Road, Bethlehem
18018; or telephone (215) 691-0603.
March 19, 1992 entry deadline
Milwaukee, Wisconsin “Vessels” (May 15-June
26, 1992). Juried from 5 slides and resume. Fee:
$10. Send sase to A. Houberbocken, 230 West
Wells Street, Suite 202, Milwaukee 53203; or
telephone Joan Houlehen (414) 276-6002.
March 20, 1992 entry deadline
Jenkintown, Pennsylvania “The Clay Cup” (April
limit. Juror: Ron Nagle. Entryfee: $5 for one cup
house Road, Jenkintown 19046; or telephone
(215) 887-4882.
University Park, Pennsylvania “Crafts National
December 1991 59
 Call for Entries
26” (June 7-July 26, 1992). Juried from slides.
Juror: John Vanco, executive director of the Erie
Art Museum, Pennsylvania. Entry fee: $20 for up
to 3 entries. Awards: $3000. For prospectus, send
sase to Crafts National 26, Zoller Gallery, 101
Visual Arts Building, Penn State University, Uni­
versity Park 16802; or telephone (814) 865-0444.
April 1, 1992 entry deadline
Eureka Springs, Arkansas “Fifth Annual Sculp­
ture Show and Sale” (May 1992). Juried from
slides. Entry fee: $20 for up to 3 entries. Awards:
from $1500 for first place to $200 for honorable
mention. Send sase to Sally Gorrell, Box 283,
Eureka Springs 72632.
April 3, 1992 entry deadline
Lincoln, California “Feats of Clay V” (June 3-
27,1992). Juried from a maximum of 3 slides per
entry; up to 3 entries. Entry fee: $10 per entry.
Works should not exceed 24 inches. Juror: Anne
Currier. Place, merit and purchase awards. Send
sase to Lincoln Arts, Box 1166, Lincoln 95648; or
telephone (916) 645-9713.
May 1, 1992 entry deadline
Manitou Springs, Colorado “Sculpture in Mani-
tou” (July 10-12,1992). Juried from slides. Entry
fee: $20. Awards. For prospectus, contact Darpino,
Alliance of Professional Artists Association, 513
Manitou Avenue, Manitou Springs 80829; or
telephone (719) 685-1861.
June 12, 1992 entry deadline
Milwaukee, Wisconsin “Not Just Another Fur­
niture Show: More than Just a Fixture” (August
28-October 23, 1992). Juried from 5 slides and
resume. Entry fee: $10. Send sase to A. Houber-
bocken, 230 West Wells Street, Suite 202, Mil­
waukee 53203; or telephone (414) 276-6002.
Regional Exhibitions
December 9 entry deadline
Rockford, Illinois “Sixth Regional Exhibition”
(February 28-April 3, 1992), open to any artist
living within 150 miles of Rockford. Juried from
3 slides. Entry fee: $15. For prospectus, send SASE
to Regional Gallery Ten, 514 E. State St., Rock­
ford 61104; or telephone (815) 964-1743.
December 10 entry deadline
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania “Ceramics Now”
(February 28-March 22,1992), open to artists in
Delaware, Washington, D.C., Maryland, NewJer-
sey, New York and Pennsylvania. Juried from a
maximum of 5 slides and an artist’s statement.
Entry fee: $2 per slide. Juror: Nancy Carman.
Send sase to University City Arts League Gallery,
4226 Spruce Street, Philadelphia 19104.
January 7, 1992 entry deadline
Charlotte, North Carolina “Carolina Clay Com­
petition” (February 3-28, 1992), open to resi­
dents of North and South Carolina. Juried from
slides. Entry fee: $5. Cash awards in functional
and nonfunctional work. For prospectus, send
#10 sase to Pope’s Gallery, Box 241106, Char­
lotte 28224; or telephone (704) 552-7745.
Wayne, Pennsylvania “Craft Forms 1992: An­
nual Exhibition of Fine Contemporary Crafts”
(January 11-28,1992), open to artists residing in
Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Juried
from actual work, hand delivered on January 6-
7, 1992. Entry fee: $12. Jurors: Bill Daley, emeri­
tus professor of art/ceramics; and Richard Rein­
hardt, emeritus dean of craft; both at the Univer­
sity of the Arts. Cash awards. For prospectus, send
sase to Wayne Art Center, 413 Maplewood Ave.,
Wayne 19087; or telephone (215) 688-3553.
January 24, 1992 entry deadline
Quincy, Illinois “42nd Annual Quad State Ju­
ried Exhibition” (April 5-May 2, 1992), open to
all artists residing in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and
Missouri. Awards: $3000 cash, plus solo show and
other awards. For prospectus, send business­
sized sase to Quincy Art Center, 1515 Jersey,
Quincy 62301; or telephone (217) 223-5900.
60 Ceramics Monthly
February 15, 1992 entry deadline
Richmond, Virginia “Spotlight ’92” (May 8-
July 31, 1992), open to artists residing in Ala­
bama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana,
Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Ten­
nessee, Virginia and West Virginia. Juried from
slides of up to 3 works. Juror: Barbara Jedda,
curator for Craft Alliance, Saint Louis, Missouri.
Entry fee: $12. Contact Spodight ’92, Hand Work­
shop, 1812 West Main Street, Richmond 23220;
or telephone (804) 353-0094.
May 1, 1992 entry deadline
Los Alamos, New Mexico “Biennial Crafts 1992
Exhibition” (June 19-July 19, 1992), open to all
artists residing in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexi­
co, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah. Awards: ap­
proximately $750. For prospectus, send legal­
sized sase to the Fuller Lodge Art Center, Box
790, Los Alamos 87544.
Fairs, Festivals and Sales
January 2, 1992 entry deadline
Chatham, Ontario, Canada “Crafts and Coun­
try Collectibles” (March 14-15, 1992). Juried
from photos. Fee: $145 for a lOxlO-foot booth.
Profit-sharing plan for exhibitors at 2 or more
shows. Contact Brenda Proc, CraftWorld/Cry-
derman Productions, 136 Thames St., Chatham,
Ontario N7L 2Y8; or telephone (519) 351-8344.
Kitchener, Ontario, Canada “Crafts and Coun­
try Collectibles” (March 21-22, 1992). Juried
from photos. Fee: $245 for a 10x10-foot booth.
Profit-sharing plan for exhibitors at 2 or more
shows. Contact Brenda Proc, CraftWorld/Cry-
derman Productions, 136 Thames St., Chatham,
Ontario N7L 2Y8; or telephone (519) 351-8344.
Pickering, Ontario, Canada “Crafts and Coun­
try Collectibles” (March 5-7, 1992). Juried from
photos. Booth fee: $395 for a 10x10-foot space.
Profit-sharing plan for exhibitors at 2 or more
shows. Contact Brenda Proc, CraftWorld/Cryder-
man Productions, 136 Thames Street, Chatham,
Ontario N7L 2Y8; or telephone (519) 351-8344.
Sarnia, Ontario, Canada “Crafts and Country
Collectibles” (April 4-5,1992). Juried from pho­
tos. Booth fee: $220 for a 10x10-foot space. Profit-
sharing plan for exhibitors at 2 or more shows.
Contact Brenda Proc, CraftWorld/Cryderman
Productions, 136 Thames Street, Chatham,
Ontario N7L 2Y8; or telephone (519) 351-8344.
January 13, 1992 entry deadline
Gaithersburg, Maryland “Spring Arts and Crafts
Fair” (April 10-12, 1992); “Autumn Crafts Festi­
val” (November 20-22, 1992); “Winter Crafts
Festival” (December 11-13,1992). Juried from 5
slides (including 1 of booth display). Booth fees
vary. Send 3 (29£) stamps for postage to Deann
Verdier, Director, Sugarloaf Mountain Works,
200 Orchard Ridge Drive, Suite 215, Gaithersburg
20878; or telephone (301) 990-1400.
Timonium, Maryland “Spring Crafts Festival”
(May 1-3,1992); “Maryland Crafts Festival” (Oc­
tober 9-11, 1992). Juried from 5 slides (includ­
ing 1 of booth display). Booth fees vary. Send 3
(29£) stamps for postage to Deann Verdier, Di­
rector, Sugarloaf Mountain Works, 200 Orchard
Ridge Drive, Suite 215, Gaithersburg, Maryland
20878; or telephone (301) 990-1400.
Manassas, Virginia ‘Virginia Crafts Festival”
(September 11-13, 1992). Juried from 5 slides
(including 1 of booth display). Booth fees vary.
Send3 (29£) stamps for postage to Deann Verdier,
Director, Sugarloaf Mountain Works, 200 Or­
chard Ridge Drive, Suite 215, Gaithersburg,
Maryland 20878; or telephone (301) 990-1400.
January 24, 1992 entry deadline
Milwaukee, Wisconsin “30th Annual Lakefront
Festival of Arts” (June 12-14,1992). Juried from
slides. Entryfee: $18. Booth fee: $225 for a5xl4-
foot space. Awards: 10 cash awards of $1000 each.
Contact Lakefront Festival of Arts, Milwaukee Art
Museum, 750 North Lincoln Memorial Drive,
Milwaukee 53202; or telephone (414) 271-9508,
extension 255.
January 25, 1992 entry deadline
Montclair, New Jersey “16th Annual American
December 1991 61
 Call for Entries

