The pottery-meditation/religion connection

I started this blog for a compulsory assignment as part of an E-commerce class.  I started the class in March, then dropped it.  As you can tell from the post archive over on the right, the new semester started again in September.  I just got my grade (A!), and some comments from the evaluator.  He said, "To some practitioners, doing pottery is a form of Zen meditation: yourself, the mind, the hands with the spinning mud, an eventually achieving inner peace."  I can completely understand that. 

I've never tried meditation.  I know many people consider prayer to be a form of it, but although I was raised in a Christian religion, my 'practice' of prayer was more imitation than practice...just enough to placate my parents.  (Alas, and one wonders why my devotion didn't continue past the teenage years.) 

There have been times, at the end of a long day and mighty traffic competition to get back into the city, where I've sat at a wheel content to just feel the clay circle 'round between my fingers.  I can just let my mind wander (or shut down) and feel myself relax.  It's clay-therapy, and one of the things I'm missing about not doing pottery this semester.  [Tangent:  If I could consider wheel-throwing as a form of mental centering, then a wheel should be considered medical equipment and therefore tax-deductible.  I'll send a note to the IRS and see if they agree.]

Pottery is certainly an 'ancient' art...generations have been doing it for centuries.  Initially functional, I would posit, ultimately the skill of making vessels and tools for practical purposes let itself to the practice of making items for entertainment, worship, etc.  Even my Christian education didn't imprint me with memory that pottery was mentioned in the Bible, though.  Turns out it is...

According to Don Friesen, The formative power of faith became vivid for Jeremiah one day on a visit to a potter's house. There he saw the potter working at his wheel, and as the potter worked his wheel Jeremiah recalls,"The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him. Then the word of the Lord came to me:  ‘Can I not do with you, O house of Israel, just as this potter has done? ... Just like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.'"— (Jeremiah 18:4-6)

Another site discussing Chakra meditation says, "Imagine throwing a wet ball of clay onto the center of the spinning wheel and then with your hand around the moist clay, thumb on top, find the center of the clay and slowly push it to the center of the wheel, breathing deeply from your abdomen as the wheel spins with the clay centered perfectly."

As part of this (rare) 24 hours of religious awareness, there was a lot of press in the news yesterday about how US practicing members of various religions, atheists and agnostics fared on a quiz about religion.  I had heard about it, but not seen the actual quiz until Rachel sent it to me today.  The average for atheists and agnostics (my 'peeps) was 20.9 correct out of 32:  a dismal score, but better than the rest of the population...depressing.  I took it and got 28/32.  The competitive side of me was disappointed that I'd gotten 4 wrong, but I did find it ironic that one of my errors was regarding the religion I was raised with.  (Sorry, Mom.)

I am more convinced than ever that pottery will need to be a longer-term comonent of my life, if not for anything else than my 'centeredness' as a human being.  What a way to pick a hobby!

A plate-cracking epidemic

I've been rearranging things at home a bit recently.  My new dish soap comes in a round container, and when you do dishes you always end up with some wet, soapy stuff sliding down the detergent bottle (at least I do.)  So, I decided to use a small plate I made a while ago as a dish detergent bottle coaster on the counter. 

I used it all this week.  This morning, I looked and noticed this:

There are either poltergeists in my home breaking plates clean down the middle and laughing about it, or my friend Heather's cat, Walker, whom I'm cat-sitting for a few weeks must be playing games with the ceramics while I'm out of the house.

Walker staring at himself in the mirror

I will be tossing this one and just making another.  It was really an experiment in glazing when I first made it.  I was attempting to get a pretty purple color with a glaze called "Heaven's Gate."  It's a runny glaze, but when you do it right it turns purply.  I put a good enough amount around the edges of the plate to get it to turn out, but obviously only had a thin layer inside the plate, since that didn't change color. 

After this little plate I made my sister a bowl with the same color.  It turned out pretty well.  Now to figure out how to make a plate that doesn't crack down the middle.

