PotterPutter

Show up. Especially when you’re scared, or vulnerable, or avoiding it.

Invest in a good mop and mop bucket and use it frequently. Your lungs will thank you.

Just a gentle reminder folks:
This entire conversation at its heart is meant to be about showing each other compassion and respect.  No name calling, and remember this is all in the service of learning . If someone who knows better tells you you’re doing it wrong, it’s worth listening to them if you want to expand yourself. 
Admitting you’re doing something wrong or hurting someone inadvertently is uncomfortable, but necessary for healing and growth. 

As a person of Korean heritage, I wholeheartedly endorse every word of the blog post.
I also get raging mad when people use the term “wasi sabi” to describe something that is simply a poorly made pot. This is the heart of the matter for me. Asian cultures involve a culturally required politeness. We are programmed not to confront, or to express our offense. In my life, I've met many non-Asians who misinterpret this as approval, and somehow manage to extend the misinterpretation as “lower standards,” and  take advantage of it, 
I appreciate her mention of Euan Craig as an example of someone who would never call his work “wabi sabi.”
I don’t think she’s being vitriolic at all. She is offended, and expressing it with reasoned and tempered words. Maybe if more Asian people would stop holding their tongues, and express their offense, it wouldn’t seem vitriolic. 

https://makikohastings.blogspot.com/2019/05/naming-does-matter-my-thought-on.html?m=1
 
I’ve come across about 5 references to this blog post today, despite spending a total of 20 minutes on social media. So after finally reading it, I feel very strongly it belongs in this conversation right here. It’s written by a Japanese artist who has spent half her adult life in the UK, and tells of her frustrations in watching words and concepts that are deeply held and respected within the Japanese culture used and abused by many from the west in order to sell things. 
She speaks about wanting to encourage those who are curious about and inspired by her (and other) cultures to investigate them, and learn. Learn so you actually DO honour what you are learning to love, and so that you don’t accidentally insult it. 
Most importantly, she has a reference for westerners that she recommends on the topic of Wabi Sabi, which is a term frequently misused and abused by potters who have an incomplete and often wrong. understanding of the concept. 

Well said, Mea! I was 44 when I threw my first pot, and have always collected pottery, have a business in the art world and have dabbled in a lot of hobbies and activities that require working with my hands, including being a pastry chef in a past life. So, I brought a lot to ceramics based on my interests and experiences... and age.  

On the subject of “hours vs. years,” I agree that there is a minimum number of hours required for development. But I’m not sure you can speed up the process by cramming in all of the hours within a short period of time. In order to make what I consider “professional” or “sellable” pottery, you need to be a fully-fledged adult with a strong grasp of your own values, tastes, priorities, etc. The pots you make are a reflection of who you are. And if you have not yet answered the “who am I?” question, your pots will look immature too. So even if you’ve spent 4 years in a college ceramics program, putting in many hours of intensive study, a degree holding 22 yr old still has years to go. A college campus is not the right environment to answer the “who am I?” question. The environment is too safe. (I remember as a college design student, I thought the program was so hard, intense and competitive. Then I hit the real world and realized how safe the environment had been.) In other words, the hours of study are just a starting point in terms of technical proficiency. The years of personal development are necessary too. In my experience as a pottery teacher, I occassionaly worked with students who had been practicing pottery for a year or two, and already making wonderful pots. They were mature people (which doesn’t necessarily mean older) who had a good sense of their values, and a large bank of life experiences to draw on and guide them. 

well, PT Barnum didn't think so.  
My perspective is that the customer  controls of what is bought, while the supplier controls what is offered for sale.   
 

I started selling my pottery after 4 months of working on it 1 day a week. I have (hopefully!) improved since then, but I started selling it when I felt it was good enough for a stranger to buy it and like it. Worked out fine.   Plenty of pieces ended up in the trash though and I was very selective about what I would offer up for sale.  

Music via Alexa.  I can tell her to play whatever I'm in the mood for without having to touch anything. Very helpful during throwing.

Music via Alexa.  I can tell her to play whatever I'm in the mood for without having to touch anything. Very helpful during throwing.