Towards A Standard: Searching for Beauty

Enter the Inspirational Pottery and Book Pairings Giveaway (active until January 27th, 2017) and you could win one of our best Nuka Cobalt Mugs paired with a copy of “A Potter’s Book” by Bernard Leach, totally free. This story tells how “A Potter’s Book” inspired the creation of our “Standard Ware” line of pottery.

Bernard Leach dedicated “A Potter’s Book” to all potters. In additional to giving the reader everything he or she needed to create a life as a potter, he encouraged potters to aspire to a higher calling. Leach coined the term, “Towards A Standard” because he wanted potters to continually search for beauty.

Pots are like people. Some are thick and some are thin. A crack or chip in a mug resembles a scar in our skin. If your favorite coffee mug chips, do you throw it out? I sure don’t. I generally love it until it breaks completely, until the end of it’s life.

Leach was searching for beauty, but he admitted that beauty is arbitrary. Not everyone sees beauty the same, but through a lifelong investigation of historical pottery and open minded critique of ourselves and our pots, we might get closer to discovering more honest standards of beauty.

“It must always be remembered that the dissociation of use and beauty is a purely arbitrary thing. It is true that pots exist which are useful and not beautiful, and other that are beautiful and impractical; but neither of these extremes can be considered normal: normal is a balanced combination of the two.”

Bernard Leach, “A Potter’s Book” Page 44. Faber and Faber, 1940

A History of Wood-Fired Pottery and Hot Holiday Deals

Fired with Love: Wood-Fired Pottery and Giveaway

Fresh out of the kiln, we’ve got some hot pottery deals coming your way, including deals on Guinness World Record Planters, Nuka Cobalt Pottery, Mountain Pottery, plus a free Wood-Fired Serving Bowl giveaway.

The bottom of this post shows more about the deals. First, we want to celebrate another fantastic year of pottery by taking a look back through history to the origins of influence for Cherrico Pottery. To do this, we’re giving you a brief introduction to traditional wood-fired pottery, what makes it so unique, and why Joel chose to use this process for his Guinness World Record Planters.

A Brief History of Wood-Fired Pottery

Japanese potter at his wheel in 1914 (Left), A Two Story French Porcelain Pottery Kiln in 1880 (Right)

As long as there have been people, there have been potters. Modern potters typically fire with gas or electricity, but many historical potters fired with wood. The historical lineage of wood-fired ceramics that Joel practices comes from historical Japanese pottery, practiced as far back as the 5th century. The kiln design brought to Japan at this time was the anagama kiln, meaning “cave kiln” in Japanese.

Anagama kilns have a single chamber that does not separate the pottery from the flames of the fire, allowing the kiln to naturally color the pots from direct contact with fire and ash. The kilns are shaped in long, tunnel forms, with fire placed at the opening and pottery stacked in the back. Pottery is fired over several days or even over one week straight, depending on the size of the kiln.

Wood-Fired Pottery in Rural Minnesota

For a time, wood kilns became increasingly rare with the introduction of the electric kiln in the 20th century (which is what Joel uses to create most Cherrico Pottery). Thanks to a handful of pioneering potters, wood-kilns have since spread to the US, and more particularly to Joel’s neck of the woods in rural Minnesota.

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Richard Bresnahan (Left), Bresnahan blessing the Johanna Kiln at a lighting ceremony (Right)

Joel’s alma mater, the College of St. Benedict/Saint John’s University, is world renowned for revival of wood-fired pottery made by Richard Bresnahan. Bresnahan is a Master Potter who apprenticed under world class Japanese potters, the Nakazato family. He is currently serving as the director of The Saint John’s Pottery Studio and founded the studio in 1979. During this time, he found a clay deposit near the studio, which is still used to make nearly every one of the thousands of pots created by the studio annually. Bresnahan and his team also built the Johanna Becker Wood Firing Kiln, the largest of its kind in North America. Named after S. Johanna Becker, OSB, whom Bresnahan studied under, the kiln is fired about once every 1-2 years with artwork by Bresnahan, his apprentices and resident artists, other local potters and student work.

Cherrico Pottery’s Wood-Firing Process

Joel used a similar wood-firing process to create our Guinness World Record Pots. After these pots were dry, they were brought to a local kiln built by Joel’s mentor Sam Johnson, who apprenticed at the St. John’s Pottery decades ago. Sam now teaches at Joel’s alma mater CSB/SJU and fires one small anagama about twice each year. You can see the kiln and learn about it in this news article.

