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


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Interesting topic I was already addicted to clay by high school but the school tested me and said I should be a architect, I had the highest scores in 3d construction they had ever had.  I also had the college blockade by my parents so they enrolled me in a dental assisting program, I hated the assisting part but love the lab.  I worked at labs for 6 years carving wax teeth.  Had to quit for health reasons so I started decorating for the next 20 years, turned out I was a natural when it came to working with blueprints.  During these 26 years I always had a clay studio and went to college and finished my ceramics degree. I'm sticking with clay from now on.      Denice

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Well I escaped my real job (lawyer) 12 years ago to become a mud puppy.  But I sometimes wish I had been a trainer of sniffer dogs since I love dogs and their olfactory powers - but i probably would have had to join the military and they make you get up early and make your bed and stuff I don't like to do.  rakuku

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I had wished to be a NYC-level graphic artist. I had a standing invitation to come see David Ogilvy of the internationally known Ogilvy & Mather ad agency (now called communications marketing!), when I was done with art school, and even got to study typography with Phil Meggs for half a semester (he wrote the definitive History of Graphic Design). I was really struggling and he very kindly and wisely suggested I withdraw and change majors. I went into crafts and fell in love with clay and got my BFA. Then "things happened" and I chucked art altogether. I went on for a Masters degree in counseling and made a career of treating substance use disorders,and later being the State Planner for NH's mental health block grant. I never lost the yearning to be a commercial artist, but am so grateful to be retired and able to work in clay, in my home, with no need to build another career, even as a ceramist.

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Archeologist definitely.

 

When I was in Egyot our guide kept trying to take us to places to shop and buy gold jewelry. I finally said show me the pots, I would like to see ruins and crumbling walls, old painted walls peeling and cruddy. So he did, he got us permission to go into a newly opened room with the original unrestored door to the afterlife painted on the end, there were bits and pieces of mysterious magical stuff poking out from the corners of the room. I was very good and did not touch anything as instructed... Mostly because they stationed a guard at the door and not because I was a good girl. LOL By the time we left he said we had been to every ruin in upper Egypt, even our tour company had to look up the names of some of the places I asked to go to. I had read and researched extensively and basically handed them a list of places I wanted to go and asked them to make it happen and they did. It did take some getting used to to have my own private military escort at times but those sites were sure worth it, oh and this was almost 10 years ago now so things were a bit different over there. At one location they asked us not to speak and told everyone we were from Denmark. Kind of hard to disguise a 6'4 man and a pale blonde woman in a sea of Egyptians.

 

I adore the history channel and national geographic and like the shows where they spend the whole time mapping out some lost building or show how they restore pottery bits found in a 2000 year old pit. Don't care for the shows where they go on and on about gold we found gold here and here and here. I wanna say shut up and tell me about the pile of textiles in the corner, or just what is in the pot over there. I could happily spend a lifetime reassembling bits of pottery into cohesive pots but I could spend 2 lifetimes creating my own.

 

T

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When I was growing up I wished to become an Astronaut but being more practical and realistic became a Pharmacist and then 30 years later a Fitness Instructor. My interest in everything astronomic/astronautic has always remained with me so I guess I'm now a spaced out potter.

 

Paul

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

I'm pretty sure that I never wished to become a potter.  I dreamed of becoming a pathologist but studied architecture. As an architect, I dreamed of becoming a writer but studied broadcasting. As a broadcast designer, I dreamed of  doing documentaries for National Geographic but studied education. As an educator, I dreamed of becoming an professor but because of all the poo associated with the job, clay just seemed so much cleaner.  Maybe I'm just now wishing to become a potter :rolleyes:

 

-Paul

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Denice: that is interesting. You always did something very near your current profession: interior decoration, wax models, and good in 3d construction. Are you taking the 3d construction up again and work with it in clay?

 

Guinea: "leider" is the right word!

 

rakukuku: wow, a layer is changing profession to being a potter. That is passion for clay, if you ask me!

 

Lee: you had quite the career! Being retired now and being able to work with clay without the pressure of having another career (and all the stress that comes with it!) is comforting, isn't it!?