Just a reminder:  the poll on the right side of the page here is up through today.  If you're a new visitor, or just a repeat who hasn't yet participated, list your vote over on the side.  Thanks...

Buddha Summer

After my trip to southeast Asia almost two years ago now, I started to cultivate my interest in / fascination with Buddhism and Buddha.  Granted, I know very little.  It's been a long time since I studied the religion in college, and I've had very little experience with it since.  That said, my attention is still piqued when exposed.

At the end of May, I was listening to WBUR when I heard this story about a large Jade Buddha statue that was touring the world and had made a stop in Worcester, MA.  (Interestingly enough, WBUR's Morning Edition had piece this morning on Worcester, too.)  I went to the site for the Jade Buddha after I got to work and read up on it.  How strange that on the world tour of this amazing statue, it was being presented at such cities as Toronto, Melbourne, Taipei, Berlin...and the illustrious Worcester, MA.  That said:  I felt so lucky that I had the wonderfully introspective / meditative and reverent opportunity to go see it so close to home (though I wouldn't have minded a trip to some of those other cities, either).

I listened to the music replayed from the event website that entire day.  Two friends and I visited the statue on June 3rd.  I expected this large, expensive rock-turned-artistic-and-religious-masterpiece to be enshrined in some beautiful building.  In fact, it was set up in a parking lot next in a run-down neighborhood, next to a tiny temple and across the street from a doughnut shop.  Talk about focusing on the philosophy instead of the pretense!  We parked down the street (cars were lined up from people flocking to visit), and walked up to the tarp-covered parking lot serving as the statue's 'home' for the week or so.  There were people sitting, praying, meditating, chatting and selling candles / momentos. 



The tiny temple next to which the Buddha was set up





The view of the Buddha from the street





The promotional poster for the Jade Buddha



 

Part of the list of places the
Jade Buddha statue would visit
on the US portion of its world tour



We kneeled and stood around for a bit.  The place was quite odd...but peaceful.  I found myself jealous of the people who had visiting at night and spent dark hours in front of the statue with time to really sit and reflect in the calm (and essentially on the sidewalk).  After a few pictures, we left.

My second summer Buddha experience was on my trip to Hawaii in July.  I visited with friends (more about that trip to come), and one day at the start of the trip we walked through a flea market.  One of the vendors was selling this:

   

I didn't buy him, but I wanted to. (Not sure that would work as "carry-on" baggage.) 

Later in the trip, as we drove up the western coast of the "big island" of Hawai'i, we stopped at a pottery studio called the "Kona Potters Guild" that had open studio hours.

Of the 6-8 artists who call the workspace 'home' for their clay crafts, only one was there at the time.  We got to see her work, then walk around and see the work of many of the others, as well.  I saw a bunch of things that really interested me.  I'll have to share some pics and descriptions of those another time - I have plans in my head to incorporate some of the shapes (or see if I can recreate some of the glaze colors).  You should have seen me 'guiding' my friends around the studio.  I was like a proud puppy looking at pieces in progress and trying to explain what I recognized (and what I was seeing for the first time).  Good thing my insides didn't burst like I thought they were going to...I can only imagine what that kind of contaimination would do if it made it into the kiln!

Although I could hardly call it "stunning", I found this little guy sitting on Alysia Samaru's shelf. 

He was for sale for about $1.00, I think.  He's about as big as a nickel, and the hole in the top is just big enough to thread through something that could serve as a 'chain' to make him a necklace or charm. 

I plunked down my money, and we left the studio.  I didn't want to lose him, so I put him into the change pouch of my wallet.  It's been over a month and he's been there the whole time.  Part of me just likes that I'm carrying around a little Buddha head.  Another part of me wants to try to make some tiny, little things (not necessarily just like it) that I could give to friends and family as momento-gifts.  I haven't decided what yet, exactly.  That's a topic for a next post.  Until then, I'll just keep rubbing him between my fingers as I think.  Om....

September Artist of the Month: Howard Gerstein

As informed last week through Mudflat's September newsletter, one of my past instructors, Howard Gerstein, is the Mudflat Gallery's artist of the month.  Woo hoo!

