April 2023
“Knowing ignorance is strength, Ignoring knowledge is sickness.” Tao Te Ching, verse 71
The aim of my MA project is to explore the value of intuitive action balanced with and against applied ceramics skills. To this end I interviewed 5 established potters, and considered the application of ideas from 5 of the first term lecturers.
Although I interviewed 5 potters I focused on 3 of them; Jim Malone, Roger Law and Sandy Brown. I also interviewed Gavin Webster and Christine Cherry – though their input was subsidiary to the overall focus of the assignment.
The lecturers I chose to consider were David Binns, Anna Lambert, Rob Watson (RAW), and Emily Speed.
As with the first assignment I used the Harvard Referencing System.
My take-aways from this assignment were firstly a greater awareness of my own project and practice, together with an appreciation of the publicity and selling oneself. Secondly I had some wonderful conversations with people I admire and whose work I love. In all cases they were generous of their time and experience above and beyond my expectations. I have not copied my notes from the conversations I had with them, though they formed part of my official assessment.
CMA - 2nd assignment – Research in Context - first draft
Assignment Two –– 28/04/2023 – Paula E. Canney – Ceramics MA
RESEARCH IN CONTEXT
Contents:
Bibliography & References .. .. .. .. .. .. .. page 3
List of illustrations .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. page 4
Definitions .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. page 5
Introduction: .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. page 6 (265 words)
Finding empty energy through Plan or Play?
Interviews with contemporary makers: .. .. .. .. .. ..page 7 (1420 words – including in text quotations)
Take-aways from presented lecture series: .. .. .. .. page 13 (1058 words – including in text quotations)
Research Reflection: .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. page 16 (247 words)
‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ – seeking balance and flow and exposure for my work
Total words = 2990, including intext quotations, excluding citations, definitions and section headings.
Appendices: .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. page 17
(i) Roger Law: email contact and text of conversation on 2nd April 2023. .. .. .. .. .. .. page 17
(ii) Sandy Brown: email contact and text of conversation on 20th April 2023. .. .. .. .. page 22
(iii) Jim Malone: email contact and text of conversation on 5th April 2023. .. .. .. .. .. .. page 28
(iv) Christine Cherry: WhatsApp contact and text of conversation on 3rd April 2023. ..page 34
(v) Gavin Webster: email contact on 26th April 2023 – also included are notes from an interview with Gavin at Only Clay Exhibition, Sheffield 24th September 2022. .. .. .. .. page 38
Bibliography:-
Videos and Films
Arena. (2014) ‘Roger Law – Carved, Drawn and Quartered’ BBC4, 28 March 2014 Accessed March 2023 BBC Four - Arena, Carved, Drawn & Quartered
Anon. (2017) ‘Roger Law: From the satire of Spitting Image to the craft of ceramics’ Norfolk Now. YouTube, 23 November 2017. Accessed March 2023 Roger Law: From the satire of Spitting Image to the craft of ceramics - Bing video
DesignIndaba. (2013) ‘Roger Law: The sky is the limit – be anything you want’ YouTube, 11 October 2013. Accessed March 2023. Roger Law: The sky is the limit -- be anything you want - Bing video
Krage,J. (2019) ‘Artist and Ceramicist Sandy Brown on the Power of Making with an Empty Mind’ YouTube, 9 October 2019. Accessed March 2023 (www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SOeDbucBtA)
Articles and Journals
Olding,S.(2006) ‘Sandy Brown: Symbolic Visions’. Ceramic Review,pp.30-33.
Thorpe,V.(2014) ‘Roger Law: Spitting and Spinning’. The Guardian.com, 2 August 2014
Catalogues and leaflets
‘Jim Malone – Potter’. Studio leaflet. Self published, year unspecified.
