Gay asked me to comment a little more on the Mike Dodd book so here goes. (That's one of Mike's yunomi on the left).
The book is really a loose history of Mike's life including his early years and how he came to pottrey. The book includes a collection of articles that he wrote over the last 25 years or so as well as articles written about Dodd and his pots. The pots in the book are remarkable, mostly color images of very good quality. Interspersed among all this is commentary by the author.
I loved reading about Dodd's start in pottery and was amazed to hear how many times he's moved his pottery. I have always worried about having to move all this stuff, Dodd often had no choice and each move came with new discoveries and growth I think. He is certainly a deep person with strong convictions and feelings about pots and about life. The book touches on his personal life and his becoming a vegan.
His pots are the kind I have always been drawn to. Strong, healthy forms with expressive decoration and beautiful, deep glazes made from local materials. I often want to make these kinds of pots, but I don't think it's my nature (that's another post). Anyhow this is a good read and something that is easy to come back to again and again because of the format.
|