Besides my early clay education long ago, Howard was my first (recent) pottery instructor.  I actually took his class two semesters in a row (because I enjoyed it, not because I failed).  Howard's been working with clay so long that he sometimes makes it look intimidatingly easy.  That said, he's superbly patient and can explain skills in exquisite detail.  He's fun to have a conversation with, too.  If you're thinking about taking a clay class, I recommend asking for him by name!



"Now you see, if you just do it this way..."

 Here's Howard hard at work last year teaching my friend, Amanda.

Since I found myself in Porter Square last weekend getting a pedicure, I stopped at the gallery, even though it was closed, and tried to get a gander at Howard's display.  I got a few pics peering through the window that leave a little something to be desired, but thought I'd share, anyway.

There is a yellow mud on the second "shelf" of this display that is very similar in style to one of Howard's that I bought myself as a 'Christmas' gift in 2009. It's probably my favorite mug at home.  It's reached that special status where I don't like to use it because it's so special, but it's 'meaty', with a shape good for wrapping your hands around it, and a great handle big enough even to fit a guy's hand.  Howard uses lots of 'earthy' colors in his work, and I'm a big fan.  The mug of his I have is blue and white, but look at all of the yellow and green tones.  (I'll bet you'd never guess that I like yellow and green, based on the font colors I use on this site.) Mmm.  Tree colors.



So, for those of you who are local:  check out Howard's work all this month at the gallery.  He's just one of the 47 Mudflat artists, faculty and students whose work is showcased there. It's located at the Porter Square Shopping Center, Cambridge and is located in the glass arcade of the CVS/Healthworks building.

The hours are:  Monday through Saturday, 10 am to 7 pm, and Sundays 12 to 5 pm. Should you need it, the phone number is:  617-491-7976.

A partnership is born

Earlier this year I was visiting my friend, Maureen, and saw some of the designs she draws onto little boxes she calls her "Tattoo Boxes".  They are intricate, each unique, and wonderful.  She designs around the outside of the boxes, along the lids, and inside with a 'signature' design, sometimes.  They are all different colors and shapes...and they take hours each for her to complete.

Aren't these great?    If you want one of your own, check out her site, The Tattoo Box.  My sister has actually ordered one from Maureen and loves hers, too.

This was specifically at a time when I was realizing my lack of creativity / confidence in using design on my pots.  I made an offhanded comment that she 'needed' to design my pots...and that started us toying with the idea of a pottery partnership. 

I asked her if she'd ever carved her designs (instead of drawing them), and she said, "no".  I showed up to her place with a couple hastily-thrown vessels spritzed with water and covered in plastic, a few carving tools and a smile.  The first piece was an experiment to see: a) if Maureen liked carving her designs, b) to see what kind of slips look nice in conjunction with her designs and c) to see if the collborative process might work.

Here's how it went:

The "pencil holder", as we called it, turned out pretty well. 

Test #2 was a big bowl. Maureen jumped right in!

Maureen jammin' while she works.

This biggie has been sitting in a bisque-fired state, awaiting glazing for quite some time.  It's hard for me to think up a glaze combo that will do justice to Maureen's hard work.  If you have any votes, comments, or suggestions, please do send them along.  I'm sure she'd love to hear that it has made it into the kiln a second time and will soon be finished.  :)

Bigger Finished Things

I've told you all about the "grand platter fiasco".  I did actually finish some other things since March, too, though.  Since I know you've all been waiting with thick anticipation for some finished results:  here you go.
 

Le faux Creuset complet


Until this piece, I had either glazed everything a similar color inside or out, or had progressively added darker and darker glazes on sequential applications such that I didn't have to work hard to keep different colors 'crisp'.  (It's sort of like painting your walls.  If you always choose a darker color than is already there, you don't need as many 'primer' coats to get good coverage.)

