For those of you not familiar with my teaching style I love sharing books. I don't believe I can predict when or how you will learn. Most definitely I do not know when or if you will apply what we have read so there are no tests. This is graduate school, I believe you are hungry for new information/ways of thinking/approaches to making. After finishing "Makers" and watching Craft in America I wanted to offer a wide range of others books to finish out the semester. Some are lengthy like "The White Road" and "Scape the Willow Till It Sings" others are simply catalogs from shows filled with beautiful images. I accept both forms of books as valid. There is no higher ranking if you were drawn to book vs a catalog, the joy is in what you decided as an individual.
So for the book review share the basic information: title, author (s), date of publication, publisher.
Then tell us about the book. Finally let us all know if the book had an impact on your work or your way of looking at works of art. If you hated the book, tell us that. Mainly convince me you read the book and thought about it for more than a minute.
Fire into Ice, Adventures in Glass Making, James Houston Tundra Books, 1998.
ReplyDeleteJames Houston’s art amused his nostalgia for the place and people he missed, the Inuit/Eskimos. His memories surfaced through glasswork. If I had a definition for Renaissance man, James Houston’s picture would be there (or an example of real life Indiana Jones!). First of all, his process, inspiration from traveling, and combining drawing and glass making sounds awesome. He captured their world by combining drawing and imagining ideas into glass form to narrate stories with out words. I found I was in awe of how he could roll all three into his design process and live life that way utilizing all his artist talents even writing a few children's books! His clear glasswork gave you a feeling of the Artic. When looking at these he was able to capture that pure, isolating, crisp cold day of the Eskimos and the animals he witnessed.
I enjoyed his narration of his process identifying with how small he feels at the beginning of each project. It had a very romantic quality that he was so influenced by these people and could bring it to life through his work in glass. This book is a great illustration of an artist with integrity to his inspiration and his craft. I found this book appealing and it was inspiring to me as an artist to carry my drawing notebook with me and follow through on my inspirations in my artwork.
Gail when I read this book I realized how hard it was to realize his finished piece. All of breakage he went through to get to the end product. Thats what I call experimentation and not afraid to fail and keep going. I love the way you put it "How small he feels at the beginning of each project".
DeleteI also like that....How small he feels at the beginning..so true and honest
DeleteKim - I know he had no worries in failure - thats hard to grasp sometimes!
DeleteMy post is too long to be accepted here,any ideas,I guess I will make it in two posts
ReplyDeleteThursday, April 21, 2016
ReplyDeleteBOOK REVIEW: THE WHITE ROAD BY EDMUND DEWAAL
The White Road by Edmund De Waal is about porcelain; a love affair between a potter, Edmund De Waal and porcelain and his journey to China and other countries; England and Germany to visit the villages and people who make the porcelain. He openly shares his many personal moments in this very very detailed diary of his travels and his many encounters are simply memorable and intimate. He begins his journey in China page 38...”There are a mass of poor families...many young workers and weaker people. The blind and the crippled who spend their lives grinding pigments........18,000 families, possibly 100,000 people making a living from porcelain...walking through this densely packed city with its narrow streets was like being in the middle of a carnival..."
He talks about the weather and how it affects the porcelain. It so cold in the winter that it freezes and is useless. He calls this his "white hill”. He spends 10 days here, he has a driver who takes him allover and .he comes down from the mountains into the city of white porcelain, Jingdzhen. Everyone here makes porcelain and his/her children and his /her parents and their parents and so on. They begin with each morning rolling ropes of porcelain and the potters make petals and so on. This is a famous city and is where his story about porcelain begins “It is the city of secrets, a millennium of skills, fifty generations digging and cleaning and mixing white earth, making, knowing porcelain, full of workshops, potters, glazers and decorators. He talks even about the food, you really feel as if you are in china in this village covered with white powder, walking through the factories and the streets where people know nothing else but a life which begins and ends with the making of porcelain. There are so many stories about the commissioned pots and those who commissioned them.
This is a 400 page book so I am trying to simply post what I take away from reading it, what impresses me and what surprises me. Well, everything surprises me about this book because I was totally ignorant about porcelain, the making of anything porcelain.
The book dedicates some pages to some stories about those who made “white pots “I feel I would be remiss to not retell at least one or maybe two....
