Combing ones hair is an aesthetic statement as is mowing the
lawn. That hair combing lawn mowing suburbanites often prefer to spend vacation
time hiking in the woods eating granola bars is difficult for me to understand.
I prefer my wife’s hair in the morning as she gets out of bed, fresh,
and frizzy . I prefer her legs unmown and uncut as she prefers or at least understands
my preference for a beard. I comb, I cut, I “neaten” but only as
a necessary concession to an intolerant society.
In my clay making I strive to make expressive use of each process. I search
for new materials, alter clay recipes while I am mixing them, try new wheels
to throw new forms, use different surfaces, and fire in new ways. Conscious
decisions hopefully become subservient to less verbal priorities as thought
and action become partners.
Louis Katz
Combing ones hair is an aesthetic statement as is mowing the lawn. That hair combing lawn mowing suburbanites often prefer to spend vacation time hiking in the woods eating granola bars is difficult for me to understand. I prefer my wife's hair in the morning as she gets out of bed, fresh, frizzy. I prefer her legs unmown and uncut as she prefers or at least understands my preference for a beard. I comb, I cut, I "neaten" but only as a necessary concession to an intolerant society.
In my clay making I strive to make expressive use of each process. I search for new materials, alter clay recipes while I am mixing them, try new wheels to throw new forms, use different surfaces, and fire in new ways. Through process and gut level decision challenge manifests itself in the product. Conscious decisions become subservient to higher priorities and my issues become apparent in the work.
As an artist my rational consciousness is continually humbled by the expression that only reveals itself after 5 pm or when under stress. [IF A then B, A therefore B,] has its place in my life, but is a stumbling block that must always be hurdled before my clay gets a life of its own. Wonder, beauty, fulfillment, and humour seem hard to arrive at through logic, rationality, and easy neat smooth ideas.
Louis Katz
Nueces County, Texas Shevat 5757