Ravenna

Hi Phil,

now THAT is a difficult question... and I fear I can't answer that. How small does it look to you??? Sorry, very silly comment but I couldn't help myself... It is round and 12cm in diameter... so tell me: is that what it looks like to you?

philgrayser

Hi Ravenna, well i guessed the pot to look about 5 inches which is pretty close eh!!! It looked as if a small broom style would look good in it, something very dark green like a Cotoneaster would do the job, i do like the other pots but no 4 is definately my favourite.

If you want to market them you have an excellent name for it!!
Hand made pots by Swiss artist ''Ravenna'... one of a kind. sounds good eh!!!!!!!
Cheers Phil G.

Ravenna

Hi Phil,

you have well estimated the size of the pot then... I wouldn't use it for a bonsai though because it is VERY shallow. I have a plan regarding what I might do but I am not sure whether it will work as I want. I will have to try it out one of these days.

As regards my "business". I must admit that I like the idea and I think one of my teachers might be interested to sell bonsai pots in her shop as she does things for ikebana but I feel I need to get quite a bit better before I consider making pots routinely for sale. I am not sure that many people would want to buy yet what I make. But who knows if I ever do I will ask you on your advice on how to present my business: you seem to have a knack for that...

Michel

Hi,

Lovely pots, but . . . (Sorry, that lil' Python devil in me . . . )



I can see a contest coming on, here ! ! !
Who'll make the best sales' slogan for Ravenna's "business" ?
Here's already my contribution:

"Ravenna's pots; entrust Your little jewels to Swiss safety"

__________________
Greetz,
Michel

philgrayser

Nice one Michel, sounds a bit of fun eh!! Who ever come up with the slogan Ravenna likes the best should get a free pot of their choice ha ha!!! Phil G

Ravenna

Hi Michel,

glad you do like my pots...

As regards your slogans... quite gets me into the mood to actually start a business even though I feel that it would be premature and that I need to improve my "pottering skills" (hmmm like that expression... seems fitting... ) for the time being. I am not sure Michel, that you would take the prize... I might get sued in the end because people think that there is an alarm system in my pots which tells them when to water the trees and bites any thieves...

Michel

Hi,



Yep, great idea ! ! !

When it goes off,
it should sound like "Cuckoo-cuckoo-cuckoo-cuckoo . . ."

__________________
Greetz,
Michel

JLDoggett

Well, I for one am certainly impressed by Ravenna's work. As someone who has a minor in ceramic design and who has been known to dabble with clay I can honestly say that little lady in Switzerland could definatly go commercial should she choose. I get to see a lot of student's work at some of the colleges here in New England and her pots would be equally at home amoung some of the best of their work:

Illustration 1:
Her pots are of a nice uniform thickness, with some very beautiful glazes (I especially love the sang de boeuf) which she has applied in a way to take advantage of the glaze running on a black clay pot (take care on the amount of glaze used as the running can cause puddling at the base). The care and detail she uses is very sculptural in nature with thought toward its eventual use. One of her best, it has an open tube body with one end turned up to "close" an end while the opposite end has a "torn" edge giving the illusion that the pot is very old and still in use even with damage ( a nice effect, much better that the {repairable} damage that could be caused by ignorant postmend during shipping.) The 4 tiny feet are unobtrusive and dissapear under the body of the tube while giving the pot the stability we want to see in a high-end pot.

Illustration 2
A more typical bonsai pot, hand formed and glazed in a very muted pale blue on a tan clay body. The interior is well finished while still allowing the connoisseur to follow the to feel the finger marks of the artisan. The clay was worked semi-dry producing a fine cracking to the outer surface to the clay which enhanses the convolutions which are another desired trade-mark of hand-forming. The fine cracks on the outer surface add both a textual feature and a place for the glaze to collect. This gives the piece a quality that is decidely missing in mass-produced pots.

I am so impressed I have had to set my designer's hand to putting some ideas on paper for a chop pattern for Ravenna to chose. When she chooses one she will recieve a good chop to impress her pots with so future generations will know the artist who created them.

Attached Images

	Pot01-redlong.jpg (38.4 KB, 12 views)
	Pot02-Kusapinch2s.jpg (37.5 KB, 11 views)

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Ravenna

Hi Jim,

I am so sorry to hear that one of your pots is broken. I had thought that I had wrapped it up really well. Silly of me. Has I had been sent some plates in that kind of box I assumed it would hold. What broke off?

As regards your flowery description of the pots... that is an extremely kind description of my pots I can definitely hear the friend (and the salesman ) speaking here. It is good that I don't own the pots anymore - I would be nervous to handle these precious works of art myself after so much praise.


With the "chop" I assume you mean a stamp I should use when I make pottery? That is a very nice idea. I had been thinking of making one and had thought about a maple leaf till I saw that Bryan Albright has a stamp with a maple leaf. So at the moment I still have to think of something nice and it didn't seem that urgent. If you have any ideas tell me about them even if I am not quite sure I deserve to have such a mark yet (whatever you say... I fear I find it hard to believe that such praise is not blinded by your kindness... )

Again, I am really sorry that the pot broke. The other pots I sent were wrapped up in a smiliar way and so I assumed that it would be fine. I'll try to wrap it up better next time.

JLDoggett

I think it broke because the postal-idiot who opened the package, to inspect the contents, did a very poor job of repacking it. The upward tip was snapped off where it meets the tube. A drop of jeweler's cement and the break dissapeared on the outside. On the inside a couple of small chips show, but will be covered when I plant something in it. Maybe I can get my step-sister to part with some of her minature iris. I am still thinking on what would do justice to the other pot, Maybe a small larch?or an accent plant. They are both beautiful pots and I will cherish them always.

As for my critique: Flowery? a bad pun, and so untrue. I reviewed them with the same eye I would use on a students work (note my one comment on the amount of red glaze). Other than that, easily remedied, issue, you show a talent that is worth persuing. Trust me when I say I see a lot of student work where the schools should refund their tuition and suggest they look for work in a factory, your work is far above that standard. Not that you should quit your job and start a business tomorrow, but this could become a very rewarding craft to perfect now with plans to expand further in the future. It is not an easy business to make a living at, so I would never council anyone to enter it without a solid backing.

I showed the pots and the critique to a colleague before posting it and he agreed with me. So the critique has survived a peer-review. My friend is a professor at one of the local colleges where he teaches ceramic design. His only criticism was the lack of a signature and that I received them and not him.

As for the designs for the chop: I will e-mail you the ideas I have as soon as I get them finished. I will try to incorporate the maple-leaf idea into the pattern either as an over-all shape for it, or in the body of the stamp.

__________________
"Resolve to be tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant with the weak and wrong....because sometime in your life you will have been all of these"

And I further resolve to click on an ad, each time I visit, to help support the site and to be welcoming to lurking guests when you join! After all, you're already here.