ReplyDeleteThere is a story of an emperor who loved white porcelain and the story goes something like a Muslim ruler gave a gift of jade bowls but the emperor refused the gift because he said this..."The Chinese porcelain that I use every day is pure white and translucent, and it pleases me greatly. There is no need to use jade bowls “page 79.This was the Yongle emperor born in 1360, there are many stories told in this book about him. Many pages dedicated to his leadership and achievements as this author continually includes historical accounts in these chapters. He talks about the rain and the rain and how he cannot sleep in the rain...."The rain comes down....""So it is three in the morning and I try to count post that is what I do when I cannot sleep and it rains....now let us move on to Dresden, “it is my Second Porcelain City “he says....and he goes on and on again about the rain....He talks about the city and his sightseeing adventures there in the city of king Augustus II who kept those Chinese kilns going all night and due to his obsession with porcelain. He goes on and on for pages about King Augustus, his mistresses and habits etc...and all the money he spends and all of his women. Then he says “and now he spends on porcelain".... so the author talks about the porcelain in the royal collections.so by the time the king dies he has collected...35,798 pieces of porcelain. Page 151.He says he has "porcelain sickness" and that he could never get enough of porcelain, it is a sickness. “He is the emperor of white”. He goes on and on about how Dresden is affecting him. He discusses the Albrechtsburg castle which is high above Meissen where Bottger was a prisoner and where the king's madness grew due to his obsession with porcelain. This is a castle on cliffs 7 stories high on a bluff "it is perfect for keeping secrets, but as a study in how time and motion work and of course how to make and decorate and fire the very delicate porcelain. Page 196."The white clay comes down the river from Colditz ,mined in the Erzberg mountains, and is carried up the hillside to the lowest of cellars to be washed of impurities....Wet clay is kept in another cellar and then is brought up to the throwers and the modellers on the top floor, up a dramatic Gothic spiral staircase......."This book is so very visual I picture everything which is described in such detail....."But try carrying a basket of kaolin up 200 steps on your shoulder. Then try going downwards and round, with a board of pots " page 197..he discussed the making of porcelain in great depth.. "The porcelain recipe is a secret" so he says that broken pieces even have to be thrown away in secrecy. “Meissen becomes the white hill...I stoop, and embedded in the compacted floor are crescents of white" page 198.
Next.... England, his home and to find "his third white cup"....so England and porcelain is where we will end this summary. De Waal discusses the Quaker ,Cookworthy (who practically suffers a mental breakdown due to his constant and De Waal does find his first piece of porcelain ever made in England.I have to stop even though I could go on and on. .I leave you with this thought.."thoughts of whiteness"page 260
"What is white? It is the colour of mourning, because it folds all colours within it. Mourning is also endless refraction, breaking you up into bits, fragments".....The End....Yes this book has moved me and yes it is now is in my head and yes it is now in my heart and his words will come now into my work.
I am reading this book, the style of writing makes it a little hard for me. I enjoy the technical stuff! More later.
Deletethank you
ReplyDeleteI started this book and was having rough time with reading continuously because how crazy my life is right now or I should say this time of year. To me it would be a great read on a rainy day so I could really focus on the details and really get into it. It sound really good, but for me I just need "picture" books right now.
ReplyDeleteyes it is some 400 pages long but omnce you get into it ,the details are personal and you can picture white powder all over everyone..he discusses everything from the food to the personalities of the people..
DeleteKim I feel your pain....
DeleteOpulence - Tomoyuki Yamanobe - Around 1981-Japanese Kimonos - About the artist Itchiku Kubota
ReplyDeleteThis entire book has been a whole adventure for me. I ordered it in January and I received all of the books I ordered on the list within a few weeks and I was getting worried about this one (I honestly forgot about it) until I got a note on the door from my postman that I had to go pick a package. Well I was totally thrilled when I saw that it was straight from Japan. Believe me when I say living in a little town is great because everyone in town found out that I got a package from Japan and everyone wanted to know about it, I have even kept the paper it was wrapped in. I felt like I was unwrapping a Birthday present (I wish I got such good presents for my birthday). From the second that I opened it I have poured over this book at least a dozen times. It is in Japanese, but there are translations in an English sidebar. You can tell that the styles/photographs were all influenced by the 80's (like me), but that did not stop me from checking out every color, scene, stitch and detail of each and everyone of
Itchiku's art pieces (they are Kimonos, but these have so much work, detail and flow to me they are paintings). The book also gives a brief history of Tsujigahana (which is lost techniques that originated over 600 years ago) and concepts of the Kimono. But by far my favorite sections of the book is the techniques these have actual photos of the process with translations in English with about 25 steps that Itchiku goes through to do one Kimono, so I have honestly had to read over and over to figure out his process for dying (which is very unique and time consuming)then he walks you through his process for getting some wonderfully delicious textures in his materials. Then for the desert part of the book it shows his works in chronological order (half of them are written about in Japanese and the other half is written about in English). Then there are a few huge fold out pages that is the sugar taste in your mouth at the end of a meal.
This book is the largest of all of the other books, that's just because its the whole meal wrapped in one package. This book is like your favorite meal that you have to eat at least once a month, especially when you have artist block or depressed.
Yes I will be trying this technique, but I have to wait until I can have a whole week with no demand on my time (but I am already hunting and gathering for this process).
Great book hopefully all of you that like fiber art will invest in this book.
Kim, bring it with you this summer!
ReplyDeleteI ordered this one as well - it is beautiful! Haven't read it yet just thumbed through it!
Deletethank you. He is one of my favorites.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteBook Review:
ReplyDeleteRoxanne Swentzell: Extra Ordinary People
Author: Gussie Fauntleroy
Published: 2002
Publisher:Ethel Hess
This book is beautiful. It is easy to read and calming to the spirit. I felt like I was sitting beside Roxanne in a natural setting as she told me of her artwork, piece by piece. I connected with many. Those I didn't personally identify with, I was at least interested in learning more about the Puebloan culture. Leading up to this book, I learned about female Puebloan pottery in my independent study. Maria Martinez was the potter that I learned the most about. Her pottery was functional and less sculptural unlike Roxanne. It was nice to continue that study advancing into sculptural Puebloan pottery. Back to the book. I appreciate the layout of the book. I feel like it gave me adequate background information and gave me the technical process information I was looking for. I really loved that the book went piece by piece explaining the meaning behind what Roxanne had done. The chapters are broken up into titles like: Remembering, losing track, reflection, rebuilding and beauty rests in the heart of the soul. I liked the way they broke up the artwork. It allowed the reader to reflect on his or her own experiences as they read through. You are taken on a journey of SELF. The other chapter are biography, process and about the author.
