Spotlight: Nick Joerling shifts gears Techno File - Ceramic Arts Daily

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letters email editorial@ceramicsmonthly.org New Format and Changes I am looking forward to the new format. So far, you’re doing a great job with all the changes. I was one of those potters who used to just look at the pictures and did very little reading. Lately, I have been trying to read the entire magazine. Just having your picture on the editor’s page makes me feel like you’re talking directly to me, your reader. The flow of information from Internet to magazine has me feeling like I am totally connected to the ceramic information age. Good to have young people with such commitment to expanding our knowledge of ceramics. Fujie Robesky, Fresno, California Submerging I’ve been doing pottery as a hobbyist for about 40 years. Professionally, I was an oncologist, and I came to pottery after treating a cancer patient who was a potter. I’ve always grown lots of potted plants and he faithfully brought me pots for my plants. After he was in remission, he said he had something for me in his truck. I pictured another beautiful pot, but what he showed me was a potter’s wheel. He said, “Doc, I’m tired of making pots for you; now you can make your own damned pots.” I have always enjoyed your magazine, and as I sat reviewing CMs from the past year, specifically the May issue and the Emerging Artist feature, I could not help but wonder how many “submerging” hobbyists are out there who have really nice work that might be presented in your magazine. Keep up the fine work. Thomas Sawyer, Orlando, Florida Variation, Please I think the Studio Visits are great. It gives the artist a chance to be published, but I think that the information should include more about technique and less about where they sell. Where they sell is always just about the same. There should be some interesting tips, like how they came to do this work, something that changed and called to them about their direction, special moments of discovery about technique. This should all go in the 12 march 2011 www.ceramicsmonthly.org Mind section. I feel that the analysis should refer to the handmade work. It is great to see the work, but there should be some variation. Rebecca Fraser, Santa Barbara, California A Big Picture Reading January’s Comment “The Poetics of Analysis: Why It Is Important to Speak and Write About Your Work,” by Stanton Hunter, made me think of how tied we are to our 21st century culture and economy. When I was a student, my pottery teacher advised me to exaggerate some feature of my work—lid, knob, handle, curve—to set my work apart. He made it clear this was for creative effect, not usefulness. I consider now that his expectations may have been exceeded. We live in an era of unprecedented change, which we have an uncommon confidence in as progress. We consider ourselves better, stronger, more prosperous, and freer than those who have preceded us (and perhaps we are), but I am not convinced that we live better lives or see ourselves in the context of our surroundings any better than did previous generations. It seems our culture has forgotten that rules and boundaries exist, and that they exist outside the sphere of our interpretation, spin, and often our learning. Just because our work receives recognition or excellent reviews does not mean that the work itself is good or lasting. Perhaps it is only human nature that compels us to want to be thought of as rare, though rarely are we. One of the salient features of our culture is the ease with which we discredit and abandon tradition. But we Americans don’t have much of a tradition in clay to abandon. Our folk pottery tradition was relatively short lived compared to the Asian traditions cultivated over centuries. What we have abandoned are any traditions, Asian or Western. Old pots and old ways of working with clay stand against our conventional wisdom because they are impracticable. And so they are. The problem is that the great pots and great works in clay exist outside the bounds of our culture, its priorities, and our ways of working and living. They may come from cultures alien to ours, but the hard fact is they exist and endure not because of their antique value but because of their power to move and shape us. They continue to have a power to change our lives, and it is that kind of power I don’t see in much of the work produced by our high-speed petro culture. If what I am saying is true, then the question we have failed to ask ourselves is what constitutes this enduring power, where does it come from, and how do we acquire it? There are two things of which I am dead certain: that most of what is produced by potters and artists today is an accurate reflection of current culture and economy; and that, were the economy to change, our culture would change and our work would reflect that change. Consider that we are free, fed, and mobile in ways that no other generation could have imagined, and those external forces have shaped us and our work. Attendant with this wealth and leisure is the ability to make, own, use, and appreciate work that is significantly removed from our predecessors’ understanding of beauty or functionality. It is important to remember that this too shall pass, and that we and our work will soon enough be artifacts and antiques. That does not mean that what we do is unimportant, but an accurate sense of proportion tends to curb an exaggerated sense of self worth. If I am advocating for anything it is simply rest, a bit of peaceful introspection, and perhaps restraint. If I am advocating against anything it is the rigid lock step of a culture that may well be running out of gas. Ron Newsome, Wadley, Alabama Corrections On page 55 of the December issue, we listed Jill Rowan’s Resist, Exist, Force as 9 inches in height, when it is actually 9 feet in height. On page 59 of the January issue, we published an incorrect website for Andrew Martin. The correct web address is www.martinporcelain.com. Sincere apologies for the mistakes.—Eds.
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Page 10 and 11: contents march 2011 volume 59, numb
Page 12 and 13: from the editor respond to shall@ce
Page 16 and 17: techno fIle all about iron by John
Page 18 and 19: tIps and tools rolling reclaim by s
Page 20 and 21: exposure for complete calendar list
Page 22 and 23: exposure Left: Steven Godfrey’s T
Page 24 and 25: exposure 1 Ayano Ohmi’s Gate II,
Page 26 and 27: exposure 1 Tyler Lotz’s A Cold Id
Page 28 and 29: clay culture one hundred jars In th
Page 30 and 31: clay culture low high-tech by 28 ma
Page 32 and 33: clay culture pots in action Making
Page 34 and 35: clay culture periodic table of vide
Page 36 and 37: studio visit Lorna Meaden durango,
Page 38 and 39: Striped flask, tea set, and muffin
Page 40 and 41: Above: Toshiko Takaezu surrounded b
Page 42 and 43: features by which we think we know
Page 44 and 45: Moons and Forests In the late 1960s
Page 46 and 47: Minkyu Lee Hidden Structure reveale
Page 48 and 49: Above: Hidden Structure Revealed #1
Page 50 and 51: mfa factor University of South Caro
Page 52 and 53: 50 march 2011 www.ceramicsmonthly.o
Page 54 and 55: Eric Knoche Points of ConneCtion by
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Page 58 and 59: Platter, 28 in. (71 cm) in width, s
Page 60 and 61: EviEWs 1 Atsushi Takagaki’s Ryo,
Page 62 and 63: EviEWs 1 Circuit, installation view
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62 march 2011 www.ceramicsmonthly.o
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Join a discussion at www.ceramicart
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Continuing to lead the Way 1421 / 1
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72 march 2011 www.ceramicsmonthly.o
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ODYSSEY CENTER FOR CERAMIC ARTS 201
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