Crafts Festival” (July 4-5 and 11-12,1992) Juried

from 5 slides. Entry fee: $10. Booth fee: $460 for
a 10x7-foot space; $490 for a 10x10-foot space.
Send SASE to Brenda Brigham, American Con­
cern for Artistry and Craftsmanship, Box 650,
Montclair 07042; or telephone (201) 746-0091.
January 31, 1992 entry deadline
Stevens Point, Wisconsin “Festival of the Arts”
(April 12,1992) Juried from 5 slides and resume.
Entry fee: $40. Jury fee: $5. Cash and purchase
awards. Send SASE to Festival of the Arts, Box 872,
Stevens Point 54481.
February 1, 1992 entry deadline
Columbus, Ohio “Columbus Arts Festival” (June
5-14,1992) .Juried from 3 slides of work plus 1 of
booth or of 10 or more pieces. Entry fee: $10.
Booth fee: $225-$290. For further information
contact the Columbus Arts Festival, 55 East State
Street, Columbus 43215; or telephone (614)
224-2606.
February 29, 1992 entry deadline
State College, Pennsylvania “Central Pennsylva­
nia Festival of the Arts Annual Sidewalk Sale”
(July 9-12, 1992). Juried from 4 slides of work
plus 1 of booth. Entry fee: $15. Booth fee: $275
for a 10x10-foot space. Awards: minimum of
$12,000. Send sase to Katherine Talcott, Assis­
tant Director, Box 1023, State College 16804; or
telephone (814) 237-3682.
March 1, 1992 entry deadline
Guilford, Connecticut “35th Annual Guilford
Handcrafts Exposition” (July 16-18, 1992). Ju­
ried from 5 slides. Entry fee: $15. Booth fee: $360
or $410 for a 10x12-foot space. Cash awards.
Contact 35th Annual Guilford Handcrafts Expo,
Box 589, Guilford 06437; or telephone (203)
453-5947.
March 15, 1992 entry deadline
Clinton, Iowa “Art in the Park” (May 16-17,
1992). Juried from 5 slides. Entry fee: $5. Booth
fee: $50 for a 10x10-foot space. Cash awards. No
commission. Send sase to Clinton Art Associa­
tion, Box 132, Clinton 52732; or telephone Carol
Glahn (319) 259-8308.
Cambridge, Wisconsin “First Annual Cambridge
Pottery Festival” (June 13-14,1992). Juried from
4 slides. Entry fee: $10. Booth fee: $100. Awards.
Send SASE to Cambridge Pottery Festival, Cam­
bridge Chamber of Commerce, 105 South Spring
Street, Cambridge 53523; or telephone (608)
423-3780.
April 1, 1992 entry deadline
Garrison, New York “23rd Annual Arts and
Crafts Fair” (August 15-16, 1992). Juried from
slides. Entry fee: $5. Booth fee: $175 for a 10x10-
foot space. Send sase to Garrison Art Center, Box
4, Garrison 10524; or telephone (914) 424-3960.
Greensburg, Pennsylvania “Westmoreland Arts
and Heritage Festival” (July 2-5, 1992). Juried
from slides. Entry fee: $30. Cash and purchase
awards. Send SASE to WAHF-C, Box 203, RD 12,
Greensburg 15601; or telephone (412) 830-3950.
Spring Green, Wisconsin “Spring Green Arts
and Crafts Fair” (June 27-28,1992). Juried from
slides. Entry fee: $60. For further information
contact the Spring Green Arts and Crafts Fair,
Box 96, Spring Green 53588; or telephone (608)
588-7080.
April 10, 1992 entry deadline
Layton, New Jersey “Peters Valley Crafts Fair”
(July 25-26, 1992). Juried from 5 slides. Entry
fee: $15. Booth fee: $185 for a lOxlO-foot out­
door space; tented space extra. Send sase to
Peters Valley Craft Fair, 19 Kuhn Road, Layton
07851; or telephone (201) 948-5200.
May 22, 1992 entry deadline
Norman, Oklahoma “A Midsummer Night’s
Fair” (July 10—11, 1992). Juried from 4 slides or
photos. Booth fee: $45 for a lOxlO-foot space.
Send SASE to MSNF Artist Selection Committee,
Firehouse Art Center, 444 South Flood, Norman
73069; or telephone (405) 329-4523.

62 Ceramics Monthly
December 1991 63
 Calendar
Conferences, Exhibitions; Fairs,
Workshops and Other Events to Attend
Conferences
Alabama, Montgomery March 13-15, 1992 “Ala­
bama Clay Conference VII” will include demon­
strations, discussion and slide lectures with Val
Cushing and Frank Fleming. Fee: $40; students/
seniors, $25; after February 13, 1992, $5 addi­
tional late fee. Contact Sue Jensen or Joy Hester,
Auburn University at Montgomery, Department
of Fine Arts, 7300 University Drive, Montgomery
36117; or telephone (205) 244-3377.
Illinois, Chicago February 13-15, 1992 “College
Art Association Annual Conference.” Orienta­
tion: February 11; placement begins February
12. Contact CAA, 2/5 Seventh Ave., New York,
New York 10001; or telephone (212) 691-1051.
North Carolina, Asheville February 21-23, 1992
“Arts and Crafts Conference and Antiques Show”
will include a seminar entided “Rookwood Pot­
tery” with Kenneth Trapp, a demonstration on
cleaning and repairing art pottery with Doug
Eisele, and the panel discussion “Building an
Arts and Crafts Collection.” Also includes tours
of two potteries. Fee: $231, includes 2 nights
lodging with continental breakfast, all confer­
ence events (tours extra) and catalog; 2 people,
$296. Contact Grove Park Inn, 290 Macon Ave­
nue, Asheville 28804; or telephone (800) 438-
5800, extension 1010 or (704) 252-2711, exten­
sion 8007. Or contact Bruce Johnson, Confer­
ence Director, Box 8773, Asheville 28814; tele­
phone (704) 254-1912.
Pennsylvania, Philadelphia March 4-7, 1992
“NCECA 1992—Old Worlds/New Worlds,” an­
nual conference of the National Council on
Education for the Ceramic Arts. Contact Regina
Brown, Box 1677, Bandon, Oregon 97411. Or
contact Minerva Navarrete, NCECA Conference
Planner, 33-25 147th St., Flushing, New York
11354; or telephone (718) 939-0963.
International Conferences
Finland, Helsinki June 16-18, 1992 “Interaction
in Ceramics—Art, Design and Research ” includes
exhibitions in area galleries and museums, plus
invited speakers from the United States, Norway,
Finland, England and Japan. (For specific speak­
ers, see September or October issue.) Location:
University of Industrial Arts Helsinki. Fee:
FIM1200 (approximately US$300); participants
presenting papers, FIM800 (approximately
US$200); students, FIM600 (approximately
US$150). Following the conference, there will be
a 1-week workshop directed by Frank Boyden
(United States) and Torbjorn Kvasbo (Norway)
in Posio, Lapland. Contact the University of
Industrial Arts Helsinki (ULAH), Centre for Ad­
vanced Studies, Hameentie 135 C, SF-00560
Helsinki. Or telephone Tuulikki Simila-Lehtinen,
secretary general (358) 0 7563-344; or Marianne
Finnila, press/marketing (358) 0 7563-539; or
Taina Sarvikas, conference secretary (358) 0
7563-234. Or fax (358) 0 7563-537.
Solo Exhibitions
Arizona, Sedona January 7-February 17,1992 Don
Reitz; at Sedona Arts Center, Highway 89A and
Art Barn Road.
Send announcements of conferences, exhibitions, ju­
ried fairs, workshops and other events at least two
months before the month of opening (add one month for
listings in July and two months for those in August) to
Calendar, Ceramics Monthly, Box 12448, Columbus,
Ohio 43212; or telephone (614) 488-8236. Fax an­
nouncements to (614) 488-4561.
64 CERAMICS MONTHLY
California, Los AngelesJanuary 4-29,1992David
Regan. Kurt Weiser; at Garth Clark Gallery, 170
South La Brea Avenue.
California, Walnut Creek through December 24
Roberta Laidman, “Dogs”; at Banaker Gallery,
1373 Locust Street.
Georgia, Atlanta December 6-January 4,1992Grady
Kimsey, “Echoes Recalled: Mysteries of the Edge”;
at Connell Gallery/Great American Gallery, 333
Buckhead Avenue.
Indiana, Indianapolis December 3-31 Linda LeMar,
sculpture; at Alliance Museum Shop, Indianapo­
lis Museum of Art, 1200 West 38th Street.
Massachusetts, Boston December 1-31 Hideaki
Miyamura; at Kikusui Gallery, 101 Charles Street.
Massachusetts, Milton through December 13 Lois
Atherton, porcelain and stoneware; at the Milton
Art Museum, 44 Edge Hill Road.
Massachusetts, Worcester December 4-January 25,
1992 Rosalie Olds, “Soup’s On”; at the Worces­
ter Center for Crafts, Atrium Gallery, 25 Saga­
more Road.
Michigan, Farmington Hills December 7-28 Marie
Woo; at Habatat/Shaw Gallery, 32255 North­
western Highway, #25.
Michigan, Royal Oakjanuary 11-February 8, 1992
John Rohlfing; at Swidler Gallery, Washington
Square Plaza, 308 West Fourth Street.
Missouri, Kansas City through December 24 Ken
Ferguson; at Garth Clark Gallery, 855 Rockwell
Lane.
Missouri, Saint Louis through January 4, 1992
Paul Dresang, new work; Eva Kwong, sculpture;
Andy Martin, functional work; at Pro-Art, 1214
Washington Avenue.
New York, Alfred January 15-May 17, 1992
Charles Fergus Binns, “A Chair Must Invite the
Sitter,” stoneware; at the Museum of Ceramic Art
at Alfred, New York State College of Ceramics at
Alfred University, Harder Hall, Fifth Floor.
New York, New York through December 15 Sydney
Hamburger, mixed-media sculpture/paintings;
at 14 Sculptors Gallery, 164 Mercer Street.
through December 21 British ceramist Peter Hayes,
porcelain; at Graham Gallery, 1014 Madison Ave.
January 7-February 1,1992 Ruth Duckworth .John
McQueen; at Garth Clark Gallery, 24 West 57th
Street.
North Carolina, Winston-Salem through December
12 David Keator. January 9-February 19, 1992
Geri Camarda; at Piedmont Craftsmen, 1204
Reynolda Road.
Ohio, Findlay January 13-February 7, 1992 Mark
Chatterley, ceramic sculpture; at the University
of Findlay, 1000 North Main Street.
Oregon, Corvallis through December 27 Ceramic
sculpture by Christine Pendergrass; at Oregon
State University.
Pennsylvania, Bethlehem through December 27
Terry Niedzialek, “Hair Sculpture and Its Roots”;
at Lehigh University, Wilson and Hall Galleries,
Alumni Memorial Building.
Pennsylvania, Philadelphia January 3-26, 1992
Alec Karros. Kevin Kautenberger; at the Clay
Studio, 139 North Second Street.
January 23-April5,1992RobertAmeson, “Guard­
ians of the Secret II.” Betty Woodman; at the
Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Penn­
sylvania, 36th and Sansom Streets.
Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh throughFebruary 16,1992
Edward Eberle; at the Carnegie Museum of Art,
Forum Gallery, 4400 Forbes Avenue.
Texas, Houston through January 16, 1992 Patti
Warashina; at North Harris County College, 2700
W. W. Thorne Dr.
Wisconsin, Superior December 8-20 George
Pobuda, raku and crystalline-glazed vessels; at
Holden Fine Arts Center, Third Floor Gallery,
University of Wisconsin-Superior.
Group Ceramics Exhibitions
Alabama, Huntsville through January 19, 1992
“17th-Century Chinese Porcelain from the But­
ler Family Collection”; at the Huntsville Museum
of Art, 700 Monroe St., SW. Continued
December 1991 65
 Calendar