 

pugaboo: thank you for the very interesting Egypt story. Alas, nowadays you would earn a head shake if you ask what you asked 10 years ago. Security is very high there, and with reason! I appreciate that you didn't touch anything ;-). And hey, our forum member Alabama would say that there were no "pits" 2000 years ago. I love National Geographic too!

 

PaulR: that's a rare profession, astronaut. Imagine the time you would have to spend falling through the air. What was it that excited you? Being away from the earth? Discover planets or walk on the moon? Spaced out potter - I like it!! :-)

 

PaulCH: a pathologist? As in cutting up people? And was becoming an architect a real substitute? And in reading on, I think there is a pattern in your wishes and then becoming something completely different. You definitely should settle down and becoming a potter now ;-)

 

Evelyne

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Guest JBaymore

I was blessed with a high school that had a heavy art program available.  Even though I had a decent understanding of science and math, I spent a lot of my time in the art room and even got one of the small arts awards at HS graduation.  But as a male of my generation... one did not go off to college to be an artist... one went to study for a REAL profession.  So I headed off to become a marine biologist.

 

I had one elective open up in my STEM-type schedule.  I took Ceramics 1.  When I touched clay I felt like I was "home":  By the end of that semester my major was changed to BFA ceramics.  My parents accepted this move gracefully (Thanks mom and dad!).  Only AFTER I got involved in clay did I find out that my family had a long history in the ceramics industry in the Trenton, NJ area..... having been working in many positions at both the Mercer and the Cook potteries there back into the mid 1800s.  And one of my relatives was the KILN FOREMAN at one of the potteries (and I gravitated toward kiln design/building.) 

 

So I was home.  The rest on that front is history.

 

The music business, not science, almost derailed the clay career.  Even as a kid I was a professional musician (drummer) from the age of 13.... when I held a liquor commission waiver so that I could be playing in clubs that were serving alcohol.  The 'college band' I was eventually playing with (Clear Sky) went from a fun way to make some extra money to being VERY successful....... and that opportunity deserved some serious attention.  So I did.  It was a good ride... great experiences.... and met and played with a lot of great musicians.  But the music business and being on the road was not easy... and eventually the group decided to 'pack it in' (just as we were gaining record label focus).  Knowing the lifestyle....... if I'd have stayed with it... I likely would not be around today B) .  I still have the master tape reels of the studio recording sessions, and have transferred (and remixed via Audigy) some cuts to digital "for old times sake".

 

Those that were at the Providence NCECA conference "Potter's Jam" saw/heard me playing for the first time since I came off the road with "Clear Sky" in 1972.  While I certainly lost a lot... the hands and feet 'remembered' after about 1/2 hour of playing.  (I had a blast playing that night at NCECA for about 3 hours.  Old memories.) 

 

Sometimes when I am watching something like a Palladia concert on HD TV...... I really miss the high-level music.  And the sense of 'connection' from the stage that happens when you have a large audience engaged.  Sometimes I see people I've known in the biz who still are playing. .... and that brings back fond memories too. 

 

But all-in-all...... glad I've stuck with clay.  This too has been a GREAT ride.

 

best,

 

................john

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I started painting at age 7.  Had already been drawing since I could hold a pencil.  When I started college I took ceramics for an elective.  The hardest thing in the world was to tell the instructor no when she repeatedly told me to stay with it for awhile.  Same as others, pottery wasn't a "real" job.  So, I almost got an accounting degree.  After 5 years of office work I couldn't take it any more.  So I decided to be a nurse.  Got my degree and worked for 9 years before being a stay at home mom.  Dad was in the military and traveled a lot.  At night I would go into my "studio" and paint after my kids went to bed.  About three years ago I showed up at art class without my paint.  The instructor gave me a ball of clay and said to make something with it.  It is like I found my life long partner.  The paints went into the closet and for the first time in my life I had a real studio.  Thankfully my kids are older and I can devote some time to pottery.  Now, like many of you, if I could only get over the health issues.  I have the will, but the body just isn't cooperating much.

