Form/Function

“There is no fullness or complete realisation of utility without beauty, refinement or charm, for the simple reason that their absence must in the long run be intolerable to both maker and consumer” - Bernard Leach 

I like this quote. I think it’s part of the function of an everyday object to be beautiful and to pay attention to details. I could use any cup to drink my morning coffee from. If I am treating the function of the cup as holding coffee to drink, the cup only needs to be able to hold the coffee without leaking or burning my hands, and to have an opening I can drink from. This cup would serve the objective utility of a cup. However, for me there is a whole other realm of qualities that let me really enjoy using a piece of pottery. 

These qualities are more subjective, and consider the connection between the person and the cup. In my work, as well as making sure that the cup does its basic job, I like to consider how I feel when I look at the proportions and glaze surface of the piece, and the details of what it is like to hold in my hands. 

To be aware of these qualities, I need to be connected to my own sense of satisfaction and be paying attention to what I feel in moments of my everyday life. Paying attention to everyday life is a value of mine, and I’m trying to encourage it in myself and hopefully others through my work.

Of course, when attention is given to the experience of using a cup, people will have different responses and preferences. It makes sense to me to create pottery based on my own experience, and in the process of that, I might end up making objects that other people enjoy too.