[00:00:31.280] [music] [00:00:30.171] The following program is produced [00:00:31.640] by Community Video Services of Durham Technical Institute. [00:00:35.900] [music] [00:02:02.400] Good evening. [00:02:03.480] I'm Cynthia Watts and welcome to the Arts in Durham. [00:02:07.120] As you can tell, I'm not sitting in my usual setting. [00:02:09.720] I'm on location this evening. [00:02:11.880] I'm at John Page's Pottery Gallery on Chapel Hill Road. [00:02:15.320] We're going to take a look at the world of clay, [00:02:18.520] the world of porcelain, [00:02:20.157] and the life of a potter, and a local artist— [00:02:22.880] John Page. [00:02:24.400] And now this word from DTI. [00:02:29.920] Are you looking for a career with job security [00:02:32.200] and good earning potential? [00:02:33.440] Check out the opportunities [00:02:34.600] of the machinist program at Durham Technical Institute. [00:02:37.440] A machinist is a highly skilled [00:02:38.960] professional who shapes [00:02:40.314] metal parts by using hand and machine tools. [00:02:42.600] Durham Tech's program includes courses in numerical control. [00:02:46.200] Expanding industries in the Triangle area need skilled machinists. [00:02:49.800] If you're looking for a career with opportunities [00:02:52.176] contact Durham Tech's [00:02:53.120] admissions office at 596-9311. [00:02:56.520] Plan your future now. [00:02:57.929] Start with Durham Tech. [00:03:02.120] I want to welcome you back to the Arts in Durham [00:03:04.720] and I want to talk about the word clay for a second. [00:03:08.320] Clay is an expressive medium and they say [00:03:11.320] that potters have the tendency to [00:03:13.800] use it to its highest versatility. [00:03:15.880] The word pottery? [00:03:18.240] Well, it started over seven thousand years ago [00:03:21.986] by some ancient Romans. [00:03:24.040] And tonight we're going to be talking with a local potter, [00:03:28.120] John Page, who is a North Carolinian, [00:03:31.129] who taught at the Durham Arts Council, [00:03:33.240] and who is now struggling to be a great potter. [00:03:37.040] I want to welcome John Page to the Arts in Durham. [00:03:40.480] - [Cynthia] I want to first talk about your artistic abilities [00:03:43.440] and when did you get the first inkling that you wanted to be an artist? [00:03:48.920] Now, that goes back a long, long time once I think about it. [00:03:56.120] When I was a kid, I drew all the time. [00:03:58.000] I think I was [00:03:59.320] more interested in [00:04:01.371] drawing and painting and that kind of thing, [00:04:04.280] and for some reason or another, [00:04:06.686] I've always been very interested in that. [00:04:10.680] And then when I went off to college, I wanted to go to an art school, [00:04:16.320] an accredited art school, or one that basically dealt with art. [00:04:21.480] And so I went to East Carolina and that's where I got interested in [00:04:26.800] all that I'm interested in. [00:04:28.720] - [Cynthia] I know when we talked earlier that [00:04:30.943] John Page was going to be a painter [00:04:32.520] at first and then John decided he was going to be a potter. [00:04:35.760] How did that change happen in your life? [00:04:39.120] Well, [00:04:42.000] I loved painting very much. [00:04:43.858] It's part of me [00:04:44.640] and I think a lot of my pottery is influenced by [00:04:49.041] painting. [00:04:50.560] I use the surface as [00:04:52.229] a drawing surface sometimes [00:04:53.520] with colors and glazes and things like that. [00:04:57.720] But you have to take a series of courses. [00:05:02.960] You have take drawing and figure drawing and [00:05:06.043] pottery and sculpture and everything. [00:05:08.440] So you get a good rounded idea [00:05:11.057] of all the different aspects of art or [00:05:15.600] craft or whatever. [00:05:19.160] I took pottery and all the sudden [00:05:22.280] it just stuck my hand in and it just kept [00:05:24.560] pulling me down and I just really enjoyed it. [00:05:29.840] The