 

I think it is the same for many, musicians, dancer, carpenter.  It is a passion.  I believe everyone has special gifts.  For some it just takes longer to find them, or give themselves over to them.

 

 

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John: thank you very much for the story of your professional life. I'am (and surely all of your students are) really glad you changed your major! Steven's career was similar. He changed major too. What I find very interesting is your start as a marine biologist. What is it that interested you in that profession? You didn't live at the sea at that time, did you? And regarding the music at NCECA: I still could hit myself on the head that I went having dinner instead of staying in the room where the music was. Will you play again in K.C. please??

 

Chantay: isn't it sad that we still count pottery as a "non real" job and others call it a hobby? But, as said in other posts above, we don't know why we have to work in other professions first before comitting us to clay, but it certainly has some reason. I am glad you found clay and now also the time to work more in your studio. Thank you for your thoughts.

 

Evelyne

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Guest JBaymore

Evelyne,

 

As I kid I grew up "in the water".  I lived about a block away from the largest lake in New Jersey...... Lake Hopatcong.... until I left there for college.  (It is a pretty big body of water.)  At the time... it was like living in rural New Hampshire... a bit of a "resort area".  The water then was still pristine... you could look down thru 10 feet of water and see the bottom clearly.  I swam like a fish, my family owned a nice boat (Chriscraft inboard), and by high school I waterskied just about every day during the summers.  I also skin and scuba dived.   I was an avid fisherman.   As a family, we visited the Jersey shore (ocean) regularly.  Aquatic life interested me greatly. 

 

When I was maybe about 13-14 I visited Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution while on a family vacation to the Cape (Mass.).  I guess that hooked me (pun intended ;)). 

 

My first 'art commission' when in high school was painting an underwater mural scene on the wall behind a bar in a lake-side bar on the lake (Tiny's Tavern).  (WISH there was a picture of that somewhere!)

 

best,

 

........................john

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Giselle: well, others said it isn't a real job and, alas, we believed them... It's essential that we show them that we work as hard as they do!

 

John: that is so interesting! Thank you.  You have/had quite the life! I hope we'll have a lot of time in K.C. to chat together. Btw: did you accidentally NOT answer the question if/whether you'll play again in K.C. ;) ....

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I would go back to teaching marketing.   Everyone in my PhD program is now a full professor.   Most of them at small, non research schools.  Just wish I've could have seen how easy the non research tracks are.   Of course I've made about 20X more money than them ... but they have rarely worked more than 10  hour weeks and they all have tenure.

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I think I always wanted to be a potter and not really ever thought about it much as it happed over time.

When I did other work I always came back to being a potter-now over 40 years of being a potter I know thats what I wanted.

Other jobs I have done for money during the way include

Paper route-kid work

Glaze/kiln technician-collage work

USGS remote water sampling for future Redwood National Park-collage work

Adult jobs

divemaster-working on scuba boats

dive travel trips taking groups to other lands

housebuilder

electricain

plumber

carpenter

a few I forgot I'm sure

kiln building

Underwater photograper-calenders-magazine articles w/photos

Commercial diving

The last two I still dabble in every few years if I have time with art show schedule

Like I said I still come back to clay no matter what as I'm a potter and it pays the bills.

Mark

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Sharon: That is quite opposed, teaching marketing and making ceramics. Although one needs a sense of marketing if one wants to sell the pieces of course. Would teaching marketing make you happier, do you think?

 

Mark: I just answered your other post in the "social media" QOTW-topic, where you wrote that you have 40 years of experience with shows and fairs, and now I see what else you did in your life. Wow! That is some list. Are you a workaholic? What do you think: Did all the other professions you had help your potters career in any way? I can imagine that you can use now all the knowledge from those other professions. Well almost all, maybe not the underwater photographer. That is a very interesting work I imagine. Kudos to you!

 

Evelyne

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Are you a workaholic

Of course I am.

And yes most all these other skills are good for being a potter-you can fix or make or mend things-you can analize and trouble shoot as well.

