Every piece that we make conveys a great deal of information that can be either very apparent or equally subtle. We can certainly easily grasp the intent of a mug or a pitcher, i.e., to contain a volume or to present/pour a volume. Intent can be that quality that sets a piece apart from its neighbors. Intent can be our will in ascribing form. But these are quite general and even very basic definitions that skirt around the real issue, and that is one of content. Content and meaning can also be concepts that fall into that plethora of “artspeak” terms and definitions that we can banter about ad nauseum.

Perhaps an easy way to illustrate how content can become a viable concept in making a simple mug is to take pencil to paper and begin to draw a series of cylinders, each with a different contour but falling into a 4” x 4” grid. Content can be seen in this basic design exercise in drawing as many different profiles so that each one is unique and can be further developed into a more refined form. Decoration is yet another way to develop content.

The point of such an exercise is to think visually beforehand, then take this image in your mind’s eye and attempt to create it in clay by whatever method works for you. I would posit that what the wheel brings is a degree of spontaneity that may not be possible when attempting to duplicate a drawn profile as the wheel turns. Here is perhaps one of the first steps in thinking as a designer first, on paper, rather than as a maker-cum-designer. While I think we all have some degree of ability to ascribe form as we are making it at the same time, designing with intent beforehand is that methodology that allows us to visualize and exercise the mind before making.

While many ceramic artists are quite adept in the multitasking of designing and making at the same time, it is precisely the drawing that allows us to conceptualize our thinking in a very real way. It is the image, the profile, that line and curve that contain a volume. Then we can proceed to whatever method we enjoy to make the work. It can be as simple as making a paper template that when curved and folded yields a maquettte that can then be used to cut a slab that can equally be formed in that shape. Designing takes many different approaches, and no one approach will work for everyone. But without a design intent, content becomes vacuous and nonexistent.

I am not a very good draftsman, but I can certainly get the point across so that what I see in my mind’s eye can be drawn on paper and then made by a variety of ceramic forming methods. The jigger and the RAM press pose interesting challenges. Slip casting is unique in that shapes can be open, closed or a myriad of other configurations, but each demands an understanding of design concepts unique to each method. While it is important to visualize, it is equally important to sketch or draw beforehand.

Visualizing in our minds eye is only part of a design process. I know many skilled potters who are very poor designers. We need to take the skill and process-oriented activities dedicated to the physical making of our wares and couple them with design process activities. What we create in clay will have the necessary content in its form and decoration to be even more successful once we understand that we need to be designers as well as makers of ceramics

Good design sells. It’s that simple.