community of [00:05:31.729] people working together, firing kilns together, [00:05:35.400] I like that. I like that a lot— [00:05:38.440] working with other people [00:05:40.040] and working by yourself too. [00:05:41.680] Working in things that [00:05:42.966] you yourself are interested in. [00:05:44.240] I like that. [00:05:46.160] So, pottery became my love. [00:05:49.440] - [Cynthia] How does your life [00:05:51.114] differ as a potter's from, say, a painter's life? [00:05:54.200] What is the difference in your lives? [00:06:00.280] Well, a potter works on a schedule [00:06:05.280] of doing so many different kinds of [00:06:09.080] items or works or whatever. [00:06:11.343] And then letting them dry and trimming [00:06:14.960] them and firing them the first time and then [00:06:17.957] glazing them and firing them again. [00:06:19.480] So you're on a schedule of two or three [00:06:21.640] weeks depending on how many times you fire. [00:06:25.920] - [John] I'm one of those people that— [00:06:28.320] pottery's nice because you take a lump of clay and [00:06:31.443] all the sudden you have [00:06:33.960] made something very quick [00:06:36.100] where painting is a much slower process. [00:06:39.480] I'm one of those people that instant gratification. [00:06:42.840] I like to see [00:06:44.520] the thing that I have made in a very short period of time [00:06:47.414] even though it changes [00:06:48.760] drastically by the time I have a final product. [00:06:52.814] I like that a lot. [00:06:55.120] John, I know you have not always [00:06:57.214] been located on Chapel Hill Road in such big [00:06:59.280] spacious space to work in and a nice gallery [00:07:02.671] and nice studio in the rear. [00:07:04.960] Where was John Page located [00:07:06.286] before he moved to Chapel Hill Road? [00:07:08.160] Well, I rented a room in a house [00:07:12.114] and there was a basement in the house [00:07:14.360] and that was my studio. [00:07:16.800] It was a little ten by twelve room [00:07:19.814] that I tried to make my living out of—well I did [00:07:22.491] make my living out of [00:07:23.760] for three years, just about three years. [00:07:27.480] - [Cynthia] Are you pleased with your move to Chapel Hill Road? [00:07:31.080] Oh yeah, I like it a lot. [00:07:31.520] I love the building. [00:07:33.040] - [Cynthia] How has it changed your life, [00:07:35.200] this move from the small ten by ten, [00:07:38.129] or ten by twelve room, [00:07:39.560] to now a spacious studio and a spacious gallery? [00:07:43.200] What has this done for you artistically? [00:07:46.914] Well, for one thing, [00:07:47.960] it's made things easier for me to work. [00:07:50.186] Having room to move around in [00:07:54.440] that's very important to me. [00:07:58.000] The ability or wanting to sell my own work. [00:08:04.320] I like the fact that other galleries sell my work also [00:08:07.320] but I wanted to meet the people that bought my work [00:08:10.920] and get them to know me and me to know them and [00:08:17.400] to develop a rapport with the people that buy my things. [00:08:21.960] I think that's as important to me, [00:08:24.720] well, that's very important to me. [00:08:26.320] The work itself is the most important. [00:08:30.240] I really like having a gallery in the front [00:08:33.320] and then having all the space in the back to work around in. [00:08:37.520] - [Cynthia] Is this a dream come true for John Page? [00:08:40.600] Part of it. [00:08:43.880] It's part of a progression. [00:08:47.320] I see [00:08:49.040] a change every— [00:08:51.057] very much like my work, [00:08:52.960] my work changes every week it seems like. [00:08:55.480] Sometimes that's good, sometimes it's not. [00:09:01.320] This is a step [00:09:06.114] into what I finally want. [00:09:05.514] - [Cynthia] And what do you finally want? [00:09:14.160] - [John] I'd like to have a studio situation where [00:09:20.480] I had plenty of time to work. [00:09:23.600] I didn't have to worry about selling