My guess is 98% of all income was thru selling pottery in my life.

Mark

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At grammar (High) school, I was quite academic, but not really aware of it at the time. No history of college or university in my family (grandfather and father both furniture makers, mother - clerical), so parents not really aspirational for me. I first got my hands 'muddy' in art class at age 11 and it definitely sparked something in me. Art at school stopped aged 13 unless you took it as an option for O levels. I was choosing between music (I've always loved singing, but never stuck at an instrument), art and dressmaking & needlework. The latter won the day! At 16yrs old with a wadge of good O levels I had no idea what I wanted to do for a career and had a narrow understanding of what was possible. I started A levels in Biology, Maths and Geography but apart from a real love of biology I really don't know why I ended up with these three subjects - advice to an 'academic' student from teachers I think! I was ill in the first term with hepatitis and glandular fever and after an absence of over 2 months, couldn't motivate myself to continue at school.

 

I had a friend who had left school to become a Beauty Therapist & I was rather in awe of her. Somehow, aged 17 I ended up at college in Manchester, on a 3 year, full time course in hairdressing and beauty therapy. In my first year, my Mum became ill with lung cancer, and I left college to help look after her. Sadly she died very soon after and the following Autumn I went back to college, dropping the hairdressing, to continue a 2 year course in Beauty Therapy. While the course content suited me well (in-depth anatomy, physiology, chemistry (cosmetics), physics (electrical treatments), nutrition, physical education and ART which I loved, as well as all the practical aspects) I was never really suited to this as a profession. I passed all my courses with flying colours and intended using my qualifications in the Occupational Therapy department of my local hospital - but despite the promise of a position, financial cuts meant this never came to anything.

 

Various unfulfilling jobs followed for a couple of years - mostly clerical positions, au pair, bit of salon work, lecturing in Further Ed. Then I started nurse training - my true vocation, met the man who later became my first husband. We married 1 year into my 3 year training, 2 years in he wanted to relocate back to our home town, so I transferred my training to the local hospital but never settled and made the fateful error of giving up nursing! Two children followed, and my marriage failed when they were 2 & 4 years old. I was unfulfilled, had no higher education qualifications, so limited career prospects and needed to be financially independent! After working a year as a temp in an office, to keep the wolf from the door, I knew I needed to study for a degree if I was ever to be able to have a professional career.

 

With 2 dependent children under 5, I wasn't in a position to relocate, so my local college was the only option. They offered a 4 year BEd degree course in Primary Education. This included a specialist subject area which needed an A level (English, Maths, Science, Music etc.) but for Art & Design the entry qualification was an interview and a portfolio. Yay! Now 31 years old, I started my degree course, qualifying with an upper second class degree, 4 years later. In the latter 2 years we had to specialise in either 2D or 3D (ceramics) - 22 years after my first introduction to clay I was getting my hands dirty again.

 

I taught the full breadth of the Primary Curriculum (5-11yrs) for 23 years, which included curriculum art and an after-school pottery club in the last few years of my career (Headteacher - 'Principal'). In the last 2 years leading up to retirement I prepared to get back into ceramics - bought a small kiln, set up a work room, then bought an electric wheel.

 

I'm currently closer to being a potter than I've ever been. So .......until now I didn't become a potter, I became various other things along the way. Nursing / medicine would have been my vocation but teaching became my career (never a vocation - I just worked hard to become successful at it!)

MY RETIREMENT HEAVEN: In addition to my pottery exploits I'm now 'scratching' the medical itch AND using the Beauty Therapy training by working as a Red Cross volunteer in my local hospital - offering hand, arm, back, neck & shoulder massage to patients, one day a week and also have plans in hand to set up a clinic as a volunteer in hospital, providing Cosmetic Camouflage consultations. I am also about to start training as a Red Cross trainer for the massage treatments.

So despite many 'failures' and 'mistakes' along the way, at 60 years old it's all coming round and nothing has been a waste of time after all.

Not quite a direct answer to the question in hand, but it got me thinking.......

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