Websites – including Instagram
Brown,S (2023) Sandy Brown – Ceramics (sandybrownarts.co.uk) Accessed March 2023
Cherry,C (2023) Potter England Christine Cherry Ceramics Accessed March 2023
China Design Centre (2019) An interview with Takeshi Yasuda: stories of Jingdezhen and RedHouse | China Design Centre 31st May 2019 Accessed April 2023
Facebook (2022) Exciting news! Gavin Webster, who... - Hornby Village Institute | Facebook 3rd November 2022. Accessed April 2023
Galerie Besson (2021) SHOZO MICHIKAWA: Thirty Years, Thirty Pots - 5 - 27 October - Galerie Besson Accessed April 2023
Goldmark Gallery. We Love Clay(2016 ) Making | Studio Tour: Jim Malone’s Cumbrian Pottery Making | Studio Tour: Jim Malone's Cumbrian Pottery - We Love Clay Accessed March 2023
Goldmark Gallery. We Love Clay (2016) Exhibition Preview | Jim Malone: A Celebration | Major Ceramics Show Exhibition Preview | Jim Malone: A Celebration | Major Ceramics Show - We Love Clay Accessed March 2023
Law,R (2023) https://rogerlawceramics.com/ 2023 Accessed March 2023
Sladmore Gallery (@2023) Roger Law : Sladmore Gallery Accessed March 2023
Books
Feng,G-F and English,J. (trans) (1972) Lao Tsu – Tao Te Ching. London:Wildwood House Ltd
Walsh,H. (2021) The Yorkshire Tea Ceremony – W.A.Ismay and his Collection of British Studio Pottery. York:Paul Holberton Publishing.
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Illustrations (images in Appendix are not labelled, as they relate specifically to the personal transcripts)
Figure 1 - Roger Law at work in China
Figure 2 - Sandy Brown, from Ceramic Review, issue 221
Figure 3 - Gavin Webster, from Hornby Institute Facebook page
Figure 4 - Jim Malone at home on his Korean kick wheel - @PCanney 2023
Figure 5 - Christine Cherry, from her Webpage
Figure 6 - Roger Law - from his website
Figure 7 Jim Malone designs - from his website
Figure 8 Roger Law - from his website
Figure 9 - Gavin Webster @ PCanney2023
Figure 10 - Jim Malone - Goldmark Gallery
Figure 11 - Sandy Brown Hallmark Gallery
Figure 12 Roger Law - from his website
Figure 13 - Gavin Webster - Arneside Art Trail webpage
Figure - 14 Shozo Michikawa - PinInterest
Figure 15 – Christine Cherry – from her website
Figure 16 – Anna Lambert – Mind Map 2011
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Definitions:
Mushin – empty mind
Noun Mushin is a simplified notion of WuWei. For an explanation of Wu Wei start by reading Tao Te Ching, attributed to Lao Tsu, and more particularly Inner Chapters by Chuang Tsu – the ‘explainer’ of Lao Tsu. Or more immediately “The Tao of Pooh” by Benjamin Hoff.
Virtue – Te (or The)
Noun (in Taoism) the virtue or power inherent in a person or thing existing in harmony with the Tao. “One could say that te is natural virtue, based on inner feeling, as distinct from artificial virtue, based on a following of rules”.
Wu-Wei – empty mind
Noun “Thus wu-wei as “not forcing” is what we mean by going with the grain, rolling with the punch, swimming with the current, trimming sails to the wind, taking the tide at its flood, and stooping to conquer”
“Knowing ignorance is strength, Ignoring knowledge is sickness.” Tao Te Ching, verse 71
Introduction:
Finding empty energy through Plan or Play?
The aim of my MA project is to explore the value of intuitive action balanced with and against applied ceramics skills. To give form (pun intended) to my project I will consider the representation of energy and flow inherent in the spaces within, around and between ceramic forms. Consideration of the vessel as a functional item or a carrier of a concept will be central and will build up over successive ‘reflective practices’.
I am still searching for a personal gateway into what I want to make, how I want to make it and where I want to go with it. I do have a imperatives that I need to include in the journey and the outcome. These centre around my desire to refine and hone ceramic skills, to work intuitively and my fascination with Eastern culture and thought. How will these balance and complement each other, and how do I get back into the making process after an enforced absence as a creative person?
As part of this journey I carefully considered which five practicing artists/artisans to approach, each having taken very different creative paths, and achieved quite different levels of ‘success’. They do, however, share attitudes to their work, empathy with their material, a basis of material specific skills and an intuitive playful approach. They also have very different profiles, and they may well be bewildered by the obvious parallels I see between them.
I have chosen to focus on four presentations from the lecture series that were most relevant to my stated objective and personal development; Anna Lambert, Robert Watson, Emily Speed and Dave Binns.
(265 words)
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Personal Research:
“Freedom doesn’t come from having skills, freedom comes from feeling what you are doing – doodling, playing.” (Brown, 2023) - do I agree with this?
