How does one make a pot? According to ceramicist Maggie Boyd it requires expanding our definitions of skill and technique to include the immaterial in a material-centred craft.
HOW TO MAKE A POT is an illustrated treatise on art-making, a kind of cross between MC Richards’ Centering and Ram Das’ BE HERE NOW. The book is part spiritual manifesto and part practical guidebook, including the glaze recipes and surface techniques that have defined her work over the past 20 years. HOW TO MAKE A POT will appeal not only to those who work in clay but to anyone interested in the subconscious forces at play in art creation, and will take its place among other classic guidebooks for both the mind and the hands.
The book is presented in two parts - part one is a kind of reflexive metaphysical exploration of making a pot. It asks the reader to explode the idea of a pot and then rebuild it from a place that will describe the maker to themself if they are able to create with curiosity and deep listening - to use a term of Pauline Oliveros'. Part two is an instructional ceramic guidebook, with images, tips and recipes for the studio.
Key Features:
HOW TO MAKE A POT is Boyd’s first instructional book and the result of many years of teaching and coming to learn that in this skill-based medium, the tricks and techniques aren't actually the most important factor in learning how to make a pot. It is the cultivation of the ability to carry on a conversation with the material, the process, and the self that gives a person the ability to make their pot.
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