STUDIO LIFE

SMALL MAJOLICA BOWL TEST PIECE

SMALL MAJOLICA BOWL TEST PIECE

SMALL MAJOLICA BOWL TEST PIECE

Yesterday - after several hours of packing up a large order, we were notified by the client that each piece has to have a sticker stating 'MADE IN SOUTH AFRICA' on it...aah, bureaucracy! Not even a sticker on the individual box will suffice, so now it all has to be unpacked again..!

Then a hardening-on firing of overglazes on a kiln load of cups mysteriously turned out soft powdery surfaces which now need to be re-fired, and hopefully not re-done!

But one little gem to cheer this day - wonderful little test bowls of majolica glazes and painted images, very inspiring. I am excited today to be wheel-throwing work where I will be applying this technique.

The discipline of ceramics is always such a life teacher, seemingly a metaphor for the ups-and- downs generally in daily living. And what a pleasure to be a participant!

STUDIO PRODUCTION

SUNNY 'GREENHOUSE' STUDIO

FINISHED GLAZED CUPS

BEAKERS IN THE PROCESS OF BEING PAINTED WITH UNDERGLAZE

We seem to suddenly have a run on small cups and beakers..a few big orders have made our studio into a little production space - for now. Fortunately the softness of the plants and beautiful objects around us will always prevent the space from being factory-like. It is rather like a gracious greenhouse, with the wonderful southern hemisphere autumn sunshine casting a gentle warming light.

Ten thousand flowers in spring,
the moon in autumn,
a cool breeze in summer,
snow in winter.

If your mind isn't clouded
by unnecessary things,
this is the best season of your life.

Hui-k'ai (1183-1260): WU-MEN-KUAN

FREEDOM DAY

VIEW OF KALK BAY HARBOUR AS SEEN FROM THE TERRACE AT KALK BAY MODERN GALLERY

PORCELAIN BOWLS BY KATHERINE GLENDAY

A drive out to Kalk Bay to select some work for our shop from Katherine Glenday who has a fabulous studio with a tranquil courtyard where we sat having tea and listening to the calming effect of the fountain..then on to Kalk Bay Modern Gallery. This is surely one of the best spaces in town, where I and Katherine and others have work on display. Later on, to collect some pots from Christo Giles who lives even further out and is one of the few potters in Cape Town who fires his work in an reduction kiln obtaining exquisite celadons, copper reds and temokku glazes on his highly skilled thrown pieces. The weather was quite glorious, calm, a perfect autumn day here...

HAPPY KILN

LARGE PLATTER(38CM) TO GO TO KIM SACKS GALLERY

LARGE PLATTER TO GO TO IMPROMPTU EXHIBITION IN STELLENBOSCH IN MAY

After last week's spate of cracking, I am delighted to have opened a 'happy' kiln today, and finding some sparkling pieces!

What comes to mind however is the zen concept which is something like:

Before enlightment - chopping wood, carrying water...

After enlightment - chopping wood, carrying water...

Although my kiln contents hardly equate to any form of enlightment(!), I like the idea that life goes on on an even keel despite the joys and sorrows.

THE HANDMADE AND THE FUNCTIONAL

JUST OUT OF THE KILN,LARGE BOWLS FOR AN ORDER

FRESHLY CAST BEAKERS, RAMEKINS AND SMALL CUPS

'Pottery is at once the simplest and the most difficult of all the arts' - Herbert Read (1893–1968)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Read

This comment was surely made in the aesthetic and philosophical sense..however this week I am feeling it in the technical mode...a number of portrait tiles came out cracked from the kiln..and of course, the square dishes too...

the discipline of ceramics surely is a life leveller!

And so it all goes on, the slip-casting, the throwing, the press-moulding. Forever optimistic..

TROUBLESOME SQUARES

Square dishes seen from above

I have an order for 10 square dishes which is proving to be somewhat troublesome. Out of about 12 made so far, only 6 are okay, problems with cracking, and clay contaminated bleeding in some areas...aah ceramics!

Looking for something to encourage me I googled 'square' and found this rather sound quotation by Abraham Lincoln which seems rather sensible and grounding...

Do not worry; eat three square meals a day; say your prayers; be courteous to your creditors; keep your digestion good; exercise; go slow and easy. Maybe there are other things your special case requires to make you happy, but my friend, these I reckon will give you a good lift. - Lincoln, Abraham

THE POT IS THE MAN..

The pot is the man/sweater...

I think it was Bernard Leach who penned the idea of 'the pot is the man'..However, on Monday, a visit to our studio by Swellendam potters John Newdigate and Ian Garrett, revealed a case of the sweater echoes the pot, echoes the man..

John was wearing a sweater in the same colours as his ceramic pieces, lime greens and blues in various tones and shades. The sweater was knitted for him by Ian who spins the raw wool on a simple spinning wheel, dyes it(from his own plants - woad and indigo for blues, weld for yellows and greens) and then knits in between burnishing his own pit-fired pots. What a cherished activity to be carrying out in our age of fast, ready-made consummables! They live in the country which may to a certain extent account for such dedication and perseverance...