Transcripts of the conversations with, and backgrounds of, Roger Law, Jim Malone, Sandy Brown, Gavin Webster and Christine Cherry are given at Appendix One.
My chosen potters work with intuition, fluidity and are deeply influenced by an oriental aesthetic, and all of them acknowledge the importance of contacts and networking to get their work ‘out there’. Each has a recognisable personal style. For each of them, that is probably where they think the similarities end. But they do not!
Figure 1 - Roger Law at work in China
Law’s roots in ceramics lie with Janice Tchelenko, and it was through her that he gravitated towards Chinese pottery. Tchelenko had visited China and had been influenced by their tradition of colour and design.
Figure 2 - Sandy Brown, from Ceramic Review, issue 221
Brown began making when she “landed up” in Japan, settling in with Japanese potters and being particularly influenced by Takei Yashuda.
For Webster influence came from Shozo Michikawa, with whom he worked at Higham Hall.
Malone’s work is deeply rooted in the Leach tradition, but most particularly the work of Hamada – he is enthralled by the oriental aesthetic, and most particularly that of Korean ceramics.
Cherry has yet to find her ’style’, though she favours a slip-cast and carved method.
For all of them there is a distinction between planning a schedule of work and the creative process.
Roger Law was adamant - “at CSA the people with no sense of direction, no matter how good they were, basically got married and ended up in boring jobs.” “Being organised and on top of things” – was the only way things worked.
This approach is reflected by Jim Malone, whose making schedule is governed by the imperatives of massive wood fired kilns – taking up to 6 months from sourcing materials to opening the kiln.
Although Cherry is adamant she is not a ‘planner’ she has a making schedule, and if she doesn’t keep to it she self-interrogates the reasons why.
Of all my chosen potters Sandy Brown seems the most relaxed in setting a making schedule. However her large works Temple and Earth Goddess belie this. They are Commissioned and irrespective of the creative process their sheer size and the need to utilise specialists to assist in their erection (not to mention Health and Safety) means they must be carefully planned ahead. The outlier to this is Gavin, who seems to still be finding his feet within the making/marketing cycle.
Creativity is another matter. They all draw on intuition and freedom in at least a part of their process.
Jim Malone would appear to be the most ‘planned’ in his actual making process, with careful considerations of form and function worked out through well developed glaze recipes, firing protocols and sources for materials. But dig a little deeper and the driver for his work and passion is an intuitive empathy for the material and the ability to loose himself in the creative process: “Eventually you’re not actually doing it – it becomes part of you. Clay is a very sensual material …. That’s why I don’t work on an electric wheel, I never have ……….. you can’t get that kind of soft sensual feel to the pot. People say “a good pot sings”. The fluidity of his finished work, and its natural balance is what draws me to him as a potter.
Where Malone knows what forms he will make and the intuition is in the making process, Brown makes a virtue of her lack of planning at any stage. I asked her specifically if I should give in to pressure to plan what I wanted to make and how to make it: “no, no, no – that is putting your head before being creative. You should do your work and then write it up afterwards”. She constantly makes ‘doodles’ – which she glazes, fires, loves and never throws out, “Doodling is a very profound way of being creative”. She understood the freedom of design Janice Tchelenko had when working with Roger Law, but said “That would have been her best days. When she started working for Dartington she had to become much more repetitive and restrictive in her designs. She gave the best of herself away”. This is backed up by Roger Law, who lauded the free colour designs and ‘alchemy’ of Tchelenko. When they worked together she never measured anything, and they would make and remake things until she was happy – “eventually something special would come out of the kiln”. Yet in his own ceramic work Law is less intuitive .
His sketches are sublimely free-form, based on the oriental tradition of brush painting because “it is so giving of oneself ” (Arena, 2014), yet the process of then deeply carving them onto pre-made vessels is by it’s very nature less spontaneous than Malones sensual interaction with his material or the apparent gay abandon of Brown. Laws finished works are marvellous for the wit and fluidity of design, the skill in their making and the choice of materials and glaze application, but they are not free flowing in their expression of Te/virtue.
On the other hand Websters explosive, creative dynamic is eye watering. Create-destroy-recreate: draw the visceral elements out of the clay and glaze through refiring.
Webster takes his influences from Shozo Michikawa, but rather than pushing the inner form - the essence - out through Kurinuki technique, he builds a form then breaks and reassembles it. It appears that intuition is everything.