Arizona, Phoenix through December 7 “CLAY,” ju­

ried exhibition of works by CLAY members; at
Shemer Art Center, 5005 East Camelback.
California, Los Angeles December 7-January 1,
1992 “Rituals of Tea”; at Garth Clark Gallery, 170
South La Brea Avenue.
D.C., Washington through December 31 Emerging
clay artists; at the Farrell Collection, 2633 Con­
necticut Avenue, Northwest.
through January 9, 1992 “Annual Ceramics Ex­
hibit,” with work by graduate and undergraduate
students of George Washington University; at
the Colonnade Gallery, Marvin Center, 21st and
H Streets, Northwest, Third Floor.
Georgia, Athens through December 31 Works by
Rick Berman, Cynthia Bringle, Jerry Chappelle,
Bruce Gholson, Sam Taylor and Aaron Weiss-
baum; at the Art of It All, 234 College Avenue.
Georgia, Atianta through December 24 “Third An­
nual Clay Invitational”; at Aliya Gallery, 1402
North Highland Avenue, Northeast.
Illinois, Chicago through February 2, 1992 “The
Radiance ofjade and the Crystal Clarity of Water:
Korean Ceramics from the Ataka Collection”; at
the Art Institute of Chicago, Michigan Avenue.
Illinois, Northfield throughDecember28 “Teapots—
Beyond the Limit/’juried national; at Northfield
Pottery Works, 1741 Orchard Lane.
Iowa, Iowa City through March 1, 1992 “American
Woodfire ’91 /’juried/invitational exhibition with
56 works; at University of Iowa Museum of Art,
Riverside Drive.
Massachusetts, East Cambridge December 4-Janu-
ary 10, 1992 “Mudflat Works: Celebrating 20
Years”; at Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center,
41 Second Street.
Michigan, Detroit through December 1 “Pottery
with Pretensions: The Marriage of Ceramics and
Silver”; at the Detroit Institute of Arts, 5200
Woodward Avenue.
through January 18, 1992 “Holiday Invitational,”
works by over 100 artists; at Pewabic Pottery,
10125 East Jefferson Avenue.
December 6-31 “Tradition Handed Down: Potters
of Seagrove, N.C.,” exhibition dedicated to the
memory of Dorothy and Walter Auman, Seagrove
Pottery; at the Galeria Beagas, 35 E. Grand Blvd.
Michigan, Jackson through December 14 “Math­
ematics of the Heart: A Clay Invitational,” with
works by Daniel Anderson, Katherine Blacklock,
Christopher Davis-Benavides, Bill Farrell, Bur­
ton Isenstein, Doug Jeck, Ron Kovatch, Greg
Pitts, Virginia Scotchie and Delia Seigenthaler;
at Ella Sharp Museum, 3225 Fourth Street.
Michigan, Royal Oak through December 21 Works
by Bruce Cochrane, Matthew Metz, Walter
Ostrom and Dale Periera; at Swidler Gallery,
Washington Square Plaza, 308West Fourth Street.
Minnesota, Saint Paul January 10-February 15,
1992 “Minnesota Blues,” work by 35 Minnesota
and Wisconsin ceramists; at the Northern Clay
Center, 2375 University Avenue, West.
New York, New York through December 8 Dual
exhibition of clayworks byjoy Brown and Carolyn
Chester; at Wheeler Seidel Gallery, 129 Prince
Street, Soho.
December 3-January 4, 1992 “Rituals of Tea”; at
Garth Clark Gallery, 24 West 57th Street.
Ohio, Mansfield December 15-January 19, 1992
“Clay on Walls”; at the Mansfield Art Center, 700
Marion Avenue.
Pennsylvania, Philadelphia January 9-April 5,
1992 “Clay Heritage: African American Ceram­
ics,” including historical ware by slave potters,
native pots from East Africa (late 19th and early
20th century), as well as contemporary works by
Syd Carpenter, MarthaJackson-Jaivis, MarvaJolly,
David McDonald, Sana Musasama, Winnie
Owens-Hart, James Tanner and James Watkins;
at the Afro-American Historical and Cultural
Museum, Seventh and Arch Streets.
Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh through December 26

66 CERAMICS MONTHLY
“Cups and Bowls, Clay for Collectors”; at the Clay
Place, 5416 Walnut Street.
Texas, Lubbock through September 1992 “Fire and
Clay”; at the Museum at Texas Tech University.
Utah, Salt Lake City through December 30 “The
28th Ceramic National: Clay, Color, Content”; at
the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, University of
Utah, 101 Art and Architecture Center.
Virginia, Norfolk through January 3, 1992 “The
Many Faces of Clay.” January 3-March 4, 1992
“Clay Habitats”; at Dominion Bank, 999 Water­
side Drive.

Ceramics in Multimedia Exhibitions

Arizona, Mesa December 10-January 18,1992“H id-
den Personas! January 28-February 22,1992“14 th
Annual Vahki Exhibition: Japanese Techniques
in Crafts”; at Galeria Mesa, 155 North Center.
Arizona, Scottsdale December 1-31 “Small Trea­
sures: Collected with Passion”; at Joanne Rapp
Gallery/The Hand and the Spirit, 4222 North
Marshall Way.
California, Los Angeles through December 29
“Mexico: Splendors of Thirty Centuries”; at the
Los Angeles Coun ty Museum of Art, 5905 Wilshire
Boulevard.
California, Pasadena through January 5, 1992
“Handmade for the Table,” including ceramics
by Johanna Hansen, Steve Horn, Jaye Lawrence
and Kevin Myers; at the Folk Tree Collection, 199
South Fair Oaks Avenue.
California, San Francisco December5-28 “Teapot
Invitational”; at Dorothy Weiss Gallery, 256 Sutter
Street.
January 4-February 22, 1992 “Many Mansions,”
with clayworks by Lee Kavaljian and Lemora
Martin; at the Craft and Folk Art Museum, Land­
mark Building A, Fort Mason.
California, Walnut Creek through December 24
“Banaker Presents...A Gift of Art,” with clayworks
by David Gilhooly, Roberta Laidman and Laura
Peery; at Banaker Gallery, 1373 Locust Street.
January 23-March 15, 1992 “Bay Area Women
Artists,” including clay sculpture by Sherry Kar-
ver; at the Regional Center for the Arts, Bedford
Gallery, 1601 Civic Drive.
Colorado, Snowmass Village through January 7,
1992 “Ranch Artists’ Holiday Show,” works by 17
artists participating in the winter residency pro­
gram; at Anderson Ranch Arts Center, 5263 Owl
Creek Road.
Connecticut, New Haven through December 23
“The Celebration of American Crafts”; at Cre­
ative Arts Workshop, 80 Audubon Street.
D.C., Washington through January 5, 1992
“Graphicstudio: Contemporary Art from the
Collaborative Workshop at the University of South
Florida,” with clayworks by Robert Rauschenberg.
through January 12, 1992 “Circa 1492: Art in the
Age of Exploration”; at the National Gallery of
Art, Fourth St. and Constitution Ave., NW.
Florida, Saint Petersburg through December 24
“The Magical/The Mystical”; at Florida Crafts­
men, 235 Third Street, South.
Illinois, Chicago through January 5, 1992 Four-
person exhibition featuring ceramics by Kather­
ine Blacklock, Tom Coleman and Yih-Wen Kuo;
at Schneider-Bluhm-Loeb Gallery, 230 West Su­
perior Street.
Iowa, Ames through January 12, 1992 “Salute to
Seniors: An Art Exhibition for Artists Over 60”; at
Octagon Center for the Arts, 427 Douglas Ave.
Kentucky, Louisville January 19-25, 1992 “Din-
nerWorks”; at the Louisville Visual Art Associa­
tion, Water Tower, 3005 Upper River Road.
Louisiana, New Orleans through January 26,1992
“Next Generation: Southern Black Aesthetic”; at
the Contemporary Arts Center, 900 Camp Street.
Massachusetts, Boston through December 31 “Sig­
nature Ornament,” holiday ornament exhibi­
tion; at Signature, Dock Square, 24 North Street.
Massachusetts, Chestnut Hill through December 31
“Signature Ornament,” holiday ornament exhi­
bition; at Signature, the Mall at Chestnut Hill,
Boylston Street.
Massachusetts, Ipswich through December 31 “Holi-

December 1991 67
 Calendar

day Traditions”; at Ocmulgee Pottery and Gal­

lery, 263 High Street.
Massachusetts, Lincoln December 7-February 2,
1992 “Art that Works: Decorative Arts of the
Eighties, Made in Ajnerica”; at DeCordova and
Dana Museum, Sandy Pond Road.
January 2-24, 1992 “The Sculptural Object,” in­
cludes functional and nonfunctional ceramics;
at Clark Gallery, Lincoln Station.
Massachusetts, Mashpee throughDecember31 “Sig­
nature Ornament,” holiday ornament exhibi­
tion; at Signature, Mashpee Commons, 10 Steeple
Street.
Massachusetts, Northampton through January 5,
1992 “The Doll House II”; at Ferrin Gallery, 179
Main Street.
Massachusetts, WorcesterJanuary 25-February 29,
1992 “New Traditions/1992,” with clayworks by
Paul Kotula; at the Worcester Center for Crafts,
Main Gallery, 25 Sagamore Road.
Michigan, Farmington Hills January 4-25, 1992
Three-person exhibition of sculpture and draw­
ings, including works by Scott Chamberlin and
Bruno La Verdiere; at Habatat/Shaw Gallery,
32255 Northwestern Highway, #25.
Missouri, Kansas City December 15-February 23,
1992 “Design 1935-1965: What Modern Was”; at
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 4525 Oak Street.
Missouri, Warrensburg January 20-February 14,
1992 “Greater Midwest International VII”; at
Central Missouri State University Art Center
Gallery, 217 Clark.
Newjersey, Montclair throughJune 7,1992 “High­
lights from the Native American Collection”; at
Montclair Museum, 3 S. Mountain Ave.
Newjersey, Newark throughDecember“Continuity
and Innovation in Contemporary Native Ameri­
can Art.” through March 1, 1992 “Teapots and
Coffeepots”; at the Newark Museum, 49 Wash­
ington Street.
Newjersey, Red Bank through December 29 ‘Win­
ter Showcase,” with ceramics by Barbara Farrar/
Melissa Greene; at Art Forms, 16 Monmouth St.
New York, Brooklyn throughDecember 29il Objects
of Myth and Memory: American Indian Art at the
Brooklyn Museum.” through January 21, 1992 “A
Dialogue with Tradition,” includes ceramics by
the Nahohai family of Zuni, New Mexico; at the
Brooklyn Museum, 200 Eastern Parkway.
New York, Hastings-on-Hudson throughDecember
7 “Grass Roots Alumni: Part I,” including ceram­
ics by Harriet Ross. December 15-January 12, 1992
“Grass Roots Alumni: Part II,” including ceramics
by Barbara Rittenberg; at the Gallery at Hastings-
on-Hudson, Municipal Building.
New York, Long Island City through February 28,
1992 “New Art Forms for the Public Square,”
including clayworks by Stanley Mace Andersen,
Doug Knotts, Sarah MacFarlane, Geff Reed and
Kathy Triplett; at the Steelcase Inc. Showroom,
IDCNY Center 1, Suite 343, 30-30 Thomson Ave.
New York, New York through December 21 Dual
exhibition with ceramic vessels by Hans Coper; at
Rubin Spangle Gallery, 395 West Broadway.
Ohio, Akron through January 5, 1992 “Focus on
the Collection: A 70th Anniversary Celebration”;
at the Akron Art Museum, 70 East Market Street.
Ohio, Cleveland through January 5, 1992 “Reflec­
tions of Japanese Style” and “Asian Autumn:
Masterpieces from the Collection”; at the Cleve­
land Museum of Art, 11150 East Boulevard.
Oregon, Portland through December 24 “Holiday
Show”; at Oregon School of Arts and Crafts, 8245
Southwest Barnes Road.
Pennsylvania, Edinboro January 22-February 15,
1992“Crafts National Invitational,” with clayworks
by Ed Eberle, Bruce Gholson, Andrea Gill, Bonnie
Gordon, Paul Kotula, Kris Nelson, Richard
Notkin, Chris Staley, Gerald Wagner, Marie Woo
and Denise Woodward; at Bruce Gallery,
Edinboro University.
T ennessee, Gatlinburg throughDecember 14 “From

68 Ceramics Monthly
All Directions.” December 19-February 22, 1992
“Selections from the Permanent Collection”; at
Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts.
Texas, San Antonio December 8-21 “Endeavors
III”; at Southwest Craft Center, 300 Augusta.
Vermont, Middlebury through December 31 “Cele­
bration of American Crafts IV”; at Vermont State
Craft Center, Frog Hollow.
Virginia, Richmond January 10-February 28,1992
“Place Setting Invitational”; at the Hand Work­
shop, 1812 West Main Street.
Washington, Richland through December 22 “Holi­
day Magic”; at Allied Arts Association, 89 Lee
Boulevard.
Wisconsin, Milwaukee through January 10, 1992
“A. Houberbocken Holiday. ’ January 17-March
13, 1992 “Fourth Annual Teapot Show”; at A.
Houberbocken, 230 West Wells Street, Suite 202.