I really enjoyed the chapter about ordinary people losing track. Lately, I have felt off center. I feel overwhelmed and frustrated with life's constant stack of tasks. I feel pressure from so many sides all converging around me until I feel like I'm going to collapse. Then I have to unbury myself one task at a time until I can breathe easy again. Then it starts all over. This chapter was perfect for me. She touched on beauty and the way we see ourselves. "When we accept the idea that we need to change the way we look or act in order to be beautiful, to be accepted or to fit in, we automatically reject a part of ourselves." Maybe this is some of the problems. There is so much pressure to look or act a certain way in this world we live in. When we make sacrifices to meet those expectations we, in turn, lose a piece of who we are. This thought helps me process and find my center.
One specific piece called "Piece of the Pie" really stood out to me. Personally I have a hard time saying no. Eventually that generosity gets taken advantage of and we become used. The sculpture is spot on. She has cut a chunk of her leg out as she is sitting. She holds the cake spatula in one hand and the slice of her leg in the other. Offering out the piece of herself to whomever has requested it. Her disposition is one of giving up and giving in. I've felt that way. I feel that way as a teacher all the time. There is one of me and 35 kids in a class. Everyone wants a piece of me and there are some days I feel defeated and give in. At the end of the day there's not much left of me. I feel a strong connection with this piece for more than just that. There are other situations this piece fits for me.
I love that Roxanne does something very different from the traditional Puebloan pottery yet her pottery is still stylistic in the Puebloan way. She is huge on tradition, knowing where you come from and revisiting your roots in order to shape your future. Her work, while is progressive, doesn't abandon her heritage. Instead, it tells the story of her people in a way that other mediums can't. Lucky me, my book is signed by her. Whoever owned it before me lost out. This is a book you can revisit and read a few pages then reshelve. You don't feel the need to read everything at once. You find what your soul is searching for then return it until you need it again. Beautiful book. This truly is meant for Ordinary People. Anyone can identify.
Can you bring it to Lubbock this summer?
DeleteIs this about a potter specifically?and her process?sounds interesting.oh so it is about Puebloan pottery?with examples and techniques?cool
ReplyDeleteSusan it's about her work specifically. It gives a brief biography and then goes through her work page by page. Each piece of work has an explanation of the work along with a quote about the piece from the artist. At the end it discusses the process she uses and talks more about the author of the book.
Deletethank you...she has a gallery in Santa Fe...work is even better in person
Deleteok, I will look her up now,have not made it to Santa Fe yet..I heard though that the work mostly commercial there?
Deletenot true?
Shelbi - Its always interesting to me when circumstances try to dictate our day - hang in there! I think I will have to find and read this book - it sounds like it reads as if a friend is meeting you to hang out.
DeleteSusan I believe its a mix of both.
DeleteAgainst the Grain: Wood in contemporary art, craft and design. 2012. Museum of Arts and Design. The Monacelli Press.
ReplyDeleteThe work in this book was beautiful, but sadly, I found the overall book disappointing. The book was based on an exhibition of the same title and focused on work of incredible variety incorporating the material or concept of wood. My problem with the book was not the work; the work was incredible. My problem was the information given about the work. Each two page spread featured images of the work of a different artist, but the only information given was where the artist was from, went to school, and any major exhibits they had been a part of. There was no talk about why the artist was selected, how their work fit into the seven headings the book was divided into, or the process used to make the work. Some of the work didn’t even seem related to wood, so I would have been very curious to understand the curatorial decision to include them.
There is a good essay at the beginning of the book that gives some explanation of the purpose of the headings chosen for the book, and a quick outline of some of the artists contained within. This creates an awkward reading experience, as I had to read a couple of sentences in the opening essay, flip through the book looking for the artist they referenced, and then flip back. Really, the book just seems incomplete. I imagine it is a secondary resource to all the information given at the actual exhibit. There are also a couple of essays later in the book that read like love letters to wood and the history of wood, but they don’t make much effort to connect to the work in the book and feel a little tacked on.
Anyway, that’s enough negativity. The work in the book is breathtaking. There is an endless variety of work, and a lot of it is like nothing I have ever seen before. There is a section headed “digitally speaking,” which looks at how working with wood has changed with the use of digital visualization tools. Elisa Strozyk’s work in this section is an entrancing blend of organic forms made up of crisp, geometric shapes. Jaroen Verhoeven from the same section makes this incredibly playful, lighthearted furniture by morphing 18th century furniture using computer software. The results are very enjoyable and again get me thinking about what widespread access to 3D printing will bring to the world of art and craft.
Really, all of the makers presented in this book are incredibly unique. There are a couple of individuals chosen whose inclusion seems like a stretch, making it hard to understand their selection with such little explanation from the book. Even in those cases, the work was still interesting to look at. Overall, I am torn in my evaluation of this book. I both loved it and was frustrated by it. It introduced me to a lot of new artists and ideas that I was completely surprised by, but it left me with so little information that I am going to have to spend a lot of time researching to really evaluate them all.