Shozo Michikawa
“I do not typically plan my work in advance. I prefer to approach the clay with an open mind …. My making method reflects my approach of improvisation and spontaneity …. allowing the clay to guide me and embracing the unexpected elements that arise during the making …. I am able to infuse my work with energy and movement”. The result is exciting – like a self portrait with an ear missing. No contriving and no contrition.
And yet all five could not express their spirit through art without having honed their skills in pottery.
For Malone skill and learning are the basis of creation. The passing down of skill through arts schools and in established potteries such as Winchcombe was seminal. This was backed up by collectors who were discerning and “knew what a good pot was. All that has changed, and you can sell just about whatever you want now. And in a way the more outrageous it is, the better.” Going back to the same form, getting a feel for the clay is like developing muscle memory in the martial arts. It is through this build-up of skill, the attention to reflex responses that you can attain the empty spaces that enables the process to “become a (sic) part of you”. Brown would appear the antithesis of this approach. However, she admits that in her early days she was very methodical with testing, recording and retesting glazes, and she uses the same the same recipes and the same clay body today. Her association with Yasuda over 20 years, and the example of other Japanese potters taught her how to fuse form and function. Her work, particularly her monumental forms, require technical expertise in the making process in addition to collaboration with specific technicians, but she is adamant that “Freedom doesn’t come from having skills, freedom comes from feeling what you are doing – doodling, playing”!
Roger Law - from his website
Alternatively Law has tremendous skills in drawing and carving clay, with no pretensions to skill in producing vessels of any sort. He employs craftsmen in Jingdezhen to make and fire work that he imposes design onto. Indeed “what had put (him) off pottery in art school was the tedium of throwing! It is easy to get a pot made, fired and glazed to a very high standard. And because it is so cheap and easy it is possible to work ideas out and see if they are practical.” He references Tchelenkos’ move from the “boring Leach tradition” – though she kept the Leach work ethic! Though not possessing pottery making skills, his manipulation of the medium through imposing his designs and character on them is utterly skilful.
7 Figure 13 - Gavin Webster - Arneside Art Trail webpage
Websters’ test/retest-fire/refire-reflect process would be uncreatively chaotic without his grounded skills acquired at art college and honed in his collaborative work with Shozo Michikawa.
Christine Cherry
The same applies to Cherry, whose skills at Stoke art college were recognised at the time by the Craft Council.
Overall what I took away from these conversations and research is that, despite my best intentions and a rebellious spirit, I will not achieve my stated objectives without continuing to develop my personal skills and without some level of planning in the making process – though keeping it light, enjoyable and ‘doodly’.
(1420 words)
Practitioner Lecture Series
The lecture series presentations covered a wide range of creative areas and topics. Most gave their own analysis of their place in their specific area, how they got there and where they want to go next.
In all the examples I have chosen collaboration, networking, an ability to change direction, and a desire to be happy, are common denominators. Changing direction and chasing happiness are not new to me. Collaboration and networking are weak areas I need to develop.
David Binns and Anna Lambert both work within ceramics and have common ground through the Uclan MA. Binns presentation left me in no doubt that I would not like to follow in his footsteps. His starting point was not ceramics, and his objectives and processes were clinically unintuitive. I felt his work is sterile and lacking energy. However I found his advice on setting goals, determining what is important to myself and following through with personal practice was invaluable. He promoted the idea of a personal back story, and the idea that personal research and making hangs on identifying a “theme, concept, issue or problem” – this gave me the confidence to pursue an MA project based on a deeply personal belief theory – ways in which Te and Mushin can be represented and experienced. As with all other creatives referenced in this assignment he was adamant about the value and necessity to test and be prepared to fail. And, of course, he is a ‘networking maestro’.