the pieces. [00:09:27.160] Having someone else sell them [00:09:28.840] but still having a rapport with the people that buy my work. [00:09:34.200] Having a studio house kind of thing [00:09:37.443] out in the country someplace. [00:09:40.680] Not back to nature kind of thing, [00:09:46.440] but a [00:09:51.000] more harmonious living situation, working situation where [00:09:56.760] I'm not interrupted, [00:09:58.757] I can work on the things that I'm really interested in. [00:10:02.640] The production things I make are, [00:10:05.480] right now, are just keeping the shop and things going. [00:10:09.440] But I enjoy making more artistic or more fun things [00:10:15.160] and right now I don't have the time to do that [00:10:17.760] and that's what I'd like to have. [00:10:19.600] - [Cynthia] If you had to do it all over again, [00:10:21.714] would you be a potter? [00:10:26.240] You asked me that the other day, I know. [00:10:30.800] - [Cynthia] Yeah. [00:10:32.140] I've been thinking about that. [00:10:32.320] I don't know. [00:10:37.360] Yes, I think I would. [00:10:39.871] It's very much me. It suits my lifestyle. [00:10:45.920] It's fun. It's a whole lot of fun. [00:10:48.040] People all the time say, "Oh, you have so much fun!" [00:10:50.560] But they also don't realize [00:10:52.971] there's a lot of work in that, too. [00:10:55.320] Yeah, I think I'd be a potter. [00:10:57.240] - [Cynthia] OK, taking that, you would do it over again— [00:11:00.240] what would you change? [00:11:01.400] What would you do different this time around? [00:11:05.360] Be born rich. [laughs] [00:11:08.440] So that I could do what I want to when I want to. [00:11:14.560] No I don't think I'd want to change anything. [00:11:22.240] - [John] I don't regret anything [00:11:24.286] that has gone on to get where I am now [00:11:28.586] and [00:11:32.280] I'm very pleased. [00:11:34.120] - [Cynthia] I have been doing some research on pottery [00:11:37.200] and potters and find out that potters work [00:11:40.229] very, very rigid schedules. [00:11:42.000] Their work is also physical. [00:11:45.400] What about your rigid schedules? [00:11:47.000] Do you throw two days a week, [00:11:48.829] tool two days a week, glaze one day a week? [00:11:51.240] How do you work on such a rigid schedule? [00:11:57.160] The gallery opens at 10:30, [00:11:59.014] though I'm usually in here earlier in the morning [00:12:01.880] trimming pots or doing something like that. [00:12:04.543] I try to throw five days a week. [00:12:13.800] The gallery's open five days a week [00:12:16.440] and I work when the gallery is open. [00:12:19.900] And then the other two days I spend [00:12:23.040] loading kilns and firing those so that I fire a kiln a week, [00:12:27.720] usually, a glaze kiln a week. [00:12:30.960] So every week I have a new [00:12:33.960] outpouring of work. [00:12:35.960] John, I want to ask you about repeated task. [00:12:38.760] I know you do a lot of production work, [00:12:41.257] a lot of production pieces and I know a lot [00:12:43.200] of time and energy goes into doing [00:12:46.029] mass production work. [00:12:48.040] Does this get to be a bore [00:12:50.086] after a period of months or years? [00:12:52.320] - [John] Sometimes, yes. [00:12:54.240] When you get an order from another gallery or another shop [00:12:58.440] for a hundred coffee mugs. [00:13:01.560] I sit down and I throw a hundred coffee mugs in an hour. [00:13:04.960] That's not putting handles and glazing and things like that. [00:13:10.040] But there's a certain comfort and security [00:13:13.214] in sitting down and doing the same thing [00:13:14.840] over and over again [00:13:16.186] because you know it's going to turn out that way. [00:13:19.320] I enjoy that secure feeling that I get when I'm sitting down [00:13:23.157] and [00:13:25.000] I enjoy that. [00:13:26.200] I like it and [00:13:29.360] sometimes it's boring, but I'd say most of the time it's [00:13:33.840] time to do other things while you're