bonsaiTALK Community - View Single Post - American potters and the wheel

Al,

I think the reason there is a perception out there that American potters don't do square containers is because American potters don't get much exposure. European pots have become fashionable and more well known as they get exhibited at shows and in magazines.

There are many American potters that make a wide variety of shapes, glazes and quality work. The list you have of the American potters that make excellent bonsai pots is pretty extensive. There are a few more too. Could there be more? Sure, but there's really no shortage now. American potters are producing alot of shapes, not only wheelthrown.

Ron Lang www.langbonsai.com makes excellent, heavy, quality ovals, and other shaped containers and intentionally moved away from wheelthrown work a couple of years ago. His ovals are among the best I've seen and his ash glazes rival Horsts' best work. Don Gould http://www.bonsai-wbff.org/wbc5/presenters/dongould.htm also makes extremely nice containers, although he has only recently gotten back into the bonsai game--with ram molded pots. He also made (don't know if he's taken this up again) extremely nice slab-built containers. Nick Lenz is also an astounding American bonsai potter. His work can be found for sale from time to time and his best work (which I got to see once during a fluke private tour of the Nat. Arb.'s bonsai pot collection--don't ask how I got in ;-)) is awe-inspiring AND all square and rectangle-shaped.

Check out Sara Rayner's web site. There are many options for squares and rectangles-- I have two of her large square and rectangle slab-built pots and one oval--none are wheel thrown. Go to http://www.redwing.net/~daalms/rectangle.html. Sara had about the same mix of squares, rectangles, ovals and rounds in the dozens of pots displayed at WBFF this year, by the way.

I am no potter, but have become a pot collector--my pots are alot better than my trees ;-). I have European pots from Krebs, Horst, Albright, and a couple of others from overseas. I can compare work (yes this is subjective) from a wide variety of potters. Let me say--as a non-potter--that the best American work is bullet proof--sometimes vastly surpassing some of the European work--at half, to a third, the cost.

There is no real shortage of right angles in their work ;-)

P.S.--I've left Dale off the list here. That is not meant as a slight. His work is pretty well know to those on this list. That work speaks for itself. It is terrific. The others I listed may not be as known to forum members.

22-Aug-2005	#3
rockm bonsaiTALK ArchMaster Join Date: Oct-2003 Location: Fairfax, Va Country: USA USDA Zone: 7 AHS Heat Zone: ? Posts: 4,561	Al, I think the reason there is a perception out there that American potters don't do square containers is because American potters don't get much exposure. European pots have become fashionable and more well known as they get exhibited at shows and in magazines. There are many American potters that make a wide variety of shapes, glazes and quality work. The list you have of the American potters that make excellent bonsai pots is pretty extensive. There are a few more too. Could there be more? Sure, but there's really no shortage now. American potters are producing alot of shapes, not only wheelthrown. Ron Lang www.langbonsai.com makes excellent, heavy, quality ovals, and other shaped containers and intentionally moved away from wheelthrown work a couple of years ago. His ovals are among the best I've seen and his ash glazes rival Horsts' best work. Don Gould http://www.bonsai-wbff.org/wbc5/presenters/dongould.htm also makes extremely nice containers, although he has only recently gotten back into the bonsai game--with ram molded pots. He also made (don't know if he's taken this up again) extremely nice slab-built containers. Nick Lenz is also an astounding American bonsai potter. His work can be found for sale from time to time and his best work (which I got to see once during a fluke private tour of the Nat. Arb.'s bonsai pot collection--don't ask how I got in ;-)) is awe-inspiring AND all square and rectangle-shaped. Check out Sara Rayner's web site. There are many options for squares and rectangles-- I have two of her large square and rectangle slab-built pots and one oval--none are wheel thrown. Go to http://www.redwing.net/~daalms/rectangle.html. Sara had about the same mix of squares, rectangles, ovals and rounds in the dozens of pots displayed at WBFF this year, by the way. I am no potter, but have become a pot collector--my pots are alot better than my trees ;-). I have European pots from Krebs, Horst, Albright, and a couple of others from overseas. I can compare work (yes this is subjective) from a wide variety of potters. Let me say--as a non-potter--that the best American work is bullet proof--sometimes vastly surpassing some of the European work--at half, to a third, the cost. There is no real shortage of right angles in their work ;-) P.S.--I've left Dale off the list here. That is not meant as a slight. His work is pretty well know to those on this list. That work speaks for itself. It is terrific. The others I listed may not be as known to forum members.