Each Guinness World Record Planter was fired by Joel in this small anagama in Saint Joseph, Minnesota (small is a relative term- it’s actually the size of a big car!). These planters were fired nonstop for 4 days at a heat up to 2400°F, meaning that the fire had to be stoked day and night to keep the temperatures up. Joel took the night shifts, firing midnight to 8am for four days straight.

Once the firing was completed, the pottery is finished and fully functional for everyday use. Joel also added blue paint to the pots to highlight the record numbers. This was inspired by artist Peter Voulkos, who commonly painted on his wood-fired pots and sculpture.

One of the benefits of the wood-firing process includes a more sustainable firing method than electric-powered firing, since trees are carbon neutral. The kiln is also fired almost entirely with waste cut-offs from a local lumber mill and dead fall from around the college campus.

The Guinness World Record pots were required by Guinness World Records to be planters of a certain size and shape. Clunky, little planters were a fun form for this historic project, so Joel chose an equally fun, historic firing process. A wood-fired kiln built by his mentor seemed like the perfect way to finish the world record pottery.

Limited Time Holiday Savings

These planters will cozy up your home with a natural form, rustic colors and the warm feeling you get knowing that you are an officially sanctioned participant in art history. Show your love to everyone this Holiday season by joining in this truly amazing, historical project. If you shop with us before Christmas, we’ll even give you a special deal.

GUINNESS WORLD RECORD PLANTER HOLIDAY PACKAGE

  • 20% OFF COUPON: POTTERY20
  • 1 FREE Nuka Cobalt Mug of your choosing.
  • 1 FREE Cosmic Mug of your choosing.
Here’s how you claim your free pottery:
  1. Simply purchase a Guinness World Record Planter before Thursday 12/15.
  2. View all of our available Cosmic Mugs and Nuka Cobalt Mugs.
  3. Email contact@cherricopottery.com a link to your favorite two mugs (one of each that is not sold out, please!)
  4. Or, simply email contact@cherricopottery.com and say, “Pick out two gorgeous mugs for me” and we will choose two of our best mugs to include with your order, totally free! We’ll even cover the extra shipping charges.

Plus we’ve got a few extra special deals for the holidays:

50% OFF NUKA COBALT POTTERY

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Use coupon code HOLIDAYCOBALT50 on your cart to save on all Nuka Cobalt Pottery.

40% OFF MOUNTAIN POTTERY

Use coupon code HOLIDAYMT40 on your cart to save on all Mountain Pottery.

PLUS A WOOD-FIRED SERVING BOWL GIVEAWAY

woodfired-serving-bowl

You also have a chance to win a unique wood-fired serving bowl completely free. In addition, we will include free shipping to the US and Canada with expected arrival by Christmas.

Get all of your holiday gifts checked off the list with these special deals. Coupons end on December 15th and our serving bowl giveaway ends on December 16th, so act fast before these deals are gone.

“It is a campfire of love. It is the incense lying on glowing charcoals, filling the air with sweet memory of breath. It is the fire of community, feeding a central flame and bonding humans to the planet in overlapping and diverse patterns.”

Richard BresnahanMaster Potter speaking on wood-firing pottery in First Fire

Photography by: Nicole Pederson

Good News/Bad News: Early Bird Package on Guinness World Record Pottery

Well, unfortunately the new Nuka Cobalt pots didn’t turn out as expected.

cherrico-nuka-cobalt-edited

Maybe I applied too much glaze. Perhaps I fired too quickly, or applied the glaze layers without proper drying time, maybe. In pottery, sometimes pots just don’t turn out as expected. The glaze “crawled” and dripped during the firing, revealing the clay underneath.

I sincerely apologize that these pots do not look the same as our standard line of “Nuka Cobalt” pots. However, they are 100% functional and still great pots. The only flaw is in the wild appearance that does not match our normal line of pots. In some ways, I actually like this wild, unpredictable style more.

So, we’re still moving forward with our Guinness World Record Pottery package:

  • 2 FREE Random Nuka Cobalt Spiral Mugs roughly 14-18 ounce size, shown above ($160 value: $65 + $15 packing and shipping each).
  • 2 FREE Random Nuka Cobalt Ice Cream Bowls, roughly 8oz. size, shown above ($120 value: $45 + $15 packing and shipping each).
  • Simply Purchase 1 Guinness World Record PotYou can even get 20% off, using this coupon: POTTERY20 ($179 value: $159 + $20 packing and shipping).