Unlike Binns, Lambert made an early decision to focus on studio ceramics. As such I felt more in tune with her and her journey. Her ability to sell herself, her work and to network effectively is clear, and it continues throughout her professional life. She started by approaching shops and galleries in London, entering the craft scene through events such as Chelsea Craft fair and from these contexts being taken up by serious galleries. Her ability to build on her collector base through commissions and galleries has been central, and is something I aspire to. She managed to keep this base despite a radical change in her style, enforced through a repetitive strain injury. Moving to a more fluid, simpler, nature inspired style was, she said, more “me”, though she moved outside her comfort zone into radically different building methods - slabs, slips, and press pattern design – concurrently building on discovered pleasures for painting and sketching. For her a seminal moment was producing a mindmap which showed her opportunities and confusions – I had a similar reaction to the exercise. It resonated with me when she recounted being told to “lose the birds” when she was searching for a new path on a Uclan MA in 2011. Initially losing the birds and being pushed to sketch, paint and ‘move on’ was painful: ‘Dave Binns said “you’ve got to lose the birds …. I cried for about 3 days …… but he was right” ‘. This is more about moving on rather than the process of planning work, which she was already adept at – keeping to deadlines and meeting commissions. The biggest take-aways for myself were a willingness to change direction and move outside of her comfort zone - irrespective of how emotionally painful it was. And her ability to network, sell herself and her work and to actively look for sources of funding and opportunities. When she changed course she appears to have initially felt lost “all the things that hurt were the processes that “made my work my work”, but she has come out positively at the other side.
Rob Watson re-inforced the importance of networking. His Mark Twainish 20 year plan may not be exactly appropriate to myself, but his willingness to change direction and goals does mirror Lambert, and I found it to be something I can mentally hook onto. His positive attitude mantra sounds trite, but actually works as a personal fillip : The creative process – 1. This is Awesome; 2. This is Tricky; 3. This is Shit; 4. I am Shit; 5. This Might be OK; 6. This is Awesome! His aphorisms slickly cover a hard headed ability to be ruthless to be successful. He claims that he was not the best at what he does but he worked hard at it, with a clear objective and an ability to be in the right place at the right time that facilitated solid contacts across the creative world. Another skill is the ability to have fun and create a bear-inhabited relaxed work environment. From the beginning his motto seems to be research the companies/people you approach and to send them something memorable. He is obviously tuned into the multi-faceted approach, hitting each campaign with podcasts, digital platforms, posters, books, radio, and even bus-shelter advertising. My spider mind finds this attractive, and I felt more positive about developing and putting energy into developing an on-line multi-platform presence and positively selling myself.
Emily Speed has a different resonance for me. Her presentation was very personal and vulnerable. She has to collaborate by the very nature of her work, but appears an essentially intuitive creator. Setting out in her career without direction she went to Japan, and came back to do a Masters in Drawing at Wimbledon. Since leaving she has followed an idiosyncratic pathway, drawing on a fluid bag of influences, though repeating the themes of the interaction between buildings and the female body. What she “enjoys” is finding out what is on the inside and outside of these “vessels”. “I’m really interested in the power of spaces and who holds the power”. Despite her hesitancy in presentation she is obviously a mover when it comes to networking and chasing commissions and profile within her field. She has taken up a position on the AN board which has facilitated this. One of her projects was inviting people to write about clay, and then presenting it as an artwork in book-form. From Speed I took away confidence to follow my own ideas and, yet again, the power and need to network to get your creations out there.
(1058 words)
Research Reflection
‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ – seeking balance and flow and exposure for my work
My intended outcome is to produce a body of work that is recognisably mine and that may or may not be commercially successful. This assignment helped me make informed decisions about how to go forward in my MA, in the processes of research, making and ‘getting out there’. The importance of working intuitively and not over-planning prior to ‘making’ was reinforced but with a reluctant acknowledgement that some planning is both inevitable and desirable. I now have to find a personal balance in order to move on. All my chosen creatives and the lecture series hammered home the need to network, make appropriate contacts and follow through. In my own case I need to reflect on my self-imposed Age-ism and artificial boundaries.
An ability to change direction and to enjoy the creative process was another big take-away. Particularly the journeys taken by Cherry and Webster were important, as both set off on a creative path then found Life-The-Universe-And-Everything kicked in. This reflects my own repeated experience, and their determination to break out was a factor in choosing both of them in my personal research.
Likewise, the change imposed on Lambert by her own physical restrictions resonated with me as I continue to recover from a life-changing accident.
I have, as a result, continued to research other potters/creatives whose work and process interests me, and remade contacts with gallery owner friends in London and undertaken to ‘network’ – starting by participating in an active making challenge at a Potfest event in June.
(247 words)
Advice from my conversations:-
Christine : it’s never too late
Gavin : good luck
Jim : don’t do it, but if you must find a mentor
Sandy : enjoy yourself
Roger : go to Jingdezhen
Print by Roger Law
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