“...failure with clay is more complete and more spectacular than with other forms of art. You are subject to the elements... Any one of the old four - earth, air, fire, water - can betray you and melt, or burst, or shatter - months of work into dust and ashes and spitting steam. You need to be a precise scientist, and you need to know how to play with what chance will do to your lovingly constructed surfaces in the heat of the kiln.”
― A.S. Byatt, The Children's Book A.S. Byatt is internationally acclaimed as a novelist, short-story writer and critic. Her books include Possession and the quartet of The Virgin in the Garden, Still Life, Babel Tower and A Whistling Woman. She was appointed Dame of the British Empire in 1999. While this is not a quote from a famous potter or ceramist, she hits the nail on the head with her quite straight-forward "crash with reality" when it comes to creating forms out of clay, and then relinquishing them to the kiln, which we have no control over. Respond to this: How do you relate what she says to your own art-making, or even life in general? ...In the process of creating, and the need to be your own "scientist" in order to have success as a clay artisan? What are the aspects of this process that you have little control over? What things in life can you relate to this passage? Due by Friday midnight, 10/14
15 Comments
Riley Jones
10/12/2016 06:39:35 pm
I can relate to this because there are many things in life that you have no control over. In my own art, I try to do the best that I can in order to compensate for the things that I may not have control over, such as the kiln. I am always sure to wedge my clay well and compress along with other things to ensure that my piece can be fired and have no complications. I think the term "scientist" is a good description of how you need to have a plan and be as precise as possible. It is good to hypothesize each piece and try to predict its outcome. At least this way you'll know that you've done everything that you could do to make a good piece, and if something goes wrong you can still be proud of yourself. Personally, I will try to apply this principal to my own life in order to ensure the best possible outcome for everything I do.
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Aianna Orta
10/13/2016 12:03:22 pm
I can relate to what she's saying because certain situations we can't always control. When it comes to pottery or life. Sure you can control your actions but can we really control the outcome?
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Ms D
10/13/2016 05:42:29 pm
Aianna, yes, I think being in a flexible mind-set is the key to being successful in anything in life. And we should ask ourselves in most situations, "what can I control about this issue, and what is out of my control?" ...And then let go of the aspects that don't need our extra energy exerted. That is hard to do!
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Lindsi Ashley
10/13/2016 05:09:23 pm
This quote really made me think and the speaker is correct; we have no control over some things in our life. Sometimes, it isn't just the kiln I have no control over when in pottery. Sometimes, I feel as if have no control over the process before, such as the hand building part of the project. I do whatever is possible to make sure my piece is the best it can be in my own eyes. I also have no control of the kiln. None of my pieces have ever exploded but one time, something did break off. It would be devastating to lose something I worked so hard on in the kiln but I would see that as a sign to be extra careful. I would also see this as a sign to work harder. Sometimes our lives can relate to the process of hand building and a kiln, we put a lot of time and effort into something or someone, and it pays off very well, but other times, it can completely "blow up" and discourage or upset us... but we learn to move on and don't let it discourage us for too long.
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Ms. D
10/13/2016 05:43:40 pm
GREAT points and food for thought!!
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Taylor Kenyon
10/13/2016 06:21:01 pm
This quote makes me think of a piece of advise my mom always gives me. "Think of a hula hoop surrounding your body. You can only control what is in your hula hoop." Not, only does that piece of advise apply to life, but pottery as well. I can wedge and compress the clay well but I have no control over it once it enters the kiln. Sometimes I think that I overwhelm myself with a project and therefor don't produce the best outcome. That's something I need to work on. In life you just have to roll with the punches.
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Christine Riley
10/14/2016 06:04:28 am
I think what she means is you can work so hard on something for it to just break when things get hard. In life you can build, and build all the way to the top just for something to go wrong and all your hard work go to nothing. You can never stop something bad from happening in life or pottery, in pottery ain't much u can do if you put it in the kiln and there be a air bubble or any little minor thing .
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faith williams
10/14/2016 06:20:52 am
i think she makes a good point because you dont have control over bad things happening at points in your life but just work hard on everything you do if something does go wrong you need to be prepared to move on and try again and not get discouraged but you should take it has as an opportunity to make your piece even better than the first it helps you see the flaws you may have missed the first time and to make sure they wont happen again
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Stephanie Montero
10/14/2016 04:59:07 pm
I agree with this quote because I believe there are things in life you have no control over. In pottery I have no control over the kiln. I can always try to wedge my clay and try my hardest to get all the air bubbles out but I am never sure it is enough. In life you can try your best and do as much as you can but it might not come out as planned. Due to this similarly in pottery it is a great accomplishment when all your hard work pays off through your finished piece.
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Ashlee Mock
10/14/2016 07:36:12 pm
I can relate this quote to my life because I can go into a day having a plan, however, things come up on the daily that either makes my day better than anticipated or worse. The same can be said for working with clay. I prepare and plan my piece out yet I come upon difficulties while making the piece that are sometimes out of my control. Sometimes these difficulties can force me to recreate my plan and make my piece better. Other times, I have to accept that I need to start over.
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McKinley Durham
10/14/2016 08:21:58 pm
Whenever you start to create a project there are some things you can control and some things you cannot. Not everything in life will always work out and failure is a step to make somethin better in the future. Roosevelt said "Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat." This is true because you will never know something unless you try it.
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Caitlin Cary
10/14/2016 08:45:41 pm
I can relate to the quote by A.S Byatt because there are certain things in pottery that I cannot control. Hours of tedious hard work can be destroyed in a blink of an eye due to factors that was out of my ability, such as a kiln malfunction. However, taking charge of the resources that you can control will prevent mistakes and allow me to be successful. Just like in life, one must look past the negative aspects in their life and take advantage of the small things and plan ahead to be successful.
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megan obranovich
10/16/2016 08:50:58 am
Whenever I start a project, there are things you can and cannot control. Not everything will always workout like you plan them too. Failure is a part of life, not everything is going to be perfect. You never know unless you try it. I relate to this b/c I can come in with a plan and then all of a sudden start thinking and get a totally different idea and thinking things will be SO much better!
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Oscar Guerrero
10/16/2016 03:51:12 pm
I can relate to this cause when I make something in clay I never know if this piece might break when firing or when i'm glazing I have no control if my piece will turn out the way I want it. You also have little control over if another piece breaks or explodes and it breaks or impacts your piece, these are some things you have no control over. A thing in life I can relate to this is that if you truly care about something then even if it breaks you can just remake it no matter how hard it is to remake.
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Katy Brant
10/22/2016 11:51:32 am
I can relate to this because when I start my project I think of it going as perfectly as I can picture it in my head. Sometimes...possibly most of the time you can't control how the clay wants to act. I've learned that everyone has good days and bad days. You can't control everything in life just like you can't always control how your work turns out, sometimes you are forced to just roll with it or trash it.
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