Beyond the Picture

Michael Cardew, an English studio potter born in 1910, wrote, “Pottery is a fundamental craft and should be pursued in a fundamental way. Beware of all ’short cuts’. Begin at the beginning. The simplest materials and the simplest methods are often the best. The most primitive work is often the most refined. Potters must be artists, but they should make things that are useful as well as decorative, otherwise they are in danger of losing the common touch.” (Quoted in Spinning the Clay into Stars: Bernard Leach and the Bahá’í Faith, by Robert Weinberg)

I am not sure what Cardew means by the common touch, exactly, nor do I understand why it would be bad to lose it. Perhaps it’s an admonishment against overthinking, and pretentiousness. Maybe when you start thinking your pots are something, they stop being something at that very instant.

Michael Cardew slipware bowls - Cardew was considered one of the best slipware potters ever.

As I make stuff, I think about what I’m doing. That is to say, I try to work with intentionality: I need to know which clay to choose, how much of it to wedge, whether to throw the piece on a bat or on the wheel-head. As I center the clay, often the results are better if I start with a general form and methodology in mind. The steps I take and the tools I need for throwing will be different if I am making a bowl, or a lidded vessel, or a plate. To change direction midstream in a lurching, corners-cutting manner can result in a piece that looks cobbled together.

At the same time, as I work, and this might sound strange, I try not to think about what I’m doing. If I imagine how people will respond, wonder if my piece looks like the work of this or that potter I admire, think about “reception” – it tends not to go well. This is to be contrasted with having a goal in mind. When I sit at the wheel, I have in mind an aim, an intention, but not “an answer”. So much can happen as a form is emerging. Submitting to the process presents previously-unseen opportunities, including spectacular accidents and damage (see my previous entry, “Fun Fiascoes“). Also, the limits of one’s technical skill can of course impact the successful rendering of one’s intention.

All of this – thinking and not-thinking and having a goal but being flexible enough to submit and change approach if new information comes to light – led me to start working a lot with black and white. Black and white is simple and stark, and I find that its limitations help me to explore these ideas of form and methodology in what feels like a clearer, cleaner way. It is somehow less encumbering to see how form interacts and integrates with surface decoration when I am using plain black and white.

Below is some recent experimentation along these lines – an effort to simplify my approach, edit out distractions and focus on form and technique.

Do you find yourself doing this kind of thing in your field of endeavor, artistic or otherwise? What methods do you use to simplify and focus?

White stoneware platter with "Orbit decoration", black licorice glaze and white sliptrailing. Leili Towfigh, 2009.

Large white stoneware platter with "Magnetic" design. Leili Towfigh, 2009.

White stoneware bowl with black mason stain slip and white sliptrailing. Leili Towfigh, 2009.

White stoneware bowl with black sliptrailing. Leili Towfigh, 2009.

This entry was posted Thursday, October 22nd, 2009 at 5:39 pm and is filed under ceramics, existential, fine art, pay attention. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.