working, [00:13:36.800] thinking. [00:13:37.960] - [Cynthia] Do you feel that your choice of objects [00:13:40.160] has contributed to your love of your work [00:13:42.729] and your growing success? [00:13:46.320] You have to think of those things also in terms of economics. [00:13:50.000] Certain things that I do make [00:13:52.840] I make for an economic reason [00:13:55.871] so that I can make the things I really enjoy making. [00:13:59.640] Some of the Japanese styled pieces— [00:14:05.440] they are pieces that I enjoy doing, [00:14:08.040] and at first I didn't think they would [00:14:11.486] be pieces that people would enjoy, [00:14:12.720] but people have picked up on these more artistic pieces. [00:14:16.680] And for a while they were doing as well as [00:14:20.360] coffee mugs and crafts and the other [00:14:23.914] everyday things that I make. [00:14:29.040] The things that I make [00:14:31.200] I think are a little bit different from what other people do. [00:14:33.560] So I think maybe [00:14:36.760] that'll help me stay above what I need to. [00:14:40.845] I don't know. [00:14:41.640] - [Cynthia] Do you feel that the process of becoming a potter [00:14:45.057] has formed your personality [00:14:47.400] or was it your work that enabled you [00:14:50.086] to form your personality? [00:14:55.760] I'm much easier going now that I'm a potter [00:14:58.760] or since I got interested in the pottery. [00:15:01.543] Much more patient. [00:15:03.680] You have to wait two or three weeks for something. [00:15:08.080] Though I still [00:15:09.560] like to see something fast, [00:15:12.360] I think in two weeks to have a finished product is pretty fast. [00:15:21.240] I'm much happier. [00:15:22.360] I think I'm pretty happy. [00:15:24.720] There's a certain amount of occupational therapy [00:15:30.120] in pottery. [00:15:32.700] It gives you time to think. [00:15:35.600] You're your own boss. [00:15:38.657] If you don't work, you don't make a living. [00:15:41.360] There's a certain security [00:15:44.240] in that in knowing that you have to rely on yourself a lot. [00:15:48.520] - [Cynthia] So would you say that your general attitude [00:15:51.571] towards life today [00:15:53.360] your work has contributed mostly towards that attitude? [00:15:57.080] Yeah, I think so [00:16:00.160] in some respects. [00:16:04.960] My work is the most important thing to me right now. [00:16:11.200] So my work has to change me in some ways, I think. [00:16:17.400] It's started finally to make me more independent. [00:16:23.920] Able to do the things that I enjoy doing things like that. [00:16:28.160] It's funny, I can't be gone from the wheel [00:16:30.800] for more than two weeks. [00:16:32.240] All of the sudden I [00:16:35.400] I've got to go back to the wheel. [00:16:36.720] It's like I've got to go back to therapy or something. [00:16:39.440] You have to go back and go back to work. [00:16:42.640] It's part of me. [00:16:44.240] And now this word from DTI. [00:16:47.600] [music] [00:16:55.080] Since 1961, Durham Technical Institute [00:16:58.120] has been serving the citizens of Durham [00:17:00.160] and the State of North Carolina. [00:17:02.280] As a member of the North Carolina Community College System, [00:17:04.700] Durham Tech provides educational [00:17:06.320] opportunities for persons to continue their education beyond high school. [00:17:10.320] Accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools [00:17:13.560] and the North Carolina State Board of Education, [00:17:15.920] Durham Tech is where you find quality education at affordable costs. [00:17:20.120] Durham Tech is a comprehensive school [00:17:22.514] with a wide range of educational programs [00:17:24.720] in allied health, business, [00:17:26.543] industrial education, and public service. [00:17:29.640] For practical skills or personal enrichment, [00:17:32.120] Durham Tech has a course for you— [00:17:34.200] from learning to read to programming a computer. [00:17:37.429] From the detail