TEA BOWL EXHIBITION

Opening tonight of the tea bowl exhibition at The Clay Museum, Rust-en-Vrede, 10 Wellington Road, Durbanville (outside Cape Town)

A number of local ceramists were invited to make tea bowls, inspired by the Japanese tea bowls in the Zen Tea Ceremony. I was privileged to have my tea bowls as the image on the invitation.

HEARTWORKS STITCHING CLUB

FABULOUS EMBROIDERED BUTTONS

MARGARET WOERMANN AND GROUP OF EMBROIDERERS

DORCAS MAVU, DEDICATED STITCHER

My wonderful studio space is shared with others, in particular the very industrious "Heartworks Stitching Club"co-ordinated by Margaret Woermann.

This past week there have been a number of busy busy ladies embroidering furiously in order to complete a large order of embroidered buttons. So the energy in the studio has been exciting and contagious...Margaret has been here all day today, and now Sunday night, and I am still working away furiously..inspired by all the activity in that section.

Looking for an appropriate line for the occasion, what comes to mind is one from

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye" . However although this applies philosophically to the group, the work is very visual and very visible and very essential!

http://www.heartworks.co.za

END OF THE WEEK

Test pieces for a majolica glaze

Many streams of activity running concurrently in the studio this past week -

throwing and exploring the vessel form;
testing new majolica glazes for applying on thrown utilitarian pieces;
drawing and painting of portrait tiles for some panels;
surfaces and glazing of bowls and dishes for a Canadian gallery order;
decorating small cups for a Swiss gallery order;
completing a mural of tiles for an interior decorator's client in Knysna;
packing and paper work for panel going to S.A. pavilion at World Expo,Shanghai;
packing up tea bowls for a tea bowl exhibition at The Clay Museum in Durbanville, Cape Town
....ongoing admin work,
.... blogging....
AND trying to stay centred through all of this and to think creatively!
Sort of multi-thinking, multi-planning and multi-tasking all in one.

However ,always an inspiring thought to keep me going...I found this excerpt in a book called 'The Potter's Companion'(Ed.Ronald Larsen, Park Street Press 1993) which has interesting articles on the nature of craft and the ceramic discourse in general.
http://www.amazon.com/Potters-Companion-Imagination-Originality-Street/dp/0892814454

'Between the timeless time of the museum and the speeded-up time of technology, craftsmanship is the heartbeat of human time....The craftsman's handiwork teaches us to die and hence teaches us to live..'
Octavio Paz Lozano (March 31, 1914 – April 19, 1998) Mexican writer, poet, diplomat, and the winner of the 1990 Nobel prize for literature
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octavio_Paz

VASES AND VESSELS

Vessels/vases in progress - wheel thrown, distorted and assembled

I have been invited to take part in an exhibition entitled VESSEL at Kim Sacks Gallery in Johannesburg in June. In the 80's I was zealously crusading the concept of 'VESSEL' as an expressive art form. Today, however, as a somewhat less cocky prosetylizer, that seems a little pretentious. I might now rather settle for the utilitarian and simple concept of VASE. Besides, the word VESSEL conjures up a complexity of meaning - from a container, to a conveyer of blood and fluids, to sailing ships etc. Hence re-visiting this area of the ceramic discourse, I am inspired by T.S.Eliot's lines from Little Gidding
http://www.americanpoems.com/poets/tseliot/7069

'We shall not cease from exploration,
and the end of all our exploring
will be to arrive where we started
and know the place for the first time.

With that in mind, let's see what I can come up with!

ON TO SHANGHAI..

'WE PASS LIKE FOAM'  - COMPOSITE PANEL MOUNTED ON PERSPEX

"WE PASS LIKE FOAM" is the title of a panel which is going on show on an exhibition of South African craft  at the South African pavilion of the World Expo in Shanghai from 1st May - 31st October 2010.

The title is inspired by the lines of a poem by the British poet, John Masefield (1878 - 1967) called The Passing Strange which is a reflection on life and death.

http://www.poetryconnection.net/poets/John_Masefield/17340

'...They change, and we, who pass like foam, Like dust blown through the streets of Rome, Change ever, too; we have no home...'  

PORTRAITS AND ANCESTORS

Portrait tiles, with underglaze pencil and underglaze colours, still to be partly glazed

"A man finds room in the few square inches of the face for the traits of all his ancestors; for the expression of all his history, and his wants."

Ralph Waldo Emerson 1803-1882, American poet, essayist

The above tiles are to be incorporated into several wall panels which will also refer to themes of memory and meaning. 

In traditional African cultures ancestors play a very significant role. I personally relate more to the notion of clay, the material, wherein lie the spirits of all our dead ancestors together with rain, leaves, stones that have been ground into sand. Mud. The whole cycle of life and death. And the transformation of the clay into a permanent structure incorporates the five elements of earth, water, air and fire...rather profound and what a privilege to work with this material!

