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    All we ask is that the form be appropriate to the function, be that pouring, serving or ceremony. So, if technique and function are almost meaningless, where do we look for the goodness, for the virtuous aesthetic?

     Having ruled out the two quantifiable, physical attributes of all ceramic objects, we are left with qualities that exist in thought, expression, vocabulary and conversation. These qualities do not always lend themselves to exact interpretation. Yet they are infinitely more interesting than just technique and function. These inexact attributes are found in some uncertain combinations of items from this incomplete list: charm, potency, feel, exaggeration, uniqueness, familiarity, simplicity, complexity, allegory, adroitness, seduction, grace, symbolism, ambiguity, heft, surprise, character, congruence, posture, animation, imagery, balance and suggestion. Add to that something for later, acquired iconic status.

     While these characteristics are certainly real, for many of us, they are imprecise. These characteristics seldom stand alone, but we can usually distinguish between, say, a bold profile and an incipient profile. Yet the difference between something which is retiring and something else which is vague is not so clear. Can I see, much less make, a form that is athletic yet not aggressive? Can I create a form which is graceful but not relaxed? These distinctions can be hard to grasp, especially when they exist in combination with other qualities from the list.

     Looking for a challenge? Pick three or four of the above attributes and try to make a series of pots that manifest those qualities in various degrees. It’s starting backwards, but experience says that enduring (meaning great) ceramic work will comport with this suggestion. If we pick usually well-regarded work, say large figures by Viola Frey (see image to the left), we’ll see the elements from the list: a uniquely complex image carried by a passively animated posture. The result is eye catching and clearly emotive. Do those descriptors completely explain the work? No, but they begin to direct us to a way of looking at Frey’s figures and they offer a context for our understanding, a context that may have been previously unavailable to us, a context that leads to meaning, a context that reveals content.

     On occasion, vocabulary, prose or poetry will have a nearly direct connection with a ceramic form. I’m thinking of a line from Bob Dylan: “The geometry of innocence is flesh on the bone . . .” and I’m brought immediately to one of those great Richard DeVore bowls (see image at right). Was a man-made form ever more virginal and a surface more succulent? By this example we see that a precise and perceptive aesthetic vocabulary is a beginning, but there is more to a deep appreciation of any art form. After all, looking involves both understanding and feeling, and the feeling usually comes first.

      We can access that appreciation by acquiring both discipline and tenacity. In their practice we become absorbent. As a result, we will gain insight, sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. Like so much of life, art reveals itself in stages. In fact, that is one of the best tests of real substance, of real art. If a thing, any thing, can be completely understood in a flash, it’s probably not art. The easy example is a

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