What makes a good/great pot ?

My personal criteria , ( but not written in stone) for a good studio pot is that the pot is made by one person , from idea to end result , throwing or handbuilding etc , marking , glazing , firing , displaying , all that , Voulkos , Welch, Henderson are High profile artists that I admire , i think Sam Hall will one day also reach a similar level and Possibly Peter Wills , the universally acclaimed potters such as B leach Hamada , Rie , Coper , you know the list ...have achieved remarkable things in their lifetimes and are still copied to an extent by unimaginative potters , thank god we have artists like Alan Wallwork & Robin Welch who produce individual pieces influenced by their surroundings rather than what s been seen before , like any media of art imagination is key imo , that and subject or idea , to copy relentlessly through a career is pointless in my opinion and is nothing more than being a factory worker , pots thrown by one person or nameless people and decorated by more nameless signatures are not studio , never will be, maybe nice pots , but not true to the art , one art work one artist imo.

Tricky question. For the most part I agree; I like to see the hand and vision of the potter in the work. But I also like pretty pots, and if that means factory made; mass produced, then so be it.

When I say 'factory made, mass produced' I'm talking about something like Rorstand 'blue fire' and 1st & 2nd period Belleek

My criteria for a good studio pot, but a pot does not need to meet all the criteria for me to like it a lot:

The main one is to have been skilfully made.
I like pots that are very unusual / quirky, but I do like more traditional pots if I like the way it's been thrown and decorated.
Pots that have a good form.
I tend to prefer smaller scale pots, larger pots if they are intricate enough, either in the potting or decoration.

I like the imperfections you find in handmade pieces when you get up close. Liz Fritsch pots look perfect in photos but have a charming hand made look when seen in real life.

That's a good point sometimes Imperfections or happy accidents as they call it in painting can really enhance a piece , I had a robin welch with initials upside down , he said " it Happens" not the same but I get your drift , I love individuality and quirkiness as Potty says , it makes it personal and happy .