david jp hooker
  • home
  • pottery
    • Pottery Shop
  • projects
  • blog
  • About David
  • contact me
  • wholesale

The Studio Chair

All It's Cracked Up To Be

4/10/2014

 

I've been spending a good deal of studio time over the past weeks repairing cracks. For a number of years I spent a lot of energy trying to avoid getting cracks in the first place, but now I think the cracks are just a part of the process. Well, at least in my work. As I often tell my students, I don't know anyone who has a more "stupid" approach to clay than I do. The construction method I use puts more stress on the clay as it shrinks than it can handle, so cracks have to happen. But it also leads to results you can't get any other way. And so I spend hours grinding up clay into a fine powder and applying it with vinegar into the cracks, building up layer after tiny layer of "patch." Hours. I would guess it's taken about 10 hours to repair the cracks in this one piece.

Still, I find that I find a certain joy and satisfaction in the work, a lesson I am trying to learn to apply to all the other work (which keeps me from being in the studio) that I have had to do lately. Things crack. They take a lot if time and energy to repair. There can be a lot of joy and satisfaction in giving yourself over to the task, to being really attentive to it. It's so surprisingly hard for me to live in the present.


Comments are closed.

    the studio chair

    A place for me to ramble on when I need to take a break.

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    December 2022
    November 2022
    July 2022
    April 2022
    February 2022
    December 2021
    November 2020
    March 2020
    June 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    August 2017
    October 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014

    Categories

    All
    Classes
    Exhibitions
    Inspirations
    New Work
    Teaching
    Work In Progress

About David  

David J. P. Hooker lives and works in the greater Chicago area, where he is an artist and Chair of the Art Department at Wheaton College. He received an M.F.A. in Ceramics from Kent State University and a B.A. in English from Furman University. 
 
His artistic practice explores the inherent value of materials, objects, and places, hoping to find ways to better connect and understand the world we live in. Recently he was awarded the Dunhuang Ceramic Residency and spent two months as artist in residence in Lanzhou, China. 
 
When David is not freaking out over deadlines, he enjoys spending time with his wife, Elaine, his children Abbey and Samuel, and the family cat, Evee. He also enjoys baseball, BBQ, and tennis—not necessarily in that order.

​

Contact David

  • home
  • pottery
    • Pottery Shop
  • projects
  • blog
  • About David
  • contact me
  • wholesale