"THE LIFE SO SHORT, THE CRAFT SO LONG TO LEARN"

A group of press-moulded decorated plates to be glazed today

“The lyf so short, the craft so long to lerne..."

 Geoffrey Chaucer, English poet, 1342/3-1400

The above quote, made more than 6 centuries ago, still holds strongly. 

After 35 years of making ceramics, there is still so much to know, so much I need to learn..

This week is to be a week of multi-tasking in my work, starting today with glazing a group of decorated plates and bowls for a large order for a gallery in Canada. The days seem to fly by faster than ever, and there is so much to do!

Watch this space for tomorrow's tasks!

IT'S FRIDAY AGAIN!

STUDIO ASSISTANT N'SELE ADONIS MUMPANGO GLAZING A TEST PIECE

FRESHLY PRESS MOULDED DISHES

STUDIO ASSISTANT SANDILE CELE PREPARING CLAY

In the midst of all my musing, studio life goes on..working on a large order of bowls and dishes for a gallery in Canada, and several other smaller orders locally. All of this whilst reflecting on the deeper significance of making ceramics, and attempting to be inventive!

ADAM EVE AND TWO MARYS

ADAM AND EVE TILE by Mary Wondrausch

This is definitely my week for referring to some inspiring role models..Both coincidently named Mary. 

"All the arts we practise are apprenticeship. The big art is our life"  - Mary Caroline Richards, American poet, potter and most inspiring educator (1916 - 1999)

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary Wondrausch

I recently had the privilege of visiting Mary Wondrausch at her home in Compton, near Guildford, Surrey,UK. At 80 something she is still very much a practising potter, eccentric and full of zest for the delights of excellent food served in charming dishes. Andre Hess, British ceramist, and I lunched with her in her conservatory on a rare sunny winter's day, a highlight of my trip to Britain and a most memorable experience.

A view of Mary W's kitchen on a sunny winter's morning

Mary W. has been called the 'queen of slipware'

See her sitting regally with other slipware potters

http://slipware.blogspot.com/2008/08/slipware-potters.html

THE INNER LIFE

MORNING MEDITATION BOWL

Some words of wisdom from poet and potter M.C.Richards...

"The artistic experience is central to the human being, because it is an affirmation of his inner life: an externalising of the inner man in ways that are not basically rational though they are coherent and organic. An affirmation of the nonverbal sources of our awareness and our feelings..."

It seems to me, very often, in the 21st Century that we, the makers, have lost the plot. There is an extraordinary emphasis on the external trimmings, the marketing, of the artefact. All at the expense of the inner meaning and content. And perhaps this is why so many craft projects fail, are not sustainable, because the development of passion and the search for meaning in creating is totally disregarded in favour of the outer fanfare. For me, the ongoing challenge is finding the middle road, a balance of outer form and inner life. 

CENTERING

CENTERING in Pottery, Poetry and the Person(1962) - a wonderful book by the potter, poet and educator, Mary Caroline Richards(1916-1999)- is my current (and returned to) inspiration...getting in touch with her concept aptly quoted on page 119:

 "In order for substance to change, there must be transformation in its character. This is a matter of innerness, of content"

This week I am re-reading much of her writing with the aim of bringing my work back to centre as it were.

http://www.nytimes.com/1999/09/20/arts/m-c-richards-poet-potter-and-essayist-dies-at-83.html?pagewanted=1  

REFLECTIONS ON EASTER MONDAY

Seeking the inner path

A tale from ancient China - a noble man passing a potter at work, asks him how he is able to form vessels that possess such convincing beauty. "Oh," answered the potter, "you are looking at the mere outward shape. What I am forming lies within. I am interested only in what remains after the pot has been broken."

It is not the pots we are forming, but ourselves. (M.C.Richards in her inspiring book CENTERING)

GOOD FRIDAY STUDIO

Some of the latest glazed tiles out of the kiln today

Bisqued tile surfaces to be painted in underglaze colours and then glazed

 

Glaze kiln to be unpacked

Good Friday - a day to catch up a with daily studio tasks..unpack and re-pack the kiln, paint the surfaces of a pile of bisqued tiles...need to focus somewhat on these and delve within myself to be inventive. Sometimes this feels like the moment before a race, or the moment before going on stage..one takes a deep breath and hopes for the best!

I have a commission for a large panel for a private home, so will be working on this today.

'MORE ARTEFACTS'...

Some more of the bowls inspired by textile imagery with an addition of some random crazy bits of text which seemed to resonate with the images. The intention is to have a visual idea, and then in an intuitive way select words in a somewhat haptic manner, which stimulate the imagination and enable the viewer/user to make their own associations. These bowls are all utilitarian, but also have a hanging string at the back should they be desired solely for contemplation.