I just posted my review of the same book and I had mostly the same impression. I didn't realize it was a catalog for an exhibition when I bought it and was really disappointed when there was so little information about the individual pieces that were featured. But I found so much of the work to be amazing that I have done a lot of additional research on them and dug up the information myself.
DeleteJustin and Tyler, here is the website of a Norwegian wood worker I follow on instagram, really awesome wood work here.
Deletehttp://www.treskjererverkstedet.no/
thank you
ReplyDeleteChapter 10
DeleteImpressed with how many artist in "Craft in America" are in this Chapter, like Faith Ringgold who I am strongly beginning to favor her ideas/story and Technique.
Impressed with in Chapter 11 an artist out of Craft in America is Randall Darwall tapestry. I love him losing himself in the set up or process
Surprised by Chapter 10's unconventionality of Rosie Lee Tompkins using materials that were not standard to quilting and sizing that was standard.
Surprised by Chapter 11's how much Judith Schaecher by Tiny Eva pg. 456 looks like a quilt and it is stainglass!
Take Away from Chapter 10 - Page 424 technique of "Wrapping fabric around a pole, binding it with thread and pushing it into pleats before dyeing: the tight pleats resist the color" Ana Lisa Hadstrom.
Take Away from Chapter 11 - I have been favoring geometric for several reasons the last few month so I am drawn to Sandra Brownlee's geometric forms: "square and checkerboards, repeating angular letterforms such as the X or V, and various moderately representational forms." I just got a loom and I dieing to try this.
I am very late on these but I just wanted to get them in.
I feeling very behind with every posting their final projects and essay! Ahhh! How much longer do we have Future!
Chapter 10
DeleteImpressed with how many artist in "Craft in America" are in this Chapter, like Faith Ringgold who I am strongly beginning to favor her ideas/story and Technique.
Impressed with in Chapter 11 an artist out of Craft in America is Randall Darwall tapestry. I love him losing himself in the set up or process
Surprised by Chapter 10's unconventionality of Rosie Lee Tompkins using materials that were not standard to quilting and sizing that was standard.
Surprised by Chapter 11's how much Judith Schaecher by Tiny Eva pg. 456 looks like a quilt and it is stainglass!
Take Away from Chapter 10 - Page 424 technique of "Wrapping fabric around a pole, binding it with thread and pushing it into pleats before dyeing: the tight pleats resist the color" Ana Lisa Hadstrom.
Take Away from Chapter 11 - I have been favoring geometric for several reasons the last few month so I am drawn to Sandra Brownlee's geometric forms: "square and checkerboards, repeating angular letterforms such as the X or V, and various moderately representational forms." I just got a loom and I dieing to try this.
I am very late on these but I just wanted to get them in.
I feeling very behind with every posting their final projects and essay! Ahhh! How much longer do we have Future!
sorry guys do not know why computer is posting things twice (darn google chrome)
ReplyDeleteBedazzled
ReplyDelete5,000 Years of Jewelry
The Walters Art Museum
By Sabine Alberseier
2005 by GILES
The Walters Art Museum is located in Baltimore, Maryland. The collection started with the bequeathed jewelry from Henry Walters (1848-1931). The book is a catalog of selected jewelry to represent 5,000 years of history. After taking the metals class last summer, I picked this book to become more jewelry educated.
Henry Walters started his collection visiting World’s Fairs and universal expositions. After reading Makers; A History of American Studio Crafts, I now can imagine the excitement and energy of the fairs and expositions. Walters became increasingly interested collecting over 25,000 pieces from all over the world.
In the introduction, Albersmeier, the Assistant Curator of Ancient Art at the Walters Art Museum, gives a brief history of jewelry starting with Prehistoric times to the early 20th century. The jewelry photographed is the “Essential Collection” in chronological order.
From the Hellenistic period, Albersmeier states, “Etruscans were the real masters of the craft in the ancient world”. The Pair of Etruscan Bullae from the 5th century featured are pendants containing protective charms or perfume often worn by children. The 1.5 inch gold amulets are, “detailed with palmettes and tendrils worked in repousse and have intricate smooth or twisted wire applied to the surface. The craftsmanship of the Etruscan is detailed and beautiful.
Although the Romans are credited with giving rings as rewards, betrothal, and weddings, one of my favorites displayed in the book is the Gimmel ring made in Germany in 1631. Gimmel is from the Latin word gemellus, meaning twin. The ring is gold, ruby, and diamonds with two bands interlocking. The bezel is divided into two halves, one with the ruby, the other with the diamond. When the bands are separated, there is a hidden cavity on each side with a miniature human skeleton of a baby. “The ring is a reminder that death is inherent in birth.”
A Tiffany & Co. Diamond necklace made in 1904 is gorgeous with its 265 round old cut diamonds, but I enjoyed reading more about the older pieces and the reason behind why the jewelry is made.
This book will definitely become part of my pictorial library. The pictures are vibrant and detailed with a glossary of jewelry techniques and definitions in the back.
thank you
ReplyDeleteChihuly Over Venice, Portland Press.
