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Qotw: What Would You Have Wished To Become If Not A Potter?


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You know, I always wanted to become an archeologist, but my parents didn't have the money to let us children study. When I had my own money, I studied music instead.... And now that I finally do what is my hearts passion, make ceramics, I often feel like an archeologist, working with carving instruments, with brushes and tiny tools...

 

What about you: What would YOU have wished to become if not a potter?

 

Evelyne

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It's a toss up between  a marine biologist, or a veterinarian. But, like you Evelyne, my parents didn't have the money for college either. And back in those days, my grades didn't garner the grants or scholarships needed to achieve even a community college education. <_< Oh, if I had only known then what I know now........ :rolleyes:

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Always a provocative question to ponder. I became interested in art in my senoir year of high school but went to college to study physical education thinking I would be an athletic director, teacher, coach, trainer, etc. By the time I arrived at college I had spent so much time the previous year doing art that I switched my major the day I arrived. The rest is history!

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What :o You mean there is something better than being a potter!   I spent my professional life teaching k-12  art which kept my fingers in the clay; and a lot of other media.   Since retirement I can forget the other media and concentrate on  Raku and forget the other media.

 

Karen

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Homicide detective.... or criminal profiler (using handwriting analysis, psychology, and crime scene, etc) -   Unfortunately/ and fortunately my area does not have enough homicide to have many detectives for that.  My grandpa was a detective in Milwaukee during the Chicago gangster era and dealt with a little of the crime coming into Milwaukee.  I think some things are just in your blood....    (I actually do read numerology and a little handwriting at spirit fairs for a little extra side cash) 

 

Art therapy would be fun too. I like the whole psychology aspect of figuring out people or their subconscious. 

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A contralto opera singer. :3 I've got a pretty good set of pipes that were trained for years. Too much catty behavior in that field for my taste, though, and this guinea doesn't turn the other cheek for anyone.

 

Or a linguist. I love languages and learn them very quickly...It's because I'm a chatterbox. ^_^

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I always made art. I started out in Industrial design and switched to Ceramics.  But in an alternative reality I would like to have been an archaeologist or marine biologist. I spent my childhood summers at "the shore" in New Jersey with my grandmother. I explored the beaches and marsh lands.

 

Marcia

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I've always wanted to be a writer as long as I can remember. Then when I was in my early twenties I had a photography business for a while. Later I started working with Deaf/Hard of Hearing kids in Special Ed and fell in love with American Sign Language. I was about to start the process of becoming certified as an ASL interpreter when I found out I was pregnant with my son. I had the choice not to work full-time after he was born so I took it and found my way to pottery a couple years later. Looking back, I feel like all those interests, though seemingly unrelated, got me ready for pottery. The writing and photography comes in handy selling my work online, and the sign language made my hands strong and dexterous. Having a kid taught me patience, perseverance, and that I can handle messes of any kind.

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Reading over all these again I am delighted at the wide variety of answers ranging from archaeology to criminal profiling. How wonderful that such a diverse group of people are here in the same place talking about clay. It gives me happy chills. :D What a good question of the week, Evelyne! 

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I tried being several things before I stopped fighting the clay, all because it was imprinted on me that I needed a "real" job. I tried for a physiotherapist, retail manager and florist just to name a few. None of them worked out well. I decided to stop fighting myself and let myself be a potter. I like the inside of my head better now that I play more to my strengths. I also find it interesting how the other choices have indirectly provided me with a number of valuable skills for this clay career.

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In high school I took 3 years of drafting and was a carpenter during the summers. I should have gone to Architect school. Instead, went to school and floundered around in art classes. After quitting school went to be a full time carpenter for 7 years. At night, after work during the carpentry stage, I was a potter's apprentice in Va. Beach, but it was really rather boring doing nothing but wedging clay, and I was oh so tired after all day up and down ladders, hoisting barges and lifting bails in the sun. One day while in a rush to finish a job, I cut off half of my left thumb. Probably would still have the thumb If I had stayed with the potter, HA. After the accident, I had a second chance to do the architect thing but saw the computer world exploding and took advantage of it as a programmer. Now, while programming, I wish I was in the studio all day instead of the few hours I do get in the studio.

