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.

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.