$459 value!
Limited Availability: Purchase before 11:59pm today, December 4th 

To get this package, simply purchase your favorite Guinness World Record Pottery from our online store here and we will include all four of the above Nuka Cobalt pottery pieces, totally free, without adding even a dime to shipping costs. You can even use this 20% off coupon: POTTERY20

Purchase World Record Pottery + 4 Free Nuka Cobalt Pots

cherrico-pottery-guinness-world-record-edited

We’re planning one more awesome coupon package for the Holiday season. Stay tuned for more Holiday pottery deals on Nuka Cobalt Pottery and Cosmic Mugs.

cosmic-mugs-cherrico-pottery

Problems are eternal, get rid of one and another appears. Pottery problems, disastrous firings, irresponsible galleries, etc. are often devastating if we don’t regard them as experiences. Seen in this light, problems often set the stage for creative action and allow us the opportunity to self expression.

– Jenny Lind, Quoted in The Studio Potter, A Question of Quality, 1979

Today Only: Early Bird Package on Guinness World Record Pottery

Even though we had a rough firing, this is still a great opportunity to get a great deal on great pots. They’re funky, but still 100% functional and even more interesting in many ways.

nuka-cobalt-cherrico-edited

Maybe I applied too much glaze. Perhaps I fired too quickly, or applied the glaze layers without proper drying time, maybe. In pottery, sometimes pots just don’t turn out as expected. The glaze “crawled” and dripped during the firing, revealing the clay underneath.

I sincerely apologize that these pots do not look the same as our standard line of “Nuka Cobalt” pots. However, they are 100% functional and still great pots. The only flaw is in the wild appearance that does not match our normal line of pots. In some ways, I actually like this wild, unpredictable style more.

So, we’re still moving forward with our Guinness World Record Pottery package:

  • 2 FREE Random Nuka Cobalt Spiral Mugs roughly 14-18 ounce size, shown above ($160 value: $65 + $15 packing and shipping each).
  • 2 FREE Random Nuka Cobalt Ice Cream Bowls, roughly 8oz. size, shown above ($120 value: $45 + $15 packing and shipping each).
  • Simply Purchase 1 Guinness World Record PotYou can even get 20% off, using this coupon: POTTERY20 ($179 value: $159 + $20 packing and shipping).

$459 value!
Limited Availability: Purchase before 11:59pm today, December 4th 

To get this package, simply purchase your favorite Guinness World Record Pottery from our online store here and we will include all four of the above Nuka Cobalt pottery pieces, totally free, without adding even a dime to shipping costs. You can even use this 20% off coupon: POTTERY20

Purchase World Record Pottery + 4 Free Nuka Cobalt Pots

cherrico-guinness-world-record-nuka-cobalt-edited

Early Bird Special: valid until 11:59pm December 4th 

We’re planning one more awesome coupon package for the Holiday season. Stay tuned for more Holiday pottery deals on Nuka Cobalt Pottery and Cosmic Mugs.

cosmic-mugs-cherrico-pottery

“You have to be passionate about one thing. Be great at one thing. The world will reward your knowledge of a very narrow field…Tom Brady gets paid 25 million dollars per year to throw the ball. Be Tom Brady…Be world class at one thing.”

Robert Herjavec, businessman, investor, author, quoted in this Fast Company interview.

Robert Herjavec (Dragons' Den) with daughter in Gemini Awards Tastemakers Lounge
Robert Herjavec (Dragons’ Den) with daughter in Gemini Awards Tastemakers Lounge

Tomorrow Only: Early Bird Package on Guinness World Record Pottery

Tomorrow only, we’re offing an awesome deal on Guinness World Record Pottery. We’re still putting it together as pottery emerges from the kiln, but it will likely include four FREE pieces of Nuka Cobalt Pottery.

Set an alarm. Check your email at 10am Central Time tomorrow and you won’t miss this deal. It will only be available for one day. Sorry for the short timeline, but these awesome pottery packages tend to sell quickly and we can’t continue this awesome deal if pots are sold out. This is your perfect chance to get an amazing deal on a historically famous piece of art and world history.

cherrico-pottery-nuka-cobalt-guinness-world-records

“What if it were easy? What would that look like?”

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Tim Ferriss, quoted on his podcast: The Tim Ferriss Show. The irony of this quote is that in my “Quotes from Influences” Google Doc archive, I simply typed, “Tim Ferriss, Spring 2016 podcast” as the source. Not so easy to cite. So, I then spent hours sifting through his podcast episodes trying to find a proper citation, like Episode #146 with technologist Kevin Rose or Episode #144 that ranges from the genius of Ben Franklin to conquering Lyme Disease. I didn’t find the source, but the quote was too good to pass up. It’s something I ask myself often. Believe it or not, it usually makes things easier.