Qotw: How Was Your Clay Journey Until Now?

[GiselleNo5]

I guess it depends on if we keep pushing ourselves or just get comfortable?

 

I know I haven't been satisfied with very many pieces that I have made. Out of the 300-400+ pots I have hammered, I probably have been happy with 3 maybe 4 pots. In my house I have 2 bowls that we use for table top, and 3 mugs that my son and wife drink out of. That is it, pretty crazy.

 

I haven't even made dinnerware for us yet. I just can't bring myself to imagine eating off work that I have moved past in the next year. Maybe if I find a white/grey glaze that I love I can make some dinnerware, but what you said about your work getting better makes me so hesitant to create a bunch of plates and bowls to eat out of that I would quickly want to get rid of after I improve again.

 

Joseph, I was just thinking about this today.

 

I have not made myself a dinnerware set. I tended to think that it was because I don't make things for myself (THIS IS TRUE) but really I don't WANT to waste my time making a set of horribly ugly beginner dinnerware! I want to make myself a set of dishes when it's going to be beautiful work that brings me joy every time I set the table for a meal! As it is I have upgraded my son's kid dishes several times, passing the earlier efforts on to my younger nieces and nephews. I'm not willing to go through that work for six each of dinner and side plates, four bowls, eight tumblers. When I make my dishes they're going to be AWESOME. 

 

 

[GiselleNo5]

My own journey was two-part. When I was starting my clay journey, approx. 15 years ago, I started in a studio where the (female) teacher showed us always only parts of what we should have learned. She was so jealous when one of us got ahead of her, that she tried to stamp on our fantasies and ambitions. She also was watering the glazes down to safe money... I wasn't a happy camper there but it was the only studio in my town. After 3 years of not learning I quit and went to schools in Italy and Spain, later in Germany, and I had really perfect teachers there. The rest is: flying on cloud nine....

 

PaulR: working with the refugee children was very hard for us teachers. They are mistrustful, sad, aggressive and most of them had knifes in their trousers. That is what their world is made of: fighting for everything, being the first to.... whatever. So sad!!!!

 

I have had experience with jealous and competitive teachers too. It's very difficult to go forward when someone deliberately misinforms or withholds information to the point where they effectively sabotage your work. 

 

Finally I started just using the Internet to search out any nugget of information that I could find, gobbled up all the CAD articles, checked out pottery books from the library, and setting up my studio so I could learn on my own. That has been the best thing I could have done and nobody else controlled what I learned, the way I learned, or how I used information any more. 

 

It's sad to think that someone is so unhappy and insecure that they become stingy with knowledge but it has caused me to become very generous with everything I know, so some good did come of it!  

 

So sad to hear about the refugee children. I keep watching the videos and reading the stories and I can't help but imagine my happy, contented little boy in danger of his life like those children. So distressing. You never know, Evelyne, perhaps the experience with clay made an impression on those children even if it didn't seem like it at the time. Perhaps they will remember your kindness in contrast to the evil they've experienced. 

[LeeU]

Sitting in the auditorium of the "old" Cooper Union art school in NYC in 1965, I was competing for a scholarship. Cooper Union was tuition free--merit admissions only. I won a place (!) and was to enter right after high school that year. But my slot was yanked AFTER I got the admissions letter, due to a Columbia Dean pulling strings to get his daughter in (she was in my class ) and I was bumped ultimately due to the "unwritten" quota for taking people from NJ. A board member who was a friend told me the backstory 2 years later.

 

Anyway, during the day-long testing, I was given a lump of clay. I had never used clay before. We were told to make "something, anything". No tools, tho we could use our pencil. I did an abstract sculptural piece and fell in love. Then took a death-defying detour into sex, drugs & rock 'n roll for several decades--got sober--went to VCU School of the Arts in the early '80s, got a BFA in ceramics, and an MS in rehabilitation counseling. Economics winning out, provided public behavioral health services for 3 decades. No artwork, other than photography. Retired in 2014 and dived back into clay. Used my vacay/sick leave payout to build my studio in a bedroom and put the kiln on the back porch. Met some NH ceramists, including the esteemed Mr. Baymore, and many others, which re-ignited my weary spirit.

 

Life, again, begins...onward the journey. Working on my website and cultivating 6 local venders who are interested in my stuff. We'll see...worst case, I am having expensive,creative fun!  Updated link (thanks Fred) http://www.leeuceramics.com/home.html

[Fred Sweet]

Lee-

The URL for your website doesn't work as written. I did a little looking and found that this one will lead to your home page : http://www.leeuceramics.com/home.html

Looking good!

[Marcia Selsor]

Evelyne,

I volunteered teaching at an adult drop-in facility for mentally challenged when I was in Montana. I served on the board of the Mental Health Center Foundation and helped with the annual May Clay Day Fundraisers for many years. We took every wheel we could get to the park and charged a small fee for people to throw a pot with our help. Little kids were the most fun. Clay does have ways to bringing people to focus, maybe escape from their own confines. I found it tremendously rewarding to sit with someone and have a discussion and then be told later by counselors that he doesn't talk.

Amazing experiences with clay.

 

I have a personal bio "about marcia" about my clay journey http://www.marciaselsorstudio.com/about-marcia.html

 

Marcia