Monday, February 20, 2023

GOOD IDEA


I first saw this pot at a somewhat obtuse angle and was immediately drawn to the simplicity and honesty of the lines and form. Constructed from several pieces and a rather good idea, the pot has a sense of disparate angles and curves all working in a well choreographed routine that is further enhanced by the wood firing from which it has emerged. The simple process of wood firing has worked to maximum advantage painting the surface with rich, red flashing and varying tones of green to sandy brown ash drifting and highlighting planes and angles around the surface. Perhaps the third act of this play is the daily encounter with sunlight and shadow that like clockwork drifts across the pot, illuminated subtleties and hidden features while the sun reaches its apex and then moves on across other pots on the shelves.    

Like so many of his pots, this is part of an ongoing series by Canadian potter, Bruce Cochrane and if I was going to sum up his work I think I would use the Paul Rand quote as the best description that I have at my disposal;  "Simplicity is not the goal. It is a by-product of a good idea and modest expectations."