If you had to pick just one pot that you love more than the rest... Why is it your favorite? What do you like about it? What does it look like? Feel like? Tell us all about it!

Transcript

This is episode 28 of the MudTalk Podcast. Thank you for tuning in. And a big thank you for subscribing so you know when a new episode drops. Especially because my posting schedule seems to be completely random. And the biggest thank you for sharing the podcast with anyone else who may be interested.

If this is your first episode, or first episode in a while, the MudTalk Podcast is just a collection of thoughts about a certain topic. Designed to be short and sweet without a lot of fluff. Something to get you thinking or hear some new perspectives.

This episode is all about your favorite pot. Why is it your favorite? What do you like about it? What does it look like? There weren’t a lot of responses to the original post which I thought was a little odd. I mean, most potters I know love to talk about pots.

So I reposted more recently to get some new thoughts. And still didn’t get a LOT of discussion.

But that’s okay. We will work with what we have. But if you would like to share something, feel free to reach out through email or social media.

I intentionally left the question a little bit vague. Some people responded with their favorite pot that they have made. Some responded with a style of pot. Some shared one specific pot that they have purchased or use. All good options. I love that the concept of ‘a pot’ can bring up so many different things. We won’t talk about our favorite recreational or medicinal plant. But maybe this question didn’t have the same engagement because the algorithms got confused and thought the content was questionable.

Anyway, let’s hear about some favorite pots!

Sarahannebkr

Deep Bowls, with a rolled rim, and you can still see the last pull, with a ringed foot

Trippelgrow

Agate ware coffee cup unglazed outside and opaque white inside. Fits my hands just so and I slowly awake studying the rings and curves

Jenny2ren

A generous deep bowl, thinking of filling it with salad or mixing a cake in it!

Jessica ewton ceramics

A shallow blue bowl with lots of cut outs. I spent a long time on it and it paid off!! You can see it on my page :)

Havanow

As wide as it is tall. Like a Gywan 😍

Thepeddlerman

A tall, abnormally large mug in a glaze that wasn't exactly mixed entirely (my bad) but the color gradient, from a nice bright red, to a brown almost black is beautiful

Marianwilliamspottery

A huge bulbous thrown vessel with an added neck or throat and pulled handles- glazed in a beautiful runny (probably barium) blue on top and satin white on bottom- it’s big, showing makers hand marks in the handles and neck.

Landrum_pottery

My fav I've made is a 10 lb. Infant piggy sculpture. I almost didn't keep it but after a year of it sitting on the greenware shelf I finally decided to try to fix the damaged ear... I layer glazed it also which turned out great. I feel like he's a high psychedelic pig. :)

Betty J

Brown clay, larger at the bottom than the top that has a narrow, tapering neck. No glaze. Just natural.

James Shock

The handle makes this teapot, and seemed to take longer to make! Mudslide glaze over dark brown clay. The lid knob is a miniature of the actual teapot. An afterthought, but worth the effort.

Naomi Zacharias Unrau

A B-mix thrown 1 pound bowl, rim cut, black slip carved, dots sliptrailed. A play-surprise.

So those are the comments that were shared. But as I’m thinking about this, maybe there are a lot of people out there having the same problem that I have: it is hard to pick a favorite!

If I HAD to pick one… okay I can’t. How about I give you three of my favorites?

First off, I have to put something by Dick Lehman on my list. Local legend. National treasure. International traveler. Magazine covers. But most importantly, he makes some amazing pots. I have a small cup that I’ve mentioned on the podcast before back on Episode 6. It was part of my reward for helping him run his booth at the Michiana Pottery Tour one year. So the experience that goes with it plus the texture, and glaze surface and size all make this one of my favorites.

Next, I’m going to go with a bowl by Andrew Linderman. It is in my heavy rotation and it makes me realize that I don’t have enough unique bowls by other artists. The glaze makes me think of a toasted marshmallow over a nice dark stoneware. The facets around the outside are clean and lead to a little bit of an undulating rim which adds to the uniqueness. The foot is narrow so it fits in one hand comfortably. Nice weight. At first I wondered if I would like the rough, slightly textured surface on the inside. I do take the process of eating very seriously. But no complaints about that. It cleans just about as easily as any of the smooth surface bowls I have in my cupboard.

Finally, I’ll include my favorite pot to make. This is also a tough choice because I like to make a lot of them. I’ll go with my world map cups. When I say cup I’m talking about a drinking vessel without a handle. I love the simplicity of the form but the various details that can make each cup unique. I love the idea of having a continuous design around the exterior. No beginning or end. I like that a cup can be used for so many things.

Alright, that’s probably enough of me blabbering about what I think. But I think it is important to talk about pots. I couldn’t explain exactly why so I did a quick Google search to see if anyone had a good answer. And Google pulls through again. I came across a blast from the past: legendary potter / philosopher / blogger Carter Gillies. I loved reading his blog for years. Unfortunately he passed away a few years back. In his post from 2012 titled “Talking about Pottery” he had this to say:

And interestingly, without the words, sometimes we don’t really see things so well. Its as if we learn new things about the world in the company of language. Words tend to help us focus and differentiate. Words give us nuance and value. Its amazing what we can do in the absence of words. But its also amazing what we can do once we do have the words. Learning how to talk about things also teaches us how to look at them. Sometimes we discuss things to help bring clarity to our own thinking. The feedback of testing ideas against the world is simply how we grow.

He goes on to talk about how as a beginner we don’t have the experience to talk about pots. Then later he says:

Well, eventually I started taking classes that were academic, and I did find myself in positions where there were conversations about pots. How others talked about pots helped me see what I was looking at. Some of what got said was nonsense. Some of it was ill informed hogwash. But occasionally it helped to have an opinion from someone with greater experience or a contrasting viewpoint. You even get to see your own handiwork in a new light once you find the tools to discuss it. And so a light bulb suddenly went on. It turned out there were words that could help me talk about what I was doing.

As Carter alludes to, there are some great benefits to thinking about and discussing what we do and why we do it. I hope this episode has given you some things to think about. If you need some more to think about, I’ll include a link to Carter’s blog which is filled with thought provoking topics. And remember, you are always welcome to drop a message to brandon @ expertclay .com or leave a comment on social media.

Even though this is a shorter episode, I think that is a good place to stop.Thanks for listening and supporting the podcast. Our next episode will explore what potters listen to when making pots. So, until then, keep making, buying, and discussing your favorite pots, and stay muddy.

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