Bright white within bright, Crayola(R) green is a bit trickier, however.  This pot took me longer to glaze than it took me to throw.  That was quite a milestone.  It's starting to legitimize me as something more than just a form-thrower.  When I decided to use them I didn't really think I'd enjoy the colors, but the effect on the finished piece meets my approval.  Dude, I made that.


Back in 2009 I visited my paternal grandmother, Nan, and showed her some pics of my pottery-to-date.  At the time I was just throwing...whatever the clay turned into.  I noticed that in her small apartment she was using a large, clear, plastic cylinder 'bucket' to hold her cooking spoons, ladels, spatulas, etc.  After I asked Nan what she'd like me to make and I subsequently gave up after minutes of "I'd love anything you'd make for me," I decided that making a ceramic spoonholder would be a great challenge for me.  It would force me to "go big" (more clay on a wheel requires more arm strength to control), I could glaze it blue to match her favorite color and her kitchen, and I knew she'd actually use it.

I photographed her existing spoonholder as a reference.  I drew a diagram and added it to my "list of projects" to tackle.  In February 2010 Mudflat (the studio where I work) had an all night clay event for the second year in a row.  I'd gone to it in 2009 and felt wildly productive, so I decided to do it again.  (I'm sure that it'll probably happen again in 2011.  I'm already making a list of what I will do that night.)  Surrounded by artisans far more talented and experienced than I, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to start the project.  I began with the "spoon" part...not the "holder" part.

Throwing the cylinder was the easy part.  I spent the better part of 3 hours tracing spoons I'd collected from all over the studio to applique to the exterior.  The spoon-crafting continued into the weeks ahead.  Pre-kiln, it looked like this. 

After a bisque-firing, glaze application (which, again, took weeks between 'dips', drying, and fixing) and a glaze firing, it looked like this.

It now lives happily on Nan's countertop, after a padded FedEx trip in a box big enough to fit a large, cathode-ray-tube television.  I haven't seen it "in person" yet since, but I imagine that it must look on her counter much like it did on mine before I packed it up to go.

My favorite part is that it bears my name and the date on the bottom.  From one Granberg to another, with more love and pride sent than with anything else I've made.  What is it about making things for grandma that you never seem to outgrow?

After the "Before and After"

Wow, guys.  I've been away for quite a while.  Time to start getting a bit caught up.  There's a lot to talk about, but let's go with the 'platter' pot I last displayed back in March.  I smiled just reading over that last post.  I really did boast about that pot! 

After I had taken all of the vegetable-filled pics of it, I put it on my counter with a few other bowls stacked within it.  I didn't look at it again for a few weeks, until I pulled it out to show a friend.  As I unstacked bowl after bowl from atop it, I finally got down to it and saw this:

Who would have known that I could not only make vessels, but could differentiate myself as a creator of children's puzzle games?  (It's sharp, Billy.  Be careful.)

The depressing remains of platter sat, just like this, on my counter for months.  The technical flaws to its form allowed it to happen:  the bottom of the platter sunk down during firing and the foot didn't compensate for the dip.  The bottom wasn't flat. It was curved just enough.  Despite all of that logic, however, I just couldn't bear to throw hours of work away (to permanently contribute to a landfill somewhere, as fired clay doesn't biodegrade).

As I ended my pottery semester and started anew during the summer, I asked Moriah for her thoughts on whether (and how) it might be repairable.  I expected to passed down some ancient secret learned from potters long ago. 

Instead:  she shared DAP Silicone Aquarium Sealant.  This magical stuff is safe for sealing your fishies' tank, and for human food and food surface contact.  It doesn't get brittle, and you can get it anywhere.  I mosied on over to my local big-box, confused the staffer in the paint department trying to describe what I needed it for and ultimately just matched the image from the site tot he tube I thought would work and took it home.



Wa-lah!

 2 people, 45 minutes, 5 Q-tips(R), most of a newspaper and a few medical gloves later, and it's as good as if it had been Steri-stripped.

