An Interview with John Randolph Martinby Tom Brown, World Artist Network Tom Brown: Hi. How are you today? Let's get this interview started. What are you working on this very minute?
John Randolph Martin: I am working on getting my brushes back from my sister so I can do a demented painting of Deimos, also I need to buy a pyrometer for my kiln so I can fire my new ceramic pieces, but right this minute I'm watering my vegetable garden, it's going to be about 95 degrees today.
Tom Brown: 95 degrees? That's hot, but not as hot as the inside of a kiln. You recently shared some examples of your ceramic work on the WAN Myspace group. I liked it. I think most people liked the coffee mug. How long have you been working with clay?
John Randolph Martin: 95 is hot, but yes the inside of a kiln is very very hot, I try not to go above 2400 degrees though, it can cause damage to the elements... and ah yes, my new coffee mug, I am going to have to make a few more of those. I have yet to use it, maybe I will make some coffee right now and use it while I do this interview... I have been working with clay for about 10 years off and on, but I only started using a pottery wheel and really learning what exactly I was doing about 3 years ago. I got very lucky with whom I learned ceramics from two very good friends of mine that I met while living in palm desert: Tim Mcmullen, a working ceramicist at silica studios and college teacher in palm springs, and Ron Evans, a living legend and one of the inventors of the modern crystal glaze firing process and ceramic chemistry, both are very well respected in the ceramics community. Tom Brown: Also, how fortunate that you've had the opportunity to work with guys you respect. I think we learn the most when we like the people we are learning from. Sometimes in school I'd get stuck with just the worst...absolutely worst teachers and that would ruin the whole course for me. Tom Brown: Deimos is a special member of WAN. I think it is neat-o that you are thinking about a painting of Deimos. What inspired this project? John Randolph Martin: I was inspired to do a painting of Deimos one night really late when I was talking to her about how I like distorting things in my paintings to make them very demented and grossly diseased looking, kind of like zombies with leprosy... it just went from there, she has been a great person to talk to, and I like her artwork. Tom Brown:Thanks for explaining how the idea for the Deimos painting came about. Distortion and exaggeration are really interesting concepts to work with because we can compare and contrast two images in our minds: 1. the actual and 2. the distorted image. And then we have this whole new set of information to work with based on how we look at things. OK, you've been working with clay for a good while now. That's given you some time to figure out the basics and develop a style based on your experiences with the medium. So once you get the main technique down, what else is there to learn about working with clay?
John Randolph Martin: There is an endless amounts of things to learn about clay, wow, it is hard to even start. You need to know types of kilns, reduction atmospheres, oxidation, candling, soaking, glaze materials, frits, metal oxides, dioxides, and carbonates, flints, fluxes, vitrification points, quartz inversions, different clay bodies, high and low firing points, bisque firing, proper architecture, compression or the lack of compression of the clay, how to prevent warping and cracks, this list goes on forever.... like I said earlier I was very lucky to meet up with such experienced people. I hope to get my brushes soon so that I can start painting Deimos, I'm really excited about how I envision it to come out, I know it's dangerous to get too detailed with ideas but I have been thinking about it for some time. I hope everyone can give me some feedback whenever it is that I get around to posting it, it's been a while since I have painted so I'd appreciate it.   
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