Studio Potter Network Newsletter-March 1994

Viewfinder: Video Reviews by Richard Aerni

The first two videos reviewed here rank among the best in the recent flurry of videos which introduce the viewer to the basic techniques of potting. They are detailed, comprehensive, intelligent, high-quality productions.

Making Pots On The Wheel: Technique, Form and Function Featuring Jerry Horning 1993

6 Tape series. Length each 30-40 minutes. Format VHS. Purchase single tape $40.00; series $200.00. Write for brochure and more pricing information.

Making Pots on the Wheel, a six-tape series, features Jerry Horning, a potter and educator for nearly 30 years, demonstrating and explaining the techniques necessary to make pots which function well and express one's own personal aesthetic. Initially, when dealing with the most basic steps, the pacing is slow and involves repetition, as is necessarey for beginners. However, as the series progresses (each tape deals with new shapes and skills), the pace quickens and deft editing eliminates extraneous detail, so the viewer is able to focus on the new material.

What particularly impressed me was the complete though unobtrusive integration of Horning's own techniques and aesthetics. He is a former student of Warren MacKenzie, and it is evident that he is not a "tight" potter. What is important is that Horning shows how each decision along the way, including choice of clays, tools (some handmade), and techniques contributes to imprinting every pot with its own personality.

This video is an excellent resource for both beginning potters and institutions teaching ceramics (high school on up). It should also be of interest to more advanced potters for the aesthetic point of view.