Fairs, Festivals and Sales

Arizona, Tempe December 6-8 “23rd Annual Old
Town Tempe Fall Festival of the Arts”; in Old
Town Tempe, along Mill Avenue.
California, Del Mar December 8 “28th Annual
Christmas Exhibition and Sale,” works by the
Carmel Valley Artists; at 2244 Carmel Valley Rd.
California, Pomona December 6-8 “1991 Harvest
Festival”; at the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds.
Colorado, Golden through December 23 “17th An­
nual Holiday Art Market”; at the Foothills Art
Center, 809 15th Street.
Connecticut, Brookfield through December 24 “12th
Annual Holiday Craft Sale”; at Brookfield Craft
Center, Route 25.
Connecticut, Guilford through December 24 “13th
Annual Holiday Festival of Crafts”; at Guilford
Handcrafts, 411 Church Street.
Connecticut, Middletown through December 15
“The Wesleyan Potters 36th Annual Exhibit and
Sale”; at the Wesleyan Potters Craft Center, 350
South Main Street.
Florida, Boca Raton January 25-26, 1992 “Fiesta
of Arts and Crafts”; at the Boca Raton Commu­
nity Center, 201 West Palmetto Park Road.
Maryland, Gaithersburg December 13-15 ‘Winter
Crafts Festival”; at the Montgomery County Fair­
grounds.
Massachusetts, Somerville December 6-18 “Mudflat
Annual Holiday Sale and Open Studios”; at
Mudflat Studio, 149 Broadway.
Newjersey, Demarest December 7-8 “ 17th Annual
Invitational Pottery Show and Sale”; at Old
Church Cultural Center School of Art, 561
Piermont Road.
New York, Albany December 6-8 “Capital Art and
Crafts Marketplace”; at Knickerbocker Arena.
New York, Eastchester December 6-7 and 9-14
“Hudson River Potters 14th Annual Show and
Sale”; at Eastchester Library Gallery, 11 Oak
Ridge Place.
New York, New York December 5-7 “Eighth An­
nual Holiday Craft Sale”; at Greenwich House,
27 Barrow Street.
December 6-8, 13-15 and 20-22 “20th Annual
WBAI Holiday Crafts Fair”; at Columbia Univer­
sity, Ferris Booth Hall, Broadway at 115 Street.
Ohio, Columbus December 5-8 “Winterfair”; at
the Ohio State Fairgrounds.
Pennsylvania, Bethlehem through December 22
“Gallery of Gifts,” fund-raising sale of contempo­
rary crafts; at Luckenbach Mill Gallery, 459 Old
York Road.
Pennsylvania, JenkintonDecm£er6-7“l 991 Trunk
Show of Contemporary Crafts”; at Abington Art
Center, 515 Meetinghouse Road.
Pennsylvania, Wallingford December 6-8 “Potters
Guild 27th Annual Holiday Sale”; at Community
Arts Center, 414 Plush Mill Road.
Texas, Beaumont through December 23 “Christmas
Art Sale”; at the Art Studio, 700 Orleans at
Forsythe.
Virginia, Richmond through December 23 “Annual
Holiday Invitational Gallery Sale”; at the Hand
Workshop, Virginia Center for the Craft Arts,
1812 West Main Street.
Wisconsin, Milwaukee through January 10, 1992

December 1991 69
Calendar
“A. Houberbocken Holiday”; at A. Houber-
bocken, 230 West Wells, Suite 202.
Workshops
Arizona, Phoenix February 1-2, 1992 A session
with Tom Coleman. Fee: $30; members, Arizona
CLAY, $20. Contact Sue Abbrescia, Arizona CLAY
Workshop Chairman ,5110N.73rdSt., Sco ttsdale,
Arizona 85253; or telephone (602) 949-9165.
Arizona, Sedona January 7, 1992 A session with
Don Reitz. Fee: $36, includes box lunch. Contact
the Sedona Arts Center, Box 569, Sedona 86336;
or telephone (602) 282-3809.
Connecticut, Brookfield February 22-23, 1992
“Making Ceramic Jewelry/Color Clays” with Ina
Chapler. Fee: $190; $175, members. Contact the
Brookfield Craft Center, Box 122, Brookfield
06804; or telephone (203) 775-4526.
Missouri, Kansas City January 25-26, 1992 A
session with Bruce Cochrane. Fee: $65; Kansas
City Clay Guild members and Avila College stu­
dents, $55. Send SASE to Marie Deborah Wald,
425 West 62 Terrace, Kansas City 64113; or tele­
phone (816) 361-2798.
North Carolina, Raleigh February 24-28, 1992
“Clay Portrait Sculpture” with Daisy Grubbs. Fee:
$175. Space limited. Contact Randy Hinson,
Sertoma Arts Center, 1400 West Millbrook Road,
Raleigh 27612; or telephone (919) 782-7583.
Ohio, Canton January 18-19, 1992 Using molds
and extrusions to construct sculptural pieces,
withjoan Bontempo/William Kremer. Fee: $75.
Contact Canton Art Institute, 1001 Market Ave.,
N, Canton 44702; or telephone (216) 453-7666.
Pennsylvania, Allentown February 8-9,1992“Slides
and thejury Process” (February 8) and/or “Booth
Construction and Marketing Techniques” (Feb­
70 Ceramics Monthly
ruary 9) with Bruce Baker. Fee: $75 for both; $45
for one. Contact the Pennsylvania Guild of Crafts­
men, Box 820, Richboro, Pennsylvania 18954; or
telephone (215) 860-0731.
Pennsylvania, Philadelphia January 24, 1992 A
lecture by Robert Arneson. Location: Philadel­
phia Museum of Art. Fee: $5, students $2. Con­
tact the Clay Studio, 139 N. Second St., Philadel­
phia 19106; or telephone (215) 925-3453.
International Events
Australia, Redcliffe throughJanuary31,1992 “12th
Annual Exhibition of the Peninsula Potters”; at
the Down Under Gallery, Redcliffe Entertain­
ment Centre, Downs Street.
Belgium, Brussels through December 7 Solo exhibi­
tion of works by French ceramist Eric Astoul; at
Gallery Atelier 18, Rue du President, 18.
Canada, Ontario, Toronto through December 30
“Sixth Annual International Exhibition of Minia­
ture Art”; at del Bello Gallery, 363 Queen St., W.
through January 5, 1992 “The Art of the Yixing
Potter: The K S. Lo Collection, Flagstaff House
Museum of Tea Ware”; at the Royal Ontario
Museum, 100 Queen’s Park.
England, Bath through December 6Solo exhibition
of works by John Calver; at Saint James Gallery, 9
Margarets Building, Brock Street.
England, London through December 23 “New Work
for Christmas”; at the Crafts Council Shop at the
Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington.
through December 24 “The Christmas Collections”;
at Con temporary Applied Arts, 43 Earlham Street,
Covent Garden.
December 4-January 10, 1992 “Christmas Exhibi­
tion”; at Galerie Besson, 15 Royal Arcade, 28 Old
Bond Street.
England, Oxford January 13-February 12, 1992
‘Jugs, Mugs, Rugs and Bugs,” with clayworks by
Nancy Angus, James Campbell, Michael Casson,
Georgina Garland, Jane Hamlyn, Paul Jackson,
Nigel Lambert, Jane Perryman, Philomena
Pretsell and Ruthanne Tudball; at Oxford Gal­
lery, 23 High Street.
France, Nancay through December 15 Exhibition of
works by Antoine de Vinck; at Galerie Capazza,
Grenier de Villatre.
France, Sevres through December 30 Retrospective
exhibition of works byJean-Paul van Lith; at the
Musee national de Ceramique de Sevres, place
de la Manufacture.
France, Uzes throughJanuary 12,1992“ Caf Theieres,”
with ceramics by Tristan Chaillot, Pierre Dutertre,
Jean Fontaine, Jean-Nicolas Gerard, Kristie
Hammartstrom, Anne Krog Ovrebo, David Miller,
Josette Miquel, Joel Nugier and Micotte Pemot; at
Galerie Terra Viva, Saint Quentin la Poterie.
Netherlands, Amsterdam through December 11 Wall
sculpture and multiples by Piet Stockmans. De­
cember 14-January 15, 1992 Two-person exhibi­
tion with monumental ceramics by Netty van den
Heuvel; at Galerie De Witte Voet, Kerkstraat 149.
Netherlands, Deventer through January 5, 1992
Three-person exhibition featuring raku by Gisele
Buthod Garcon; at Kunst and Keramiek, Korte
Assenstraat 15.
Netherlands, ’s-Hertogenbosch January 18-26,
1992 Exhibition of clayworks by the European
Ceramics Work Center’s artists, in conjunction
with its opening; at the European Ceramics Work
Center, Zuid-Willemsvaart 215.
Switzerland, Vallorbe through December 14 Exhibi­
tion of ceramics by ToshiyukiTakeushi; at Galerie
Artcadache, Rue des Grandes-Forges 5.
Wales, Caernarfon through January 4, 1992 Solo
exhibition of ceramics by Debbie Smith; at
Caernarfon Library.
Wales, Llangefni through January 4, 1992 Solo
exhibition of ceramics by Joanna Mallin-Davies;
at the Llangefni Library.
Wales, Ystradgynlais throughJanuary 4,1992 Solo
exhibition of ceramics by Leah Hinks; at the
Ystradgynlais Library.
December 1991 71
 Suggestions
From Readers
Tiered Drying Storage
To dry and store clean tools and sponges,
hang a three-tiered wire basket over the
sink. Put absorbent foam (the kind used in
flower arrangements) in the top tier to hold
brush handles. Tools go in the middle bas­
ket and sponges in the bottom.—Tom
Dewbray, Roselle, III.
Hump Mold Release
A large-diameter plastic ball glued with
construction adhesive to a bat works well as
a hump mold for bowls, but release can be
difficult. The solution is to moisten the
surface of the ball with water or slip, then
cover with kitchen plastic wrap.
Slab or coil build the bowl as usual; you
can even center the bat on a potter’s wheel
and throw a foot. After the clay has set
(speed dry the thrown foot with a hair dryer),
invert the bowl and mold onto another bat.
With a band saw, cut one end at a 90° angle
so the pipe stands vertically (unless you want
a slanted cylinder), then cut in half length­
wise and rejoin with electrical tape. Cast
plaster as usual; it’s then a simple matter to
peel off the electrical tape and remove both
halves of the pipe.—Zoe Primrose, Kansas
City, Mo.
Slip Stamping
Shaped or carved wooden blocks cov­
ered with cotton fabric or canvas make great
slip stamps. Attach the fabric with Super
Glue or staple to the sides.
After dipping the stamp, let the slip dry a
bit (until almost tacky) to avoid drips or
pattern distortion when it is pressed onto
greenware.—Ilisa Slavin, Atlanta
Glaze Application Variation
For interesting patterns, try soaking
cheesecloth or any other netlike material in
glaze, applying it (flat or bunched) to bisque-
ware, then firing. The technique also works
well to develop light texturing with slips.—
Ralph Collins, Atlanta
Reducing Back Strain
When throwing pots at an electric wheel,
try placing a 2x4 under the back legs of your
stool or chair to tilt the seat forward and thus
help reduce/eliminate back strain. A brick
under your left foot may also help establish
good working posture. —Mike Gabriel, Chino,
Calif.