work of accounting [00:17:39.320] to automotive repair [00:17:41.286] or nursing care or fitting eyeglasses [00:17:44.160] Durham Tech has something for everyone. [00:17:49.480] Has your work as a potter given you [00:17:51.600] great inner strength to deal with frustrations [00:17:55.480] and disappointments and grievances in everyday life? [00:18:00.200] Yes. [00:18:06.520] In some ways, yes. [00:18:11.240] Like I was talking about the occupational therapy, [00:18:13.480] the time to be able to sit down [00:18:15.714] and not be bothered by anyone and [00:18:19.760] to be making something, especially a production item. [00:18:23.320] I can sit and I can work things out. [00:18:26.000] I get ideas. [00:18:29.480] Some production things are very mechanical. [00:18:32.800] It's like [00:18:36.440] just playing [00:18:38.400] a range of notes on the piano or something. [00:18:41.129] it's very mechanical, [00:18:42.760] you do it methodically without really thinking about it. [00:18:45.640] So that extra time I'm able work things out. [00:18:54.880] Even sometimes it [00:18:56.943] doesn't solve all those problems, [00:18:58.720] but it does help. It certainly help sometimes. [00:19:01.520] - [Cynthia] Let's talk a little bit about your work now. [00:19:03.880] What methods and materials do you basically use in your work? [00:19:08.440] Well, I use a stone or clay body, [00:19:10.843] which is basically what most potters use. [00:19:13.800] It's a very earthy, coarse kind of clay [00:19:18.160] and it's very good for cooking [00:19:21.000] and things like that. [00:19:27.160] - [John] My love is porcelain. [00:19:28.720] I just love porcelain. [00:19:30.720] It's a clay body. [00:19:31.840] It's very white and very pure. [00:19:34.600] It has no impurities in it, [00:19:37.520] iron spots or things like that. [00:19:42.480] I like the whiteness in terms of [00:19:46.114] having a surface to decorate. [00:19:48.440] I like to decorate surfaces a lot. [00:19:53.640] As a matter of fact, that's what I'm [00:19:55.443] working in mostly now is porcelain. [00:19:57.320] - [Cynthia] Does your work have a specific characteristic? [00:20:03.560] Well. [00:20:05.200] It does change a lot, [00:20:07.920] but I think there's a certain feel about my work— [00:20:12.640] especially the porcelain pieces. [00:20:14.457] Someone the other day mentioned to me, [00:20:16.520] "John, I'm glad you're doing porcelain again, [00:20:18.614] because it's your medium. [00:20:20.440] It's what you work best in." [00:20:24.320] The subtle colors, the things like that. [00:20:27.040] I think in terms of the porcelain— [00:20:30.880] of course, my porcelain pieces are very [00:20:34.120] influenced by Chinese works [00:20:38.080] which are mostly porcelain pieces. [00:20:40.771] And I, [00:20:43.480] I like that influence. [00:20:46.560] It's a very elegant kind of thing. [00:20:48.643] - [Cynthia] Right off the top of your head [00:20:50.280] how much work do you produce a year? [00:20:52.957] Oh. [00:20:58.360] It may seem silly [00:21:00.343] to think of it in terms of money, but [00:21:04.280] I can't say in terms of pieces cause [00:21:06.506] I could make [00:21:07.960] a hundred thousand coffee mugs or something like that. [00:21:11.240] Not that many but. [00:21:13.400] And that would be all I would make. [00:21:15.120] But I would say [00:21:20.800] thirty-five thousand dollars worth of pottery a year. [00:21:23.560] Forty thousand, depending on if I'm really [00:21:26.016] geared up, [00:21:27.280] if I'm really into making pottery at that time. [00:21:30.080] - [Cynthia] When we talked earlier [00:21:31.600] you said some of your pieces had crossed the waters. [00:21:33.960] Tell me where some of your pieces are. [00:21:36.560] Oh, people have come to the shop here [00:21:39.729] and have bought pieces. [00:21:42.600] A lady came in a few weeks ago and was [00:21:45.771] going to a wedding in Leone, France [00:21:48.040] and she said, "Oh, I just have to take a piece [00:21:51.329] of North Carolina pottery." [00:21:53.280] And she said, "Well, I really like yours [00:21:55.280] so I'm going to buy a piece of yours to take [00:21:58.214] to the wedding as a gift." [00:22:01.080] I've got pieces [00:22:03.043] all over the United States now. [00:22:05.600] There was a gallery in Washington [00:22:08.600] that carries my work [00:22:09.960] and they are on Embassy Row. [00:22:13.640] And she said that constantly [00:22:16.243] people from the embassies were coming into her shop, [00:22:18.640] buying my work, and sending it to [00:22:21.500] England and other places. [00:22:24.960] So I don't know where it all is. [00:22:27.000] It's out there someplace. [00:22:28.640] - [Cynthia] It must be a fantastic feeling to know that [00:22:31.229] you have stretched the globe. [00:22:33.320] Well. [00:22:34.960] It's fun to think that people are enjoying using [00:22:38.586] something that is [00:22:43.400] a part of North Carolina, for one thing, [00:22:46.400] the pottery tradition. [00:22:49.160] I like the idea that [00:22:52.014] people are using something, [00:22:55.343] a functional piece. I like that. [00:22:57.480] Hopefully aesthetically pleasing too to them. [00:23:02.040] - [Cynthia] I want to talk about your interest in [00:23:04.329] Japanese and Chinese [00:23:06.960] traditional pottery, [00:23:09.362] but I want to move over to the cabinet [00:23:11.360] so that we can talk about some of your favorite pieces. [00:23:13.880] - [Cynthia] OK? OK. [00:23:17.520] - [Cynthia] John, I want to now talk to you about some [00:23:19.520] of your favorite pieces, [00:23:21.332] something that's very, very dear to you. [00:23:22.320] And I understand that it's sitting here in this cabinet [00:23:25.057] so pull it out and let the audience see [00:23:27.200] what's very, very close to you [00:23:28.614] and explain to me why it's dear to you. [00:23:31.200] Well, [00:23:33.680] I did a pair of these jars. [00:23:37.240] They're kind of based on melon jars, Chinese pieces. [00:23:41.520] Though these are pieces that I have made [00:23:43.609] and I have a pair of these. [00:23:45.720] This glaze was supposed to have [00:23:47.360] come out a certain color [00:23:49.529] and it didn't turn out the color it was supposed to. [00:23:52.800] And at first I was a little disappointed. [00:23:54.668] And then I thought, [00:23:55.720] "No, I think I like them better like this [00:23:58.320] cause I'll never be able to get this glaze again." [00:24:00.680] That's one of the nice things about pottery. [00:24:02.160] Sometimes the kiln will do something really special. [00:24:06.080] And I consider this a very special piece. [00:24:10.680] - [Cynthia] It's beautiful. - [John] There have a pair of these [00:24:15.020] and very pleased with that. [00:24:15.200] - [Cynthia] I know also that you have a great interest [00:24:17.880] in Japanese folk pottery and also Chinese porcelain. [00:24:22.360] Why those two interests? [00:24:23.680] What intrigued you about the Japanese and the Chinese work? [00:24:27.520] - [John] Well, there's such a long tradition [00:24:29.720] of pottery in China and Japan [00:24:32.986] and the folk potteries [00:24:35.071] are a very big thing in Japan. [00:24:42.440] These are some of the things that interest me a lot. [00:24:46.640] The fact that there is a certain period of time. [00:24:51.560] That [00:24:54.240] so much pottery was made because it was [00:24:56.240] the only material that you could make [00:24:58.871] usable vessels out of. [00:25:04.840] Just the education of showing people [00:25:08.171] Chinese pieces that are very old [00:25:10.440] and then showing them [00:25:12.100] contemporary pieces and the comparison [00:25:14.440] and contrast between those. [00:25:16.186] So this is like an education? [00:25:17.760] Yeah, it's an education. [00:25:19.000] Also, [00:25:21.120] some of these pieces are a thousand years old. [00:25:24.840] There's Song Dynasty pieces, [00:25:26.760] early Song