December 9, 2009
With the cup moving from the table to the shelf, the focus of ceramic production has shifted from utilitarian to decorative. The art market's continual search for perfection has stripped bowls, cups, and plates of their personal history. Utilitarian objects carry the story of their use in chips and stains that are deemed imperfections by collectors and investors.Already Registered? Please sign in.
February 1, 2009
As a field, we are particularly good at time travel, but really only in one direction. We can, and should, start to look forward-further and more often than we do. Many potters define their work by how it differs from industrially made work. For example, the industrial pot is seen as flawless, boring, identical, sterile, cheap, safe and lacking a personal connection to the user. This critical definition goes back to William Morris' 19th-century attack on industrialization and his subsequent championing of craft.
