Wow, it’s almost August. Where did the time go? My internship and my time with the Museum of Arts and Design are soon coming to a close and I’ll be heading back to St. Louis for school. Although my time here has been well spent, I’m wishing I could stay a few weeks longer.
American Coke Bottles, 2010, gilt in American flag design
Blue top stoneware bottles, circa 1900
The Open Studio at MAD is a workspace on the 6th floor of the museum devoted to artists carrying-on with their work, interfacing with the public. So it was inevitable one fine day when I was wedging clay that a woman walked in with her young daughter who blurted out “Mommy! Look at that man,… he’s kneading bread!”
I smiled to myself. It’s true; the process of wedging clay resembles the kneading of bread dough. But this act that begins the potter’s process, which the little girl was sooo excited about, gave me such pause to consider what is really going on?
Linda Christianson, Oil Can, ceramic, 2010
Unsigned Batter Pail 1890, brown alkaline glaze, maintains original bail handle and tin lids, base is relief ribbed, approx 8""
Manipulating a lump of clay into this “kneading” motion with the wrists of one’s hands and the bearing of the body, typically forms the controlled mass of clay that rolls onto itself in a spiraling pattern. It is meant to release trapped air bubbles, allows us to inspect our clay for lumps and impurities, further makes the clay more homogeneous by flexing the molecules which lends a renewed sense of elasticity, and lets us feel the hardness/softness and moisture content of our natural material.
For beginners and those more advanced, one must be concerned with the physical act, but it also initiates a whole process, to which many of us subscribe, but with an unconscious falling.
Normally, people don’t think about the person who came before them to the wedging table that day, the previous day, the last week or month before. Indeed, wedging may only be a momentary process, but the process has existed since the earliest of times.
One could argue that the wedging table is both temporal and also has eternal aspects to it, having been borne for the initiation of a process that has lasted throughout the course of time.
With the many wedging tables that there are in this world, little do we think about the process as part of a universal vocabulary, but it is something that has shaped our pottery traditions in time immemorial. When the act of creating becomes a special language to us personally, is when we observe the outline of its grammar and prosody through which we filter our experience in the ceramics we make.
Unsigned Coffee Pot, 1890, ceramic and metal
Byron Temple, Teapot, 1967, stoneware
Colorado Teapot, designed by Marco Zanini for Memphis, 1983
Wedging has seen historic stylistic differences between East and West, but today those differences are no longer absolute. However it is still a process where consciousness can be lent towards a quickened pace, should one decide to pursue the rewards of clay.
Wedging may be cited as a rite of passage, but the field is not meant for everyone who tries their hand at it. For those who choose to make a commitment to its art and design, and have a desire to learn the ways, the experience can lead to an individual voice, where wisdom can be obtained.
As potters, as artists who choose to work with clay, we stand with the accretion of our forebears’ hard-gained knowledge, passed down from one generation to the next, and yet, we are forged today in the firings of our own doings.
This I believe is the Form of Tradition.
Photo credits to: Linda Christianson and http://www.schallergallery.com/
Bruce and Vicki Waasdorp at: http://antiques-stoneware.com/index.html
Thursday evening we had a blast on the seventh floor assembling various paper creations. I led my dedicated participants in paper-model pin making. Before the event I had assembled several of the brooches myself, and I found them quite difficult to make (even though I have made dozens of these not to mention I designed the pattern). However- the visitors at the DIY party wanted a paper brooch, and they all walked away with a variation on their goal. Come by and visit if you would like to assemble your own paper-model pin with me! Tuesdays.
Wow! What a wonderful weaving workshop we had on Wednesday! This week, MAD welcomed Cynthia, Isa, and eight winesome table-top looms to the sixth floor, just in time for winter! With some assistance from wise instructors, participants of all experience levels created warm woven fabrics to give or cherish.
I thought I would share some pics of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Images of the controlled chaos were shot from MAD’s 7th floor by Joseph D. Sullivan. Thank you MAD Admin and Staff for the opportunity.
It was a wonderful experience to teach the 3D felting class to such a fantastic group of creative women. Each person brought such enthusiasm, fantastic ideas, and creative spirit, and their final pieces were beautiful. Some made sculptural works, some created wall pieces, and others created functional pieces to contain their personal treasures. Check out their fantastic work!
One Wednesday each month, MAD opens its studios for a hands-on workshop with the pros! This is the perfect opportunity to learn a new technique or hone your D.I.Y. skills, creating a unique object to give or cherish.
I feel a little silly posting a photo of the day considering this is the first, and I don’t intend on posting any others any time soon. However, this is such an awesome photo from our new photo intern Katie that I felt almost a moral imperative to share. We were spoiled by the fantastic work of last semester’s photo intern Irina (for details, check out pretty much every photo we have up on flickr), and it looks like the fine tradition she established will be continued.
The photo, by the way, was from last week’s public program “Where Craft and Design Intersect,” and it’s of American Craft magazine editor-in-chief Andrew Wagner.
The Museum will be closing its galleries at the end of the day – Sunday, April 27th after 22 years at 40 West 53rd. I can’t say it’s with mixed feelings for most of the staff – we are eager to move the extraordinary new facility at Columbus Circle where we will welcome the museum going public in late September. With an entire floor for education, a proper auditorium, seminar rooms, permanent collection galleries for the first time – artist studios – plus plus – it will be amazing. not to mention windows in our work spaces. HURRAY so if you want to visit our old home – you have just a few days left to do it.
Sort of cliché, but welcome to the MAD Blog! Why does Museum of Arts and Design need a blog? It is our hope over the coming months/years/eons that this blog will serve a couple of purposes. First, we hope to give a glimpse inside our museum, with everything from posts from our curators about how they plan exhibitions to chats with our registrars about the nuts-and-bolts of museum operations. We also hope that this blog will become a forum for discussion between artists and educators, and also a repository and collection point for information on topics of interest.
Big aspirations, we know, but hopefully if we start broad, we’ll find plenty to talk about!
So thanks for checking us out and feel free to comment.
