JAKE JOHNSON is
an artist I keep coming back to because I really like his trays and how they
are incorporated into the jars themselves. I like the idea that only these
pieces are meant for the particular tray they are on as opposed to a flat tray
that could have anything placed on it. To me these trays give the jars a home
rather than just a place to be.
Shadow May’s work also fits into the
trays that are meant for the purpose of holding these certain jars.
And last for my
online sets I came across Caleb Zouhary whose work I think is pretty cool. I
like that each piece is similar to another enough that they fit well together
but are all their own pieces. I also like his use of color.
The first set I
came across in the library was in a book on “Shimaoka Tatsuzo.” I went through
a lot of books and found some really great pieces but I found it really hard to
find sets on platters in the books, which mostly showed single jars. However I
feel like these “lidded bowls with plates” could be worked into my concept for
one of my sets.
In the book “Mary
Rodgers on Pottery and Porcelain” I found these boxes which are a metallic
black. Rodgers states that they represent tightly packed flower buds and inside
there are ceramic flower sculptures. I thought these were interesting and could
be good examples for the puzzle lids. I couldn’t find any information on who
made them unless it was Mary Rodgers on her own work...
In the book “Richard
Fairbanks, American potter” I found this jar which I really like with its sharp
concise edges. I also learned that he was the ceramics professor here through
the 70s and 80s.
I also found the
book “The Potters Art in Africa,” which was really cool, I wanted to reference
this piece because I like how it’s sitting and I have been looking into adding
feet to my own jars/tea pots. I’m not sure if its four separate pieces or if
its one.
Last I found a
book on Eva Zeisel called “Eva
Zeisel designer for industry,” I really enjoy her work and liked the tray
despite what I said earlier about Jake Johnsons trays I still like flat open
trays.
Jake Johnson