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I would have liked to be a singer. My grade 3 teacher told me to "mouth the word", as in lip sync. There I am singing my little gr. 3 heart out in the choir with no noise.

I would have loved to have been a rock star, but now I can't even fit the Spandex pants. I would have to be a country singer, but I can't find a cowboy hat to fit my big head. Guess I just have to stick with pottery.

"Tex"

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I have had the following jobs/careers during my life;

waitress

retail

managed a bed & breakfast (in London)

Taught english to non-native speakers (in Germany)

Airline hostess (Lufthansa)

flight simulator technician

Taught biology at a community college

Environmental Health specialist

veterinarian

 

Nothing even vaguely related to art.  Most were interesting, some challenging, some fun.

 

Now I get to do something I really love.

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Rebekah: now that's interesting! A detective. I just read a detective novel that's playing in Istanbul/Turkey. I can imagine that when your Grampa was a detective, that you were excited as a child. Do you read detective stories now that you are a potter?

 

Joel: good answer! Glad clay decided on you....

 

Guinea: did you study music? I didn't know you were trained. Bravo. And hey, can we talk in German? Are you speaking my language?

 

Marcia: I sure can imagine you as an archealogist (in a parallel live). Industrial design... hmmmm... do you know the work of Eva Zeisel?

 

Giselle: that is what I think too: everything that we do (or have done) before we got potters helped us to find our heart's passion! Lots of us started in a completely different kind of profession. I find especially interesting your handsign language training!

 

Diesel: you mention a very important thing: is being a potter a "real job"? (That could be another QOTW-question for the future...). We often hear "learn a real job first before you enjoy your passion", and that's what you did. But you can't cheat the heart: if your heart isn't in it, you will never be good (or satisfied) with just another profession. Glad you finally followed your heart!

 

dhPotter: you already had an interesting life of missed opportunities, but did you miss something? As mentioned in other posts, everything you do now can (will) help you later, when you finally (and hopefully) will have more time for being in the studio. So you are a programmer? Are you using your knowledge for the new 3-D clay printers?

 

Tom: no question: you would have been a great rock-and-roller. I still remember your livliness at the Potters Jam in Providence. You were so full of energy.

 

flowerdry: so you speak German? You had a bouquet of other professions already, and I'am not sure if not one or the other has remotly to do with art! How come you're a potter now? Was this a wish of yours also in the past?

 

alabama: what is keeping you from learning underwater archeologist as a profession? I can't see in your profile how old you are. If young enough, would be another education an eventuality? I think you already know a lot about archeology!

 

Like Giselle already said, the forum members who answered this question-of-the-week have a great range of former or other professions. My question still is: what would you have WISHED to become.... provided you would have had the perfect preconditions.

 

Evelyne

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Yep, I was classically trained by a beast of a woman. She was horrible as a person, but really knew her stuff. She was a diva who performed around the world, and I think she was bitter about ending up a teacher. Oh, well. :D

 

As for German, ja, ich spreche deutsch, aber leider habe ich sehr viel vergessen. Mein Grammatik ist schrecklich und ich spreche sehrrrr langsam. :D I guess I had best speak in English, though, so the mods don't get mad at me. ;.;

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Evelyne-  My grandpa lived in colorado when I was a kid, so I didn't know that much about him at the time.  But I was delighted to learn about it later in life.  I do read detective novels sometimes, and sometimes watch true crime tv shows when throwing.   

 

und Ich spreche kleine deutsch .... not with good grammar, and just enough to identify the schwartz auto and such. 

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Roberta: yes, that is really interesting! Welcome to the club. Question is: what is so appealing to archeology? For me it would have been digging around in the soil, finding shards and other pieces that are thousands of years old, putting them together again, looking for background information and, most of all, brushing and cleaning for hours....

 

Wow, Guinea, that was absolutely (almost) perfect your German. Congratulations! And also Kudos for the opera training!

 

Rebekah: I'am reading a book by Barbara Nadel, a detective story based in Istanbul. Your German is good but... what is the Schwarzt auto?? :)

 

Evelyne

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