by Carole Epp | Jan 23, 2016 | Uncategorized
“While fellow artists Peter Voulkos and John Mason pushed clay to its
limits by making massive walls and muscular abstractions, McIntosh
gently nudged the boundaries of traditional studio pottery by elevating
functional objects to a rarefied state of art. Over the next 50 years,
he produced an internationally revered body of work that exemplifies a
classical vein of the postwar crafts movement.”
Read the full obituary here.
by Carole Epp | Mar 29, 2014 | Uncategorized
“My interest has remained inconveniently multi-faceted in most things ceramic – from its misty prehistory, when only clay and gods mattered, to the subsequent historical offerings from many lands. Food and tea presentation, clay and glaze research, the art of throwing, the art of handbuilding, kilns, riverside shards, emissivity, the smell of old clay, on and on. The straight path to the studio from the house is necessarily most serpentine some days. Some months of the year, though, make it much simpler. When the days grow warmer I work much more outside, where pots dry more quickly. I become a potter and become familiar again with muscle and ache. From November on, when things are freezing solid outside, body activity slows down and more cerebral struggle takes its place. A farmer might go curling during this time. I suppose I go handbuilding. This sequence has been part of my making for well over 30 years. The only thing I can see that has changed is more honing, more reflection, more revisiting old and new places in my mind, and less guilt about the now petty.”
– John Chalke
by Carole Epp | Mar 26, 2014 | Uncategorized
The news had spread quickly throughout conference goers about Don Reitz’s passing. There was something very touching about receiving this news at NCECA. Anyone who had known him had stories to tell. What I kept hearing over and over again was not so much about his work, but rather who he was as a man. His warmth, generosity and positive attitude were what he was most remembered for.
During the last day of the conference, while we sat together in the darkened auditorium listening to the emerging artists talks, a moment was taken for remembrance. Together we clapped in rhythm and held hands throughout the crowd, sending his soul onto the next adventure. The emotion of that moment was powerful. You could sense in that room all of the lives that he had touched.
Rest in peace Don.
The following is a quote from an artist statement of his that was included in the obituary posted by the American Craft Council. You can read it in it’s entirety here: http://craftcouncil.org/post/remembering-don-reitz
When I work I think a lot. Mostly it’s not about that which is in front of me. That action is generally a spontaneous response. I just think, tell ridiculous stories, or pretend I am the greatest artist of all time. I think about who is really forming who at this moment and other seemingly unrelated stuff, an integral component. Lately, due in part to the passing of my dear friends and heroes, I have been thinking about time. Surely the greatest gift of all, yet we take it for granted. This gift of time what shall I do with it? How much time is there? Will I waste it by worrying about the RULES, yesterday’s idea, or about laborious, extraneous techniques before I need them? I choose not to.
Over the years time has allowed me to manipulate my forms and surfaces with some degree of innate intelligence and personal satisfaction. Time, an essential ingredient in firing, hardens and colors the clay, but also gives me time to think and look inward.
Time has enabled me to bring to my work a personal uniqueness, a clarification of purpose. These works serve as a bridge which allows me to move freely from reality to REALITY. In the interface I am free of convention, opinion, and burdensome history. My work becomes a personal iconography enabling me to visualize and organize my information. My marks are there in the clay. My signature.
It’s a good day.
–Don Reitz
by Carole Epp | Feb 4, 2013 | call for entry, emerging artist, job posting, monday morning eye candy, movie day, residency opportunity, show us your influences, technical tuesday
Today’s eye candy is a sad one as I’ve just received word that Janet Mansfield has passed away. A kind and generous spirit that I was blessed enough to meet in my travels. Her impact on our community will be long felt and her stunning artwork will inspire for generations to come.
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| image thanks to Vipoo Srivilasa |
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| image thanks to Vipoo Srivilasa |