ReplyDeleteI have been able to see Chihuly in real life, in the ceiling of SAMA, the Bellagio in Vegas, and in Denver. Absolutely stunning. This book captures the similar setting of putting his work in a beautiful place like the Denver Botanical Garden. Italy is one of my most favorite countries to visit, and with a city that celebrates art and glass I can only imagine how visually pleasing this work fits with the people, place, reflections, boats, and so much more. In the picture book, Chihuly's towers float above the water, held up by beams, or small pieces of glass spheres overlap and fill floating boats. It appears in the images that most of the glass are consolidated by a similar colors, which compared to the Bellagio of various colors, is completely different. I prefer the work of bright various multi colored pieces, it creates more depth as more of them overlap as opposed to similar solid colors that are hard to differentiate.
Filling a boat with glass is an interesting concept to me. He had the similar boats in the botanical gardens with floating spheres in the water too. Its like a fantasy world where these floating pieces, which you would think are heavy, will a floating boat and float on the surface of water. I actually have a hard time imagining how light his pieces are, especially when working with glass myself and knowing how hard it is to get it thin.
What I love about his art the most is the way the setting is a part of the material art. You look at the big picture- not only the work but where its placed and how it changes the setting. It makes the area more appealing or you notice something about it that works with the piece. There are new colored reflections and added details to the area around it. Need to see it in venice!
thank you
DeleteBook Review:
ReplyDeleteAgainst The Grain: Wood in Contemporary Art, Craft and Design
Museum of Arts and Design, New York
Edited by Martina D'Alton
Published by the Museum of Art and Design with The Monacelli Press, 2012
This book is a catalog of works published in conjunction with an exhibition shown at the Museum of Art and Design in New York (Formerly The American Craft Museum) in 2012-2013. The catalog consists of an introduction that explains the concept of the show and describes the manner in which the catalog is organized, 2 short essays and a 2 page spread for each of the 58 featured artists. The works are organized into 7 themes/concepts/categories. The "logging on" section, for example, features works that use wood in a very minimally worked form. The book makes me wish I had been able to see this exhibition. There is a huge variety of works presented, from fine furniture from the likes of Wendell Castle and a few other artists that we have read about in this class to much more conceptual pieces that are inspired by wood. The exhibition focused more on the uses of wood as a material, and not on any particular discipline. One work featured, "Tree Talk", by an artist named Maria Elena Gonzalez, is a roll of music that is made for a player piano. The artist found a birch tree in the woods and removed the bark. She then scanned the bark and made a digital map of the textures and then had a composer make a music composition based on the 3D renderings. So there was no wood involved in the piece, but rather it was inspired by and based on a tree.
The book is filled with amazing works using wood , and I have gone to it a lot during this class for ideas and references. The pictures are great and some of the pieces are so great that it makes me sad that I've never seen them in person. When I bought the book I didn't realize that I was buying a new exhibition catalog, so I was initially disappointed when there wasn't much information on any of the individual pieces (other than the few that are discussed in the introduction and the essays), but after looking at it over the past few months I have really come to like this book a lot. It's become kind of a wood working encyclopedia for me. I've discovered a bunch of processes and materials that I had never heard of after looking up some of my favorite works in the book. For example, I've discovered white oil finish, which is a white wash sort of finish typically used on hardwood floors, that Joseph Walsh uses to great effect on his furniture pieces. There are also several pieces that are made of assemblages of salvaged wood or scrap wood, and I liked these so much that I've started collecting drift wood from Lake Livingston. I don't know what I'm going to do with it yet, but I'm really good at collecting it. If I had to pick two artists to suggest that you all check out, it would be Joseph Walsh (Irish) and Elisa Strozyk (German). And also Ursula Von Rydingsvard (Works in Brooklyn, German born). I know that's three, but it's too hard to narrow down. Walsh makes amazing furniture that defy any idea of what I think furniture should look like. Strozyk takes laser cut pieces of veneer and attaches them to various textiles to make crazy looking, geometric patterned wooden cloth. And Von Rydingsvard makes monumental sculptures from wood planks that look like she took an extra imaginative child's creation in Minecraft and transported it into reality. The things are huge and awesome.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I would recommend buying this book to anyone that isn't really interested I working with wood, just because it's an exhibition catalog and is not very informative otherwise, but I'm really glad I got it. There's quite a few techniques that I'm waiting to try out. After I finish my concrete and wood piece that is the big project that I've been working on for this course I'm going to try my hand at carving, and if I haven't lost my sanity or any fingers after that I'm going to try Castle's stack laminating process. If you are interested in working with wood and are in need of inspiration then I would certainly recommend this book to you.
thank you
DeleteThanks, Tyler! I too collect wood (and stones and leaves...). I am always looking for ideas on what to do with it all. Will have to take a peek at this book.
DeleteSounds like a really get source for inspiration, I might have to check this out. I've always liked working with wood on a utilitarian level, building tables and work benches for my backyard and garage. Nothing fancy, just things with a specific job in mind. Holding up a vintage motorcycle to be rebuilt, maximizing limited sunlight for herb planters, things like that.
DeleteReading Makers made me want to get into wood working more as a means of creation. I follow a guy on instagram that uses his wood working skills to make custom one of a kind ceramic tools like pottery ribs and glazing brushes that make me drool. Additionally, I was at the Fort Worth Modern a few weeks back and they have a really awesome Frank Stella retrospective up right now that had some really cool work with lots of wood working present in creating layers and textures on his canvas, as well as sculptural work that I would never have guess Stella made.
