Has any individualist considered the significance of 'Tariki' as well as
‘Jiriki' especially in his work? If anyone thinks, for example, that Van
Gogh's burning work comes from kimself alone it is a careless thought.
His painting comes from beyond his flesh and bone and blood, it comes
out of his whole soul which he cannot control. The power of nature
beyond the ego has endowed him; it is not a question of nerve endings.

It is what lies behind his conscious mind which moves us. Such work is
not confined to self-expression. There is that in it which is unguess-
able to public and author, it is not even work for which the author must

be held responsible.

eee ee ee eee

For those potters who have had trouble with settling of glazes and
diminishing plasticity of clay, the following observations are offered
as a guide to solving some of the problems that lead to trouble and

diffieulty.

Deflocculation is a great enemy of craft potters because so little is
known about it and either it is allowed to intrude into the pottery uw-
checked or a great deal of time is spent trying to combat its effects
ineffectually. Briefly, the terms ‘flocculation’ and 'deflocculation' are
descriptions of the effects of acid or basic solutions upon suspensions.
Particles of glaze suspended in an acid solution will have a slight
attraction for one another (rather like opposite ends of a magnet) and
will tend to stay suspended for some time. These are flocculated
particles. Conversely, particles of glaze suspended in an alkaline
solution tend to repel one another and settle more rapidly. These
particles are deflocculated.

Industry has developed many uses for deflocculated suspensions and
can afford to be less paranoic about them. However, the controls
necessary to make use of this phenomenon are quite exacting and not
among the interests of the majority of craft potters.

Deflocculation can exist both in plastic clay and in suspended glazes.

In clay the symptoms are a gradual deterioration in the omg of
a body over a period of about two weeks after mixing. The elay will

4.