I've been struggling with pottering. Here's why:
Ceramics are very much permanent. Unless I put a pot in a flowing stream, it's not going anywhere, and even in a stream it's going to be a long time before it returns to the Earth. I have a real problem with that because I like to make pots and I don't want to pump permanent things into the world.
I frequently don't like what I make after it's been out of the kiln for 2 weeks or so. This fact, plus the permanency of ceramics do not equal a good outcome for the Earth.
We do need pottery though for utilitarian reasons and for all of the indescribable beautiful reasons art exists. But lets face it, I don't need 20 plates, cups, containers, sculptures, etc. a month. What do I do? I love making ceramics!
Luckily, my pottery interests lately have been in creating what I am calling Earth Shrines, and I don't think they need to be fired. It may even be better if they are not fired. Maybe my thought process and truth sleuthing is what led me to Earth Shrines? I haven't actually made one yet, but I've been drawing them. My plan is to throw them on the wheel then transport them at the leather hard stage and place them in nature. They'll degrade naturally over time, depending on the weather that time could be a few days, or a few months. Hopefully the clay I use for these can be clay I've dug up. If I'm not firing the shrines, then it doesn't really matter if the clay is contaminated with dirt, rocks, whatever.
Ceramics are very much permanent. Unless I put a pot in a flowing stream, it's not going anywhere, and even in a stream it's going to be a long time before it returns to the Earth. I have a real problem with that because I like to make pots and I don't want to pump permanent things into the world.
I frequently don't like what I make after it's been out of the kiln for 2 weeks or so. This fact, plus the permanency of ceramics do not equal a good outcome for the Earth.
We do need pottery though for utilitarian reasons and for all of the indescribable beautiful reasons art exists. But lets face it, I don't need 20 plates, cups, containers, sculptures, etc. a month. What do I do? I love making ceramics!
Luckily, my pottery interests lately have been in creating what I am calling Earth Shrines, and I don't think they need to be fired. It may even be better if they are not fired. Maybe my thought process and truth sleuthing is what led me to Earth Shrines? I haven't actually made one yet, but I've been drawing them. My plan is to throw them on the wheel then transport them at the leather hard stage and place them in nature. They'll degrade naturally over time, depending on the weather that time could be a few days, or a few months. Hopefully the clay I use for these can be clay I've dug up. If I'm not firing the shrines, then it doesn't really matter if the clay is contaminated with dirt, rocks, whatever.
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