An interview of Val Cushing conducted 2001 April 16, by Margaret Carney, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, in Cushing's studio, Alfred Station, New York.
Cushing speaks of his early interest in drawing; applying to Alfred University without a portfolio and being accepted on an athletic scholarship to play football; his teachers at Alfred including Katherine Nelson, Charles Harder, Marion Fosdick, Kurt Ekdahl, and Dan Rhodes; his classmates at Alfred including Herb Cohen, Marty Moskof, Marty Chodos, Luis Mendez, Ed Pettengill, and Richard Homer; the influence of Marguerite Wildenhain, who came to Alfred to teach for two weeks in 1952 (Cushing's senior year); his first job making pots at Santa's Workshop in Adirondack Mountains in New York in 1951, and the value of throwing every day; learning that "technique is not enough"; his travels; serving in the military police in Fort Dix, New Jersey, during the Korean War; visiting the Metropolitan Museum to sketch pots; meeting his wife Elsie Brown, who was private-duty nurse in New York; Charles Harder as an administrator and teacher; attending graduate school at Alfred on the G.I. Bill from 1954 to 1956; his decision to become teacher rather than full-time potter at the suggestion of Charles Harder; teaching at University of Illinois in 1956 and then Alfred University in 1957; the "famous" dialogues between Charles Harder and Bernard Leach; the importance of designing functional handmade objects; the evolution of the American craft market; his work for Andover China; exhibitions; his close-knit ceramics community in the 1950s and 1960s; his relationships with galleries including American Hand and The Farrell Collection in Washington, D.C., Helen Drutt Gallery and the Works Gallery in Philadelphia, The Signature Shop & Gallery in Atlanta, Martha Schneider Gallery in Chicago, and Cedar Creek Gallery in Creedmoor, North Carolina; teaching at Penland, Haystack, Arrowmont, Archie Bray, and Anderson Ranch; "the Alfred connection at Archie Bray" and his grant to study at Archie Bray in 1968; the importance of Alfred's summer school to the history of contemporary clay in America; the value of university training; Bob Turner's and Ted Randal's influence on his work through their "philosophic stance" and "presence as artists"; his working space and his 1983 NEA grant to adapt an existing barn for use as a studio; the influence of nature on his work; working with kick wheel, Soldner wheel, Venco Pug Mill, natural gas and electric kilns; his glaze expertise; opportunities for experimentation; his love of jazz music and its influence on his working methods; pricing his pots; commissions; ceramic workshops as theatrical "performances" and an American phenomenon; the role of specialized periodicals in the craft field; the difference between craft critics and painting and sculpture critics; and the place of ceramics in museum collections in the United States and abroad.
Cushing also talks about his involvement with NCECA [The National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts], the American Craft Council, and the American Ceramics Society; the lack of political and social commentary in his work; his teaching experiences in Europe and Asia; his participation in the opening of The Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park in Japan; and the importance of ceramic history for the contemporary ceramist. He also recalls Susan Peterson, Bill Pitney, Marv Rickel, Don Frith, Winslow Anderson, Ken Deavers, Joan Mondale, Joan Farrell, Don Reitz, Gerry Williams, Bill Parry, Ken Ferguson, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Val Cushing (1931- ) is a ceramic artist and potter from Alfred Station, New York. Margaret Carney (1949- ) is the director of the Schein Joseph International Museum of Ceramic Art in Alfred, New York.
