Probably the single most important lesson I had in school was one on the word and concept “ethnocentrism”. I believe that the class was in fourth grade. It could have been fifth. I grew up in a suburb of Detroit, a “shtetl”, an area of >90% Jews. I believe that the word was part of the curriculum for that grade as others I have talked to had similar lessons. Its inclusion, not having anyone to ask about it, seems likely the result of, a response to, antisemitism, The Holocaust, and ongoing problems. For me the lesson was critical.
Ethnocentrism is the concept that from within a cultural viewpoint the actions of the culture seem consistent, meaningful, sensible and from without they can seem otherwise. That our views of things are guided, framed, by our cultural standpoint. Ethnocentrism is strongest in monolythic cultures, but certainly exists in multicultural environments. It is often, maybe always, a root cause of “isms” such as racism, ageism,  nationalism, religiocentrism, etceteraism. 
The lesson  and the thoughts related to it tied itself over the years to many different topics in my daily goings on. So many that it seems like it is part of every day, every thought, every moment,, connected, a sinew atttach hair to toenails.
At the University of Michigan in a course in The Pilot Program, a living/learning environment/dorm/community at Alice Lloyd Hall I took a class called “An Overview of Low Energy Technology” taught by a multi-talented individual, Jim Burgel. One of the requirements, seemingly unrelated to this course, was reading, “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance”. This book, although seemingly on a different topic than ethnocentrism melded into this topic. In some ways the book is about how our concept of the world changes how we percieve it, and how there are different ways to conceptualize the world.
At the same time I was taking an Art History Survey course, An Overview of Far Eastern Art History taught by Professor Walter Spinks. In it, at the beginning of each section, he tried to give us an overview of how a people percieved the world, what concepts guided their thoughts. I remember much of what he said about Taoism. I found it captivating. Later in the semester we discussed Buddhism and Zen Buddhism, and the illusory nature of our concept of reality. Over the years it took hold. An interesting look at this is contained in The Jews in the Lotus, by Rodger Kamenetz. The book is a discussion of the events leading  up to a meeting between a group of Jews and the Dali Lama. The Dali Lama was trying to understand how a people can live and thrive in exile and wanted to talk with experts.
But in the book there is a short discussion of JewBu’s, Jews who become Buddhists. There seems to be a lot of these. It seems, although hard to quantify, that the Jewish mindset meshes well with Buddhism. I do not have any great insight on this. I cannot step far enough out to gain perspective. The one idea that I do have is that both frameworks are very abstract.
So, what does this have to do with “Flux”?
The word has many meanings, lots of definitions, and exists in many realms. But this discussion is its use in Ceramics. There are lots of definitions, complications,  overlaps, inconsistencies. how ceramics melt and sinter, just is not a simple subject.
Perhaps the most general definition is, “A flux is a chemical that promotes melting”.  Great! It is a nice concept. As you add say calcium oxide to a clay body or a glaze that has none it melts easier and easier at a lower and lower temperature. The problems are that there is a lower limit below which it does not seem to help the melt, or at least not much. There is also a limit of the material above which it does exactly the opposite, prevent melting.
The relationship, and the problem with the word “flux” as it is used here is best illustrated with calcium oxide (calcia), aluminum oxide (alumina) and silicon dioxide (silica). These three ingredients form a nice looking stoneware glaze and sit close to some traditional celadon recipes from China. If you take the lowest melting composition, you can mix it with one part of kaolin clay, one part ground quartz sand, and one part limestone, you can illustrate the complexity.The limestone is traditionally called the “flux”. But if you remove the alumina the melting temperature goes up. Alumina in this composition helps the melting. It is by this definition a “flux”. The same thing is true of silica. As you remove the silica, the melting temperature goes up, it fluxes the alumina and limestone. As you remove the limestone, the samme thing happens. Each of these materials fluxes each other. Understanding this is critical to understanding glazes.
So the next most useful way to pidgeon-hole materials is to remove the silca and call it a glass former and alumina as a stabilizer or amphoteric. This makes the definition of a flux something that helps the alumina and silica to melt or sinter. This makes a lot of sense. It is unusual for us to add silica to lower and melting point. Normally what we seem to recognize and encounter is that adding it to glaze, after a certain point, raises the melting temperature. Alumina starts raising the melting temperature in much smaller quantities. But at temperatures down to the very low temperatures for glazes, little bits of alumina lower the melting points.
Hermann Seger developed the modern pyrometric cone,  a device for measuring the temperature and time components of the melting of glazes. Little tall cones of glaze materials, “cones” are made of the materials used for making glazes. At certain temperatures, after a certain amount of time they begin to melt and slump over. The can be spyed, throught what in the US is called a spy or peephole to determine the maturation of glazes in a kiln.
In doing so, he developed or at least further developed a system for analysis of glaze, still used today, called the “Unity Formula”. Rather than opperate on weights of materials, the unity formula uses counts of molecules, or moleclar equivalents in the glaze.
The unity formula is divided into three columns. The first is “The Fluxes” the second is “The Glass Formers”, the third is the “Modifiers”. But as simple as this seems, it too is an oversimplification, and some call the first column RO/R2O meaning items that take the form of an atom or two of a metal (R)  and a single atom of “O”, oxygen. The second column is the RO2 (one metal two oxygens) and the third is R2O3. Fine.
The material where the fit is the worst is Boric Acid, B2O3. By formula it should exist in the modifiers. But we add it to lower the temperature, a flux, but it forms glass by itself and is a glassformer.  Most of us have left it in the third column but it needs to be thought about on its own.
We used to have a fourth grouping, “colorants”. Some of us still use this grouping. These are things that we add to glazes to change hues, or to add hues. The problem is that most of these materials also  act as fluxes, or help lower the melting temperature of the silica glass. Some of these exist in different forms depending on the temperature and composition of the gases they are melted in.  Some can loose oxygen as they are heated, some loose some of their oxygen if heated in a gas containing carbon monoxide or hydrogen, and some change how they function depending on their quantities, really all of them do.
Like many other things involving the definitions of words, “what is a flux” can become a turf war, especially between people who see the word or words as a real map of reality. For those, the word gets confused with the hopelessly complex reality. I too can get caught in this trap. I am not sure who does not or cannot. If the Buddha, the “all knowing and aware one” exists, than I suppose, again by definition, they are not confused.
Words, the concept of them create a box from which we see the world. We define colors, speeds as fast or slow, temperatures as hot or cold, objects are cars or boxes, we create our world with our words and concepts.
Because of this I have a tendency to “dedefine words”. Art rather than being on object made by an artist, becomes “any object of intelligence”. But even this is not as broad as my real desire, nature too is art. So every object, idea, concept is art. Art is everything. It just become another “everything word”. It describes a particular set of glasses through which you view existence. The other problem in the “object made by an artist’ is that I define everyone as an “artist”. 
Now there are ideas in the West that embody at least part of this connected all/everything. I call these ideas, or box them in, with the concept “everything words”. We here these all the time. “Everything is G-d”, Everything is Love, Everything is Chemistry, Everything is Physic, Math, Science, Psychology. And in my terms, Everything is Art. The truth here seems to be that everything is everything.  But I find that I need to qualify this, Everything is Everything except when it is not.

