L E T T E R S
SHIFTING PARADIGMS IN
CONTEMPORARY CERAMICS:
T h e G a rth C la rk a n d
M a r k D e l V e c c h io C o lle c tio n
MARCH
4
- JUNE
3 , 2 0 1 2
Organized by the MFAH. Generous funding is provided by Friends of
Contemporary Ceramics and The Susan Vaughan Foundation. Additional
funding is provided by supporters of Garth Clark and Mark Del Vecchio.
The 36th Annual Ruth K. Shartle Symposium at the
FAH
Shifting Paradigms in Contemporary Ceramics:
Garth Clark and Mark Del Vecchio Collection
Saturday,
arch 3,2012 at 1:00 p.m.
The
36
th Annual Ruth K. Shartle Symposium is made possible
by a generous grant from The Brown Foundation, Inc.
M
F A
H
T h e M
u s e u m o f F i n e A r t s
,
H o u s t o n
1001
Bissonnet at Main •
713
.
639.7300
• mfah.org
T o t h e E d i t o r
F r o m
O u r I n b o x
T h a n k y o u fo r th e o p p o rtu n ity
to share m y sto ry [ W h y I M a k e ,
on lin e]. O n e o f m y b ig g e st pu r-
poses is to encou rage artists,
assuring them th a t th e y can
m ake a liv in g w ith their art. I
lo v e to share that it
i s
possible,
n o m atter the barriers.
-M E R R Y R O SE N FIE L D
C le a r w a t e r , F lo r id a
I con gratu late y o u upon the
scholarship em b od ied in the
“ 70 Y ea rs o f M a k in g ” feature
[A u g ./S e p . 2011]. T h is ch ron ol-
o g y is a grea t service to our field
and w ill serve as a skeleton on
w h ich w e can build. T h e in ter-
v ie w w ith P a u lJ . S m ith on
A ileen W e b b [“W h o W a s A ileen
O sb o rn W e b b ? ” A u g ./S e p .]
is fa n tastic. H ere is h o p in g yo u
w ill con tin u e to d ocu m en t great
m om en ts and grea t in d ividuals
through yo u r leadership and
u n derstan din g.
-H E L E N W . D R U T T E N G L ISH
P h i la d e lp h i a
W e ll d on e and than k y o u for
“ 70 Y ea rs o f M a k in g .” T h a n k
y o u p articu larly for in clud in g
th e 1985 e n try on th e U n iv e r -
sity o f A la b a m a in T u sca lo o sa
lau n ch in g its M F A program
in b o o k arts.
I w as there from 1974 to 1991.
A s the first paid in stru cto r o f
basic letterpress p rin tin g, I
spen t m uch o f m y early years
scro u n gin g h eavier, n oisier, and
w e tte r equ ip m en t for the fifth-
floor m ain library quarters than
the fou rth -flo or special c o lle c -
tion s and rare b o o k s d ep a rt-
m en t un d erneath w as ever
co m fortable w ith .
T h e em phasis w as so le ly on
craftsm an ship. A s a con firm ed
craftsp erso n /artist, I w o rk e d
hard to ach ieve and m aintain a
co m fortable balan ce b e tw e e n
th e tw o w orld s.
C r e d it fo r th e p ro gra m ’s
c o n tin u in g su ccess is due to
th e h ard w o r k , d e d ica tio n ,
d ilig e n c e , care, and re a d ily
ap p a ren t co m fo rta b le b a la n ce
p ro v id e d b y th e in stru cto rs
there n ow : S teve M iller, A n n a
E m b re e , J e f f W e d d le , and
Sarah B ry a n t.
I d ee p ly h op e that som e-
one w ill furth er exp lo re the
partnership o f craft and art,
th e unclear lines that separate
the resultin g p ro cesses and
p ro d u cts, the d isco m fo rtin g
h igh le ve l o f bias am ong
p ra ctition ers, and w h e th e r
the tim e has com e fo r a n e w
com m on d escrip to r. S p e c ifi-
ca lly, w h en , h o w , and w h y do
crafts b eco m e arts?
-G L E N N H O U SE SR .
G o r d o , A la b a m a
W
e ’ d
l i k e t o h e a r f r o m
y o u
L o v e s o m e th in g in th e m a g a zin e or on a m erican craftm a g.o rg?
N o t so c r a z y a b o u t s o m e th in g else? L e t us k n o w . E m a il y o u r
th o u g h ts to le tte r s @ c r a ftc o u n c il.o r g - in clu d e y o u r fu ll n am e,
c ity , and phon e n u m b er - or ta lk to us on F a c e b o o k or T w it te r .
W e ’ ll pu b lish a cross se c tio n o f y o u r n otes as space p e rm its;
th e y m ay b e e d ite d for le n g th an d c la rity .
Aoki Katsuyo,
Predictive Dream,
2005
, porcelain, the MFAH, Garth Clark and Mark Del Vecchio
Collection, gift of Garth Clark and Mark Del Vecchio. ©
2006
Aoki Katsuyo
