In this project, Land of 10,000 Stories, the Democratic Cup partnered with Northern Clay Center to create cups with Minnesota-based artists and "ambassadors" to address topics specific and relevant to those communities. The conversations took place in the fall of 2018 and culminated in an exhibition at Northern Clay Center during the 2019 NCECA conference in Minneapolis. Cups were exhibited in the space, along with audio of the conversations, and photographs of participants. Conference-goers were invited to have pie and conversation with friends and strangers.
photo credit: Peter Lee
The four porcelain cups addressed an oil pipeline across indigenous land, affordable housing, identity and values, and mining. Like many parts of the country, Minnesota, known as the "land of nice" has struggled with polarization and divided communities.
Local organizer, Ursula Hargens says, "In scheduling conversations this past autumn, many individuals contacted were reluctant to sit down and talk to people they disagreed with since they were anxious about inflaming discord within their local communities. A few people cancelled the day of the event. Their reticence revealed an underlying fear present in our current political climate and illustrates the need to create safe spaces for honest discussions between diverse groups. In the community conversations held in each town, participants spoke openly and earnestly about values instilled by their parents, challenges confronting disrespectful language, and the role of fear in political discourse. They discussed the effort required to listen to and empathize with others and the connections made in everyday places, like the hardware store or coffee shop.
Reaching across political and cultural divides is a goal often touted but difficult to achieve. The Democratic Cup: Land of 10,000 Stories provides a vehicle for people to gather in fellowship, break down barriers, and discuss difficult topics in humane and thoughtful ways. It harnesses the power of a ceramic cup to stimulate social engagement."
We are thankful for the opportunity to work with all our participants! Here are a few testimonials-
"I loved my experience at the Democratic Cup. We probably could have talked for another 5 hours! I am very excited to try something like that in our neighborhood working to cross cultural barriers. Thank you for inviting me."- Kerry
"I enjoyed participating in the Democratic Cup at NCC. I was nervous in advance that it might be awkward but that soon disappeared. I was so warmly greeted, the goal re the conversation was explained, it was really fun getting to pick out a cup and have coffee and pie so by the time we began our chat I was comfortable and interested in where it might lead. The topic of affordable housing is so top of mind right now especially in the Twin Cities. Housing impacts all aspects of life and is such a struggle in our community. I appreciated your views as a renter whereas I’m primarily personally impacted by property taxes. I felt like I lost myself in the conversation and the time just flew by — no awkwardness at all — and it was an interesting experience being live “on exhibit” where a number of people paused to witness our conversation. When we wrapped up I really felt like I got to know you more personally. That’s what building caring community is all about in my view. I enjoyed my participation and I appreciated NCC hosting the event."- Colleen
"I really enjoyed being put into the democratic cup. I love having in depth conversations and this was one I never would have had without the democratic cup. Every time I look at my mug I think of Marty, the gentleman i was paired with. I am so happy I got the change to meet and talk to someone from a different walk of life." -Katie
Special Thanks!!
Local Organizer- Ursula Hargens
Ambassadors- Lisa Truax, Bill Gossman, Nathan Bray, and Juliane Shibata
Illustrators- Jaime Anderson, Julie Van Grol, Kim Bogeman, and Ry Macarayan
Form Makers- Brett Freund, Peter Jadoonath, Liz Pechacek, and Linda Christianson
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Watching the success of the pink Pussy Hat project as a way to unite protestors and to speak truth to power was amazing and beautiful to watch. The recipe was perfect- common craft skills, minimal requirements, functionality, and visual appeal. We wondered how we could take a page out of their book and apply it to The Democratic Cup.
Ceramics, by nature, has a higher bar of entry than fibers. Access to a kiln, specifically, is the greatest challenge in creating a project that can move through creative and motivated groups of people. It hinges on people either having kilns or having access to ceramic artists with kilns.
Over the last six months, we have learned a lot about accessibility and pots. $60 for a cup in the world of handmade ceramics is a middle of the road price, and yet to the wider public, it was too much when s/h was tacked on. This has limited how wide-reaching this project has been and raised the question of, "what is the deeper mission of TDC?". Is it about the object itself? Is it about the conversation? Is it about connection? Is about inclusivity?
The answer is that all these matter and at the top of the list is conversation and connection. At the core of pottery is the notion of community and how a simple object can help facilitate a link between two people. Pottery is effective because is operates day in, day out.
All Hands On Deck is our initiative that aims to get free decals into the hands of ceramic artists all across the country. We're focusing on local ceramic artists and local conversations to drive this effort of driving conversation from social media to person-to-person conversations.
Both decals address civic literacy, which in the second phase of TDC, is a crucial element in how we want to approach conversation. Given the new policies of Trump's administration, we want to help educate an informed and motivated citizenry. The First Amendment decal, by David Gordon, is a straightforward list of all the rights that the first amendment covers. The Town Hall decal, by Klai Brown, acts as an interactive visual device that can used at town hall meetings with elected leaders. Besides the "agree" and "disagree" signs, we felt it was important to include "listening" as a way to open up a conversation with nuances.
We are excited about the page we have taken from the Pussy Hat project! If you want to be part of All Hands On Deck, we ask that you have a conversation and post on social media about your conversation or interaction with the tag #thedemocraticcup and by linking to us on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter. Send a SASE to The Bright Angle, 207 Coxe Ave, Studio 15, Asheville, NC 28801 or visit us in Portland, OR at NCECA where the Artstream Nomadic Gallery is hosting us in the Expo area.
As an added NCECA treat, we'll have our Venn diagram Citizen Ceramics temporary tattoos available! Free!
