Monday, January 4, 2010

Pottery #1 - Woodfired

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This morning I downloaded a catalogue of a ceramics exhibition by Randy 
Johnston (here), which is on at Fuller Craft Museum in Brockton, Mass.




It's a great catalogue of great wood fired pottery work.  Here's a quote from 
Johnston's artist statement:



"My wife Jan McKeachie and I met in 1975. We were
married in 1978 and have fired most of our work in
our large wood-fi red Nobori gama (1972-present) or
Anagama kiln (2002-present). The architecture of wood
kilns makes them wonderful objects, creaking, belching,
and breathing...It is an architecture completed by fi re
and containing the violence out of which living pots
emerge. Wood-fi ring is an aesthetic choice; the greatest
issue, regardless of technique and process, is quality
and if the work asks new questions. I want my work to
have a distinctly marked sense of clarity, a deliberate
engagement with art past and present, and continuing
aesthetic discourse with the expressive and conceptual
intent of functional pots.
Firing for days with wood creates a complex of layers
and structures on the work and in one’s mind.
Awareness of this layering brings me to a sacred
place, a memory of a perfect place where we can stop
and play with our minds and voices. With intuition
and ideas we create. Constructing, layering listening
to the echoes. This space also exists often within the
architectural structures of our work as we attempt to
defi ne space, design structure, and deal with symbolic
interpretations. The complex of social interaction and
place of our humanity within this structure is in large
part a continuing expression of my conversation with the
material and process of clay. — Randy Johnston"



This prompted me to take photos of my favourite wood fired pots in my collection 
to share:







Kyle Houser, Josh Floyd, Steve Rose.
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Justin Lambert.
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Josh Floyd.
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Kyle Houser.
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Steve Rose.
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AND:





Ryoji Koie.
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Justin






Josh






Kyle






Steve





AND






Ryoji Koie













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Penny Smith

Cone 6 Suite

Based on prototype 
Suite 6, exhibited at 'lightworks II',
Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Launceston, 1996
Suite 6 prototype reproduced in the exhibition catalogue cover
(lightworks II - recent work by Penny Smith, 1996, ISBN 0 7246 4540 3)

2002, ceramic stoneware, porcelain, appr. 160 x 135 x 35 cm

















1 comment:

  1. Thank you so much for the lovely pictures. I appreciate your support!

    ReplyDelete

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