That surprizing Stella work, the stuff I see on instagram, the things we have looked at in Makers, it has all made me want to work with wood more. So much so that I went and got a miter box /saw, and a finishing nail gun the other week to start to experiment. This was no small task as I was flooded out of my apartment two weeks ago during Houston floods. Convincing my wife that I needed to buy tools with no real place to put them while on a trip to Home Depot for dehumidifiers to keep out stuff in storage from getting dank was diplomatic to say the least!
I am also right there with you Jenn, I collect rocks, drift wood, and random bits of nature from my travels. I have a good 2-3 pounds of Junction in my classroom. Some I use for textures on pots, some I have made pieces to display them, some just sit around. All good uses in my book.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteReview: “The White Road”
ReplyDeleteI was initially drawn to “The White Road” by Edmund de Waal because I had read that it involved a man’s love for ceramics, his travels and research through three countries and histories, and how the book was comparable to a meditation of sorts on his love for the ceramic medium. While this is all that I am passionate about as well, it had occurred to me early on in this book that this read was going to be a struggle to get through. Indeed, yes, de Waal describes a true obsession and went into great description of porcelain’s many diverse histories; however, I ultimately found the writing style to be a bit exhausting and drawn-out.
The author has been working closely with porcelain since he was seventeen, and he continues to make porcelain vessels as his creative muse decades later. One of de Waal’s dreams was to travel to the great epicenters of porcelain manufacturing. His story describes this pilgrimage as a dedication to his love for the “white gold.” He pays homage to these three “white hills” in China, Germany and England and incorporates many factors into his discoveries and research. Throughout his journeys he encounters kiln sites, ceramic institutes, museums, research facilities, porcelain factories and current sculptors. He provides elaborate histories of emperors, chemists and porcelain experimentations using his extensive research of maps, photographs, memoirs, and porcelain order archives. All elements provide an extensive text that contains an abundance of knowledge on the life of porcelain.
While reading this book, my thoughts and perceptions about certain things changed. I never read about the history of ceramics, but, in reading this book, I began to appreciate my young ceramic journey from a different perspective. To know how some have cherished, valued and treasured items of ceramic nature, made me feel honored to work within such an esteemed and beloved tradition. I also found such appreciation towards porcelain art works in our “Makers” book, specifically with Rudolf Staffel’s Light Gatherers (Koplos and Metcalf 324-325). Without this prior knowledge of porcelain from “The White Road,” I may have underestimated the complexities of Staffel’s work as he uses this pure medium to highlight the material’s “plasticity, whiteness, strength and translucency” (Rodgers).
Overall, I enjoyed “The White Road” as it gave me a lot of background knowledge and insight about this particular material. Very rarely do we have the opportunity to learn the intricacies of the depth and breadth of one item. Through his peculiar, yet interesting obsession, de Waal did this very successfully and gathered what seemed to be all that was ever known about porcelain in this one text. It was an impressive feat. One can learn much if an entire life is to be devoted to loving an item as much as de Waal does. However, in the end, I did arduously struggle with the almost 400 page text, as the writing style seemed to be written in a sort of stream of consciousness poetic format supporting an allusive and vague plot about this porcelain love affair.
Works Cited:
Rodgers, Bill. "Exhibition, White Magic: Robert Ryman, Rudolf Staffel at David Nolan Gallery, New York." CFile: Contemporary Ceramic Art Design, 16 September 2014. Web. 30 April 2016.
Koplos, Janet, and Bruce Metcalf. Makers: A History of American Studio Craft. Chapel Hill: U of North Carolina, 2010. Print.
Waal, Edmund De. The White Road: Journey into an Obsession. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2015. Print.
Great write up Jenn! I am about half way through this book and I can attest to the laborious aspect of the text.
DeleteJennifer, I read this book,my review is at the top....So much of this was so detailed and personal...so much was visual that I could picture the white powder all over blowing and covering streets in the village in China in the beginning of his journey.I wrote notes and underlined many of his quotes.But yes it is a 400 plus page book and smrtimes a bit tedious to read but on the whole I enjoyed it.
DeleteThank you.
ReplyDeleteJennifer, I feel I agree with your comment of "you began to appreciate your journey from a different perspective" - I feel as if I had the same transition or shift in my thinking. Makers opened up my thought process to accepting the quilting/textile past to be able to move forward -
DeleteUnique By Design: Contemporary Jewelry in the Donna Schneier Collection
ReplyDeleteSuzanne Ramljak
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY 2014
I chose to review this particular book because within the past year I have become more interested in jewelry in the contemporary world. First of all, who is Donna Schneier? She was a collector and dealer of art, capitalizing the most in the 1960s. Even present day, "a dealer in 20th century painting and sculpture on the secondary market (since 1967), the gallery turned to the emerging secondary art market in alternative materials in 1990, playing a seminal role as the only gallery specializing in all the five disciplines: ceramics glass, fiber, metal and woo" according the Donna Schneier Fine Arts site. Her donated collection features 132 pieces, including 88 artists. She is quoted as saying "My goal was to document as best I could the significant artists and movements irrespective of my likes and dislikes." The book has an abundance of color images of the works, giving an overall variety of materials and tastes.
