Construct Quote by Warren MacKenzie
![“These narrow-footed forms I was making, I thought, gosh, I could push those further, not to construct them the way [Hans] Coper did but to work in my own manner but push it more toward that form. And I learned to do that and enjoyed it for a number of years.” quote by Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/065/warren-mackenzie-4654_constructs_these-narrow-footed-forms-i-was-making-i_1075907.jpg)
“These narrow-footed forms I was making, I thought, gosh, I could push those further, not to construct them the way [Hans] Coper did but to work in my own manner but push it more toward that form. And I learned to do that and enjoyed it for a number of years.”
About This Quote
Source Interview: Craftsmanship Talk, 2015
He sought to evolve his pottery beyond traditional methods, personalizing the form while respecting influences.
In simple terms: He wanted to improve his work in his own style.
Key Takeaway
Experiment, then refine.
Themes
creativity
craft
personal growth
Mood
reflective
inspired
Type
artistic
motivational
When to use this quote
- studio practice
- exhibitions
- teaching
- collaborations
Key Concepts
pottery
artistic development
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you honor mentors while forging your own path?
- What limits your artistic experimentation?
A Different Perspective
Balancing tradition and innovation can be challenging.
![“Some years ago I was working on some forms which were vase forms with a fairly narrow base, and it was after [Hans] Coper had died that I saw an exhibition of his, a catalogue from an exhibition, and he was showing some forms which were made by cutting and joining a lot of different parts together…” quote by Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/16b/warren-mackenzie-4654_bits_some-years-ago-i-was-working-on-some-for_61245.jpg)
![“[Kathleen Blackshear] just said, "Have you thought of looking at this?" and so on and so on and so on. And it was a discussion group where everyone had a say, and it was a tremendous learning experience.” quote by Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/49b/warren-mackenzie-4654_discussion_kathleen-blackshear-just-said-have-you-t_18002.jpg)
![“Remember, this is back in the '40s, and the idea of a museum being a place where interested people could come in direct contact with works hadn't arrived on the scene yet. That, I think, I first ran into at the Freer Gallery in Washington, D.C., where a man named Marty [Martin] Amt decided that he…” quote by Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/ddb/warren-mackenzie-4654_assistants_remember-this-is-back-in-the-40s-and-the_105550.jpg)
![“At the end of that two weeks Bernard [Leach] asked us if we would like to sit with him tending the kiln, the big oil-fired kiln that they had. He was still sitting what we call a kiln watch at that time, and he wondered if we would like to sit the watch with him and talk. So naturally this was our…” quote by Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/6dd/warren-mackenzie-4654_big-oil_at-the-end-of-that-two-weeks-bernard-lea_146880.jpg)
![“[In the Field Museum of Natural History] we could see very simple, primitive, hand-built pottery from Babylonia and ancient Egypt and so forth, Greece. We could see the most sophisticated things that came out of the Orient - Japan, Korea, and China - some few pieces of European porcelain, majolica…” quote by Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/8fc/warren-mackenzie-4654_ancient_in-the-field-museum-of-natural-history-w_183538.jpg)
![“It was a wonderful opportunity. And so for two and a half years we lived with [Bernard] Leach.” quote by Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/cf3/warren-mackenzie-4654_half_it-was-a-wonderful-opportunity-and-so-fo_230701.jpg)
![“We thought [with Alix MacKenzie], if those are the kinds of pots from every culture that interest us, why would we think that it should be any different in mid-North America 20th century? And we decided then that our work would center around that sort of utilitarian pottery, and that's what I've…” quote by Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/db7/warren-mackenzie-4654_20th-century_we-thought-with-alix-mackenzie-if-those_265640.jpg)
![“It was there that we really first came in contact with the work of Shoji Hamada, who was Bernard's best friend from Japan, who had come from Japan back to England with [Bernard] Leach when Leach was establishing his pottery.” quote by Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/7e4/warren-mackenzie-4654_best-friend_it-was-there-that-we-really-first-came-i_295653.jpg)
