SIMON LEVIN
I feel like I have so many projects in process I have decided to use the front page of this website as a blog format with regular (monthly) updates.
| I am thrilled to announce that I am now a guest blogger on Michael Kline's blog Sawdust and Dirt. It's the best of both worlds; I can blog but don't need to be dilligent. I also get to be silly, since we chose a question and answer forum called "Simon Says". The first posting is Feburary 5th 2010 |  |
| In October I traveled to Tainan National University of Arts in southern Taiwan to build this kiln I designed for them. We built the kiln then I presented at an international woodfire symposium. I was deeply honored to have this opportunity to meet and work with new colleagues. You can see the kiln building process at woodfire.com/tainan |  |
| I just added a video page of stop motion films of me working at the wheel. Over the next couple months I will be making several of these videos throwing different forms. And yes, I do take requests. |  |
| It is a huge honor to announce that the bottle on the right just won first place at Strictly Functional Pottery National show. This is the 17th annual SFPN, a show that has always been a benchmark of contemporary American ceramics. Each year a different jurror selects the work. This year's jurror was Pete Pinnell. This is my 8th time participating in the show and a pleasure to have won first prize. You can see all the fantastic work here. |  |
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| I have started a world map of wood kilns. I am asking owners of woodkilns to email me or my friend Josh Harmony information about their kilns so I can place them on the map. You can see the map here. |  |
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In March Ceramics Monthly asked me to write a 1000 word article on my life as a working potter for a continuing collection of essays on this topic. That article is now out and available. The article covers my approach to business and clay, as well as promotional efforts. You can see the article here. or my past articles here. |
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What makes a pot good? Ceramics is a form of non verbal communication. Like sculpture, functional pottery can be experienced visually. However, a pot also speaks to us through the way it feels in our hands. The synergistic experience of weight, color, texture, reveals a truth to us; that is a good pot. When you first handle a piece of pottery, you can see the maker's hands shaping the pot and the fire's touch. These sensations connect us to the journey the clay has made. So begins the relationship between the user and the ware. Pressing your lips against a favorite mug full of warm liquid is an intimate moment that serves as a daily reaffirmation of that relationship.
Wood-firing is an ancient process: a product of thousands of years of history and innovation. Firing with wood requires close connection between potter and process. Wood-firing results in a product that is as unique as it is beautiful. Each pot speaks of its form and experience. Good wood-fired work is alive with subtlety.
As you explore these pages you will find details about my philosophy and information about the wood-firing process. Each piece is an individual work of art, the best of which can be purchased at my online store.