Scissor-Cut Ribs
The slats from discarded Venetian blinds
can be cut with ordinary scissors to make
Even if you have substantial release prob­ free flexible ribs and interesting texturing
lems, it is easy to pull the kitchen wrap tools.—David Root, Lawrence, Kans.
slighdy, then direct air from a vacuum cleaner
(with reverse flow capability) along the in­ Speedy Shelf Wash
ner edge of the clay. The mold should then Instead of a brush, use a large, furry paint
release easily.—Mike Durante, Dallas roller (the kind designed for painting rough
concrete block walls) to apply kiln wash to
Snow Saucer Glaze Container shelves; it’s the fastest method.—Steve Grim­
A saucer-shaped snow sled makes a great mer, Kansas City, Mo.
catcher/container when glazing the surface
of large platters. Either place slats across the Multipurpose Spatula
saucer to support the platter as you pour A kitchen spatula with a wooden handle
glaze over it, or place the platter in a glaze- will make a variety of throwing tools. The
filled saucer and swirl as if you’re panning hardwood handle, if sharpened to a point, is
for gold.—Randy Gressley, Gaithersburg, Md. an excellent separating stick for removing
clay from the base of a freshly thrown pot
Corrugated Drying Surfaces before it is cut from the wheel head or bat.
Corrugated fiber-glass panels make ex­ The rubber part is equally useful as a rib, or
cellent drying surfaces for pots. The rounded it can be cut and sanded to form a decorat­
ridges do not mar feet, yet allow for good ing rib.—Doug Hanson, Mount Vernon, Iowa
circulation of air beneath the forms.
The panels I use (sold as light diffusers) Dollars for Your Ideas
can be purchased at building supply stores. — Ceramics Monthly pays $10 for each suggestion
John Kudlacek, Emporia, Kans. published; submissions are welcome individually
or in quantity. Include an illustration or photo to
Casting Plaster Cylinders accompany your suggestion and we will pay $10
Perfectly round plaster cylinders (to carve more if we use it. Mail ideas to Suggestions,
or flute as models for slip-cast cups or vases) Ceramics Monthly, Box 12448, Columbus, Ohio
can be cast in heavyweight PVC pipe. (Avoid 43212; or fax to (614) 488-4561. Sorry, but we
lightweight pipe because it will deform.) can’t acknowledge or return unused items.

72 CERAMICS MONTHLY
December 1991 73
Questions required to prevent sticking; appropriate and foot, creating greater pressure there;
clay water content is also important. The what’s more, small movements in the foot
cutters (like cookie cutters) are spot welded will produce big movements in the rim.
Answered by the CM Technical Staff on two sheet metal sleeves, which can be (Those are two good reasons why you don’t
rolled at a machine shop so that each per­ see much bowl-shaped architecture.)
fectly surrounds half the horizontally di­ So, one of the easiest solutions to your
vided roller. Talk to a local printer about problem is to fire bowls to their highest
Q I am handbuilding tiles of various sizes with where to get the metal stock used in making temperature in the inverted position with
my slab roller, but have a problem in making theprinters’ cutting dies. The two sleeves can rims bedded on sand so that they can shrink
tiles perfectly square. Is there a method, short ofthen be attached with flush-mounted sheet as needed, but remain horizontal under the
purchasing tilerr^aking equipment, that allows metal screws on the slab roller cylinder— weight of the bowl’s mass. If rims need to be
this to be done with a slab roller ?—C. W. like a printing plate on a press. A local glazed, fire the work again in the standard
If your production is small, it is easy to machine shop should be able to provide the (upright) position, but at two or more cones
simply cut around handmade wooden or finished slab roller sleeves, given a basic lower than the bisque.
Masonite templates, which themselves are drawing and the exact diameter and width Should inverted firing not provide
made perfecdy square. You can cut these of your roller. As with the single-tile cutters, enough support, bisque firing can be car­
yourself with a saber saw or hand saw, allow­ remember to make these multiple cutters ried out inside a sand-filled saggar. This
ing exactly for the shrinkage of your own slightly larger than the finished tile to allow totally supports the piece, but takes much
particular clay body. Place the templates on for combined drying and firing shrinkage. longer to heat and cool the load (which
top of the slab to be cut, then use a wet must be reduced in scale because of the
fettling knife for a smoothly cut edge. Q How does one prevent mid-range porcelainlike much heavier mass).
Also, there are inexpensive, standard- clay from warping and distorting? I have a Of course, adding refractory material
size, single-tile cutters available. They con­ particular problem with this happening to large (typically silica, kaolin or ball clay) to the
sist of cookie-cutter-style steel edging with bowls.—M.M. body, and firing to a lower cone will help
full-size push-out plates. These work well— A little known fact among potters is that prevent any warping due to overfiring. Slow,
provided the slab is first dusted with dry clay many bowl forms are far more stable when even drying will also help prevent warping
as a separator. fired in the inverted position. That is be­ caused by uneven evaporative shrinkage.
If your production is large, it is also cause a domelike shape distributes weight
possible to dedicate a slab roller to tile- evenly down the wall to the wider-circumfer- Subscribers’ questions are welcome and those of
making: outfit a slab roller’s cylinder with ence base—a fact architectural dom^ build­ general interest will be answered in this column.
strap-steel cutters so that the slab roller ers have used to advantage for centuries. A Due to volume, letters may not be answered person­
continuously cuts tile. A separator (typically right-side-up bowl, however, distributes all ally. Address the Technical Staff, Ceramics
clay powder or some oily substance) is again its weight downward to the smaller bottom Monthly, Box 12448, Columbus, Ohio 43212.

74 Ceramics Monthly
December 1991 75
 New Books with the pots of other people...about the
house. Then the pots by the other people
can tell me about my own—and maybe
mine can take me by surprise.”
When acquiring other people’s work, he
looks for “a pot that speaks to me, that
reveals new things about itself every time I
Warren MacKenzie use it, or that reminds me of what I saw in it
An American Potter when I bought it. And I like pots that tell me
by David Lewis things about the potters who made them—
inner things, things about their sensibility in
Written by a friend of some 40 years, this contrast with my own. It’s nice to have the
biography of one of the most influential personalities of other potters around. It
potters of the 20th century is well seasoned stops one from getting egocentric.”
with anecdotes, personal observations and Now that he has retired from teaching,
quoted philosophy. Born in 1924, Warren MacKenzie spends most of his time in the
MacKenzie studied art at the School of the studio—the book concludes with a photo
Art Institute of Chi­ series showing him throwing and decorat­
cago before he and ing various shapes. Among his decorating
his late wife Alix ap­ tools are cheese slicers, graters, rasps, butter
prenticed with Ber­ paddles, heavy treaded toy truck wheels and
nard Leach at Saint a bed caster with triangular indentations
Ives. On returning to filed into its surface. Scale drawings also
theU.S.in 1952, War­ help describe the studio’s layout (throwing,
ren began teaching glazing and kiln rooms) and equipment
at the School of Art (dough mixer, pug mill, wheels and kilns).
in Saint Paul by day 191 pages, including afterword by Tatsuzo
and at the University Shimaoka, excerpts of letters from Bernard
of Minnesota in Minneapolis in the eve­ Leach, excerpts from a taped interview, glaze
nings. By the fall of 1953, he had been recipes and chronology. 45 color and 85
appointed a daytime lecturer at the univer­ black-and-white illustrations. $65. Kodansha
sity, enabling him to parallel his academic America, Inc., 114Fifth Avenue, New York, New
career with working as a studio potter. York 10011. Also available from the Ceramics
As his reputation grew internationally, Monthly Book Department, Box 12448, Colum­
MacKenzie was called upon to do work­ bus, Ohio 43212.
shops around the country and abroad. He
also was active on the regional and national The Potter’s Dictionary
arts scene, serving as president of the Na­
tional Council on Education for the Ce­ of Materials and Techniques
ramic Arts, as a panelist and adviser to the by Frank and Janet Hamer
National Endowment for the Arts, as well as Intended for studio potters, teachers and
a selection panelist for the Minnesota State students, this updated third edition includes
Arts Board. new information on materials, processes,
Throughout these years of parallel activi­ equipment, safety and health hazards, avoid­
ties, the studio remained the center of his ance of pollution and
existence, the place where he could focus energy conservation,
on his primary goal—producing pots for plus about 100 new
ordinary people to enjoy using every day. photographs.
“Mostly,” Lewis writes, “MacKenzie’s pots Entries are listed
speak of Chinese porcelains of the Sung in alphabetical order,
period, and of peasant stonewares of the and cross referenced
Korean Yi dynasty. They speak of the Korean with key words in
impact on Japanese crafts four centuries bold type to give
ago and of the richjapanese heritage, which “quick access to as
resulted from this flowing together....They much or as little in­
also talk of bringing East and West together, formation as is re­
not in any didactic sense but as components quired on any particular topic.” For example,
of an unselfconscious working language.” under flocculation, the reader is advised to
MacKenzie rarely uses his own pots. “It’s also see viscosity, fluidity, forces of attrac­
too much like talking to oneself,” he is tion, double layer theory and zeta potential.
quoted as saying. “One of the things which Among the new entries are descriptions
distinguishes handmade pots from mass- of inlay, lamination and neriage, while
produced pots is the communication be­ rewritings of the entries for raku and salt
tween the potter and the user. So I use other reflect recent experimentation and con­
people’s pots. The only time I use my own is cern for safety. 384 pages, including tables,
when I have a new shape or a new glaze. bibliography, list of suppliers, and recipes.
Then I might decide to have it in the kitchen 555 black-and-white photographs and line
or on the table for a while, just to see how it drawings. $49.95. University of Pennsylvania
performs. Or sometimes I like to have one Press, Blockley Hall, 13th Floor, 418 Service
or two of my own pots mixed randomly in Drive, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104.

