What I am about?
Stephen Driver
I think that the making of functional pots as a subversive activity. What I make is Art but most people would consider what I do as Craft or Decorative Art, or just pottery , a diminished status. Subversive in that my intent is to design and make objects for daily use that communicate and convey, something much more than just utilitarian function. The Japanese have a phrase, yo no bi that translates as “the beauty of using an object” Subversive in that the using of a well designed and handmade object in use is part of my art. An art encounter in plain sight. I like to call it “the secret life of objects”.
Welcome! I am hopelessly lost when it comes building and maintaining a webpage. Maybe a little neurotic. This site is also a window into my ideas and influences. I am a potter who loves to make functional pots that grow out of traditional influences and processes. But there is so much more to making good pots. Good pots are as profound as any other form of human expression. There influences on my work over time. Philosophically, I have been deeply influence by the artist Marcel Duchamp. Duchamp art is so much more than a repurposed urinal. Hee is one the most important thinkers/makers of art of the twentieth century. I am particularly enamored with his concept of “the serious joke”. My use of the “serious joke is most obvious in invention of domain names. They might look like real enterprises and in more capable hands might even be successful businesses. Domain names like Little Stevie’s Raccoon Removal, Ozark Wabi or Quasi Wabi are born out of actual experiences and I am very serious about them, but they are also a joke, A serious joke, much like Duchamp’s “50cc of Paris Air” or many of his other Readymades. My collection of domain names are part of my fantasy corporate empire. I actually make my own jam. I do help my neighbors by removing raccoons from their gardens. I would really like to have a Parallel University as a place to experience creative process. I do want create my own esthetic by inventing Ozark Wabi. My deep admiration for George Ohr is reflected in my Mad Potter of the Ozarks. Kitutui Maki Gama is dedicated to my wood firing community and creating events centered around wood firing.
Readymade in progress and to completion.
This was a farm tractor implement, for corn planting, that was laying on the ground on our property when we bought it 50 years ago.