Dynasty, [00:25:29.014] Ming, Early Ming Dynasty pieces, late Ming. [00:25:34.960] Yun [00:25:37.120] Celadon Pieces, Northern Celadon, Southern Celadon. [00:25:42.200] All these make up a really broad [00:25:45.240] spectrum of pottery, especially in China. [00:25:48.320] It's such a large country [00:25:50.286] and there's such a good traditional of it there. [00:25:56.280] Would you take that piece out [00:25:55.329] and let's show it to the audience, please? [00:25:56.342] That one's beautiful. [00:25:57.200] This is a fairly late piece. [00:26:01.280] It's a New Year's jar. [00:26:04.280] The symbol on the front being the sign of happiness. [00:26:08.480] These were made by the thousands, I'm sure, [00:26:12.143] hundreds of thousands [00:26:14.960] three or four hundred years ago. [00:26:17.920] This piece in particular, [00:26:20.543] what they did is they filled it full of [00:26:23.560] goodies, some type of special gift— [00:26:26.760] prepared foods or things like that— and gave these to people [00:26:31.440] as presents. [00:26:36.160] This was just the container and the container was as [00:26:36.760] beautiful and as wonderful, I think, as what was in it. [00:26:39.960] And I like that a lot. [00:26:41.160] I like that idea. [00:26:47.480] And now we are going to go in the back [00:26:49.320] to John's studio and watch him actually at work. [00:26:54.840] Part of the process of throwing a pot is [00:26:57.257] having the clay in a nice ball. [00:27:00.280] This is a potter's wheel. [00:27:02.480] And it's a kick wheel, [00:27:05.320] So I have to get it going [00:27:07.543] by kicking it. [00:27:13.040] Put the clay in the center of the wheel. [00:27:13.943] And part of the process is to center the clay [00:27:17.320] so that all parts are moving together so you can [00:27:19.760] bring up the form and it won't wobble over to one side. [00:27:23.240] And if they get the wheel going good fast, [00:27:28.000] add some water. [00:27:30.129] [music] [00:27:34.880] And this is called centering. [00:27:36.929] [music] [00:27:47.000] Like that. [00:27:49.280] And this is porcelain. [00:27:50.840] This is what I'm working in right now [00:27:53.714] and have been for the past few weeks. [00:27:56.760] We have to open the clay up. [00:27:59.200] [music] [00:28:02.200] And then, [00:28:04.280] making sure it's nice and wet [00:28:06.720] so you don't have any friction, [00:28:08.360] you just simply bring it up. [00:28:11.157] [music] [00:28:17.240] I'm going to throw just a very simple little bowl, [00:28:19.520] give you the idea of how clay can open up and [00:28:28.760] take form into into something. [00:28:27.300] [music] [00:29:06.960] And there you have a bowl. [00:29:09.040] And from this state [00:29:13.000] the piece would dry some. [00:29:14.520] It would become leather hard and you would trim it, [00:29:18.160] put on the handles if it was a teapot or something like that. [00:29:23.080] Like these tea pots here, [00:29:24.971] they're made of three or four different pieces. [00:29:27.640] The body of the pot, the lid, the spout, [00:29:30.686] the handles, the little top lid. [00:29:33.040] And each of those pieces are put together to make a teapot. [00:29:37.800] These are some of the things that I've been working on [00:29:39.971] in the past few weeks— [00:29:42.280] tea pots, bowls, [00:29:44.920] vases. [00:29:47.480] Hopefully these will be out soon. [00:29:50.000] [music] [00:29:54.080] Pottery, a direct means of visual expression. [00:29:58.400] I want to thank you John Page [00:29:59.840] for joining me this evening on the Arts in Durham. [00:30:02.240] It's been a pleasure. [00:30:03.960] I want to ask you to support our local artists. [00:30:06.840] I want to thank you for joining me this evening [00:30:09.000] and I invite you to join me next week. [00:30:11.040] Have a great night. [00:30:14.000] Preceding program has been produced [00:30:15.720] by Community Video Services of Durham Technical Institute. [00:30:19.243] [music]