76 CERAMICS MONTHLY
December 1991 77
 Airbrushing on Clay
A versatile tool, the airbrush
is typically used in graphic
arts, technical illustration and
photo retouching, but it can also
be used in daywork for surfaces with
the spontaneity of raku or the verve
of expressionistic painting. On the
other hand, a planned and controlled
approach can produce a precise and
repeatable image.
An airbrush can produce flat, solid
areas of color or areas evenly shaded
from light to dark. It can emphasize
texture or imitate texture. A clever
use of a series of stencils can convey
the illusion of depth. Edges and lines
can be hard and sharp or soft and
diffused. The brushstroke itself can
function as line, as in spray-painted
graffiti art.
Earlier work in graphic arts influ­
enced my experimentation with air­
brushing on clay. At first I used the
airbrush merely to make “improve­
ments,” such as adding pink highlights
to a matt lavender glaze before raku-
ing. Ultimately, I used transparent
underglaze with a thin glaze and en­
tirely eliminated the fuss and danger
of raku reduction chambers.
My current work involves the use
of stencils. These can be actual mate­
rials (leaves, for example) or images
designed by the artist and cut out.
Desirable characteristics of stencils in-
78 CERAMICS MONTHLY
by Hanna Lore Hombordy
“Eucalyptus by Starlight ” 17 inches in
diameter, earthenware, by the author.
elude the ability to stay on the clay
surface and to resist the force of air
flow, reusability and ease of cleaning.
Frisket films (generally used when air­
brushing on paper) are not success­
ful, except when used on already
glazed surfaces. A stronger, somewhat
absorbent stencil is preferable.
With transparent stencils, one has
the advantage of being able to see
through to the design underneath,
and placement is easily adjusted.
However, clear stencils tend to be lost
more often, as they are harder to see.
I avoid this by giving them a quick
spatter of any color spray paint. You
could also use two thin sheets of trans­
parent acetate joined with spray ad­
hesive. The adhesive adds a visible
cloudy film.
Some stencils are more durable
than others. Those that tend to curl
up can be pressed between boards. I
have been known to press my stencils
with a steam iron.
When airbrushing a flat or slightly
curved surface, I simply
weigh down the stencils with
small metal parts like flat wash­
ers, nuts and screw eyes. Placing a
stencil on a curved surface is more
troublesome. One can lay a vessel on
its side over a foam cushion that is
protected with thin plastic. A flexible
stencil can then be draped over the
piece and the vessel rotated as needed.
If the stencil covers a large area, it
may be necessary to cut darts to make
tucks. The darts should be sealed with
tape to prevent any color from blow­
ing through. Another solution is to
glue the stencil to the vessel with rub­
ber cement; remember to remove any
cement that may have oozed into the
area to be sprayed. Rubber cement is
removed by rubbing with the finger
or with a rubber-cement pickup
(available at art supply stores). An­
other option is double-sided tape,
which clings to most stencils and is
easily removed.
In many cases, the use of a mask­
ing liquid best suits the round vessel.
There are water-soluble liquid mask­
ing products on the market that are
especially formulated for use on clay
and are easily brushed on. Unlike wax
resist, this liquid mask must be re­
moved before firing.
Found materials, such as leaves,
make excellent stencils. Leaves can
Pouring underglaze through a fine screen or tea strainer Stencils (in this case actual leaves weighted down with nuts
removes any large particles that might interrupt its even and other metal scrap) can be added between sprayings to
flow through the airbrush. produce a multiple layer effect.

be used “as is,” or pressed and coated zor blades. Jagged edges on acetate the image or the result may be unsuc­
with varnish on both sides, which are smoothed out with emery paper. cessful. Preliminary sketches on pa­
makes them fairly flat, reversible and There is no ideal stencil material. per help avoid this, although luck
reusable in different arrangements. Variables such as size and shape of sometimes intervenes. Experience will
Other suitable found materials are work, dexterity and individual style all help avoid a result that is either too
netting, laces, paper doilies, cheese­ enter into the choice. Trial and error rigid or too frenzied.
cloth, screening, coins, small pieces often lead to the best solution. You can airbrush on raw, bisqued
of hardware, pebbles and so on. When a stencil is placed firmly or glazed surfaces. Most of my work is
Gummed labels and masking tapes in against clay, it produces a slick, hard- done with underglazes on greenware.
various combinations are good for edged image. A stencil that curves up The pieces are then fired unglazed or
geometric designs. Commercial tem­ at the edges or is loosely placed allows sprayed with glaze and single fired to
plates used in drafting and engineer­ some of the color to penetrate under­ Cone 04 or Cone 5.
ing can also give interesting results. neath, which results in a softer, hazy- Underglazes, slips and engobes are
Materials for making original sten­ edged look. all suitable for airbrushing, as long as
cils include clear vinyl, flannel-backed The drama of black and white is they are extremely smooth and finely
vinyl table covering (purchased in a easily achieved with just one stencil. ground. Liquids used in the airbrush
fabric shop) and acetate sheets in vary­ Just decide whether the stencil will should have the consistency of milk.
ing thicknesses (available at art sup­ represent the background or the sil­ Coarse liquids, including typical glazes,
ply stores). Naugahyde-type remnants houetted design, or parts of each. An should not be used since they won’t
from an upholstery shop work well intermediate tone can be added dur­ flow evenly and, worse, they damage
for heavier weight stencils. Contact ing the last stages of airbrushing by the airbrush’s fragile needle tip. Those
shelf paper is useful because of the lifting part of the stencil and spraying wishing to mix their own sprayable
adhesive backing; it can be applied to underneath. compositions can refer to Daniel
a stiff fabric or plastic to give the sten­ For a more complex image involv­ Rhodes’ book, Clay and Glazes for the
cil added strength. When one side of ing the nuances of light and color, Potter, which has an excellent chapter
the material is slick and the other use a series of overlapping stencils. on that subject.
more absorbent, the slick side should First place stencils representing areas I find measuring and mixing quite
be placed down. that are to be the lightest tone and dreary; commercial products alleviate
Stencils can also be made of clay. appear closest to the viewer. Middle this problem. They are consistent and
Variously formed or cut-out shapes can tones come next. The last stencil readily available in many colors. Un­
be draped over the surface to be air- placed will be the first one removed. derglaze colors may be blended to­
brushed. However, this makes for a Areas subject to more spraying typi­ gether. Translucent colors can be
thick stencil, plus the moist clay quickly cally will turn darker than areas ex­ sprayed over opaque colors. Opaque
becomes wetter when sprayed. Smaller posed at a later stage. So spray a color, underglazes can be used over each
accent pieces can be made of fired remove a stencil, spray another color, other, completely blocking out the
clay. Here, absorption is no problem, and so on. Conversely, stencils can be color underneath. Light colors can
but the thicker bisqued/glazed sten­ added instead of subtracted, giving a block out dark.
cil can be cumbersome. multiple exposure effect in one color, Forget that labels advise the user
For one-time application, almost in two, or with a change of color be­ to put a product only on greenware
any paper makes a good stencil. When tween every move. and to fire only to a certain tempera­
blocking out larger areas, plastic wrap Waiting to remove the final stencil ture. Underglazes often can be used
or newspaper is inexpensive and works is quite suspenseful. Adjustments can on damp ware, on bisqueware and
equally well. still be made at this time to emphasize even over glazes. Many Cone 04 un-
Use felt pens to draw on stencil detail, add a shadow or whatever, work­ derglazes work well at Cone 5. Daniel
material; then cut with scissors, hobby ing back and forth until the result is Rhodes was right in stating that “en­
knives, swivel knives or single-edge ra­ just right. However, don’t overwork gobes usually have very wide toler­