With help from google, an old Caravan song I can now understand more completely. I have been listening to it for nearly 40 years and understanding more and more. Its time to put some work into it.
ด้วยความช่วยเหลือจาก google เพลงคาราวานเก่า ๆ ตอนนี้Louisสามารถเข้าใจได้อย่างสมบูรณ์มากขึ้น

คืนรัง คาราวาน หงา

โอ้ยอดรัก ฉันกลับมา
my dear I’m back
จากขอบฟ้า ที่ไกลแสนไกล
from the edge of the sky, the horizon, far far away
จากโคนรุ้ง ที่เนินไศล
from the bottom of the rainbow at the base of the hill
จากใบไม้ หลากสีสัน
from various colored leaves
ฉันเหนื่อย ฉันเพลีย ฉันหวัง
worn, tire, I hope
ฝากชีวิต ให้เธอเก็บไว้
to give her life to keep
ฝากดวงใจ ให้นอนแนบรัง
leave your heart to keep, sleep in place of comfort?(nest)
ฝากดวงตา และความมุ่งหวัง
leave your eyes and hopefulness
อย่าชิงชัง ฉันเลยยอดรัก
do not abhor me, I am so in love.
นานมาแล้ว เราจากกัน
long ago we parted
โอ้คืนวัน นั้นแสนหน่วงหนัก
that night was heavy and painful
ดั่งทุ่งแล้ง ที่ไรเพิงพัก
like a dry field where nothing rests
ดั่งภูสูง สูงสุดสอย
as the mountain the highest mountain
โอ้ยอดรัก ฉันกลับมา
oh my love I return
ดั่งชีวา ที่เคยล่องลอย
like a life afloat
มาบัดนี้ ที่เราเฝ้าคอย
Come, this is what we await
เจ้านกน้อย โผคืนสู่รัง
the little bird flies back to the nest
นานมาแล้ว เราจากกัน
We parted long ago
โอ้คืนวัน นั้นแสนหน่วงหนัก
Oh a night so heavy
ดั่งทุ่งแล้งที่ ไรเพิงพัก
like a dry field where nothing rests
ดั่งภูสูง สูงสุดสอย
as the highest mountain
โอ้ยอดรัก ฉันกลับมา
My love, I return
ดั่งชีวา ที่เคยล่องลอย
มาบัดนี้ ที่เราเฝ้าคอย
like a life afloat
เจ้านกน้อย โผคืนสู่รัง
a little bird flies back to the nest
ฉันเหนื่อย ฉันเพลีย ฉันหวัง
I am tired, I am weary, I hope

