Waiting to be glazed.
Little turquoise pot next to the pot that was supposed to be the same color!
Celadon glaze on the inside.
So tiny, but I like this one a lot.
It's interesting, this ceramics revival. Sort of like the knitting revival that occurred about a decade ago. I wonder what the next craft trend will be. I think it all has to do with technology fatigue...wanting to get away (for a little bit at least) from our computers and phones and feel something tactile and tangible. To step into the role of maker, instead of our usual role of consumer.
"Consumer" may be an impossible role to break--even though I am making pottery, textiles, clothing- I still have to buy my materials, and pay for my pottery class, pay my seamstress for her hard work.
Computer technology is so seamlessly integrated into our culture. I think it's funny that I still want to take digital photos of my pottery and show you these images via blogging & the internet!
Maybe it's all just nostalgia. My house was filled with ceramics, textiles (macrame!) growing up in the 70's...
thoughts?
4 comments:
Yes! I'm so glad we get to see more photos of your pieces. They're just so pretty.
I always grew up in a house full of handmade stuff, including pottery, stuff that my mom and I made as well as stuff that we would buy at craft fairs. I always thought that stuff was more special, maybe because I myself had a constant desire to make that brought me joy. Both of my grandmothers were always making and they drew me into it. Handmade always equaled love/comfort/home to me because I knew what went into the pieces.
Knitting, ceramics, and other crafts have always been in my life, although my interest waxes and wanes for sure. I'm psyched that this stuff would be trendy right now, because maybe now people won't think I'm a total loser. : )
When you apply modern style and technology to handcrafts it can make them really interesting. The juxtaposition of ancient craft and modern techniques can be stunning. And capturing it in digital images makes it all the more easy to pass on ideas to others and influence people.
I also agree with you that technology has alienated us from actually doing things with our own hands, and people definitely have a nostalgia and desire to get back to that.
It blows my mind that corporations are trying to cash in on this trend by making products that LOOK handmade but aren't. (Notice how popular garter stitch has become on store-bought sweaters?) Not to mention the mega corporations that outright copy handmade designers. It's annoying when those companies try to manufacture the look of the love and care that goes into handmade, but they're using sweat shops to do it. Just a little side rant there...
I want dreamcatchers to be the next craft trend! Then maybe Joe will stop thinking they're hideous. Or how about a more sophisticated form of macrame? What about himmeli? I don't know, but I'm excited for whatever it will be.
lovely little pot. making something lasting is so satisfying!
like many kids in the 70s, i grew up making things: we didnt have access to a lot of non-essentials in AK, but if i saw it on TV i could try to approximate it by hand. my aunts and uncles are old hippies who made stuff and still do, so i thought making things was cool. but as a culture there's a choice to not have to make things if we dont want to; not everyone can be a maker.
technology has both enhanced making, and made it possible to just be a consumer. for example, in alaska we didnt have access to a variety of materials and knowledge until technology made access easier. so now we can make all sorts of things, and get our hands on really exotic materials...and google directions on how to do ancient things.
i tend to think that internet technology will probably save a lot of knowledge and craft at the same time that access to cheap things is boosting consumerism.
wow they have such nice glazes where you take your classes, lucky...:))
That turquoise pot is right up my alley! I love vibrant dirty rusty colors, and that little pot has them all. I'm jealous!
I completely agree that people seek out tactile experiences. I used to run a knitting group that started at 100 members and grew to over 1000. Part of it was community, part was the act of making together. I think more people should take a pottery class, or a knitting class, etc. Heck, I knit and weave and right now I'm taking a felting class. I just love learning how to make something with my own two hands. It helps me feel a part of the world that is so big and beyond my capabilities to cope with.
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