Book
Review:
Making
Marks:Discovering
the
Ceramic Surface.
Robin Hopper's latest book is
beautiful!
"It is largely the
approach to the ceramic surface that determines the
ultimate personality of the work that is done." - Robin
Hopper |
This book begins with
fundamental ideas about drawing, signs,
patterns, colour theory,etc. It
then goes on to detail every
conceivable method of decoration.
It is
illustrated with such a wide variety of top notch ceramicists that it
is a pleasure
to peruse and it is interesting to see the depth of
Hopper's insight. His knowledge is supplemented with
inserts by various
potters such as Lana Wilson on impressions made by stamps
or for another example, Stephen Hill on spraying glazes. This
book is a pleasure to
own and a pleasure to keep referring back to.
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Featured
Artist
Candice Gunter
We
are pleased to present new work by Candice
Gunter
Candice
is a graduate of the Ontario College
of Art and holds a Masters
of Visual Art from the University of Sydney in
Australia. Candice exhibited in a
group show last summer at the Burlington Art
Centre
Click
on the photos to enlarge
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Writing
Lessons from Pottery Masters: an article Posted by Frank
Giovinazzi describes"mud in the blood -
an unwavering calling to work with clay every day. No matter the
sacrifice". As if you didn't know it, but it feels
good to hear it from a non-potter, a writer in fact who says writers
can learn from potters. Read the article on Blogcritics.org
Hot Clay Sites to
Visit |
 There
are many good clay sites out there. Here are a few we have selected as
being particularly worth a visit.
For Starters:begin your surfing at Jim
Speers Pottery site www.jimspeers.com
. Jim's site has a whole list
of
people
, places, and things to do in the "websites" section of his menu.
Jim's graphics are a lot of fun too. Check out his 3 D renderings
of pots in various settings. They're really neat. Need to
compose
an artist statement- check out his
Statement O'Matic which generates random
artist-like
statements. A lot of fun! Need to cool off after all that
excitment-
check his production ware-way cool! Then go surf the
world
from his links.
Another good set of links particularly for
European and Netherland potters is the list compiled by
Mels Boom. Check out his own site through the animated banner
top
of the page. His work is displayed attractively in a
horizontal
row of images. Grouped into paintings, ceramics, objects, and
furniture,
most of it is pretty funky with bright colours. His paintings
though
have a darker side despite their colourfulness. Interesting raku
pieces too in black and white. You will want to bookmark this
page
for its links and check particularly the ones he has marked (tip).
Minerva Ceramics
 Why are some potter’s sites exciting and
others are merely ho-hum? For answers one can hardly do better
than taking a look at Minerva ceramics. The index page opening is
flashy right from the get go with four abstract squares flashing before
settling down to 4 intriguing pots. As one enters, a slow parade
of exquisite pots glides across the screen. Clicking on any of
them brings one to that section of the gallery. These pots are
new and refreshing. The forms exciting yet the glazes are
traditional and earthy. But just who is Minerva? Little
personal information is included. It is as if the potter’s
identity is found within the pots themselves.
Bridgette
Moron employs three different techniques in her
raku
work. Click on the photo page and enlarge the first
photo.
There you will see a unique raku lidded container, full of
wonderful contrasts in colour and texture. Follow the arrows and
enjoy the rest of the show. (For English, you can go to the Google
translation page and paste in the web address. The web site then
appears in English.) Check out the
gallery where she shows her work. It's enough to
make you want to go to France and take one of her courses.
Eric
Astoul makes pots with a definite authentic presence
about
them. They are really quite amazing. Follow his work from 1983 to
the present and you can see his progression. He starts with
simple bold shapes reminiscent of African
pots that start to morph into more of a Japenese
influence
with still an antique air about them. And
then
while retaining that air he becomes completely modern.
These
pots have a "wow" factor, but a real earth felt
"wow".After viewing his pots, dont forget to go back to his main page
to
click on his kiln page. Here you find some neat
drawings of how he stacks and fires
his wood burning kiln. ( His site
seems to be down at the moment but check out http://www.ece.utexas.edu/~perry/fun/pots/astoul.html
and
http://www.feileclai.com/ericFCfest06.htm
John
Hesselberth of FrogPond Pottery.
His newly redone site has
interesting graphics. A motif along the left side of the screen is
found
on his pots as well, reflecting his interest in geometric patterns and
African art. Included on the site are his portfolio, his show schedule,
galleries that represent him, and links to other potters. Particularly
noteworthy is his section "Information about Pottery". Topics such as
"Buying
Tips, Care of Pottery, Lead in Glazes, Raku" etc. educate the public,
students
doing research on the web, and beginning potters. Also, John's articles
published in Clay Times are included here. You will find tips
on
drip-free spouts, minimizing cracking and warping, taking high quality
photographs of pottery and links to sites offering technical
information.
The site is well layed out and navigation is easy. Indeed this is a
model
potter's site, one well worth checking out and adding to your bookmark
list.
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