December 1991 79
 ances in composition, application and
firing range.”
A common question is how thick
to spray. The answer depends on how
the airbrush is adjusted, the angle of
the spray, the distance from the piece
and the amount of water in the liq­
uid. One should add just enough wa­
ter to create an even flow. Too much
water dilutes the color and causes the
work to become unnecessarily damp.
Commercial products should be
thinned no more than 50%. For solid
coverage, three passes over an area
should do. Shading must be judged
by eye. Underglazes that are to be
covered with clear glaze will turn much
brighter and can be applied thinner
than those left unglazed.
It is a good idea to pour underglaze
through a fine screen or tea strainer
When airbrushing underglazes, parts
of a stencil can be pulled back, then
sprayed, to develop intermediate tones.
Stencils can be made from a variety of materials, including
clay itself; however, thicker stencils can be cumbersome.
80 CERAMICS MONTHLY
to remove any lumps that might inter­
rupt its flow through the airbrush. A
syringe, eyedropper or brush can be
used to fill the cup of an airbrush, or
underglaze can be poured into one
of the covered jars that attaches to
most models. When spraying several
colors, it is a good idea to have ajar
with each color ready to be attached
to the airbrush as needed.
Setting work to be airbrushed on a
turntable makes the job more trac­
table. A turntable is essential, for in­
stance, when adding a hazy border to
a round plate. One merely props the
airbrush in a fixed position, then turns
the piece while spraying, until a de­
sired tone is achieved.
There are many types of airbrushes
on the market. Happily, the most ex­
pensive are too delicate for daywork.
Overlapping stencils can be positioned,
then removed one at a time as layers of
under glaze are applied.
Brushed liquid latex masking products often yield the best
results on curved surfaces.
Ceramists need a model that can
handle fairly heavy materials, yet be
suitable for smaller detail. Several
manufacturers market models with in­
terchangeable nozzles and needles,
offering a wide particle range and ap­
plication capability. Different tips al­
low diverse spray patterns, and needles
can be adjusted in and out to vary
sprayed effects.
Airbrushes have either single or
double action. Single action is easier
to use and less expensive, too; your
finger controls air flow. The double-
action airbrushes are more versatile
and faster to use. One’s finger con­
trols both airflow and color feed. I
prefer the double-action model with
an assortment of needles.
The needle portion of the air­
brush’s needle valve is the most deli­
Loosely placed stencils allow some of
the underglaze to penetrate underneath,
giving a softer edge.
cate part of an airbrush, and care must
be taken not to damage the tip. If it is,
it can be sharpened on a honing stone.
Bent needles should be replaced.
Using a face mask is a wise precau­
tion, and a spray booth would be an
additionally sensible investment.
Hold an airbrush like a pencil, the
cord wrapped around the wrist so as
not to get in the way. Those using an
airbrush for the first time might want
to practice on paper. The common
procedure is to make a series of evenly
spaced lines, dots, circles and combi­
nations thereof. Once you have some
control, try a large area of even tone,
spraying back and forth, then repeat­
ing in another direction. Next, try
graded-tone areas, from dark to light
and back again, etc., aiming for as
even a transition as possible. Shaded
cubes, spheres, cylinders and cones
are good final practices.
Cleaning the airbrush and its color
cups is of utmost importance. Annoy­
ing problems, such as spattering,
grainy spray, uneven airflow and air
backing up into the color cup, are
caused invariably by a dirty airbrush.
It is best to clean the airbrush imme­
diately after use by running clean wa­
ter through it. A “reamer” is often
provided to help clean colorant resi­
due from the nozzle’s interior. The
needle should be removed and wiped
clean with a cloth. Then the front end
of the airbrush can be immersed in
water, but only as far as the tip of the
Underglazes sprayed over tom newspaper (used as a stencil)
can easily produce hill or mountain imagery.
color cup. Finally, airbrushes should
be lubricated as directed by the manu­
facturer.
Airbrushing problems unrelated to
cleaning are caused by pressure—the
airbrush must have a constant and
sufficient supply of compressed air.
Electric compressors are frequently
used. A small diaphragm type that de­
livers 30 psi (pounds per square inch)
pressure is adequate. If electricity is
unavailable or quiet operation is de­
sired, a C02 tank with regulator is
suitable. If only a small amount of air
is needed, pressure tanks the size of a
can of spray paint are available; a spe­
cial valve is attached to control air
volume. The air pressure lasts about
an hour, depending on the type of
airbrush and the area sprayed.
Pressure becomes low if the hose
connection is loose, or if there is a
leak in an old hose. Or, debris inside a
hose can obstruct air flow.
Two problems are caused solely by
the operator of the airbrush—both
relate to puddling. The first kind of
puddling happens when too much liq­
uid sits on the stencil and the excess
runs over the edge onto the clay. To
prevent this, keep the airbrush mov­
ing, and watch for buildup, especially
on nonabsorbent stencils. It’s better
to wait until some drying occurs be­
fore continuing spraying.
The other problem involves liquid
buildup on the sprayed surface. This
results in pigment movement; air
“Picture Window ” 12 inches in diameter, white stoneware
plate, with airbrushed underglazes, fired to Cone 5.
sprayed on a wet surface spreads the
puddles of underglaze into spidery
shapes, although such accidents might
conceivably be transformed into part
of the composition.
If there are small defects in the
work, such as spots of color, they can
be successfully removed with a sharp
knife. Larger flaws can sometimes be
erased by gently rubbing with a paper
towel. Additionally, corrections can be
made by spraying opaque color over
unwanted decoration, but usually the
whole area will have to be blocked out
again. When airbrushing underglazes
on bisqueware, the whole image can
be simply washed off.
Once the basics are mastered, you
can strike out in your own direction.
There are still many untried ideas and
techniques to investigate. Keep in
mind the counsel of Shakespeare, who
said: “Our doubts are traitors, and
make us lose the good we oft might
win, By fearing to attempt.”
To supplement experimentation,
literature provided by manufacturers
of airbrushes and ceramics suppliers
is a good source of information. Read­
ers wishing more facts and additional
points of view on airbrushing can re­
fer to Dewey Decimal Classification
numbers 741.29 and 751.494 at their
local public libraries.
The author Hanna Lore Hombordy pro­
duces ceramic sculpture, vessels and tile-
work at her studio in Ventura, California.
December 1991 81
 Manipulating Raku Glazes
by Robert Keyser
Experimenting with glazes can lead
to interesting results in raku firing.
While studying at Arizona State Uni­
versity in Tempe, I was able to work
with several Cone 08-06 recipes that
were on file in the ceramics depart­
ment. Through colorant and applica­
tion manipulation of two glazes, I
achieved some variations you too
might like to try.
The original recipe for Lizard Skin
Raku Glaze yields a mottled gloss that
fluctuates from green to copper in
color, depending on the amount of
postfiring reduction:
Lizard Skin Raku Glaze
Borax........................................... 8.4%
Colemanite..................................58.8
Lithium Carbonate...................... 12.6
Magnesium Carbonate ............... 3.4
Nepheline Syenite....................... 16.8
100.0%
Add: Copper Carbonate.............. 3.0%
In working with this recipe, I de­
cided to increase the copper to 10%.
This allowed the glaze to be used as a
copper wash, giving dry matt and oil
spot surfaces. Then, because copper
is highly soluble, I was able to use the
solution from the top of the glaze
bucket to regulate color and whether
the end result would be matt or gloss.
I mixed up a 5000-gram batch to
use all year as needed. However, the
longer I let this glaze sit in solution,
the more intriguing the results be­
came. When it was allowed to settle to
the bottom of the container, the top
water was relatively clear. By gently
tapping the bucket, some color en­
tered the water. This top color yielded
a variety of results, from the subtle to
the quite colorful.
82 CERAMICS MONTHLY
The second glaze I experimented
with was Very Dry Burgundy Matt. As
its name implies, it yields only matt
surfaces, but a wide range of color:
Very Dry Burgundy Matt Raku Glaze
Colemanite..................................... 50%
Talc ................................................30
Nepheline Syenite ......................... 20
100%
Add: Copper Carbonate................. 3 %
Both red and white clay bodies were
used with little difference in the end
result. The greatest variation (for both
glazes) occurred in postfiring reduc­
tion, depending on what and how
much combustible material was used.
I reduced with sawdust almost exclu­
sively, and was able to control pattern-
ing by giving some thought to
placement of the ware in the reduc­
tion material.
My bowls and platters often incor­
porate holes and serrated edges. I
found that by reducing these forms
upside down, but at a slight angle (by
elevating one side on a brick), the
smoke created flow patterns of differ­
ent colors from the point of escape at
the brick and through the various
holes. Sculptural forms were usually
reduced at the bottom only.
When the work was placed directly
in the reduction material, copper
color was sure to be found; but where
the smoke was able to circulate and
escape, bright, vivid blues, greens, yel­
lows, reds and violets were achieved.
Wherever the clay remained unglazed,
carbon penetrations yielded black.
The author After completing his studies
at Arizona State University, Robert Keyser
settled in Longmont, Colorado.
December 1991 83
84 Ceramics Monthly
December 1991 85
 CERAMICS MONTHLY Annual Index
Ceramics Monthly has indexed the year's articles in each
December issue since 1962. An index covering January 1953
through December 1961 was published in the January 1962
issue. Additionally, a 20-year (1953-1972) subject index,
covering feature articles plus the Suggestions and Questions
columns, is available for $1.50, postpaid, from the CM Book
Department, Box 12448, Columbus, Ohio 43212.
Business
Alfred Hering, Fries; German Traditions in
Ceramics, Nov., p 42
How to Buy Supplies, Zamek, May, p 82
Clay and Glazes
50:50 Wet Glaze Blends, Friedly, Nov., p 53
Accidental Potter, The, Gluskoter, Jan., p 50
Allure of Slipware, The, Starr, Feb., p 42
Bill Brigham, Korsak, Apr., p 27
Crystal Glazes in Reduction! Carroll, Mar., p 35
Developing Mid-Temperature Clays, Clark, June/
July/Aug., p 92
Doug Casebeer, Dixon, Dec., p 29
Geology and Maps for Clay Prospecting, Aigner,
Apr., p 82
Island Pottery in the Baltic, Andersen and Petersen,
Feb., p 53
Italian Architectural Influences, Alberetti, June/
July/Aug., p 46
Lee Kavaljian, Smith, Apr., p 40
Low-Fire Highlights, Mar., p 42
Magnesium Matt Glazes, McWhinnie, Dec., p 53
Manipulating Raku Glazes, Keyser, Dec., p 82
Mike Dodd, Harrod; Glazing and Firing, Dodd,
Jan., p 54
Palette of Cone 6 Oxidation Glazes, A, Dietrich,
Apr., p 81
Raku Integrations, Kenney, June/July/Aug., p 37
Reef-Inspired Porcelain, Dann, Sept., p 40
Slip Casting, Rowan
Part 1: Properties of Slip, Jan., p 84
Part 2: Plaster Molds, Feb., p 82
Part 3: Cone 6 Casting Slips, Mar., p 82
Part 4: Cone 08-03 Casting Slips, Apr., p 78
Part 5: Iron-Bearing Casting Slips, May, p 80
Part 6: Casting Glazes and Engobes! June/
July/Aug., p 98
Staten Island Zoo Murals, Jaffe, Dec., p 42
Totems, Samuels, Sept., p 36
University of Montevallo, Meyer, June/July/Aug.,
p 33
Collecting
Burghley Collection, The, Dec., p 44
Great Western Bowl Extravaganza, The; Bowls:
Benchmarks 8c Drawings, Harris, Building
the Collection, Briggs, Jan., p 37
Hot London Summer, A: Auctions, Stanbridge,
Oct., p 28
Japanese Masters’ Pots, June/July/Aug., p 32
Commentary
Bending to the Marketplace, Hluch, Oct., p 78
Deeper Sense of Ecology, A, Berensohn, Sept.,
p 90
New Challenges for Studio Profits, Fair, May,
p 88
Opinion versus Promotion, Kangas, June /July/
Aug., p 102
Permission, Daley, Nov., p 86
Reviving Craftsmanship, Hunt, Mar., p 86
Ruminations on Bungee Cords, Drake, Jan., p 88
Shakers versus the Rockettes, The, Barnard, Apr.,
p 86
Threatened Gifts, Krakowski, Feb., p 86
Trend toward Standardization, The, Sondahl,
Dec., p 88
Decoration
Accidental Potter, The, Gluskoter, Jan., p 50
Airbrushing on Clay, Hombordy, Dec., p 78
Allure of Slipware, The, Starr, Feb., p 42
David Roesler’s Mishima, Vettraino, Sept., p 44
Electroplating Ceramics, DeSalvo with Collins,
Feb., p 37
Explorations in Gold: Working with Leaf,
Williams, June/July/Aug., p 58
Fragmented Landscapes, Karver, Jan., p 48
Iron Horse Mural, Nov., p 35
86 Ceramics Monthly
January-December 1991
Island Pottery in the Baltic, Andersen and Petersen,
Feb., p 53
Jeff Irwin’s Wax-Resist Images, Dec., p 34
Jeff Kell, Yakutchik, June/July/Aug., p 89
Polynesian Paradise, Owen, May, p 48
Stenciled Imagery, Siler, Mar., p 30
Tactile Forms: Pebbled Surfaces from Sprayed
Glazes, Keys, Sept., p 42
Departments
The following departmental features appear monthly
except as noted:
Calendar
Call for Entries
Classified Advertising
Letters
New Books: Every month except February
Questions Answered by the CM Technical Staff
Suggestions from Readers
Summer Workshops, Apr., p 29
Up Front
Video: June/July/Aug., p 84
Exhibitions, International Works
15th Fletcher Challenge Exhibition, Lange, Dec.,
p 45
Ann Roberts, Mar., p 29
Avant-Garde Spanish Ceramics, Nov., p 37
Biennale Orlandi, Mar., p 38
Burghley Collection, The, Dec., p 44
Chosen Clay in Western Canada, Sept., p 48
Japanese Masters’ Pots, June/July/Aug., p 32
Jutland Pottery: Denmark, Oct., p 32
Magdalene Odundo, May, p 30
Spirited Designs: German Industry Challenges
Students, Feb., p 34
Vladimir Tsivin of Leningrad, McCully, Jan., p 34
Yoh Akiyama’s Fractured World, Jones, Oct., p 48
Exhibitions, United States
6th Monarch Exhibition, Nov., p 48
American Arts 8c Crafts Ceramics, May, p 44
American Craft Classics, Nov., p 47
California Clay, Apr., p 49
Cleveland’s Final May Show, Jan., p 31
Crosscurrents, Wells, Oct., p 46
Deborah Masuoka, June/July/Aug., p 26
Feats of Clay III, May, p 36
Functional Ceramics 1991, Oct., p 43
Great Western Bowl Extravaganza, The; Bowls:
Benchmarks 8c Drawings, Harris, Building
the Collection, Briggs, Jan., p 37
Jeff Irwin’s Wax-Resist Images, Dec., p 34
John Foster Retrospective, Crowell, June/July/
Aug., p 40
Low-Fire Highlights, Mar., p 42
Oregon Potters Today: Turning Point or Step
Backward? Kangas, Apr., p 36
Philadelphia Clay, Mar., p 40
Sixty Years of Discovery, Black; Rudolf Staffel and
William Daley on Harding Black, Dec., p 36
Studio Potter Network National, Oct., p 27
Traditional Notions, Recent Directions, Ian.,
p 60
History
American Arts 8c Crafts Ceramics, May, p 44
Art of Paul Bogatay, The, Folk, June/July/Aug.,
p 28
John Foster Retrospective, Crowell, June/July/
Aug., p 40
Thai Folk Pottery, Katz, Sept., p 28
Miscellaneous
Ceramic Work Center of Holland, The, LaPointe,
Mar., p 22
Geology and Maps for Clay Prospecting, Aigner,
Apr., p 82
Historical Pottery Reconstruction: From Just a
Few Shards, Martin and Fry, Nov., p 80
Lorena Stove, The, McNiel, Feb., p 58
Photographing Ceramics Revisited, Rand, Mar.,
p 26
University of Montevallo, Meyer, June/July/Aug.,
p 33
Portfolios
Ban Kajitani, Hunt, Jan., p 39
Creative Business, Cole, May, p 53
Isaac Button, English Country Potter, Stanbridge,
Sept., p 51
Making Decisions, Carone, Nov., p 27
Making of a Potter, The, Hewitt, Apr., p 43
Randy Johnston, Krukowski, Oct., p 35
Shiro Otani, Barnard, June/July/Aug., p 49
Potters and Pottery
Accidental Potter, The, Gluskoter, Jan., p 50
Ah-Leon: 14 Principles of a Good Teapot, June/
July/Aug., p 43
Alfred Hering, Fries; German Traditions in
Ceramics, Nov., p 42
Allure of Slipware, The, Starr, Feb., p 42
Art Out of Need: Don Reitz, An Autobiography,
Feb., p 47
Bill Brigham, Korsak, Apr., p 27
Doug Casebeer, Dixon, Dec., p 29
Explorations in Gold: Working with Leaf,
Williams, June/July/Aug., p 58
Island Pottery in the Baltic, Andersen and Petersen,
Feb., p 53
Janet Mansfield: Toward an Australian Aesthetic,
Hamlyn; The Full Flavor of Salt, Mansfield,
Mar., p 44
Jeff Irwin’s Wax-Resist Images, Dec., p 34
Jeff Kell, Yakutchik, June/July/Aug., p 89
John Foster Retrospective, Crowell, June/July/
Aug., p 40
Magdalene Odundo, May, p 30
Mike Dodd, Harrod; Glazing and Firing, Dodd,
Jan., p 54
Polynesian Paradise, Owen, May, p 48
Raku Integrations, Kenney, June/July/Aug., p 37
Reef-Inspired Porcelain, Dann, Sept., p 40
Sixty Years of Discovery, Black; Rudolf Staffel and
William Daley on Harding Black, Dec., p 36
Tactile Forms: Pebbled Surfaces from Sprayed
Glazes, Keys, Sept., p 42
Thai Folk Pottery, Katz, Sept., p 28
Sculptors and Sculpture
Agustin De Andino’s Mural, Acero, June/July/
Aug., p 57
Alberto Mingotti, Fiocco and Gherardi, Jan., p 47
Art of Paul Bogatay, The, Folk, June/July/Aug.,
p 28
Blending Intuition and Logic, Smith, Mar., p 49
Bruce Taylor, Gustafson, May, p 37
David Roesler’s Mishima, Vettraino, Sept., p 44
Electroplating Ceramics, DeSalvo xvith Collins,
Feb., p 37
Fragmented Landscapes, Karver, Jan., p 48
Gasp, Mannino, Oct., p 25
Guardians: The Spirit of the Work, Ameson, Apr.,
p 50
Idea Development, Huey, Oct., p 44
Iron Horse Mural, Nov., p 35
Italian Architectural Influences, Alberetti, June/
July /Aug., p 46
Jean Linard, Hillhouse, May, p 41
Lee Kavaljian, Smith, Apr., p 40
No Limits, Benson, Oct., p 74
Secure Wall Hangings, Hubert, Mar., p 80
Staten Island Zoo Murals, Jaffe, Dec., p 42
Stenciled Imagery, Siler, Mar., p 30
Totems, Samuels, Sept., p 36
Vladimir Tsivin of Leningrad, McCully, Jan., p 34
Yoh Akiyama’s Fractured World, Jones, Oct., p 48
Studio, Tools and Equipment
Accidental Potter, The, Gluskoter, Jan., p 50
Allure of Slipware, The, Starr, Feb., p 42
Blending Intuition and Logic, Smith, Mar., p 49
Electroplating Ceramics, DeSalvo with Collins,
Feb., p 37
Island Pottery in the Baltic, Andersen and Petersen,
Feb., p 53
Jeff Kell, Yakutchik, June/July/Aug., p 89
Low-Cost Spray Booth, A, Blazey, May, p 52
Mike Dodd, Harrod; Glazing and Firing, Dodd,
Jan., p 54
No Limits, Benson, Oct., p 74
Paper Kiln, A, Court, Dec., p 26
Polynesian Paradise, Owen, May, p 48
Secure Wall Hangings, Hubert, Mar., p 80
Stenciled Imagery, Siler, Mar., p 30
Thai Folk Pottery, Katz, Sept., p 28
 or functional limitations. The first
Comment model champions knowledge of glazes
and firing techniques. The second tri­
umphs in results obtained dependably
The Trend toward Standardization by Brad Sondahl through others’ specialized knowledge.
This shift in paradigms mirrors
trends in specialization in many other
Ceramics is by nature a hybrid between pottery in Japan, mixing glazes from parts of society—for example, the re­
art and science, much as architecture materials such as rice and wood ash. placement of the general practitioner
combines art and engineering. At one Today he applies commercial overglaze by a host of doctor specialists. Perhaps
extreme, scientific experimentation in decoration on commercially prepared the trend toward standardization in ce­
ceramics has yielded superconductors, earthenware. He is not alone. The rain­ ramics is an inevitable part of the mod­
outer coverings for space shuttles and bow hues now frequent in galleries and ern world. Issues such as product
car engine components. At the other at fairs point to the widespread popu­ liability may eventually force most pot­
extreme, avocational potters can now larity of commercial stains and glazes. ters either to have their glazes tested by
pick clays, stains and glazes from color So what is gained, and what is lost? an accredited laboratory or to use cer-
charts and achieve beautiful results with Commercial preparation yields a broad tifiably safe commercial preparations.
minimal knowledge of ceramic science. palette of reliable colors, ease of appli­ We are not yet at that point. Because
Most of our experience lies somewhere cation, nontoxic formulations, less of ceramics’ hybrid nature, a certain
between. Let us examine the trends: preparation time, fewer losses, and ac­ technical prowess with glazes and fir­
A hundred years ago painters mixed cessibility to those who are not scientifi­ ing will always remain necessary. Even
their own oils from raw materials. With­ cally inclined. On the negative side is in painting, where paints are no longer
out the intimidation of that technol­ the loss of unique glazes developed by mixed from their constituent oxides,
ogy, painting as an art and hobby has individual experimenters, which will af­ choice of gel media, extenders and dry­
flourished. Also, such problems as fad­ fect true diversity in the ceramic envi­ ing agents offers a genuine technical
ing and peeling have been reduced. ronment just as monoculture of crops hurdle. And all artists must face the
One need only recall Leonardo da or trees affects diverse former prairie real high jumps of form, content, ex­
Vinci’s failures in experimental paint­ or woodland environments. pression and aesthetics, which have
ing materials to laud commercial stan­ At stake are competing paradigms plenty of challenge in themselves.
dardization of modern art supplies. One of the nature of pottery. The traditional The point of this article has been to
wonders, however, if Leonardo would model is of the relatively self-sufficient, cause the examination of our inclina­
be so memorable today if he had not technically competent craftsperson, tions toward sources of clay, color and
had his passion for experimentation who produces beauty through intimate glaze, and to be aware of their implica­
and invention? association with a limited range of form­ tion, so that we may delight or anguish
I perceive a distinct trend toward a ing processes. The emerging model is in the winds of change.
similar standardization in ceramics to­ of the free artist, given a broad palette
day. Fifteen years ago, I apprenticed through commercially prepared clays The author Brad Sondahl maintains a
with a potter who had worked at a folk and glazes, untrammeled by tradition storefront studio in Spirit Lake, Idaho.