]]>Looking at the list, there are some steps that only need to be done once such as formulating the casting slip, but the majority of steps need full attention and might have sub-steps. We strive to create the most beautifully crafted object that we can based on skill and experience.
Special thanks to The Bright Angle design studio for all their hard work.
Set Up and Mold Making
1) Designers make prototypes
2) Make first working mold
3) Make rubber master mold from first working mold
4) Make multiple working molds from master mold
5) Illustrators make multiple iterations of illustrations
6) Translate illustrations to silver and cobalt decals
7) Have decals screen printed
Making the Cups
8) Formulate a porcelain recipe and glaze recipe that fit
9) Mix powders into casting slip
10) Adjust porcelain slip for proper casting thicknesses for each cup
11) Fill working molds of both handles and cups
12) Wait for proper thicknesses
13) Pump porcelain back into tank
14) Let cups and handles dry to soft leather hard in mold
15) Pull cups and handles from mold
16) Clean handle seams
17) Attach handles
18) Clean up seams
19) Load and
20) Fire bisque kiln
21) Unload kiln
22) Sand and wash bisqueware
23) Mask off unglazed areas
24) Glaze pots
25) Wipe glaze from bottoms and masked areas
26) Load glaze kiln
27) Fire glaze kiln
28) Unload glaze kiln
29) Cut decals from decal sheets
30) Wipe cup surfaces with rubbing alcohol
31) Apply decals and dry
32) Load decal kiln
33) Fire decal kiln
34) Unload decal kiln
35) Sand bottoms
36) Pack
37) Label and Ship
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It is said that the two things one doesn’t bring up at the dinner table is religion and politics. I believe this is a theory developed after many meals cut short by opposing parties arguing their points. Avoiding unpleasant discussions is just one way to enjoy a peaceful meal. I often consider how one could take the fear of having difficult interactions and confront it by considering ways to engage with others in a way that can be fruitful for everyone involved.
As a person of color working in clay I often find myself at a theoretical table, wanting to have difficult conversations, discussions that seem like important and obvious issues to tackle but to others it is not the first thing they want to discuss; concerns like the lack of racial diversity within the visual arts is not the first priority for my white friends. Not because they don’t care but because it is not their own personal experience. I do find that they are very supportive of my work, my message and of my progress. In my experience I have found that this support comes from their ability to find an experience they have had in order to try to understand where my questions come from.
I have found it difficult during our current election to praise a specific candidate because this endorsement also communicates that you support everything this candidate has done or what they stand for—I would argue that this is the equivalent of bringing up religion to the dinner table. I often think about whether we could focus the conversation on issues that we find important. To not only share our discontent but also what we are about; I decided to participate in The Democratic Cup.
This group of artist represents a diverse perspective on the many issues that we consider when electing a candidates. When someone purchases one of these cups they are decided that not only can we bring up politics at the dinner table but that we can engage with it in a way that allows us as users to ponder the works implications at a time of our day that we are likely to receive information.
As an artist of color I am thankful for the opportunity to engage in this community. One who values my contribution and who invites me to participate in discussions that are not my own personal experience. I chose to include to black female activist (bell hooks and Sojourner Truth) who embody characteristics that I aspire to personify: Fearlessness, and empathy. I ask for your support with this project as it is a great opportunity to welcome relevant material into your home but also it has a direct financial impact to the community that it represents.
Collaboration between Roberto Lugo and Kristen Kieffer.
bell hooks and Sojourner Truth cup
What binds us all together is a belief that what we do as artists can affect positive change in the world. We believe that countering the racist and fear-mongering language around this year's election is an imperative that we can not in good conscience ignore and that using our skills as makers and illustrators will make the world a better place by opening up dialogue.
Co-organizing The Democratic Cup are Ayumi Horie in Maine and Nick Moen in North Carolina. The drawing and organizational aspects have been headed up by Ayumi and Nick has tackled the fabrication of the cups. Because of the distance and the visual decisions that need to be made, we've been using Hangout to meet. Here, Shannon and Ayumi fit print outs of the decals to the cups.
Nick has been making molds all summer of cups that have been designed by ten of the best ceramic artists in the country. The cups will be slipcast from a mid-range translucent porcelain body. They'll feel great in the hand and be ready for all of you who want to use them to open a conversation with a friend or a stranger.
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We chose a cup to be the form to represent this project because a cup or mug is an object that can easily become a part of your personal identity. Think about the mug that you have on your desk at work, or the first thing you grab in the morning for your tea or coffee. A cup is made for drinking, and if drinking is part of your daily ritual, you start to form a relationship with your cup. It’s the friend that will always be there in the morning.
-Nick Moen
Why a cup? Why create a fundraiser based around one kind of object?
Because it's intimate, because it's accessible, because it's iconically American, and because around a cup conversations begin.
The symbolism of what can happen through and over a simple cup of coffee is important to us as makers. There is a power in the way that object can catalyze a conversation and get us talking to those nearby. We want these objects to open up questions between people who agree and those that don't, because part of our problem as a country is that we're not talking to people who don't agree with us. We want these cups to both breakdown silos and inspire people to do something for the common good.
The cup is the most democratic of objects and is the ceramic workhorse of both the kitchen and the office. We are constantly interacting with the cup and through use, the cup asks us to ponder and sometimes to change how we think and feel. We pick it up and feel it's weight, we wash its insides, and we put it somewhere safe on a shelf. Because it is often a comfort to us, this object enters our psyche in a way that rarely happens with other objects.
I hope that the cups being made for The Democratic Cup project will be meaningful to those who own them and touch those who use them. Ceramic objects can last thousands of years and I hope that the good they do lasts long after this presidential election.
-Ayumi Horie
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