The book dives into the psychological and social aspects of jewelry. Humans hold a primal act to wear adornments and this can be seen throughout history. Adornments allow transmission of information and meaning to others. It has a practical use, yet its main purpose is symbolic. It can symbolize power and status, memory, courtship (wedding bands), sentiments (memorial jewelry), as well as accomplishment (graduation rings). Jewelry's principle role in society serves as cultural communication and a personal assertion, as we are able to alter our personal appearance, our biological self. This book offers a new perspective and insightful commentary on how what we wear and how we present ourselves to the world effects us more than we realize.
The studio jewelers in this book open inquiry for the audience and explore materials in a modern, innovative manner. Susan Kingsley's bracelet (1999) contains perfect, blank price tags that dangle effortlessly from the chain. The blank tags are made out of 14K gold. The viewer knows there is value because of the material, however the artist challenges the value and price of such material. Materials themselves carry certain associations and come with histories. Studio jewelers are able to make creative choices with their materials and can present them in unique ways. Without the wearer, the body, jewelry cannot exist in it's intended function. In a way, jewelry can be considered a living form of art, because the human wearing it brings it to life in a sense. I say this, but most studio jewelry is photographed without a model in this book.
Trying to learn as much about jewelry as I can to better the class I teach, I feel that this was a great read. The photos are inspiring and I love that so many different materials are presented. Not only are there traditional precious gems and stones, gold, platinum used in the featured pieces; there are pieces that include animal hair, rubber, various plastics, leather, and thread. It was a very interesting book and I would definitely recommend it to others as a studious read and a coffee table book. There is a lot to take away from the book, and the main idea I will take away is that jewelry can be a powerful tool to spread ideas. It has already inspired me to make more jewelry that I plan on randomly leaving in public places for people to find. I'm thinking coffee shops, the library book shelves, the park, etc. I think I will leave notes with them and see what happens. An artist I follow, Jeff Soto, does this with his small paintings and prints in NYC. I like the idea of giving art away for free, it is more accessible. Also, the art being jewelry almost makes it more like a traveling piece. We will see how my experiment goes!
thank you
DeleteVIDEO:
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry it has been quite hectic these past two weeks for me! I apologize for my late response. But beginning from last weeks post. I watched the MUSIC episode of Craft in America. WOW! It's incredible to see the process and immense detail and patience that it takes to create instruments. By far I think the one I was most surprised with was the banjo.I never knew it was generally like a drum with a strings on it. I used to never really be a fan of the banjo. Like the furniture I have a deeper appreciation with instruments. I love how though through out the video it shows the time and passion put into each instrument. I loved how in the beginning of the video in the segment of the Ukelele, he says that each "instrument has a soul". (I know he was particularly talking about the Ukelele) But it just shows how much life it not only gives the people making the instrument but how much life an instrument is given. It may sound kind of silly but it seemed kind of poetic to me. Over all I loved this episode!!
Book Review:
ReplyDeleteTitle: Kimono- A Modern History
Author: Terry, Satsuki, Milhaupt
Publish year: 2014
Publisher: Reaktion Books Ltd
Well I thought it was funny how I got to where I am now with this book. I had been debating so long as to which book to read. Because I had been so fascinated by many of the wood works done by many of the artist in the Craft in America I haarshley debated whether or not to pick something else. But alas, I got to where I have read this one. I have always been fond of the the Japanese culture since a young age, so it still hit home with me to read this. There is so much to a Kimono, I never realized this. The detail to how it started out and how they were made or even how the silk worm affected their production. There is so much rich work in the modern kimono. The designs and transitions between the time periods is interesting and impressive. A great book for sure! I am particularly impressed with some of the Kimono ads and the ways that the kimono portrayed and advertised.
Roxanne Swentzell EXTRA ORDINARY PEOPLE, Gussie Fauntleroy, 2002, New Mexico Magazine
ReplyDeleteThis girl, even though she is now a grandmother, this magic girl who believes we are all one people – Human, has so successfully tapped into what she, and I along with her, knows to be the true importance of life. It is the Pueblo perspective of balance. To be centered within yourself is to be a balanced person. This belief goes by different names in different cultures such as the Yin Yang balance of good and bad in Chinese philosophy or Aristotle’s philosophy that the golden mean is the desirable middle of two extremes. It is a belief so ancient that to me it seems to harken back to the very beginnings of time. She does this through her art and her daily life of living as close to the land as possible.
Roxanne Swentzell has been molding figures in clay to convey her feelings since she was a very young child .Through her sculpture she expresses her feeling of the world around her. On pg 8, Gussie Fauntleroy does a great job summing up Roxanne’s artistic philosophy- “Any art she makes has to have a direct connection with reality – it must be a full expression of herself and her experiences and observations of life. and it must be aimed at communicating with all people – Indian and non-Indian – about the things we share as humans”. (Right On!)
In traditional Pueblo pottery style she creates her indigenous clay figures from coils of clay, a process that is explained beautifully on pgs 84 – 87. This book contains eight sections/stories/groupings – I’m not sure how to describe it- of her work with beautiful photographs of the work being discussed. These sections/stories seemed like allegories to me and the rich photographs allowed me to become deeply enmeshed in the stories they were telling. It truly was as if her figures came alive to me. The art became so much more powerful to me with the adjoining explanations/stories.
