Form Follows Function..

Day; 175. Sunny, warm. breezy. Back to feeling like fall is in the air in the mornings.

Temperature on outside kiln; 80 degrees
Kiln firings; none
Music in the studio; more Amos Lee, can't get enough of this guy....love his voice and he writes beautiful  melodies...

Looking at Instagram earlier in the day trying to find some inspiration. Shall I make what I want to make, whatever that is, or what I know will sell? I opt for the former instead of the latter, and continue looking until I feel a spark...
I often look at Heather Smit's work due to the crisp way she hand builds; so elegant, well constructed, beautiful, and yet very functional. I really love her pitchers and have been wanting to make some for awhile now, today is the day...

The way she hand-builds almost makes me want to give up the wheel, almost... but not quite, especially after a morning of making vases and a pitcher based on her ideas. And because Santa Fe Clay is out of my usual clay body, I had no choice but to hand-build with porcelain, AM I CRAZY!? What was I thinking..???!! Cracking, bending, warping, slipping, I love the color and feel of porcelain, but let's face it, working with it is a bitch. But I digress....

Of all the arts saddled with the strictures of Form Follows Function (modernist idea from the 1930's, mostly growing out of the practice of architecture..) surely ceramics is most burdened. And rightly so of course.. for most of it's history ceramics has been about functional objects for everyday use.. transporting water, storing grain, serving meals, the epitome of functionality. And yet embellishment has been almost as important, look at the ceramics of every Native American pueblo in the Southwest; Acoma, San Ildefanso, Santo Domingo... all very much about everyday use, but at the same time beautifully made and decorated...

So as I was contemplating  making some pitchers this morning (ala Heather Smit), I knew I had to think about balance, weight, scale, spout, handle placement/size. All the issues that makes a good pitcher good, in other words, one that functions well; one that is light ( even when full) one that pours well and doesn't drip, one that is balanced when you pick it up, in short, one that feels good in your hands. I knew that the pitchers function would very much dictate it's form, but I'm ok with that, as a potter I long ago accepted the functional constraints of my craft.
That isn't it to say it can't be beautiful and elegant at the same time, it certainly can, indeed,  that is the very challenge I hope to rise to everyday...