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssOvl5WM_0s UNICEF Concert Album (I think)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCA2aaMHFOs หงา คาราวาน (Official Audio)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-48LT-swQE Thai PBS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXFdVi3Zvok Khon Dankwian (Lyrics)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-48LT-swQE Thai PBS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnX3weyNPr4 ปู พงษ์สิทธิ์ คัมภีร์

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeRiI1E9GVU Orawee Sujjanon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VoLhFpUWfoSek Loso

 

Flowers from the Garden
ขอมอบ ดอกไม้ ในสวน
I offer, I ask  the flower from the garden
นี้เพื่อมวล ประชา
for the people, the publci
จะอยู่ แห่งไหน จะใกล้ จะไกล จนสุดขอบฟ้า
for you where you are foreverขอมอบ ความหวัง ดั่งดอกไม้ ผลิ
I offer, I ask, for you hope, as in a flower

สด ไสว งาม ตา
Fresh and bright, eyes of beauty
เป็นกำลังใจ ให้ คุณ
to give you encouragement, motivation
เป็นกำลังใจ ให้ เธอ
to give you dear motivation
เป็นสิ่งเสนอ ให้ มา
this is the offering given

ดวงตะวัน ทอ แสง
sunshine
มิถอยแรง อัปรา
there is a retreat
เป็น เปลวไฟที่ไหม้ นาน
Its a long burning flame
เป็น สายธารที่ชุ่ม ป่า เป็น แผ่นฟ้า ทาน ทน
t’s a stream that’s wet, a forest, it’s the sky, enduring

ดวงตะวัน ทอแสง
sunshine
มีถอยแรงอัปรา
there is a retreat(?)
เป็น เปลวไฟที่ไหม้ นาน
Its a long burning flame
เป็น สายธารที่ชุ่ม ป่า เป็น แผ่นฟ้า ทาน ทน
It’s a stream that’s wet, a forest, it’s the sky, enduring

ขอมอบ ดอกไม้ ในสวน
I offer, I ask  the flower from the garden
ให้หอมอบอวล สู่ ชน
to let its fragrance crash ????
จงสบ สิ่ง หวัง ให้สม ตั้งใจ
Something about hope conscientious?
ให้คลาย หมอง หม่น
calm down, chill?
ก้าว ต่อไป ตราบชีวิต สุด
move forward towards life’s end
ดุจ กระแส ชล
like the flow of fresh water (lakes, streams?)
เป็นกำลังใจ ให้ คุณ
I give you encouragement
เป็นกำลังใจ ให้ เธอI give you encouragement dear
เป็นสิ่งเสนอ ให้ คุณ
เป็นกำลังใจ ให้ คุณ
เป็นกำลังใจ ให้ เธอ
เป็นสิ่งเสนอ ให้ คุณ
เป็นกำลังใจ ให้ คุณ
เป็นกำลังใจ ให้ เธอ
เป็นสิ่งเสนอ ให้ คุณ
เป็นกำลังใจ ให้ คุณ
เป็นกำลังใจ ให้ เธอ
เป็นสิ่งเสนอ ให้ คุณ..

 

Collected notes.

“Wirasak Sunthawnnsi (taj. วีระศักดิ์ สุนทรศรี, ur. 24.07.1950 r. – Bangkok, Tajlandia – zm. 17.12.2021 r. – Prowincja Samut Prakan, Tajlandia) – tajski gitarzysta i wokalista. Jeden z założycieli rockowego zespołu Caravan, dziś określanego mianem kultowej kapeli rockowej Azji Południowo-Wschodniej. Caravan jest muzyczną wizytówką Tajlandii lat 70., 80. i 90. XX w. Poniżej grupa Caravan w nastrojowej balladzie „Khon Phu Khao”. Wirasak Sunthawnnsi (Thai: วีระศักดิ์ สุนทรศรี, born July 24, 1950 – Bangkok, Thailand – died December 17, 2021 – Samut Prakan Province, Thailand) – Thai ski guitarist and vocalist. One of the founders of the rock band Caravan, today known as the cult rock band of Southeast Asia. Caravan is the musical showcase of Thailand in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Below, the group Caravan in the romantic ballad “Khon Phu Khao”.”https://zazyjkultury.pl/world-music-ostatnio-odeszli-od-nas-2022/