When I was a kid my mother frequently took me to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.  I particularly liked what I thought were large bulbous Chinese porcelain vases and jars.  Years later I began making replicas of these historical porcelains: bottles, vases and covered jars, thinking my recollection was pretty accurate.

 I have worked with porcelain on the wheel for decades.  I really enjoy the white clay and all of its “pain-in-the-ass” characteristics.  It was difficult at first because it has a consistency like cream cheese.  It doesn’t stand up and seems to lack plasticity.  In time I figured out that you have to start with really stiff clay and use very little water while throwing it.  I gradually began to glaze these vessels with pastel colors.  I thought that these soft, smooth, sensuous surfaces suited the preciousness of the pure white porcelain clay. Years later, during a return visit to the MFA in Boston, I realized to my amazement that the Chinese pots weren’t as elegantly made as I had made mine.  They were beautiful, but I had exoticized them.