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Images have long looked out from pots. Drawn, scratched or painted, they speak of myths and nature and woman and gods.
The first stick to trace an image in soft clay began a communication of ideas and concepts continuing on through today. While technology may change, the need of the potter to express himself on the surface of his pots remains a strong motivating force.
Photography is the image-maker of our time. We need not look far to see its impact on the arts. McLuahanites, we evoke a hot real world on a mirror of ourselves. If pots are ourselves, and if the space and time we inhabit reflects in truth the mystery of our origin, the Sung and T'ang are not along our roots, but also, Nixon.
On first looking into the ceramic work of Howard Kottler, Robert Engel, and others, I was intrigued by the use of photography on pottery. These potters were making use of Victorian techniques to produce witty contemporary statements. It appeared to me, however, that steps required for decal-making and photo-silkscreening were complicated and might preclude wider use. I wondered if one could go directly to the pot with a light-sensitive emulsion.
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