I sincerely doubt that my platter will ever see the dinner table. As my friend, Bryan suggested, however, it may end up hanging on display in the house.  It will not only act as inspiration for future pieces, but will add just a touch of foreboding...a warning to Ms. Clumsy of what happens when you're just not careful enough.

That said, I have renewed confidence in my "handiness" as a result of a rather successful repair.  Score.

Before and After pics

I thought it would be fun to show a pot in various stages of completion.

This is me proving to Moriah that I had, indeed, created something as wide as she had instructed.  The platter was wet, still on the wheel.

This is what the pot looked like with glaze drying onto it after it had been bisque-fired.  One more trip through the kiln for a few hours and it ended up looking like:

The veggies didn't come from the studio - I had to add those myself.  The lettuce actually makes the platter look a lot smaller than it does in real life, too.  I tell you, compared to most things I've made:  this thing is huge. 

This platter has also taught me a very powerful lesson.  It turns out that things that have large, flat bottoms often sag down when they get heated up in the kiln.  What used to be a perfectly flat bottom now sags down so far that the plate doesn't sit straight; it sort of rocks back and forth on the curved base. 

If anyone has ideas on how I can sand down/flatten a fired ceramic platter, I'd greatly appreciate it!

In support of commercial enterprise

You meet cool people when you take on a new hobby - especially when it's in the arts. I had been coveting this item I could only describe as a "ball tool" for the longest time, and a google effort led me to Atlantic Pottery Supply.  I had such a great experience that I thought I'd add my endorsement.

There were some problems with my order that caused Kathy to contact me.  One item was out of stock, and she wanted to know whether I'd prefer to wait and receive everything together or have them ship the items separately.  Per my request, the in-stock items were sent and recieved right away.  When I emailed back asking her if she had any tools "a little bigger, with a different tip and slightly more hefty," she responded right away with options.  She manually adjusted my order, added on the new tools and offered to take them back for a refund if they weren't what I needed. 

In the land of enormous etailers, Kathy and Atlantic Pottery Supply were warm, personable, prompt, friendly, efficient and knowledgable.  Not many get that kind of glowing recommendation from me, so if you're in the market for anything 'pottery' - check them out. 

Pots I'm pretty proud of

Unlike a lot of the things I've shown already in this space, I'd like to share some of the things I've made recently of which I'm particularly proud.  Since in the past I've seen others' work and really tried to get myself to the point that I could "make something just like that", it was hard for me to evaluate my work over time and see the positive in it. 

Now that I've been up to it for a while, though, I've started looking back.  I recently looked at some of the things I've purchased, and noticed that their stuff isn't all that great, either!  I can see the technical flaws in things and smile, knowing that I've done that, too, or that I know how I could have prevented that. 

That said, here are some things that I'm actually not embarassed to show as my own...with a few descriptions and 'fun facts' about each.

This is a ceramic bowl, made and glazed with my sister in mind.  It has two different glazes on it - a first-coat of "Heaven's Gate" with a top ring of "Royal Blue".  My sister loves purple, and I was trying to get her something in that color scheme.  The blue turned out brilliantly, but where it was thicker turned to what I like to call "pepto-purple" around the top.  It turns out some folks are fans of pepto.  Sister likes it, and I'm learning to more and more as I go back and revisit it.

A platter!  I started out with pottery focusing on small things.  Largely that was because everything you make as a beginner is with 1-1.5 pounds of clay, and after you fire it twice it's shrunk to almost unrecognizable proportions.  This semester, my instructor handed me a slice of a notepad's cardboard...11x3".  She told me to see try to make something 11" wide and 3" high out of 5-6 pounds of clay.  This platter was my first successful result.  It's a flat-based platter with a "Celadon" glaze (I do love earthy colors) and splatters of darker colors to add a little 'oomph'.  My father made a killer meatloaf in it, I hear.

This one isn't finished yet.  This is a picture of my first casserole in 'greenware' form.  It's been thrown, trimmed and handles have been slipped, scored and attached.  The clay has dried out, but it hasn't been fired.  A good impact or the scrape of a fingernail and it could be totally destroyed.  I would like to glaze it a la "Le Creuset", the wonderful French pottery.  I was thinking an obnoxious blue-green color on the outside and bright, glossy white on the inside.  Thoughts?  Post a comment and let me know what you think.