I am one of the ones that Roxanne says forgets, remembers, and forgets again as in “Losing Track” pgs 28 – 41. “In back of your mind you remember being told about another way of looking at the world; you think you hear a faintly familiar voice softly chanting an old, old song. You know, somehow, this song could make you feel better about yourself and the world. But the evening news comes on, the world intrudes, your energy is drained.” pg 28 Ah! Perhaps now that I own this wonderful book I can remember to take the time to revisit it and re-center myself.
The piece in this book that made the biggest impression on me was Despairing Clown, pg 45. The act of him peeling off his stripes, essentially picking off his skin, to see who he really was on the inside made me think of all the kiddos I taught in middle school, the precious lives hiding behind the middle school masks (yes, some had really thick veneers!). I wonder if those who cut themselves, while cutting is an act of relieving pain, ever looked at the wounds and wondered what was in there?
What I am taking away from this book that I am going to keep forever is how Roxanne Swentzell strives to share her emotions and beliefs through her clay people – her art, her creations. She has shown me once again that we, as artists, must do what is in our hearts and let everything else fall where it may.
thank you for both reviews
ReplyDeleteOpulence: The Kimonos and Robes of Itchikue Kubota
ReplyDeleteEdited by Tomoyuki Yamanobe
Kodansha International Ltd. 1984
I didn’t know what to expect when first reading the book. It starts out with Symphony of Light: Some Personal Reflections. Tomoyuki Yamanobe writes about his thoughts over Symphony of Light and the method Kubota uses in his work, Tsujighana. He talks about how the method is what sets him (Kubota) from other craftsman. Instead of using easier, more up to date methods in putting colors into the kimonos, Kubata choses to painstakingly apply the steps his work.
The book then breaks into two parts. Part 1 goes onto the history of dying Kimonos, different methods, the fabrics, stiffness, who and what wore the kimonos. Typically the most expensive and colorful/layered were worn by nobles or people that had more money. The more simpler kimonos were worn by commoners. Coincidently enough, during the term of the century, kimonos start to lose their “craft” I guess to put it and were worn with less layers because of the style of today have changes.
I didn’t know that there were different styles of Kimonos, some with sashes or obis, some without; actually I didn’t know much about them, other than that they were very beautiful but I didn’t put much thought into the difficulty and complexity that went into making them. With the next chapter, The concept of the Kimono, it shows a sketch of how a kimono is shaped and labeling parts of the dressing.
Part 2 of the book goes into the chronology of Kubota’s life and work by Kubota. This was my favorite part because before this section, the book goes into history and even showing the process of the work, more of like a “how to” and then with the second half, Kubota talks personally, telling his life story. First off, his life was very devoted into the art of dying. He left school during junior high and started as an apprentice. He visited a museum where he became very intrigued by the old method of Tsujighana and devoted his life into perfected the method himself. He went into the army for 2 years, returned home and continued his passion. He married at 27 and immediately was drafted into the army again. Unfortuanately he was kept as prisoner in Siberia for another 6 years before he finally was able to return to his wife and child he hadn’t met! He talks about the sun setting, the dreary days, how he longed to be doing his passion and somehow kept himself motivated to do just that when he returned. He didn’t get his first show until he was 60! And since that year, he was doing yearly shows, even multiple ones during his later years. He traveled and again reminded about the sunsets, using water from tropical visits as inspirations in his Kimonos. Looking through the book, it is extremely visual, the first pages are modeled and look like something out of Vogue magazine. They are stunning photographs! The second half of the images, the kimonos are pictured against inspired environments.
I thought the book was very pretty and as someone that loves color, I appreciated his perfection and his execution to get it just right. I would recommend this book to anyone that has a interest in fashion, fabric and even appreciation in Japanese history and culture. Very beautiful.
Thank you
ReplyDelete"The White Road" by Edmund De Waal
ReplyDeleteI selected this book because I love to work in clay. Being a sculptor, I use a groggy low fire red clay. Porcelain is a little scary to me, its plasticity intimidates me. I have even more respect for the clay body now.
Reading this book was so difficult for me. I agree with Jennifer, it is laborious. Just a stream of consciousness. I was never quite sure why I had to read one hundred pages about a story set several hundred years ago. At times, he writes in the first person of the story. I had to keep figuring out where I was! I never knew, however, that you could invent clay. Or, that porcelain was almost equal to gold. I feel that the use of a good clay was understood by those who collected and appreciated pottery. Is it now??
The China visit was easier for me. I went to China several years ago and could so easily picture what he was describing.
After finally finishing the book, I do have more knowledge about porcelain. De Waal's obsession was amazing. His research unfailing. I would have loved a few more pictures of places and piles of shards, and work created. He cited several pieces, I wish they would have been included in the book.
I know how you feel but what really helped me was to read one chapter at a time and to underline and take notes and then I really became pretty involved in the whole thing,once I got into the book...,I made white clay pieces....something I never did before.I visualized the white dust everywhere and all the characters he describes.I think he was simply totally obsessed.......it is really a true diary of his journey and his feelings.
ReplyDeleteThis quote really got to me........"What is white? It is the colour of mourning, because it folds all colours within it. Mourning is also endless refraction, breaking you up into bits, fragments".....The End....Yes this book has moved me and yes it is now is in my head and yes it is now in my heart and his words will come now into my work.