Distancing

ByJoseph Travis

A video posted by Joseph Travis (@redfoxpottery) on Aug 16, 2015 at 4:51am PDT Recently I keep trying to write about the work of Ayumi Horie, James Gurney, Austin Kleon and so on. But every piece I write becomes torrid and dry, or it becomes a gushing piece “they are amazing”, “aren’t they creative” or “aren’t they really driving their work on”. I once wrote a piece about how annoyed I was about a particular ceramics writer always started a piece of writing about where he had come across the makers work; it became 100% about him rather than about…

Whatever happened to the painterly potter?

ByJoseph Travis

Watching Alex Shimwell throw on YouTube always reminds me of watching Kevin Millward. Kevin Millward was a visiting tutor during my final year of my Undergraduate degree, he only taught at the university one day a week for four weeks. By this point I had been watching YouTube videos for a year to help with my throwing and I was truly awful. Not only did I not know what I was doing, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. I had drawings of what I wanted to make which were far beyond my making abilities, so I just…

Writing really does matter to me

ByJoseph Travis

I loved my time on the “Writing Matters” workshops that were provided by MIRIAD for researchers. There are some really skilled writers with distinct voices in the group. It has made me want to write more but not in a stiff academic way, but in a more human flowing voice. Talking to other members of the group about my writing and my research revealed to me that what I was actually interested in my work is actually communication. I had never thought about it this way but all my research and thinking seems to point towards looking at different ways…

The Joy of Slip

ByJoseph Travis

There is simplicity in slip, the mixing of clay and water to a smooth homogenous liquid. Slip decoration is so seductive and there is something about the playfulness of surface that it brings. There are some amazing potters that slip decorate on Instagram like Naofumi Maeno, and Kazuhiro Ashizawa I am always jealous of their surfaces. Doug Fitch has been a major influence on my work too and love talking clay with him. Though slip is something I fell in love with around the time I met Adam Field, I saw he was doing carving with a tool much broader…

9 ways to use a sketchbook

ByJoseph Travis

I really believe everyone should have and use a sketchbook, I don’t mean an expensive sketchbook like a Moleskine where you are afraid to crease a page. More like the Seawhite of Brighton starter sketchbook, the paper quality is nice but they aren’t too expensive and can be quicker to fill to give you a sense of accomplishment. This sort of cheaper sketchbook should be a good all rounder with pen, pencils or watercolours. There is no need to be afraid of making a mistake; a sketchbook is a working document. You don’t need to share it with anyone so…