Paige Adkins, of
Westbank Pottery
intense and moody stalks of dried
weeds.
Unfortunately, I guess I had no taste
then either; I stuck to rock 'n roll and
beer cans.
In art schools then, and maybe now,
Art and Craft were two very separate
milieus. They were, in fact, pursued in
different parts of the building and the
twain didn't meet much. Purism
abounded.
I, for one, went off on flights of fancy:
I was going to be a hot-shot adperson in
the Big Apple and/or be a famous
painter. Long periods of inactivity
were of course preludes to the build-up
of the flashes of artistic inspiration...
After every gloppy brushstroke I'd run
back a fewyards and ruminate...squint-
ing to see if that color worked just...so.
The trouble with the folks
downstairs in the ceramic department,
for instance, was that they seemed to
work so...hard.
The teacher of that particular
department was a strict disciplinarian.
It apparently took months to learn how
to throw a simple pot perfectly; strict
standards were adhered to. The
students there had to learn how to set
up a kiln, and how to mix their own
glazes. The glaze room itself seemed a
usually seen to be that the craftsman is
concerned with the form and material
of functional objects; and the artist
produces work which, by its own
nature, serves no practical function at
all.
Part of my own problem in coming to
terms with craft as art is my earlier
perception of it as having primarily to
do with skill and technique. I preferred
to deal with abstract conceptions. Art
schools usually foster this division by
not encouraging students to bend the
rules and experiment with diverse
methods and materials.
However, I am still on the side of Art.
Any craftsman worth his or her salt
strives, or should be doing so, to instill a
personal imprint on the work, which is
what any formofartisallabout. And, in
recent years, boundaries have been
shifting. It has become increasingly
difficult to categorize creative endeav-
or in terms of media or pursuit.
The focus, whether one is a painter or
potter, is on originality of vision and
quality of the object itself. Historically,
this is really nothing new: cross-cur-
rents of influence have evolved
through our culture. Scores of artists
have been inspired by Oriental vases,
Picasso painted on plates, and the
Abstract Expressionist movement in
the Fifties affected a generation of
ceramists and weavers.
by Carlene Brady
photos by J. R. Compton
People have been making pots for
thousands of years. People have also
been painting pictures for thousands of
Years. Lots of potters have painted
Pictures on their pots, while innumer-
painted pots in their
This very real and innocent
State of affairs has nevertheless
Created some confusion and a discreet
but determined division between two
Camps: those who call themselves
Artists, and those who call themselves
Craftsmen.
I must admit to having taken the side
of the Artists in my early quests for complex chemical laboratory, alien to:
Truth and Beauty; plus, ! had little the likes of myself--engaged in an
interest in functional receptacles, elusive activity where the message
Besides, I am told I have no taste. In seemed to take precedence over the
regard to my domestic accoutrements, medium. Since I felt I was a bit young to
I'm the type of person who eats off have acquired any great philosophies
plasticplates without worrying, drinks about Art, I suffered a slow start.
coffee from Mickey Mouse mugs and Meanwhile, the potters made lots of
sticks the odd flower in a milk bottle pots and the weavers kept weaving.
(which they don't make much anymore,
but that's another story). ...
In art school in the early Sixties, if
you were hip, you played Pete Seeger The inherent problems involved in
onthe stereo and collected lots of hand- pursuing either Art or a Craft as such
thrown pets in earthy, organic colors-- are unique, but no less difficult, one
aesthetically arranged and filled with from the other. The classical division is
A small but ambitious exhibition
which purports to close the gap further
between the traditional concepts of
craftsman and artist is Craft as Art,
currently drawing interest at Laguna
Gloria Art Museum. Curated by
Caroline Adams, director of the
Southwest Craft Center Gallery in San
Antonio, it is a selection of work by
some of Texas' freest craftsmen. Some
of the pieces have functional
associations, but the overriding
cont. on page 10
1976
Only $4.95.
A selection of prints
by M.C. Escher
is also available.
UNICORN
GALLERY
F~
floor¸
the Craft as Art exhibit n: Danville Chadbourne's laminated wood and ceramic
In the background, a partial view of woven uork by Eleanor Merrill
AT THE
'2021 Guadalupe ..
477-0343
DOBIE
Mon. - Fri. 10-9
Sat 11-9