Index to Advertisers

A.R.T. Studio............................. 19, 57 Continental Clay..............................85 Marjon ............................................ 56 Rings 8c Things...............................64

Aftosa............................................... 65
Amaco........................................Cov. 2
Amherst Potters..........................60, 76
Anderson Ranch............................... 59
Axner...................................24, 25, 77
Bailey......................... 6, 7, 54, 55, 59
Banff Centre.....................................61
Bennett’s........................................... 3
Bison Studio.....................................63
Bluebird............................................77
Botega.............................................. 60
Brickyard..........................................72
Bristol Video....................................60
Cedar Heights...................................71
Ceramic Review...............................61
CeramiCorner...................................68
Ceramics Monthly ..23,66,75, Cov. 3
Classified.......................................... 84
Clay Factory..................................... 62
Clay Studio........................................ 9
Contemporary Kilns.........................64
Cornell............................................. 60
Creative Industries...........................21
Creek Turn.......................................68
Dawson............................................ 68
Del Val.............................................62
Dolan................................................62
Duralite............................................ 62
Falcon...............................................82
Flotsam & Jetsam............................ 60
Geil...................................................74
Giffin................................................87
Great Lakes Clay............................. 63
Handmade Lampshade ................... 62
Highwater Clays.............................. 61
Hood.................................................69
IMC.................................................. 62
Kickwheel ........................................ 4
Kraft Korner.....................................56
Laguna Clay.....................................83
Leslie................................................53
Miami Clay......................................69
Miami Cork..................................... 11
Mid-South......................................... 2
Mile-Hi............................................ 56
Miller............................................... 75
Miller’s Pottery................................76
Minnesota Clay................................17
Molly’s.............................................62
North Star.........................................63
Olsen................................................ 75
Orton................................................ 73
Pacifica............................................ 73
Paragon............................................ 56
Pebble Press.....................................82
Peter Pugger.....................................56
Peters Valley....................................62
Piepenburg....................................... 72
Polglase............................................58
Potters Shop.....................................56
Pure & Simple ................................ 72
Ram..................................................65
Sapir.................................................73
Scott Creek...................................... 70
Seattle Pottery................................. 58
Sheffield.......................................... 68
Shimpo ............................................. 1
Skon................................................. 53
Skutt........................................Cover 4
Soldner.............................................13
Southern Pottery.............................. 62
Standard...........................................71
Summit.............................................72
The Studio Gallery.......................... 64
Trinity.............................................. 67
Tucker’s..................................... 65, 67
Venco............................................... 15
Vent-A-Kiln ....................................77
Viking.............................................. 56
West Coast Kilns............................. 71
Wise................................................. 62
Wolfe................................................72
Worcester Center............................. 59

88 Ceramics Monthly
December 1991 87