General:
Originally recorded on 3 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 6 digital wav files. Duration is 3 hr.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Melvin Kranzberg Papers, 1934-1988, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Matthew Mawhinney Industrial Furnace Collection, 1917-1978, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Aerol Co., Inc. [Subsidiary] ; Lockheed Missles & Space Co. ; Automotive Products Co. Ltd. (London, United Kingdom and Leamington Spa, United Kingdom) Search this
Notes content:
Letters to W. A. Lenzer of the Cincinnati Butcher's Supply Co. from A. T. Gardiner, Jr. of Aerol Co., Inc. regarding mounting data and installation of "Aerol-Seal" wheels and Airlite "sealed hub wheels" ; three blueprints for "Aerol-Seal" wheels ; "Airlite" wheels ; other Aerol industrial wheels or casters ; "Materials Handling & Packaging Standards: Volume III" from the Lockheed Missles & Space Co. ; "Facts About the Lockheed in Which You Are Flying", an information booklet for passengers ; Lockheed "Lodestar" airplane ; "LI-1500: A Silica Composite Thermal Insulation" by R. M. Beasley and Y. D. Izu "...Presented at the 74th Annual Meeting of the American Ceramic Society..." ; "Look to Lockheed for Leadership" engineering and manufacturing plant ; Lockheed "Lodestar" scale model building instructions and drawings ; Lockheed "12" airplane ; Lockheed "Electra Model 10E" specifications ; Lockheed "Vega Model 5C" specifications ; Lockheed "Orion Model 9D" specifications ; Lockheed "14" airplane ; Lockheed brake fluid ; "Lockheed-Gates Straight Line Brake Servo System" ; "Lockheed-Gates" booster ; "Lockheed Fluid Remote Control for Marine Engines" ; "Airdraulic" shock absorbers ; "Lockheed Hydraulic Actuation" for aircraft ; "Lockheed" trailer brakes ; "Purolator" metal element filters ; "Lockheed" hydraulic remote controls ; "Autoloc" slave cylinders ; "Lockheed-Babcock Hydraulic Remote Damper Control Gear" ; "Lockheed" hydraulic brakes ; hydraulic brake service manual ; "Lockheed Avery Hoses & Self-Sealing Couplings" ; Lockheed Concept 80 ; cardiac monitoring system
Includes:
Trade catalog, price lists and manual
Black and white images
Color images
Physical description:
66 pieces; 2 boxes
Language:
English
Type of material:
Trade catalogs
Trade literature
Place:
Burbank, California, United States
Date:
1900s
Topic (Romaine term):
Automobiles and automotive equipment (including trucks and buses) Search this
Correspondence; biographical data; photographs; notes and sketches; writings; applications for research grants; subject files; receipts and bills; and exhibition catalogs and announcements.
Biographical / Historical:
Harvey Littleton (1922- 2013) was a ceramicist, glassmaker, sculptor and educator in Wisconsin.
Provenance:
Donated 1975 by Harvey K. Littleton.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm.
Society of Arts and Crafts (Boston, Mass.) Search this
Extent:
6 Microfilm reels
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Microfilm reels
Date:
1875-1934
Scope and Contents:
Biographical materials, including an autobiographical sketch, brief biographies by family members, and certificates of naturalization and membership; correspondence, 1897-1931, with family members, ceramic manufacturers, potters, art educators, museum curators and administrators, and former students; subject files on: the American Ceramic Society, the Charles Fergus Binns Medal; Ceramic Alumni Association, and exhibitions of Binns' work. Subject files include correspondence, meetings minutes, and printed materials. Also included are lectures and speeches by Binns; writings; and 10 photographs, undated & 1901-1935, of Binns and of his works of art.
Arrangement:
Correspondence is organized chronologically and then alphabetically within each year or group of years.
Biographical / Historical:
Charles Fergus Binns (1857-1934) was a ceramist, educator, and art administrator. From 1900 until his retirement in 1931, Charles F. Binns was Director of the New York State School of Clayworking and Ceramics at Alfred University. Binns was a frequent contributor to ceramic periodicals and publications including monthly columns of technical advice. He helped found the American Ceramics Society in 1899 and served as its president in 1901 and secretary from 1918 to 1922. Among the awards Binns received for his work in art pottery and glazes are the Logan Medal from the Art Institute of Chicage in 1919 and the Medal of the Boston Society of Arts and Crafts in 1922.
Provenance:
The Charles Fergus Binns papers consist of three sections, each given to the New York State College of Ceramics by different donors. Biographical materials and photographs were donated by Binns grandchildren. The "Office Files" of the collection, which primarily contain general correspondence, were discovered on the ceramic school campus in March, 1981, by W. Richard Ott, Dean of the College, and placed in the College Archives. The lectures, speeches, and writings (listed on the Alfred University inventory as "Manuscripts and Typescripts") were given circa 1978 by John McMahon, former Dean of the College.
Correspondence for the years 1910-1920 has not been found, except for the letters between Binns and Adelaide and Samuel Robineau from 1914 to 1920. In addition, no letters from Binns, filed under A-L, have been located for the year 1922. Only selected portions of the lectures, speeches, and writings have been filmed. Technical correspondence, correspondence with prospective students, and requests for clay analyses have not been filmed.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Charles Fergus Binns papers, 1875-1934. Alfred University, New York State College of Ceramics. Microfilmed by the Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Art.