A shout-out

So one of my good friends, Heather, comes from clay.  Not literally (although some who study religion would give credence to the idea), but her father is a potter by trade.  He does Raku - a method and style I haven't yet tried, but would love to.  His business is Earth Matters Pottery.

Not only is he a a potter, but he and his wife operate a yurt-rental resort on Hawaii.  I'm trying to conive myself a visit under the auspices of under-studying to someone who can teach me artistic technique.  Wouldn't hurt to escape the winter doldrums of Boston, either.  :)

Couldn't you imagine waking up to sunlight in the warmth and relaxation of this place?

NCECA in Philly

In my 'other world' as a paramedic, we must take a certain number of continuing education classes every few years in order to keep our certifications.  I'm taking advantage of a visit back home to Pittsburgh, PA next weekend to stay around and attend a conference for con-ed hours at Seven Springs.  I'll take classes like "Advanced Burn Life Support" - especially useful when you're around kilns that reach 900+ degrees farenheit.  (Speaking of blogs...check this one out from Clay Arts Utah.  They talk about the firing process.)

I learned recently that the Annual NCECA Conference will also be taking place in PA in the next couple weeks.  How disappointed I was to find out that it would be a week later on the other side of the state.  I can't take enough work off to swing that one.  How great would it be, though, to take a workshop from some of the experienced, professional artists at this event?!?  Even my instructors were jealous to think that I would get to go.  I was warned to be prepared with my wallet, however. 

Ah, to watch professionals work...

The early stuff...

When I first started taking pottery classes, I was amazed that my instructor could so easily convert a lump of mud into a functional shape.  (Sort of like this.)  He really made it seem as if it was no effort.  Then when I tried it, I realized that it required the use of all sorts of muscles that I hadn't previously had to 'work'!

Here are some pictures of the first few things I made.  I cannot tell you the joy of pulling something out of the kiln and realizing that you can use it for...something.  I have the most rudimentary 'pencil holder' sitting on my desk at work, and I couldn't love it more.

This bowl is quite small.  It holds about 4 ounces.  I was experimenting with the colors of glazes here...dropping them onto the piece and making designs.  It's a very 'natural' look, but my look is very natural.  This worked well for me.  I have had the intention to make along this vein, but haven't yet.

This was the first piece that I glazed.  those two colors, the white and red, were produced from the same chemical compounds.  The glaze I used, shino, produces different colors depending on the thickness with which it's applied to a pot.  A very thin coating produces the orange-red color, and a thick coat produces the white.  The glaze experiment was a success.  My instructor's feedback on the form involved a comment something like, 'Wow.  That's quite a man-handled handle."  Oh, Howard. 

Introduction

I started my pottery hobby about a year and a half ago with a friend. It was meant to just be something we could do while enjoying each other's company, but the hobby outlasted the friendship, and I've become quite obsessed with it.

I go to a pottery studio called Mudflat where I take classes and can take advantage of open studio hours to 'hone my skills'. I started out making things at about the level of a 3rd-grader, but lately I've even made a few pieces I like. I'm learning, though, that as my confidence and skills improve, my expectations increase proportionally whereby I now feel just as much stress to 'do better' as I did at the beginning.

It's meant to be relaxing - and it is, don't get me wrong. There's something wonderful about leaving your 'desk job' and spending the evening manipulating mud with your bare hands. Instead of producing intellectual property, I can produce something tangible and practical...and maybe even a bit pretty.

So I'll be posting some pictures, videos and descriptions of my experiences. If you're an experienced clay craftsman, perhaps this blog will remind you of when you were a beginner and you can look back with fondness and pity. If you've never sat at a wheel to throw a mound of clay, perhaps I'll be able to convince you that it's actually not like Ghost would have you believe at all.

Cheers,

Alethea